LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

GIFT  OK 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
^Accessions  No.f)~lp  %C?rf.      Class  No. 

' 


HISTORY 


OF 


THE     HOLY     BIBLE, 


FROM    THE 


CREATION   OF  THE   WORLD 


INCARNATION    OF    OUR    LORD    JESUS    CHRIST. 


BY 


JOHN     FLEETWOOD,     D.D, 


WHt\  umtxm  .$tofes. 


^BA§ 


0?  THE 


&Jf&# 


NEW  YORK : 
ROBERT     CARTER      &     BROTHERS, 

285        BROADWAY. 


1855. 


Sl$t,^ 


PREFACE. 


There  is  a  peculiar  elegance  as  well  as 
propriety  in  the  title  annexed  to  the  sa- 
cred writings, — being  emphatically  desig- 
nated the  bible,  or  the  book,  thereby 
intimating  its  superiority  to  all  other  books, 
and  the  sublimity  and  importance  of  the 
subjects  on  which  it  treats. 

The  remarks  of  too  many  Biblical 
commentators  superabound  with  critical 
observations,  while  they  are  barren  of  use- 
ful and  spiritual  reflections,  and  are  rather 
calculated  to  amuse  curiosity  than  to  pro- 
mote piety.  The  greater  part  of  writers, 
likewise,  who  have  furnished  us  with  an 
historical  account  of  the  Bible,  have  so 
perplexed  the  plain  narrative  with  their 
own  strange  conjectures,  that  the  latter 
have  confused  the  former,  and  thus  con- 
joined, they  are  by  no  means  calculated 
to  edify  the  serious  reader. 

The  God  of  truth,  willing  to  acquaint 
our  sinful  world  with  his  mind  and  will, 
hath  provided  his  Spirit  to  enlighten  our 
understanding,  and  his  written  Word  to 
bring  those  things  which  were  transacted 
in  bygone  ages,  and  in  places  far  remote, 
to  our  immediate  view,  in  order  to  display 
his  omnipotence,  wisdom,  and  grace,  and 
thus  excite  the  veneration  and  gratkude 
of  wondering:  man. 

The  writers  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments agreeing  in  one  and  the  same  truth, 
their  testimony  is  so  much  the  more  en- 
forcing, as  implying  so  many  several  acts 
of  one  and  the  same  spirit,  producing  in 
different  individuals  one  and  the  same  ef- 
fect, even  the  mystery  of  our  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ.  For,  though  the  different 
writers  follow  their  own  peculiar  method 


and  order  in  the  several  parts  they  were 
inspired  to  write,  yet  there  appears  a  per- 
fect agreement  upon  the  whole  ;  as  is  evi- 
dent from  the  clearest  demonstration  of 
the  learned  in  all  ages,  who  have  bestowed 
much  labour  and  extraordinary  industry  in 
comparing  their  testimonies. 

The  Old  Testament  is  itself  a  system 
of  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  civil  and  relig- 
ious, moral  and  philosophical,  and  gener- 
ally useful  for  the  conduct  of  human  life, — 
it  being  the  chief  repository  from  which 
the  philosophers  and  legislators  of  all  ages 
have  drawn  the  choicest  of  their  observa- 
tions. 

The  excellency  of  sacred  history  will 
more  evidently  appear,  if  we  compare  it 
with  the  accounts  of  the  best  and  most 
ancient  heathen  writers,  both  philosophers 
and  historians.  How  futile  and  trifling 
are  the  researches  and  discoveries  of  the 
former,  and  the  accounts  of  the  latter, 
when  compared  with  the  glorious  display 
of  divine  wisdom,  the  triumphs  of  divine 
grace,  and  the  earnest  of  eternal  glory 
contained  in  sacred  writ?  In  this  invalu- 
able treasury  of  divine  knowledge  are  com- 
prised the  whole  of  God's  will  and  man's 
duty ;  and  the  Old  Testament,  upon  a  dil- 
igent search,  will  appear  to  have  a  most 
uniform  tendency  and  design  to  be  'a 
schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto  Christ ;'  as 
the  history  therein  contained,  and  the 
facts  therein  related,  typify  and  prophesy 
such  things,  as  might  give  mankind  as- 
surance of  such  a  Saviour,  and  distinguish 
him  by  such  marks  as  might  infallibly 
convince  them  at  his  appearance,  that  he 
was  '  the  very  Christ,  that  Prophet  that 


PREFACE. 


should  come  into  the  world,'  and  that  we 
are  not  •  to  look  for  another.' 

The  design  of  religion  being  to  make 
us  wise  for  eternity,  to  give  us  true  no- 
tions of  God  and  ourselves,  and  to  point 
out  the  path  that  leads  to  everlasting  feli- 
city, we  cannot  be  too  well  acquainted 
with  the  sacred  volume  on  which  it  is 
founded,  or  too  well  versed  in  the  history 
which  confirms  it  To  assist  therefore  the 
Christian  reader  in  the  right  understand- 
ing of  those  things,  on  which  depends  his 
everlasting  peace,  we  have  taken  pains  to 
correct  many  neglects  in  our  translation  of 
the  Bible,  that  have  furnished  wicked  men 
with  excuses,  and  libertines  and  atheists 
with  matter  of  jesting. — It  is  certain,  that 
one  of  the  greatest  favours  God  could  have 
conferred  on  men  in  a  state  of  misery  and 
ignorance,  was  to  inform  them  of  their 
duty,  and  teach  them  the  means  of  becom- 
ing happy :  therefore  there  is  nothing 
more  worthy  of  a  reasonable  man,  and 
especially  of  a  Christian,  than  to  apply 
himself  to  the  study  of  those  things  which 
are  revealed  in  the  holy  scriptures,  since 
they  were  written  for  this  very  end. 

To  be  careless  or  negligent  in  a  matter 
of  such  moment  is  highly  criminal,  and  an 
undoubted  mark  of  irreligion  and  profane- 
ness.  Besides,  infinite  advantage  may  re- 
dound to  the  cause  of  truth,  by  making  a 
single  text  plain  and  intelligible,  and 
thereby  overturning  any  of  the  pretended 
grounds  of  atheism  and  infidelity,  danger- 
ous error,  superstitious  foppery,  or  ridicu- 
lous invention.  This  end  we  presume  will 
be  answered  in  the  course  of  our  labours, 
as  we  have  consulted  the  best  commenta- 
tors, and  laid  down  plain  and  easy  rules, 
whereby  persons  of  the  meanest  capacity 
may  observe  the  most  material  faults  of  all 
translations. 

To  render  our  plan  more  easy  and  fa- 


miliar, we  have  ranged  the  whole  into 
chapters,  according  as  the  different  sub- 
jects and  occurrences  have  required,  and 
have  carefully  attended  to  the  connection 
of  events,  in  order  to  prove  the  authenti- 
city of  the  history  in  general.  To  avoid 
perplexity,  the  historical  part  is  carried  on 
by  itself,  and  the  necessary  lemarks  and 
observations  are  cast  into  notes  at  the 
bottom  of  the  page;  being  assured,  from 
experience,  that  remarks  in  the  series  of 
the  narrative  must  distract  the  sense,  and 
take  off  the  pleasure  and  advantage  of 
reading. — With  respect  to  the  chronolog}' 
we  have  consulted  Josephus,  Rufinus,  and 
other  writers  of  good  authority,  and 
throughout  each  period  connected  the 
sacred  and  profane  history.  As  from  the 
time  of  Malachi,  to  the  birth  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  there  is  a  chasm 
of  about  four  hundred  years ;  to  render 
the  work  complete,  reference  has  been 
made  to  the  best  authors  who  have  re- 
corded the  transactions  of  those  times. 

These,  with  our  former  labours,  will 
furnish  a  complete  history  of  the  Bible, 
both  Old  and  New  Testament,  bring  the 
whole  into  one  point  of  view,  and  exhibit 
a  general  display  of  the  great  work  of 
man's  salvation,  from  the  time  of  its  pro- 
mise to  our  first  parents  till  its  accomplish- 
ment in  the  person  of  the  blessed  Jesus. 
As  it  is,  we  recommend  it  to  the  divine 
blessing,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
render  it  useful  to  the  promotion  of  God's 
glory,  and  the  interest  and  happiness  of 
mankind ;  earnestly  praying  that  it  may 
confirm  and  build  up  sincere  Christians  of 
every  denomination  amongst  us  in  their 
most  holy  faith,  till  the  benefits  of  divine 
grace  here  shall  be  realized  in  eternal  glory 
hereafter,  when  both  believers  and  infidels 
shall  have  sensible  demonstration  that  the 
Word  of  God  is  true. 


THE 


HISTORY   OF   THE   BIBLE. 


BOOK   I. 


FROM  THE  CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSEPH. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  five  books  of  Moses  are  collectively 
designated  the  Pentateuch,  which,  being 
a  word  of  Greek  original,  literally  signi- 
fies five  books,  or  volumes.  This  portion 
of  the  inspired  writings  comprises  an  ac- 
count of  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  of 
the  fall  of  man,  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  early 
history  of  the  world,  with  a  full  detail  of 
the  Jewish  system  of  ordinances, — a  period 
of  2515  years,  according  to  the  vulgar 
computation,  or  of  3765,  according  to  that 
of  Dr  Hales.  "  It  is  a  wide  description, 
gradually  contracted ;  an  account  of  one 
nation,  preceded  by  a  general  sketch  of 
the  first  state  of  mankind.  The  books  are 
written  in  pure  Hebrew,  with  an  admirable 
diversity  of  style,  always  well  adapted  to 
the  subject*  yet  characterised  with  the 
stamp  of  the  same  author;  they  are  all 
evidently  parts  of  the  same  work,  and 
mutually  strengthen  and  illustrate  each 
other.  They  blend  revelation  and  history 
in  one  point  of  view;  furnish  laws,  and 
describe  their  execution,  exhibit  prophe- 
cies, and  relate  their  accomplishment."* 

The  first  book  of  the  Pentateuch,  which 
is  called  Genesis,  signifies  the  Book  of  the 
Generation  or  Production,  because  it  com- 

*  Bp.  Gray's  Key  to  the  Old  Testament,  p.  76. 


mences  with  the  generation  or  production 
of  all  things.     "Although  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that  this  book  was  written  by 
Moses,  yet  it  is  by  no  means  agreed  when 
he  composed  the  history  which  it  contains. 
Eusebiusand  some  eminent  critics  after  him 
have  conjectured,  that  it  was  written  while 
he  kept  the  flocks  of  Jethro,  his  father-in-- 
law, in  the  wilderness  of  Midian.      But 
the  more  probable  opinion  is  that  of  The- 
odoret,  which  has  been  adopted  by  Mol- 
denhawer  and   most  modern   critics,  viz.. 
that  Moses  wrote  this  book  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  and; 
the  promulgation  of  the  law  from  Mount 
Sinai;  for,  previously  to  his  receiving  the 
divine  call  related  in  Exodus  iii.,  he  was 
only  a  private  individual,  and  was  not  en- 
dued with  the  spirit  of  prophecy.     With- 
out that  spirit  he  could  not  have  recorded,, 
with  so  much  accuracy,  the  history  of  the 
creation,  and  the  subsequent  transactions, 
to  his  own  time :  neither  could  he  have 
foretold  events  then  future,  as  in  the  pre- 
dictions concerning  the  Messiah,  and  those 
respecting  the  descendants  of  Ishmaeland 
the  sons  of  Jacob ;   the   verification  and 
confirmation  of  which  depended  on  circum- 
stances, that  had  neither  taken  place  nor 
could  have  happened  at  the  time  when  the 
history   was  written   in    whieh   they  are 
recorded :    but   which    circumstances,   we 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


know,  did  take  place  exactly  as  they  were 
foretold,  and  which  may  be  said,  even 
now,  to  have  an  actual  accomplishment 
before  our  eyes.  A  third  conjecture  has 
been  offered  by  some  Jewish  writers,  after 
Rabbi  Moses  Ben  Nachman,  who  suppose 
that  God  dictated  to  Moses  all  the  con- 
tents of  this  book,  during  the  first  forty 
davs  that  he  was  permitted  to  hold  a  com- 
munication with  the  Almighty  on  Mount 
Sinai,  and  that  on  his  descent  he  commit- 
ted the  whole  to  writing.  This  hypo- 
thesis thev  found  on  Exodus  xxiv.  12. 
where  Jehovah  says  unto  Moses, — 'Come 
up  tome  in  the  mount,  and  be  thou  there, 
and  I  will  give  thee  the  tables  of  stone,  and 
the  law,  and  the  precepts,  which  I  have 
written  to  teach  them : ' — understanding  by 
the  tables,  the  decalogue ;  by  the  precepts, 
all  the  ceremonial  and  judicial  ordinances; 
and  by  the  law,  all  the  other  writings  of 
Moses,  whether  historical  or  doctrinal. 
4  It  is,  however,'  as  a  pious  writer  has 
well  remarked,  'as  impossible,  as  it  is  of 
little  consequence,  to  determine  which  of 
these  opinions  is  best  founded ;  and  it  is 
sufficient  for  us  to  know,  that  Moses  was 
assisted  by  the  Spirit  of  infallible  truth  in 
the  composition  of  this  sacred  work,  which 
he  deemed  a  proper  introduction  to  the 
laws  and  judgments  delivered  in  the  sub- 
sequent books.' 

"The  book  of  Genesis  comprises  the 
history  of  about  2369  years  according  to 
the  vulgar  computation  of  time,  or  of  36 1 9 
years  according  to  the  larger  computation 
of  Dr  Hales.  Besides  the  history  of  the 
creation,  it  contains  an  account  of  the 
original  innocence  and  fall  of  man;  the 
propagation  of  mankind;  the  rise  of  reli- 
gion; the  general  defection  and  corruption 
of  the  world;  the  deluge;  the  restoration 
of  the  world;  the  division  and  peopling  of 
the  earth;  the  call  of  Abraham,  and  the 
divine  covenant  with  him ;  together  with 
the  first  patriarchs,  to  the  death  of  Joseph. 
This  book  also  comprises  some  important 
prophecies  respecting  the  Messiah.    Gen. 


iii.  15.  xii.  3.  xviii.   18.  xxii.  18.  xxvi.  4. 
xxviii.  14.  and  xlix.  10. 

"  The  scope  of  the  book  of  Genesis  may 
be  considered  as  two-fold: — 1.  To  record 
the  history  of  the  world  from  the  com- 
mencement of  time;  and  2.  To  relate  the 
origin  of  the  church,  and  the  events  which 
befell  it  during  many  ages.  The  design 
of  Moses  in  this  book  will  be  better  un- 
derstood, if  we  consider  the  state  of  the 
world  when  the  Pentateuch  was  written. 
Mankind  was  absorbed  in  the  grossest 
idolatry,  which  for  the  most  part  had  ori- 
ginated in  the  neglect,  the  perversion,  or 
the  misapprehension  of  certain  truths  that 
had  once  been  universally  known.  Moses 
therefore,  commences  his  narrative  by  re- 
lating in  simple  language  the  truths  thus 
disguised  or  perverted.  In  pursuance  of 
this  plan,  he  relates,  in  the  book  of  Gene- 
sis, the  true  origin  and  history  of  all  cre- 
ated things  in  opposition  to  the  erroneous 
notions  entertained  by  the  heathen  nations, 
especially  by  the  Egyptians:  the  origin 
of  sin,  and  of  all  moral  and  physical  evil; 
the  establishment  of  the  knowledge  and 
worship  of  the  only  true  God  among  man- 
kind; their  declension  into  idolatry;  the 
promise  of  the  Messiah;  together  with  the 
origin  of  the  church,  and  her  progress  and 
condition  for  many  ages.  Further,  it 
makes  known  to  the  Israelites  the  provi- 
dential history  of  their  ancestors,  and  the 
divine  promises  made  to  them;  and  shows 
them  the  reason  why  the  Almighty  chose 
Abraham  and  his  posterity  to  be  a  psculiar 
people  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  na- 
tions, viz.  that  from  them  should  spring 
the  Messiah.  This  circumstance  must 
be  kept  in  view  throughout  the  reading  of 
this  book,  as  it  will  illustrate  many  other- 
wise unaccountable  circumstances  there 
related.  It  was  this  hope  that  led  Eve  to 
exclaim, — '  I  have  gotten  a  man, — the 
Lord.'  (Gen.  iv.  1.  Heb.)  The  polyga- 
my of  Lamech  may  be  accounted  for  by 
the  hope  that  the  Messiah  would  be  born 
of  some  of  his  posterity,  as  also  the  incest 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


3 


of  Lot's  daughters,  Gen.  xix.  31 — 38., 
Sarah's  impatience  of  her  barrenness, 
Gen.  xvi.,  the  polygamy  of  Jacob,  Gen. 
xxix.,  the  consequent  jealousies  between 
Leah  and  Rachel,  Gen.  xxx.,  the  jealousies 
between  Ishmael  and  Isaac,  and  especially 
Rebekah's  preference  of  Jacob  to  Esau. 
It  was  these  jealousies,  and  these  preten- 
sions to  the  promise  of  the  Messiah,  that 
gave  rise  to  the  custom  of  calling  God  the 
God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob;  and  not  the  God  of 
Lot,  Ishmael,  and  Esau,  the  promise  hav- 
ing been  particularly  made  and  repeated 
to  those  three  patriarchs." 

"It  is  natural  and  unavoidable  for  us, 
who  are  but  of  yesterday,  to  inquire  about 
those  things  which  have  been  before  us, 
and  to  form  conjectures  even  about  the 
original  of  all  things:  but  our  reason  is 
evidently  incompetent  to  inquiries  of  this 
kind;  and  uncertainty,  contrariety,  and  ab- 
surdity, always  bewildered  the  wisest  of  the 
heathens  on  this  subject.  However  ration- 
al it  is  to  conclude,  that  all  things  were  at 
first  created  by  the  eternal,  self-existent, 
and  almighty  God  ;  yet  man  has  in  every 
age  lamentably  failed  of  drawing  this  con- 
clusion :  and  after  all,  it  is  ■  by  faith  we 
understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed  by 
the  word  of  God;  so  that  things,  which  are 
seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  ap- 
pear:' Heb.  xi.  3.  Reason  is  indeed  capa- 
ble of  approving,  appropriating,  and  apply- 
ing, the  information  conveyed  to  us  by  the 
word  of  God,  but  not  of  anticipating  it. 
The  knowledge  imparted  by  revelation  is 
useful  and  necessary:  but  nothing  is  men- 
tioned about  a  past  eternity, — that  abyss 
which  swallows  up  all  our  thought,  and  in- 
volves all  our  reflections  and  discourse  in 
inextricable  perplexity;  for  this  could  only 
have  gratified  curiosity,  and  increased  our 
stock  of  barren  notions.  The  Scriptures, 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  conclusions  of 
our  reason  when  soberly  exercised,  declare 
that  God  is  '  from  everlasting  to  everlast- 
ing.' All  else  had  a  beginning.  With 
this  the  inspired  historian  opens  his  narra- 


tion, and,  in  most  sublime  abruptness, 
breaks  forth,  'In  the  beginning:*  as  if  he 
had  said,  'This,  O  man,  is  enough  for  thee 
to  know;  here  stop  thy  presumptuous  in- 
quiry; call  back  thy  intruding  thoughts 
from  things  too  high  for  thee,  and  learn  to 
adore  thy  Creator.' — The  Scriptures  are 
especially  intended  to  teach  us  'the  know- 
ledge of  God ;'  which  is  done  in  the  man- 
ner best  suited  to  inform  and  affect  us,  by 
recording  his  works.  From  the  creation 
of  the  world  we  learn  '  his  eternal  power 
and  Godhead ;'  and  discern,  in  the  things 
which  he  hath  made,  his  infinite  wisdom 
and  goodness:  while  the  simplicity  and  har- 
mony, subsisting  in  the  midst  of  the  richest 
variety,  lead  the  mind  in  the  easiest  man- 
ner, to  conceive  of  the  Creator,  as  '  the 
One  living  and  true  God.'"* 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Creation  of  the  World,  and  of  Man. —  The 
Fall  of  our  first  Parents,  and  their  Expul- 
sion from  Paradise. 

The  first  instance  of  divine  wisdom  and 
power  known  to  us  mortals,  was  that  great 
and  stupendous  work,  the  creation  of  the 
world.  'In  the  beginning,'  says  the  in- 
spired penman,  '  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth  ;'f  that  is,  this  planetary 
world,  consisting  of  the  earth  and  other 
planets,  having  the  sun  for  their  centre ; 


*  Home's  Introduction,  &c.  vol.  iv.  pp.  3—5. 
and  Scott's  Commentary. 

f  What  our  translators  render  '  in  the  begin- 
ning,' some  learned  men  have  made  •  in  wisdom 
God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth  ;'  not  only 
because  the  Jerusalem  Targum  has  it  so,  but  be- 
cause the  psalmist,  paraphrasing  upon  the  works 
of  the  creation,  breaks  forth  into  this  admiration, 
•  O  Lord !  how  wonderful  are  thy  works,  in  wis- 
dom hast  thou  made  them  all,'  Ps.  civ.  24.  And 
again,  exhorting  us  to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord 
for  his  manifold  mercies,  he  adds,  'who  by  wisdom 
made  the  heavens,'  Ps.  cxxxvi.  5.  where  by  wis- 
dom, as  some  imagine,  he  means  the  Son  of  God, 
by  whom,  says  the  Evangelist,  John  i.  3.  'all 
things  were  made;'  or  'all  things  created,'  says  the 
apostle,  '  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  the 
earth  ;'  and  therefore  the  meaning  of  the  phrase 
must  be,  that  God.  in  creating  the  world,  made 
use  of  the  agency  of  his  Son  — Le  Clerc. 

fy>-    o?   THE 

[UNIVERSITY] 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


all  of  which  owe  their  origin  to  the  power 
of  a  supreme  Creator.  These  were  not 
eternal,  as  absurdly  imagined  by  some 
ancient  philosophers,  nor  did  they  owe 
their  origin  to  chance  and  accident,  but 
derived  their  beauty,  order,  and  regular- 
ity, from  that  God  whose  '  works  are  ma- 
nifold/ and  who  'in  wisdom  made  them 
all.' 

When  the  omnipotent  Jehovah  had 
surveyed  the  unformed  earth  and  water, 
a  confused,  indigested  heap,  without  form, 
without  order,  without  regularity,  and 
overspread  with  darkness,  and  had  set 
about  the  great  work,  we  are  told  that 
•  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters,'  *  or,  as  it  is  interpreted  by 
some  learned  commentators,  brooded  over 
the  vast  abyss,  and  impregnated,  as  well 
as  rendered  it  capable  of  the  disposition 
and  order  it  was  about  to  receive.  By 
his  almighty  fiat  God  next  produced 
light, f  which  gave  birth  to  the  first  day, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  first  night. 
The  Creator  pronounced  his  approbation 
of  the  work  of  his   hands,  that  'it  was 


*  Various  are  the  opinions  of  commentators 
concerning  this  mucl)  controverted  passage;  some 
think  the  word  mi  should  have  been  translated 
wind,  in  this  place,  as  it  admits  of  that  significa- 
tion as  well  as  the  other  :  while  others  think  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  may  be  understood  the  Spirit  of 
the  Messiah,  agreeable  to  Isa.  xi.  2,  '  And  the  Spi- 
rit of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him.'  We  think  it 
evident  from  its  production,  that  it  was  an  eman- 
ation of  divine  power  and  energy,  which  by  its 
moving  on  the  chaotic  mass  conveyed  into  it  a  kind 
of  fermentation,  and  prepared  it  for  future  exer- 
tion of  the  same  power.  M.  le  Clerc  thinks  it  to 
be  a  metaphor  taken  from  the  hovering  and  flut- 
tering of  an  eagle,  or  any  other  bird,  over  its 
young,  but  not  its  sitting  over,  or  brooding  upon 
them. 

\  The  words  used  by  the  sacred  historian  are, 
'  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  light  :  and  there 
was  light ;'  which,  as  Longinus  takes  notice,  is  a 
truly  lofty  expression  ;  and  herein  appears  the 
wisdom  of  Moses,  that  he  represents  God  like  him- 
self commanding  things  into  being  by  his  word, 
i.  e.  his  will ;  for  whenever  we  read  the  words  he 
said,  in  the  history  of  the  creation,  the  meaning 
must  be  understood  to  be  that  lie  willed,  for  this  is 
the  admirable  characteristic  of  the  power  of  God, 
that  with  him  to  will  is  to  effect,  to  determine  is  to 
perform. — See  Patrick's  Comment,  and  Bishop 
Pearson. 


good,1  and  distinguished  the  light  from 
the  darkness,  by  calling  the  former  by  the 
appellation  of  dap,  and  the  latter  by  that 
of  night.  Thus  wisely  did  the  Almighty 
appoint  the  day  and  night  constantly  to 
succeed  each  other,  in  the  same  alternate 
course  as  we  now  perceive  them,  and  to 
form  together  what  we  term  a  natural 
day  ;  ;  and  the  evening  and  the  morning 
were  the  first  day,'  that  is,  by  the  course, 
or  going  round  of  this  light,  which  we 
may  suppose  to  have  been  commanded 
into  being  about  noon,  were  formed  an 
evening  and  a  morning ;  so  that  at  the 
ensuing  noon  the  compass  of  a  natural 
day  of  twenty-four  hours,  (the  first  day 
that  existed,)  was  fully  completed. 

The  work  of  the  second  day  consisted 
in  laying  the  foundations  of  the  heaven, 
called  by  the  name  of  firmament,:}:  which 
keeps  the  waters  of  the  clouds  from  those 
which  are  upon  the  earth.  This  done, 
God  called  all  the  expanse  above  this 
earth,  whether  it  be  the  thicker  parts  that 
compose  the  region  of  the  air,  which  we 
denominate  the  lower  firmament,  or  the 
thinner  or  more  subtile  parts,  to  which 
we  have  given  the  appellation  of  the 
higher  firmament,  heaven,  which  conclud- 
ed the  work  of  the  second  day. 

The  creation  yet  consisted  of  nothing 
but  light,  the  waters  and  the  firmament, 
which  divided  the  waters  of  the  clouds 
from  those  upon  the  earth,  that  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  names  of  seas,  rivers, 
&c.  On  the  third  day,  therefore,  it  pleas- 
ed Almighty  power  and  wisdom  to  reduce 
the  waters  within  bounds,  when  he  said, 
'Let  the  waters  under  the  heavens  be 
gathered  together  unto  one  place,  and  let 
the  dry  land  appear;  and  it  was  so.'  The 
voice   of  God  was   immediately  obeyed; 

J  The  Hebrew  word  which  we  translate  firma- 
ment, signifies  expanse,  or  extension.  This  term 
is  applied  not  only  to  the  sky,  but  the  atmosphere, 
and  seems  here  particularly  to  refer  to  that  extent 
of  airy  matter,  or  atmosphere,  which  encompasses 
the  earth  :  and  separates  the  clouds  from  the 
waters  that  are  upon  the  earth,  according  to  the 
seventh  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


the  waters  separated  from  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  on  their  retreat,  the  dry 
land  appeared,  which  was  called  Earth,  as 
was  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters, 
Seas. 

The  work  of  dividing  the  waters  being 
thus  completed,  it  received  the  divine  ap- 
probation; but  as  the  great  Creator  de- 
signed the  earth  for  the  future  habitation 
of  man  and  beast,  being  as  yet  barren  and 
uncultivated,  to  render  it  fit  for  the  intend- 
ed inhabitants,  he  determined  to  bestow  on 
it  a  prolific  virtue,  and  endow  it  with  the 
power  of  vegetation. 

In  the  first  place  appeared  the  grass 
which  covered  the  earth,  and  was  designed 
as  pasture  for  the  brute  creation ;  then 
succeeded  flowers,  plants,  and  trees,  with 
all  kinds  of  vegetables,  in  full  growth,  pro- 
portion, and  maturity.*  Though  the  first 
fruits  of  the  earth  were  all  of  them  pro- 
duced without  any  seeds,  by  the  bare  word 
of  God;  yet  to  perpetuate  the  same,  each 
kind  contained  its  own  seed,  which,  being 
sown  in  the  earth,  or  falling  when  ripe 
from  the  plants  themselves,  should  con- 
tinue a  succession  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
This  likewise  received  his  gracious  ap- 
proval. The  vegetable  tribe  now  covered 
the  earth  with  a  green  and  flowery  carpet, 
and  rendered  it  fit  for  the  reception  of  its 
inhabitants ;  but  the  wise  hand  of  Om- 
nipotence, further  to  display  his  power 
and  goodness,  contracted  the  light  which 
he  had  created  the  first  day  f  and  diffused 


*  It  is  not  to  be  imagined,  that  the  new  created 
earth,  with  its  ahundant  fruitfulness,  could  be  pro- 
duced according  to  the  ordinary  course  of  things 
in  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  without 
the  assistance  of  the  sun  ;  but  the  Almighty  by  his 
omnipotent  fiat  spoke  them  into  existence  and  per- 
fection in  an  instant;  tor  he  only  spoke  the  word, 
and  they  were  made,  he  commanded  and  they  were 
created.  '  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  the 
herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit 
atter  tiis  kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself  upon  the 
earth;  and  it  was  so,'  Gen.  i.  1 1. 

f  Though  Moses  represents  the  luminaries  as 
made  on  this  day  ;  yet  it  may  not  be  inconsistent 
to  observe,  that  he  could  mean  no  more  than  that 
they  were  enabled  to  burst  from  their  obscurity 
and  to  become  visible. — Rider. 


throughout  the  universe,  into  proper  orbs, 
or  those  great  luminaries  of  heaven,  called 
sun  and  moon,  one  to  rule  the  day,  and 
the  other  the  night;  and  to  render  these 
more  useful  by  the  order  of  their  motion, 
he  appointed  them  for  signs,  to  distinguish 
the  seasons,  and  to  divide  time,  by  which 
they  have  been,  are,  and  ever  will  be,  of 
essential  benefit  to  mankind. 

The  atmosphere  was  now  rarified,  and 
the  bodies  of  the  heavenly  luminaries  be- 
came visible;  by  their  influence  on  the 
plants,  they  promoted  the  offices  of  vege- 
tation, finishing  their  revolutions  in  their 
proper  periods  of  time.  The  almighty 
Creator  having  employed  the  first  four 
days  in  the  creation  of  things  inanimate ; 
on  the  fifth,  he  passed  the  omnipotent  fiat 
for  the  production  of  living  creatures,  say- 
ing, •  Let  the  waters  bring  forth  abundant- 
ly the  moving  creature  %  that  hath  life, 
and  fowl  |]  that  may  fly  above  the  earth 
in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven.'  In 
this  day's  work  we  may  remark  the  grad- 
ual procedure  of  the  Almighty,  from  the 
inanimate  creation  to  fish  and  fowl,  the 
least  perfect  species  of  animals,  by  which 
the  different  orders  of  created  beings  are 
linked  together,  and  the  various  ranks  of 
creatures  make  a  regular  system. 

God  likewise  formed  great  whales,  or 
all  kinds  of  large  fish,  which  the  waters 


J  The  word  which  is  here  translated,  moving 
creature,  signifies  any  creeping  animal,  and  is  there- 
fore not  inapplicable  to  fish,  which,  though  they 
have  not  feet,  lie  upon  their  bellies,  and  by  the 
help  of  their  fins,  creep  as  it  were  through  the 
water. 

There  is  a  seeming  contradiction  between 
this  passage  and  that  in  Gen.  ii.  19,  where  it  is 
said,  '  Out  of  the  ground  God  formed  every 
beast  of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air :'  but 
the  contradiction  will  vanish,  if  we  consider,  that 
neither  denies  what  the  other  affirms,  though  they 
speak  differently  ;  as  the  description  of  Moses  by 
no  means  supposes  that  the  earth  did  not  bring 
forth  fowl  ;  besides,  there  are  birds  to  the  present 
day  whose  chief  element  is  the  water  ;  and  many 
of  the  learned  are  of  opinion  that  they  derive  their 
origin,  partly  from  the  water,  and  partly  from  the 
earth,  from  whence  and  from  their  guiding  their 
course  with  their  tails,  Philo  calls  fowls  the  kin- 
dred of  the  fish. — Stachhouse. 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  L 


produce,  and  on  a  survey  ot  this  creation 
perceived  that  what  he  had  made  entirely 
answered  the  end  he  proposed  in  their 
formation.  The  manifold  shape  of  their 
different  bodies,  the  infinite  variety  of 
their  instincts  and  talents,  but  all  so  pro- 
perly adapted  to  each  particular  species, 
and  tending  to  the  preservation  of  the 
creature  possessed  of  them,  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  its  kind,  amply  declare  the 
wisdom  of  the  Creator,  and  prove  that,  ac- 
cording to  his  declaration,  it  is  good. 

God  therefore  gave  them  this  blessing; 
'  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the 
waters  with  fish,  and  the  earth  with  fowl,' 
enduing  them  at  the  same  time  with  a 
prolific  virtue,  thereby  to  propagate  their 
species,  preserve  their  particular  kinds, 
and  multiply  the  individuals  of  each ;  and 
this  was  the  work  of  the  fifth  day. 

Moreover  it  pleased  Divine  power  and 
goodness  to  add  to  the  fertility  of  the  earth, 
and  bring  forth  « the  living  creature  after 
his  kind,  cattle  and  creeping  things,  and 
beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind;'  and  thus 
having  made  them  complete,  *  He  saw  that 
it  was  good.'  * 


*  The  hugeness  of  this  thy  work,  O  God,  is  lit- 
tle inferior  for  admiration  to  the  majesty  of  it. 
But,  oh,  what  a  glorious  heaven  is  this  which  thou 
hast  spread  over  our  heads  !  With  how  precious 
a  vault  hast  thou  walled  in  this  our  inferior  world  ! 
"What  worlds  of  light  hast  thou  set  above  us  ! 
Those  things  which  we  see  are  wondrous  ;  but 
those  which  we  believe  and  see  not  are  yet  more. 
Thou  dost  but  set  out  these  unto  view,  to  show 
us  what  there  is  within.  How  proportionable  are 
thy  works  to  thyself!  Kings  erect  not  cottages, 
but  set  forth  their  magnificence  in  sumptuous 
buildings ;  so  hast  thou  done,  O  King  of  Glory ! 
If  the  lowest  pavement  of  that  heaven  of  thine  be 
so  glorious,  what  shall  we  think  of  the  better  parts 
yet  unseen  ?  And  if  this  sun  of  thine  be  of  such 
brightness  and  majesty,  oh !  what  is  the  glory  of 
the  Maker  of  it  ?  And  yet  if  some  other  of  thy 
stars  were  let  down  as  low  as  it,  those  other  stars 
would  be  suns  to  us  ;  which  now  thou  hadst 
rather  to  have  admired  in  their  distance.  And  if 
such  a  sky  be  prepared  for  the  use  and  benefit 
even  of  thine  enemies  also  upon  earth,  how  happy 
shall  those  eternal  tabernacles  be,  which  thou  hast 
sequestered  for  thine  own  ?  How  many  millions 
of  wonders  doth  the  very  face  of  the  earth  offer 
me  ?  Which  of  these  herbs,  flowers,  trees,  leaves, 
seeds,  fruits  is  there  ;  what  beast,  what  worm, 
wherein  we  may  not  see  the  footsteps  of  a  Deity, 


The  Almighty  having  thus  rendered  the 
world  fit  for  the  reception,  sustenance,  and 
delight  of  that  creature  to  whom  he  in- 
tended to  give  the  rule  over  it,  to  crown 
this  great  work,  changes  the  commanding 
expression,  let  this  or  that  be  so,  into, 
'  Let  us  make  man  in  our  own  image, 
after  our  likeness  ;'f  a  form  of  speech  that 
represents  the  Divine  being  as  acting  more 
immediately  himself,  and  entering  on  the 
master-piece  of  creation  with  a  peculiar 
degree  of  deliberation.  Designing  the 
creature  he  was  now  about  to  form,  for 
the  government  (under  his  auspicious 
providence)  of  this  sublunary  world,  he 
enters  upon  it  in  a  solemn  manner,  and 
having  taken  the  resolution,  declares  in 
express  terms  the  supremacy  with  which 
he  determined  to  invest  him;  'and  let 
him  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the 
sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over 
the  cattle,  and  over  every  creeping  thing 
that  creepeth  upon  the  earth.  So  God 
created  man,'  into  whose  nostrils,  though 
formed  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  he  breath- 
ed the  breath  of  life,  and  'man  became  a 
living  soul.'J 


wherein  we  may  not  read  infiniteness  of  power,  of 
skill,  and  must  be  forced  to  confess,  that  he  which 
made  the  angels  and  stars  of  heaven,  made  also 
the  vermin  on  the  earth  ? — Hall's  Contempla- 
tions. 

f  Some  of  the  ancient  fathers  distinguish  image 
from  likeness,  and  think  that  image  refers  to  the 
Divine  nature,  and  likeness  to  the  Divine  virtues  ; 
but  to  us  they  seem  to  have  one  and  the  same 
meaning ;  because  each  of  these  expressions  are 
frequently  put  in  Scripture  in  lieu  of  both,  which 
is  evident  from  the  next  verse,  and  from  Gen.  v. 
I.  The  words  image  ar.d  likeness  principally  im- 
ply a  resemblance  of  the  Divine  graces,  as  in 
Col.  iii.  10.  where  we  are  commanded  to  'put 
on  the  new  man,  after  the  image  of  him  that  cre- 
ated him.' 

$  The  account  of  the  formation  o»  ^  dam's  body, 
as  given  by  the  Mahometans,  is  sufficiently  absurd. 
They  tell  us,  that  after  (»od,  by  long  rains,  had  pre- 
pared the  slime  of  the  earth,  out  of  which  he  was 
to  form  it,  he  sent  the  angel  Gabriel,  and  com- 
manded him,  of  seven  lays  of  earth,  to  take  out  of 
each  a  handful  ; — that,  upon  Gabriel's  coming  to 
the  Earth,  he  told  her,  that  God  had  determined 
to  extract  that  out  of  her  bowels,  whereof  he  pro- 
posed to  make  man,  who  was  to  be  sovereign  over 
all,  and  his  vicegerent; — that  surprised  at  th  snews, 
the  Earth  desired  Gabriel  to  represent  her  fears  to 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIP.LE. 


In  this  manner  did  the  Almighty  form 
man,  and  clothe  him  with  superiority  and 
honour,  giving  him  dominion  over  all  the 
other  animals  of  the  creation,  and  enduing 
him  with  knowledge  and  power.  To 
prove  also  that  Eve  was  created  on  the 
same  day,  though  the  precise  manner  of 
her  formation  is  not  taken  notice  of  till 
the  next  chapter,  the  inspired  penman,  in 
his  account  of  the  sixth  day's  work,  sub- 
joins, 'male  and  female  created  he  them.' 
The  manner  in  which  the  universal  Parent 
of  nature  formed  our  mother  Eve  is  thus 
related.  That  having  already  formed  man 
out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  God  declares 
his  intention  of  providing  him  a  partner; 
accordingly  he  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall 
upon  him,  and  while  he  slept,  took  out 
one  of  his  ribs,*  closing  up  the  flesh,  made 


God,  that  this  creature,  whom  he  was  going  to 
make  in  this  manner,  would  one  day  rebel  against 
him,  and  draw  down  his  curse  upon  her  ; — that  Ga- 
briel returned,  and  made  a  report  to  God  of  the 
Earth's  remonstrances  ;  but  God,  resolving  to  ex- 
ecute his  design,  despatched  Michael,  and  after- 
wards Asraphel,  with  the  same  commission  ; — that 
these  two  angels  returned,  in  like  manner,  to  re- 
port the  Earth's  excuses,  and  absolute  refusal  to 
contribute  to  this  work  ;  whereupon  he  deputed 
Azrael,  who,  without  saying  any  thing  to  the 
Earth,  took  a  handful  out  of  each  of  the  seven  dif- 
ferent lays  or  beds,  and  carried  it  to  a  place  in 
Arabia,  between  Mecca  and  Taief ; — that  after  the 
angels  had  mixed  and  kneaded  the  earth,  which 
Azrael  brought,  God  with  his  own  hand  formed 
out  of  it  a  human  statue,  and  having  left  it  in  the 
same  place  for  some  time  to  dry,  not  long  after, 
communicating  his  spirit  or  enlivening  breath,  in- 
fused life  and  understanding  into  it ;  and  clothing 
it  in  a  wonderful  dress,  suitable  to  its  dignity,  com- 
manded the  angels  to  fall  prostrate  before  it,  which 
lOblis,  by  whom  they  mean  Lucifer,  refusing  to  do, 
was  immediately  driven  out  of  Paradise.  N.  B. 
The  difference  of  the  earth,  employed  in  the  form- 
ation of  Adam,  is  of  great  service  to  the  Mahome- 
tans, in  explaining  the  different  colours,  and  quali- 
ties of  mankind,  who  are  derived  from  it,  some  of 
whom  are  white,  others  black,  others  tawny,  yellow, 
olive-coloured,  and  red  ;  some  of  one  humour,  in- 
clination, and  complexion,  and  others  of  a  quite 
different. — S/ackhouse,  and  Cabinet's  Dictionary 
on  the  word  Adam. 

*  The  atheiits  have  formed  many  ridiculous 
queries  concerning  this  point,  and  among  others 
demanded,  whether  the  rib,  out  of  which  the 
woman  was  formed,  was  a  superfluous  one?  To 
this  we  shall  only  reply,  that  we  know  not  the 
precise  manner  in  which  it  was  done.  It  is  suffi- 
cient for  us,  the  woman  was  formed  out  of  the 


the  woman,  and  brought  her  to  him. 
Adam  no  sooner  received  from  the  hand 
of  the  Almighty  his  new  formed  wife,  than, 
self-convinced  of  the  obligation  that  arose 
therefrom  to  the  strictest  friendship,  the 
most  cordial  love,  and  sincere  affection,  he 
exclaimed  with  rapture: — 'This  is  now 
bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh:' 
and  farther  infers  the  duties  that  naturally 
result  from  hence,  as  the  reunion  of  man 
and  woman:  'therefore  shall  a  man  leave 
his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave 
unto  his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  one  flesh.' 
Thus  early  was  the  divine  institution  of 
marriage,  in  a  state  of  naked  innocence, 
when  our  first  parents  had  no  guilt,  and 
consequently  no  shame. f 

The  Almighty  having  thus  finished  the 
last,  but  most  perfect  parts  of  the  creation, 
and  joined  them  together,  proceeds  to  give 
them  his  benediction,  vesting  them  with 
the  blessings  of  fruitfulness  and  dominion. 
'  Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth,  and  have  dominion  over  it:' 
thus  constituting  man  lord  over  all  other 
creatures,  and  giving  him  the  product  of 
the  whole   earth  for   his  sustenance  and 


svibstance  of  the  man's  body,  and  that  such  a  me- 
thod of  forming  her  was  more  agreeable  than  any 
otlier  to  God's  order  and  wisdom. 

•J-  The  words  of  Milton,  upon  this  occasion,  are 
extremely  fine: 

all  heaven, 

And  happy  constellations,  on  that  hour 
Shed  their  selectest  influence  :   The  earth 
Gave  sign  of  gratulation,  and  each  hill. 
Joyous  the  birds ;  fresh  gales,  and  gentle  airs 
Whisper'd  it  to  the  woods,  and  from  their  wings 
Flung  rose,  flung  odours,  from  the  spicy  shrub, 
Disporting. 

Nor  can  we  pass  by  his  episode  upon  marriage 
which,  for  it3  grave  and  majestic  beauty,  is  inimi 
table. 

Hail  wedded  love  !  mysterious  law  1  true  source 

Of  human  offspring  !  sole  propriety 

In  paradise,  of  all  things  common  else  ! 

Bv  thee  adulterous  lust  was  driv'n  from  men, 

Among  the  bestial  herds  to  range ;  by  thee 

(Founded  in  reason,  loyal,  just,  and  pure,) 

Relations  dear,  and  all  the  charities 

Of  father,  son,  and  brother,  first  were  known. 

Perpetual  fountain  of  domestic  sweets  ! 

Whose  bed  is  uudenTd,  and  chaste  pronoune'd— 

Here  love  his  golden  shafts  employs  ;  here  lights 

His  constant  lamp,  and  waves  his  purple  wing*; 

Reign*  here  and  revels 


8 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


pleasure.  That  he  might  be  convinced  of 
the  efficacy  of  the  benediction,  and  the 
extent  of  the  power  with  which  he  was 
vested,  the  Almighty  is  represented  by 
the  sacred  historian  as  bringing  to  Adam 
every  different  beast  of  the  field,  and  fowl 
of  the  air,  in  order  to  fix  their  distinct 
names.  Accordingly  Adam  named  them 
all,  and  this  giving  names  or  titles  served 
two  purposes;  first,  to  distinguish  each 
species  from  the  rest;  and  secondly,  to 
assure  our  first  parents  of  the  subjection 
to  him  in  which  the  Almighty  had  placed 
them.  Thus  finished  on  the  sixth  day 
the  stupendous  work  of  creation,  which, 
when  the  Creator  surveyed,  he  pronounc- 
ed to  be  'very  good.'  On  the  seventh 
day  God  ended  *  all  his  works,  and  to  im- 
press mankind  with  a  due  sense  of  his 
wisdom  and  goodness  in  the  creation,  and 
the  obligation  due  to  him  from  his  crea- 
tures, he  appointed  that  day  to  be  kept 
holy.f 

•  The  original  word  signifies  had  ended,  and  if 
so  rendered,  would  obviate  the  objection  which 
may  be  drawn  from  the  seeming  contradiction  be- 
tween this  passage  and  that  which  immediately 
follows,  as  it  would  then  show,  that  as  on  the 
seventh  day  there  remained  nothing  to  be  done,  a 
translation  that  the  greatest  Hebrew  masters  will 
allow,  therefore  God  rested,  not  from  fatigue,  but 
voluntarily  ceased  from  creating. 

f  Whether  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  was 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  one  day  in 
seven  always  observed  by  the  patriarchs  before 
the  promulgation  of  the  law  ;  or  whether  the  sanc- 
tification  of  the  seventh  day  is  related  only  by  way 
of  anticipation,  as  an  ordinance  not  to  take  place 
until  the  introduction  of  the  Jewish  economy,  is  a 
matter  of  some  debate  among  the  learned,  but  I 
think  with  little  or  no  reason ;  for,  when  we  con- 
sider, that  as  soon  as  the  sacred  penman  had  said, 
'  God  ended  his  work,  and  rested,'  lie  adds  imme- 
diately, in  the  words  of  the  same  tense,  '  he  bless- 
ed the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it;'  when  we 
compare  this  passage  in  Genesis  with  the  twenti- 
eth chapter  of  Exodus,  wherein  Moses  speaks  of 
God's  blessing  and  sanctifying  the  Sabbath,  not  as 
an  act  then  first  done,  but  as  what  he  had  formerly 
done  upon  the  creation  of  the  world  ;  when  we 
remember,  that  all  the  patriarchs  from  Adam  to 
Moses  had  set  times  for  their  solemn  assemblies, 
and  that  these  times  were  weekly,  and  of  divine 
institution ;  that,  upon  the  return  of  these  week- 
sabbaths,  very  probably  it  was  that  Cain  and 
Abel  offered  their  respective  sacrifices  to  God  ; 
and  that  Noah,  the  only  righteous  person  among 
Jie  antediluvians,    Abraham,    the    most    faithful 


All  things  being  then  completely  form- 
ed; to  show  his  peculiar  favour  towards 
man,  God  placed  him  with  his  female  part- 
ner in  a  most  beautiful  spot  of  ground 
called  Eden4  in  order  to  cultivate  and 
keep  it,  allowing  him  the  free  use  of  every 
herb,  fruit,  and  flower  around  him,  except- 
ing one  which  is  called  by  the  sacred  his- 
torian, '  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil;'§  nay,  permitted  him  to  eat  of 
the  tree  of  life,  ||  to  encourage  and  excite 
him  to  fidelity  and  obedience  to  his  Maker; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  annexes  a 
dreadful  penalty  to  the  violation  of  the 
sacred  injunction;  'In  the  day  thou  eat- 
est  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die.'  *  *   Thus 


servant  of  God  after  the  flood,  and  Job  that  per- 
fect and  upright  man,  who  feared  God,  and 
eschewed  evil,  are  all  supposed  to  have  observed 
it ;  we  cannot  but  think,  that  the  day,  whereon 
the  work  of  the  creation  was  concluded,  from  the 
very  beginning  of  time,  was,  every  week,  until  men 
had  corrupted  their  ways,  kept  holy,  as  being  the 
birth-day  of  the  world,  as  Philo  styles  it,  and  the 
universal  festival  of  mankind. — Bedford's  Scrip- 
ture Chronology,  and  Patrick's  Commentary. 

J  The  word  Eden  in  the  Hebrew  signifies  plea- 
sure, and  indicates  the  beauty  of  the  place  in 
which  their  munificent  Creator  placed  our  first 
parents.  It  is  the  general  opinion  of  divines  and 
philosophers,  that  the  blissful  spot  was  about  Me- 
sopotamia, that  country  being  not  far  distant  from 
Judea.  There  is  a  tradition  of  the  fathers,  that 
when  Adam  was  expelled  from  Paradise,  he  came 
at  last  to  Judea,  died  there,  and  was  buried  on  a 
mount,  which  his  posterity,  because  the  head  of 
the  first  man  was  laid  there,  called  mount  Calvary, 
where  the  great  Redeemer  was  crucified  for  the 
expiation  of  the  sin  of  Adam,  the  first  and  original 
transgressor.  This  opinion  is  attested  by  the  most 
authentic  of  the  fathers. 

$  There  are  various  opinions  concerning  the 
nature  and  properties  of  this  tree,  which  was  for- 
bidden to  our  first  parents  :  some  think  that  it  had 
a  baneful  quality,  directly  opposite  to  that  of  the 
tree  of  life,  while  others  imagine  that  it  is  thus 
called  by  the  historian,  because  after  Adam  and 
Eve  had  eaten  of  it,  they  became  sensible  of  the 
good  they  had  lost,  and  the  evil  they  had  incurred, 
by  their  disobedience. 

||  The  ancient  fathers  think  this  tree  was  so  call- 
ed, from  its  virtue  to  repair  the  animal  spirits,  till 
man  should  be  translated  from  a  corporeal  life  to 
a  life  spiritual  and  immortal:  this  opinion  is  sup- 
ported by  Moses,  who  tells  us,  Gen.  iii.  22.  4  That 
had  man,  even  after  the  fall,  eaten  of  the  tree  of 
life,  he  would  have  lived  for  ever.' 

*  *  The  words  in  our  version  are,  '  In  the  day 
thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,'  which 
seem  to  imply,  that  on  the  day  that  Adam  should 
eat  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  he  should  die,  which 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


9 


fixed  in  the  most  beauteous  situtation, 
possessed  of  innocence,  devoid  of  guilt, 
and  free  from  care,  the  happiness  of  our 
first  parents  seems  complete;  but  alas! 
their  bliss  was  transient,  their  innocence 
fleeting,  and  their  exemption  from  care 
comparatively  short:  Satan,  the  arch-fiend, 
having  resolved  to  tamper  with  them,  and 
make  an  effort  to  seduce  them  from  their 
obedience  to  their  Creator,  and  involve 
them  together  with  himself  in  the  ruins  of 
apostasy.  In  order  to  accomplish  this 
accursed  design,  by  means  of  the  serpent* 
as  an  instrument,  he  attacks  the  woman, 
through  whom  he  thought  afterwards  to 
prevail  with  the  man.  He  begins  his  vile 
insinuation  with  a  question;  'Yea,  hath 
God  said,  ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree 
of  the  garden?'  in  order  to  learn  from 
thence  the  certainty  of  the  divine  injunc- 
tion. The  woman  had  no  sooner  related 
the  positive  command  of  God,  that  they 


eventually  proved  not  so,  because  he  lived  many 
years  after;  and  therefore,  as  some  observe  very  well, 
it  should  be  rendered,  '  thou  shall  deserve  to  die 
without  remission ;'  for  the  scripture  frequently 
expresses  by  the  future,  not  only  what  will  come 
to  pass,  but  also  what  ought  to  come  to  pass,  to 
which  purpose  there  is  a  very  apposite  text  in 
1  Kings  ii.  37.  where  Solomon  says  to  Shimei, — 
*  Go  not  forth  thence,'  viz.  from  Jerusalem,  'any 
whither  ;  for  in  the  day  thou  goest  out,  and  pass- 
est  over  the  brook  Kidron,  thou  sbalt  surely  die  ;' 
i.e.  thou  shalt  deserve  death  without  remission. 
For  Solomon  reserved  to  himself  the  power  of 
punishing  him  when  he  should  think  fit;  and  in 
effect  he  did  not  put  him  to  death  the  same  day 
that  he  disobeyed,  any  more  than  God  did  put 
Adam  to  death  the  same  day  that  he  transgressed 
in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit.  This  seems  to  be  a 
good  solution:  though  some  interpreters  under- 
stand the  prohibition  as  if  God  intended  thereby 
to  intimate  to  Adam  the  deadly  quality  of  the  for- 
bidden fruit,  whose  poison  was  so  very  exquisite 
that  on  the  very  day  he  eat  thereof  it  would  cer- 
tainly have  destroyed  him,  had  not  God's  goodness 
interposed  and  restrained  its  violence. — 'See  Essay 
for  a  New  Translation,  and  Le  Clerc's  Comment. 
*  It  is  here  observable  that  Moses  in  his  account 
of  the  fall,  mentions  not  the  agent,  the  devil,  but 
only  the  instrument  of  the  agent,  the  serpent. 
This  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  commentators,  who 
allege  that  the  devil  actually  made  use  of  the  ser- 
pent to  talk  to  Eve  and  to  tempt  her;  that  it 
was  a  real  serpent,  and  not  an  imaginary  one,  that 
spoke  to  her ;  but  it  only  spoke  by  means  of  the 
devil,  who  used  that  creature  as  fittest  to  be  em- 
ployed in  that  service. 


were  allowed  to  *  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the 
trees  of  the  garden,'  but  that  on  pain  ot 
death  they  were  forbidden  to  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  'the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  garden;'  than  that  father  of  lies,  in 
contradiction  to  the  divine  decree  of  the 
God  of  truth,  told  her,  she  should  'not 
surely  die;'  and  farther,  to  gain  upon  her 
desire  already  inflamed,  added,  that  the 
reason  of  its  being  forbidden  was,  tbat  by 
eating  of  it  they  would  ennoble  their  nature, 
and  become  as  gods  themselves.  The  in- 
fernal project  succeeded ;  the  woman  had 
long  viewed  the  fruit  with  great  desire,  till 
at  length  the  beauty  of  its  colour,  and  its 
miraculous  power  so  inflamed  her  passions, 
that  she  ventured  to  pluck  the  fruit  and  eat 
her  own  death ;  forgetting  the  express  com- 
mand of  her  Maker,  and  unawed  by  the 
dreadful  menaces  denounced  against  dis- 
obedience. Not  content  with  the  ruin  of 
herself,  she  offers  the  fatal  fruit  to  her  hus- 
band, who  received  it  from  her,  and  involv- 
ed himself  in  the  common  mortality. 

Their  eyes  were  now  opened  indeed; 
but  what  to  behold?  The  most  aggravated 
folly  :  monstrous  impiety  !  What  to  dis- 
cover? their  shame,  and  the  fall  and  dis- 
grace of  their  nature.  Conscious  guilt 
stared  them  in  the  face,  and  they  were 
reduced  to  the  poor  subterfuge  of  con- 
cealing their  nakedness;  whereas  in  a  state 
of  innocence,  like  children,  they  were 
naked  and  were  not  ashamed.  When  our 
first  parents  continued  in  that  blissful  state, 
they  no  sooner  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
approaching  them  than  they  ran  to  meet 
him,  and  with  humble  joy  welcomed  his 
gracious  visits;  but  now  their  Maker  was 
become  their  terror,  their  consciences 
painted  their  transgression  in  the  blackest 
light,  all  hope  was  banished,  and  nothing 
remained  but  horror  and  despair.  Now 
therefore,  when  they  heard  '  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  walking  in  the  garden,  calling, 
Adam,  where  art  thou?' — not  by  way  of 
receiving  information,  but  to  render  him 
more  sensible  of  his  transgression  of  the 
divine  command ; — fear  came  upon  them, 
1 


10 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  L 


and  they  hid  themselves;  the  man  answer- 
ing with  the  utmost  confusion,   '  I  heard 
thy  voice  in  the  garden,  and  I  was  afraid, 
because  I  was  naked;  and  I  hid  myself.' 
Confessing  his  nakedness,    he    confessed 
his  guilt,  of  which  his  omniscient  Creator 
immediately  convicted  him,  and  knowing 
he  could  alone  obtain  the  knowledge  of  the 
same   by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  de- 
manded of  him  the  means  by  which  he 
came  to  know  that  he  was  naked.    Though 
Adam  sought  not  to  deny,  he  attempted  to 
palliate  his  crime,  and  transfer  the  guilt 
upon  his  wife  as  the  cause  of  the  same ; 
•  The  woman,  whom   thou  gavest  to  be 
with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I 
did  eat.'     When  God  remonstrated  with 
her  upon  her  criminal  behaviour,  she  en- 
deavoured  to   lay  it   upon   the  serpent: 
'The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat.' 
The  fallen    pair    having    thus    confessed 
their  transgression,  the  Almighty  imme- 
diately passed  sentence  upon  the  serpent, 
as  the  instrument  employed  by  the  great 
enemy  of  mankind  to  seduce  them  to  the 
horrid  commission  of  a  most  disingenuous 
crime ;  and  to  give  posterity  a  sense  of 
the  heinous  nature  of  sinning  against  God, 
as  well  as  thus  early  make  known  his  gra- 
cious design  of  raising  up  a  Saviour  from 
the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  should  bring 
redemption    to  Israel,   and  vanquish  the 
kingdom  of  sin  and  death.     'Because  thou 
hast  done  this,  thou  art  cursed  above  all 
cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field; 
upon   thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust 
shalt   thou   eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life. 
And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and 
the   woman,   and  between   thy  seed  and 
her  seed;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and 
thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel.'  * 


*  That  is,  there  shall  subsist  an  irreconcileable 
hatred  between  the  human  and  diabolical  race  ; 
because,  at  the  instigation  of  the  latter,  the  former 
had  incurred  the  penalty  of  death  and  the  train  of 
miseries  which  mortality  entails.  But  the  seed 
of  the  woman,  Jesus,  the  mighty  Saviour  and  Re- 
deemer of  his  people,  shall  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  by  making  atonement  to  Divine  justice  for 
Adam's  transgression,   destroying  the  powers   of 


Nor  did  the  woman  pass  without  awful 
tokens  of  the  Divine  displeasure ;  but  was 
solemnly  given  to  understand,  that  she 
entailed  upon  herself  sorrow  from  concep- 
tion, pain  in  childbirth,  and  subjection  to 
her  husband.  '  I  will  greatly  multiply 
thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception;  in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  bring  forth  children,  and  thy 
desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he 
shall  rule  over  thee.' 

The  punishment  of  Adam  consisted  in 
a  life  of  perpetual  toil  and  slavery,  in  or- 
der to  keep  in  due  subjection  those  pas- 
sions and  appetites,  to  gratify  which  he 
had  transgressed  the  divine  command. 
*  Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the 
voice  of  thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of  the 
tree  of  which  I  commanded  thee,  saying, 
thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it;  cursed  is  the 
ground  for  thy  sake,  in  sorrow  shalt  thou 
eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life :  thorns 
also  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee ; 
and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field: 
In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  thou  shalt  eat 
bread.f  till  thou  return  unto  the  ground ; 
for  out  of  dust  wast  thou  taken,  and  to 
dust  shalt  thou  return.' 

Having  thus  solemnly  pronounced  the 
awful  decree,  both  on  the  cause  of  the  of- 
fence, and  the  offenders  themselves ;  God, 
to  enhance  their  sense  of  the  crime,  and 


darkness,  and  obtaining  eternal  redemption  for  all 
who  believe  in  him. 

f  From  whence  some  conclude,  that  the  earth, 
before  the  fall,  brought  forth  spontaneously,  (as 
several  of  the  ancient  poets  have  described  the 
golden  age,)  and  without  any  pains  to  cultivate  it : 
as  indeed  there  needed  none,  since  all  things,  at 
first,  were,  by  the  Divine  power,  created  in  their 
full  perfection.  What  labour  would  have  been 
necessary  in  time,  if  man  had  continued  innocent, 
we  do  not  know  ;  only  we  may  observe  from  the 
words,  that  less  pains  would  then  have  been  re- 
quired than  men  are  now  forced  to  take  for  their 
sustenance.  The  wisdom,  goodness,  and  justice  of 
(iod,  however,  are  very  conspicuous,  in  decreeing 
that  toil  and  drudgery  should  be  the  consequence 
of  departing  from  an  easy  and  rational  obedience  ; 
in  making  the  earth  less  desirable  to  man,  when 
his  guilt  had  reduced  him  to  the  necessity  of  leav- 
ing it  ;  and  in  keeping  in  order  those  passions  and 
appetites,  which  had  now  broke  loose  from  the 
restraint  of  reason,  by  subduing  their  impetuo- 
sity with  hard  labour. — Patrick's  Commentary, 
and  Revelation  Examined, 


Chap.  I. J  THE  BIBLE. 

the  tokens  of  his  resentment,  expelled 
them  from  the  blissful  regions  of  Paradise, 
and  man  was  consigned  to  toil  and  labour; 
and,  to  preserve  the  forbidden  fruit  sacred 
from  the  unhallowed  hands  of  the  corrupted 
race  of  mankind,  cherubim  *  were  placed 
at  the  east  end  of  the  garden.  Thus  fell 
our  first  parents,  and  thereby  lost  their 
original  rectitude,  introduced  moral  evil, 
and  entailed  sin,  with  all  its  dreadful  con- 
comitants, upon  their  posterity,  who  from 
that  moment  to  the  present  have  felt  the 
dire  effects  of  the  fall ;  though,  blessed  be 
God,  their  state  is  not  desperate,  but  ca- 
pable of  being  repaired  by  the  blood  of 
the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven,  f 


11 


CHAPTER  II. 


*  Cherubim  or  angels,  whose  refulgence  re- 
semble the  vibrations  of  a  flaming  sword.  They 
may  also  be  considered  as  whatever  tends  to  strike 
fear  and  terror. 

f  From  an  imaginary  difficulty  in  explaining 
the  literal  sense  of  the  first  three  chapters  of 
Genesis,  (a  difficulty,  however,  which  exists  not 
with  the  devout  reader  of  the  sacred  volume,) 
some  learned  men,  who  admit  the  Pentateuch  to 
have  been  written  by  Moses,  have  contended  that 
the  narrative  of  the  creation  and  fall  is  not  a  re- 
cital of  real  events,  but  an  ingenious  philosophical 
mythos,  or  fable,  invented  by  Moses  after  the  ex- 
ample of  ancient  Greek  writers,  to  give  the  greater 
weight  to  his  legislative  enactments !  and  designed 
to  account  for  the  origin  of  human  evil,  and  also 
as  an  introduction  to  a  history,  great  part  of  which 
they  consider  to  be  a  mere  poetic  fiction.  But 
the  inventors  of  this  fiction  (for  such  only  can  we 
term  it)  have  assumed  that  as  proved  which  never 
had  any  existence  ;  for  the  earliest  Grecian  cos- 
mogony extant,  namely,  that  of  Hesiod,  was  not 
composed  until  at  least  five  hundred  and  forty-five 
years  after  the  death  of  Moses!  Further,  the 
style  of  these  chapters,  as,  indeed  of  the  whole 
book  of  Genesis,  is  strictly  historical,  and  betrays 
no  vestige  whatever  of  allegorical  or  figurative  de- 
scription ;  this  is  so  evident  to  any  one  that  reads 
with  attention,  as  to  need  no  proof.  And  since 
this  history  was  adapted  to  the  comprehension  of 
the  commonest  capacity,  ftloses  speaks  according 
to  optical,  not  physical  truth  ;  that  is,  he  describes 
the  effects  of  creation  optically,  or  as  they  would 
have  appeared  to  the  eye,  and  without  any  assign- 
ment of  physical  causes.  In  doing  which  he  lias 
not  merely  accommodated  his  narrative  to  the  ap- 
prehension of  mankind  in  an  infant  state  of  society, 
and  employed  a  method  of  recital  best  suited  to 
a  vulgar  capacity  ;  but  he  thereby  also  satisfies  an 
important  requisition  of  experimental  philosophy, 
viz.  to  describe  effects  accurately  and  faithfully,  ac- 
cording to  their  sensible  appearances;  by  which 
means  the  mind  is  enabled  to  receive  a  clear  and 
distinct  impression  of  those  appearances,  and  thus 


The  murder  of  Abel. —  The  construction  of  the 
Ark. — Noah's  entry. —  The  universal  deluge. 
— Exit  of  Noah  and  his  family  out  of  the 
Ark. —  The  wickedness  of  Ham. 

The  fatal  effects  of  the  fall  soon  appear- 
ed after  the  expulsion  of  our  first  parents 
from  the  blissful  mansions  of  Eden.  The 
human  race  was  increased  by  the  birth  of 
two  sons  to  Eve,  Cain  %  and  Abel,  the 
latter  of  whom  fell  a  victim  to  the  envy 
and  revenge  of  his  brother.  When  these 
two  brothers  grew  up  to  years  of  matu- 
rity, they  folltwed  different  employments: 
Cain  betook  him  to   tillage,   but   Abel  § 


to  reduce  them  to  their  proper  causes,  and  to  draw 
from  them  such  conclusions  as  they  are  qualified 
to  yield;  for  the  determination  of  causes  must  fol- 
low an  acquaintance  with  their  effects. — Home's 
Introd.  vol.  iv. 

Besides,  if  it  be  granted  that  Moses  was  an  in- 
spired lawgiver,  it  becomes  impossible  to  suppose 
that  he  wrote  a  fabulous  account  of  the  creation 
and  fall  of  man,  and  delivered  it  as  a  divine  re- 
velation, because  that  would  have  been  little,  if  at 
all,  short  of  blasphemy  ;  we  must,  therefore,  be- 
lieve this  account  to  be  true,  or  that  it  was  de- 
clared and  understood  by  the  people,  to  whom  it 
was  addressed,  to  be  allegorical.  No  such  declara- 
tion was  ever  made  ;  nor  is  there  any  mention  of 
such  an  opinion  being  generally  prevalent  among 
the  Jews  in  any  early  writing.  The  Rabbis  in- 
deed, of  later  times,  built  a  heap  of  absurd  doc- 
trines upon  this  history  :  but  this  proves,  if  it 
proves  any  thing,  that  their  ancestors  ever  under- 
stood it  as  a  literal  and  true  account ;  and,  in 
fact,  the  truth  of  every  part  of  the  narrative  con- 
tained in  the  book  of  Genesis  is  positively  con- 
firmed by  the  constant  testimony  of  a  people  who 
preserved  a  certain  unmixed  genealogy  from  father 
to  son,  through  a  long  succession  of  ages:  and  by 
these  people  we  are  assured,  that  their  ancestors 
ever  did  believe  that  this  account,  as  far  as  it  fell 
within  human  cognisance,  had  the  authority  of 
uninterrupted  tradition  from  their  first  parent 
Adam,  tili  it  was  written  by  the  inspired  pen  of 
Moses. — Bishop  Tomline. 

%  As  it  is  mentioned  by  the  sacred  historian, 
that  Eve,  on  the  birth  of  Cain,  exulted  and  said, 
I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord,  and  as  the 
term  kana  signifies  possession,  some  have  been 
inclined  to  think  tiiat  Eve  was  persuaded  that 
this  son  was  the  promised  seed  which  was  to 
break  the  serpent's  head  ;  but  if  that  were  the  case, 
time  soon  evinced  her  disappointment. 

§  The  word  Abel  signifies  vanity,  either  as  it 
presaged  the  suddenness  of  his  death,  or  that  it 
denoted  the  vanity  of  mortality,  to  which  all  were 
now  liable. 


12 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


embarked    in    the  pastoral  life,   being  a 
keeper  of  sheep. 

It  happened  in  process  of  time  that 
each  brought  their  offering  to  the  Lord, 
according  to  the  different  occupations  that 
they  followed ;  Cain's  being  of  the  fruits 
of  the  ground,  and  Abel's  that  of  the 
firstlings  of  his  flock,  with  the  fat  thereof. 
The  Lord,  for  causes  then  best  known  to 
himself,  accepted  Abel's  offering,  but  re- 
jected that  of  Cain,  who,  incensed  on  that 
account,  discovers  envy  in  his  counte- 
nance, and  was  therefore  reprimanded  by 
God,  who  intimated  that  the  cause  of  the 
rejection  of  his  offering  proceeded  from 
his  want  of  sincerity,  assuring  him,  that  if 
for  the  future  he  acted  with  integrity,  he 
should  be  accepted,  otherwise  he  should 
be  treated  as  a  delinquent  and  hypocrite. 
But  this  reprimand  of  his  Maker  had  no 
effect  upon  Cain,  who  retained  his  envy 
and  resentment  against  his  innocent  bro- 
ther, and  took  the  first  opportunity  to 
slay  him.* 


*  According  to  the  English  translation,  Moses 
tells  us,  (Jen.  iv.  8.  that  Cain  talked  with  Abel  his 
brother.  The  words  strictly  signify,  '  Cain  said 
unto  Abel  his  brother ;'  after  which  there  is  a 
blank  space  left  in  the  Hebrew  copies,  as  if  some- 
thing was  wanting.  The  Samaritan  Pentateuch, 
and  the  Septuagint  supply  this,  by  adding  the 
words, — 1  Let  us  go  into  the  fields  ;'  but  the  Jeru- 
salem Targum,  and  that  of  Jonathan,  have  sup- 
plied us  with  their  whole  conversation. — As  they 
went  along,  '  I  know,  says  Cain,  that  the  world 
was  created  by  the  mercy  of  God,  but  it  is  not 
governed  according  to  the  fruit  of  our  good  works, 
and  there  is  respect  of  persons  in  judgment. 
Why  was  thy  oblation  favourably  accepted,  when 
mine  was  rejected  ?  Abel  answered,  and  said  unto 
Cain,  The  world  was  created  in  mercy,  and  is  go- 
verned according  to  the  fruits  of  our  good  works. 
There  is  no  respect  of  persons  in  judgment;  for 
my  oblation  was  more  favourably  received,  be- 
cause the  fruit  of  my  works  was  better,  and  more 
precious,  than  thine.  Hereupon  Cain  in  a  fury 
breaks  out,  There  is  no  judgment,  nor  judge,  nor 
any  other  world  ;  neither  shall  good  men  receive 
any  reward,  nor  wicked  men  be  punished.  To 
which  Abel  replied,  There  is  a  judgment,  and  a 
judge,  and  another  world,  in  which  good  men 
shall  receive  a  reward,  and  wicked  men  he  pun- 
ished.' Upon  which  there  ensued  a  quart*-!, 
which  ended  in  Abel's  death.  So  that,  according 
to  this  account,  Abel  suffered  for  the  vindication 
of  the  truth,  and  was,  in  reality,  the  first  martyr. 
—EsthiHS  in  Difficiliora  loca. 

Like  a  flower  of  the  field,  young  Abel  sprang 


Thus  prevailed  the  inordinate  passions, 
and  produced  the  first  murder,  on  no 
other  ground  than  rancour  and  malice,  at 
the  just  dealing  of  an  upright  God,  who 
preferred  the  offering  of  Abel,  because  it 
was  presented  with  a  heart  more  sincere, 
grateful,  and  humble,  than  that  of  Cain. 
The  Almighty,  as  he  called  for  his  father 
Adam  after  his  first  transgression,  in  like 
manner  demands  of  Cain  where  he  was, 
not,  as  before  observed,  for  information, 
but  to  strike  him  with  guilt  and  shame: 
the  criminal  not  only  lied  unto  his  Ma- 
ker, but  insolently  asked,  as  if  displeased 
with  the  question,  '  Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper  ?'  But  this  attempt  to  evade  con- 
fession availed  not,  for  the  Lord  not  only 
charged  him  with  the  murder  of  his  bro- 
ther, but  convicted  him  of  the  same. 
'What  hast  thou  done?  The  voice  of  thy 
brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the 
ground.  And  now  art  thou  cursed  from 
the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth 
to  receive  thy  brother's  blood  from  thy 
hand.  When  thou  tillest  the  ground,  it 
shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee  her 
strength.  A  fugitive  and  a  vagabond 
shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth.' 

Cain,  struck  with  the  severity  of  this 
denunciation,  convinced  of  the  atrocious 
nature  of  his  crime,  and  deploring  the 
misery  of  his  situation,  exclaimed,  '  My 
punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear  ! '  f 
nevertheless  he  retained  his  rancorous 
and    disobedient    temper,    and    seems    to 


up  and  flourished.  Fair  was  the  appearance,  and 
sweet  the  odour  of  his  virtues.  But  a  brother's 
envy,  like  a  blighting  wind,  went  over  him,  and 
smote  him  to  the  earth.  The  days  of  his  pilgrim- 
age were  quickly  ended,  and  he  hasted  away  to  an 
abiding  city.  Disinherited  of  the  earthly  paradise, 
from  a  wilderness  grown  over  with  thorns,  he  de- 
parted to  the  unfading  gardens  of  everlasting  de- 
lights. And  so  the  holy  Jesus,  that  King  of  saints, 
and  prince  of  martyrs,  made  but  a  short  Mav 
among  us,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh.  The  envy  of 
his  brethren  pursued  him  even  to  death,  and  the 
fairest  flower  that  ever  bloomed  on  earth,  borne 
down  by  the  stormy  tempest,  bowed  its  head  and 
died. — Junes. 

f  In  most  of  the  versions  this  passage  is  ren- 
dered, '  My  offence  is  too  great  to  obtain  pardon  ;' 
but  the  Septuagint  confirms  the  first  sense. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


13 


have  been  much  less  concerned  for  his 
sin  than  his  punishment.  '  Behold,'  said 
he,  'thou  hast  driven  me  out  this  day  from 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  from  thy  face 
shall  I  be  hid  ;  and  I  shall  be  a  fugitive 
and  a  vagabond  upon  the  earth,  and  it 
shall  come  to  pass  that  every  one  that 
findeth  me  shall  slay  me.'  But  the  Al- 
mighty, reserving  to  himself  the  sole 
right  of  punishing  Cain  for  this  crime, 
and  at  the  same  time  desirous  of  excit- 
ing in  posterity  proper  apprehensions 
of  murder,  secured  him  against  the  dread 
of  being  himself  slain,  declaring  that 
he  would  avenge  his  death  seven-fold; 
thereby  intimating,  as  hereafter  declared 
in  sacred  writ,  'vengeance  is  mine,  saith 
the  Lord :'  that  is,  it  is  not  lawful  for 
private  persons  of  their  own  authority 
to  kill  such  as  deserve  death.  To  give 
him  assurance  of  his  promise,  God  set  a 
sign  *  or  wonder  before  him,  lest  any 
finding  him,  should  kill  him,  of  which  he 
was  in  danger,  because  the  world  being 
now  near  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  old,  it 
abounded  with  people  descended  from  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Adam.  After  this 
Cain  departed  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  land 
of  Nod,  to  the  eastward  of  Eden,  beyond 
the  country  of  Babylon,  where  he  took  a 
wife,  who  bare  him  a  son  called  Enoch, 
after  whom  he  named  a  city  that  he  built 
in  those  parts.  From  the  loins  of  Cain 
in  regular  succession  was  produced  Jabal, 
who  taught  men  to  pitch  tents,  which 
were  requisite  for  their  subsistence  and 
that  of  their  cattle,  before  agriculture  was 
reduced  to  an  art;  for  though  men  fed 
cattle  before,  by  the  invention  of  tents  he 
taught  them  how  to  remove  to  more  fer- 
tile and  fresh  spots,  after  those  which  had 


«  There  are  divers  vague  conjectures  and  ab- 
surd notions  concerning  the  mark  that  God  set 
upon  Cain,  but  they  all  serve  rather  to  perplex 
than  clear  up  the  passage  ;  it  is  most  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  text  should  be  rendered,  '  that 
God  appointed  to  Cain  a  sign  or  token,'  to  assure 
him  that  none  should  kill  him,  according  to  the 
Septuagint. 


been  grazed  on  were  no  longer  fit  for  sub- 
sistence. 

Jubal,  the  brother  of  Jabal,  first  invent- 
ed musical  instruments.  Tubal-Cain  was 
also  descended  from  the  same  stock,  being: 
the  son  of  Lamech  by  his  wife  Zillah,  and 
was  the  first  artificer  in  brass,  iron,  and 
other  metals.  This  is  the  Mosaic  account 
of  Cain's  descendants,  which  seems  to 
have  been  recorded  in  order  to  inform 
posterity  who  first  invented  certain  arts, 
and  were  afterwards  infamous  from  their 
wicked  practices.  Our  first  parent  hav- 
ing been  deprived  of  his  son  Abel,  by  the 
malice  and  barbarity  of  his  brother  Cain, 
God  was  pleased  to  raise  him  up  another 
son,  whom  he  called  Seth,  or  appointed. 

From  Seth  sprang  Enos,  in  whose  days 
the  sacred  historian  informs  us,  that  men 
began  to  institute  stated  forms  and  cere- 
monies in  the  worship  of  Almighty  God. 

Moses,  from  this  Seth,  continues  the 
line  of  Adam  to  ten  generations  before 
the  flood,  with  the  ages  of  those  long- 
lived  antediluvians.  Of  all  the  posteri- 
ty of  Adam  the  most  remarkable  is  Enoch, 
who  for  his  eminent  piety  and  virtue  was 
exempted  from  mortality,  being  imme- 
diately, that  is,  without  passing  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  trans- 
lated to  the  realms  of  bliss.  Pious  Enoch 
left  behind  him  his  son  Methuselah,  whose 
long  life  rendered  him  eminent  in  the  list 
of  patriarchs.  From  Methuselah  sprang 
Lamech  the  father  of  Noah,  at  whose 
birth  it  is  remarkable  that  his  father  pre- 
saged the  extraordinary  favours  which 
God  should  bestow  upon  him  ;  '  This  same 
shall  comfort  us  concerning  our  work  and 
toil  of  our  hands,  because  of  the  ground 
which  the  Lord  hath  cursed.'  f     His  pre- 


f  The  substance  of  Lamech's  prophecy,  ac- 
cording to  our  translation,  is  this: — 'He  called 
his  son  Noah,  saying,  This  same  shall  comfort  us 
concerning  the  work  and  toil  of  our  hands,  be- 
cause of  the  ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed,' 
and  the  sense  of  learned  men  upon  it  hath  been 
very  different.  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  there  is 
nothing  prophetical  in  this  declaration  of  Lamech's, 
and  that  the  only  cause  of  his  rejoicing  was  to  see 


14 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  1. 


diction  was  indeed  true ;  but  not  exact  in 
point  of  circumstance ;  for  Noah  was  in- 
strumental in  being  the  restorer  of  the 
desolated  world,  delivering  the  church, 
and  preserving  it  from  perishing. 

If  we  consider  the  prodigious  length  of 
men's  lives  in  this  age,  the  strength  of 
their  constitution  from  a  temperate  life, 
and  the  advanced  years  in  which  they 
begat  children,  the  number  of  inhabitants 
before  the  flood  will  appear  to  be  very 
numerous.  Hence  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  families  of  Cain  and  Seth  began  to 
enter  into  nuptial  alliances;  for,  though 
for  a  long  time  the  posterity  of  Seth 
shunned  converse  with  the  offspring  of 
Cain,  on  account  of  their  cruel  disposition; 
yet  when  the  world  grew  very  populous, 
the  sons  of  the  righteous  *  shook  off  their 
former  reserve,  and  entertained  a  criminal 
desire  for  the  offspring  of  Cain,  called  by 
Moses,  '  the  daughters  of  men.'  This 
desire  being  indulged,  in  course  of  time 
prevailed  on  the  sons  of  God,  or  family 


a  son  born,  who  might  in  time  be  assisting  to  him 
in  the  toil  of  cultivating  the  ground.  But  in  this 
there  is  nothing  particular:  in  this  sense  Lamech's 
words  may  be  applied  by  every  father,  at  the  birth 
of  every  son  ;  nor  can  we  conceive  why  a  pecu- 
liar name  should  be  given  Noah,  if  there  was  no 
particular  reason  for  it.  The  Jewish  interpreters 
generally  expound  it  thus,  '  He  shall  make  our 
labour  in  tilling  the  ground  more  easy  to  us,'  in 
that  he  shall  be  the  inventor  of  several  proper 
tools,  and  instruments  of  husbandry,  to  abate  the 
toil  and  labour  of  tillage  :  and  some  will  tell  us, 
that  he  therefore  received  his  name,  because  he 
first  invented  the  art  of  making  wine,  a  liquor  that 
cheers  the  heart,  and  makes  man  forget  sorrow 
and  trouble.  But  the  invention  of  the  fit  tools 
for  tillage,  after  that  Tubal-Cain  had  become  so 
great  an  artificer  in  brass  and  silver,  seems  to  be- 
long to  one  of  his  descendants  rather  than  Noah  ; 
and  as  Noah  was  not  the  first  husbandman  in  the 
world,  so  neither  can  it  be  concluded,  from  his 
having  planted  a  vineyard,  that  he  was  the  first 
vine-dresser. — Stackhouse. 

*  Commentators  in  general  understand  by  the 
term,  'sons  of  God,'  the  children  of  Seth,  who 
are  distinguished  thereby  from  the  daughters  of 
men,  the  children  of  Cain,  who  were  as  remarkable 
for  their  wickedness  as  the  other  family  had  been 
for  their  piety  and  zeal  for  the  worship  of  the  true 
God.  Upon  the  whole,  the  design  of  the  historian 
is  evidently  to  show,  that  the  children  of  Seth 
contracted  an  alliance  with  the  daughters  of  Cain, 
and  joined  in  the  universal  corruption  of  mankind. 


of  Seth,  to  take  wives  as  merely  gratified 
their  lascivious  fancy;  which  shows  that 
though  they  were  the  offspring  of  the 
righteous,  they  were  greatly  degenerated 
from  their  piety  and  strict  obedience  to  the 
divine  laws ;  for  it  is  very  observable,  that 
immediately  after  this  alliance,  the  Al- 
mighty complains  of  the  universal  depra- 
vity of  mankind,  the  children  of  the  right- 
eous having  been  infected  by  the  practices 
of  the  wicked,  and  too  far  involved  with 
them  in  a  sinful  gratification  of  their  lusts 
and  passions.  Nay,  so  aggravated  was 
their  wickedness,  so  heinous  their  sin,  that 
the  Lord  is  said  to  have  repented  f  '  that 
he  had  made  man  upon  the  earth,'  and  to 
have  determined  to  cut  him  off.  But 
the  piety  of  righteous  Noah  obtained 
grace  and  favour  in  the  eyes  of  his  God, 
who  was  graciously  pleased  to  reserve  him 
and  his  family,  consisting  of  eight  persons, 

+  The  following  observations  from  Stackhouse 
apply  to  a  variety  of  passages  in  the  sacred  vo- 
lume, and  are  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the 
reader:  "  When  the  holy  scriptures  speak  of  God, 
they  ascribe  hands,  and  eyes,  and  feet  to  him  ;  not 
that  he  has  any  of  these  members,  according  to  the 
literal  signification  ;  but  the  meaning  is,  that  lie  has 
a  power  to  execute  all  those  acts,  to  the  effecting  of 
which  these  parts  in  us  are  instrumental  :  that  is, 
he  can  converse  with  men,  as  well  as  if  he  had  a 
tongue  or  mouth  ;  can  discern  all  that  we  do  or 
say,  as  perfectly  as  if  he  ha'd>  eyes  and  ears  ;  and 
can  reach  us  as  well  as  if  he  had  hands  or  feet,  &c. 
In  like  manner,  the  scripture  frequently  represents 
him  as  affected  with  such  passions  as  we  perceive 
in  ourselves  ;  namely,  as  angry  and  pleased,  lov- 
ing and  hating,  repenting  and  grieving,  &c.  and 
yet  upon  reflection  we  cannot  suppose  that  any  of 
these  passions  can  literally  affect  the  Divine  na- 
ture ;  and  therefore  the  meaning  is,  that  he  will  as 
certainly  punish  the  wicked,  as  if  he  were  inflam- 
ed with  the  passion  of  anger  against  them  ;  as  in- 
fallibly reward  the  good,  as  we  will  those  for  whom 
we  have  a  particular  affection  :  and  that,  when  he 
finds  any  alteration  in  his  creatures,  either  for  the 
better  or  the  worse,  he  will  as  surely  change  his 
dispensations  towards  them,  as  if  he  really  repent- 
ed or  changed  his  mind.  It  is  by  way  of  analogy 
and  comparison  therefore,  that  the  nature  and  pas- 
sions of  men  are  ascribed  to  God :  so  that  when  he  is 
said  to  repent  or  grieve,  the  meaning  must  be,  not 
that  he  perceived  any  thing  that  he  was  ignorant 
of  before,  to  give  him  any  uneasiness  ;  (for  '  known 
unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning  ;') 
but  only  that  he  altered  his  conduct  with  regard  to 
men,  as  they  varied  in  their  behaviour  towards 
him,  just  as  we  are  wont  to  do  when  we  are  moved 
by  any  of  these  passions  and  changes  of  affection." 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE 


15 


as  eternal  monuments  of  his  goodness,  and 
standing  tokens  of  his  everlasting  love  to 
his  church  and  people. 

The  Almighty  Parent  of  the  universe, 
who  is  merciful  in  all  his  ways,  though 
men  are  corrupt  and  abominable,  gave  a 
signal  proof  of  his  forbearance,  in  allowing 
mankind  an  hundred  and  twenty  years  to 
repent;  nay,  to  magnify  the  riches  of  his 
goodness,  when  that  term  was  almost  ex- 
pired he  gave  them  a  second  warning; 
being  yet  unwilling  to  destroy  them. 

But  at  length,  when  the  Lord  saw  that 
mankind  were  so  universally  corrupted, 
that  they  despised  his  forbearance,  and 
persisted  in  their  wickedness,  in  spite  of 
all  that  could  be  done  to  reclaim  them ; 
he  made  known  to  his  servant  Noah  his 
awful  determination,  to  involve  them,  and 
the  earth  they  inhabited,  in  one  general 
destruction,  by  a  flood  of  water.  Accord- 
ing therefore  to  his  gracious  design  to- 
wards Noah  and  his  family,  whom  in  his 
wise  providence  he  had  appointed  to  re- 
plenish the  depopulated  world,  God  warn- 
ed him  to  make  an  ark,  or  large  vessel, 
to  contain  his  family  and  some  of  all 
creatures;  for  seven  days  hence,  (says  he) 
'  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  forty  days  and 
forty  nights  upon  the  earth;'  in  which 
time  if  they  had  repented,  and  turned 
unto  the  Lord  their  God,  to  his  service 
and  worship,  there  is  good  ground  to  be- 
lieve their  doom  would  have  been  reversed, 
even  as  Nineveh  was  saved  by  the  turn- 
ing of  its  inhabitants  to  the  Lord,  at  the 
preaching  of  his  servant  Jonah. 

In  obedience  to  the  divine  command, 
Noah  set  about  the  arduous  work,  which 
he  finished  precisely  according  to  God's 
direction,  before  the  rain  began  to  fall; 
having  been  greatly  encouraged,  by  an 
assurance  from  his  Maker,  that  though 
he  destroyed  all  flesh,  he  would  establish 
his  covenant  with  him. 

The  form  and  dimensions  of  this  ark 
are  best  described  by  the  sacred  historian; 
<And  this  is  the  fashion  in  which  thou 
shalt  make  it  of;   the  length  of  the  ark 


shall  be  three  hundred  cubits,  the  breadth 
of  it  fifty  cubits,  and  the  height  of  it  thirty 
cubits.  A  window  shalt  thou  make  to  the 
ark,  and  in  a  cubit  shalt  thou  finish  it 
above,  and  the  door  of  the  ark  shalt  thou 
set  in  the  side  thereof,  with  lower,  second, 
and  third  stories  shalt  thou  make  it.'* 

The  necessary  preparations  being  thus 
made,  God  commanded  Noah  and  his 
family  to  come  into  the  ark,  and  to  take 
in  with  him  every  living  creature;  but  with 
distinction  in  respect  to  their  quality.  Of 
clean  beasts,  he  was  to  take  them  in  bv 


*  The  ark,  according  to  the  sacred  historian,  was 
300  cubits  in  length,  50  in  breadth,  and  30  in 
height;  and  if  we  suppose  the  cubit  here  mention- 
ed at  the  lowest  computation,  to  be  but  a  foot  and 
a  half  long,  yet  was  the  length  of  it,  according  to 
that  proportion,  450  feet,  the  breadth  75,  and  the 
height  45 ;  and  consequently,  the  whole  capacity 
1,518,750  cubical  feet,  which  was  space  enough,  in 
all  conscience,  to  receive  every  thing,  and  much 
more  than  every  thing,  that  was  to  be  contained  in 
it.  For  it  appears  from  the  sacred  text,  that  the 
form  of  the  ark  was  rectangular;  and  being  intend- 
ed only  for  a  kind  of  float,  to  swim  above  the  water, 
the  flatness  of  its  bottom  did  render  it  much  more 
capacious.  It  appears  from  the  same  text,  that  this 
ark  consisted  of  three  stories,  and  the  whole  height 
of  it  being  45  feet,  it  may  well  be  supposed  that 
this  height  was  equally  divided  among  the  three 
stories,  and  so  each  story  was  15  feet  high,  only 
deducting  a  foot  and  a  half,  or  one  cubit,  for  the 
slope  of  the  roof,  or  the  cover  of  the  upper  story. 
It  is  likewise  pretty  well  agreed  by  interpreters, 
that  the  lowest  story  was  appointed  for  four-footed 
animals,  as  most  commodious  for  them  ;  the  middle 
story  for  their  provendsr,  and  what  they  were  to 
live  upon  ;  and  the  upper  story  partly  for  the  birds 
and  what  they  were  to  eat,  and  partly  for  Noah 
and  his  family,  together  with  their  utensils :  and 
that  each  of  these  stories  was  spacious  enough  to 
receive  what  was  to  be  put  therein,  will  appear  to 
any  one  who  will  give  himself  the  trouble  of  mak- 
ing a  geometrical  calculation.  Reckoning  the  cubit 
at  eighteen  inches,  Dr  Hales  proves  the  ark  to 
have  been  of  the  burthen  of  42,413  tons.  "A 
first-rate  man  of  war  is  between  2,200  and  2,300 
tons  :  and  consequently,  the  ark  had  the  capacity 
or  stowage  of  eighteen  of  such  ships,  the  largest 
in  present  use,  and  might  carry  20,000  men,  with 
provisions  for  six  months,  besides  the  weight  of 
1,800  cannons,  and  of  all  military  stores.  Can  we 
doubt  of  its  being  sufficient  to  contain  eight  per- 
sons, and  about  two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pair  of  four-footed  animals;  a  namber  to 
which,  according  to  M.  BufFon,  all  the  various  dis- 
tinct species  may  be  reduced,  together  with  all  the 
subsistence  necessary  for  a  twelvemonth?"  To 
these  are  to  be  added  all  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and 
such  reptiles  and  insects  as  cannot  live  nnde 
water. — Stackhouse  and  Home. 


16 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


sevens,  the  male  and  his  female,  that  is,  1 
three  pair  of  each,   and  the  seventh  for 
sacrifice;  but  of  unclean  only  by  two,  the 
male  and  his  female. 

These  creatures,  as  it  were,  by  instinct  j 
came  to  Noah,  who  placed  them  according 
to  their  size  and  nature  in  the  ark,  having 
already  provided  for  their  subsistence. 
Having  thus  obeyed  the  divine  direction, 
the  pious  patriarch  entered  the  ark  with 
his  family  in  the  six  hundredth  year  of  his  . 
age ;  and  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the 
second  month  (about  the  beginning  of 
May,)  the  face  of  things  began  to  wear  a 
gloomy  aspect,  and  threaten  some  dread- 
ful judgment.  The  windows  or  cataracts  ! 
of  heaven  were  opened,  and  the  earth  was 
overspread  with  dreadful  inundation.  In 
vain  did  sinful  mortals  seek  for  shelter,  or 
endeavour  by  climbing  to  shelter  them- 
selves from  the  common  ruin,  for  moun-  , 
tains  and  valleys  were  soon  alike,  and  every  \ 
refuge  was  banished  their  sight.*  Forty 
days  and  nights  did  it  rain  without  inter- 
mission, when  the  ark  began  to  float,  and 
was  lifted  up  above  the  earth.  A  dismal 
scene  now  appeared;  the  earth  with  all  its 
beautiful  variety  of  nature  and  art  was  no 
more;  nothing  remained  but  a  watery 
desert  abounding  with  wrecks  of  men  and 
things,  all  of  which,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
ark  excepted,  were  overwhelmed  in  the 
dreadful  inundation.  The  Almighty  hav- 
ing thus  avenged  himself  of  a  sinful  world, 
began  now  to  entertain  benevolent  thoughts 


*  In  vain  doth  he  fly  whom  God  pursues. 
There  is  no  way  to  fly  from  his  judgments,  but  to 
fly  to  his  mercy  by  repentance.  The  faith  of  the 
righteous  cannot  be  so  much  derided  as  their  suc- 
cess is  magnified.  How  securely  doth  Noah  ride 
out  this  uproar  of  heaven,  earth,  and  waters  !  He 
hears  the  pouring  down  of  the  rain  above  his  head  ; 
the  shrieking  of  men,  and  roaring  and  bellowing  of 
beasts  on  both  sides  of  him  ;  the  raging  and  threats 
of  the  waves  under  him  ;  he  saw  the  miserable 
shifts  of  the  distressed  unbelievers;  and,  in  the 
meantime,  sits  quietly  in  his  dry  cabin,  neither 
feeling  nor  fearing  evil.  He  knew  that  he  which 
owned  the  waters  would  steer  him  ;  that  he  who 
shut  him  in  would  preserve  him.  How  happy  a 
thing  is  faith  !  what  a  quiet  safety,  what  a  heavenly 
peace  doth  it  work  in  the  soul,  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  inundation  of  evil! — Bishop  Hull. 


towards  his  reserved  inhabitants  of  the 
ark;  and,  mindful  of  the  covenant  he  made 
with  his  servant  Noah,  caused  a  wind  to 
blow,  which  drove  back  the  waters,  and 
left  the  earth  dry. 

The  first  token  which  Noah  discovered 
of  the  cessation  of  the  flood,  was  the  rest- 
ing of  the  ark  upon  the  mountains  of  Ara- 
ratf     This  was  about  the  beginning  of 

\  There  are  various  opinions  concerning  the 
situation  of  mount  Ararat ;  but  the  most  general 
as  well  as  agreeable  to  reason,  is  that  it  was  near 
the  middle  of  Armenia.  This  mountain  has  ob- 
tained more  celebrity  than  any  other  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe,  and  is  an  object  of  the  greatest 
veneration,  not  merely  to  the  natives,  but  to 
Christians,  Jews,  and  Mohammedans.  Its  very 
name  is  closely  and  indissolubly  connected  with 
the  history  of  man,  and  forms  a  connecting  link 
between  two  worlds,  standing  as  an  awful  monu- 
ment of  the  destruction  of  one  and  the  existence 
of  another.  Every  association  connected  with  its 
name,  as  recorded  in  the  sacred  page,  is  calcu- 
lated to  produce  strong,  deep,  and  solemn  im- 
pressions on  the  mind.  Ararat  is  at  present 
called  by  the  Armenians,  Maris,  or  the  *  mother 
of  the  world,'  and  by  the  Turks  Agri-Dagh, 
*  the  great  mountain  ;'  and  it  well  deserves  that 
appellation,  from  its  vast  base  and  immense 
elevation.  Ararat  forms  the  angle  of  an  im- 
mense chain  of  mountains,  on  the  loftiest  pinnacle 
of  which,  the  natives  of  the  country  believe 
that  a  part  of  the  ark  yet  remains.  It  is  a  most 
sublime  and  stupendous  object,  which  excites 
in  the  mind  of  the  beholder  the  mingled  emotions 
of  admiration  and  terror.  One  of  the  great  fea- 
tures of  this  mountain  is  the  immense  chasm  which 
extends  nearly  half  way  down,  over  which  impends 
a  cliff,  discernible  at  a  great  distance,  whose  enor- 
mous masses  of  ice  are  from  time  to  time  precipi- 
tated into  the  abyss  with  a  noise  resembling  the 
loudest  thunder.  "  Nothing,"  says  iVlr  Morier, 
"  can  be  more  beautiful  than  its  shape ;  more 
awful  than  its  height.  Compared  with  it,  all  the 
other  mountains  sink  into  insignificance.  It  is 
perfect  in  all  its  parts  ;  no  hard  rugged  feature  : 
no  unnatural  prominences  :  every  thing  is  in  har- 
mony :  and  all  combines  to  render  it  one  of  the 
most  sublime  objects  in  nature.  Spreading  origin- 
ally from  an  immense  base,  its  slope  towards  the 
summit  is  gradual,  until  it  reaches  the  regions  of 
the  snows,  when  it  becomes  more  abrupt.  The 
cone  is  surmounted  with  a  crown  of  ice  which 
glitters  in  the  sun  with  a  peculiar  and  dazzling 
brightness.  As  a  foil  to  this  stupendous  work,  a 
smaller  hill  rises  from  the  same  base,  near  the  ori- 
ginal mass,  similar  to  it  in  shape  and  proportion, 
and  in  any  other  situation  entitled  to  rank  among 
the  high  mountains.  The  mountain  is  divided 
into  three  regions  of  different  breadths.  The 
first,  tomposed  of  a  short  and  slippery  grass,  or 
sand  as  troublesome  as  the  quicksands  of  Africa, 
is  occupied  by  the  shepherds  :  the  second,  by 
tigers  and  crows  :  the  remainder  which  is  half  the 


Chap.  II]  THE  BIBLE. 

October,  and  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber following,  the  tops  of  the  mountainsap- 
peared.  The  smallest  appearance  of  any 
thing  substantial  was  a  pleasing  prospect 


17 


mountain,  is  covered  with  snow  which  has  been 
accumulating  ever  since  the  ark  rested  upon  it ; 
and  these  snows  are  concealed  during  one  half  of 
the  year  in  very  dense  clouds."  Sir  Robert  Ker 
Porter  enjoyed  a  fine  panoramic  view  of  it  from  the 
southern  slope  of  the  Tchildir-Dagh,  on  his  route 
from  Teflis  to  Erivan,  which  we  shall  give  in  his 
own  words  :  "  A  vast  plain,  covered  with  villages, 
the  towers  and  spires  of  the  churches  of  Etchmiad- 
zine  arising  from  amidst  them,  the  glittering  waters 
of  the  Araxes  flowing,  the  fresh  green  of  the  vale, 
and  the  subordinate  range  of  mountains  skirting 
the  base  of  the  awful  monument  of  the  antediluvian 
world  ;  it  seemed  to  stand  a  stupendous  link  in  the 
history  of  man,  uniting  the  two  races  of  men  before 
and  after  the  flood.  From  the  spot  on  which  I 
stood  I  beheld  it  in  all  its  amplitude  of  grandeur  ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  the  hugest  mountains  in  the 
world  had  been  piled  on  each  other  to  form  this 
one  sublime  immensity  of  ice,  and  earth,  and  rock, 
and  snow.  The  icy  peaks  of  its  double  heads 
rose  majestically  into  the  clear  and  cloudless  hea- 
vens, the  sun  blazed  bright  on  them,  and  the  re- 
flection sent  forth  a  radiance  equal  to  other  suns. 
This  point  of  the  view  united  the  utmost  grandeur 
of  plain  and  height.  But  the  feelings  I  experi- 
enced whilst  looking  on  the  mountain  are  hardly 
describable.  My  eyes,  unable  to  rest  for  any 
length  of  time  upon  the  blinding  glory  of  its  sum- 
mits, wandered  down  the  apparently  interminable 
sides  till  I  could  no  longer  trace  their  vast  lines  in 
the  mists  of  the  horizon  ;  when  an  irrepressible 
impulse  immediately  carrying  my  eyes  again  up- 
wards, refixed  my  gaze  upon  the  awful  glare  of 
Ararat,  and  the  bewildered  sensibility  of  sight 
being  answered  by  a  similar  feeling  in  the  mind, 
for  some  moments  I  was  lost  in  a  strange  suspen- 
sion of  the  powers  of  thought."  Its  elevation, 
though  vast,  has  never  been  ascertained  by  actual 
mensuration.  The  probability  is,  that  its  base  is 
from  8000  to  9000  feet  above  the  sea ;  and  if  this 
be  added  to  its  own  elevation  from  the  base,  it  will 
be  little  if  at  all  inferior  to  that  of  Chimborazo  in 
the  Andes.  Herodotus  and  jEschylus  reckoned 
Caucasus,  or  the  modern  Elboors,  as  the  greatest 
and  highest  mountain  in  the  world  ;  but  their 
knowledge  of  the  world  was  very  limited;  and  we 
now  know  that  it  is  inferior  both  to  the  Andes 
and  the  Himmaleh,  and  probably  to  Ararat  itself. 
The  greater  elevation  of  this  latter  may  be  infer- 
red from  the  fact,  that  it  is  more  than  half-way 
down  from  the  summit  covered  with  permanent 
snow ;  and  from  what  is  recorded  in  Scripture, 
that  from  the  day  on  which  the  waters  began  to 
decrease,  and  the  ark  rested  on  its  sublime  sum- 
mit, till  the  tops  of  the  neighbouring  mountains 
were  seen,  a  space  of  not  less  than  73  days  inter- 
vened. Its  comparative  elevation  to  the  other 
Armenian  mountains  must  have  been  very  great 
when  so  long  a  space  of  time  was  required  for  the 
sinking  of  the  waters  to  their  level.     From  Erivan 


to  Noah,  who  had  been  confined  a  whole 
year — for  so  long  the  waters  continued 
over  the  earth — and  beheld  nothing  around 
him  but  water;  but  at  the  same  time 
wisely  thinking,  that  though  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  were  visible,  the  valleys 
were  even  then  overflowed,  he  patiently 
waited  forty  days  longer ;  when,  opening 
the  window  of  the  ark,  he  let  fly  a  raven, 
in  order  to  learn  whether  the  waters  were 
dried.  Encouraged  by  the  absence  of  the 
raven  seven  days,  he  let  fly  a  dove,  which, 
finding  no  resting  place,  returned  to  its 
old  habitation.  Seven  days  afterwards, 
the  patriarch  sent  out  the  same  bird,  which 
returned  with  an  olive-branch, — a  happy 
certainty  that  the  waters  were  removed 
from  the  place  where  the  olive-tree  stood. 
Still,  determined  not  to  be  too  hasty,  he 
remained  in  the  ark  seven  days  more,  and 


Ararat  looks  so  high  and  vast,  that  when  the  air  is 
clear  it  does  not  seem  above  2  leagues  off,  whereas 
it  is  12.  Its  great  elevation  may  also  be  inferred 
from  its  distant  visibility.  It  is  clearly  seen  from 
Maraut  in  Aberbeidjan,  132  British  miles  E.  in  a 
direct  line  ;  and  Bruce  says  he  saw  it  from  Der- 
bent,  240  British  miles  direct  distance.  Tourne- 
fort,  the  celebrated  French  botanist,  attempted  to 
scale  its  summit,  but  all  in  vain.  After  spending 
a  whole  summer's  day,  he  got  no  farther  than  a 
frozen  patch  of  snow.  Morier  imagined  that  it 
might  be  scaled  on  the  side  towards  Baiazid, 
where  the  base  is  much  higher  than  towards  the 
Araxes,  and  the  ascent  apparently  much  easier. 
But  this  also  proved  abortive.  Ibrahim,  pasha  of 
Baiazid,  accompanied  by  a  large  party  of  horse- 
men, at  the  most  favourable  season  of  the  year  as- 
cended as  high  as  he  could  on  horseback  on  the 
Baiazid  side.  He  caused  three  stations  to  be  mark- 
ed out  on  the  ascent,  where  he  built  huts,  and  col- 
lected provisions.  He  had  no  great  difficulty  in 
crossing  the  snow,  but  when  he  came  to  the  cap 
of  ice  that  covers  the  summit,  he  could  proceed  no 
farther,  because  several  of  his  men  were  then 
seized  with  violent  oppressions  of  the  chest,  from 
the  rarefaction  of  the  air.  He  had  before  offered, 
large  rewards  to  any  one  who  should  reach  the- 
top  ;  and  although  many  Koords  who  lived  at  its- 
base  have  attempted  it,  all  have  failed.  Besides 
the  great  rarefaction  of  the  air,  the  pasha  had  to 
contend  with  dangers  from  the  falling  ice,  large 
pieces  of  which  were  constantly  detaching  them- 
selves from  the  main  body  and  rolling  downward. 
The  adventurous  traveller  Parrot,  was,  however, 
more  successful  than  his  predecessors.  He  as- 
cended it  in  September,  1829,  and  planted  the 
cross  on  its  summit. — Bell's  Geography,  Paxton's- 
Script.  Must.  $c. 


18 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  1 


then  sent  out  the  dove  a  third  time  and 
as  she  did  not  return,  he  prepared  for  his 
exit  out  of  the  ark.  Nevertheless,  though 
lie  made  the  necessary  preparations,  mind- 
ful of  God's  direction,  he  ventured  not 
forth  till  fifty-five  days  afterwards,  in 
order  that  the  eatth  might  be  dry  for  his 
reception.* 

*  The  deluge  is  one  of  the  most  remarkahle  j 
events  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  human  race, 
and  consequently  one  of  the  principal  epochs  in 
chronology.  According  to  the  most  approved  cal- 
culations, this  event  occurred  in  the  year  of  the 
world  1656,  and  hefore  the  birth  of  Christ,  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  years. 
From  this  flood,  the  state  of  the  world  is  divided 
into  diluvial!  and  antediluvian.  Of  so  general 
a  calamity,  from  which  only  a  single  family  of  all 
who  then  lived  on  the  face  of  the  earth  was  pre- 
served, we  might  naturally  expect  to  find  some 
memorials  in  the  traditionary  records  of  Pagan 
history,  as  well  as  in  the  sacred  volume,  where  its 
peculiar  cause,  and  the  circumstances  which  attend- 
ed it,  are  so  distinctly  and  fully  related.  Its  mag- 
nitude and  singularity  could  scarcely  fail  to  make 
an  indelible  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  surviv- 
ors, which  would  be  communicated  from  them  to 
their  children,  and  would  not  be  easily  effaced  from 
the  traditions  even  of  their  latest  posterity.  A 
deficiency  in  such  traces  of  this  awful  event,  though 
perhaps  it  might  not  serve  entirely  to  invalidate 
our  belief  of  its  reality,  would  certainly  tend  con- 
siderably to  weaken  its  claim  to  credibility  ;  it  be- 
ingscarcely  probable  that  the  knowledge  of  itshould 
be  utterly  lost  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  confin- 
ed to  the  documents  of  the  Jewish  nation  alone. 
What  we  might  reasonably  expect,  has,  according- 
ly, been  realized.  The  evidence  which  has  been 
brought,  from  almost  every  quarter  of  the  world, 
to  bear  upon  the  reality  of  this  event,  is  of  the 
most  conclusive  and  irresistible  kind;  and  every 
investigation,  whether  etymological  or  historical, 
which  has  been  made  concerning  heathen  rites  and 
traditions,  has  constantly  added  to  its  force,  no  less 
than  to  its  extent. 

"  Some  are  puzzled,"  says  Bishop  Watson,  "  to 
find  water  enough  to  form  an  universal  deluge:  to 
assist  their  endeavours  it  may  be  remarked,  that 
was  all  the  water  precipitated,  which  is  dissolved 
in  the  air,  it  might  probably  be  sufficient  to  cover 
the  surface  of  the  whole  earth  to  the  depth  of 
above  thirty  feet."  Suppose  the  flood  to  have  ex- 
tended over  the  whole  globe  of  the  earth,  say 
others,  yet  there  might  have  been  water  enough  to 
overwhelm  it  to  the  height  mentioned  in  the  scrip- 
tures. For  let  us  consider  the  many  causes  that 
concurred  to  form  the  deluge :  first  the  air  was 
condensed  into  clouds,  and  those  descended  with 
continued  force  and  violence,  not  breaking  into 
drops,  but  in  a  body,  which  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
compares  to  the  water-spouts  common  in  the  West 
Indies,  whence  they  are  called  the  cataracts,  or 
flood-gates  of  heaven,  as  when  God  withdraws  the 
uttiitive  power  which  was  in  the  clouds,  so  that 


Accordingly,  he  went  out  of  the  ark, 
on  God's  positive  command,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  the  second  month ;  so  that, 
as  before  observed,   there   was  an   exact 


the  waters  must  necessarily  fall  in  abundance,  ac- 
cording to  the  expression  of  Job,  '  Behold,  he 
withholdeth  the  waters  and  they  dry  up  ;  again  he 
sendeth  them  out  and  they  overturn  the  earth,' 
chap.  xii.  15.  Moreover,  God  who  at  first  set 
bounds  to  the  ocean,  saying,  '  thus  far  shalt  thou 
go,  and  no  farther,'  then  gave  it  a  commission  to 
execute  his  justice  upon  a  sinful  world;  for  'the 
fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up,'  Gen. 
vii.  11.  that  is,  the  vast  body  of  waters  which  lie 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  rushed  out  upon  it  with 
impetuosity  and  violence,  which  must  necessarily 
occasion  such  an  inundation  as  that  mentioned  by 
Moses.  Objections  have  been  started  from  a  con- 
sideration of  the  altitude  of  the  mountains  ;  but  it 
is  not  difficult  to  show  that  these  are  by  no  means 
valid  ;  for  suppose  the  circumference  of  the  earth 
to  be  21,000  miles,  the  diameter  of  that  circle  will 
be  7,000;  and  from  the  superficies  to  the  centre 
3,500.  Take  then  the  highest  mountain  in  the 
world,  Caucasus,  Taurus,  TenerifFe,  or  any  other, 
and  suppose  the  height,  according  to  the  highest 
calculation,  to  be  thirty  miles,  it  is  manifest  that 
all  the  waters  mingled  within  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  in  a  depth  of  3,500  miles,  would  be  sufficient 
to  cover  a  space  of  thirty  miles  in  height,  no  less 
than  one  hundred  and  sixteen  times  !  It  is,  how- 
ever, more  than  probable,  that  men  have  been  ex 
ceedingly  mistaken  about  the  real  height  of  moun 
tains,  an  error  which  they  have  fallen  into  from 
confounding  the  measure  of  their  oblique  elevation 
with  their  perpendicular  altitude  from  the  plain. 
Here  then,  to  use  the  animated  language  of  a  late 
writer,  we  appeal  once  more  to  nature ;  and  find 
that  in  fact  there  are  at  this  day,  as  evident,  as 
demonstrative,  as  incontestable  proofs  of  the  deluge 
and  of  its  universality,  at  the  distance  of  about  four 
thousand  years,  as  if  it  had  but  happened  last  year. 
For  whereas  Moses  assures  us  that  '  the  waters 
prevailed  fifteen  cubits  above  the  tops  of  the  high- 
est mountains,'  let  the  mountains  themselves  be 
appealed  to  for  the  truth  of  his  assertion.  Exam- 
ine the  highest  eminences  of  the  earth,  and  they 
all  with  one  accord,  produce  the  spoils  of  the  ocean 
deposited  upon  them  on  that  occasion  :  the  shells 
and  skeletons  of  sea-fish,  and  sea-monsters  of  all 
kinds.  The  Alps,  the  Apennines,  the  Pyrenees, 
Libanus,  and  Atlas,  and  Ararat,  every  mountain 
of  every  region  under  heaven,  where  search  has 
been  made,  from  Japan  to  Mexico,  all  conspire  in 
one  uniform,  universal  proof,  that  they  all  had 
the  sea  spread  over  their  highest  summits.  Search 
the  earth  ;  you  will  find  the  mouse-deer,  natives 
of  America,  buried  in  Ireland  ;  elephants,  natives 
of  Asia  and  Africa,  buried  in  the  midst  of  England ; 
crocodiles,  natives  of  the  Nile,  in  the  heart  of  Ger- 
many ;  shell-fish,  never  known  in  any  but  the 
American  seas,  together  with  entire  skeletons  of 
whales,  in  the  most  inland  regions  of  England  • 
trees  of  vast  dimensions,  with  their  roots  and  tops, 
and  some  also  with  leaves  and  fruit,  at  the  bottoms 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


19 


solar  year,  from  the  time  in  which  the  rain 
began  to  descend  to  that  in  which  Noah 
and  his  family  came  out  of  the  ark,  with 
all  the  living  creatures  he  had  taken  into 
it.  This  was  about  the  beginning  of  the 
month  of  May,  when  nature  appears  in 
her  bloom  and  verdure,  and  there  was 
abundance  of  pasture  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  creatures,  that  had  been  so  long 
confined  in  the  ark,  as  well  as  afforded  all 
that  could  contribute  to  the  use  and  de- 
light of  the  sons  of  men.  Noah  had  no 
sooner  set  his  foot  on  dry  land,  than  he 
erected  an  altar  unto  the  God  of  his  sal- 
vation, as  a  token  of  his  gratitude  for  the 
mighty  deliverance  he  had  wrought  for 
him  and  his  family,  whom  he  had  reserved 
for  replenishing  the  depopulated  world. 

The  incense  offered  by  the  pious  patri- 
arch came  up  to  the  Lord  with  a  sweet 
smelling  savour,  from  the  purity  of  his 
intention;  and  God  was  pleased  to  signify 
his  approbation,  not  only  by  establishing 
his  former  covenant  with  Noah  (and  in 
him  with  his  posterity)  but  graciously  as- 
suring him,  that  he  would  no  more  curse 
the  ground  for  man's  sake,  'for  the  im- 
agination of  his  heart  was  evil  from  his 
youth,'  nor  extirpate  the  whole  race  of 
creatures  any  more. 

Having  thus  wonderfully  restored  the 
order  of  tilings  to  its  former  state;  the 
blessing  pronounced  upon  Noah  and  his 
posterity  is  renewed  by  the  bequest  of 
universal  possession  and  dominion  of  the 
new  earth;  the  flood  was  the  forfeiture 
and  penalty  for  non-allegiance;  whereas 
by  this  renewal  of  lease  or  tenure,  the 
curse  on  man's  old  territory  was  fully 
accomplished,  and  man  made  a  free  tenant 
again,  the  Almighty  reserving  to  himself 
the  conditional  clause  of  service  and  obe- 
dience, from  the  date  of  the  flood. 


of  mines  and  marls  ;  and  that  too,  in  regions  where 
no  tree  of  that  kind  was  ever  known  to  grow  ;  nay, 
where  it  is  demonstrably  impossible  they  could 
grow,  and  what  is  still  more,  trees  and  plants  of 
various  kinds  which  are  not  known  to  grow  in  any 
region  under  heaven. — Jones'  Biblical  Cyclop. 


Accordingly,  God  pronounced  his  bless 
ing  upon  Noah  and  his  children,  com- 
manded them  to  multiply,  and  fill  the 
earth;  and  whereas  they  had  formerly 
taken  no  other  food  than  vegetables,  they 
were  now,  after  the  flood,  permitted  tc 
eat  flesh,  but  particularly  enjoined  to  ab- 
stain from  the  blood,  and  flesh  strangled, 
from  which  the  blood  had  not  been  drawn ; 
lest  the  human  race,  like  the  bestial,  should 
eat  creatures  alive ;  that  is,  the  blood  as 
well  as  the  flesh.*  But  though  the  su- 
preme Governor  of  the  universe  permitted 
them  to  kill  animals  for  their  food  and 
sustenance,  he  most  solemnly  forbade  them 
to  shed  the  blood  of  man ;  declaring  that 
shedding  human  blood  should  be  retali- 
ated by  the  same:  'Whoso  sheddeth  man's 
blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed.' 
God  then  proceeded  to  ratify  the  covenant 
he  had  made  with  Noah  not  to  destroy  the 
world  and  its  inhabitants  any  more  by  wa- 
ter ;  and  to  give  him  assurance  of  the  pro- 
mise, placed  the  rainbow  as  a  token  in  the 
clouds, f  'I  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,'  a 

*  The  words  in  the  text  are,  '  But  flesh  with 
the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood  thereof,  shall 
you  not  eat.'  This  the  Hebrew  doctors  generally 
understand  to  be  a  prohibition  to  cut  off  any  limb 
of  a  living  creature,  and  to  eat  it  while  the  life, 
that  is,  the  blo«d,  was  in  it  :  'whilst  yet  it  lives  and 
palpitates  or  trembles,'  as  a  modern  interpreter  has 
truly  explained  their  sense.  And  in  this  they  are 
followed  by  several  Christians,  who  think,  as 
Maimonides  did,  that  there  were  some  people  in 
the  old  world  so  savage  and  barbarous,  that  they 
did  eat  raw  flesh  while  it  was  yet  warm  from  the 
beast,  out  of  whose  body  it  was  cut  piece-meal. 
Such  a  revolting  custom  still  obtains  in  Abyssinia 
in  the  present  day, — the  principal  dish  of  the  Abys- 
sinians  being  beef-steaks  not  warm  from  the  fire, 
but  cut  warm  from  the  haunch  of  the  living  animal, 
and  devoured,  while  they  are  yet  vibrating  with 
life,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  hydromel,  or 
bouza. 

•j-  It  has  been  objected  to  this  passage,  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  reflection  and  refraction, 
established  in  the  system  of  nature,  the  phenomena 
of  the  rainbow  must  have  been  produced,  as  it  i» 
now,  in  certain  circumstances,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world  ;  and  therefore  could  not  have  been 
first  set  in  the  cloud,  as  a  token  of  God's  covenant 
with  man,  after  the  flood.  But  do  the  words  ne- 
cessarily imply  that  the  rainbow  had  never  appear- 
ed before  ?  Rather,  perhaps,  the  contrary.  The 
following  paraphrase  of  the  passage  is  submitted 
by    Bishop   Home  as  a  just  and  natural  one  ;— « 


20 


HISTORY  OF 


fBooic  I. 


bow  unstringed,  a  bow  hanging  in  the 
cloud,  an  emblem  of  the  divine  favour, 
that  he  would  not  suddenly  shoot  forth  the 
arrows  of  implacable  wrath,  though  provok- 
ed in  the  highest  degree.  Though  the  old 
world  was  destroyed  for  the  wickedness 
of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  new  world 
might  be  expected,  to  have  been  filled 
with  people  of  a  better  disposition;  as  in 
the  ark  there  were  unclean  as  well  as 
clean  beasts;  so  in  the  family  of  righteous 
Noah,  there  was  a  wicked  Ham,  as  well  as 
a  pious  Shem  and  Japheth. 

Accordingly,  there  was  one  of  the  three 
sons  of  Noah,  who  were  preserved  in  the 
ark  to  people  the  uninhabited  world,  that 
by  his  wickedness  not  only  brought  upon 
himself  the  curse  of  his  father,  but  the 
vengeance  of  the  Almighty;  and  instead, 
of  propagating  a  race  of  pious  children, 
was  father  of  an  untoward  generation, 
that  felt  the  severest  strokes  of  divine 
wrath. 

This  arose  from  the  first  palpable  token 
of  human  degeneracy  after   the   deluge. 


"  When,  in  the  common  course  of  things,  I  bring 
a  cloud  over  the  earth,  under  certain  circumstances, 
I  do  set  my  bow  in  it.  That  bow  shall  be  from 
henceforth  a  token  of  the  covenant  I  now  make 
with  you  to  drown  the  earth  no  more  by  a  flood. 
Look  upon  it,  and  remember  thrs  covenant.  As 
certainly  as  the  bow  is  formed,  by  the  operation 
of  physical  causes,  in  the  cloud,  and  as  long  as  it 
continues  to  be' thus  formed,  so  certainly  and  so 
long  shall  my  covenant  endure,  standing  fast  for 
evermore,  as  this  faithful  witness  in  heaven." 
Jacob,  we  are  told  (Gen.  xxxi.  45,  52.),  'took  a 
stone,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  said,  This  pil- 
lar be  witness.'  God,  in  like  manner,  (if  we  may 
so  express  it,) '  took  the  rainbow,  and  said,  This 
bow  be  witness.'  Neither  the  stone  nor  the  rain- 
bow were  new  created  for  the  purpose.  When 
the  Jews  behold  the  rainbow,  they  bless  God,  who 
remembers  his  covenant,  and  is  faithful  to  his  pro- 
mise. And  the  tradition  of  this  its  designation  to 
proclaim  comfort  to  mankind,  was  strong  among 
the  heathen  ;  for,  according  to  the  mythology  of 
the  Greeks,  the  rainbow  was  the  daughter  of  Won- 
der, "a  sign  to  mortal  men,"  and  regarded,  upon 
its  appearance,  as  the  messenger  of  the  celestial 
deities.  Can  we  any  where  find  a  more  striking 
instance  of  the  sublime  than  in  the  following  short 
description  of  it  ?  "  Look  upon  the  rainbow,  and 
praise  Him  who  made  it :  very  beautiful  it  is  in 
the  brightness  thereof; — it  encompasseth  the  hea- 
ven about  with  a  glorious  circle  ;  and  the  hands  of 
the  most  High  have  bended  it !" — Carpenter. 


Noah  having  received  the  establishment 
of  God's  covenant,  and  a  command  to 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  assidu- 
ously applied  himself  to  agriculture,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  labours  planted  a 
vineyard.  Naturally  desirous  of  tasting 
the  fruit  of  his  labour,  and  unapprized  of 
the  intoxicating  quality  of  the  juice,  he 
drank  too  freely,  through  the  heat  of  the 
weather,  and  being  overcome  thereby  lay 
down  to  sleep  in  his  tent,  where,  by  the 
ruffling  of  the  wind  or  the  discomposure 
of  his  body,  he  was  uncovered  in  that  part 
which  nature  teaches  us  to  conceal. 

In  this  posture  he  was  first  discovered 
by  Ham,  who,  instead  of  covering  his 
father's  nakedness  and  concealing  his 
shame,  exposed  his  weakness  and  ridi- 
culed his  situation.  But  his  brothers,  en- 
dued with  filial  piety,  and  moved  at  the 
profligate  behaviour  of  Ham,  and  the  in- 
decent posture  of  their  aged  parent,  went 
and  fetched  a  garment,  and  looking  the 
contrary  way,  to  avoid  the  disgusting 
sight,  covered  his  nakedness.  When 
Noah  recovered  from  the  stupefaction 
into  which  the  wine  had  thrown  him,  and 
was  informed  of  his  younger  son's  flagrant 
neglect  of  duty;  he  uttered  a  curse  im- 
plying that  Ham's  violation  of  filial  duty 
would  be  retaliated  upon  him,  in  the 
wretchedness  and  degeneracy  of  his 
children,  particularly  the  race  of  Cain: 
'cursed  be  Canaan,  a  servant  of  servants 
shall   he    be    to    his    brethren.'*       With 


*  The  curse  of  servitude  pronounced  upon  Ca- 
naan must  be  understood  as  extending  to  his  whole 
race.  Not  only  were  the  devoted  nations  which 
God  destroyed  before  Israel  descended  from  Ca- 
naan, but  so  also  were  the  Phenicians  and  Cartha- 
ginians, who  were  at  length  subjugated  with  dread- 
ful destruction  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  "The 
whole  continent  of  Africa,"  says  Bishop  Newton, 
"  was  peopled  principally  by  the  descendants  of 
Ham :  and  for  how  many  ages  have  the  better 
parts  of  that  country  lain  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Romans,  and  then  of  the  Saracens,  and  now  of 
the  Turks!  In  what  Wickedness,  ignorance,  bar- 
barity, slavery,  misery,  live  most  of  the  inhabit- 
ants! and  of  the  poor  negroes,  how  many  hun- 
dreds every  year  are  sold  and  bought,  like  beasts 
in  the  market  ;  and  conveyed  from  one  quarter  of 
the  world  to  do  the  work  of  beasts  in  another" 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE 


21 


equal  warmth  did  he  applaud  and  bless  the 
pious  behaviour  of  his  sons  Shem  and 
Japheth:  'Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Shem ;  God  shall  enlarge  Japheth,*  and 
he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,  and 
Canaan  shall  be  his  servant' 

Good  old  Noah  lived  after  the  flood 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  paid 
the  debt  of  nature  at  the  age  of  nine 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  sacred  historian 
mentions  no  other  children  of  Noah  than 
these  three,  from  each  of  whom  descended 
a  numerous  race,  which  in  process  of  time 
peopled  the  whole  earth. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  building  of  Babel,  and  confusion  of  tongues. 
— Birth  and  calling  of  Abram. — First  battle. 
— Abram  rescues  Lot. —  Circumcision  institut- 
ed.—  God's  promise  is  renewed  to  Abram,  who 
is  now  called  Abraham. 

There  was  as  yet  but  one  language 
used  and  known  throughout  the  world; 
but  the  sons  of  men  greatly  multiplying, 
they  extended  their  habitations  far  and 
wide.  Their  chief  place  of  residence  is 
supposed  to  have  been  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  of  Armenia,  but  they  now 
spread  themselves  as  far  as  Syria,  and 
bending  their  course  westward,  some  of 
them  took  their  residence  in  the  land  of 
Shinar,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Ti- 
gris, and  comprehending  the  country  of 
Eden,  which  was  afterwards  called  Chal- 
dea. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  early  power 
of  ambition  over  the  minds  of  mortals 
now  presents  itself  to  our  view ;  for  those 
new  inhabitants  had  not  long  taken  pos- 
session of  their  respective  places  of  abode, 


God  lias  not,  however,  commanded  us  to  enslave 
the  negroes  as  he  did  Israel  to  exterminate  the 
Canaanites,  and  he  may  one  day  bare  his  arm  to 
avenge  the  cruel  injustice. 

*  This  blessing  had  its  effect ;  for  the  true  wor- 
ship of  God  continued  in  the  race  of  Shem,  and 
Japheth  became  very  rich  and  powerful, — an  in- 
stance of  the  duty  children  owe  their  parents,  and 
that  they  should  cover  their  faults,  and  not  expose 
them. 


before  they  determined  to  render  their 
name  famous  among  future  generations, 
by  some  monument  that  might  command 
their  admiration.  To  effect  this,  they 
agreed  to  build  a  strong  city,  and  a  tower 
of  such  monstrous  height,  that  its  summit 
should  reach  up  to  heaven.f    From  its  in- 

f  The  design  of  the  tower  with  which  the 
founders  of  Babylon  proposed  to  adorn  their  in- 
fant city,  was  not,  as  some  writers  have  strangely 
imagined,  to  open  a  way  for  themselves  into  the 
mansions  of  eternal  felicity ;  for  it  can  scarcely  be 
supposed,  that  so  extravagant  an  idea  could  enter 
their  minds,  depraved  and  presumptuous  as  they 
were,  much  less  that  it  could  ripen  into  a  regular 
plan  of  operation.  The  words  in  which  they 
couched  their  daring  resolution,  '  Let  us  build  us 
a  city  and  a  tower,  whose  top  may  reach  unto 
heaven,'  mean  no  more  than  a  tower  of  extraor- 
dinary height.  Such  phrases  may  be  found  in 
every  language  ;  and  their  meaning  can  scarcely 
be  misunderstood.  The  opinion  of  Josephus  is 
not  much  more  reasonable  ;  that  their  design  was 
to  raise  a  tower  higher  far  than  the  summits 
of  the  highest  mountains,  to  defend  them  from 
the  waters  of  a  second  flood,  of  which  they  were 
afraid.  Had  this  been  their  design,  they  would 
not  have  commenced  their  operations  on  the  level 
plain,  but  on  the  top  of  Ararat  where  the  ark  rest- 
ed. They  had  the  solemn  promise  of  Jehovah, 
that  he  would  no  more  destroy  the  earth  by 
water;  and  beheld  the  ratification  of  it  in  the  radi- 
ant bow  of  heaven,  placed  in  the  cloud  to  quiet 
the  fears  of  guilty  mortals.  If  the  Noachidae  had 
distrusted  the  promise  and  sign  of  heaven,  they 
had  not  descended  from  the  mountains,  where 
only  they  could  hope  for  safety  from  the  strength 
and  height  of  their  tower,  into  the  plains  of 
Babylonia,  and  fixed  their  abode  between  two 
mighty  rivers,  to  whose  frequent  inundations  that 
province  is  exposed.  Nor  could  they  be  so  infat- 
uated as  to  imagine,  that  a  tower  constructed  of 
bricks,  whether  hardened  in  the  sun,  or  burnt  in 
the  fire,  could  resist  the  waters  of  a  general  del- 
uge, whose  impetuous  assault,  as  they  must  have 
well  known,  the  strong  barriers  of  nature  could 
hardly  endure.  Equally  inadmissible  is  the  no- 
tion, that  they  constructed  this  tower  to  defend 
them  from  the  general  conflagration,  of  which 
they  are  supposed  to  have  received  some  obscure 
and  imperfect  notices ;  for  in  the  destruction  of 
the  world,  who  could  hope  to  find  safety  in  the 
recesses  of  a  tower,  or  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  ?  they  would  rather  seek  for  refuge 
from  the  devouring  element,  in  the  profound 
caverns  of  the  earth. — Paxton's  Script.  Illust. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  learned  Bochart,  that, 
whatever  we  read  of  the  tower  inclosed  in  the 
temple  of  Belus,  may  very  properly  be  applied  to 
the  tower  of  Babel;  because,  upon  due  searcli 
and  examination,  he  conceives  them  to  be  one 
and  the  same  structure.  Now  of  this  tower 
Herodotus  tells  us,  that  it  was  a  square  of  a  fur- 
long on  each  side,  that  is,  half  a  mile  in  the  whole 
circumference,  whose  height,  being  equal  to  its 


ITT 


<Sy   0W  ^ 


TTW  tW  «Tt  e* 


22 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


tended  height,  many  have  been  led  to 
think,  that  their  design  of  erecting  it 
arose  not  only  from  ambition,  but  also 
from  fear  lest  they  might  be  overwhelm- 
ed by  a  second  deluge.  Whatever  was 
the  motive,  we  are  assured  by  the  sacred 
historian,  that  they  set  about  the  wild 
project,  undismayed  by  the  difficulty  of 
the  work,  and  began  to  make  the  mate- 
rials, such  as  brick,  and  a  cement  of  slimy 
clay  instead  of  mortar.  They  went  on 
some  time  with  the  work ;  but  the  omni- 
scient   Jehovah    observed    their    doings, 


basis,  was  divided  into  eight  towers  built  one 
upon  another;  but  what  made  it  look  as  divided 
into  eight  towers,  was  very  probably  the  manner 
of  its  ascent.  The  passage  to  go  up  it,  continues 
our  author,  was  a  circular,  or  winding  way,  car- 
ried round  the  outside  of  the  building  to  its  high- 
est point:  from  whence  it  seems  most  likely,  that 
the  whole  ascent  was,  by  the  benching-in,  drawn 
in  a  sloping  line,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top, 
eight  times  round  it,  which  would  make  the  ap- 
pearance of  eight  towers  one  above  another. 
This  way  was  so  exceeding  broad,  that  it  afforded 
space  for  horses  and  carts,  and  other  means  of 
carriage  to  meet  and  turn,  and  the  towers,  which 
looked  like  so  many  stories  upon  one  another, 
were  each  of  them  seventy-five  feet  high,  in  which 
were  many  stately  rooms,  with  arched  roofs  sup- 
ported by  pillars,  which  were  made  parts  of  the 
temple,  after  the  tower  became  consecrated  to 
that  idolatrous  use  ;  and,  on  the  uppermost  of  the 
towers,  which  was  held  more  sacred,  and  where 
their  most  solemn  devotions  were  performed, 
there  was  an  observatory,  by  the  benefit  of  which 
it  was,  that  the  Babylonians  advanced  their  skill 
in  astronomy  beyond  all  other  nations. 

Some  authors,  following  a  mistake  in  the  Latin 
version  of  Herodotus,  wherein  the  lowest  of  these 
towers  is  said  to  be  a  furlong  thick,  and  a  furlong 
high,  will  have  each  of  the  other  towers  to  be  of  a 
proportionate  height,  which  amounts  to  a  mile  in 
the  whole :  but  the  Greek  of  Herodotus  (which  is 
the  genuine  text  of  that  author)  says  no  such 
thing,  but  only,  that  it  was  a  furlong  long,  and  a 
furlong  broad,  without  mentioning  any  thing  of  its 
height;  and  Strabo,  in  his  description  of  it  (call- 
ing it  a  pyramid,  because  of  its  decreasing,  or 
benching-in  at  every  tower)  says  of  the  whole, 
that  it  was  a  furlong  high,  and  a  furlong  on  every 
side  :  for  to  reckon  every  tower  a  furlong  high, 
would  make  the  thing  incredible,  even  though  the 
authority  of  both  these  historians  were  for,  as 
they  are  against  it.  Taking  it  only  as  it  is  de- 
scribed by  Strabo,  it  was  prodigious  enough; 
since,  according  to  his  dimensions  only,  without 
adding  any  farther,  it  was  one  of  the  most  won- 
derful works  in  the  world,  and  much  exceeded 
the  greatest  of  the  pyramids  of  Egypt. — Stack- 
house. 


knew  the  pride  and  wickedness  of  their 
hearts,  and  determined  to  stop  them  in 
their  sinful  career,  in  order  to  show  them, 
that  weak  mortals  can  never  escape  the 
power  and  justice  of  the  Almighty. 

When  the  Creator  beheld  the  pride 
and  vanity  of  these  his  creatures,  he  thus 
expostulates  with  himself,  'Behold,  the 
people  is  one,  and  they  have  all  one  lan- 
guage; and  this  they  begin  to  do:  and 
now  nothing  will  be  restrained  from 
them,  which  they  have  imagined  to  do.* 
Go  to,  let  us  go  down,. and  there  con- 
found their  language,  that  they  may  not 
understand  one  another's  speech.'  The 
Almighty  having  thus  resolved  by  the 
exertion  of  a  miraculous  power  to  frus- 
trate the  towering  hopes  of  these  aspiring 
mortals,  so  confounded  their  tongues,  that 
a  universal  jargon  ensued,  and  the  differ- 
ent dialects  caused  such  a  distraction  of 
thought,  that,  incapable  of  understanding 
or  making  known  to  each  other  their  re- 
spective ideas,  nothing  prevailed  but 
confusion  and  disorder,  and  they  were 
thus  forced  to  desist  from  their  undertak- 
ing. By  this  awful  stroke  of  Divine  jus- 
tice, they  were  not  only  deprived  of  the 
power  to  proceed  on  their  intended  plan, 
but  of  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of  a 
social  being,  mutual  converse,  and  agree- 
able intercourse.  We  are  not  to  suppose 
that  each  individual  had  a  peculiar  dialect 
or  language,  but  only  the  several  tribes 
or  families,  (computed  to  be  seventy,) 
who  therefore  dispersed,  those  of  one  lan- 
guage going  one  way,  and  those  of  another 
language  bending  their  course  another 
way.  Two  wise  ends  were  answered  by 
Divine  Providence,  in  thus  scattering 
abroad  a  united  people :  the  first  was  the 
prevention  of  a  wicked  design,  and  the 
second,  a  more  speedy  and  general  in- 
crease of   the    inhabitants    of  the   earth. 


*  The  meaning  of  this  expression  is,  according 
to  the  best  commentators,  '  And  now  nothing  will 
hinder  them  from  executing  their  project,  unless 
I  interpose;'  or  rather,  they  imagine  to  do  as  they 
will. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


23 


The  building  which  they  began  to  erect 
was  called  Babel,  or  confusion,  from  the 
judgment  that  attended  their  rash  and  im- 
pious undertaking. 

The  family  of  t!ie  three  sons  of  Noah 
being  thus  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth,  they  settled  in  different  parts 
of  the  world;  some  in  Asia,  some  in  Africa, 
and.  some  in  Europe,  particularly  those  of 
the  family  of  Japheth.* 

The  confusion  of  tongues  and  disper- 
sion of  the  family  of  Noah  happened  just 
an  Hundred  and  one  years  after  the  flood, 
as  is  evident  from  the  birth  of  Peleg,  the 
son  of  Eber,  who  was  great-grandson  to 
Shem,  and  born  in  the  hundredth  and  first 
year  after  that  memorable  period. 

The  wise  Disposer  of  all  events  having 
thus  severely  chastised  the  folly  and  pre- 
sumption of  mankind,  and  scattered  them 
abroad  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  that,  dis- 
united, they  might  not  again  attempt  such 
complicated  wickedness,  as  that  of  con- 
tending with  his  power,  and  questioning 
his  truth,  now  reveals  a  dawn  of  his  glori- 
ous design  of  choosing  to  himself  a  pecu- 
liar people,  who  should  constitute  the 
church  of  God,  the  company  of  the  faith- 
ful in  all  ages,  that  should  endure  for  ever. 

This  was  the  birth  of  Abram,  on  which 
account  the  inspired  penman  gives  a  very 
precise  account  of  the  genealogy  of  Terah, 
one  of  the  descendants  of  Shem,  because 
Terah  was  the  father  of  Abram,  afterwards 
called  Abraham,   who  was  honoured  by 


*  The  following  curious  and  valuable  commen- 
tary on  the  10th  chap,  of  Genesis,  which  records 
the  primitive  settlements  of  the  three  families,  is 
furnished  by  Abulfaragi,  in  the  History  of  the  Dy- 
nasties. "  In  the  140th  year  of  Peleg,  the  earth 
was  divided,  by  a  second  division,  among  the  sons 
of  Noah.  To  the  sons  of  Shem  was  allotted  the 
middle  of  the  earth  ;  namely,  Palestine,  Syria,  As- 
syria, Samarra,  (a  town  of  Babylonia,  or  Chaldean 
Irac.)  Babel,  Persia,  and  Hegiaz,  (or  Arabia  Pe- 
traea.)  To  the  sons  of  Ham,  Teman,  (or  Idumea,) 
Africa,  Nigritia,  Egypt,  Nubia,  Ethiopia,  Scindia, 
and  India,  (or  Western  and  Eastern  India,)  on 
both  sides  of  the  Indus.  To  the  sons  of  Japheth 
also,  Garbea,  (the  North,)  Spain,  Franc**,  the  coun- 
tries of  the  Greeks,  Sclavonians,  Bulgarians,  Turks, 
and  Armenians." — Dr  Hales. 


God  with  being  father  of  the  faithful,  or 
worshippers  of  the  true  God ;  though  Te- 
rah his  father  was  an  idolater,  according  to 
the  testimony  of  Joshua,  chap.  xxiv.  2. 

Now  Terah  had  three  sons,  Haran, 
Nahor,  and  Abram,  who  was  the  young- 
est ;  Haran  the  eldest  died  before  his  fa- 
ther, f  leaving  behind  him  one  son,  named 
Lot,  and  two  daughters,  Milcah  and  Iscah, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  married  to  Abram, 
and  called  by  the  Jews  Sarai  for  her  beauty 
and  domestic  economy.  Soon  after,  his 
father  Terah  took  Abram,  his  grandson 
Lot,  and  his  daughter-in-law  Sarai,  from 
Ur,  a  city  of  the  Chaldeans,  to  journey 
toward  the  land  of  Canaan,!  and  taking 
up  their  abode  at  Haran,  Terah  died  there 
by  the  way  in  the  two  hundred  and  fifth 
year  of  his  age. 

It  is  evident  from  the  account  of  the 
inspired  penman,  that  the  Almighty  had 
revealed  himself  to  Abram  before  his 
father's  death;  for,  according  to  Gen.  xxii. 
1.  '  The  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,'- &c. 


f  It  is  observable  that  this  Haran  was  the  first 
son  that  died  in  a  natural  way  before  his  father; 
before  this  instance  those  who  were  born  first,  died 
first. 

|  The  land  of  Canaan  lies  between  the  Medi- 
terranean sea  and  the  mountains  of  Arabia,  and 
extends  from  Egypt  to  Phoenicia.  It  is  bounded 
to  the  east  by  the  mountains  of  Arabia  ;  to  the 
south,  by  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  Idumea,  and 
Egypt;  to  the  west  by  the  Mediterranean,  called, 
in  Hebrew,  the  Great  sea;  and  to  the  north,  by 
the  mountains  of  Libanus.  Its  length  from  the 
city  of  Dan,  since  called  Caesarea  Philippi,  or  Pa- 
neadis,  which  stands  at  the  foot  of  these  mountains, 
to  Beersheba,  is  about  seventy  leagues,  and  its 
breadth,  from  the  Mediterranean  sea  to  the  eastern 
borders,  is  in  some  places  thirty.  It  was  first  call- 
ed the  land  of  Canaan,  from  Cainan  the  son  of 
Ham,  whose  posterity  possessed  it.  It  was  after- 
wards called  Palestine,  from  the  people  which  the 
Hebrews  call  Philistines,  and  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans corruptly  Palestines,  who  inhabited  the  sea- 
coasts,  and  were  first  known  to  them.  It  likewise 
had  the  name  of  the  land  of  Promise,  from  the 
promise  God  made  Abraham  of  giving  it  to  him ; 
that  of  the  land  of  Israel,  from  the  Israelites  hav- 
ing made  themselves  masters  of  it;  that  of  Judah, 
from  the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  was  the  most  con- 
siderable of  the  twelve  :  and  lastly,  the  happiness 
it  had  of  being  sanctified  by  the  presence,  actions, 
miracles,  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  lias  given  it 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Land,  which  it  retains  to 
this  day. — Lamy's  Introduction. 


24 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


He  had  commanded  him  to  leave  the 
country  in  which  he  then  resided,  and 
travel  to  a  country  he  would  show.*  He 
promised  to  make  him  father  of  a  mighty 
people,  and  in  him  to  bless  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

Abram  steadfastly  believing  the  di- 
vine promise,  though  he  knew  not  the 
difficulties  that  might  attend  his  removal, 
nor  even  the  country  in  which  he  was  to 
settle,  immediately  on  the  decease  of  his 
father  Terah  prepared  for  his  journey, 
taking  with  him  his  nephew  Lot,  his  wife 
Sarai,  and  the  rest  of  his  family,  in  order 
to  go  to  the  land  which  God  might  ap- 
point; and  by  his  strict  attention  to  the 
divine  command,  prove  at  once  his  faith 
and  obedience. 

Accordingly  he  pursued  his  journey, 
till  he  arrived  at  the  land  of  Canaan  (the 
place  appointed  by  the  divine  decree) ; 
and  that  part  of  it  which  is  called  the 
Oak  f  of  Moreh. 

On  his  arrival  at  this  place,  the  Lord 
appeared  to  Abram  again,  repeating  the 
promise  he  had  before  made  to  him,  viz. 
that  his  posterity  should  inherit  the  land, 
though  he  had  no  issue  as  yet,  and  it  was  | 
possessed  by  others ;  for  the  sacred  histo-  I 
rian  writes,  that  '  the  Canaanite  was  then  J 
in  the  land.' 

The  heart  of  pious  Abram  was  affected  , 
with  the  goodness  and  loving-kindness  of  I 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  fulness  of  his  soul  I 
he  there  erected  an  altar  to  the  God  of  I 
all  his  mercies.  From  thence  he  removed  j 
to  a  mountain  on  the  east  of  Bethel,  and  j 


*  It  is  very  probable,  that  this  was  done  by  some 
appearance  or  other  of  the  Shekinah,  going  before 
him,  even  as  afterwards  his  posterity  was  conduct- 
ed in  the  way  thither ;  since,  passing  over  rivers, 
climbing  mountains,  and  travelling  through  a  dan- 
gerous and  vast  desert,  he  had  certainly  need  of  an 
extraordinary  divine  direction,  and  of  some  sensi- 
ble exhibition  or  token  of  it,  while  he  had  nothing 
but  the  promise  of  God  to  support  him,  in  so  long 
nni  so  hazardous  a  journey. — Bibliotheca  Bib. 
Mil.  i. 

t  This  in  our  translation  is  rendered  Plain,  but 
the  Septnagint  and  most  other  versions  has  it 
Oak.  We  shall  enter  more  largely  on  the  sub- 
ject when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  Oak  of  Mamre. 


pitched  his  tent  between  Bethel  and  Hai^ 
where  he  likewise  erected  an  altar  unto 
the  Lord,  and  called  upon  the  name  of 
his  God. 

He  was  soon  compelled  to  Temove  from 
•  Canaan,  a  famine  happening  in  that  coun- 
try .-'taking  with  him  therefore  his  family, 
he  set  out  on  a  journey  to  Egypt,  deter- 
mining to  remain  there  till  God  in  the 
course  of  his  providence  should  call  him 
thence.  It  appears  from  the  following 
history,  that  Abram  had  observed,  on  Jus 
entry  into  these  parts,  the  difference  of 
their  women,  in  point  of  shape  and  com- 
plexion, from  those  of  his  own  country, 
and  especially  his  wife  Sarai,  who  was  re- 
markably beautiful :  fearing  therefore  she 
might  attract  the  desire  of  some  of  the 
great  men  amongst  them,  and  thereby  en- 
danger his  safety,  (his  fear  suggesting  to 
his  imagination,  that  if  they  found  Sarai 
was  his  wife  they  would  despatch  him,  in 
order  to  pave  the  way  for  the  enjoyment 
of  her,)  to  prevent  so  dreadful  a  catastro- 
phe he  made  his  wife  acquainted  with  his 
jealous  fear,  and  desired  her  to  pass  for 
his  sister,  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger, 
and  for  her  sake  be  more  generally  re- 
spected in  a  strange  country.  Nor  was 
Abram's  fear  without  foundation;  for  they 
no  sooner  entered  the  land  of  Egypt  than 
the  inhabitants  were  captivated  with  the 
charms  of  his  wife,  who  in  a  short  time 
became  so  celebrated  amongst  them,  that 
her  fame  reached  the  ears  of  the  king,  by 
whom  she  was  sent  for  to  court,  and  treat- 
ed with  the  highest  honours;  and  Abram, 
for  calling  her  sister,  met  with  the  kind- 
est reception. 

The  interposition  of  divine  Providence, 
to  preserve  inviolate  the  honour  of  the 
patriarch  and  the  chastity  of  his  wife,  is 
very  remarkable;  for,  to  keep  in  due 
bounds  the  desires  of  Pharaoh  §  and   his 


X  The  place  here  meant  is  mount  Ephraim, 
which  lay  between  Bethel,  a  town  situated  about 
eight  miles  from  Jerusalem  northwards,  and  Hai, 
winch  is  situated  towards  the  west  of  Bethel. 

J  Pharaoh  was  the  common  name  of  the  Egyp- 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


courtiers,  God  brought  upon  them  divers 
diseases  and  bodily  infirmities ;  and  by 
that  means  caused  them  to  suspect  her  to 
be  a  married  woman.* 

The  king,  strongly  impressed  by  so  re- 
markable a  circumstance,  sent  for  Abram, 
and  upbraided  him  with  spreading  a  false 
report,  which  might  have  occasioned  him 
to  have  attempted  the  violation  of  his 
wife's  chastity;  and  in  an  angry  tone 
commanded  him  speedily  to  depart  with 
her  on  pain  of  incurring  his  farther  dis- 
pleasure. However,  he  permitted  him  to 
remove  without  sustaining  the  least  loss 
or  detriment  in  his  substance,  which  was 
very  considerable,  having  received  from 
the  king  most  valuable  presents,  both  in 
cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold. 

Lot  also  had  now  acquired  considerable 
property;  but  as  his  uncle  Abram  was  un- 
der a  necessity  of  departing  from  Egypt, 
he  accompanied  him,  not  choosing  to  re- 
main in  a  strange  country  without  so  val- 
uable a  friend  and  companion. 

On  their  departure  from  Egypt,  they 
made  towards  Bethel,  where  Abram  had 
before  erected  an  altar  to  the  Lord,  and 
now  paid  his  vows  to  the  most  High  again. 

The  families  and  possessions  both  of 
Abram  and  Lot  being  greatly  multiplied, 
they  frequently  were  in  want  of  sufficiency 
of  provision  for  their  cattle  in  particular, 
which  want  most  probably  arose  from  the 
late  famine  that  happened  there,  and  the 
great  number  of  Canaanitish  inhabitants, 
who  possessed  the  more  fertile  parts  of  the 
land.  This  want  of  pasture-ground  pro- 
duced much  dispute  between  the  herds- 
men of  Abram  and  those  of  Lot,  insomuch 
that  Abram,  fearing  that  the  contention 
which    prevailed    between  their  servants 

tian  kings,  and  was  a  title  of  dignity,  like  that  of 
Caesar  assumed  by  the  Roman  emperors. 

*  When  a  woman  was  brought  into  the  seraglio 
or  harem  of  the  eastern  princes,  she  underwent 
for  a  considerable  time  certain  purifications  before 
she  was  brought  into  the  king's  presence.  It  was 
in  this  interim  that  God  plagued  Pharaoh  and  his 
house  with  plagues,  so  that  Sarai  was  restored 
before  she  could  have  been  taken  to  the  bed  of 
the  Egyptian  king. — Dr  Adam  Clarke. 


might  end  in  a  rupture  between  tnem- 
selves,  reasoned  with  his  kinsman  Lot  on 
the  subject,  mildly  addressing  him  in  these 
terms :  '  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray 
thee,  between  thee  and  me,  and  between 
my  herdsmen  and  thy  herdsmen  ;  for  we 
be  brethren.'f 

To  prevent  any  disagreeable  conse- 
quence that  might  arise  from  their  con- 
tinuance together  on  the  same  spot,  Abram 
wisely  proposed  a  separation,  as  he  was 
convinced  there  was  not  sufficient  accom- 
modation for  them  both,  their  substance 
being  so  prodigiously  increased. 

Such  was  the  prudence  and  condescen- 
sion of  Abram,  that  though  superior  in 
every  respect  to  Lot,  he  humbly  offers 
him  his  choice  of  settlement  In  any  part 
that  should  appear  most  eligible  to  him, 
and  he  himself  would  take  the  refuse;  'if 
thou  wilt  take  the  left  hand,  then  I  will 
go  to  the  right ;  or  if  thou  depart  to  the 
right  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  left.' 

Lot  soon  acceded  to  so  advantageous 
a  proposal ;  and  having  first  taken  a  view 
of  the  country,  and  beheld  that  the  plain 
of  Jordan  was  very  fruitful,  and  well-wa- 
tered, he  made  choice  of  that  as  his  spot 
of  residence. % 

Having  separated  themselves  by  mutual 
consent,   Lot  directed  his  course  towards 


f  So  the  ancients  reputed,  and  called  those  that 
sprang  from  one  common  root,  though  not  in  a 
direct  line,  begotten  by  one  and  the  same  father. 
In  this  respect  these  were  brethren  in  a  natural 
relation  ;  as  with  respect  to  religion,  and  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  they  were  brethren  likewise 
in  a  spiritual  relation. 

\  This  was  a  fruitful  and  pleasant  country,  well 
watered  by  the  streams  of  Jordan  ;  which  in  many 
windings  and  turnings  ran  through  it,  and  at  some 
times  overflowed  it,  and  so  rendered  it  very  rich. 
Therefore  Moses  compares  this  plain  to  the  garden 
of  Eden,  as  most  understand  the  wOrds,  'the  garden 
of  the  Lord,'  which  was  well-watered  by  a  river 
running  through  it;  and  to  the  land  of  Egypt, 
which  is  enriched  by  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile, 
as  this  was  by  the  overflowing  of  Jordan.  The 
description  that  is  given  us  of  some  well-watered 
places  in  the  east  of  late  times,  may  serve  to  en- 
liven our  apprehensions  of  the  fruitfulness  and  the 
beauty  of  the  plain,  where  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
stood,  before  God  destroyed  those  cities. — Bishop 
Patrick,  Harmer. 


26 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


the  east,  and  fixed  his  abode  in  the  plain 
of  Jordan,  pitching  his  tent  towards 
Sodom,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  in 
those  days  notorious  for  the  most  abomin- 
able of  crimes. 

Lot  had  no  sooner  departed  than  the 
Almighty,  ever  mindful  of  his  faithful 
servant  Abram,  again  called  him,  renew- 
ing the  promise  he  had  made  to  him  be- 
fore. There  is  a  peculiar  beauty  and 
simplicity  in  the  style  and  manner  in 
which  the  sacred  historian  records  this 
gift  of  God  to  our  father  Abram.  '  Lift 
up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from  the 
place  where  thou  art,  northward  and 
southward,  and  eastward  and  westward. 
For  all  the  land  which  thou  seest,  to  thee 
will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever. 
And  I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of 
the  earth,  so  that  if  a  man  can  number 
the  dust  of  the  earth,  then  shall  thy  seed 
also  be  numbered.  Arise,  walk  through 
the  land,  in  the  length  of  it,  and  in  the 
breadth  of  it;  for  I  will  give  it  unto  thee.' 
The  patriarch  then  removed  his  tent, 
and  fixed  his  habitation  near  the  oak  * 
of  Mamre,  which  is  in  Hebron,  and  ac- 
cording to  his  usual  custom,  whenever  he 
pitched  his  tent  upon  a  new  spot,  erected 
an  altar  for  the  worship  of  his  God. 

Soon  after  the  removal  of  Abram  to 
the  oak  of  Mamre,  happened  the  first 
pitched  battle  recorded  in  sacred  history. 
Four  kings  were  engaged  against  five,  on 
the  following  occasion.     Chedorlaomer,f 


*  This  in  most  versions,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
plain  of  Morel),  is  rendered  oak.  An  ancient 
writer  observes  tha't  this  oak  was  famous  in  the 
time  of  Constantine,  for  pilgrimages,  and  for  the 
anniversary  feast  which  was  solemnized  there: 
that  it  was  distant  from  Hebron  but  six  miles, 
where  there  were  still  to  be  seen  some  cottages 
which  Abram  had  built  near  to  that  oak,  and  a 
well  which  he  had  digged,  and  whither  the  Jews, 
Pagans,  and  Christians,  travelled  every  year,  either 
out  of  devotion,  or  a  design  to  trade.  Another 
author  assures  us,  that  he  had  seen  this  oak,  and 
had  carried  home  some  of  the  fruit  and  wood 
of  it;  and  farther  observes,  that  its  leaves  are 
Bomewhat  larger  than  those  of  the  mastick  tree, 
but  its  fruit  resembles  an  acorn. 

f  We  meet  no  where  in  profane  history  with 
the  name  of  Chedorlaomer,  nor  with  any  of  those 


king  of  Elam,  held  five  petty  kings  in 
tributary  subjection  to  him.  These  in 
process  of  time,  desirous  of  throwing  off 
the  yoke,  determined  to  unite  their  forces 
against  him. 

Chedorlaomer,  hearing  of  this  combina- 
tion, in  conjunction  with  three  other  kings, 
proclaimed  war  against  them,  in  order  to 
reduce  them  to  their  former  subjection. 
A  pitched  battle  ensued,  and  the  tributary 
kings  being  defeated,  each  of  them  betook 
himself  to  flight.  The  kings  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  in  their  flight,  are  said  to 
have  fallen  in  the  vale  of  Siddim,  which 
was  full  of  pits,  containing  great  quantities 
of  slimy  dirt  or  clay.  Whether  they  were 
pursued  to  those  pits,  and  there  slain  by 
their  victorious  enemies;  or  whether  they 
betook  themselves  there  for  the  sake  of 
shelter,  is  not  expressed  by  the  sacred 
penman ;  but  we  are  informed  that  the 
conquerors  plundered  the  cities  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  made  Lot,  Abram's  kins- 
man, prisoner  among  the  rest,  and  seized 
on  all  his  possessions. 

One  of  the  inhabitants  that  escaped, 
informed  Abram  of  the  defeat,  and  of  the 
hapless  fate  of  his  kinsman  Lot :  the  pa- 
triarch then  dwelt  at  the  oak  of  Mamre, 
with  Eshcol  and  Aner,  who  were  brothers, 
and  associates  with  him.  The  faithful 
Abram  no  sooner  heard  of  what  had  be- 
fallen his  kinsman,  than  he  levied  his  ut- 


names  of  the  kings  that  were  confederate  with 
him:  and  the  reason  thereof  is,  that  Ctesias  (from 
whom  the  profane  historians  took  the  names  of 
these  kings)  did  not  use  their  original  Assyrian 
names  in  his  history,  but  rather  such  as  he  found 
in  the  Persian  records.  However,  since  the  date 
of  this  transaction  falls  four  years  before  the  death 
of  Ninyas,  there  are  good  grounds  to  infer,  that 
Ninyas,  who  then  lived  in  Persia,  was  the  Chedor- 
laomer of  Moses,  at  that  time  the  head  of  the 
Assyrian  monarchy  ;  that  Amraphel  was  his  de- 
puty at  Babylon  in  Shinar ;  and  Arioch  and 
Tidal  his  deputies  over  some  other  adjacent  coun- 
tries: for  it  is  remarkable,  that  Ninyas  was  the 
first  who  appointed  under  him  such  deputies; 
nor  is  there  any  absurdity  in  Moses  to  call  them 
kings,  since  it  is  observable,  from  what  Isaiah 
hinted  afterwards,  (Ch.  x.  8.)  that  the  Assyrian 
boasted  his  deputy-princes  to  be  equal  to  royal 
governors ;  ■  Are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings?' 
— Shuchford's  Connection,  vol.  ii. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


27 


most  force  to  his  rescue,  armed  all  Lis 
own  servants  who  were  fit  to  bear  arms, 
to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen, and,  accompanied  by  his  associates 
Eshcol  and  Aner,  pursued  the  spoilers  as 
far  as  Dan. 

Availing  himself  of  the  covert  of  the 
night,  he  put  his  forces  into  proper  dispo- 
sition, and  attacked  them  on  all  quarters 
with  the  utmost  vehemence.  So  sudden 
and  vigorous  an  attempt  on  an  army  fa- 
tigued with  a  late  engagement,  and  re- 
velling in  the  spoils  of  conquest,  had  the 
desired  effect,  for  Abram  obtained  a  com- 
plete victory.  Chedorlaomer,  who  ex- 
acted the  tribute  from  the  inhabitants  of 
Sodom  among  the  rest,  was  slain,  and 
his  whole  army  routed,  and  pursued  by 
Abram's  victorious  party  as  far  as  Hobah, 
which  is  to  the  left  of  Damascus.  Thus 
did  Abram  rescue  the  person  and  pro- 
perty of  his  nephew  Lot,  together  with 
his  whole  household. 

Having  thus  signalized  both  his  valour 
and  fidelity,  he  was  highly  caressed  by 
those  whose  cause  he  had  so  gallantly 
espoused.  Among  the  first  was  the  king 
of  Sodom,  who,  in  token  of  the  grateful 
sense  he  retained  of  the  patriarch's  im- 
portant services,  offered  him  as  the  reward 
of  his  valour  the  goods  he  had  rescued, 
desiring  him  only  to  restore  the  prisoners. 
But  Abram's  righteous  soul  disdained  to 
take  advantage  of  the  unfortunate;  for, 
reserving  to  his  associates  that  part  of  the 
plunder  to  which  their  services,  according 
to  the  rules  of  war,  entitled  them,  he  re- 
stored to  the  king  both  his  subjects  and  pro- 
perty; evincing  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  proceeding  the  most  disinterested  fidel- 
ity, intrepid  courage,  and  inflexible  justice. 
The  next  by  whom  Abram  was  honoured 
for  his  laudable  conduct,  was  Melchize- 
dec,*  king  of  Salem,  who  met  him  on  his 


*  There  have  been,  and  still  are,  various  opin- 
ions, concerning  the  person  and  character  of  this 
Melcliizedec.  Several  of  the  fathers  took  him  for 
the  Son  of  God,  who  appeared  to  Abram  in  the 
form  of  a  man ;  but  how  could  the  Son  of  God  i 


return  from  the  victory,  presented  him 
with  bread  and  wine  for  his  refreshment, 
and  blessed  Abram,  and  the  God  of  Abram, 
through  whose  omnipotent  arm  he  had 
gained  so  important  a  victory. 

As  a  return  for  this  grateful  behaviour, 
the  victorious  patriarch  presented  Mel- 
cliizedec with  a  tenth  part  of  the  spoils  he 
had  taken  in  the  expedition. 

As  Abram  had  now  acted  in  the  pub- 
lic capacity  of  a  warrior,  and  might  reason- 
ably expect  that  the  kings  whom  he  had 
lately  routed  would  recruit  their  scattered 
forces,  and  prepare  for  a  second  attack, 
the  Almighty,  to  fortify  his  mind  against 
all  fear  from  the  most  potent  princes  of 
the  earth,  informs  him  in. a  vision,  that  he 
had  undertaken  his  defence,  and  would 
ever  reward  his  faithfulness  :  '  Fear  not, 
Abram,  I  am  thy  shield,  and  thy  exceed- 
ing great  reward.'  It  appears  from  the 
result,  that  notwithstanding  God  had  pro- 
mised to  Abram  that  his  seed  should  in- 
herit the  land,  his  present  want  of  issue 
gave  him  some  concern :  he  therefore 
takes  this  opportunity  of  distantly  hinting 
the  promise ;  and  reminding  his  Maker 
that  he  had  not  hitherto  been  pleased  to 
bestow  an  heir  upon  him;  but  that  his 
servant  was  like  to  inherit  his  estate.  The 
Lord,  to  clear  up  his  doubts,  and  solve  the 
perplexities  which  troubled  his  mind,  tells 
him,  that  not  his  servant,  but  one  that 
should  proceed  from  his  own  bowels,  should 
be  his  heir,  and  that  he  should  not  only 
have  heirs  from  his  own  body,  but  a 
numerous  progeny,  equalling  in  number 
the  stars  of  heaven.  But  such  was  the 
anxiety  of  the  patriarch,  that  he  desired 
some  striking  mark  of  the  divine  promise; 
'Take,'  therefore,  said  the  Lord,  'an  heifer 
of  three  years  old,  and  a  she-goat  of  three 


be  a  type  of  himself,  as  the  apostle  plainly  tells 
us  Melcliizedec  was  a  type  of  Christ?  Heb.'vii.  3. 
The  mostyational  opinion  is,  that  he  was  one  of 
the  princes  of  Canaan,  who  on  account  of  his  piety 
and  goodness  was  called  Melcliizedec,  that  is,  king 
of  righteousness,  which  the  Arabic  version  trau« 
lates  as  his  character,  not  his  name.' 


28 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


years  old,  and  a  ram  of  three  years  old, 
and  a  turtle-dove,  and  a  young  pigeon.' 

Abram  obeyed  the  command  of  the 
Lord,  and  dividing  the  beasts,  but  not  the 
birds,  laid  each  piece  upon  the  other,  and 
when  the  fowls  came  upon  the  carcases, 
he  drove  them  away.  About  the  time  of 
sun -set,  a  deep  sleep  fell  upon  Abram, 
and  he  was  seized  with  surprise  on  account 
of  this  prediction  from  the  Almighty : 
'  Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed  shall  be 
a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and 
shall  serve  them ;  and  they  shall  afflict 
them  four  hundred  years.*  And  also  that 
nation,  whom  they  shall  serve,  will  I  judge; 
and  afterward  shall  they  come  out  with 
great  substance.  And  thou  shalt  go  to 
thy  fathers  in  peace  ;f  thou  shalt  be  buried 
in  a  good  old  age.  But  in  the  fourth  gen- 
eration they  shall  come  hither  again ;  for 
the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet 
full.' 

*  Expositors  have  been  very  much  divided  in 
their  opinions,  how  to  make  it  out,  that  Abraham's 
posterity  was  in  a  state  of  servitude  and  affliction 
for  the  space  of  four  hundred  years.  It  may  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  all  this  difficulty  is  removed, 
if  we  suppose,  that  their  state  of  affliction  is  to  be 
reckoned  from  the  time  of  Isaac's  birth,  which,  to 
the  deliverance  out  of  the  Egyptian  bondage,  was 
just  four  hundred  and  five  years  ■,  but  the  five  odd 
years  are  therefore  not  mentioned,  because  it  is  a 
common  custom  among  all  writers  to  take  no  no- 
tice of  broken  numbers,  as  they  call  them,  when 
they  name  a  round  sum.  And,  if  there  be  supposed 
a  farther  difficulty,  in  that  their  sojourning  is  (in 
Exod.  xii.  40.)  said  to  have  continued  '  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  ;'  in  these  years,  the  time  of 
Abrahams  sojourning  (which  was  exactly  twenty- 
five  years  from  his  coming  into  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  the  birth  of  Isaac)  may  be  comprehended,  and 
then  all  the  difficulty  vanishes ;  because  these 
twenty-five  years,  added  to  the  four  hundred  and 
five  before  mentioned,  exactly  make  up  the  four 
hundred  and  thirty. — Bp.  Patrick. 

f  The  expression  in  the  text  is,  *  Thou  shalt  go 
to  thy  fathers  in  peace,'  which  some  will  have  to  be 
no  more  than  an  oriental  phrase  for  going  to  the 
grave  ;  but  since  it  cannot  be  said  of  Abraham, 
that  he  did,  in  this  sense,  *  go  to  his  fathers,'  (foras- 
much as  his  body  was  so  far  from  being  laid  with 
them  in  the  sepulchre,  that  it  was  deposited  in  a 
country  that  had  no  mariner  of  communication 
with  that  of  his  fathers,)  it  must  be  allowed,  that, 
from  this  text,  an  argument  may  justly  bfe  drawn 
for  the  separate  existence  of  human  souls.  The  ex- 
pression, however,  of  'going  to  our  fathers,'  seems 
to  have  been  formed  from  some  such  notion  as  this, 
—that  the  souls  of  the  deceased  do  go  to  a  certain 


To  give  him  assurance  of  the  exact  ac- 
complishment of  this  promise,  God  caused 
a  smoking  furnace  and  a  burning  lamp 
to  appear,  which  passed  between  the 
divided  pieces  of  flesh.l  Thus  was  the 
Almighty  pleased  to  ratify  his  covenant 
with  his  chosen  people  ;  and  having  in- 
structed Abram  their  father  in  the  various 
fortunes  of  his  descendants,  particularly 
marks  out  the  bounds  of  the  promised 
land,  and  reckons  up  the  several  nations 
that  inhabited  it  '  Unto  thy  seed  have  I 
given  this  land  from  the  river  of  Egypt,' 
&c.  Gen.  xv.  18,  19,  &c. 

Sarai  being  now  stricken  in  years,  and 
having  waited  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine 
promise  about  the  space  of  ten  years,  in- 
somuch that  she  began  to  despair  from  the 
course  of  nature  of  raising  up  seed  to  her 
husband,  importuned  him  to  take  her 
handmaid  Hagar  to  be  his  concubinary 
wife,§  hoping  that  she  might  conceive  by 
him,  and  it  would  be  a  means  of  perpetu- 
ating their  family,  and  promoting  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  divine  promise. 

Abram,  at  the  solicitation  of  Sarai,  took 


place  where  those  of  the  same  family,  or  same  na- 
tion at  least,  are  supposed  to  live  together,  and  in 
communion  :  which  notion  certainly  arises  from 
that  natural  desire  which  all  men,  who  think  their 
better  part  immortal,  have  to  see  and  converse 
with  such  of  their  relations  or  countrymen  as  have 
left  behind  them  a  great  and  lasting  fame.  For,  if 
the  soul  of  Socrates,  says  one,  were  permitted  to 
go  where  it  desired,  it  would  certainly  associate 
with  the  worthies  of  Greece, — with  Orpheus,  Mil- 
saeus.  Homer,  and  those  ancient  demi-gods,  who, 
in  several  generations,  were  so  renowned. — Le 
Clerc. 

J  Several  of  the  ancient  fathers  assert,  that  the 
manner  of  making  alliance  at  this  time,  was  to 
divide  the  victims  into  two  parts,  and  lay  them  on 
two  altars  opposite  each  other,  after  which,  the 
contracting  parties  walked  between,  signifying  that 
the  party  which  violated  the  covenant  should  be 
cut  asunder  like  unto  a  victim.  To  this  there- 
fore we  may  suppose  the  circumstance  before  us 
to  allude  ;  the  Almighty  choosing  to  illustrate  his 
mind  and  will  by  a  plain  reference  to  a  prevailing 
custom  at  that  time. 

§  In  concubinage,  those  secondary  or  subor- 
dinate wives  were  deemed  lawful,  and  their  off- 
spring legitimate  ;  but  in  all  other  respects  they 
were  inferior  to  the  first  and  principal.  So  that  as 
they  had  no  share  in  domestic  affairs  before  they 
were  concubines,  neither  had  they  afterwards,  but 
were  in  every  respect  subject  to  their  mistresses. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE 


29 


Hagar  to  his  bed,  and  when  she  found 
that  she  had  conceived,  she  began  to  be- 
have insolently  towards  her  mistress,*  who 
was  much  affected  with  the  scorn  and  in- 
gratitude of  an  Egyptian,  to  whose  ad- 
vancement she  had  solely  contributed ; 
and  therefore  warmly  expostulates  with 
her  husband  on  the  unworthy  treatment 
she  had  met  with  from  her  handmaid,  in- 
timating, that  his  fondness  of  her  might 
not  a  little  encourage  her  in  the  same. 
But  the  honest  patriarch,  just  in  all  his 
dealings,  and  true  to  every  alliance,  would 
by  no  means  countenance  the  least  mark 
of  disrespect  in  Hagar  towards  her  mis- 
tress, and  to  avoid  every  suspicion,  wholly 
resigns  her  to  her  disposal :  '  Behold,  thy 
maid  is  in  thy  hand ;  do  to  her  as  it 
pleaseth  thee.' 

We  find  from  the  result,  that  Sarai  re- 
sented the  injury  she  had  sustained;  for 

*  As  an  excuse,  in  some  measure,  for  Abram,  it 
may  lie  pleaded,  tliat  having  lived  many  years 
without  giving  occasion  to  suspect  his  modesty  and 
continence,  he  did  not  in  all  probability  now  act 
from  a  criminal  motive,  but  from  a  principle  of 
Conjugal  affection  to  Sarai,  in  compliance  with 
whose  solicitations,  made  from  her  desire  of  thus 
contributing  to  the  accomplishment  of  God's  pro- 
mises, he  took  Hagar  to  his  bed:  that  having  no 
longer  any  hope  of  issue  by  Sarai,  he  had  recourse 
to  this,  as  the  only  way  he  could  devise,  whereby 
to  have  (iod's  promise  of  '  an  heir  that  should  be 
born  of  himself,' accomplished  ;  and  that  polygamy, 
though  certainly  declared  criminal  by  our  Saviour, 
who  has  restored  matrimony  to  its  primitive  insti- 
tution, may  have  been  at  that  time,  if  not  allowed, 
!:et  tolerated  by  God,  for  the  hardness  of  men's 
learts. — Stackhouse. 

The  instances  of  polygamy  which  scripture  re- 
cords by  no  means  exhibit  inducements  to  the 
practice :'  witness  Sarai  and  Hagar,  Leah  and 
Rachel,  Hannah  anfl  Peninnah.  As  in  ancient 
times  family  feuds  imbittered  polygamy,  we  shall 
find  on  inquiry,  that  in  modern  times  also  this 
irregular  practice  is  far  from  adding  any  thing  to 
domestic  happiness.  In  Mahometan  countries, 
where  polygamy  is  allowed,  what  we  are  able  to 
learn  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  husbands,  who 
have  several  wives,  is  calculated  neither  to  make 
their  lot  enviable  nor  to  give  a  favourable  opinion 
of  Mahomet's  legislation  :  their  house  is  a  perpet- 
ual scene  of  tumult  and  contention.  Nothing  is 
to  be  heard  but  quarrels  among  the  different  wives, 
and  complaints  made  to  the  husband.  The  four 
legal  married  wives  complain  that  their  slaves  are 
preferred  to  them  ;  and  their  slaves,  that  they  are 
abandoned  to  the  jealousy  of  their  mistresses. — 
Fragments  to  Calmet,  Volney's  Travels. 


no  sooner  was  Hagar  thus  delivered  up 
to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  her  mistress, 
than,  to  avoid  her  severity,  she  fled  away, 
and  bent  her  course  towards  her  native 
country. 

In  her  journey  through  the  deserts,  she 
stopped  at  a  fountain  of  water,  in  order  to 
partake  of  its  cooling  refreshment,  and 
rest  her  limbs  wearied  with  travelling. 
Here  she  was  accosted  by  a  heavenly 
messenger,  who,  to  i:npress  her  mind  with 
a  due  sense  of  her  former  station  and 
duty,  emphatically  calls  her  Sarai's  maid, 
intimating  thereby,  that  though  she  was 
admitted  to  her  master's  bed,  she  was  as 
indispensably  subject  to  the  will  of  her 
mistress  as  ever,  and  therefore  highly  cul- 
pable in  neglecting  the  obedience  she 
still  owed  her. 

When  the  angel  inquired  of  her  the 
cause  of  her  departure,  and  the  place  of 
her  destiny,  she  informed  him  that  she 
fled  from  the  face  of  her  mistress ;  upon 
which,  without  making  any  further  re- 
marks, he  commanded  her  immediately 
to  return  to  her  master's  house,  and  to  her 
former  obedience  to  her  mistress. 

However,  to  encourage  her  in  the  pro- 
secution of  her  duty,  he  assured  her,  that 
her  seed  should  be  exceedingly  multiplied: 
and  to  convince  her  of  the  divinity  of  his 
mission,  not  only  acquainted  her  that  he 
knew  of  her  conception,  which  was  not 
yet  discoverable  to  the  sight,  but  gave  her 
precise  directions  with  respect  to  the  nam- 
ing of  the  child  she  then  conceived, — a  cir- 
cumstance of  great  consequence,  and  one  of 
the  principal  superstitions  of  the  Egyptians. 
1  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael,  be- 
cause the  Lord  hath  heard  thy  affliction.' 

It  appears,  that  though  Hagar  was  an 
Egyptian,  she  had  imbibed  from  Abram 
just  notions  of  the  true  God,  and  of  the 
worship  due  to  him  from  his  creatures,  as 
well  as  the  immediate  interposition  of  his 
providence  on  particular  occasions,  for  the 
well  was  called  Beer-la-hai-roi,  that  is, 
« the  well  of  the  living  vision,'  or  « the 
well  of  him  that  liveth  and  seetb  me.' 


30 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


Being  thus  admonished  and  encouraged 
by  the  heavenly  messenger,  she  returned 
to  her  former  service,  submitted  herself  to 
her  mistress,  and  was  kindly  received. 

In  due  time  she  was  delivered  of  a  son, 
whom  Abram,  according  to  the  angel's 
direction,  called  Ishmael. 

Abram  being  now  eighty-six  years  old, 
it  pleased  God,  lest  in  his  extreme  joy  he 
should  deem  the  child  of  his  handmaid 
the  earnest  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  great 
promises  that  God  had  made  him,  to  de- 
fer the  blessing  yet  thirteen  years  longer; 
for  when  he  was  ninety-nine  years  old, 
the  Lord  appeared  unto  him,  and  thus 
spake  :  <  I  am  the  Almighty  God ;  walk 
before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect,  and  I  will 
make  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee,  and  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.' 
Struck  with  the  solemn,  yet  gracious  ad- 
dress, the  patriarch  fell  prostrate  before 
his  God,  when  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
resume  his  discourse  ;  and,  as  a  farther 
confirmation  of  the  respect  he  bore  unto 
him,  changed  his  name  from  Abram  to 
Abraham.* 

To  ratify  the  covenant  thus  solemnly 
made,  God  was  pleased  to  institute  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  as  a  seal  or  pledge  of 
the  same,  commanding  that  every  male 
child,  of  eight  days  old,  whether  born  in 
the  house,  or  bought  with  money,  should 
be  circumcised  in  the  foreskin  of  his  flesh, 
on  pain  of  being. cut  off  from  the  cove- 
nant, and  deemed  an  alien  from  the  com- 
monwealth of  Israel. 

Accordingly,  Abraham  took  his  son  Ish- 
mael, and  all  that  were  bought  with  his 
money,  even  every  male  in  his  house,  the 
very  day  in  which  God  commanded  him, 
and  performed  on  them  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision.f 


*  His  former  name,  Abram,  denotes  •  a  high 
father  ;'  but  his  new  name,  Abraham,  signifies,  *a 
father  of  a  great  multitude,'  as  he  certainly  was, 
according  to  the  divine  promise,  Gen.  xvii.  5.  '  A 
father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee.' 

f  God  enjoined  Abraham  to  use  circumcision 
as  a  sign  of  his  covenant ;  and  he  repeated  the 
precept  to  Moses,  and  ordered  that  all  who  in- 


Having  changed  the  name  of  Abram 
into  that  of  Abraham,  it  seemed  meet  unto 
Divine  wisdom  to  change  the  name  of  his 
wife  from  Sarai  to  Sarah,:}:  promising  at 
the  same  time  by  her  to  raise  up  seed  to 
his  faithful  servant. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Abraham  entertains  three  Angels. — Intercedes 
with  God  in  behalf  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
— Dreadful  judgment  inflicted  on  Lot's  wife, 
— Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. — 
Lot's  incest. — Birth  of  Isaac,  and  rejection  of 
Hagar  and  Ishmael. — Abraham's  covenant 
with  Abimelech. — Abraham  offers  up  his  son 
Isaac  at  the  divine  command. 

Notwithstanding  the  exceeding  joy 
which  Abraham  received  from  the  pro- 
mise of  an  heir  from  the  body  of  his  wife 
Sarah,  his  parental  affection  for  Ishmael, 
his  first-born,  and  suspicion  that  on  the 


tended  to  partake  of  the  paschal  sacrifice  should 
receive  circumcision  ;  and  that  this  right  should  be 
performed  on  children  on  the  eighth  day  after  their 
birth.  The  Jews  have  always  been  very  exact  in 
observing  this  ceremony,  and  it  appears  they  did  not 
neglect  it  when  in  Egypt.  The  law  mentions  no- 
thing of  the  minister,  or  the  instrument,  of  circum- 
cision ;  which  were  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  generally  used  a  knife  or  razor,  or  sharp 
stone,  Exod.  iv.  25.  Josh.  v.  3.  The  ceremonies  ob- 
served in  circumcision  are  particularly  described  by 
Leo  of  Modena,  (cap.  viii.)  and  may  also  be  seen  in 
Allen's  Modern  Judaism.  The  Arabians,  Sara- 
cens, and  Ishmaelites,  who,  as  well  as  the  Hebrews, 
sprung  from  Abraham,  practised  circumcision,  but 
not  as  an  essential  rite  to  which  they  were  bound 
on  pain  of  being  cut  off  from  their  people.  Cir- 
cumcision was  introduced  with  the  law  of  Moses 
among  the  Samaritans,  Cuthseans,  and  Idumaeans. 
Those  who  assert,  that  the  Phoenicians  were  cir- 
cumcised, mean  probably  the  Samaritans;  for  we 
know,  from  other  authority  that  the  Phoenicians 
did  not  observe  this  ceremony.  As  to  the  Egyp- 
tians, circumcision  never  was  of  general  and  in- 
dispensable obligation  on  the  whole  nation  ;  cer- 
tain priests  only,  and  particular  professions,  were 
obliged  to  submit  to  it.  Circumcision  is  never  re- 
peated. When  the  Jews  admitted  a  proselyte  of 
another  nation,  if  he  had  received  circumcision, 
[concision,]  they  were  satisfied  with  drawing  some 
drops  of  blood  from  the  part  usually  circumcised  ; 
which  blood  was  called  •  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant.'—  Calmet. 

J  The  word  Sarai  signifies  *  my  princess,'  or 
chief  of  my  family  only  ;  but  Sarah  signifies,  '  the 
princess,'  or  '  chief  of  multitudes,'  according  to 
Gen.  xvii.  16.  '  She  shall  be  a  mother  of  nations, 
kings  of  people  shall  be  of  her.' 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


31 


birth  of  a  child  by  the  free-woman,  he 
might  be  deprived  of  that  descended  from 
the  bond-woman,  caused  him  most  cor- 
dially to  cry  out,  'O  that  Ishmael  might 
live  before  thee!' 

The  Lord  therefore,  in  his  infinite 
goodness,  soon  cleared  up  his  doubt,  and 
to  prevent  his  thinking  that  Ishmael  had 
any  share  in  the  covenant  established 
between  them,  assured  him,  that  his  wife 
Sarah  should  conceive,  and  bear  him  a 
son,  through  whose  loins  the  promise 
should  be  fulfilled,  though  at  the  same 
time  he  had  favourable  respect  unto  Ish- 
mael. 'As  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard 
thee;  behold  I  have  blessed  him,  and  will 
make  him  fruitful,  and  will  multiply  him 
exceedingly;  twelve  princes  shall  he  be- 
get, and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation.' 

But  farther,  to  strengthen  his  faith  in 
God's  promise,  the  precise  time  at  which 
Sarah  should  bear  a  son  is  mentioned, 
which  was  the  very  next  year;  and,  lest 
he  should  admit  the  least  doubt  of  the 
precise  accomplishment  of  the  long  desir- 
ed event,  God  appeared  to  him  in  a  dif- 
ferent shape,  as  a  farther  confirmation  of 
the  truth  of  his  word. 

As  the  patriarch  was  one  day  at  his 
tent  door  *  for  the  benefit  of  the  air,  he 


*  The  patriarchs  pitched  their  tents  where  they 
pleased,  and,  it  should  seem,  under  the  shade  of 
trees  whenever  this  was  practicable.  Thus  Abra- 
ham's tent  was  pitched  under  a  tree  in  the  plains 
of  Mamre.  In  the  East,  to  this  day,  it  is  the  cus- 
tom in  many  places  to  plant  about  and  among 
their  buildings  trees,  which  grow  both  high  and 
broad,  and  afford  a  cooling  and  refreshing  shade. 
It  appears  from  I  Kings  iv.  25.  that  this  practice 
anciently  obtained  in  Judea,  and  that  vines  and 
fig-trees  were  commonly  used  for  this  purpose. 
These  trees  furnished  two  great  articles  of  food 
for  their  consumption,  and  the  cuttings  of  their 
»ines  would  be  useful  to  them  for  fuel.  The  tents 
of  the  emirs  and  sovereigns  of  the  East  are  both 
large  and  magnificent,  and  furnished  with  costly 
hangings.  Those  of  the  Turcomans  are  said  to  be 
black  and  those  of  the  Turks  green:  but,  accord- 
ing to  D'Arvieux,  Dr  Shaw,  and  M.  Volney,  the 
tents  of  the  Bedouins,  or  Arabs  of  the  Desert,  are 
universally  black,  or  of  a  very  dusky  brown.  To 
these  the  bride  in  the  Canticles  compares  herself 
(i.  5.) — I  am  black  (or  tawney)  as  the  tents  of  Ke- 
dar,  but  comely,  or  beautiful  as  the  curtains  of  Solo- 


espied  three  persons,  whom  he  took  for 
men,  coming  towards  him;  and,  according 
to  the  custom  of  those  times,  rose  from 
his  seat,  ran  to  meet  them,  and  saluted 
them    by    bowing    himself    toward    the 


mon.  In  the  East,  those  who  lead  a  pastoral  life 
frequently  sit  (as  Abraham  did)  in  the  tent  door 
in  the  heat  of  the  day.  The  Arabian  tents  are  of 
an  oblong  figure,  supported  according  to  their  size, 
some  with  one  pillar,  others  with  two  or  three, 
while  a  curtain  or  carpet,  occasionally  let  down 
from  each  of  these  divisions,  converts  the  whole 
into  so  many  separate  apartments.  These  tents 
are  kept  firm  and  steady  by  bracing  or  stretching 
down  their  eaves  with  cords,  tied  to  hooked  wood- 
en pins,  well  pointed,  which  they  drive  into  the 
ground  with  a  mallet:  one  of  these  pins  answering 
to  the  nail,  as  the  mallet  does  to  the  hammer, 
which  Jael  used  in  fastening  the  temples  of  Sisera 
to  the  ground.  (Judg.  iv.  21.)  In  these  dwellings 
the  Arabian  shepherds  and  their  families  repose 
upon  the  bare  ground,  or  with  only  a  mat  or  car- 
pet beneath  them.  Those  who  are  married  have 
each  of  them  a  portion  of  the  tent  to  themselves 
separated  by  a  curtain.  The  more  opulent  Arabs, 
however,  always  have  two  tents,  one  for  them- 
selves, and  another  for  their  wives,  besides  others 
for  their  servants;  in  like  manner,  a  particular 
tent  was  allotted  to  Sarah.  (Gen.  xxiv.  67.) 
When  travelling,  they  were  careful  to  pitch  their 
tents  near  some  river,  fountain,  or  well.  (1  Sam. 
xxix.  1 ;  xxx.  21.)  In  countries  subject  to  violent 
tempests  as  well  as  to  intolerable  heat,  a  portable 
tent  is  a  necessary  part  of  a  traveller's  baggage, 
both  for  defence  and  shelter. 

The  description  given  by  the  intelligent  travel- 
ler Mr  Buckingham  of  the  tent  of  the  Sheik  of 
Barak,  who  was  at  the  head  of  a  tribe  of  Turco- 
mans, wandering  in  the  vicinity  of  Aleppo,  will 
enable  us  to  form  some  idea  of  the  shape  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  tent  of  the  patriarch,  Abraham. 
"The  tent  occupied  a  space  of  about  thirty  feet 
square,  and  was  formed  by  one  large  awning  sup- 
ported by  twenty-four  small  poles  in  four  rows  of 
six  each,  the  ends  of  the  awning  being  drawn  out 
by  cords  fastened  to  pegs  in  the  ground.  Each  of 
these  poles  giving  a  pointed  form  to  the  part  of 
the  awning,  which  it  supported,  the  outside 
looked  like  a  number  of  umbrella  tops,  or  small 
Chinese  spires.  The  half  of  this  square  was  open 
in  front  and  at  the  sides,  having  two  rows  of  poles 
clear,  and  the  third  was  closed  by  a  reeded  parti- 
tion, behind  which  was  the  apartment  for  females, 
surrounded  entirely  by  the  same  kind  of  matting. 
The  form  of  Abraham's  tent,  as  thus  described, 
seems  to  have  been  exactly'like  the  one  in  which 
we  sit:  for  in  both  there  was  a  shaded  open  front 
in  which  he  could  sit  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  and 
yet  be  seen  from  afar  off";  and  the  apartment  of 
the  females,  where  Sarah  was,  when  he  stated  her 
to  be  within  the  tent,  was  immediately  behind 
this,  wherein  she  prepared  the  meal  for  the  guests, 
and  from  whence  she  listened  to  their  prophetic 
declaration." — Home. 


32 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


ground.  Still  imagining  them  to  be  some 
of  the  descendants  of  Adam,  liable  to  fa- 
tigue, and  therefore  desirous  of  refresh- 
ment; he  importunes  them  to  stay  and 
partake  of  whatever  his  habitation  afford- 
ed, before  they  pursued  their  journey. 

On  their  accepting  his  invitation,  ne- 
cessary preparations  were  made  for  their 
entertainment,  at  which  the  patriarch  at- 
tended in  person.  In  the  course  of  their 
conversation,  one  of  them  inquired  con- 
cerning his  wife,  and  on  his  informing 
him,  that  she  was  in  the  tent,  to  his  sur- 
prise and  astonishment,  thus  bespoke  him : 
'  I  will  certainly  return  unto  thee,  accord- 
ing to  the  time  of  life,  and  lo,  Sarah  thy 
wife  shall  have  a  son.'  By  this  Abraham 
was  convinced  beyond  doubt,  that  these 
three  visitants  were  messengers  from 
heaven,  and  that  one  of  them  was  the  pe- 
culiar representative  of  the  Almighty. 
Sarah  had  listened  attentively  to  the  dis- 
course that  passed  between  her  husband 
and  his  strange  guests;  but,  considering 
the  advanced  age  both  of  herself  and  her 
husband,  she  regarded  not  their  prediction, 
esteeming  the  common  order  of  nature 
rather  than  the  infallible  promise  of  the 
God  of  truth  and  omnipotence,  and  even 
laughed  within  herself  at  the  improba- 
bility of  such  an  event.  Though  this  im- 
pious behaviour  was  severely  reprimanded 
by  the  divine  messenger,  yet  she  denied 
that  she  had  laughed,  till  it  was  positively 
fixed  upon  her  in  these  words,  'Nay,  but 
thou  didst  laugh.' 

This  finished  the  conversation,  the  stran- 
gers prepared  to  depart,  and  the  patriarch 
finding  they  intended  to  go  towards  So- 
dom, accompanied  them  on  their  way. 
As  they  journeyed  together,  God  was 
pleased  to  manifest  his  peculiar  regard  to 
Abraham,  in  foretelling  the  dreadful  judg- 
ment he  intended  to  inflict  upon  Sodom, 
which  instance  of  his  kindness  was  found- 
ed upon  an  assurance  that  Abraham  would 
command  not  only  his  children,  but  his 
household  after  him,  to  persevere  in  the 
true  fear  and  worship  of  God. 


While  the  Lord  was  relating  his  design 
upon  that  city  of  abomination,  the  two 
angels  departed  and  proceeded  towards 
the  same  ;  but  Abraham  continued  in  con- 
verse with  the  Lord,  and  even  ventured, 
from  an  assurance  of  the  divine  favour,  to 
intercede  for  that  wicked  city.  Imagin- 
ing the  supreme  and  equitable  Judge  of 
the  earth  would  do  right ;  the  patriarch 
mediates  for  Sodom,  in  six  petitionary 
propositions,  lessening  the  supposed  num- 
ber of  pious  inhabitants  from  fifty  to  ten; 
that  even  on  their  account  the  Lord  would 
withdraw  his  avenging  rod  and  avert  the 
impending  danger:  this  request  was  grant- 
ed by  his  Creator  to  the  father  of  the 
faithful,  who  returned  home  abundantly 
satisfied  with  such  peculiar  tokens  of  the 
divine  love.  The  other  two  guests,  who 
set  out  from  the  tent  of  Abraham,  pursued 
their  journey  towards  Sodom,  and  arrived 
there  in  the  evening.  Righteous  Lot,  who 
sat  in  the  gate  of  the  city,  hastily  rose  up 
to  meet  them,  and  having  saluted  them  in 
the  usual  manner,  invited  them  to  refresh 
and  repose  themselves  that  night  with 
him.* 

The  benevolence  and  hospitality  of  Lot 
are  remarkable  in  the  importunities  which 
he  used  to  the  angels,  especially  as  he  was 
then  settled  among  a  people  who  were 
insolent  on  account  of  their  wealth,  void 
of  humanity  towards  men,  or  piety  towards 
God,  strangers  to  hospitality,  and  lost  to 
every  principle  of  goodness.  Amidst  this 
sink  of  vice  Lot  remained  untainted,  and 


*  In  the  Eastern  countries  of  late  some  few 
caravansaries  have  been  set  up  ;  but  in  Lot's 
time  there  were  no  inns  for  the  accommodation  of 
strangers :  so  that  travellers,  unless  invited  to  a 
private  house,  were  forced  to  lie  all  night  in  the 
streets.  It  was  customary  therefore  for  those  of 
the  better  sort  to  receive  travellers,  whether  or  not 
they  knew  them,  into  their  houses,  and  entertain 
them  with  great  civility.  For  this  reason  we  meet, 
both  in  sacred  and  profane  authors,  with  such  large 
commendations  of  this  act  of  hospitality ;  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  cli.  xiii.  2. 
we  have  a  precept  to  this  effect,  alluding  to  this 
very  history :  '  lie  not  forgetful  to  entertain  stran- 
gers ;  for  thereby  some  have  entertained  angels 
unawares.' — Stachlwuse. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


38 


seems  to  have  rivalled  the  hospitality  of 
his  uncle  Abraham. 

Such  was  his  importunity,  that  the  di- 
vine messengers  were  prevailed  upon  to 
accept  the  invitation ;  but  before  they  re- 
tired to  rest  many  of  the  vile  inhabitants  ' 
of  that  corrupted  city  encompassed  the  ' 
'muse  of  Lot,  commanding  him,  on  pain 
of  sustaining  much  damage,  to  bring  out : 
the  strangers  which  sojourned  with  him, 
that  they  might  know  them. 

The  poor  old  man  at  first  endeavoured, 
by  gentle  means,  to  quell  the  outrage, 
desiring  them  to  suffer  the  strangers  to 
remain  in  his  house  unmolested,  as  they  j 
had  committed  themselves  to  his  care  and 
protection  ;  nay,  so  great  was  his  concern 
for  the  safety  and  honour  of  his  guests, 
that,  to  appease  the  insatiable  lust  of  the 
Sodomites,  he  even  made  an  unjustifiable 
proffer  of  his  two  virgin  daughters,  which, 
though  undoubtedly  an  error  in  Lot,  de- 
monstrates how  inviolably  sacred  the  laws 
of  hospitality  were  held  in  those  days 
amongst  the  just  and  good.  But  the  So- 
domites were  so  abandoned  to  wickedness, 
and  so  deaf  to  every  remonstrance  of  rea-  j 
son,  justice,  and  virtue,  that  they  freed 
him  from  the  disagreeable  necessity  of 
exposing  his  daughters,  though  he  was 
determined  not  to  give  up  his  guests ; 
commanding  him  to  stand  back,  and  re-  , 
main  quiet,  remembering  that  he  was  but ! 
a  sojourner  among  them,  and  therefore 
not  entitled  to  direct  their  conduct  and 
behaviour,  and  threatening  him  moreover 
with  very  rigorous  treatment,  if  he  pre- 
sumed any  farther  to  interrupt  them. 

Finding  all  their  threatenings  ineffectu- 
al, they  determined  to  effect  that  by  force 
which  they  could  not  by  fear;  and,  press- 
ing hard,  attempted  to  break  the  door; 
but  the  divine  messengers  prevented 
their  iniquitous  design,  by  pulling  Lot 
into  the  house,  shutting  the  door,  and, 
through  an  exertion  of  supernatural  power, 
bringing  on  the  rioters  a  temporary  blind- 
ness, insomuch  that  they  departed,  being 


rendered  incapable  of  finding  out  the 
house.* 

When  they  had  an  opportunity  of  con- 
versing, without  interruption,  the  heaven- 
ly guests  inquired  of  their  host  concerning 
his  family,  assuring  him,  that  the  Almigh- 
ty had  determined  to  destroy  that  abomin- 
able city;  and  admonishing  him  imme- 
diately to  remove  from  thence,  with  his 
whole  family,  and  all  his  possessions. 

Thus  warned,  Lot  informed  those  who 
were  betrothed  to  his  daughters,  of  the 
awful  event  that  so  nearly  approached, 
advising  them  to  go  with  him,  and  so  avoid 
the  general  ruin:  but  they  derided  the 
counsel  he  gave  them,  and  were  involved 
in  the  common  destruction. 

As  soon  as  the  earliest  dawn  of  the 
ensuing  day  appeared,  the  heavenly  mes- 
sengers hastened  the  departure  of  Lot; 
saying,  'Arise,  take  thy  wife  and  thy  two 
daughters,  which  are  here,  lest  thou  be 
consumed  in  the  iniquity  of  the  city.' 
The  good  man  rather  lingered,  hoping 
the  sentence  against  this  wretched  people 
might  be  revoked;  but  his  delay  was  in 
vain,  for  instead  of  ten  righteous,  that 
Abraham  had  capitulated  for,  no  more 
than  four,  and  all  those  of  Lot's  family 
(himself  included),  were  appointed  to 
escape  the  dreadful  judgment,  ready  to 
be  executed  on  this  abominable  race : 
knowing  therefore  the  necessity  of  im- 
mediate departure,  the  angels  took  him, 
his  wife,  and  two  daughters,  by  force,  and 
brought  them  out  of  the  city;  and  bid 
them  hasten  for  their  lives,  nor  look  back, 
nor  stay  upon  the  plain,  lest  they  were 
consumed  with  this  wicked  people. 


*  It  is  a  probable  opinion,  that  these  men  were 
struck,  not  with  actual  blindness,  but  with  a  dizzi- 
ness, which  disturbed  their  sight,  and  represented 
objects  falsely  and  in  confusion,  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  Syrians  were,  when  sent  to  take  Elisha, 
2  Kings  vi.'  18.  And  this  was  no  hard  matter  for 
the  angels  to  do,  by  making  a  small  alteration, 
either  in  their  sight  or  in  the  air,  whereby  either 
the  door  might  appear  to  them  like  the  solid  wall, 
or  the  several  parts  of  the  wall  like  so  many  doors. 
— Poole  and  Le  Glerc. 


34 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  1 


Lot  finding  the  mountain  to  which  he 
was  warned  to  escape  was  very  remote, 
entreated  of  the  angels  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  direct  their  course  to  a 
little  adjacent  city  which  was  then  called 
Bela,*  but  afterwards  Zoar,  or  the  little 
city.  Lot's  request  was  granted  by  the 
angels,  who  commanded  him  to  hasten 
thither,  adding  as  an  encouragement,  'I 
cannot  do  any  thing  till  thou  be  come 
thither.' 

Lot,  his  wife,  and  daughters,  were  par- 
ticularly warned  from  looking  back,  and 
enjoined  by  every  means  to  hasten  their 
escape ;  yet  before  they  reached  Zoar,  the 
city  of  refuge,  his  wife,  prompted  by  some 
fatal  curiosity,  looked  back,  was  turned 
into  a  pillar  of  salt,f  and  became  a  stand- 
ing monument  of  God's  vengeance  on 
obstinate  offenders,  and  the  flagrant  dis- 
obedience of  a  positive  command.  Lot 
and  his  daughters,  however,  proceeded  on 
their  journey  according  to  the  divine  com- 
mand, and  arrived  at  the  city  of  Zoar  by 
sunrise.  And  now  the  Almighty  arm  of 
an  incensed  God  prepares  the  awful  judg- 
ment ready  to  be  executed  against  Sodom, 


*  This  city  was  the  residence  of  one  of  the  five 
tributary  kings,  who  fought  with  the  four  kings, 
and  were  driven  into  the  vale  of  Siddim. 

f  To  anticipate  the  ridicule  of  the  atheist  and 
libertine,  we  observe  in  this  place  ;  that  the  salt 
into  which  the  wife  of  Lot  was  turned,  was  not  of 
the  common,  but  metallic  kind,  which  was  hewn 
out  of  the  rocks,  like  marble,  and  used  to  build 
houses,  according  to  the  testimony  of  several  emi- 
nent writers.  From  hence  this  expression  has 
been  taken  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  as  a  firm  and 
sure  covenant  is  called  a  covenant  of  salt,  Num. 
xviii.  19.  From  the  durableness  of  its  nature  the 
word  metallic  should  indeed  have  been  added  in 
our  translation. 

How  long  this  pillar  continued  we  know  not. 
Josephus  says  it  remained  in  his  time,  which  was 
near  two  thousand  years  after- it  was  formed.  Ire- 
nacus  and  Tertullian  say  it  was  standing  about 
A.  D.  200.  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  the  Jewish 
traveller,  avers  that  it  was  standing  near  one  thou- 
sand years  after,  which  would  make  its  duration  of 
about  three  thousand  years.  Some  modern  tra- 
vellers pretend  to  have  seen  it;  but  their  relations 
savour  so  strongly  of  fable,  and  differ  so  widely, 
';hat  we  cannot  credit  them.  It  is  certain  that 
Maundrell,  Shaw,  and  other  travellers  of  veracity, 
do  not  pretend  that  there  are  now  the  least  remains 
of  the  noted  statue. 


Gomorrah,  and  the  rest  of  the  sinful  cities 
of  the  plain.  Showers  of  liquid  fire  in- 
stantaneously fall,  and  the  guilty  wretches 
are  consumed  in  a  moment-! 

\  Sodom  was  built  upon  a  mine  of  bitumen,  as 
we  know  from  the  testimony  of  Moses  and  Jose- 
phus, who  speak  of  wells  abounding  with  bitumen 
in  the  valley  of  Siddim.  Lightning  pointed  by 
the  hand  of  Omnipotence  kmdied  the  combustible 
mass,  and  the  cities  sunk  in  the  subterraneous 
conflagration.  Nor  is  the  ingenious  suggestion  of 
Malte  Brun  to  be  omitted,  that  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah themselves  might  have  been  built  by  bitu- 
minous stone,  and  then  set  in  flames  by  the  hand 
of  heaven.  The  Dead  sea,  or  Asphaltites,  now 
covers  the  fruitful  vale  where  once  flourished  the 
cities  of  the  plain, — a  vale  so  rich  and  beautiful 
that  the  sacred  historian  compares  it  to  the  garden 
of  paradise.  Not  satisfied  with  overthrowing  the 
cities,  and  destroying  the  inhabitants,  the  righteous 
Judge  also  overthrew  all  the  plain,  that  is,  he  con- 
sumed its  productions,  he  destroyed  its  beauty,  he 
extinguished  the  very  principles  of  its  fertility,  and 
submerged  the  ground  itself  under  the  waters  of 
the  Jordan,  that  the  foot  of  man  might  never  tread 
it  more.  The  destruction  was  complete  and  irre- 
parable ;  the  country  was  in  a  manner  blotted  out 
from  the  map  of  Palestine,  by  converting  it  into 
a  deep  lake, — so  fierce  was  the  indignation,  so  ter- 
rible was  the  overthrow.  The  lake  Asphaltites  is 
inclosed  on  the  east  and  west  with  exceeding  high 
mountains  ;  on  the  north  it  is  bounded  with  the 
plain  of  Jericho,  on  which  side  it  receives  the 
waters  of  the  Jordan  ;  on  the  south  it  is  open,  and 
extends  beyond  the  reach  of  the  eye.  It  is  said  to 
be  twenty-four  leagues  long,  and  six  or  seven 
broad;  and  is  fringed  with  a  kind  of.  coppice  of 
bushes  or  reeds.  In  the  midst  of  tiiis  border,  not 
a  furlong  from  the  sea,  rises  a  fountain  of  brackish 
water,  which  was  pointed  out  to  MaunuVell  by  his 
Arab  conductor  ;  a  sure  proof  that  the  soil  is  not 
equally  impregnated  with  saline  particles.  The 
ground  to  the  distance  of  half  an  hour  from  the 
sea,  is  uneven,  and  broken  into  hillocks,  which  Mr 
Maundrell  compares  to  ruinous  lime-kilns  ;  but 
whether  these  might  be  the  pits  at  which  the  kings 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  were  overthrown  by  the 
four  kings  who  invaded  their  country,  he  could 
not  determine.  The  water  of  the  lake  is  intensely 
salt,  extremely  bitter  and  nauseous,  and  so  heavy, 
that  the  most  impetuous  winds  can  scarcely  rufne 
its  surface.  It  is  called  by  common  writers  the 
Dead  sea,  because  it  nourishes  neither  animal  nor 
vegetable  life.  No  verdure  is  to  be  seen  on  its 
banks,  nor  fish  to  be  found  within  its  waters  ;  but 
it  is  not  true  that,  its  exhalations  are  so  pestiferous 
as  to  kill  birds  that  attempt  to  fly  over  it.  Mr 
Maundrell  saw  several  birds  flying  about,  and 
skimming  the  surface  of  its  waters,  without  any 
visible  harm.  The  same  fact  is  attested  by  Vol- 
ney,  who  states  it  as  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
swallows  dipping  for  the  water  necessary  to  build 
their  nests.  The  true  cause  that  deprives  it  of 
vegetables  ana  animals,  is  the  extreme  saltness  of 
the  water,  which  is  vastly  stronger  than  that  of  the 
sea.     The  soil  around  it,  impregnated  also  with 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


35 


Lot,  observing  the  calamity  of  the  other 
cities,  and  doubting  his  safety  in  Zoar, 
withdrew  with  his  two  daughters  to  the 
mountains,  and  there  dwelt  with  them  in 


salt,  produces  no  plants  ;  and  the  air  itself,  which 
becomes  loaded  with  saline  particles  from  evapo- 
ration, and  which  receives  also  the  sulphureous 
and  bituminous  vapours,  cannot  be  favourable  to 
vegetation  :  hence  the  deadly  aspect  which  reigns 
around  this  lake.  The  ground  about  ife  however, 
is  not  marshy,  and  its  waters  are  limpid  and  incor- 
ruptible, as  must  be  the  case  with  a  dissolution  of 
salt.  Mr  Maundrell  questions  the  truth  of  the 
common  tradition,  which  is  admitted  by  Volney  in 
all  its  extent,  that  the  waters  of  the  Dead  sea  are 
destructive  to  animal  existence,  having  observed 
among  the  pebbles  on  the  shore  two  or  three  shells 
of  fish,  resembling  oyster-shells.  That  respectable 
traveller,  willing  to  make  an  experiment  of  its 
strength,  went  into  it,  and  found  it  bore  up  his 
body  in  swimming,  with  an  uncommon  force  ;  but 
the  relation  of  some  authors,  that  men  wading  into 
it  are  buoyed  up  to  the  top  as  soon  as  the  water 
reaches  to  the  middle,  he  found,  upon  experiment, 
untrue.  A  recent  traveller,  on  visiting  the  lake, 
found  a  crust  of  salt  covering  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  resembling  a  snowy  plain,  from  which 
a  few  stunted  shrubs  reared  their  heads.  No  mur- 
mur, no  cooling  breeze  announced  the  approach  to 
its  margin.^  The  strand  bestrewed  with  stones  was 
hot,  the  waters  of  the  lake  were  motionless,  and 
absolutely  dead  along  the  shore  :  he  found  it  im- 
possible to  keep  the  water  in  his  mouth  ;  it  far 
exceeded  that  of  the  sea  in  saltness,  and  produced 
upon  the  lips  the  effect  of  a  strong  solution  of 
alum.  Before  his  boots  were  completely  dry,  they 
were  covered  with  salt ;  his  clothes,  his  hat,  his 
hands,  in  less  than  three  hours,  were  impregnated 
with  this  mineral.  Desirous  to  see  the  remains,  if 
any  existed,  of  those  cities  anciently  situated  in 
this  place,  and  made  so  dreadful  an  example  of 
divine  vengeance,  Maundrell  diligently  surveyed 
the  waters  as  far  as  his  eye  ccruld  reach  ;  but  he 
could  neither  discern  any  heaps  of  ruin,  nor  any 
smoke  ascending  above  the  surface  of  the  waters, 
as  is  usually  described  in  the  writings  and  maps  of 
geographers.  But  he  states,  what  was  constantly 
attested  to  him  by  the  father  guardian,  and  pro- 
curator of  Jerusalem,  both  men  in  years,  and  seem- 
ingly not  destitute  either  of  sense  or  probity,  that 
they  had  once  actually  seen  one  of  these  ruins  ; 
that  it  was  so  near  the  shore,  and  the  water  so 
shallow  at  that  time,  that  they,  together  with  some 
Frenchmen,  went  into  it,  and  found  there  several 
pillars,  and  other  fragments  of  buildings.  The 
cause  of  his  being  deprived  of  this  sight  was,  he 
supposes,  the  height  of  the  water. — PaxtorCs 
Scrip.  1 11  ust. 

"  Whoever,"  says  Mr  Came,  "  has  seen  the 
Dead  sea,  will  ever  after  have  its  aspect  im- 
pressed on  his  memory ;  it  is,  in  truth,  a  gloomy 
and  fearful  spectacle.  The  precipices  in  general 
descend  abruptly  into  the  lake,  and,  on  account  of 
their  height,  it  is  seldom  agitated  by  the  winds  : 
its  shores  are  not  visited  by  any  footstep,  save  that 
of  the  wild  Arab,  and  he  holds  it  in  superstitious 


a  cave.  In  this  retirement  happened  a 
most  melancholy  event,  which  doubtless 
grieved  the  righteous  soul  of  Lot:  this 
was  the  commission  of  a  crime  no  less  fla- 
grant than  incest;  for  his  two  daughters, 
having  lost  their  espoused  husbands  in  the 
destruction  of  Sodom,  and  despairing  of 
having  any  others,  for  they  thought  the 
late  conflagrations  had  extended  to  the 
whole  human  race,  excepting  their  own 
family,  agreed  upon  a  scheme  to  seduce 
their  innocent  father,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  race  of  mankind.  Whatever  might  be 
their  motive,  it  is  a  melancholy  truth,  that 
they  had  a  most  wicked  and  unnatural  de- 
sign upon  their  father ;  and  as  they  knew 
from  his  virtuous  disposition,  that  so  long 
as  he  retained  his  reason  they  could  not 
obtain  the  same,  they  resolved  to  draw 
him  in  to  drink  insensibly;  till  his  sense 
was  impaired,  though  not  his  strength. 

The  eldest  daughter,  who  was  most  for- 
ward in  promoting  the  impious  design, 
persuaded  the  old  man,  under  pretence  of 
recruiting  his  spirits  after  the  late  alarm- 
ing circumstance,  to  drink  till  he  became 
stupified,  and  having  put  him  to  rest,  went 
to  bed  to  him,  where  having  perpetrated 
the  horrid  incest,  she  arose  again,  without 
the  old  man's  perceiving  when  she  arose 
and  when  she  lay  down. 

The  following  night  the  youngest 
daughter,  at  the  example  and  instigation 
of  her  sister,  committed  the  same  detest- 
able offence,  and  arose  in  the  same  manner, 
unperceived  by  her  father.* 


dread.  On  some  parts  of  the  rocks  there  is  a  thick 
sulphureous  incrustation,  which  appears  foreign  to 
their  substance  ;  and  in  their  steep  descents  there 
are  several  deep  caverns,  where  the  benighted 
Bedouin  sometimes  finds  a  home." 

*  He  who  could  not  be  tainted  with  uncleanness 
in  Sodom,  is  overtaken  with  drunkenness  and  incest 
in  a  cave.  Rather  than  Satan  shall  not  want  baits, 
his  own  daughters  will  prove  Sodomites.  Those 
which  should  have  comforted,  betrayed  him.  How 
little  are  some  hearts  moved  with  judgments  1 
The  ashes  of  Sodom,  and  the  pillar  of  salt,  were 
not  yet  out  of  their  eye,  when  they  dare  think  ot' 
lying  with  their  own  father.  They  knew,  that 
whilst  Lot  was  sober,  he  could  not  be  unchaste. 
Drunkenness  is  the  way  to  all  bestial  affections  and 


36 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


They  both  conceived  from  the  incestu- 
ous congress;  and  Lot  became,  from  the 
vicious-  plot  of  his  children,  both  father 
and  grandfather,  to  the  shameful  pro- 
geny: but  justly  shocked  at  the  unnatural 
and  sinful  commerce,  we  do  not  find  that 
he  so  much  as  gave  them  a  name;  for 
they  were  named  by  the  mothers,  a  very 
uncommon  practice  in  those  days, — the 
eldest  daughter  calling  her  son  Moab,  and 
the  younger  naming  hers  Ben-ammi:  they 
both  proved  in  process  of  time  inveterate 
enemies  to  the  Israelites,  particularly  the 
race  of  the  former. 

As  sacred  histo/y  is  silent,  after  this 
black  circumstance,  concerning  jhe  trans- 
actions of  Lot,  we  proceed  to  consider  the 
peculiar  dealings  of  Providence  with  that 
eminent  servant  of  God,  Abraham. 

The  pious  patriarch  abode  in  Mamre, 
till  he  had  been  eye-witness  to  the  de- 
struction of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  after 
which  awful  dispensation  of  divine  Provi- 
dence, he  removed  from  thence  to  the 
southward,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Ge- 
rar,  the  chief  city  of  Palestine. 

Here  the  patriarch  had  recourse  to  the 
same  policy  which  he  practised  before, 
and  an  agreement  passed  between  him  and 
his  wife,  that  they  should  call  each  brother 
and  sister.     The  king  of  Gerar,*  suppos- 


acts.  Wine  knows  no  difference  either  of  persons 
or  sins.  No  doubt  Lot  was  afterwards  ashamed  of 
bis  incestuous  seed,  and  now  wished  be  bad  come 
alone  out  of  Sodom  ;  yet  even  this  unnatural  bed 
was  blessed  with  increase;  and  one  of  our  Savi- 
our's worthy  ancestors  sprung  after  from  this  line. 
God's  election  is  not  tied  to  our  means,  neither 
are  blessings  or  curses  ever  traduced.  Tire  chaste 
bed  of  holy  parents  hath  ofttimes  bred  a  monstrous 
generation  ;  and  contrarily,  Oiod  hath  raised  some- 
times an  holy  seed  from  the  drunken  bed  of  incest, 
or  fornication.  It  hath  been  seen,  that  weighty 
ears  of  corn  have  grown  out  of  the  compass  of  the 
tilled  field  :  thus  will  (jod  Magnify  the  freedom  of 
his  own  choice,  and  let  us  know  that  we  are  not 
born,  but  made,  good. — Hall. 

*  (Jerar  was  a  regal  city,  situate  not  far  from  the 
angle  where  the  south  and  west  sides  of  Palestine 
meet  ;  and  the  tfonntry  to  which  it  gave  the  name 
extended  itself  pretty  far  into  Arabia  Petriea. 
The  kings  were  generally  called  by  the  title  of 
Abimelech,  as  those  «f  Egypt  were  called  by  that 

PJbaraoh. 


ing  that  was  the  alliance  between  them, 
caused  Sarah  to  be  taken  from  Abraham, 
intending  to  take  her  for  his  concubine,  f 
but  the  Almighty  warned  him  in  a  dream 
from  committing  the  iniquitous  act,  by 
assuring  him  that  death  would  be  the 
penalty  of  taking  to  his  bed  a  woman 
whose  husband  was  a  prophet. 

Abimelech  alleged  in  vindication  of  his 
design,  that  Abraham  had  given  out  that 
the  woman  was  his  sister,  and  sending  for 
the  patriarch,  reprimanded  him  very  se- 
verely for  imposing  on  him,  who  had 
treated  him  with  the  kindest  offices  of 
friendship. 

'  Abraham  plainly  told  him,  he  made  the 
report  to  save  his  life,  fearing  he  might 
be  slain  for  the  sake  of  his  wife,  though 
he  had  not  lied  in  the  same,  for  she  was 
the  daughter  of  his  father,  though  not  of 
his  mother.  As  Abimelech  had  experi- 
enced the  divine  interposition  in  the  be- 
half of  Abraham,  his  anger  soon  subsided, 
and  to  assure  the  patriarch  of*tbe  contin- 
uance of  his  favour,  he  restored  to  him  his 
wife,  with  very  valuable  presents,  and 
gave  him  full  liberty  of  settling  in  any 
part  of  his  country  he  might  choose  as 
the  most  agreeable  residence. 

He  likewise  did  peculiar  honour  to 
Sarah  in  these  words;  'Behold  I  have 
given  to  thy  brother  a  thousand  pieces  of 
silver;  behold  he  is  to  thee  a  covering  of 
the  eyes  unto  all  that  are  with  thee;  and 
with  all  other:  thus  she  was  reproved,  '\  or 
rather  justified. 


■f-  Sarah  was  now  ninety  years  old  when  Abi- 
melech took  her  into  his  family ;  whence  it  may 
seem  very  strange  that  a  woman  of  her  age  should 
look  so  very  well,  as  to  be  desired  by  a  king,  who 
in  those  days  might  have  commanded  the  most 
youthful  beauties  in  his  whole  dominions.  But, 
according  to  some  interpreters,  people  of  ninety 
then  we're  as  fresh  and  vigorous  as  those  of  forty 
now  ;  and  Sarah  might,  even  in  that  respect,  excel 
her  coevals,  by  reason  of  her  sterility,  which  is  a 
great  preserver  of  beauty:  though  others  are  of 
opinion,  that  God,  having  taken  away  her  sterility, 
her  beauty  returned  with  her  friutfulness,  for  by  this 
time,  it  is  computed,  that  she  had  conceived  her 
son. — Howell. 

J  There  is  here  a  most  flagrant  error  in  our 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

God  had  not  only  awed  the  king  from 
sinful  commerce  with  Sarah  by  a  dream, 
but  also  by  afflicting  him  with  a  kind  of 
impotence;  but  now,  at  the  intercession  of 
Abraham,  his  health  and  fertility  were 
happily  restored. 

The  long  expected  promise  was  now 
fulfilled  to  the  waiting  patriarch,  who  was 
blessed  with  the  sijjht  of  an  heir  from  the 
body  of  Sarah  his  wife,  though  they  were 
both  advanced  in  years. 

Whatever  eternal  truth  hath  said,  Al- 
mighty power  is  concerned  to  execute. 
God  had  said  it,  and  behold  !  Sarah  is  de- 
livered of  a  son,  who  is  called  by  his  fa- 
ther, according  to  former  direction,  Isaac, 
(signifying  laughter,)  and,  in  obedience  to 
the  divine  command,  circumcised  when  he 
was  eight  days  old. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  joy  of  the 
Aged  pair  on  this  auspicious  event;  greatly 
did  they  rejoice  in  experiencing  that  the 
promises  of  God  were  all  yea,  and  amen. 
Now  might  Sarah  laugh  with  joy,  and  not 
with  distrust  as  she  had  done  before.  As 
the  birth  of  Isaac  was  cause  of  exceeding 
consolation  to  Sarah,  so,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  could  not  fail  of  being  matter  of  disgust 
to  Hagar,  who,  from  the  advanced  age  of 
her  mistress,  had  most  probably  flattered 
herself  that  her  son  should  be  honoured 
with  being  her  master's  heir. 

The  mother  and  son  could  not  long 
stifle  the  resentment  of  so  affecting  a  dis- 
appointment, for  soon  after  Isaac  was 
weaned,  his  mother  detected  Ishmael  in 
mocking  him,  or  treating  him  with  derision 
and  ridicule.  Incensed  that  so  flagrant  an 
insult  should  be  offered  her  son,  by  the 


translation.  The  word  rendered  reproved  never 
lias  that  meaning;  but  signifies  to  search  or  in- 
quire into  a  thing  till  it  is  cleared  and  put  beyond 
a  doubt.  Besides,  reproof  in  this  case  would  have 
been  very  absurd,  for  Abraham  had  already  justifi- 
ed Sarah.  It  should  therefore  be  rendered  Justi- 
fied;  the  design  of  Abimelech,  by  this  bounty, 
being  to  justify  Sarah's  virtue,  it  being  the  custom 
in  those  days  to  confirm  the  truth  of  any  tiling  ! 
that  had  been  doubtful  by  presents,  see  Gen.  xxl 
and  xxx. 


37 

child  of  a  bond-woman,  Sarah  importuned 
her  husband  to  turn  Hagar  and  her  son 
out  of  his  habitation,  intimating  that  the 
son  of  a  slave  had  no  title  to  heirship, 
which  solely  belonged  to  her  son  Isaac. 

The  good  old  patriarch  was  brought  to 
a  very  intricate  situation,*  and  from  the 
love  he  bore  to  Ishmael  undetermined  how 
to  proceed;  but  that  gracious  God  who 
had  directed  him  in  every  important  case, 
soon  confirmed  his  resolution.  *  Let  it 
not  be  grievous  in  thy  sight  because  of 
the  lad,  and  because  of  thy  bond-woman  : 
in  all  that  Sarah  hath  said  unto  thee 
hearken  unto  her  voice;  for  in  Isaac  shall 
thy  seed  be  called.  And  also  of  the  son 
of  the  bond-woman  will  I  make  a  nation, 
because  he  is  thy  seed.' 

Thus  determined  by  the  divine  ap- 
pointment, Hagar  once  more  becomes  a 
wanderer,  nor  could  the  fondness  of  Abra- 
ham for  her  son  Ishmael  prevent  her  fate; 
it  was  the  Lord's  command,  nor  durst  the 
patriarch  refuse  to  obey,  but  having  sup- 
plied her  with  some  bread  and  a  bottle  of 
water,  he  dismissed  her,  and  she  wandered 
about  in  the  deserts  of  Beersheba.* 


*  The  wilderness  of  Beersheba,  or  Shur,  lying 
at  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  Red  sea,  and 
forming  the  northern  part  of  the  great  Arabian 
Desert,  is,  according  to  the  testimony  of  those  who 
have  crossed  it,  a  vast  expanse  of  uninhabited 
country,  which,  by  the  straightest  route  from  north 
to  south,  cannot  be  traversed  in  less  than  about 
forty  days  ;  and  it  is  so  wild  and  desolate  a  region, 
that  it  seems  to  have  been  doomed  by  the  Creator 
to  the  curse  of  perpetual  sterility.  Throughout 
the  whole  extent  of  it  not  a  blade  of  verdure  is  to 
be  seen,  nor  the  voice  of  living  thing  to  be  heard, 
and  but  for  a  few  hardy  plants — the  tamarind  and 
acacia,  which  here  and  there  strike  their  roots  into 
the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  and,  nourished  by  the  dews 
of  night,  "  waste  their  sweetness  on  the  desert 
a>r" — there  would  be  nothing  to  dispel  the  feeling 
which  this  dismal  scene  strongly  produces,  that 
here  was  a  region  where  nature  was  wholly  dead. 

The  springs  are  but  few  and  scanty  all  over  the 
desert,  in  that  part  especially  where  Ishmael  wan- 
dered, a  traveller  who  crossed  it  having  found  only 
four  in  the  space  of  a  hundred  and  fifteen  miles, 
situated  at  the  distance  of  four,  six,  and  even  eight 
days'  journey  from  each  other  ;  and,  besides  the 
danger  of  missing  them,  always  liable  to  happen  in 
a  trackless  solitude,  but  particularly  so  in  the  wil- 
derness of  Paran,  which  in  many  places  is  full  of 
rugged  and  precipitous  cliffs,  around  the  base  of 


38 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


When  her  bottle  was  empty,  and  she 
had  long  rambled  in  vain,  seeking  water 
in  a  parched  country  to  allay  the  thirst  of 
her  perishing  child,  she  placed  him  at  the 


which  the  traveller  has  to  seek  his  way  ;  it  may 
happen,  that  after**the  greatest  exertions  have  been 
made  to  reach  these  springs,  they  are  found  en- 
tirely choked  with  the  moving  sand,  or  that  they 
prove,  to  the  mortification  of  the  luckless  traveller, 
so  impregnated  with  brackish  qualities,  from  the 
beds  of  sulphur  or  salt  over  which  they  roll,  as  to 
increase,  instead  of  allaying,  his  already  insufferable 
intensity  of  thirst.  And  then  follows  a  scene  of  the 
most  dreadful  and  protracted  sufferings  which  a 
human  being  can  experience.  The  burning  thirst, 
rendered  more  violent  by  the  fierce  heat  of  the 
glowing  firmament  and  the  fiery  sand,  produces  an 
intense  agony  in  every  part  of  the  frame,  and  the 
dry  and  contracted  feeling  of  the  skin,  the  eyes  ap- 
pearing like  balls  of  coagulated  blood,  the  unna- 
tural swelling  and  hardness  of  the  tongue  and  lips, 
increasing  difficulty  of  seeing  and  hearing,  the  total 
loss  of  speech,  together  with  the  most  painful  sen- 
sations in  the  throat;  all  these,  which  are  invaria- 
ble consequences  of  unalleviated  thirst,  indicate  a 
universal  derangement  of  the  bodily  system,  pro- 
duce languor  and  insensibility,  and  at  last  bring 
the  unhappy  sufferer,  after  many  a  struggle,  to 
drop  on  the  ground,  happy  if,  like  Ishmael.  he  can 
purchase  a  brief  respite  from  his  misery,  by  shel- 
tering his  scorched  head  under  one  of  the  dwarfish 
acacias  that  are  strewed  around.  In  such  circum- 
stances, it  is  said  that  five  hundred  dollars  have 
been  given  for  a  draught  of  water.  But,  in  general, 
where  one  is  placed  in  such  extremities,  all  who 
are  with  him  are,  more  or  less,  in  a  similar  state  of 
distress  ;  and  then  no  bribe,  however  great,  no  en- 
treaties, however  importunate,  can  procure  a  single 
drop  ;  for  of  what  use  would  all  the  wealth  of  the 
Indies  be  in  a  place  where  death  would  be  the  in- 
evitable consequence  of  parting  with  the  precious 
beverage  ?  The  master  of  a  whole  caravan  is  then 
not  better  privileged  than  the  meanest  of  his  slaves ; 
and,  as  the  desire  of  self-preservation  triumphs 
over  every  consideration,  when  one  drops  the  vic- 
tim of  thirst,  his  companions,  however  they  may 
commiserate  the  sufferer,  are  obliged  to  pass  on 
without  delay,  and  abandon  him  to  his  fate.  And 
how  terrible  such  a  situation,  to  be  exposed  in  a 
savage  interminable  desert !  In  vain  does  he  exert 
his  expiring  energies,  in  a  last  effort  to  cry  out  for 
help,  or  to  hoist  the  signal  of  distress.  Not  a  soul 
is  near  to  whisper  the  accent  of  sympathy,  or  to 
pour  a  drop  of  water  on  his  burning  lips  ;  not  even 
an  echo  responds  to  his  cries,  and  he  lies  there, 
dreaming  of  the  murmur  of  limpid  streams,  and  of 
wandering  along  the  verdant  banks,  and  stooping 
to  swallow  the  delicious  draught,  till  the  effort  to 
obey  the  impulse  of  imagination  dissipates  the  en- 
chantment, and  awakens  him  to  all  the  horrible 
realities  of  his  situation, — a  helpless  and  forsaken 
wanderer,  perishing  for  thirst  in  a  vast  howling 
wilderness ! 

No  general  description,  however,  of  the  misery 
of  such  a  situation  can  convey  so  vivid  a  picture  of 
Ishmael's  distress  as  the  unvarnished  and  circum- 


foot  of  a  tree,  and  went  herself  and  sat 
down  at  a  considerable  distance,  that  she 
might  not  behold  the  dying  pangs  of  her 
beloved  Ishmael. 


stantial  narratives  of  those  who  have  had  the 
courage  to  brave,  and  the  good  fortune  to  survive, 
the  perils  of  the  same,  or  a  similar  scene.  And,  to 
the  reader  of  the  Bible,  who  meets,  both  in  the 
story  of  the  son  of  Hagar,  and  the  travels  of  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  with  several  notices  of 
this  kind  of  distress,  which  the  rapid  narrative  of 
Moses  introduces  only  by  incidental  allusion,  an 
important  and  grateful  service  may  be  rendered  by 
subjoining  the  most  interesting  particulars  of  the 
accounts  of  some  individuals  who  have  felt  all  the 
horrors  consequent  on  a  failure  of  water  in  the 
Arabian  desert.  The  following  occurrence,  related 
by  a  French  traveller,  awakens  a  melancholy  in- 
terest, both  from  the  number  of  persons  who  were 
overtaken  with  the  calamity,  and  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences with  which  it  was  attended*.  The  caravan 
belonged  to  a  Turk  who  speculated  in  the  slave 
trade,  and  who  having  with  great  care,  and  at  a 
great  expense,  reared  and  educated  some  female 
slaves  lyj  possessed,  was  on  his  way  to  dispose  of 
them  at  the  market  of  Bagdad.  They  had  taken 
with  them  a  copious  supply  of  water,  and  had  cal- 
culated on  being  able  to  renew  it  at  a  well  which 
they  liad  to  pass  ;  but,  to  their  great  disappoint- 
ment, they  found  it  completely  dried,  and  they 
were  reduced,  in  consequence,  to  the  greatest  dis- 
tress. The  first  object  that  struck  the  eye  of  the 
Frenchman  as  he  approached,  was  the  owner  of 
the  caravan  running  about  in  a  state  of  distraction, 
and  bewailing,  in  most  doleful  terms,  his  situation, 
and  the  ruin  of  his  fortunes  ;  on  a  nearer  view  a 
spectacle  was  disclosed  that  would  have  wrung  pity 
out  of  the  hardest  heart.  In  the  midst  of  twelve 
eunuchs  and  about  a  hundred  camels,  was  a  band 
of  two  hundred  girls  of  most  exquisite  beauty,  of 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  lying  on  the 
ground  in  a  state  approaching  to  insensibility,  pro- 
duced by  excessive  fatigue  and  thirst.  Some  had 
already  sunk  under  their  distress,  and  were  thrown 
into  a  pit  dug  for  the  purpose  ;  the  greater  part, 
however,  showed,  by  their  panting  bosoms  and  im- 
ploring looks,  that  they  were  still  alive,  but  so  faint 
and  feeble  that  had  water  been  within  their  reach, 
they  could  not  have  made  the  necessary  exertion  to 
carry  it  to  their  lips.  The  air  was  rent  with  the 
piercing  cries  of  the  dying  girls,  and  many  a  wistful 
eye  was  cast  on  the  traveller  and  his  companions  for 
a  drop  of  the  precious  fluid.  Deeply  affected  by 
such  a  scene,  he  was  proceeding  to  open  his  leath- 
ern bottle,  and  to  distribute  its  contents  among  as 
many  as  possible  of  the  pitiable  objects,  when  his 
guide  rushing  forward  with  the  peremptory  ex- 
clamation :  "  Madman,  wouldst  thou  have  us  also 
perish  of  thirst,"  dashed  off  the  unfortunate  slaves, 
seized  hold  of  the  water  skin,  and  threatened  with 
instant  death  the  first  who  ventured  to  touch  it. 
The  traveller,  knowing  that  the  ruthless  Arab  was 
in  the  right,  and  was  acting  as  his  own  friend,  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  the  cruel  necessity  ;  and,  as 
their  departure  from  the  scene  of  horror  took  away 
the  last  ray  of  hope  from  the  perishing  girls,  a 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE   BIBLE. 


A  melancholy  scene  ensued,  the  feeble 
tongue  of  the  child  begged  relief  from  the 
tender  mother,  whose  woes  were  doubled 
by  her  want  of  power  ;  his  pressing  de- 
mands could  only  be  answered  by  her 
gushing  tears,  and  they  had  no  other  pro- 
spect before  them  than  despair  and  death. 
But  the  ears  of  boundless  mercy  are  ever 
open  to  the  cries  of  distress ;  and  the  hand 
of  bounty  is  ever  ready  to  dispense  aid  to 
the  indigent ;  for  in  this  most  desperate 
situation  the  Lord  heard,  the  Lord  pitied, 
the  Lord  relieved.  A  cheering  promise 
was  given  to  the  fainting  handmaid,  and  a 
well  of  water  supplied  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  expiring  child. " 

The  mother  and  son  afterwards  took  up 
their  abode  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran, 
where  the  Lord  blessed  them,  and  Ishmael 
becoming  an  expert  archer,  furnished  both 
himself  and  mother  with  necessary  pro- 
visions. When  he'  arrived  to  years  of 
maturity,  his  mother,  being  an  Egyptian, 
took  him  a  wife  out  of  her  native  country. 

Abraham  having  received  so  many  to- 
kens of  respect  at  the  hands  of  Abimelech, 
accepts  of  the  invitation  to  reside  in  his 
country ;  and  the  king  observing  the  suc- 
cess with  which  it  pleased  God  to  crown 
all  the  undertakings  of  the  pious  patriarch, 
who  now  became  very  powerful,  and  fear- 
ing, lest  in  future  time  his  influence 
should  become,  so  great  as  to  endanger  the 
security  of  his  crown,  at  t^e  instigation 
of  Phicol,  the  general  of  all  his  forces,  he 
entered  into  a  league  of  friendship  with 
Abraham. 

The  treaty  being  made  and  confirmed 


shriek  of  despair  was  raised,  every  one  crying  out 
wit!)  frantic  vehemence  for  death  to  come  and  re- 
lieve them  from  their  sufferings. — It  was  a  most 
distressing  scene  ;  even  the  Arab,  not  unused  to 
such  spectacles,  could  no  longer  resist ;  he  took  one 
that  lay  nearest  him,  poured  a  drop  of  water  on 
her  burning  lips,  and  placed  her  behind  him  on  his 
camel,  witli  the  view  of  presenting  her  as  a  present 
to  his  wife.  The  poor  slave  fainted  several  times  as 
she  parted  from  the  spot, — but  being  borne  across 
the  desert  at  a  rapid  pace  by  her  deliverers,  was 
spared  the  agony  of  witnessing  the  death  that  in- 
evitably awaited  her  less  fortunate  companions. 
—-Rev.  Robert  Jamieson. 


by  an  oath,  and  a  difference  composed 
concerning  a  well  of  water,  which  Abra- 
ham had  digged,  and  Abimelech's  servants, 
without  the  knowledge  of  their  master, 
had  forcibly  seized ;  but  now,  on  the  pa- 
triarch's complaint,  was  restored  to  him. 
Abraham,  as  a  token  of  friendship,  pre- 
sented some  sheep  and  oxen  to  Abimelech, 
who,  with  his  general,  took  leave  and  re- 
turned to  his  court,  while  the  patriarch 
planted  a  grove,*  in  Beersheba,  and  called 
on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  everlasting 
God. 

The  Lord  in  his  wise  providence*  had 
already,  in  divers  instances,  and  on  many 
occasions,  put  Abraham's  faith  and  obe- 
dience to  the  test;  but  now  he  tries  him 
in  the  tenderest  point,f  a  point  in  which 
every  tie  of  parental  affection  bound  him, 
and  to  give  up  which,  required  a  degree 
of  resignation,  uncommon  to  the  best  of 
men.  He  is  required,  by  his  God,  to 
sacrifice  his  son,  to  imbrue  his  hands  in 
the  blood  of  a  darling  child. 

Ishmael  was  now  to  him  no  more ;  he 
had  parted  with  him  at  the  divine  com- 
mand, and  transferred  his  affection  wholly 
to  Isaac;  and  this  son,  this  only  son,  who 


•  Though  this  grove  was  planted  from  force  of 
custom  and  example,  it  being  the  universal  practice 
of  the  heathens  to  plant  groves  and  therein  set  up 
their  idols  and  altars,  yet  Abraham  followed  not 
their  idolatry,  but  called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
the  everlasting  God. 

f  The  words  in  the  text  are,  '  that  God  did 
tempt  Abraham,'  but  God  is  said  to  tempt  no  man  ; 
and  therefore  all  that  he  could  he  supposed  to  do 
in  this  case,  was  only  to  make  trial  of  him  ;  and 
that  too,  not  to  inform  himself  of  the  sincerity  and 
steadiness  of  his  faith,  but  in  order  to  the  holy 
patriarch's  own  justification,  and  to  make  him  an 
illustrious  pattern  of  an  entire  dependence  on  the 
Almighty,  to  future  saints  and  confessors.  The 
Jews  reckon  up  ten  trials  of  Abraham,  of  which 
the  last  was  the  greatest  1.  God's  command  to 
him  to  leave  his  country.  2.  The  famine,  which 
forced  him  to  go  into  Egypt.  3.  Pharaoh's  taking 
his  wife  from  him.  4.  His  war  with  the  four  kings. 
5.  His  despair  of  having  Isaac  by  Sarah,  and 
marrying  Hagar  on  that  account.  (J.  His  circum- 
cision in  his  old  age.  7.  His  wife's  being  again 
taken  from  him  by  Abimelech.  8.  The  expulsion 
of  Hagar,  when  she  was  with  child  by  him.  9.  His. 
expulsion  of  her  and  Ishmael.  And,  10.  His 
oblation  of  his  only  son  Isaac. — Bibliotheca  Bib. 
vol.  i. 


40 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


had  been  given  him  by  divine  promise, 
and  was  the  ground  of  his  future  expecta- 
tion, must  fall  a  victim,  by  the  unalterable 
decree  of  heaven.  Hard  task  to  flesh  and 
blood  !  Severe  trial  to  human  nature  ! 
But  if  the  flesh  shuddered,  the  spirit  was 
resolute :  God  commands,  the  patriarch 
obeys. 

Without  hesitation,  or  the  least  delay, 
he  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  place  appointed  by  the 
Lord,  which  was  the  land  of  Moriah,*  ac- 
companied only  by  his  son  Isaac,  and  at- 
tended by  two  servants,  who  led  an  ass, 
that  carried  the  provisions,  together  with 
the  wood,  instruments,  and  other  things 
necessary  for  the  sacrifice.  On  the  third 
day's  journey,  they  came  within  sight  of 
the  place ;  when  Abraham  ordered  his  ser- 
vants to  stop  with  the  ass,  while  he  and 
the  lad  went  on  further  to  worship;  which 
done,  they  would  return  to  them  again. 

The  harmless  Isaac,  ignorant  of  the 
design  of  his  pious  and  affectionate  parent, 
went  on  cheerfully  with  him ;  and  the  good 
old  patriarch,  relying  on  the  faithfulness 
of  the  divine  promise,  overcame  the  smug- 
glings of  natural  affection,  that  might  have 
retarded  his  compliance  with  the  will  of 
God,  and  proceeded  with  a  resolution 
worthy  the  father  of  the  faithful. 

Thus  advanced  the  father  and  son  to 


*  That  is,  the  land  of  vision,  according  to  many 
interpreters,  and  shows  that  the  words  of  our  Lord, 
*  Abraham  saw  my  day,'  alludes  to  this  extraordin- 
ary circumstance.  This  mountain,  whereon  Abra- 
ham was  ordered  to  offer  his  son  Isaac,  was  cer- 
tainly the  same  on  which  the  temple  was  after- 
wards built  by  Solomon,  and  on  part  of  which., 
namely,  Mount  Calvary,  Christ  did  afterwards 
actually  offer  himself  unto  God  for  the  redemption 
of  mankind  :  which  offering  of  his,  as  it  seems  to 
have  been  designedly  prefigured  by  the  intention- 
al offering  of  Isaac  ;  so  it  might  seem  good  to 
divine  reason  to  assign  the  same  for  the  typical 
offering  of  Isaac,  where,  in  due  time,  the  antitype, 
our  Redeemer,  was  to  be  offered.  But,  instead  of 
Moriah.  the  Samaritans  read  Morel),  and  pretend 
tliat  God  sent  Abraham  towards  Shechem,  where 
certainly  was  Morel),  and  that  it  was  to  Mount 
•  Geiizim  that  Isaac  was  brought  in  order  to  be 
sacrificed.  But  this,  in  all  probability,  is  no  more 
than  a  contrivance  to  enhance  the  glory  of  their 
temple. —  Wells  and  Calmet. 


execute  a  most  awful  injunction  ;  but  as 
they  approached  the  appointed  place;  the 
lad  observing  that  a  lamb,  the  most  es- 
sential requisite  for  the  sacrifice,  was  want- 
ing, innocently  inquired  of  his  father, 
where  was  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering? 
This  inquiry  could  not  but  touch  the 
affectionate  parent  in  the  most  tender 
part,  as  it  at  once  indicated  the  innocence 
and  piety  of  the  child  :  nevertheless,  be- 
hold his  reliance  even  yet  on  the  faithful- 
ness of  an  immutable  God  !  « My  son, 
God  will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for  a 
burnt-offering.' 

Being  now  arrived  at  the  place  of  which 
God  had  told  him,  he  built  an  altar,  and 
having  prepared  the  instruments,  and  laid 
the  wood  in  order,  embraced  his  son,  and 
then  bound  him.  The  sacred  historian, 
like  a  great  painter,  has  drawn  a  veil  over 
the  sorrows  of  Abraham,  and  the  resiy-na- 
tion  of  Isaac,  that  the  imagination  of  the 
reader  might  paint  to  him  more  forcibly, 
the  struggles  of  the  parent  and  the  ago- 
nies of  the  son,  than  words  can  possibly 
express.  Isaac  was  at  this  period  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  his  father 
enfeebled  with  years;  his  resignation 
therefore  must  certainly  have  been  volun- 
tary.! 

Every  preparation  being  now  made, 
Abraham  stretched  forth  his  hand  to  give 
the  finishing  stroke  to  the  life  of  his  child, 


\  A  strong  and  exact  type  of  our  blessed  Re- 
deemer, who  voluntarily  laid  down  his  life  for  us ; 
though  no  one  could  otherwise  take  it  from  him. 
—  It  was  for  no  crime  that  Isaac  was  to  suffer  death 
in  this  tragical  manner  ;  yet  such  was  his  filial 
piety,  such  was  his  reverence  of  the  high  command, 
that  he  made  no  attempt  to  save  his  life,  though 
he  was  able  to  have  done  it,  being  arrived  at  his 
youthful  prime.  Even  so  the  innocent  Redeemer, 
in  whom  was  found  no  cause  of  death,  no  not  by 
his  very  judge,  he  abhorred  not  the  ignominious 
cross  ;  he  spared  to  employ  all  the  legions  of  an- 
gels, that  were  ready  at  his  beck  ;  he  never  at- 
tempted to  make  his  escape  when  his  time  was 
come,  which  he  had  often  done  before.  Though 
he  had  thoroughly  digested  in  his  mind  the  doleful 
circumstances  of  his  crucifixion,  he  betrayed  no* 
the  least  unwillingness  to  submit  to  his  heavenly 
Father's  will,  even  when  his  human  heart  shrunk 
at  the  bitter  cup. — M'JSwen. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


4! 


when,  behold  !  God  is  satisfied  with  the  | 
faith  and  obedience  of  the  father,  and  the 
piety  and  resignation  of  the  son;  a  heaven- 
ly messenger  is  despatched  to  avert  the 
fatal  blow,  and  to  assure  the  patriarch, 
that  God  had  accepted  this  act  of  obe- 
dience as  the  strongest  testimony  of  his 
faith  and  fear.  <  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and 
said,  Abraham,  Abraham ;  and  he  said, 
Here  am  I.  And  he  said,  Lay  not  thine 
hand  upon  the  lad;  neither  do  thou  any 
thing  unto  him;  for  now  I  know  that  thou 
fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld 
thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  me.' 

The  obedient  patriarch  had  no  sooner 
taken  off  his  eyes  from  the  dear,  though 
intended  victim,  than  he  beheld  a  ram 
caught  in  a  thicket  by  his  horns,  which,  as 
the  gracious  substitute  of  Providence,  he 
immediately  took  and  offered  for  a  burnt- 
offering  instead  of  his  beloved  son. 

On  this  infallible  token  of  Abraham's 
obedience,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  renew 
his  gracious  promise  to  him  with  enlarged 
abundance,  and  even  to  confirm  the  same 
by  a  most  solemn  oath:  '  By  myself  have 
I  sworn,'  &c. 

Having  thus  conformed  to  the  divine 
will,  and  received  a  most  convincing  testi- 
mony of  the  divine  approbation,  Abraham 
and  his  son  returned  to  his  servants,  and 
they  went  joyfully  together  to  Beer-sheba, 
the  place  of  his  residence;  whither,  on 
his  arrival,  he  was  saluted  with  the  wel- 
come news  of  the  increase  of  his  family ; 
for  Milcah,  the  wife  of  his  brother  Nahor, 
had  born  Rebekah,  who  was  afterwards 
wife  to  his  son  Isaac. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Death  of  Sarah. — Abraham  purchases  a  burial- 
place. — Procures  Rebekah  as  wife  for  his  son 

Isaac Death  of  Abraham. — Birth  of  Esau 

and  Jacob. — Esau  sells  his  birth-right. 

The  sacred  historian  is  silent  with  respect 
to  the  time  that  Abraham  abode  at  Beer- 
sheba ;  but  informs  us,  that  he  afterwards 


resided  at  Kirjath-arba,  where  he  burii  i 
his  wife  Sarah,  who  paid  the  debt  of  na- 
ture in  the  hundred  and  twenty-seventh 
year  of  her  age. 

Having:  observed  the  funeral  ceremon- 
ies  for  his  wife,  he  applied  to  the  Hittues* 
for  a  place  to  bury  his  dead?  The  Hittites, 
paying  a  deference  to  the  patriarch,  who 
was  a  mighty  man,  and  highly  favoured 
by  Providence,  gave  him  the  choice  of 
their  sepulchres  for  that  necessary  purpose. 

Abraham  acknowledged  the  favour,  by 
bowing  himself  to  the  people  of  the  land; 
but  as  his  race  was  a  peculiar  generation, 
distinguished  by  God  from  all  other  na- 
tions, and  therefore  it  was  not  lawful  for 
them  to  mix  with  any  other,  he  proposed 
to  buy  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  separate 
sepulchre  for  him  and  his  family,  and 
therefore  desired  them  to  entreat  Ephron, 
the  prince  of  the  country,  to  sell  him  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,f  offering  for  it  its  ut- 
most value. 

Application  being  made  to  Ephron,  he 
generously  offered  the  patriarch  not  only 
the  cave,  but  the  whole  field,  as  a  bury- 


*  These  Hittites  were  descended  from  Heth,  the 
son  of  Canaan,  and  grandson  of  Ham,  whom 
Noah  had  "cursed,  and  then  possessed  that  country. 

t  It  is  an  observation  of  all  those  who  have 
written  about  the  sepulture  of  the  ancients,  that 
their  dormitories  or  burying-places  were  never  in 
cities,  much  less  in  temples  or  churches,  but  always 
in  fields  or  gardens.  According  to  Carne,  the  cave 
of  Machpelah  has  been  covered  by  the  Turks  by  a 
large  and  ancient  mosque ;  and  all  around  the  soil 
is  held  inviolable.  The  cave  is  in  the  middle  of 
the  interior  of  the  edifice  ;  its  dark  and  deep  en- 
trance only  is  visible  and  it  is  rarely  entered.  The 
cave  is  said  by  the  Turks  to  be  deep  and  very  spa- 
cious, cut  out  of  the  solid  rock;  and  that  the  resting- 
places  of  the  patriarchs  still  exist,  and  are  plainly 
to  be  discerned. 

The  word  Machpelah  in  Hebrew  signifies  double, 
whence  it  is  supposed  by  some  that  there  was  one 
cave  within  another,  or  two  or  more  contiguous  to 
each  other,  in  one  of  which  Sarah  was  buried,  and 
afterwards  Abraham  in  another.  But  those  who 
derive  it  from  the  Arabic,  tell  us,  that  in  that  lan- 
guage it  signifies  shut  up,  or  walled  up,  which  in 
Eastern  countries  was  a  common  wayof  makingtheir 
tombs,  to  prevent  thieves  from  harbouring  in  them, 
or  to  hinder  them  from  being  in  any  manner  vio- 
lated or  profaned,  and  if  this  be  the  right  deriva- 
tion, then  may  the  cave  of  Machpelah  be  translat- 
ed, *  the  cave  that  was  shut  up.' —  Calmet. 


42 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


ing-place.  Abraham  acknowledged  the 
bounty  of  the  offer;  but  as  he  had  ever 
acted  on  a  principle  of  strict  justice,  he 
desired  the  prince  to  fix  a  price  upon  the 
field;  and  that  on  such  condition  he  would 
take  possession  of  it  for  the  purpose  pro- 
posed. 

The  prince  finding  the  patriarch  thus 
resolved,  told  him  the  ground  was  worth 
four  hundred  shekels,*  a  sum  beneath  the 
consideration  of  a  man  of  such  immense 
property,  and  therefore  desired  he  would 
immediately  apply  it  to  his  use  in  bury- 
ing his  dead. 

Abraham  being  told  the  price,  imme- 
diately weighed  f  the  money  to  Ephron, 
four  hundred  shekels,  current  money  with 
the  merchant,^  in  the  presence  of  a  great 
number  of  people,  and  the  field  was  there- 
upon conveyed  to  him  (according  to  the 
custom  of  those  times)  and  his  heirs  for 
ever ;  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the 
patriarch  bury  his  wife. 

As  Abraham  was  now  stricken  in  age, 
being  near  an  hundred  and  forty  years  old, 
he  became  naturally  desirous  of  seeing  his 
son  married  and  settled,  before  his  depar- 
ture out  of  this  transitory  life.  He  there- 
fore called  to  him  an  old  and  trusty  servant, 
and  having  exacted  from  him  a  solemn 
oath,  §  laid  strict  charge  upon  him,  that  he 
would  not  take  a  wife  for  his  son  of  the 
daughters  of  the  Canaanites ;  and  enjoin- 
ed him  to  go  to  his  own  (Abraham's) 
country,  and  take  a  wife  unto  Isaac  of  his 
own  kindred. 

The  servant  having  received  so  solemn 
an  injunction  from  his  master,  began  to 
reason  to  this  effect,  '  If  the  woman  re- 


*  This  amounted  to  forty-six  pounds,  thirteen 
shillings  and  upwards. 

f  The  money  was  weighed,  because  at  that  time 
no  coinage  was  invented. 

J  This  implies  that  no  base  metal  was  mixed 
with  it,  nor  any  artifice  or  fraud  used  to  impose  on 
the  seller. 

$  A  common  method  of  taking  an  oath  among 
the  Hebrews,  and  all  the  oriental  nations,  agreeable 
to  the  sacred  historian,  was  for  the  person  who 
swore,  to  put  his  hand  under  the  thigh  of  the  per- 
son  to  whom  he  swore.  . 


fuse  to  follow  me  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
must  I  return,  and  fetch  thy  son  to  her? 
The  patriarch  immediately  resolves  in  the 
negative,  as  no  consideration  could  pre- 
vail upon  him  to  suffer  his  son  to  return 
to  a  land  which  he  himself  had  left  on 
account  of  the  inhumanity  and  idolatry  of 
its  inhabitants. 

To  encourage,  however,  his  servant  in 
the  prosecution  of  his  intended  expedition, 
he  assured  him  that  a  heavenly  messenger 
should  go  before  him,  and  lead  to  the  place 
from  whence  he  should  bring  a  wife  unto 
his  son ;  but  that  if  the  woman  pitched 
upon  should  refuse  to  follow  him,  then  he 
would  be  freed  from  the  oath  he  had  taken, 
as  well  as  deemed  to  have  discharged  his 
whole  duty. 

The  servant  having  thus  settled  the 
matter  with  his  master,  set  out  with  a 
number  of  attendants  and  camels,  agree- 
able to  the  nature  of  his  business,  and  the 
dignity  of  the  person  who  despatched  him, 
travelled  till  he  arrived  at  Mesopotamia, 
and  then  repaired  to  Haran,  the  city  of 
his  master's  brother  Nahor;  having  doubt- 
less heard  that  Milcah,  his  master's  wife's 
sister,  Nahor's  wife,  had  born  him  several 
children,  one  of  whom,  named  Bethuel, 
had  a  daughter  named  Rebekah. 

The  servant  arriving  at  Haran  in  the 
evening,  caused  his  camels  to  rest  them- 
selves by  a  well  of  water  without  the  city, 
just  about  the  time  when  the  women 
usually  came  out  of  the  city  to  draw  wa- 
ter. ||  Having  been  educated  by  his  mas- 
ter in  the  fear  of  God,  and  being  sensible 
of  the  importance  of  the  business,  in  which 


||  Great  was  the  simplicity  and  humility  of  these 
early  days,  when  persons  of  the  best  rank,  and  of 
the  female  sex  too,  did  not  disdain  to  be  employed 
in  such  servile  offices.  Thus,  in  the  following  age 
Jacob  found  his  cousin  Rachel  watering  her  fa- 
ther's sheep  :  and,  several  ages  after  that,  the 
seven  daughters  of  Jethro,  who  was  a  prince  as 
well  as  a  priest  of  Midian,  kept  their  father's  flocks, 
and  used  to  draw  water  for  the  cattle.  So  well 
has  our  author  expressed  that  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, which  we  may  observe  in  Homer,  or  Hestod, 
or  any  of  the  most  ancient  writers.-  Iluweifs 
History. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


43 


he  was  employed;  the  servant,  before  he 
proceeded  a  single  step,  begs  of  the  Al- 
mighty, direction  and  success,  and  fearing 
lest  he  should  lay  hands  on  any  handmaid 
suddenly,  beseeches  of  God  to  direct  him 
by  a  sign  to  a  proper  object  of  choice  for 
his  young  master.  The  desired  sign  was, 
that  she  who,  at  his  request,  let  him  drink 
of  her  pitcher,  should  be  the  person  ap- 
pointed by  God  for  a  wife  to  his  servant 
Isaac. 

The  faithful  servant  had  scarcely  re- 
quested, when  his  petition  was  granted; 
for  he  presently  espied  Rebekah,  the 
daughter  of  Bethuel,  coming  from  the  city, 
with  her  pitcher  upon  her  shoulder  to 
fetch  water.*  Eliezer  (for  that  was  the 
servant's  name)  having  observed  that  the 
damsel  was  fair,  and  carried  about  her 
every  token  of  virginity,  ran  to  her,  after 
she  had  filled  her  pitcher  at  the  well,  and 
begged  a  draught  of  the  water  she  had 
drawn. 

She  kindly  consented,  and  not  only 
gave  him  to  drink,  but  went  again  to  the 
well  several  times,  and  filled  the  trough 
for  his  camels.  When  he  found  her  be- 
haviour so  exactly  correspond  with  the 
sign  he  had  requested  of  the  Lord,  he 
presented  her  with  a  golden  ring,f  and  a 


#  In  our  own  time  it  is  the  custom  for  the  ori- 
ental women,  particularly  those  who  are  unmarried, 
to  fetch  water  from  the  wells  in  the  mornings  and 
evenings  ;  at  which  times  they  go  forth  adorned 
with  their  trinkets.  "  In  the  valley  of  Nazareth," 
says  Dr  Clarke,  "  appeared  one  of  those  fountains, 
which,  from  time  immemorial,  have  been  the  halt- 
ing place  of  caravans,  and  sometimes  the  scene  of 
contention  and  bloodshed.  The  women  of  Naza- 
reth were  passing  to  and  from  the  town,  with  pit- 
chers upon  their  heads.  We  stopped  to  view  the 
group  of  camels  with  their  drivers  who  were  there 
reposing  ;  and  calling  to  mind  the  manners  of  the 
most  remote  ages,  we  renewed  the  solicitations  of 
Abraham's  servant  to  Rebekah,  by  the  well  of  Na- 
hor."  At  Cana  Mr  Carne  observed  several  of  the 
women  bearing  stone  watering-pots  on  their  heaiU 
as  they  returned  from  the  well.  In  Bengal,  com- 
panies of  four,  six,  ten,  or  more  women  may  be 
seen  in  every  town  daily,  going  to  fetch  water  with 
the  pitchers  resting  on  their  sides. — Home. 

f  It  is  the  custom  in  almost  all  the  East  for  the 
women  to  wear  rings  in  their  noses,  in  their  left 
nostril,  which  is  bored  low  down  in  the  middle. 
These  rings  are  of  gold,  and  have  commonly  two 


pair  of  bracelets ;  asking  at  the  same  tim« 
whose  daughter  she  was,  and  whether 
there  was  room  in  her  father's  house  to 
lodge  him  and  his  attendants  that  night 

To  his  great  astonishment  she  told  him, 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Bethuel,  the 
son  of  Nahor  by  Milcah,  assuring  him  at 
the  same  time,  that  there  was  at  her  fa- 
ther's house  every  necessary  accommoda 
tion  for  him  and  his  camels. 

Eliezer,  overcome  with  the  wonderful 
hand  of  providence  in  his  favour,  and 
deeply  affected  with  a  sense  of  God's 
goodness,  in  thus  directly  guiding  his 
course  to  the  house  of  his  master's  bre- 
thren, in  humble  acknowledgment  bowed 
down  his  head  and  worshipped  the  Lord, 
saying,  'Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  my 
master  Abraham,  who  hath  not  left  desti- 
tute my  master  of  his  mercy  and  his  truth; 
I  being  in  the  way,  the  Lord  led  me  to 
the  house  of  my  master's  brethren.' 
While  the  servant  was  thus  ruminating 
on,  and  acknowledging  the  wonderful  in- 
terposition of  divine  Providence,  the  dam- 
sel hastened  home  and  acquainted  her 
friends  with  the  extraordinary  circum- 
stance that  had  befallen  her. 

When  her  brother,  whose  name  was 
Laban,  observed  the  ring,  and  the  brace- 
lets upon  her  arms,  and  had  heard  what 
had  passed  at  the  well,  he  hastened  thither 
with  the  utmost  speed,  saluted  the  man, 

pearls  and  one  ruby  between,  placed  in  the  ring. 
I  never  saw  a  girl,  or  young  woman  in  Arabia,  or 
in  Persia,  who  did  not  wear  a  ring  after  this  man- 
ner in  her  nostril.  It  is  without  doubt  of  such  a 
ring  that  we  are  to  understand  what  is  said  in  this 
place. — The  weight  of  the  ornaments  given  to  Re- 
bekah appears  to  us  rather  extraordinary  :  the  ear- 
ring, or  jewel  for  the  face,  weighed  half  a  shekel, 
and  the  bracelets  for  her  hands  ten  shekels,  which, 
as  Sir  J.  Chardin  justly  observes,  is  about  five 
ounces.  Upon  which  he  tells  us,  "the  women 
wear  rings  and  bracelets  of  as  great  weight  as  this, 
through  all  Asia,  and  even  much  heavier.  They 
are  rather  manacles  than  bracelets.  There  are 
some  as  large  as  the  finger.  The  women  wear  sev- 
eral of  them,  one  above  another,  in  such  a  manner 
as  sometimes  to  have  the  arm  covered  with  them 
from  the  wrist  to  the  elbow.  Poor  people  wear  as 
many  of  glass  or  horn.  They  hardly  ever  take 
them  oflf;  they  are  their  riches." — Chardin  and 
Harmer. 


44 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  L 


and  invited  him  home,  assuring  him  that 
accommodation  was  prepared  both  for  him 
and  his  family.  Eliezer  therefore  accept- 
ed the  invitation,  and  while  they  were  pre- 
paring the  entertainment,  he  refused  to 
partake  of  any  food,  till  he  had  recounted 
the  nature  of  his  errand,  and  faithfully 
delivered  his  credentials,  by  telling  to 
whom  he  belonged. 

Having  given  a  general  account  of  his 
master's  circumstances  and  situation,  he 
thus  proceeded:  'Sarah  my  master's  wife 
bare  a  son  to  my  master,  when  she  was 
old,  and  unto  him  hath  he  given  all  that 
he  hath.  And  my  master  made  me  swear, 
saying,  Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  to  my 
son  of  the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites,  in 
whose  land  I  dwell:  but  thou  shalt  go 
unto  my  father's  house,  and  to  my  kin- 
dred, and  take  a  wife  unto  my  son.' 

He  then  related  a  minute  account  of 
his  whole  journey;  the  manner  of  his 
meeting  Rebekah,  and  how  remarkably 
the  hand  of  God  had  appeared  in  direct- 
ing him  thither,  concluding  thus:  'And 
now  if  ye  will  deal  kindly  and  truly  with 
my  master,  tell  me;  and  if  not,  tell  me, 
that  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  to 
the  left.' 

The  father  and  brother  of  Rebekah, 
finding  the  immediate  hand  of  Providence 
giving  a  direct  answer,  referred  him  to 
Rebekah,  who  was  then  present,  declaring 
it  was  God's  doing;  therefore  said  they, 
'We  ought  not  to  say  any  thing  to  it: 
here  is  Rebekah  before  thee;  if  she  con- 
sent, take  her,  and  let  her  be  thy  master's 
son's  wife.'  The  servant  having  obtained 
the  maiden's  consent,  offered  up  his 
grateful  acknowledgment  to  the  Lord, 
and  having  made  presents  to  the  damsel,* 


*  A  gold  and  silver  sarmah,  one  or  two  set  of 
ear-rings,  bracelets,  and  shekels,  a  gold  chain  to 
hang  over  their  breasts,  with  half  a  dozen  vests, 
some  of  brocade,  others  of  rich  silk,  are  usually 
the  wedding  clothes  of  an  Algeriue  lady  of  fashion. 
Habits  and  ornaments  of  the  like  kind  were  given 
to  the  bride  in  the  time  of  Abraham.  Thus  'a 
golden  ear-ring  of  half  a  shekel  weight'  was  given 
to  llebekah,  and  'two  bracelets  for  her  hands  of 


her  brother,  and  mother,  he,  with  his 
men,  refreshed  themselves  with  what  they 
had  prepared  for  their  entertainment,  and 
went  to  rest. 

When  the  family  rose  in  the  morning, 
he  desired  them  to  despatch  him  back  to 
his  master,  being  impatient  to  acquaint 
him  with  the  success  of  his  journey.  The 
mother  and  brother  influenced  with  natur- 
al affection,'  desired  that  Rebekah  might 
be  permitted  to  tarry  with  them  a  few 
days  to  take  perhaps  a  last  farewell;  but 
Eliezer,  like  a  diligent  and  faithful  stew- 
ard, woidd  brook  no  delay,  but  was  for 
hastening  with  her  home;  which,  with  the 
maiden's  consent,  he  accordingly  did. 

Rebekah  immediately  prepared  for  her 
journey,  being  attended  by  her  nurse 
Deborah, f  and  her  maid  servants,  and 
left  her  relations  with  this  blessing;:  'Thou 
art  our  sister,  be  thou  the  mother  of  thou- 
sands of  millions,  and  let  thy  seed  possess 
the  gate  of  tho*se  that  hate  them.'  When 
Eliezer  was  faithfully  conducting  the 
chosen  maiden  to  his  master's  house,  it  so 
fell  out,  that  Isaac,  walking  in  the  fields 
to  meditate  on  the  goodness  of  the  Lord, 
as  demonstrated  in  the  creation,  saw  his 
servants  and  camels  upon  the  road,  and 
went  forward  to  meet  them. 

Rebekah  soon  espied  him,  and  asked 
Eliezer  who  he  was;  and  being  informed 
that  it  was  his  master,  she  alighted,  and 
veiled  herself.^    Isaac  conducted  her  to  his 


ten  shekels  weight  of  gold.'  Abraham's  servant 
also  'brought  forth  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of 
gold,  and  raiment,  and  gave  them  to  Rebekah.' — 
Dr  Shaw. 

f  Among  the  ancient  nations  nurses  were 
always  held  in  peculiar  honour,  as,  so  to  speak, 
second  mothers,  and  generally  accompanied  the 
family  and  fortunes  of  those  whom  they  had 
brought  up. — Patterson. 

%  It  was  a  part  of  the  marriage  ceremony  to 
deliver  the  bride  covered  with  a  veil  from  head  to 
foot  ;  and  Rebekah  in  this  instance  only  followed 
the  established  custom  of  her  country.  Had  it 
been  the  practice  of  modest  women  in  that  age  to 
cover  their  faces  in  the  presence  of  the  other  sex, 
she  would  not  have  needed  to  veil  herself  when 
her  future  husband  met  her  in  the  field.  She 
seems  to  have  had  no  veil  when  Abraham's  ser- 
vant accosted  her  at  the  well ;  nor,  for  any  thing 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


45 


mother's  tent,  which  was  allotted  for  her 
apartment,  took  her  to  wife,  and  became 
so  enamoured  of  her  charms,  that  he 
ceased  his  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  mo- 
ther, which  had  now  continued  three 
years. 

Isaac  being  thus  happily  provided  with 
a  wife  as  the  peculiar  gift  of  providence, 
the  ancient  patriarch  took  Keturah,  one 
of  his  maids,  to  be  his  concubinary  wife, 
and  by  her  had  six  sons,  to  each  of  whom 
he  gave  portions  in  his  lifetime,  and  then 
sent  them  eastward,  that  they  might  not 
stand  in  competition  with  Isaac,  who  was 
free-born,  for  any  part  of  his  estate,  nor 
settle  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  the 
seed  of  Isaac  was  to  inherit. 

Isaac  took  Rebekah  to  wife  when  he 


that  can  be  discovered,  was  Rachel  veiled  at  her 
first  interview  with  Jacob  ;  or  if  they  did  appear 
in  veils,  these  prevented  not  a  part  of  the  face 
from  being  seen.  The  practice  of  wearing  veils, 
except  at  the  marriage  ceremony,  must,  therefore, 
be  referred  to  a  later  period,  and  was  perhaps  not 
introduced  till  after  the  lapse  of  several  ages. — 
In  modern  times,  the  women  of  Syria  never  ap- 
pear in  the  streets  without  their  veils.  To  lift 
up  the  veil  of  a  virgin  is  reckoned  a  gross  insult ; 
but  to  take  away  the  veil  of  a  married  woman  is 
one  of  the  greatest  indignities  that  she  can  receive, 
because  it  deprives  her  of"  the  badge  which  distin- 
guishes and  dignifies  her  in  that  character,  and 
betokens  her  alliance  to  her  husband,  and  her  in- 
terest in  his  affections.  In  Barbary,  when  the 
ladies  appear  in  public,  they  always  fold  them- 
selves up  so  closely  in  their  hykes,  that  even  with- 
out their  veils,  one  can  discover  very  little  of  their 
faces.  But,  in  the  summer  months,  when  they  re- 
tire to  their  country  seats,  they  walk  abroad  with 
less  caution ;  though  even  then,  on  the  approach 
of  a  stranger  they  always  drop  their  veils.  When 
a  lady  of  distinction,  says  Hanway,  travels  on 
horseback,  she  is  not  only  veiled,  but  has  generally 
a  servant,  who  runs  or  rides  before  her,  to  clear  the 
way  ;  and  on  such  occasions,  the  men,  even  in  the 
market-places,  always  turn  their  backs  till  the 
women  are  past,  it  being  thought  the  highest  ill 
manners  to  look  at  them.  A  lady  in  the  east 
considers  herself  degraded  when  she  is  exposed  to 
the  gaze  of  the  other  sex,  which  accounts  for  the 
conduit  of  Vashti  in  refusing  to  obey  the  command 
of  the  king.  Their  ideas,  of  decency,  on  the  other 
hand,  forbid  a  virtuous  woman  to  lay  aside,  or  even 
to  lilt  up  her  veil,  in  the  presence  of  the  other 
sex.  Sue  who  ventures  to  disregard  this  prohi- 
bition inevitably  ruins  her  character.  From  that 
moment  she  is  noted  as  a  woman  of  easy  virtue, 
and  her  act  is  regarded  as  a  signal  for  intrigue. 
—  Scripture  Illustrations. 


was  forty  years  old,  and  lived  twenty  years 
with  her  before  he  had  any  issue,  which 
he  at  length  obtained  by  his  importunate 
prayer  to  God;  for  now  Rebekah  con- 
ceived. 

When  she  felt  the  children  struggle  to- 
gether within  her  (for  she  had  twins)  she 
was  much  startled,  and  inquiring  of  the 
Lord  the  cause,  was  told,  '  That  two  na- 
tions were  in  her  womb,  and  that  two 
manner  of  people  should  be  separated  from 
her  bowels ;  that  one  of  those  two  should 
be  stronger  than  the  other;  and  the  elder 
should  serve  the  younger.' 

When  the  time  of  her  delivery  arrived, 
she  first  brought  forth  Esau,  who  was  cov- 
ered with  red  hair ;  then  followed  Jacob, 
whose  hand  held  Esau's  heel. 

When  the  boys  grew  up,  Esau  became 
fond  of  hunting;  but  Jacob,  being  of  a 
constitution  less  robust,  led  a  more  con- 
fined life,  and  preferred  his  tent  to  the 
»iry  plain. 

As  Esau's  situation  in  life  afforded  him 
frequent  opportunities  of  supplying  his 
father  with  venison,  he  was  esteemed  be- 
fore his  brother;  but  Jacob  obtained  the 
love  of  his  mother,  being  always  near  at 
hand,  and  ready  to  do  her  any  offices  of 
service  or  honour. 

When  the  boys  arrived  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years,  their  grandfather  Abraham 
departed  this  life,  being  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  years  of  age,  and  was  buried 
by  his  two  sons,  Ishmael  and  Isaac,  in  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,  in  the  field  which  he 
had  purchased  of  Ephron,  the  prince  of 
the  Hittites,  and  in  the  very  spot  where 
Sarah  his  wife  had  been  buried  forty  years 
before. 

Ishmael,  Abraham's  eldest  son,  Jiough 
not  his  heir,  lived  many  years  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  left  behind  him,  as  was 
foretold,  twelve  sons,  who  were  all  princes 
of  nations,  and  died  in  the  hundred  and 
seventh  year  of  his  age.  Although  he 
had  been  a  vile  man,  and  his  hand  had 
been  against  every  man,  and  every  man's 
hand  against  him,  he  died  a  natural  death, 


46 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


in  the  presence  of  his  brethren,  having  his 
family  and  relations  about  him.* 

The  two  sons  of  Isaac  being  grown  to 
maturity,  Esau  one  day  having  greatly 
fatigued  himself  with  hunting  in  the  field, 
came  fainting  home  at  the  very  instant 


*  Wherever  Ishmael  pitched  his  tent,  he  ex- 
pected, according  to  a  custom  of  great  antiquity, 
all  tents  to  he  turned  with  their  faces  towards  it, 
in  token  of  submission  ;  that  the  band  might  have 
their  eye  always  upon  their  master's  lodging,  and 
be  in  readiness  to  assist  him  if  he  were  attacked. 
In  this  manner  did  Ishmael  dwell,  and  in  this 
manner  did  he  die,  '  in  the  presence,' — '  before,' 
or,  '  over  against  the  faces  of  all  his  brethren.' 
The  manners  and  customs  of  the  Arabians,  except 
in  the  article  of  religion,  have  suffered  almost  no 
alteration,  during  the  long  period  of  three  thou- 
sand years.  They  have  occupied  the  same  coun- 
try, and  followed  the  same  mode  of  life,  from  the 
days  of  their  great  ancestor,  down  to  the  present 
times,  and  range  the  wide  extent  of  burning  sands 
which  separate  them  from  all  the  surrounding  na- 
tions, as  rude,  and  savage,  and  untractable  as  the 
wild  ass  himself.  Claiming  the  barren  plains  of 
Arabia  as  the  patrimonial  domain  assigned  by 
God  to  the  founder  of  their  nation,  they  consider 
themselves  entitled  to  seize,  and  appropriate  to 
their  own  use,  whatever  they  can  find  there.  Im- 
patient of  restraint,  and  jealous  of  their  liberty, 
they  form  no  connection  with  the  neighbouring 
states  ;  they  admit  of  little  or  no  friendly  inter- 
course, but  lrve  in  a  state  of  continual  hostility 
with  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  tent  is  their 
dwelling,  and  the  circular  camp  their  city;  the 
spontaneous  produce  of  the  soil,  to  which  they 
sometimes  add  a  little  patch  of  corn,  furnishes 
them  with  means  of  subsistence,  amply  sufficient 
for  their  moderate  desires;  and  the  liberty  of 
ranging  at  pleasure  their  interminable  wilds,  fully 
compensates  in  their  opinion  for  the  want  of  all 
other  accommodations.  Mounted  on  their  favour- 
ite horses,  they  scour  the  waste  in  search  of  plun- 
der, with  a  velocity  surpassed  only  by  the  wild  ass. 
They  levy  contributions  on  every  person  that  hap- 
pens to  fall  in  their  way  ;  and  frequently  rob  their 
own  countrymen,  with  as  little  ceremony  as  they 
do  a  stranger  or  an  enemy  :  their  hand  is  still 
against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand  against 
them.  But  they  do  not  always  confine  their  pre- 
datory excursions  to  the  desert.  When  booty  is 
scarce  at  home,  they  make  incursions  into  the  ter- 
ritories of  their.neighbours,  and  having  robbed  the 
solitary  traveller,  or  plundered  the  caravan,  imme- 
diately retire  into  the  deserts  far  beyond  the  reach 
of  their  pursuers.  Their  character,  drawn  by  the 
pen  of  inspiration,  exactly  corresponds  with  this 
view  of  their  dispositions  and  conduct :  '  Behold, 
as  wild  asses  in  the  desert,  go  they  forth  to  their 
work, rising  betimes  for  a  prey:  thewildernessyield- 
eth  food  for  them  and  for  their  children.'  Savage 
and  stubborn  as  the  wild  ass  which  inhabits  the 
same  wilderness,  they  go  forth  on  the  horse  or  the 
dromedary  with  inconceivable  swiftness,  in  quest 
of  their  prey.     Initiated  in  the  trade  of  a  robber 


that  Jacob  had  prepared  a  mess  of  pottage, 
composed  of  different  kinds  of  vegetables, 
and  of  a  red  colour.f  Esau  seeing  the 
pottage,  and  his  spirits  standing  in  need  of 
refreshment,  desired  his  brother  that  he 
might  partake  of  the  mess,  urging  as  a 
motive  to  persuade  him  into  compliance, 
that  he  was  very  faint. 

Jacob,  though  called  a  plain  man,  evi- 
dently on  this  occasion  endeavours  to  avail 
himself  of  his  brother's  necessity ;  for,  to 
inflame  his  desire  the  more,  though  greatly 
prompted  by  the  keenness  of  his  appetite, 
as  well  as  render  Esau  fonder  of  the  bar- 
gain by  delays,  he  proposes  to  him  to  sell 
his  birthright.J 


from  their  earliest  years,  they  know  no  other  em- 
ployment ;  they  choose  it  as  the  business  of  their 
life,  and  prosecute  it  with  unwearied  activity.  They 
start  before  the  dawn,  to  invade  the  village  or  the 
caravan  ;  make  their  attack  with  desperate  cour- 
age, and  surprising  rapidity  ;  and,  plunging  in- 
stantly into  the  desert,  escape  from  the  vengeance 
of  their  enemies.  Provoked  by  their  continual  in- 
sults, the  nations  of  ancient  and  modern  times 
have  often  invaded  their  country  with  powerful 
armies,  determined  to  extirpate,  or  at  least  to  sub- 
due them  to  their  yoke  ;  but  they  always  returned 
baffled  and  disappointed.  The  savage  freebooters, 
disdaining  every  idea  of  submission,  with  invincible 
patience  and  resolution,  maintained  their  indepen- 
dence ;  and  they  have  transmitted  it  unimpaired 
to  the  present  times.  In  spite  of  all  their  enemies 
can  do  to  restrain  them,  they  continue  to  dwell  in 
the  presence  of  all  their  brethren,  and  to  assert 
their  right  to  insult  and  plunder  every  one  they 
meet  with  on  the  borders,  or  within  the  limits  of 
their  domains. — Paxton. 

\  Lentils  were  a  kind  of  pulse,  somewhat  like 
our  vetches,  or  coarser  sort  of  pease.  St  Austin 
says  that  these  were  Egyptian  lentils,  which  were 
in  great  esteem,  and  very  probably  gave  the  pot- 
tage a  red  tincture.  Some  imagine  that  Esau  did 
not  know  what  this  lentil-soup  was,  and  therefore 
he  only  called  it  by  its  colour,  '  Give  me  of  that 
red,  that  same  red;'  as  it  is  in  the  Hebrew,  for 
which  reason  he  was  likewise  called  Edom,  which 
signifies  red:  but  there  is  no  occasion  to  suppose 
that  he  was  ignorant  of  what  lentils  were,  only  his 
repeating  the  word  red,  without  adding  the  name 
of  a  thing,  denoted  his  great  hunger,  and  eager- 
ness of  appetite,  which  was  probably  still  more  ir- 
ritated by  the  colour  of  the  soup.  Bibtioth.  Bib. 
— The  inhabitants  of  Barbary  still  make  use  of 
lentils,  boiled  and  stewed  with  oil  and  garlic,  and 
forming  a  pottage  of  a  chocolate  colour. 

£  Birthright  or  primogeniture  had  many  and 
great  privileges  annexed  to  it.  The  first-born  was 
consecrated  to  the  Lord,  Exod.  xxii.  29  ;  was  next 
in  honour  and  dignity  to  the  parents,  Gen.  xlix. 
3     had  a  double  portion  allotted  him,  Deut.  xxi. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


47 


Esau,  who  was  bent  upon  his  pottage, 
considered  not  at  that  time  the  great  and 
manifold  advantages  of  his  birthright,  and, 
consulting  his  appetite  rather  than  his  rea- 
son, answers  in  a  sanguine,  though  faint 
manner,  '  Behold,  I  am  at  the  point  to 
die,  and  what  shall  this  birthright  do  to 
me?' 

Jacob  finding  him  come  to  this  pass, 
would  not  part  with  his  pottage  till  he 
had  forced  Esau  to  assign  over  to  him  his 
birthright  by  an  oath. 

Thus  needy  Esau,  without  hesitation, 
sold  his  birthright,  with  all  its  appertain- 
ing benefits,  for  a  simple  mess  of  pottage, 
which  action  the  sacred  historian  calls  des- 
pising his  birthright,  Gen.  xxv.  34. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Isaac  removes  from  Beer-sheba  to  Gerar. — 
Enters  into  a  covenant  with  Abimelech. — 
Jacob  obtains  the  blessing  from  his  father,  in- 
stead of  Esau. — Flees  from  his  brother's  re- 
venge at  the  advice  of  llebekah  his  mother. 

Isaac  took  up  his  abode  at  Beer-sheba, 
the  residence  of  his  father  Abraham,  till  a 
famine  which  happened  in  that  country 
obliged  him  to  remove. 

While  he  was  ruminating  with  himself 
which  wav  to  proceed,  the  Lord  in  a  vi- 
sion charged  him  by  no  means  to  go  into 
Egypt,  but  pursue  the  divine  direction, 
assuring  him  on  those  terms  of  his  peculiar 
favour  and  blessing,  and  that  in  his  de- 
scendants he  would  punctually  fulfil  the 
oath  he*  had  sworn  to  his  father  Abraham, 
by  causing  his  family  to  increase  and  mul- 
tiply, and  making  them  the  instruments 
of  conveying  the  most  important  good  to 
mankind. 

According  to  God's  command,  Isaac  di- 
rected his  course  to  the  country  of  the 
Philistines,  and  fixed  his  habitation  in 
Gerar,  whither  on  his  arrival  he  used  the 
same  stratagem  as  his  father  had  done  in 

17  ;  succeeded  in  the  government  of  the  family  or 
kingdom,  2  Chron.  xxi.  3;  and  therefore  was  a 
matter  of  the  highest  moment. 


Egypt,  and  from  the  same  motive;  for, 
fearing  that  the  charms  of  his  wife  Re- 
bekah  might  captivate  the  men  of  that 
country,  and  thereby  endanger  his  safety, 
he  caused  her  to  pass  for  his  sisfer,  a  title 
very  common  in  those  days  among  kin- 
dred of  every  degree.  But  the  disguise 
was  soon  detected,  for  Abimelech*  (that 
is,  the  king)  had  observed  such  freedoms 
between  them,  as  inclined  him  to  think 
there  could  be  no  other  connection  than 
that  of  man  and  wife.  He  therefore  sent 
for  Isaac,  and  severely  reprimanded  him 
for  endeavouring  to  impose  upon  the  peo- 
ple, confidently  averring  from  what  he 
had  seen  that  she  was  his  wife. 

Isaac  thus  convicted,  attempted  not  to 
disprove  the  charge,  but  urged  in  vindica- 
tion of  his  conduct,  that  he  did  it  to  save 
his  life :  nevertheless  the  king  blamed 
him  for  laying  a  temptation  before  him 
and  his  people,  saying,  '  What  is  this  thou 
hast  done  unto  us?  one  of  the  people 
might  lightly  have  lain  with  thy  wife,  and 
thou  shouldest  have  brought  guiltiness 
upon  us.'  He  then  gave  the  strictest 
charge  to  his  people  in  general,  to  avoid 
giving  the  least  offence  either  to  him  or 
to  his  wife. 

Having  received  these  tokens  of  the 
royal  sanction  and  patronage,  Isaac  applied 
himself  to  husbandry,  in  which  it  pleased 
God  to  render  him  remarkably  successful ; 
insomuch  that  in  process  of  time  he  be- 
came so  wealthy  and  powerful  as  to  ex- 
cite the  envy  of  the  principal  inhabitants 
of  Gerar.  The  success  of  Isaac  however 
was  soon  the  cause  of  his  departure  ;  for  the 
king's  attendants  and  favourites,  in  order 
to  give  him  offence,  ordered  the  wells  to 
be  filled  up,  that  his  father's  servants  had 


*  It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  Abimelech  might 
be  the  son  of  that  Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar,  with 
whom  Abraham  had  formerly  made  a  covenant, 
supposing  Abimelech  to  be  here  the  proper  name 
of  a  man  :  but  it  is  much  more  probable,  that,  at 
this  time,  it  was  a  common  name  for  the  kings  of 
the  Philistines,  as  Caesar  was  for  the  Roman  em- 
perors, and  Pharaoh  for  the  kings  of  Egypt. — 
Stackhouse. 


48 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


digged;  which,  together  with  the  advice  of 
ihe  king,  who  was  not  free  from  jealousy 
jn  his  account,  determined  him  to  with- 
iraw  to  some  other  place.  To  avoid 
*very  cause  of  suspicion  in  the  king,  as 
well  as  secure  his  property,  Isaac  withdrew 
to  the  valley  of  Gerar,  and  immediately 
employed  his  servants  in  digging  the  wells 
which  the  Philistines  had  filled  up  ;  and 
when  finished,  called  them  by  the  same 
names  as  his  father  had  given  them.  In 
the  course  of  their  labour,  the  servants 
discovered  a  new  well  of  fine  springing 
water ;  but  a  dispute  arising  between  some 
neighbouring  herdsmen  and  Isaac's  peo- 
ple, the  former  claiming  the  well  as  found 
upon  their  ground ;  the  latter  at  the  com- 
mand of  their  master  quitted  it ;  but  called 
it  Esek,  or  Contention,  to  perpetuate  the 
quarrel  which  was  occasioned  by  its  dis- 
covery. Isaac's  servants  then  digged 
another  well,  which  also  excited  conten- 
tion, and  was  therefore  called  Sitnah,  or 
Hatred.* 


*  "  Strife,"  says  Dr  Richardson,  "  between  the 
different  villagers  and  the  different  herdsmen  here, 
exists  still,  as  it  did  in  the  days  of  Abraham  and 
Lot :  the  country  has  often  changed  masters  ;  but 
the  habits  of  the  natives,  both  in  this  and  other 
respects,  have  been  nearly  stationary." — The  ex- 
treme scarcity  of  water  in  these  arid  regions  ac- 
counts for  the  fierce  contentions  about  the  posses- 
sion of  a  well,  which  so  frequently  happened  be- 
tween the  shepherds  of  different  masters.  But 
after  the  question  of  right,  or  of  possession,  was 
decided,  it  would  seem  the  shepherds  were  often 
detected  in  fraudulently  watering  their  flocks  and 
herds  from  their  neighbour's  well.  To  prevent 
this,  they  secured  the  cover  with  a  lock,  which 
continued  in  use  so  late  as  the  days  of  Chardin, 
who  frequently  saw  such  precautions  used  in 
different  parts  of  Asia,  on  account  of  the  real 
scarcity  of  water  there.  According  to  that  intelli- 
gent traveller,  when  the  wells  and  cisterns  were 
not  Jocked  up,  some  person  was  so  far  the  proprie- 
tor, that  no  one  dared  to  open  a  well,  or  a  cistern, 
but  in  his  presence.  Some  of  these  wells  are 
furnished  with  troughs  and  flights  of  steps  down  to 
the  water,  and  other  contrivances,  to  facilitate  the 
labour  of  watering  the-  cattle.  In  modern  times, 
Mr  Park  found  a  trough  near  the  well,  from  which 
the  Moors  watered  their  cattle,  in  the  sandy  deserts 
of  Sahara.  As  the  wells  are  often  very  deep,  from 
an  hundred  and  sixty  to  an  hundred  and  seventy 
feet,  the  water  is  drawn  up  with  small  leathern 
buckets,  and  a  cord,  which  travellers  are  often 
obliged  to  carry  along  with  them,  in  their  journey, 
because  they  meet  with  more  cisterns  and  wells 


Disapproving  a  situation  amongst  such 
contentious  and  envious  people,  the  pa- 
triarch removed  from  amongst  them,  and 
digged  another  well,  of  which  he  kept 
peaceable  possession,  and  therefore  called 
it  Rehoboth,  or  free  space,  because  his 
flock  had  now  room  to  feed  at  large,  and 
range  the  country  in  search  of  the  best 
pasture:  'for  now,'  said  he,  'the  Lord 
hath  made  room  for  us,  and  we  shall  be 
fruitful  in  the  land.' 

But    Isaac  dwelt  not    long  upon   this 

than  springs.  Dr  Richardson  saw  one  of  these 
buckets  lying  beside  a  deep  well  near  a  Christian 
church  in  l^gypt  to  draw  water  for  the  congrega- 
tion. And  Buckingham  found  a  party  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  Arabs  drawing  water  in  leathern  buckets 
by  cords  and  pulleys.  The  scarcity  of  water,  and 
the  great  labour  and  expense  of  digging  away  so 
much  earth,  in  order  to  reach  it,  render  a  well  ex- 
tremely valuable.  As  the  water  is  often  sold  at  a 
very  high  price,  a  number  of  good  wells  yield  to 
the  proprietor  a  large  revenue.  Pitts  was  obliged 
to  purchase  water  at  sixpence  a  gallon.  To  stop 
the  wells,  is  therefore  justly  reckoned  an  act  of 
hostility.  This  mode  of  taking  vengeance  on 
enemies  has  been  practised  in  more  recent  times. 
The  Turkish  emperors  give  annually  to  every  Arab 
tribe  near  the  road,  by  which  the  Mahomedun  pil- 
grims travel  to  Mecca,  a  certain  sum  of  money,  and 
a  certain  number  of  vestments,  to  keep  them  from 
destroying  the  wells,  which  lie  on  that  route 
and  to  escort  the  pilgrims  'across  their  country. 
D'Herbelot  records  an  incident  exactly  in  point, 
which  seems  to  be  quite  common  among  the  Arabs. 
Gianabi,  a  famous  rebel  in  the  tenth  century, 
gathered  a  number  of  people  together,  seized  on 
Bassorah,  and  Caufa  ;  and  afterwards  insulted  the 
reigning  caliph,  by  presenting  himself  boldly  be- 
fore Bagdat,  his  capital  ;  after  which  he  retired  by 
little  and  little,  filling  up  all  the  pits  with  sand, 
which  had  been  dug  on  the  road  to  Mecca,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  pilgrims.  Near  the  fountains  and 
wells,  the  robber  and  assassin  commonly  took  his 
station,  and  in  time  of  war  the  enemy  placed 
their  ambush,  because  the  flocks  and  herds  in 
which  the  wealth  of  the  country  chiefly  consisted, 
were  twice  every  day  collected  to  those  places,  and 
might  be  seized  with  less  danger  when  the  shep- 
herds were  busily  engaged  iti  drawing  water.  This 
circumstance,  which  must  have  been  familiar  to 
the  inhabitants  of  those  countries,  is  mentioned  by 
Deborah  in  her  triumphal  song:  '  They  that  are 
delivered  from  the  noise  of  archers  in  the  place  of 
the  drawing  of  water,  there  shall  they  rehearse  the 
righteous  acts  of  the  Lord.'  But  a  still  more  per- 
fect comment  on  these  words  is  furnished  by  an 
historian  of  the  croisades,  who  complains,  that 
during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Christian  ar- 
mies, numbers  of  their  men  were  daily  cut  off',  and 
their  cattle  driven  away  by  the  Saracens,  who  lay 
in  ambush  for  this  purpose  near  all  the  fountains 
and  watering  places. — Paxton.  • 


Chap.  VI.] 

spot;  for  he  soon  returned  to  Beer-sheba, 
vhere,  on  the  very  night  of  his  arrival,  it 
pleased  God  to  renew  the  promise  he  had 
made  to  him  and  his  seed  for  the  sake  of 
faithful  Abraham;  in  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment of  which  repeated  instance  of  the 
divine  goodness,  he  built  an  altar  there, 
called  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and 
determining  with  God's  blessing  to  tarry- 
there  some  time,  ordered  his  servants  to 
dig  a  well, — water  in  those  dry  and  hot 
countries  being  a  very  valuable  commodity. 
Isaac  had  not  long  resided  here,  before 
Abimelech,  touched  with  a  sense  of  the 
injury  he  had  done  him,  and  the  unworthy 
treatment  he  had  received  from  his  ser- 
vants, as  well  as  fearing  his  just  and  power- 
ful resentment,  thought  it  most  prudent 
to  avoid  future  trouble,  by  endeavouring 
to  bring  him  into  a  league  of  friendship 
with  him ;  taking  therefore  with  him  two 
of  his  chief  friends  and  subjects,  he  went 
to  Isaac  to  Beer-sheba,  in  order  to  pay 
him  respect  and  honour. 

To  remind  the  king  that  he  still  retain- 
ed a  sense  of  the  injuries  he  had  formerly 
one  him,  the  patriarch  received  his  visit 
ut  coolly,  demanding  of  him  the  cause  of 
visiting  a  person  to  whom  by  his  conduct 
and  behaviour  he  had  long  discovered  an 
aversion. 

Abimelech,  conscious  of  his  error,  and 
desirous  of  avoiding  the  resentment  of  the 
patriarch,  told  him,  that  the  cause  of  de- 
siring to  be  on  terms  of  friendship  with 
him,  arose  from  a  certain  assurance,  that 
the  Lord  had  undertaken  to  assert  his 
right ;  assuring  him  at  the  same  time,  that 
he  had  retained  an  esteem  for  him,  and 
concluding  his  address  with  a  very  honour- 
able appellation,  '  Thou  art  now  the  bless- 
ed of  the  Lord.' 

Isaac  being  of  a  peaceable  disposition, 
entertained  Abimelech  and  his  attendants 
with  great  liberality ;  and  the  ensuing 
morning,  the  king  and  the  patriarch  en- 
tered into  a  covenant  of  friendship,  ratified 
the  same  by  a  solemn  and  mutual  oath, 
and  they  parted  from  each  other  with  much 


THE  BIBLE. 


peace  and  respect.  Isaac  had  no  soone: 
dismissed  Abimelech  than  his  servant  came 
and  informed  him  that  they  had  found 
water,  upon  which  he  called  it  Sheba. 

A  circumstance  now  happened  which 
sorely  grieved  the  patriarch  and  his  wife 
Rebekah  :  Esau,  who  had  long  discovered 
a  perverse  and  obstinate  temper,  at  the 
age  of  forty  years  took  two  wives,  Judith 
and  Bashemath,  from  among  the  daughters 
of  the  Hittites;  though  he  could  not  but 
be  sensible  of  the  caution  his  pious  grand- 
father always  took  to  prevent  his  father 
from  marrying  into  that  idolatrous  family: 
yet  such  was  the  power  of  natural  affection 
with  Isaac,  that,  swayed  by  an  over-fond- 
ness for  a  disobedient  and  rebellious  son, 
he  would  have  preferred  the  order  of  na- 
tuie  to  the  will  of  God,  who  had  expressly 
declared,  before  Esau  and  Jacob  were  born, 
that  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger ; 
but  providence  disappointed  his  purposes, 
in  order  to  promote  its  own  wise  and  gra- 
cious designs. 

Being  now  an  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
years  old,  he  called  to  him  his  son  Esau, 
for  whom  he  always  entertained  a  partial 
regard,  and  reminding  him  of  his  advanced 
years,  and  the  uncertainty  of  his  life,  de- 
sired him  to  take  his  bow  and  quiver,  kill 
some  venison,  and  make  him  savoury  meat, 
that  his  spirits  might  he  refreshed,  and  his 
mind  properly  disposed  for  giving  him 
that  solemn  blessing,  which  pious  parents 
in  those  days  always  bestowed  upon  their 
children,  and  which  was  held  sacred  as  a 
presage  of  their  future  prosperity.* 


*  The  supper  of  savoury  meat,  as  we  call  it 
(Gen.  xxvii.  4.),  to  be  eauglit  by  hunting,  was  in- 
tended plainly  for  a  festival  or  a  sacrifice;  and 
upon  the  prayers  that  were  frequent  at  sacrifices, 
Isaac  expected,  as  was  then  usual  in  such  eminent 
cases,  that  a  divine  impulse  would  come  upon  bint) 
in  order  to  the  solemn  blessing  of  his  son  there 
present,  and  his  foretelling  his  future  behaviour, 
and  fortune.  Whence  it  must  be,  that  when  Isaac 
had  unwittingly  blessed  Jacob,  andwas  afterwards 
made  sensible  of  his  mistake,  yet  did  he  not  at- 
tempt to  alter  it,  how  earnestly  soever  his  affection 
for  Esau  might  incline  him  to  wish  it  might  be 
altered,  because  i\e  knew  that  this  blessing  came 
not  from  himself,  but  from  (iod.and  that  an  alter* 


50 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


Rebekah  overheard  what  had  passed  be- 
tween Esau  and  his  father,  who,  she  well 
knew,  preferred  him  to  Isaac ;  and  deter- 
mined if  possible  to  deprive  him  of  the 
intended  blessing,  and  by  stratagem  cause 
it  to  be  pronounced  on  her  youngest  son. 
To  effect  this  she  called  Jacob,  acquainted 
him  with  the  design  of  his  father  to  pro- 
nounce his  solemn  blessing  on  his  brother, 
and  having  enjoined  him  to  a  punctual 
obedience  to  whatever  she  should  com- 
mand, bade  him  go  immediately  to  the 
flock,  and  fetch  from  thence  two  kids  of 
the  goats,  and  with  them,  said  she,  '  I  will 
make  savoury  meat  for  thy  father,  such  as 
he  loveth  ;  and  thou  shalt  bring  it  to  thy 
father,  that  he  may  eat,  and  that  he  may 
bless  thee  before  his  death.' 

The  upright  youth  hesitates  to  comply 
with  his  mother's  injunction,  lest  his  father 
should  detect  his  design,  and  instead  of  a 
blessing,  should  pronounce  upon  him  a 
curse.  His  reluctance  was  increased  by 
this  additional  reflection,  that  as  Esau 
was  remarkably  hairy,  and  he  remarkably 
smooth,  his  father,  to  supply  the  defect  of 
sight,  might  handle  him,  and  thereby  dis- 
cover the  cheat :  he  therefore  mentioned 
this  circumstance  as  a  farther  ground  of 
objection  ;  but  his  mother,  determined  on 
her  purposes,  takes  upon  herself  whatever 
might  result  from  the  same,  '  Upon  me  be 
thy  curse,  my  son,  only  obey  my  voice 
and  go  fetch  me  them.'* 

atinn  was  out  of  his  power.  A  second  afflatus 
then  came  upon  him,  and  enabled  him  to  foretell 
Esau's  future  behaviour  and  fortune  also. —  Whis- 
ton. 

*  Rebekah  seems  to  have  been  persuaded,  that 
Jacob  had  a  just  title  to  the  first  blessing,  which 
Esau  had  sold  with  his  birthright,  and  which  God 
had  designed  for  Jacob  from  the  beginning;  whence 
she  thought  it  her  duty  to  deceive  Isaac  into  an 
action  which  he  ought  to  have  done  voluntarily, 
and  therefore  takes  the  whole  curse  upon  herself, 
provided  Isaac  should  discover  the  fallacy.  But 
though  these  circumstances  have  a  great  tendency 
to  palliate  the  guilt  both  of  Jacob  and  his  mother, 
vet  they  are  no't  sufficient  to  excuse  them,  the 
former  having  increased  his  crime  by  affirming  an 
absolute  lie,  '  I  am  Esau  thy  first-born,'  &c.  We 
should  \ipon  the  whole  lament  the  frailty  of  hu- 
man nature,  which  is  ever  liable  to  err,  and  at  the 
same  time  admire  the  impartiality  of  the  sacred 


At  length  assured  of  his  mother's  ex- 
traordinary affection  for  him,  he  delayed 
not,  but  went  immediately  and  brought 
the  kids,  of  which  his  mother  made  savoury 
meat,  such  as  she  knew  her  husband  loved. 
The  food  thus  prepared,  she  put  upon 
Jacob  Esau's  best  attire,  and  covered  his 
hands  and  neck  with  the  skins  of  the  kids, 
and  presenting  him  with  the  savoury  meat, 
sent  him  with  it  to  his  father  Isaac.  As 
soon  as  he  entered,  the  good  old  man  in- 
quired of  him  who  he  was  ?  Jacob  replied, 
'  I  am  Esau  thy  first-born  ;f  I  have  punc- 
tually obeyed  your  command;  arise,  and. 
eat  of  my  venison,  that  thy  soul  may  bless 
me.'  The  old  man,  surprised  at  the  haste 
with  which  his  desire  was  executed,  in- 
quired of  him  how  it  came  to  pass  that  he 
found  the  venison  so  quickly  ?  Jacob  re- 
plied, 'Because  the  Lord  brought  it  tome;' 
but  Isaac,  still  diffident  of  his  person,  de- 
sired him  to  approach,  that  he  might  feel 
and  thereby  be  assured  whether  or  not  he 
was  really  and  verily  his  son  Esau. 

Jacob  accordingly  came  near,  and  his 
aged  father,  when  he  had  felt  his  hands, 
which  were  covered  with  the  skin  of  a  kid, 
could  not  determine  whether  it  was  Esau 
or  Jacob,  discovering  his  doubt  in  these 
words,  *  The  voice  is  Jacob's  voice,  but 
the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau.'  At 
length,  however,  being  obliged  to  rely  on 
the  veracity  of  his  son,  he  put  the  question 
to  him  more  strongly  ;  '  Art  thou  my  very 
son  Esau  ?'  Jacob  answered  as  falsely  as 
readily,  '1  am ;'  and  the  good  old  man 
being  now  satisfied  that  he  was  indeed  his 
son  Esau,  bid  him  bring  the  venison,  that 
he  might  eat  thereof,  and  bless  him4 


writings  in  which  the  very  blemishes  and  trans- 
gressions of  those  who  make  the  greatest  figure 
therein,  are  recorded  for  our  instruction. 

f  Some  commentators  suppose  that  Jacob  meant, 
that  he  represented  or  stood  in  the  place  of  Esau 
the  first-born,  by  virtue  of  the  purchase  he  had 
made  of  the  primogeniture  or  birthright  of  his 
brother.     But  this  is  offered  as  mere  opinion. 

|  Here  was  nothing  but  counterfeiting;  a  feigned 
person,  a  feigned  name,  feigned  venison,  a  feigned 
answer,  and  yet  behold  a  true  blessing  ;  but  to  the 
man,  not  to  the  means.     Those  were  so  unsound, 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


The  savoury  meat  was  accordingly 
brought,  and  Isaac  having  eaten  thereof, 
and  drank  of  the  wine,  with  which  his  son 
furnished  him,  called  him  to  come  near 
and  kiss  him,  which  when  Jacob  had  done, 
he  blessed  him  in  these  words :  '  See,  the 
smell  of  my  son  is  as  the  smell  of  a  field 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed :  therefore 
God  give  thee  of  the  dew*  of  heaven  and 
the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  plenty  of 
corn  and  wine.  Let  people  serve  thee, 
and  nations  bow  down  to  thee ;  be  lord 
over  thy  brethren,  and  let  thy  mother's 
sons  bow  down  to  thee.  Cursed  be 
every  one  that  curseth  thee,  and  blessed 
be  he  that  blesseth  thee.'  Jacob  had 
no  sooner  received  the  blessing  from  his 
father,  and  was  gone  from  his  presence, 
than  Esau  came  in,  bringing  the  venison 
prepared  for  him  to  eat,  and  saying,  '  Let 
my  father  arise  and  eat  of  his  son's  veni- 
son, that  thy  soul  may  bless  me.'  Isaac, 
confounded  at  the  circumstance,  hastily 
asked  who  he  was  ?  and  when  Esau  re- 
plied, that  he  was  his  son,  even  his  first- 
born Esau,  he  was  seized  with  a  sudden 
trembling,  and  with  astonished  counte- 
nance, asked,  '  who  and  where  was  he,' 
that  had  brought  venison  in  to  him,  of 


that  Jacob  himself  doth  more  fear  their  curse,  than 
hope  for  their  success.  Isaac  was  now  both  simple 
and  old  ;  yet,  if  he  had  perceived  the  fraud,  Jacob 
had  been  more  sure  of  a  curse,  than  he  could  be 
sure  that  he  should  not  be  perceived.  Rebekah, 
presuming  upon  the  oracle  of  God  and  her  husband's 
simplicity,  dare  be  his  surety  for  the  danger,  his 
counsellor  for  the  carriage  of  the  business,  his  cook 
for  the  diet,  yea,  dresses  both  the  meat  and  the 
man ;  and  now  puts  words  into  his  mouth,  the 
dish  into  his  hand,  the  garments  upon  his  back, 
the  goat's  hair  upon  the  open  parts  of  his  body, 
and  sends  him  in  thus  furnished  for  the  blessing, 
standing,  no  doubt,  at  the  door,  to  see  how  well 
her  device  succeeded.  And  if  old  Isaac  should; 
by  any  of  his  senses,  have  discerned  the  guile,  she 
had  soon  stepped  in  and  undertaken  the  blame, 
and  urged  him  with  that  known  will  of  God  con- 
cerning Jacob's  dominion,  and  Esau's  servitude, 
which  either  age  or  affection  had  made  him  forget. 
— Hall. 

*  In  those  hot  countries,  showers  being  less  fre- 
quent than  with  us,  the  morning  and  evening  dews 
were  of  the  utmost  importance  to  refresh  the 
earth,  and  produce  that  plenty  for  which  the 
country  was  so  remarkable. 


which  he  had  eaten  before  he  came,  and 
blessed  him  ;  and  to  give  a  farther  sanc- 
tion to  the  transaction,  he  added,  *  yea, 
and  he  shall  be  blessed.'  When  the  dis- 
appointed Esau  heard  these  words  of  his 
father,  he  exclaimed  in  the  bitterness  ot 
his  soul,  '  Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my 
father.'  His  father  in  excuse  told  him, 
that  his  brother  by  a  stratagem  had  got 
the  blessing:  from  him. 

Esau  then  remonstrated  on  the  injustice 
of  the  proceeding,  having  first  taken  away 
his  birthright,  and  then  the  blessing  of 
his  father;  but  pathetically  asked,  if  he 
had  not  in  reserve  a  blessing  for  him  ;  re- 
peating the  importunate  request,  'Bless 
me,  even  me  also,  O  my  father,'  and 
wept  most  bitterly. 

The  good  old  man,  moved  with  compas- 
sion for  his  unhappy  son,  in  order  to  ap- 
pease his  troubled  mind  a  little,  said  to 
him,  '  Behold,  thy  dwelling  shall  be  the 
fatness  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  dew  of 
heaven  from  above;  and  by  thy  sword 
shalt  thou  live,  and  shalt  serve  thy  brother: 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  thou  shalt 
have  the  dominion,  that  thou  shalt  break 
his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck.'f     But  this 


•j-  The  Edomites,  or  Idumaeans,  who  were  the 
posterity  of  Esau,  for  a  considerable  time  were  a 
people  of  much  more  power  and  authority  than 
the  Israelites,  till  in  the  days  of  David  they  were 
entirely  conquered,  2  Sam.  viii.  14  ;  they  were 
thereupon  governed  by  deputies  or  viceroys,  ap- 
pointed by  the  kings  of  Judah  ;  and  whenever  they 
attempted  to  rebel,  were  for  a  long  time  crushed, 
and  kept  under  by  the  Jews.  In  the  days  of  Jeho- 
ram,  the  son  of  Jehoshaphat,  they  expelled  their 
viceroy,  and  set  up  a  king  of  their  own,  2  Kings 
viii.  20 ;  and  though  they  were  reduced  at  that  time, 
yet  for  some  generations  after  this  they  seemed  to 
have  lived  independent  on  the  Jews,  and  when  the 
Babylonians  invaded  Judea,  they  not  only  took 
part  with  them,  but  violently  oppressed  them, 
even  when  the  enemy  was  withdrawn,  so  thai 
remembering  what  they  had  suffered  under  Joab, 
in  the  days  of  David,  they  entered  into  the  like 
cruel  measures  against  the  Jews,  and  threatened 
to  lay  Jerusalem  level  with  the  ground.  Their 
animosity  against  the  posterity  of  Jacob  seems  in- 
deed to  be  hereditary  ;  nor  did  they  ever  cease,  for 
any  considerable  time,  from  broils  and  contentions, 
until  they  were*conquered  by  Hircanus,  and  reduc- 
ed to  the  necessity  of  embracing  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion, or  quitting  their  country  :  hereupon  consent- 
ing to  the  former  they  were  incorporated  with  the 


52 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


address  availed  not,  for  Esau  conceived  a 
most  implacable  hatred  against  liis  brother 
Jacob,  for  depriving  him  of  the  important 
blessing,  and  determined  as  soon  as  his 
father  should  die,  to  slay  him. 


blessing  of  Abraham,  o  thee  and  to  thy 
seed  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  inherit 
the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stranger, 
which  God  gave  unto  Abraham.'  Isaac 
then  sent  away  his   son    Jacob,  and   he 


ltebekah  being  informed  of  Esau's  des-  '  went  to  Padan-aram,  unto  Laban,  accord- 


perate  resolution  on  the  life  of  her  beloved 
Jacob,  acquainted  him  with  the  horrid  de- 
sign, and  advised  him  to  betake  him  hastily 
to  her  brother  Laban  at  Haran,  and  there 
remain  till  his  brother's  fury  might  be 
somewhat  abated,  assuring  him  that  she 
would  particularly  observe  the  same,  and 
send  him  word  when  he  might  return  with 
safety.  Jacob,  who  ever  listened  to,  and 
obeyed  the  counsel  of  his  mother,  was 
ready  to  comply  with  her  proposal,  but 
was  not  willing  to  depart  before  he  had 
obtained  his  father's  consent,  which  in  this 
case  he  much  doubted  of  effecting.  To 
remove  this  difficulty  there'ore,  Rebekah 
artfully  complained  of  the  concern  under 
which  she  laboured  on  account  of  Esau's 
taking  wives  from  among  t.e  daughters 
of  the  Hittites,  insinuating  her  fear  lest 
Jacob  should  follow  his  example  Though 
Isaac  understood  not  the  drift  of  this 
oomplaint,  yet  being  a  pious  man,  and 
knowing  that  the  promise  made  to  his 
father  Abraham,  and  renewed  to  him,  was 
to  be  fulfilled  in  Jacob's  issue;  and  being 
verv  anxious  that  he  might  not  corrupt 
his  blood  by  intermarrying  with  idolaters, 
whom  God  would  destroy,  called  Jacob  to 
him,  and  with  his  blessing  laid  on  him  a 
most  solemn  injunction,  that  he  should 
not  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan, 
but  go  to  Padan-aram,  to  the  house  of 
Bethuel,  his  mother's  father,  and  take  from 
them  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Laban  his 
mother's  brother ;  and  farther  to  encour- 
age him,  pronounces  his  blessing,  'God 
Almighty  bless  thee,  and  make  thee  fruitful 
and  multiply  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  a 
multitude  of  people  ;  and  give  thee  the 


Jews,  and  became  one  nation,  sfe  that,  in  the 
first  century  after  Christ,  the  name  of  Idumean 
was  lost,  and  quite  disused. — Le  Clercs  Commen- 
tary. 


ing  to  his  father's  directions. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Jacob's  vision  and  vow. — Jacob  is  entertained  by 
Laban — Covenanteth  for  Rachel;  is  deceived 
with  Leah,  but  at  length  marries  llachel  also. 
— Rachel  is  concerned  on  account  of  her  bar- 
renness, and  at  length  blessed  with  a  son,  whom 

she  called  Joseph Jacob  enters  into  a  new 

covenant  with  Laban ;  by  a  scheme  becomes 
very  rich. — Departs  from  Laban,  is  pursued 
and  taken  ;  enters  into  a  fresh  covenant  with 
Laban. 

The  disappointed  Esau  finding  that  his 
father  ha.l  again  blessed  his  brother  Jacob, 
and  despatched  him  to  Padan-aram,  with 
the  most  solemn  injunction  not  to  marry 
with  any  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan,  and 
that  Jacob,  in  obedience  to  his  father's 
command,  was  departed,  could  not  but 
reflect  on  his  own  conduct  in  taking  those 
Hittite  wives.  To  reinstate  himself  there- 
fore, if  possible,  in  the  favour  of  his  father, 
he  went  and  took  to  wife  Mahalath,  his 
uncle  Ishmael's  daughter;  but  this  pro- 
duced not  the  desired  effect. 

Jacob  departing  from  Beer-sheba,  pro- 
ceeded towards  Haran;  but  night  over- 
taking him,  he  took  up  his  lodging  in  the 
open  air,*  having  the  sky  for  his  covering, 
and  stones  for  his  pillow.  While  he  slept, 
he  dreamed,  that  he  saw  a  ladder  set  upon 
the  earth,  the  top  of  which  reached  to 
heaven,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  it.  Above  this  lad- 
der stood  the  Lord,  who  thus  bespoke  him: 
'1  am  the  God  of  Abraham  thy  father, 
and  the  God  of  Isaac:  the  land  whereon 
thou  liest,  to  thee  will   I  give  it,  and  to 


*  So  exact  was  Jacob  in  observing  the  command 
of  his  father,  that  lie  would  not  enter  any  house 
that  belonged  to  a  Canaanitc,  but  chose  rather  to 
Bleep  in  the  open  air 


Chap.  VII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

thy  seed;  and  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  and  thou  shalt  spread 
abroad  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east,  and 
to  the  north,  and  to  the  soutli ;  and  in 
thee,  and  in  thy  seed,  shall  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  be  blessed.' 

Jacob  was  so  affected  with  this  dream, 
that  when  he  awoke  he  exclaimed ; 
'Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  1 
knew  it  not.'* 

As  this  is  the  first  account  in  sacred 
history  of  God's  immediately  appearing 
to  Jacob,  there  is  reason  to  think  it  was 
the  first  time;  for  we  find  it  struck  him 
with  a  religious  awe,  and  he  said,  in  a 
holy  rapture:  'How  dreadful  is  this  place! 
This  is  the  house  of  God,  the  gate  of 
heaven.' 

When  Jacob  arose  from  his  airy  couch, 
he  took  the  chief  stone  upon  which  he 
had  lain  his  head,  and  set  it  up  as  a 
monument  of  God's  loving-kindness  to- 
wards him,  in  confirming  so  solemnly  the 
promises  made  to  his  fathers;  and.  as  a 
mark  to  distinguish  the  very  spot,  to  those 
who  might  travel  that  way. 

Having  set  up  the  stone,  he  poured  oil 
upon  it,f  and,  in  token  of  so  remarkable  a 
display  of  divine  love,  changed  the  name 
of  the  place  from  Luz  to  Bethel.f 


*  We  are  by  no  means  to  infer  from  this  excla- 
mation, that  Jacob  had  such  contracted  notions  of 
the  omnipresent.  Jehovah,  as  to  imagine  that  he 
was  not  present  throughout,  yea,  beyond  all  space. 
The  meaning  therefore  is  plainly  this,  that  he  could 
not  have  imagined  before,  that  the  Lord  would 
have  chosen  that  spot  to  manifest  his  peculiar  and 
glorious  presence.  This  sense  is  confirmed  by 
several  of  the  ancient  versions,  and  particularly 
the  Chaldee. 

■f  We  find  from  several  ancient  writers  that 
this  ceremony  was  used  in  consecrating  things  to 
a  divine  use;  and  that  among  the  heathens  every 
stone  that  had  received  this  rite  was  esteemed  as 
divine  and  honoured  with  adoration. 

J  The  place  where  Jacob  took  up  his  lodging 
was  near  Luz,  which  signifies  an  almond,  and 
might  very  likely  have  its  name  from  the  many 
groves  of  almond-trees  which  were  thereabouts; 
and  under  some  of  which,  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
Jacob  might  take  up  his  lodging,  because  the 
largeness  of  their  leaves,  in  that  country,  would 
afford  no  incommodious  shelter  from  the  weather. 


Before  he  departed  from  this  memorable 
spot,  he  repeated  in  a  most  solemn  manner 
part  of  the  divine  promise  ;  and  in  order 
to  bind  himself  more  strongly  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  made  a  vow,  saying  to  this 
purport,  '  If  God  will  be  with  me,  and  di- 
rect me  in  my  journey,  and  will  give  me 
bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so 
that  I  return  to  my  father's  house  in 
peace,  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God: 
and  this  stone  which  I  have  set  up  as  a 
pillar,§  shall  be  God's  house  :  and.  of  all 


ites,  when  they  conquered  Canaan,  in  remembrance 
of  the  same,  continued  the  name.  It  lay  to  the 
west  of  Hai,  about  eight  miles  to  the  north  of 
Jerusalem,  in  the  confines  of  the  tribes  of  Ephraim 
and  Benjamin.  So  that,  upon  the  revolt  of  the 
ten  tribes,  it  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
and  was  therefore  one  of  the  cities  where  Jerobo- 
am set  up  his  golden  calves,  whence  the  prophet 
Hosea  (Chap.  iv.  15.)  alluding  to  the  name  given 
it  by  Jacob,  calls  it  Beth-aven,  instead  of  Bethel, 
that  is,  the  '  house  of  vanity  or  idols,'  instead  of 
'  the  house  of  God.' — Patrick's  Commentary  and 
V/ells's  Geography. 

§  The  Baithylia  or  consecrated  stones,  adored 
by  the  early  Phoenicians,  are  supposed  to  have 
been  the  most  ancient  objects  of  idolatrous  worship; 
and,  probably,  were  afterwards  formed  into  beauti- 
ful statues,  when  the  art  of  sculpture  became 
tolerably  perfected.  They  originated  in  Jacob's 
setting  up  and  anointing  with  oil  the  stone  which 
he  had  used  for  a  pillow,  as  a  memorial  of  the 
heavenly  vision  with  which  he  had  been  favoured 
(Gen.  xxviii.  18.),  and  ako  to  serve  as  a  token  to 
point  out  to  him  the  place  when  God  should  bring 
him  back  again.  The  practice  of  setting  up  stones 
as  a  guide  to  travellers  still  exists  in  Persia  and 
other  parts  of  the  East.  In  the  course  of  Mr 
Morier's  journey  in  the  interior  of  that  country,  he 
remarked  that  his  old  guide  "  every  here  and  there 
placed  a  stone  on  a  conspicuous  bit  of  rock,  or  two 
stones  one  upon  the  other,  at  the  same  time  utter- 
ing some  words  which"  (says  this  intelligent  tra- 
veller) "  I  learnt  were  a  prayer  for  our  safe  return. 
This  explained  to  me,  what  I  had  frequently  seen 
before  in  the  East,  and  particularly  on  a  high  road 
leading  to  a  great  town,  whence  the  town  is  first 
seen,  and  where  the  eastern  traveller  sets  up  his 
stone,  accompanied  by  a  devout  exclamation,  as  it 
were,  in  token  of  his  safe  arrival.  The  action  of 
our  guide  appears  to  illustrate  the  vow  which 
Jacob  made  when  he  travelled  to  Padan-aram. 
(Gen.  xxviii.  18 — 22.)  In  seeing  a  stone  on  the 
road  placed  in  this  position,  or  one  stone  upon 
another,  it  implies  that  some  traveller  has  there 
made  a  vow  or  a  thanksgiving.  Nothing  is  so 
natural  in  a  journey  over  a  dreary  country,  as  for  a 
solitary  traveller  to  sit  down,  fatigued,  and  to  make 
the  vow  that  Jacob  did  : — *  If  God  will  be  with  me, 
and  keep  me  in  the  way  that  I  go,  and  will  give 
Jacob,  upon  the  account  of  the  vision,  which  he  me  bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I 
had  in  this  place,  called  it  Bethel ;  and  the  Israel-  '  reach  my  father's  house  in  peace,'  &c.  then  I  will 


54 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


2hat  thou  shalt  give  me,  I  will  surely  give 
tlie  tenth  unto  thee.' 

The  pious  traveller  having  performed  a 
solemn  vow  unto  the  Lord,  proceeded  on 
ins  journey,  till  he  came  to  the  well  of 
Haran,  near  which  lay  several  flocks  of 
sheep.  He  then  inquired  of  the  shep- 
herds, if  they  knew  Laban,  the  son  of 
Nahor  ?  and  was  informed  they  did  ;  and 
that  Rachel  his  daughter  approached  with 
her  flock,  to  water  at  the  well. 

During  his  discourse  with  the  shepherds, 
the  damsel  arrived  with  her  fleecy  care, 
and  Jacob,  as  a  token  of  respect,  rolled 
away  the  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the  well, 
and  watered  the  sheep  in  her  stead ;  which 
done,  he  kissed  her,  wept  for  joy,  and  told 
her  who  he  was. 

Rachel  left  Jacob  at  the  well,  and 
hastened  to  acquaint  her  father  with  what 
had  happened.  The  good  old  man,  over- 
joyed at  the  arrival  of  his  sister's  son,  ran 
but  to  meet  him,  and  having  most  cordially 
embraced  him,  conducted  him  to  his  house. 

On  their  arrival  at  Laban's  house,  Jacob 
recounted  the  occasion  of  his  coming  from 
home,  and  some  of  the  incidents  that 
happened  in  the  way,  insomuch  that  his 
uncle  was  convinced  he  left  not  his  parents 
for  any  misdemeanor  on  his  part,  but  in 
strict  obedience  to  their  will  and  pleasure, 
though  he  travelled  without  any  atten- 
dants. 

Laban,  finding  from  his  account  that  he 
was  under  the  immediate  care  and  protec- 
tion of  Providence,  acknowledged  him  as 
his  near  relative,  and  kindly  entertained 
him ;  but  Jacob,  unaccustomed  to  an  inac- 
tive life,  entered  himself  in  the  business 
of  his  occupation,  which  when  Laban  had 
observed,  he  acquainted  him  that  he  by 
no  means  desired  his  service  for  nought, 
and  insisted  on  his  mentioning  his  own 
terms. 


give  so  much  in  charity  : — or,  again,  that  on  first 
seeing  the  place  which  he  has  so  long  toiled  to 
reach,  the  traveller  should  sit  down  and  make  a 
thanksgiving  ;  in  hoth  cases  setting  up  a  stone  as  a 
memorial." — Home. 


Rachel,  the  beautiful  and  virtuous  shep- 
herdess,* had  already  captivated  his  heart, 
and  he  proposed  her  as  the  reward  of 
seven  years'  service.f  Laban  immediately 
consented  to  the  proposal,  and  Jacob  en- 


*  This  innocent  and  useful  employ,  in  those 
early  ages,  was  reputed  no  disgrace  ;  the  greatest 
heroes  of  antiquity,  the  sons  of  kings,  and  kings 
themselves  are  represented  as  engaged  in  the  same, 
which  was  then  as  honourable  as  it  is  now  despi- 
cable. 

f  In  the  remote  ages  of  antiquity,  women  were 
literally  purchased  by  their  husbands  ;  and  the 
presents  made  to  their  parents  or  other  relations 
were  called  their  dowry.  Thus,  we  find  Shechem 
bargaining  with  Jacob  and  his  sons  for  Dinah  : 
"  Let  me  find  grace  in  your  eyes,  and  what  ye  shall 
say  unto  me,  I  will  give :  ask  me  never  so  much 
dowry  and  gift,  and  I  will  give  according  as  ye 
shall  say  unto  me  ;  but  give  me  the  damsel  to  wife." 
The  practice  still  continues  in  the  country  of  She- 
chem ;  for  when  a  young  Arab  wishes  to  marry,  he 
must  purchase  his  wife ;  and  for  this  reason,  fathers, 
among  the  Arabs, are  nevermore  happy  than  when 
they  have  many  daughters.  They  are  reckoned 
the  principal  riches  of  a  house.  An  Arabian 
suitor  will  offer  fifty  sheep,  six  camels,  or  a  dozen 
of  cows  ;  if  he  be  not  rich  enough  to  make  such 
offers,  he  proposes  to  give  a  mare  or  a  colt  ;  con- 
sidering in  the  offer,  the  merit  of  the  young  woman, 
the  rank  of  her  family,  and  his  own  circumstances. 
In  the  primitive  times  of  Greece,  a  well-educated 
lady  was  valued  at  four  oxen.  When  they  are 
agreed  on  both  sides,  the  contract  is  drawn  up  by 
him  that  acts  as  cadi  or  judge  among  these  Arabs. 
When  the  intended  husband  was  not  able  to  give  a 
dowry,  he  offered  an  equivalent, — as  exemplified 
above  in  the  case  of  Jacob  serving  Laban  seven 
years  for  his  daughter  Rachel.  This  custom  has 
descended  to  modern  times  ;  for  in  Cabul  the 
young  men  who  are  unable  to  advance  the  required 
dowry,  "  live  with  their  future  fither-in-law  and 
earn  their  bride  by  their  services,  without  ever 
seeing  the  object  of  their  wishes."  Saul,  instmid 
of  a  dowry,  required  David  to  bring  him  an  hun- 
dred foreskins  of  the  Philistines,  under  the  pretence 
of  avenging  himself  of  his  enemies.  This  custom 
has  prevailed  in  latter  times  ;  for  in  some  countries 
they  give  their  daughters  in  marriage  to  the  most 
valiant  men,  or  those  who  should  bring  them  so 
many  heads  of  the  people  with  whom  they  happen 
to  be  at  war.  It  is  recorded  of  a  nation  in  Cara- 
mania,  that  no  man  among  them  was  permitted  to 
marry,  till  he  had  first  brought  the  head  of  an  ene- 
my to  the  king.  Aristotle  admits,  that  the  ancient 
Grecians  were  accustomed  to  buy  their  wives  ;  but 
they  no  sooner  began  to  lay  aside  their  barbarous 
manners,  than  this  disgusting  practice  ceased,  and 
the  custom  of  giving  portions  to  their  sons  in-law, 
was  substituted  in  its  place.  The  Romans  also,  in 
the  first  ages  of  their  history,  purchased  their  wives; 
but  afterwards  they  required  the  wife  to  bring  a 
portion  to  the  husband,  ttiat  he  might  be  able  to 
bear  the  charges  of  the  matrimonial  state  more 
easily. — Pax  tun. 


; 


VII. 


THE  BIBLE. 


t  ed  on  his  service  most  cheerfully,  having 
an  eye  to  the  reward,  which  in  his  judg- 
ment was  inestimable. 

His  affection  for  Rachel  sweetened  the 
servitude,  as  well  ;is  rendered  the  time 
apparently  short;  and  when  it  was  expired, 
Jacob  demanded  Rachel  to  wife.  Laban, 
on  the  occasion,  invited  all  his  friends  and 
neighbours  to  the  solemnization  of  the 
nuptials;  but,  desirous  of  retaining  Jacob 
in  his  service,  he  treated  him  very  unfair- 
ly; for  in  the  evening  he  took  Leah,  his 
other  daughter,  and  brought  her  to  Jacob's 
bed,*  instead  of  Rachel,  to  whom  he  was 
contracted. 

When  Jacob  discovered  the  deceit  in 
the  morning,  f  he  expostulated  with  Laban 
on  the  injustice  of  his  treatment;  but  his 
uncle  waved  the  affair,  by  observing,  that 
it  was  not  the  custom  of  the  country,  to 
give  the  younger  in  marriage  before  the 
elder.J  Though  this  excuse  was  so  tri- 
fling, Laban,  who  had  observed  Jacob's 
fondness  for  Rachel,  knew  he  could  bring 
him  to  any  terms,  and  therefore  demanded 
the  same  course  of  service  for  his  younger 
daughter ;  and  as  he  had  the  utmost  reason 
to  apprehend  that  Jacob  in  resentment  of 
the  fraud  would  discard  Leah,  he  entreated 
him  to  fulfil  her  week,  promising  on  those 
terms,  to  give  him  her  also  in  marriage. 
Jacob  complied  with  the  proposal,  and 
then  married  Rachel,  of  whom  being  pas- 
sionately fond  he  slighted  Leah.  But 
God  compassionating  the  case  of  Leah, 
opened  her  womb,  and  restrained  Rachel 
from    child-bearing,    insomuch    that    the 


*  It  was  customary  in  that  country,  for  the  bride, 
as  an  emblem  of  modesty,  to  be  covered  with  a  veil 
when  she  was  brought  to  the  bridegroom  :  by  this 
means  doubtless  Jacob  was  imposed  on  by  Laban, 
anil  could  not  discern  that  it  was  Leah,  till  the 
next  morning. 

f  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  Jacob,  who 
deprived  Esau  of  the  blessing  his  father  intended 
him  by  fraud,  lost  what  he  esteemed  an  invaluable 
blessing,  by  fraud  likewise. 

J  The  same  practice  continues  to  this  day  among 
the  Hindoos,  with  whom  it  is  considered  criminal 
to  give  the  younger  daughter  in  marriage  before 
the  elder,  or  for  a  younger  son  to  marry  while  his 
elder  brother  remains  unmarried. 


former  bare  four  sons  before  the  latter 
even  conceived.  The  fruitfulness  of  her 
sister  excited  the  envy  of  Rachel,  who  in 
process  of  time  broke  off  all  family  con- 
nection and  became  averse  to  the  very 
sight  of  Leah. 

Such  was  her  concern  for  her  barren- 
ness that  it  bewildered  her  imagination, 
and  in  very  opprobrious  terms  she  vented 
her  rage  upon  her  husband  ;  '  Give  me 
children,  or  else  I  die  :'  but  Jacob  checked 
such  an  inordinate  sally  of  temper  in  a 
manner  becoming  a  person  of  prudence 
and  piety,  in  this  short,  though  stinging 
reproof,  '  Am  I  in  God's  stead,  who  hath 
withheld  from  thee  the  fruit  of  the  womb  ?' 

Rachel,  thus  convinced  of  her  folly  and 
rashness,  proposed  a  method  to  supply  this 
defect  in  herself;  this  was  the  stratagem 
pursued  by  her  grandmother  Sarah,  for 
having  advised  concerning  the  matter 
with  her  husband,  she  gave  him  her  hand- 
maid Bilhah  as  a  concubinary  wife,  think- 
ing to  esteem  and  cherish  as  her  own,  the 
children  which  Jacob  might  have  by  her 
maid.  Rachel  therefore,  according  to  her 
design,  when  Bilhah  bore  Jacob  a  son, 
claimed  him  as  her  own,  and  called  him 
Dan,  as  she  did  also  a  second,  whom  she 
named  Naphtali. 

But  this  artifice  of  Rachel  to  secure  her 
husband's  love  was  counteracted  by  Leah, 
who  likewise  gave  one  of  her  maids  to 
Jacob;  and  when  she  bore  him  a  son,  called 
his  name  Gad,  or  a  troop,  as  she  did  a 
second,  Asher,  or  blessed.  By  this  time 
Reuben,  Leah's  eldest  son  by  Jacob,  was 
arrived  at  years  sufficient  to  be  trusted  by 
himself,  and  wandering  one  day  in  the 
fields,  he  found  some  extraordinary  flow- 
ers^ which  he  brought  home  and  present- 
ed to  his  mother. 


§  The  word  dudaim,  which  we  render  man- 
drakes, is  one  of  those  terms  whose  true  significa- 
tion the  Jews,  at  this  time,  pretend  not  to  under- 
stand. There  is  but  one  place  more  in  scripture, 
wherein  it  occurs,  and  that  is  in  the  7th  chapter  of 
Canticles,  wherein  the  bridegroom  invites  his 
spouse  to  go  with  him  into  the  fields :  '  Come,  my 
beloved,  let  us  get  up  early  to  the  vineyards,  let  us 


56 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  L 


Rachel  was  captivated  with  the  sight  of 
them,  and  desired  her  sister  to  give  her 
part;  but  Leah,  likewise  envying  Rachel 
from  a  suspicion  that  she  shared  too  largely 
in  her  husband's  affection,  churlishly  an- 
swered her  request;  'Is  it  a  small  matter 
that  thou  hast  taken  my  husband,  but  you 
must  take  my  son's  flowers  too?'  Rachel 
having  a  peculiar  inclination  to  the  flowers, 
waved  all  harsh  reply,  and  endeavouring  to 
win  her  over  to  her  will,  by  mild  and  gen- 
tle measures,  proposed,  if  she  would  give 
her  some  of  the  flowers,  that  she  should 
enjoy  her  husband's  company  that  night, 


see  if  the  vine  flourish,  whether  the  tender  grapes 
appear,  and  the  pomegranates  bud  forth.  The 
mandrakes  give  a  smell  ;  at  our  gates  are  all  man- 
ner of  fruits,  which  I  have  laid  up  for  thee,  O  my 
beloved.'  Here  we  find  it  placed  among  the  most 
delicious  and  pleasant  fruits,  the  grape,  the  pome- 
granate, &c.  and  represented  as  very  fragrant  and 
odoriferous  in  its  smell  ;  but  the  mandrake,  say 
some,  is  a  stinking  and  ill-scented  fruit,  of  a  bad 
taste,  and  a  cold  narcotic  quality;  and  therefore 
they  have  rendered  the  word  fine  and  lovely  flow- 
ers ;  and  some  of  them  will  have  it  to  be  the  violet 
or  jessamine,  which  suit  very  well  with  the  season 
of  tjie  year  here  mentioned,  whilst  others  contend 
very  strongly  for  the  lily,  which,  in  Syria,  grew  in 
the  fields,  and  was  of  a  most  agreeable  beauty  and 
smell.  That  passage  in  Solomon's  song,  however, 
will  not  suffer  us  to  doubt  but  that  it  was  a  fruit 
of  some  kind  or  other ;  and  Ludolff,  in  his  his- 
tory of  Ethiopia,  will  needs  have  it  to  be  what  the 
Syrians  call  mauz,  a  fruit  much  about  as  big  as 
a  small  cucumber,  that  hangs  in  clusters,  some- 
times to  the  number  of  forty  upon  the  same  stalk, 
find  is  in  figure  and  taste  not  unlike  the  Indian 
fig.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  indeed,  but  that  the 
mandrake  in  Palestine  is  of  a  different  kind  to 
what  we  have  in  these  climates.  St  Austin,  who 
thought  it  a  great  curiosity  to  see  one,  tells  us, 
that  it  was  very  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  of  a  fra- 
grant smell,  but  utterly  insipid;  so  that  he  wonders 
what  should  make  Rachel  set  so  high  a  value  upon 
it,  unless  it  were  its  scarceness  and  rich  scent.  In 
the  province  of  Pekin  in  China,  we  are  informed, 
that  there  is  a  kind  of  mandrake  so  valuable,  and, 
when  mixed  in  any  liquor,  makes  so  rich  a  cordial, 
that  a  pound  of  its  root  is  worth  thrice  its  weight 
in  silver. 

It  was  a  general  opinion  among  the  ancients, 
that  there  was  a  certain  quality  in  the  juice  of 
mandrakes  to  excite  amorous  inclinations,  and 
therefore  they  Tail  them  the  apples  of  love,  as  the 
Hebrew  word  clod,  from  whence  comes  dodaim,  is 
frequently  set  to  signify  love.  Thus,  whether  we 
consider  this  fruit  as  pleasant  to  the  eye,  smell,  or 
taste,  or  as  a  restorative  to  nature,  and  helpful  to 
conception,  any  of  these  reasons  are  sufficient  why 
Kachel  should  take  such  a  fancy  tc  them. — Siack- 
house. 


though  in  the  course  of  things  he  was  then 
to  be  the  consort  of  Rachel. 

Leah  approved  of  the  proposal,  and  the 
agreement  was  accordingly  made ;  but  to 
make  sure  of  the  bargain,  she  sent  out  to 
meet  Jacob  on  his  return  from  the  field,  and 
having  told  him  the  contract  between  her- 
self and  Rachel,  enjoyed  his  company  that 
night.  Though  he  now  thought  she  was 
past  child-bearing,  she  conceived  once 
more,  and  brought  forth  her  fifth  son, 
whom  he  called  Issachar,  because  he  was 
the  product  of  her  hire. 

Leah  conceived  again,  and  bare  a  sixth 
son,  whom  she   called   Zebulun ;   and  at 
length  she  bare  to  Jacob  the  only  daugh 
ter  of  whom  we  read,  whose  name  was 
Dinah. 

Rachel  had  long  lamented  in  bitterness 
of  soul  her  want  of  issue:  but  at  length  it 

o 

pleased  God,  in  his  infinite  goodness,  to 
hearken  to  her  petition,  grant  her  earnest 
desire,  and  bless  her  with  a  son.  Rejoicing 
that  God  had  taken  away  her  reproach,* 
and  foretelling,  that  the  Lord  would  be- 
stow on  her  another  son,  she  called  her 
first-born  Joseph. 

Soon  after  the  birth  of  Joseph,  the  ap- 
pointed time  of  Jacob's  servitude  being 
expired,  he  began  to  grow  desirous  of  re- 
turning to  his  own  country;  and  therefore 
reminding  Laban  that  he  had  fulfilled 
his  contract,  he  desired  him  to  deliver  his 
wives  and  children,  for  whom  he  had 
served  him,  that  he  might  go  to  the  habi- 
tation of  his  father. 

Laban,  sensible  of  the  vast  importance 
of  Jacob's  continuance  with  him,  endeav- 
oured to  divert  him  from  all  desire  or 
leaving  him,  by  assuring  him,  that  since 
he  was  with  him,  he  had  received  many 
peculiar  tokens  of  the  divine  blessing; 
and  offering  him  whatever  terms  he 
should  propose.  But  all  his  endeavours 
to  keep  Jacob  in  his  service  were  in  vain ; 


*  As  fruitfulness  was  then  accounted  a  great 
blessing  from  that  God,  who  said,  '  Increase  and 
multiply,'  so  barrenness  was  accounted  u  reproach 
or  curse. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


57 


he  well  knew,  nor  failed  to  tell  him,  thai 
through  the  blessing  of  God  on  his  honest 
and  faithful  labours,  he  had  increased  his 
little  herd  to  a  multitude;  reminding  him, 
at  the  same  time,  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  he  should  act  for  himself,  and 
make  provision  for  his  own  family,  which 
was  become  numerous. 

Laban,  still  desirous  of  retaining  him, 
pressed  him  hard,  and  once  more  offered 
him  his  own  terms. 

Jacob  would  accept  of  no  stated  wages, 
but  proposed  these  conditions:  that  they 
should  pass  through  the  whole  flock  of 
sheep  and  goats,  and  having  separated  all 
the  speckled  cattle  from  the  white,  the 
former  should  be  committed  to  the  care  of 
Laban's  sons,  and  the  latter  to  the  care  of 
Jacob;  then  whatsoever  spotted  or  brown 
cattle  should  be  produced  out  of  the 
white  flock,  which  he  was  to  keep,  should 
be  his  wages. 

Laban  immediately  consented  to  the 
proposal;  the  flocks  were  accordingly  sep- 
arated; and  the  spotted  cattle  were  de- 
livered in  to  "the  custody  of  Laban,  while 
the  rest  were  committed  to  the  care  of 
Jacob;  and,  to  prevent  any  intercourse  be- 
tween them,  they  were  set  three  days 
journey  apart. 

The  flocks  being  thus  separated  and 
committed  to  the  care  of  their  respective 
keepers,  Jacob,  by  the  assistance  of  the 
Divine  wisdom,  pursued  a  very  extraor- 
dinary method  to  improve  his  own  stock 
and  at  the  same  time  to  lessen  that  of 
Laban.  He  took  rods  or  twigs  of  the 
green  poplar,  hazel,  and  chestnut  trees,  and 
stripping  off  part  of  the  rinds  in  strakes, 
caused  some  of  the  white  to  appear  on 
the  twigs:  these  twigs  he  placed  in  the 
watering  troughs,  when  the  cattle  came 
to  drink,  at  the  time  in  which  they  usual- 
ly engender;  that  seeing  the  speckled 
twigs  they  might  conceive,  and  bring 
forth  speckled  cattle.  He  also  took  par- 
ticular care  to  place  the  twigs  before  the 
fattest  and  most  healthy  cattle;  and  also 
to  avoid  putting  any   before   those   that 


were  weak  and  sickly,  by  which  wise  pro- 
cedure he  not  only  obtained  for  himself 
the  greater  number,  but  the  choicest  and 
most  valuable.* 

Thus,  in  a  short  time,  through  the 
blessing  of  God,  Jacob  became  exceeding- 
ly rich  and  powerful;  but  the  extraordi- 
nary increase  of  his  property  exposed  him 
to  the  envy  of  Laban's  sons,  and  even  of 
Laban  himself,  insomuch  that  they  were 
continually  murmuring  against  him,  be- 
cause he  had  raised  himself  to  a  good 
estate  out  of  their  fortunes. 

Jacob  having  observed  Laban's  coolness 
and  indifference  towards  him,  began  to 
think  of  leaving  him,  and  return  to  his 
father's  house,  which  design  he  was  short- 
ly commanded  by  God,  in  a  vision,  to  put 
into  execution. 

He  therefore  sent  to  his  wives  in  the 
field,  where  he  kept  his  flock,  in  order  to 
consult  with  them,  and  gain  their  consent 
to  go  with  him.  When  they  came,  he 
laid  before  them  the  whole  of  his  purpose, 
telling  them,  he  observed  their  father  of 
late  had  treated  him  with  great  coolness 
and  indifference,  and  even  sometimes  with 
marks  of  displeasure,  though  he  knew  no 
just  cause  for  such  behaviour.  He  also 
took  occasion  to  appeal  to  them  concern- 
ing his  industry  and  fidelity,  and  the  in- 
justice of  their  father  towards  him,  first, 


•  The  method  Jacob  used,  by  peeling  rods,  and 
placing  them  before  the  cattle  in  coupling  time, 
has  given  rise  to  various  opinions  and  warm  dis- 
putes. It  has  been  said,  that  this  was  a  natural 
means,  sufficient  to  produce  the  effects  noticed. 
Aristotle,  Pliny,  and  others  have  been  cited,  to 
prove,  that  impressions  made  on  the  imagination 
of  the  dam  at  the  time  of  conception,  may  have  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  shape  and  colour  of  the 
young.  Admitting  this,  is  it  supposable  that  Ja- 
cob possessed  a  secret  unknown  to  others?  The 
opinion  of  Shnckford  seems  to  me  the  most  ra- 
tional. He  supposes  that  God,  who  had  seen  the 
injustice  of  Laban,  determined  to  punish  him  and 
to  reward  Jacob,  and  that  as  he  appeared  to 
Jacob  in  a  dream,  and  showed  him  the  produce  of 
his  flock  to  be  according  to  his  wishes,  he  ordered 
him  to  make  use  of  the  rod  as  a  trial  of  his  faith, 
and  as  a  test  of  his  obedience ; — that  Jacob  obeyed, 
not  believing  this  to  be  any  more  a  sufficient  cause 
of  the  effect,  than  Naaman,  that  washing  in  the 
Jordan  could  cure  the  leprosy. — Boothroyd. 
H 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


in  deceiving  him,  and  afterwards  changing 
his  wages  so  often;  and  then  observed  to 
them,  that  God  had  turned  all  their  fa- 
ther's devices  to  his  advantage,  and  had 
taken  away  his  cattle,  and  given  them 
unto  him.  Then  he  acquainted  them, 
that  the  Lord  had  appeared  unto  him  in 
a  dream,  reminding  him  of  the  solemn 
vow  he  had  made  at  Bethel,  in  his  pas- 
sage thither,  and  commanded  him  to  re- 
turn to  the  land  of  his  fathers. 

His  wives  having  attentively  listened 
to  all  that  he  said,  agreed  with  his  opinion 
concerning  their  father,  consented  to  go 
with  him,  and  desired  him  to  perform 
whatsoever  God  had  commanded. 

Jacob  immediately  prepared  for  his 
journey,  set  his  wives  and  children  upon 
camels,*  and  proceeded  with  all  his  cattle 
and  goods,  taking  the  advantage  of  the 
absence  of  Laban,  who  was  gone  to  shear 
his  sheep;  which  likewise  gave  Rachel  an 
opportunity  of  stealing  and  carrying  off 
her  father's  images,  f 


*  The  camel  is  emphatically  called  by  the  Arab 
'the  ship  of  the  desert.'  He  seems  to  have  been 
created  for  this  very  trade,  endued  with  parts  and 
qualities  adapted  to  the  office  he  is  employed  to 
discharge.  The  driest  thistle,  or  the  barest  thorn, 
is  all  the  food  this  useful  quadruped  requires  ;  and 
even  these,  to  save  time,  he  eats  while  advancing 
on  his  journey,  without  stopping  or  occasioning  a 
moment  of  delay.  As  it  is  his  lot  to  cross  im- 
mense deserts,  where  no  water  is  found,  and 
countries  not  even  moistened  by  the  dew  of  hea- 
ven, he  is  endowed  with  the  power  of  laying  in 
at  one  watering-place  a  store,  with  which  he  sup- 
plies himself  for  many  days  to  come.  To  contain 
this  enormous  quantity  of  fluid,  nature  has  formed 
large  cisterns  within  him,  from  which,  once  filled, 
he  draws  at  pleasure  the  quantity  he  wants,  and 
pours  it  into  his  stomach,  with  the  same  effect  as 
if  he  then  drew  it  from  a  spring  ;  and  with  this  he 
travels  patiently  and  vigorously,  all  day  long,  car- 
rying a  prodigious  load  through  countries  affected 
with  poisonous  winds,  and  parching  and  never- 
cooling  sands.  Bruce. — Mounted  on  this  mild 
and  persevering  animal,  the  traveller  pursues  his 
journey  over  the  sandy  deserts  of  the  East  with 
speed  and  safety.  For  his  convenience,  a  sort  of 
round  basket  is  slung  on  each  side  with  a  cover, 
which  holds  all  his  necessaries,  between  which  he 
is  seated  on  the  back  of  the  animal.  Sometimes 
two  long  chairs,  like  cradles,  are  hung  on  each  side 
with  a  covering,  in  which  he  sits,  or  stretched  at 
his  ease,  resigns  himself  to  sleep,  without  inter- 
rupting his  journey. 

f  '1  he  Hebrew  word  Teraphim,  signifies  idols, 


Jacob  passed  the  river  Euphrates,  and 
made  towards  Mount  GHead,  %  and  though 
it  was  three  days  before  Laban  knew  ot 
his  departure,  yet  in  seven  days  he  over- 
took him  upon  the  mount. 

There  is  the  utmost  reason  to  think 
that  Laban  pursued  him  with  a  mind  bent 
upon  revenge;  but  the  Lord,  mindful  of 
the  welfare  of  his  servant,  charged  him 
most  solemnly  not  even  to  hurt  him  by 
word;  therefore,  when  he  and  his  kindred 
came  up  with  Jacob,  he  only  expostulated 
with  him  on  the  want  of  respect  he  dis- 
covered in  stealing  away  his  daughters, 
and  thereby  preventing  them  from  taking 
leave  of  him  as  became  his  children,  or  de- 
parting in  a  manner  agreeable  to  their 
rank  and  dignity.  §  He  added,  that  such  a 
conduct  might  have  exposed  him  to  his 
most  severe  resentment,  and  that  he  might 
have  sustained  much  injury  from  him,  who 
was  by  far  the  most  powerful;  nay,  he 
absolutely  hinted  to  him,  that  he  would 


as  appears  from  Gen.  xxxi.  30.  where  they  are 
termed  Elohai  or  gods.  It  is  also  evident  from 
I  Sam.  xix.  13.  that  they  were  of  human  form  ; 
for  the  very  word  is  used  for  the  image  which 
Michal  put  into  David's  bed.  These  images  they 
consulted  as  oracles  concerning  things  unknown 
for  the  present  or  future.  Some  think  that  Rachel 
stole  them,  to  prevent  her  father  from  discovering 
her  flight,  by  consulting  them,  while  others  are  of 
opinion  that  it  was  to  secure  something  that  might 
appease  her  father's  anger,  if  he  should  overtake 
them  in  their  flight.  But  these  are  at  best  but 
conjectures  ;  though  we  have  too  much  ground  to 
think  that  our  forefathers  were  tainted  with  this 
kind  of  idolatry. 

J  Mount  Gilead  formed  part  of  that  ridge  of 
mountains,  which  ran  from  mount  Lebanon  south- 
ward on  the  east  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  included 
the  mountainous  region  called  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, Trachonitis. — Dr  Wells. 

§  That  is,  as  Laban  expresses  it, '  with  mirth  and 
with  songs,  with  tabret  and  with  harp.'  When  the 
Prefetto  of  Egypt  was  preparing  for  his  journey,  he 
complains  of  his  being  incommoded  by  the  sonnets 
of  his  Eastern  friends,  who  took  leave  in  this  man- 
ner of  their  relations  and  acquaintance  before  their 
setting  out.  These  valedictory  songs,  however,  are 
not  to  be  supposed  to  be  a  prelude  to  all  their 
journeys,  but  only  to  those  of  the  most  solemn  kind. 
There  is  therefore  an  energy  in  those  words  of 
Laban,  which  ought  to  be  remarked,  '  Why  didst 
not  thou  tell  me,  that  I  might  have  sent  thee 
away,  and  taken  my  leave  of  my  daughters,  going 
such  a  journey,  with  all  due  solemnity,  according 
to  the  custom  of  my  country?' — Harmtr. 


Chap.  VII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

have  pursued  measures  of  revenge,  had  he 
not  been  diverted  therefrom  by  the  awful 
prohibition  of  God  himself. 

Nor  did  he  only  upbraid  him  with  want 
of  duty  and  affection,  but  even  charged 
him  with  theft,  saying,  '  And  now,  though 
thou  wouldest  needs  be  gone,  because 
thou  sore  longest  after  thy  father's  house; 
yet,  wherefore  hast  thou  stolen  my  gods?' 

Jacob  urged  as  an  excuse  for  his  abrupt 
departure,  his  fear,  lest,  if  he  had  ac- 
quainted him  with  the  design,  he  would 
have  prevented  its  accomplishment,  by 
detaining  his  daughters  by  force;  but, 
somewhat  warmed  with  the  charge  of 
theft  (not  knowing  that  Rachel  had  sto- 
len the  images)  he  vehemently  exclaimed, 
*With  whomsoever  thou  findest  thy  gods, 
let  him  not  live!'  And  farther,  to  assert 
his  innocence,  he  calls  upon  him  to  search 
his  goods  before  all  that  were  present, 
and  to  retain  whatever  of  his  property  he 
should  find  upon  him. 

Laban  then  proceeded  to  search,  and 
having  ransacked  the  tents  of  Jacob, 
Leah,  and  her  two  handmaids,  he  went 
into  the  tent  of  Rachel,  who,  conscious  of 
her  crime,  and  fearful  of  the  anger  both 
of  her  father  and  husband  upon  detection, 
had  just  concealed  the  images  in  the  ca- 
mel's furniture,*  and  sat  down  upon  them. 


59 


*  Rachel  probably  rode  after  the  Arab  mode, 
upon  an  hiran,  which  is  a  piece  of  serge,  about 
six  ells  long,  laid  upon  the  saddle,  which  is  of 
wood,  in  order  to  make  the  sitting  more  easv. 
This  hiran  is  made  use  of  as  a  mattress,  when 
they  stop  for  a  night  in  a  place;  and  it  serves 
them  to  lodge  on,  as  their  wallets  serve  for  cush- 
ions or  a  bolster.  It  was  probably  the  hiran,  part 
of  the  camel's  furniture,  under  which  she  hid  her 
father's  teraphim ;  and  on  which  she  sat,  according 
to  their  customs,  in  her  tent,  and  therefore  unsus- 
pected. Harmer. — In  the  East,  aged  and  infirm 
persons  travel  in  double  wicker-work  seats,  placed 
on  the  back  of  a  camel,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
animal;  they  are  formed  something  like  a  cradle; 
and  have  a  back,  head,  and  sides,  like  a  great  chair. 
Under  the  seat  are  store  hampers,  or  baskets,  con- 
taining those  personal  necessaries  which  may  he 
needed  by  the  traveller  on  the  journey.  Under 
the  saddle  of  each  camel  is  a  coarse  carpet,  to 
covei  them  by  night.  This  coarse  carpet  is  the 
hiran  mentioned  by  Harmer.  It  is  probable  that 
the  camel's  furniture,  on  which  Rachel  was  seat- 


Having  used  this  precaution,  when  her 
father  entered  her  tent,  she  pleaded  as  an 
excuse  for  not  rising  to  salute  him,  that 
the  custom  of  women  was  then  upon 
her,  and  Laban  out  of  modesty  omit- 
ted searching  that  place,  where  alone 
the  images  were  to  be  found. 

Thus  baffled  by  the  cunning  of  his 
daughter,  after  a  long  search  he  could  not 
find  what  he  had  so  industriously  sought, 
and  was  therefore  very  severely  repri- 
manded by  Jacob,  who  not  only  reproach- 
ed him  with  a  most  unjust  suspicion,  but 
appealed  to  his  own  friends  to  decide  the 
case  betwixt  them.  Then  recounting  the 
long  service  he  had  done  him,  during  a 
number  of  years,  concluded  his  upbraid- 
ing address  in  words  to  this  purport: 
'Except  the  God  of  my  fathers  had  been 
with  me,  surely  thou  hadst  sent  me  away 
empty.  But  God  hath  seen  my  affliction, 
and  the  labour  of  mine  hands,  and  rebuk- 
ed thee  yesternight.' 

Laban,  conscious  that  Jacob's  charge 
was  most  justly  founded,  attempted  not 
a  vindication  of  himself,  and  therefore, 
waving  the  debate,  he  assumed  an  air  of 
fondness  and  respect  for  Jacob,  his  wives 
and  his  children,  as  nearly  related  to  him- 
self, and  proposed  a  covenant  of  peace 
between  them.  This  being  agreed  to  by 
both  parties,  they  erected  a  pillar  or  heap 
of  stones  f  by  way  of  memorial,  and  then 

ed,  was   the  vehicle  above  described.  —  Script. 
Illustrated. 

f  This  monument  Jacob  seems  to  have  erected 
after  the  same  manner  as  he  did  that  at  Bethel. 
It  must  not  be  supposed  to  have  been  a  heap  of 
loose  stones ;  for  then  it  could  not  have  continued 
long  in  the  same  position,  nor  given  a  name  to 
the  country  around  it.  It  was  doubtless  a  regular 
and  permanent  building;  but  then,  what  the  form 
and  figure  of  it  was  it  is  not  so  easy  to  determine. 
Had  it  been  only  for  a  memorial  to  posterity,  and 
not  for  some  present  transaction  also,  the  figure 
either  of  a  column  or  a  pyramid  would  have  been 
very  proper:  but  we  find,  that  the  present  use  of 
it  was,  to  eat  and  sacrifice  upon,  and  therefore  we 
may  imagine,  that  it  was  made  in  the  figure  of  a 
table,  and  have  some  authority  to  think  of  a  round 
table,  because  the  name  which  Jacob  calls  it  by 
is  taken  from  a  verb  which  signifies  to  turn  round, 
as  the  word  Gilal  is  properly  the  circumfeience 
of  a  circle.  —  Bibliotheca  Bibl. 


60 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


took  a  mutual  oath,  that  neither  of  them 
would  invade  the  property  of  the  other, 
and  that  Jacob  would  not  treat  his  wives 
unbecoming  an  affectionate  husband. 

The  ceremony  thus  finished,  Jacob  en- 
tertained his  brethren  that  night  upon 
the  mount,  and  the  next  morning  Laban 
took  leave  of  his  daughters  and  their 
children,  and  they  both  departed  for  their 
respective  habitations. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

God  again  appears  unto  Jacob. — Jacob  sends  a 
messenger  and  presents  to  his  brother  Esau. 
—  Wrestles  with  an  angel. — Is  called  Israel. — 
Meets  his  brother,  who  receives  him  kindly. — 
Dinah  is  ravished. —  The  Shechemites  are  cir- 
cumcised, and  afterwards  destroyed  together 
with  their  city  by  the  sons  of  Jacob  in  revenge 
fur  the  rape  of  Dinah. 

As  Jacob  was  favoured  with  a  heavenly 
vision  when  he  first  departed  from  his 
father's,  so  it  pleased  God  again  to  favour 
him  with  the  same  token  of  his  protection 
at  his  return.  When  Jacob  saw  the  angels 
that  were  sent  to  meet  him  on  the  way, 
he  said,  'This  is  God's  host:  and  he  call- 
ed the  name  of  the  place  Mahanaim.'* 
Though  this  patriarch  had  the  greatest 
reason  to  rely  on  the  protection  of  the  Al- 
mighty, yet  as  he  was  near  the  confines 
of  Edom,  and  within  the  reach  of  his  in- 
censed brother  Esau,  whom  he  had  highly 
provoked,  and  concerning  the  abatement 
of  whose  resentment  he  had  received  no 
account  from  his  mother,  though  he  had 


*  The  original  word  signifies  two  hosts  or  camps; 
because  the  angels  appeared  like  two  armies,  drawn 
up  on  either  side  for  his  protection,  according  to 
that  beautiful  expression  of  the  Psalmist,  '  The 
angel  of  the  Lord  encampetli  round  about  them 
that  fear  him,  and  delivereth  them,'  Psalm  xxxiv. 
4. — This  place  was  situated  between  mount  Gilead 
and  the  river  Jabbok,  not  far  from  ihe  banks  of 
the  latter,  and  very  near  the  confines  of  Gad  and 
half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  which  was  on  the  ea^t  of 
Jordan.  It  became  in  time  a  city  of  great  strei  gth, 
and  for  this  reason  was  made  choice  of  by  Abner 
fo»-  the  seat-royal  of  lshbosheth,  the  son  of  Saul, 
when  lie  made  war  against  David,  and  for  a  retir- 


been  absent  twenty  years,  he  thought  it 
most  prudent  to  send  a  message  to  him  in 
order  to  allay  his  anger,  and  regain,  if 
possible,  his  fraternal  affection. 

He  therefore  ordered  the  messenger- 
to  address  Esau  in  these  humble  terms; 
'Thy  servant  Jacob  saith  thus,  I  have 
sojourned  with  Laban,  and  stayed  there 
until  now:  and  I  have  oxen  and  asses," 
and  men-servants  and  women-servants, 
and  I  have  sent  to  tell  my  lord,  that  1 
may  find  grace  in  thy  sight.'  f  The 
messengers  having  fulfilled  their  embassy, 
returned,  and  gave  Jacob  such  an  account 
as  terrified  him  not  a  little.  They 
brought  no  direct  answer  from  Esau, 
and  only  told  Jacob  that  his  brother 
was  coming  to  meet  him  at  the  head  of 
four  hundred  men.  Concluding  that  the 
design  of  this  mighty  retinue  was  to  act 
against  him  in  a  hostile  manner,  Jacob 
was  greatly  perplexed  in  what  manner  to 
proceed ;  he  knew  on  the  one  hand,  that 
his  numbers  were  too  small  to  engage 
with  his  brother;  and  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  his  baggage  was  too  heavy  for  flight: 
he  therefore  came  to  a  resolution  to  divide 
his  people  and  cattle  into  two  bands,  which 
being  placed  at  a  convenient  distance,  if 
Esau  should  fall  upon  one  of  them,  the 
other  might  have  a  chance  to  escape. 

This  was  the  plan  laid  down  by  Jacob; 
but  as  he  well  knew,  from  former  experi- 
ence, that  his  safety  depended  upon  the 
divine  protection,  independent  of  human 
measures,  to  the  God  of  his  salvation  he 
applied  in  this  critical  juncture,  in  terms 
to  the  following  import:  '  O  God  of  my 
father  Abraham  and  Isaac,  who  saidst  to 
me,  Return  to  thy  country,  and  I  will  do 
well   by   thee  :   I  am  not  worthy  of  the 


f  By  this  submission,  Jacob  did  not  reject  the 
honour  God  conferred  upon  him,  but  reverenced 
Esau  as  his  elder  brother.  Besides,  it  is  beyond  a 
doubt  that  Jacob  meant    r:o   more  by  the  terms, 


lord  and  servant,  than   a  mere  honorary  compli- 
ment, first  practised  among  the  idolatrous  nations, 
ing  place  by  David  himself,  during  the  rebellion  of  j  and  then  used  by  the  peop  e  of  God,  in  order  to 
his  son  Absalom. — See  Wells's  Geography.  |  soften  the  resentment  of  th<  rugged  Esau. 


Chap.  VIII.] 

least  of  thy  mercies;  but  thou  hast  in- 
creased my  stock,  for  when  I  passed  over 
the  river  first,  I  had  nothing  but  my  staff, 
and  now  I  am  become  a  multitude:  de- 
liver me,  I  pray  thee,  from  the  hand  of 
my  brother,  for  I  fear  his  malice,  lest  he 
smite  me  and  mine.  Remember  how 
thou  saidst,  I  will  surely  do  thee  good, 
and  make  thy  posterity  as  the  sand  of  the 
sea,  which  cannot  be  numbered  for  multi- 
tude/ 

After  he  had  thus  humbly  and  earnest- 
ly implore,d  the  guidance  and  protection 
of  the  Almighty,  he  determined  to  pursue 
another  measure,  which  he  hoped  might 
appease  the  anger  of  his  brother ;  for, 
imagining  that  he  might  esteem  the  first 
message  but  a  mere  formal  compliment, 
he  resolved,  since  he  had  already  inform- 
ed him  that  he  was  become  very  rich,  to 
send  him  a  very  liberal  present;  but  fear- 
ing that  he  might  attack  him  before  the 
present  could  be  delivered,  he  was  obliged 
to  send  that  which  was  nearest  at  hand ; 
which  were  these  articles:  two  hundred 
she-goats,  and  twenty  he-goats;  two  hun- 
dred ewes,  and  twenty  rams ;  thirty  milch 
camels  with  their  colts;  forty  kine,  and 
ten  bulls,  and  twenty  she-asses,  with  ten 
ass-foals,  all  in  separate  droves,  ordering 
his  servants  to  keep  them  at  a  proper  dis- 
tance, charging  the  servant  who  followed 
the  foremost  drove  to  deliver  the  present 
to  his  brother,  and  so  on  to  the  rest,  hop- 
ing that  such  a  submissive  conduct  might 
soften  his  rugged  temper,  and  induce  him 
to  receive  him  kindly.* 


*  Several  commentators  have  taken  notice  of 
Jacob's  great  wisdom  and  prudence,  in  the  order 
and  disposition  of  this  his  embassy  to  his  brother. 
He  sent  his  servants,  and  not  his  sons,  though  that 
would  have  been  doing  him  a  great  deal  more  hon- 
our ;  but  then  it  would  have  been  running  too 
great  a  risk.  In  the  present  which  he  sent,  he 
put  a  space  between  drove  and  drove,  that  the 
more  time  was  taken  up  in  their  passing  by  Emu, 
his  passion  might  still  grow  cooler,  and  cooler  ; 
that  the  present  itself  might  make  so  much  the 
greater  appearance;  and  that,  if  the  droves,  which 
went  tirst,  were  not  well-accepted  by  him,  those 
who  came  later  might  be  at  distance  enough  to 
hasten  back  to  their  master,  and  give  him  intelli- 


THE  BIBLE. 


61 


Having  dismissed  the  servants  with  his 
present  to  his  brother,  he  passed  the 
brook  Jabbokf  that  very  night,  with  his 
wives  and  children;  and  being  left  alone, 
there  appeared  a  man  who  wrestled  with 
him  till  the  break  of  day,  and  permitted 
Jacob  to  prevail;  but  to  convince  him  that 
he  obtained  not  the  victory  through  his 
own  strength,  he  touched  the  hollow  of 
his  thigh  and  put  it  out  of  joint.  At 
break  of  day,  the  angel  desired  to  depart, 
but  Jacob  would  not  let  him  go,  till  he 
had  blessed  him.  J 


gence  of  what  he  was  to  expect.  In  the  form  of 
address,  he  ordered  them  all  to  make  use  of  the 
same  words,  1st,  That  the  repetition  of  them  might 
strike  the  deeper,  and  make  the  stronger  impres- 
sion upon  Esau  ;  2dly,  That  they  might  not  spoil 
the  compliment,  or  not  speak  so  properly,  if  left  to 
their  own  expression  ;  and  3dly,  That  Esau  might 
know,  by  the  very  turn  and  elegancy  of  them,  that 
the  words  of  the  message  came  from  Jacob. — Mus- 
culus.  Ainsworth,  Patrick,  #*c. 

-f-  This  is  a  small  river,  which  is  by  all  agreed  to 
flow  from  the  adjacent  mountains  of  Gilead;  but 
some  make  it  to  run  into  the  sea  of  Galilee,  others 
into  the  river  Jordan,  below  or  south  of  that  sea. — 
Wells's  Geography. 

J  Of  all  the  adventures  which  happened  to 
Jacob,  that  of  his  wrestling  is  deservedly  reckoned 
one  of  the  strangest,  and  has  therefore  been  made 
a  matter  of  doubt,  whether  it  was  a  real  event  or  a 
vision  only.  Maimonides,  and  some  other  Hebrew 
as  well  as  Christian  interpreters,  are  of  opinion  that 
all  this  was  transacted  only  in  Jacob's  imagination. 
They  suppose  that  the  patriarch,  being  strongly 
possessed  with  the  sense  of  the  danger  he  was 
going  to  encounter,  saw  in  a  vision  a  man  coming 
to  him,  and  who,  after  some  altercations,  began  to 
wrestle  with  him  ;  that  the  conflict  between  them 
continued  till  break-of-day,  when  his  antagonist, 
not  able  to  get  the  better,  desired  to  he  gone,  &c. 
and  that,  as  a  proof  that  this  vision  was  more  than 
an  ordinary  dream,  it  seemed  to  him  that  the 
angel  touched  his  thigh,  and  in  effect,  as  soon  as 
he  awoke,  he  found  himself  lame,  probably  by  the 
force  of  his  imagination.  If  this  explication  be 
admitted,  the  whole  difficulty  is  at  an  end.  It  is 
natural  perhaps  for  a  man,  under  the  apprehensions 
of  a  dreadful  foe,  to  dream  of  fighting  ;  and  to 
dream  at  the  same  time,  that  he  comes  off  victori- 
ous,  might  be  accounted  an  happy  omen.  But  it 
must  be  confessed,  that  the  analogy  of  the  story, 
and  more  especially  Jacob's  lameness,  which  was 
consequent  upon  his  conflict,  will  not  suffer  us  to 
think  that  all  this  was  only  in  a  dream.  The 
more  general  therefore,  and  indeed  tiie  more  ra- 
tional opinion  is,  that  this  wrestling  was  real,  and 
that  Jacob  was  actually  awake  when  engaged  in  it. 
But  then  the  question  is,  who  the  person  was  that 
d'd  encounter  him?  Origin,  i  think,  is  a  lutie 
singular  and  no  wit*  to  be  justified   in  his  conceit, 


62 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


The  man  then  inquired  of  him  his  name, 
and  on  his  telling  him  it  was  Jacob,  re- 
plied, '  Thy  name  shall  not  only  be  called 
Jacob,  but  likewise  Israel;*  for  as  a  prince 


when  he  tells  us,  that  the  person,  with  whom  Jacob 
wrestled,  was  an  evil  angel,  in  allusion  to  which  he 
thinks  that  the  apostle  grounds  his  exhortation  : 
'  Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and 
in  the  power  of  his  might,-  for  we  wrestle  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places.'  But  that  Jacob,  who  at  this  time  was  so 
immediately  under  the  divine  protection,  should 
be  submitted  to  the  assault  of  a  wicked  angel ;  that 
he  should  merit  the  name  of  Israel,  that  is  'con- 
queror of  God.'  for  overcoming  such  an  one,  or 
call  the  place  of  combat  Peniel,  that  is,  the  '  face 
of  God,'  in  commemoration  of  his  conflict  with 
such  an  one,  is  very  absurd,  if  not  an  impious  sug- 
gestion. Those  who  espouse  this  opinion,  may 
possibly  be  led  into  it  from  a  thought,  that  the 
person  here  contending  with  Jacob  was  an  enemy, 
and  come  with  a  malevolent  intent  against  him  ; 
whereas  nothing  can  be  more  evident,  especially 
by  his  blessing  him  before  they  parted,  that  he 
came  with  a  quite  contrary  design.  Among  the 
people  of  the  East,  from  whence  the  Grecians  came 
and  brought  along  with  them  several  of  their  cus- 
toms, wrestling  was  an  exercise  in  great  vogue,  as 
highly  conducive  to  the  health  and  strength  ;  and 
a  common  thing  it  was  for  two  friends,  when  they 
met  together,  to  amuse  and  recreate  themselves  in 
this  way.  The  Jewish  doctors  therefore  seem  to 
be  much  in  the  right,  when  they  maintain  that 
the  person  who  contended  with  Jacob  was  a  good 
angel ;  and,  as  their  settled  notion  is,  that  those 
heavenly  spirits  sing,  every  morning,  the  praises  of 
God,  at  the  approach  of  day  ;  so  the  request, 
which  his  antagonist  makes,  '  let  me  go,  for  the 
day  breaketh,'  shows  him  to  be  one  of  the  angelic 
host,  who  had  stayed  his  prefixed  time,  and  was  now 
in  haste  to  be  gone,  in  order  to  join  the  heavenly 
choir  :  for  the  prophet  Hosea,  I  think,  has  deter- 
mined the  matter  very  plainly,  when  speaking  of 
Jacob,  he  tells  us  that  '  he  took  his  brother  by  the 
heel  in  the  womb,  and  by  his  strength  he  had 
power  with  God,  yea  he  had  power  over  the  angel, 
and  prevailed.'  How  Jacob,  who  was  an  hundred 
years  old,  could  be  enabled  to  do  all  this,  must  be 
imputed  to  some  invisible  power  that  assisted  him. 
An  angel  is  here,  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  sent 
to  encounter  him,  and  he  in  an  extraordinary 
manner  is  enabled  to  withstand  him.  The  whole 
scene  is  contrived  to  cure  him  of  his  uneasy  fears, 
and  a  proper  medium  to  do  this  was  to  let  him 
see  that  an  old  man  might  contest  it  even  with  an 
angel,  and  yet  not  be  foiled ;  and  the  power,  he 
might  reasonably  conclude,  which  assisted  him  in 
this,  if  the  matter  were  to  come  to  blows  with  his 
brother  Fsau,  would  so  invigorate  his  little  army 
of  domestics,  as  to  make  them  prevail,  and  become 
victorious. — Stackhouse. 

*  We  have  in  this  place  a  remarkable  instance 
that  translations  often  contradict  themselves  ;  for  it 
is  very  certain  that  this  patriarch  was  afterwards 


thou  hast  power  with  God  and  with  men, 
and  hast  prevailed.' 

Jacob,  in  his  turn,  demanded  his  name, 
but  he  waved  answering  him,  and  having 
blessed  him,  departed. 

When  the  sun  arose,  Jacob  removed 
from  the  place  where  he  had  wrestled,  and 
called  it  Peniel,f  'because,'  said  he,  '  I 
have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is 
preserved.' 

Jacob  then  proceeded  on  his  journey, 
and  had  not  gone  far  before  he  saw  his 
brother  Esau,  attended  by  four  hundred 
men  ;  upon  which  he  disposed  his  people 
in  such  order  as  best  conduced  to  the  re- 
ception of  his  brother,  and  safety  of  those 
he  held  most  dear.  He  placed  the  two 
handmaids  and  their  children  foremost ; 
Leah  and  her  children  in  the  middle,  and 
his  beloved  Rachel  and  her  son  Joseph  in 
the  rear,  and  passed  himself  before  them 
all. 

When  he  approached  his  brother,  he 
bowed  himself  seven  times  to  the  ground; 
but  Esau,  filled  with  the  tenderest  sense 
of  fraternal  affection,  at  once  removed  the 
necessity  both  of  his  fears  and  compli- 
ments, by  running  with  eager  joy  to  meet 
him,  falling  upon  his  neck,  and  most  cor- 
dially embracing  him. 

Thus  was  revenge  turned  into  love  and 
pity ;  and  Esau,  who  once  thirsted  for  his 
brother's  blood,  dissolves  into  tears  of  joy, 
and  melts  into  the  softest  endearments  of 
friendship. 

Esau  thus  transported  with  this  happy 
interview,  surveyed  with  pleasure  his  bro- 
ther's immense  store,  but  was  with  much 
difficulty  persuaded  to  accept  of  a  present. 
He  saluted  his  wives  and  children ;  and  as 
a  further  token  of  his  affection  and  sincere 
reconciliation,  offered  to  accompany  him 
the  remaining  part  of  his  journey. 


called  Jacob.  No  more  therefore  should  be  trans- 
lated not  only,  which  is  very  properly  implied  in 
this  place,  and  would  remove  the  seeming  contra- 
diction. 

•f-  Peniel  or  Penuel,  as  it  is  in  the  next  verse, 
that  is,  •  the  face  of  God.' 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


But  Jacob,  still  retaining  a  spark  of  jeal- 
ousy, waved  the  kind  offer,  by  telling  him 
that  the  children  being  tender,  and  many 
of  the  cattle  young,  if  they  were  over- 
driven, most  of  them  would  die;  and 
therefore  desiring  that  his  brother  would 
pass  over  before  him,  and  himself  would 
follow  gently,  as  the  children  and  cattle 
could  bear,  until  he  should  attend  him  in 
his  own  country  of  Seir.* 

As  Jacob  declined  his  brother's  offer, 
he  courteously  proposed  to  leave  some  of 
his  people  to  guard  and  attend  him ;  but 
Jacob  likewise  evaded  this  by  a  handsome 
compliment. 

They  then  parted  from  each  other, 
Esau  proceeding  towards  Seir,  and  Jacob 
towards  Succoth,  where,  as  he  intended  to 
take  up  his  abode  for  some  time,  he  built 
conveniences  to  shelter  his  people  and 
cattle. 

From  Succoth  he  removed  to  Salem,  a 
city  of  Shechem,f  where  having  purchased 
a  piece  of  ground  of  the  children  of 
Hamor,  for  a  hundred  pieces:}:  of  money, 
he  spread  his  tent,  erected  an  altar,  and 
called  upon  the  name  of  the  most  mighty 
God  of  Israel. 

During  the  patriarch's  stay  in  the 
country  of  the  Shechemites,  his  daughter 
Dinah,  who  was  now  about  sixteen  years 
of  age,  desirous  of  seeing  the  dresses  and 
ornaments  of  the  women  of  that  country, 
rambled  abroad  from  her  mother's  tent. 
It  fell  out,  that  young  Shechem,  the  son 
of  Hamor,  prince  of  that  country,  saw  the 


*  It  is  the  opinion  of  most  commentators,  that 
Jacob  never  intended  to  meet  Esau  at  Seir,  and 

that  this  was  only  an  evasion  of  Esau's  offer 

Seir  was  situated  on  the  south  of  the  Dead  sea, 
and  extended  from  thence  to  the  Arabian  gulf. 

f  Shechem,  otherwise  called  Sichar,  was  a  city 
of  Samaria,  situate  among  the  mountains  belong- 
ing to  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  ten  miles  from  Shi- 
loh,  forty  from  Jerusalem,  and  fifty-two  from 
Jericho,  near  which  was  Jacob's  well,  or  fountain, 
where  our  blessed  Saviour  entered  into  conversation 
with  the  Samaritan  woman. —  Wells's  Geography. 

£  This  is  sometimes  rendered  an  hundred  lambs, 
because  the  image  of  a  lamb  was  stamped  upon 
il,  and  it  was  originally  of  the  value  of  that  ani- 
mal. 


damsel,  and  being  enraptured  with  her 
charms,  and  incapable  of  restraining  his 
passion,  seized  on  the  opportunity  of  her 
being  alone,  to  deprive  her  of  her  virtue. 

This  violation,  instead  of  disgusting,  in. 
flamed  him  the  more ;  for  he  afterwards 
loved  her  with  an  excessive  affection,  in- 
somuch that  not  being  able  to  live  without 
her,  he  importuned  his  father  to  procure 
her  for  him  in  marriage. 

The  news  of  the  rape  soon  reached  the 
ears  of  Jacob,  who  suspended  his  resent- 
ment, till  his  sons  came  home  from  the 
field,  when  he  made  them  acquainted  with 
the  injury  their  sister  had  sustained,  and 
the  dishonour  that  resulted  to  their  fam- 
ily ;  upon  which  they  secretly  vowed  re- 
venge. 

Shechem  having  prevailed  with  his  fa- 
ther Hamor  to  use  his  interest  in  obtain- 
ing for  him  the  beautiful  Dinah,  he  took 
an  opportunity,  when  Jacob  and  his  sons 
were  together,  to  acquaint  them  with  his 
son's  ardent  love  for  the  damsel,  and  en- 
treat that  he  might  have  her  to  wife.  To 
enforce  the  entreaty,  he  proposed  that 
Jacob's  family  should  intermarry  with  his 
people,  and  offered  them  the  freedom  of 
the  country,  to  dwell,  trade,  and  settle 
therein.  / 

To  strengthen  this  proposal,  Shechem, 
who  was  present  at  the  conference,  offered 
them  what  advantage  they  should  please 
to  nominate,  bidding  them  only  name  their 
terms,  and  they  should  be  granted  to  the 
uttermost,  provided  they  would  give  him 
their  sister  in  marriage. 

The  sons  of  Jacob  retained  their  re- 
sentment, though  as  yet  they  concealed  it; 
and,  still  desirous  of  avenging  the  dishon- 
our done  to  their  family ;  to  avail  them- 
selves hereafter,  they  insisted  on  nothing 
less  than  a  general  circumcision  of  the  She- 
chemites, as  the  only  condition  on  which 
they  would  accept  of  an  agreement  to  set- 
tle and  incorporate  with  them. 

Shechem  was  so  enamoured  of  Dinah, 
and  Hamor  so  fond  of  his  son,  that  this 
very  extraordinary  proposal  of  the  sons  of 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


Jacob  was  complied  with.  To  further  the 
agreement,  the  prince  and  his  son,  on  their 
return  to  town,  summoned  their  subjects 
together,  praised  the  Israelites  as  a  quiet, 
well-disposed  people,  and  assured  them, 
that  it  they  should  intermarry  with  them, 
they  would  become  proprietors  of  their 
substance,  which  was  very  considerable, 
and  all  on  the  easy  condition  of  being  cir- 
cumcised. 

These  weak  people,  captivated  with  the 
prospect  of  great  wealth,  consented  one 
and  all  to  the  proposal  of  Hamor  and  She- 
chem,  and  were  every  male  of  them  im- 
mediately circumcised. 

Notwithstanding  the  Shechemites  had 
submitted  to  the  painful  rite  of  circumci- 
sion, the  proposed  condition  of  reconcilia- 
tion with  Jacob's  family  ;  yet  Simeon  and 
Levi,  the  brothers  of  Dinah,  took  advan- 
tage of  their  pain  and  anguish,  when  they 
were  least  able  to  resist;  and  on  the  third 
day*  after  the  operation,  fell  upon  the  city, 
and  destroyed  all  the  male  inhabitants;  an 
action  shocking  to  humanity;  for  doubt- 
less many  of  the  sufferers  were  entirely  ig- 
norant of  the  design  of  the  leader,  f 


*  Tins  was  the  time,  as  physicians  observe,  when 
fevers  generally  attend  circumcision,  occasioned  by 
the  inflammation  of  the  wound,  and  which  was 
more  painful  then,  as  the  Hebrews  observed,  than 
at  any  time  else. 

f  To  execute  rigour  upon  a  submissive  offender, 
is  more  merciless  than  just.  Or  if  the  punishment 
had  been  both  justand  proportionable  from  another, 
yet  from  them  which  had  vowed  peace  and  affinity, 
it  was  shamefully  unjust.  To  disappoint  the  trust 
of  another,  and  to  neglect  our  own  promise  and 
fidelity  for  private  purposes,  adds  faithlessness  un- 
to our  cruelty.  That  they  were  impotent,  it  was 
through  their  circumcision  ;  what  impiety  was  this, 
instead  of  honouring  a  holy  sign,  to  take  ati  advan- 
tage by  it  !  What  shrieking  was  there  now  in  the 
streets  of  the  city  of  the  Hivites  !  And  how  did  the 
beguiled  Shechemites,  when  they  saw  the  swords 
of  the  two  brethren,  die  cursing  the  sacraments  in 
their  hearts,  which  had  betrayed  them  !  Even 
tiicir  curses  were  the  sins  of  Simeon  and  Levi, 
»  whose  fact,  though  it  were  abhorred  by  their  father, 

yet  it  was  seconded  by  their  brethren.  Who  would 
have  looked  to  have  found  this  outrage  in  the 
family  of  Jacob  !  How  did  that  good  patriarch, 
when  he  saw  Dinah  come  home  wringing  her  hands, 
Simeon  and  Levi  sprinkled  with  blood,  wish  that 
Leah  had  been  barren  us  long  as  Kachel !  What 
great  evils  arise  from  small  beginnings!    The  idle 


They  likewise  searched  the  house  of 
Shechem,  where  they  found  Dinah  their 
sister,  and  brought  her  out,  after  which 
they  fell  to  plunder,  and  carried  off  not 
only  what  was  found  in  the  city,  but  all 
that  was  in  the  field,  making  the  women 
and  children  prisoners ;  what  they  could 
not  carry  off  they  destroyed. 

Thus  did  the  sons  of  Jacob  glut  th 
revenge  on  the  miserable  Shechemites, 
the  rape  committed  on  their  sister  Din 
by  the  son  of  their  prince. 

Pious  Jacob  was  not  only  not  concerned 
in,  but  wholly  ignorant  of  this  slaughter 
committed  by  his  sons,  till  it  was  over  ;  for 
we  find  that  he  severely  reprimanded  their 
barbarity  as  threatening  the  most  dreadful 
consequences  to  himself  and  his  family  : 
*  Ye  have  troubled  me,  to  make  me  to 
stink  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
amongst  theCauaanites,and  the  Perizzites; 
and  I  being  few  in  number,  they  shall 
gather  themselves  together  against  me  and 
slay  me ;  and  I  shall  be  destroyed,  I  and 
my  house.'  But  Simeon  and  Levi,  who 
had  been  principally  concerned  in  the  de- 
structive scene,  urged  as  an  excuse  for 
their  riotous  behaviour,  the  regard  they 
had  to  their  sister's  virtue;  '  Shall  he  deal 
with  our  sister  as  with  an  harlot ;'  and  so 
ended  the  remonstrance  between  the  pious 
father  and  his  two  headstrong  sons. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Jacob  removes  to  Bethel. — Purges  his  house  of 
idolatry. — Rachel  dies  in  child-bed. — Jacob 
visits  his  father  Isaac. — Joseph's  piety  and 
wisdom  excite  the  hatred  of  his  brethren. — 
Joseph's  dreams  increase  their  envy. —  They 
therefore  conspire  his  death. — He  is  sold  to 
Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh's  guard. — 
Judah's  incest  with  Tamar. 

The  savage  disposition  of  the  Canaanites, 
exasperated  by  the  injuries  they  had  sus- 


curiosity  of  Dinah  hath  bred  all  this  mischief; 
ravishment  follows  upon  her  wandering  ;  upon  her 
ravishment,  murder;  upon  the  murder,  spoil.  'It 
is  holy  and  safe  to  be  jealous  of  the  first  occasions 
of  evil,  either  done  or  suffered. — HalL 


Chap.  IX.] 


THE  IHbLE. 


65 


tained  from  the  sons  of  Jacob,  seem  to 
have  been  the  motive  of  God's  gracious 
command  to  the  patriarch  to  remove  his 
settlement  and  repair  to  Bethel,  the  place 
which  he  had  dedicated  to  his  immediate 
service :  for  though  they  had  wholly  de- 
stroyed one  colony,  there  were  more  peo- 
ple that  bordered  thereabout,  who  either 
in  defence  of  themselves,  or  in  revenge 
for  the  cruel  and  unjust  treatment  of  their 
countrymen,  might  give  the  good  patriarch 
much  disquiet,  if  not  utterly  destroy  him. 
His  omnipotent  God  therefore  bid  him 
arise  and  go  up  to  Bethel  and  dwell  there, 
and  erect  an  altar  to  God,  who  appeared 
to  him  when  he  fled  from  the  presence  of 
his  incensed  brother  Esau. 

Pursuant  to  the  command  of  the  Al- 
mighty, the  obedient  patriarch  having 
first  strictly  charged  his  family  and  all  that 
belonged  to  him,  to  put  away  the  strange 
gods*  which  they  had,  be  clean,f  and 
change  their  garments ;  told  them  to  arise 
and  go  up  to  Bethel,  the  house  of  God. 

They  immediately  obeyed  the  charge, 
and  delivered  up  to  him  their  idols  and 
their  ear-rings^  which,  to  prevent  their 
being  a  future  snare  to  draw  his  family 


*  Some  commentators  are  of  opinion  that  Jacob 
here  referred  to  the  Teraphim  which  Rachel  had 
stolen  from  Laban ;  while  others  suppose  they 
were  the  idols  of  the  Shechemites.  However,  that 
they  were  idols  is  as  certain  as  the  patriarch's  cast- 
ing them  away  was  pious. 

■J-  The  original  word  signifies  the  washing  away 
of  filth  by  water,  in  which  sense  it  appears  highly 
commendable  in  Jacob,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  to 
enjoin  all  under  his  care  to  cleanse  themselves 
from  idolatry,  and  the  guilt  lately  contracted  by 
shedding  innocent  blood.  Besides,  it  wascustomary 
for  those  who  came  to  appear  before  the  Lord,  to 
wash  their  clothes.  See  Exod.  xix.  10.  Levit.  xvi. 
13.  2  Sam.  xii.  10. 

J  These  were  dedicated  to  some  idol,  and  worn 
to  render  their  gods  kind  and  propitious  to  them  ; 
;ind  as  they  thus  served  the  uses  of  idolatry,  we 
need  not  wonder  they  are  particularly  mentioned 
by  Jacob.  It  appears  that  rings,  whether  on  the 
ears  or  nose,  were  first  superstitiously  worn  in 
honour  of  false  gods,  probably  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
whose  circular  form  they  might  be  designed  to  re- 
present. Maimonides  mentions  rings  and  vessels 
of  this  kind,  with  the  image  of  the  sun,  moon,  &c. 
impressed  on  them.  These  superstitious  objects 
were  concealed  by  Jacob  in  a  place  known  only  to 
himself. 


from  the  worship  of  the  only  true  God,  he 
privately  buried  under  the  oak  near  unto 
Shechem,  from  whence  they  were  ready 
to  depart. 

When  they  proceeded  on  their  journey, 
God,  ever  mindful  of  his  promise  to  his 
chosen  people,  to  insure  their  safety, 
struck  such  a  terror  into  the  cities  round 
about  them  ;  that  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
vocation given  by  the  massacre  at  She- 
chem, none  pursued  them,  and  they  passed 
unmolested  to  Bethel. 

Jacob,  immediately  on  his  arrival,  ac- 
cording to  the  divine  command,  built  an 
altar,  and  performed  his  vow  to  the  most 
High  :  the  very  vow  (as  generally  sup- 
posed) which  he  made  when  God  appeared 
to  him  in  the  same  place,  as  he  fled  from 
his  brother  Esau.  Having  performed  this 
act  of  worship,  it  pleased  the  Lord  again 
to  appear  to  him,  confirm  his  new  name 
Israel,  and  give  him  repeated  assurances 
of  his  promises  made  to  Abraham  and 
Isaac,  with  extraordinary  blessings  to 
himself. 

In  token  of  this  signal  favour  of  the 
Almighty,  Jacob  erected  a  pillar  of  stone, 
in  the  very  place  where  he  had  been 
honoured  with  the  divine  intercourse,  as  a 
perpetual  monument  of  his  gratitude  and 
devotion,  pouring  a  drink-offering  and  oil 
upon  the  same.  But  Jacob  tarried  not 
long  at  Bethel ;  for,  urged  by  filial  affection, 
he  set  forward  toward  Mamre,  in  order  to 
visit  his  aged  father.  They  intended  to 
have  stopped  in  their  way  at  Ephrath,§ 
which,  though  not  far  distant  from  Bethel, 
they  had  not  reached  before  Rachel  fell 
in  labour,  and  having  very  severe  pangs, 
the  midwife,  to  encourage  her,  bid  her  not 
fear,  for  she  should  have  this  son  also.. 
She  was  delivered  indeed,  but  died  im- 
mediately afterwards,  having  just  a  mo- 


§  This  place  was  afterwards  called  Bethlehem,  a 
city  about  two  leagues  distant  from  Jerusalem, 
famous  for  the  birth  of  David,  king  of  Israel,  but 
infinitely  more  so  for  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  Son 
of  Hod,  and  Saviour  of  the  world. —  Calmet't 
Dictionary. 

I 


66 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


merit's  space  to  name  the  boy,  Benoni,  or 
'  son  of  sorrow  ;'  but  his  father  unwilling 
to  increase  the  remembrance  of  so  melan- 
choly a  cause,  called  him  Benjamin,  or 
'  the  son  of  my  right  hand,'  intimating 
thereby  his  peculiar  affection  for  this  last 
pledge  of  his  beloved  wife. 

Jacob,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
Rachel,  erected  a  ironument  over  her 
grave,  which  remained  a  great  number  of 
years  after  this  event.*  To  add  to  his 
excessive  grief  for  the  loss  of  one,  to  ob- 
tain whom  he  had  undergone  a  long  and 
painful  servitude,  his  son  Reuben,  before 
they  could  reach  Mamre,  committed  incest 
with  Bilhah,  his  father's  concubinary  wife; 
of  which,  though  he  took  no  notice,  he  re- 
tained a  painful  sense  to  his  dying  day,  as 
is  evident  from  a  reproachful  hint  he  gave 
him  just  before  he  paid  the  debt  of  nature. 
Though  these  aggravated  griefs  sat  heavy 
on  his  mind,  he  continued  his  resolution 
of  visiting  his  aged  parent,  pursued  his 
journey,  and  at  length  reached  Mamre, 
and  came  unto  the  city  of  Arba,f  the  place 
of  abode  both  of  his  grandfather  Abraham, 
and  his  father  Isaac,  who  without  doubt 
was  overjoyed  at  the  return  of  his  son,  as 
was  the  son  at  the  sight  of  his  venerable 
parent.      So    various    are    the    accidents 


*  The  learned  Bochart  is  of  opinion,  that  this 
monument  of  Rachel's  (which  is  the  first  that  we 
read  of  in  Scripture)  was  a  pyramid,  curiously 
wrought,  and  raised  upon  a  basis  of  twelve  large 
stones,  whereby  Jacob  intended  to  intimate  the 
number  of  his  sons.  It  was  certainly  standing  in 
the  time  when  Moses  wrote  ;  and,  just  before  Saul 
was  anointed  king,  there  is  some  mention  made  of 
it,  I  Sam.  x.  2.  But  that  the  present  monument 
cannot  be  the  same  which  Jacob  erected,  is  very 
manifest  from  its  being  a  modern  and  Turkish 
structure.  M.  Le  Brun,  who  was  at  the  place,  and 
took  a  draught  of  it,  says,  that  the  tomb  is  cut  into 
the  cavity  of  a  rock,  and  covered  with  a  dome, 
supported  by  four  pillars,  on  fragments  of  a  wall, 
which  open  to  the  sepulchre.  The  work  is  rude 
enough,  and  without  any  ornament ;  but  the  whole 
is  as  entire  as  if  it  had  been  just  made,  which 
makes  it  hard  to  imagine  that  it  has  subsisted  ever 
lince  Jacob's  time. — MuundrelVs  Travels,  and 
Calmet'8  Dictionary. 

f  Arba  was  afterwards  called  Hebron.  It  was 
situated  on  an  eminence  twenty  miles  southward 
of  Jerusalem,  and  twenty  miles  north  from  Beer- 
sheba. 


which  befall  the  best  of  men  in  this  state 
of  trial,  that  pious  Jacob  had  not  long  en- 
joyed the  company  of  his  aged  father,  be- 
fore his  patience  was  exercised  by  a  very 
afflicting  circumstance. 

His  son  Joseph  being  now  arrived  to 
the  age  of  seventeen  years,  was  employed 
with  his  brethren  in  feeding  the  flock:  and 
the  lad  observing  their  wicked  behaviour 
had  reported  the  same  to  his  father.:}:  This 
inflamed  their  resentment  against  him,  and 
as  they  thought  he  was  a  spy  upon  them, 
they  determined  to  remove  him  from 
among  them. 

Their  furious  rage  was  greatly  inflamed 
by  the  extraordinary  token  of  love  which 
his  father  showed  him,  not  only  because 
he  was  the  son  of  his  beloved  Rachel,  but 
also  because  he  was  wise  beyond  his  years.  § 
This  engaging  qual.'iy  so  far  wrought  up- 
on the  fond  parent,  that  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  rest  of  his  children,  he  be- 
stowed on  him  a  fine  vest  of  many  colours,  || 
not  thinking  it  would  inflame  their  jealousy 
and  hatred  to  so  excessive  a  degree. 

This  token  of  supereminence  so  exas- 
perated Jacob's  other  sons,  that  they  not 
only  withheld  from  him  the  common  of- 
fices of  civility,  but  devised  means  to  per- 
plex  and   render   him   unhappy.       This 


J  There  is  a  variety  of  opinions  concerning  the 
particular  nature  of  the  faults  which  Joseph  had 
told  his  father  were  committed  by  his  brethren. 
Some  think  it  was  their  contentious  way  of  living, 
others,  the  sin  of  sodomy ;  others  that  of  bestiality; 
but  whatever  it  was,  it  may  be  gathered  from  their 
inveterate  malice  against  him,  that  it  was  no  small 
crime,  because  they  hated  him  even  to  death. 

<)  According  to  the  Hebrew  text,  the  motive  of 
Jacob's  preferring  Joseph  to  the  rest  of  his  children, 
was  because  he  was  son  of  the  elders  or  senators, 
that  is,  he  was  teacher  of  his  elders,  and  greatly 
excelled  them  in  genius  and  capacity  ;  our  version 
can  by  no  means  be  proper,  for  if  his  love  was 
founded  on  the  motive  which  that  suggests, 
he  must  have  loved  Zebulun,  as  well  as  Joseph, 
since  lie  was  of  the  same  age,  and  Benjamin  more, 
who  was  born  sixteen  years  after  Joseph. 

||  Whatever  was  the  quality  of  this  coat,  it  is 
plain  that  it  was  composed  of  divers  colours  ;  and 
as  such  garments  were  in  high  esteem  among  the 
Eastern  nations,  and  worn  by  persons  of  the 
greatest  distinction,  this  party-coloured  dress  dis- 
tinguished him  above  his  brethren  and  gave  rise 
to  tiun  jealousy  and  hatred. 


Chap.  IX.]  THE  BIBLE. 

aversion  was  greatly  increased  by  Joseph's 
two  dreams,  which  he  very  innocently 
related  to  them,  not  imagining  they  were 
so  maliciously  disposed  towards  him,  as 
he  afterwards  found  them  to  be.  The 
first  dream  was,  •  that  as  he  was  binding 
sheaves  with  his  brethren  in  the  field,  his 
sheaf  arose,  and  stood  upright,  while  their 
sheaves  round  about  fell  down ;  and,  as  it 
were,  made  obeisance  to  his.' 

The  brethren  replied  with  scorn, 
1  Shalt  thou  indeed  reign  over  us  ?  or 
shalt  thou  indeed  have  dominion  over  us  ?' 
His  second  dream,  which  he  told  them 
with  as  inoffensive  a  design  as  he  had 
done  the  former,  still  added  to  their  malice, 
*  I  have  seen  (says  he)  the  sun  and  moon 
and  eleven  stars  fall  down  before  me.' 
So  greatly  was  he  impressed  with  this 
event,  that  he  could  not  conceal  it  from 
his  father,  who,  either  to  appease  the 
anger  of  his  other  sons,  or  check  that 
presumption  which  in  young  minds  so 
naturally  arises  from  good  omens,  repri- 
manded him  in  these  words:  'Shall  I,  and 
thy  mother,  and  thy  brethren,  indeed  come 
to  bow  down  ourselves  to  thee  to  the 
earth  ?' 

Jacob,  who  was  no  stranger  to  these 
visions,  finding  them  thus  repeated,  stored 
them  up  in  his  memory  as  predictions  of 
events  that  would  certainly  come  to  pass ; 
and  as  he  was  uneasy  with  respect  to  h*s 
sons,  who  were  now  feeding  their  flocks 
in  Shechem,  thought  proper  to  send  Jo- 
seph to  thena,  though  it  was  near  sixty 
miles  distant  from  Hebron,  the  place 
where  he  now  dwelt. 

But  by  this  means  the  pious  father  be- 
came the  fatal  instrument  of  delivering 
his  darling  child  into  the  hands  of  his  im- 
placable brethren;  for  Joseph,  in  obedi- 
ence to  his  father's  command,  went  to 
Shechem,  and  not  finding  them  there, 
wandered  about  till  a  stranger  directed 
him  to  Dothan,  *  where,  when  they  saw 

*  It  was  a  town  about  twelve  miles  to  the 
north  of  the  city  of  Samaria,  as  Eusebius  informs 
us. —  Wells. 


67 

him  afar  off,  they  conspired  against  him 
to  destroy  him,  saying  one  to  another, 
*  Behold  this  dreamer  cometh  :  f  come 
now,  therefore,  and  let  us  slay  him,  and 
cast  him  into  some  pit,  and  we  will  say, 
some  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him :  and 
we  shall  see  what  will  become  of  his 
dreams.'  Reuben,  who  was  less  mali- 
ciously disposed  than  the  rest,  could  not 
approve  of  the  horrid  resolution,  and  be- 
ing desirous  of  protecting  him  from  their 
rage,  as  he  could  not  devise  any  open  or 
direct  method,  persuaded  them  to  cast  him 
into  a  pit,  that  he  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  delivering  him  again  to  his  fa- 
ther. The  rest,  considering  that  if  he 
perished  in  the  pit,  it  would  answer  their 
end,  consented  to  the  advice  of  Reuben. 
This  resolution  was  no  sooner  taken,  than 
the  innocent  youth,  unapprized  of  their 
malicious  design,  came  up  to  them,  and 
as  he  was  about  to  deliver  his  father's  in- 
dulgent counsel  to  them,  they  first  strip- 
ped him  of  his  party-coloured  vest,  and 
then  cast  him  into  the  pit,  which  was 
then  dry  and  empty. 

Unaffected  by  this  cruel  treatment  of 
their  brother,  they  left  him  to  perish  in 
the  pit,  and  without  remorse  sat  down  to 
regale  themselves  with  what  provisions 
the  place  afforded,  certain  that  he  must 
now  inevitably  perish  with  hunger.  But 
the  eye  of  Omniscience  beheld  his  distress 
and  pitied  his  despair,  for  as  Reuben  had 
been  already  the  means  of  preventing  his 
immediate  death,  Judah  now  becomes  the 
means  of  delivering  him  out  of  the  pit. 

It  happened,  that  as  they  were  refresh- 
ing themselves,  a  company  of  Ishmaelites,J 
travelling  with  various  merchandise  from 


f  In  the  original  it  is,  '  Behold  this  maker  of 
dreams  cometh;'  which  shows  that  they  considered 
his  dreams  as  fictions  of  his  own,  nay,  is  confirmed 
by  their  future  conduct. 

|  These  are  below  called  Midianites.  These 
people  were  near  neighbours  to  each  other ;  and 
were  joined  together  in  one  company  or  caravan, 
as  it  is  now  called.  It  is  the  custom,  even  to  this 
day,  in  the  East,  for  merchants  and  others  to  tra- 
vel through  the  deserts  in  large  companies  for  fear 
of  robbers  or  wild  beasts. —  Bishop  Patrick. 


68 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  L 


Gilead  to  Egypt,  approached,  and  Judah 
availing  himself  of  the  opportunity,  in 
order  to  rescue  his  brother  Joseph  from 
certain  death,  urged  the  iniquity  of  being 
instrumental  to  the  destruction  of  their 
own  brother,  by  which  they  would  con- 
tract an  eternal  stain  of  guilt;  and  advised 
them  to  sell  him  to  the  Ishmaelites,  by 
which  means  they  would  not  only  save  his 
life,  but  considerably  promote  their  own 
gain.  They  immediately  consented  to 
Judah's  proposal,  and  dragging  Joseph 
out  of  the  pit,  sold  him  to  the  Midianitish 
merchants  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver,  and 
these  carrying  him  to  Egypt  sold  him  to 
Potiphar,  an  officer*  of  the  king  and  cap- 
tain of  his  guards. 

Reuben,  who  was  absent  when  this  cir- 
cumstance happened,  having  proposed  the 
casting  Joseph  into  the  nit  in  order  to 
save  his  life,  now  went  thither  to  see,  and 
doubtless  to  assist  him  in  making  his  es- 
cape; but  astonished  at  not  finding  him, 
he  returned  to  his  brethren,  rent  his 
clothes,  f  and  upbraided  himself  as  the 
cause  of  his  being  lost:  'The  child  is  not, 
and  whither  shall  I  go?'  The  guilty 
brethren,  to  take  off  all  suspicion  from 
themselves,  concerted  this  scheme:  they 
took  Joseph's  vest,  dipped  it  in  the  blood 
of  a  kid,  and  sent  it  to  their  father,  with 
this  message;  'This  have  we  found,  know 
now  whether  it  be  thy  son's  coat,  or  no.' 
The  good  old  patriarch  was  soon  convinced 
to  whom  the  bloody  garment  belonged,  and 
not  suspecting  that  any  human  hand 
could  be  guilty  of  such  unnatural  cruelty, 
concluded  that  he  had  been  unhappily  de- 


•  This  word  in  the  original  signifies  an  eunuch, 
but  cannot  be  taken  here  literally,  but  figuratively. 
It  was  the  custom,  and  is  still  in  those  parts,  to 
commit  the  keeping  of  the  queen  and  women  of 
quality  to  e>';iuchs:  but  Potiphar  cannot  be  sup- 
posed to  be  such,  for  he  had  a  wife.  Besides,  it 
was  customary  among  the  eastern  people  to  call 
their  nohlemen,  eunuchs. 

f  This  was  one  of  the  signs  of  ancient  mourning, 
and  used  in  cases  of  the  greatest  distress.  From 
this  behaviour  of  Heubeii,  it  is  most  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  he  was  absent,  and  consequently 
not  privy  to  the  transaction  of  selling  Joseph  to 
tiie  Ishmaelites. 


voured  by  some  wild  beast.  This  loss 
was  the  most  severe  that  the  good  old 
man  ever  sustained:  when  his  beloved 
Rachel  died,  she  paid  the  debt  of  nature 
in  a  natural  way;  but  Joseph  (according 
to  his  present  apprehension)  dies  by  a  sa- 
vage animal,  and  is  barbarously  torn  in 
pieces  before  his  time.  His  grief  there- 
fore knows  no  measure,  he  puts  on  sack- 
cloth, and  mourns  for  his  beloved  son 
many  days;  nay,  so  excessive  was  his  sor- 
row, that  when  his  children  in  general  en- 
deavoured to  comfort  him,  he  assured  them 
he  could  only  cease  to  mourn  when  he 
should  follow  him  in  the  path  of  mortal- 
ity. But  as  circumstances  are  interwo- 
ven:); by  the  sacred  historian,  we  must  beg 
leave  to  defer  our  further  account  of  Jo- 
seph, in  order  to  relate  some  intervening 
occurrences,  which,  being  material,  we 
cannot  pass  over  unnoticed. 

Some  time  before  the  late*  transaction, 
Jacob's  son,  Judah,  had  greatly  varied  from 
the  received  custom  of  his  forefathers, 
in  marrying  a  Canaanitish  woman,  by 
whom  he  had  three  sons,  Er,  Onan,  and 
Shelah. 

In  process  of  time  when  Er,  his  eldest 
son,  grew  up  to  years  of  maturity,  he  took 
him  a  wife,  whose  name  was  Tamar.  Er, 
for  his  abomination  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  was  suddenly  taken  off,  upon  which 
Judah  advised  Onan,  his  second  son,  to 
marry  his  brother's  widow,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  succession  of  the  family. 

Onan  knowing  that  if  Tamar  should 
bear  him  any  children,  the  eldest  would 
inherit  in  the  name  of  his  elder  brother 
deceased, §  and  therefore  not  be  accounted 
as  his,  pretended  to  follow  his  father's 
counsel,  by  going  into  Tamar's  chamber; 


X  Though  the  late  and  following  events  seem 
to  be  connected  by  the  sacred  writer,  the  marriage 
of  Judah,  of  whom  we  are  now  about  to  speak, 
happened  sometime  before  Joseph  was  sold  into 
I'gypt,  though  it  is  related  by  Moses  after  that 
event. 

$  This  was  long  before  the  law,  by  which  it  was 
enjoined  :  yet  though  this  is  the  first  mention  we 
l.ave  of  it,  it  seems  it  was  then  n  known  custom, 
and  well-understood  even  hy  young  Onan. 


CllAV.    IX.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


but  came  out  without  following  the  instinct 
of  nature.  But  this  crime  was  so  provok- 
ing to  the  Almighty,  that  the  same  judg- 
ment was  inflicted  upon  him  as  had  been 
upon  his  brother. 

Shelah,  his  third  son,  being  as  yet  too 
young  for  procreation,  Judah  desired  his 
daughter-in-law,  Tamar,  to  retire  to  her 
father's  house,  and  there  remain  a  widow 
till  he  should  grow  up,  when  he  should 
marry  her. 

Tamar  accordingly  retired ;  and  in  pro- 
cess of  time  Shuah,  Judah's  wife,  died,  and 
Shelah  arrived  at  man's  estate,  but  waiting 
a  long  time  in  vain  the  performance  of 
Judah's  promise,  Tamar  determined  on 
revenge  for  her  disappointment. 

Being  told  at  a  certain  time,  that  her 
father-in-law  was  going  up  to  Timnath, 
to  shear  his  sheep,  she  took  off  her  widow's 
garment,  disguised  herself  in  the  habit  of 
a  harlot,  and  sat  herself  in  an  open  path, 
through  which  she  knew  Judah  must 
necessarily  pass  in  his  way  to  Timnath. 

When  Judah  beheld  her,  he  took  her  to 
be  a  prostitute,  and  as  such  desired  inter- 
course with  her.  She  denied  not  his  re- 
quest, but  demanded  of  him  the  terms;  he 
promised  her  a  kid,  and  the  woman  having 
a  further  design  upon  him,  required  a 
security  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  terms, 
which  by  their  mutual  agreement  were  to 
be  his  ring  or  signet,  his  bracelets*  and 
his  sraff.  The  pledges  being  delivered, 
they  went  together,  and  she  conceived  by 
him. 

Judah  had  no  sooner  departed  than  she 
retired,  and  having  put  off  her  disguised 
dress,  reassumed  her  widow's  habit,  which 
she  had  no  sooner  done  than  her  deceived 


*  The  Hebrew  word  signifies  a  scarf,  or  girdle. 
The  Chaldee  renders  it  a  handkerchief,  but  it  is 
variously  translated  by  the  Syriac  and  Arabic. 
Some  translate  it  something  twisted:  it  seems  to 
have  been  a  girdle  made  of  gold,  twisted  in  the 
manner  of  a  thread,  and  suspended  from  the  neck, 
and  not  like  a  bracelet  from  tliearm. — The  ancient 
Hebrews  wore  their  seals  or  signets,  either  as  rings 
on  their  fingers,  or  as  bracelets  on  their  arms,  a 
custom  which  still  obtains  in  the  East. 


father-in-law  went  to  bis  flock,  took  a  kid, 
and  sent  it  by  his  friend  Hirah  the  Adulla- 
mitef  to  redeem  the  pledge. 

Hirah,  seeking  her  in  vain,  returned 
and  told  Judah  ;  who  therefore  determined 
to  let  her  keep  the  pledge,  lest  the  dis- 
covery of  his  connection  with  her  might 
bring  him  into  disgrace. 

In  the  course  of  about  three  months, 
Judah  was  informed  that  Tamar  his  daugfh- 
ter-in-lavv  had  played  the  harlot,  and  was 
with  child  by  whoredom  ;  when  he,  re- 
senting the  dishonour  she  had  brought 
upon  his  family,  and  unmindful  of  his  late 
folly  and  wickedness,  ordered  her  to  be 
brought  forth,  and  publicly  burnt:): 

When  she  was  brought  forth,  she  pro- 
duced the  pledge,  and  sent  it  to  her  father- 
in-law,  assuring  him  at  the  same  time, 
that  the  man  to  whom  those  things  be- 


t  A  citizen  of  Adullam,  a  famous  town  in 
Canaan,  that  fell  afterwards  to  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
— Bishop  Patrick. 

J  Among  eastern  nations,  as  well  as  elsewhere, 
women,  who  were  guilty  of  adultery,  were  more 
severely  punished  than  the  men  :  whether  it  was 
that  the  injury  done  the  husband  was  reputed  to 
be  more  heinous,  or  that  the  men,  having  the 
power  of  making  laws,  took  care  to  enact  them  in 
favour  of  themselves.  Thus  God  is  said,  *  for  the 
hardness  of  their  hearts,'  to  have  indulged  the 
Jews  in  the  matter  of  divorcing  their  wives  ;  but 
the  wives  had  not  the  like  privilege  over  their  hus- 
bands. In  many  places  a  man  might  have  as  many 
wives  as  he  could  maintain  ;  but  the  women  were 
to  be  content  with  one  husband :  and,  in  like 
manner,  here  Judah,  we  find,  condemns  Tamar, 
though  a  widow,  for  her  crime  to  be  burnt ;  whilst 
himself,  in  the  same  state  of  widowhood,  thought 
fornication  a  very  pardonable  crime.  It  is  ques- 
tioned, however,  by  what  right  and  authority  he 
could  pass  this  sentence  upon  her  :  and,  to  answer 
this,  it  is  supposed,  that  every  master  was  judge 
and  chief  magistrate  in  his  own  family  ;  and  that 
therefore  Tamar,  though  she  was  a  Canaanite,  yet 
being  married  into  Judah's  family,  and  having 
brought  disgrace  upon  it,  was  probably  under  his 
cognizance.  His  cognizance  however  (according 
to  the  opinion  of  some)  did  not  extend  so  far  as  to 
have  her  burnt  at  the  stake,  (as  we  call  it,)  but  only 
branded  in  the  lorehead  for  a  whore ;  though  others 
deny  that  his  authority  extended  so  far :  for,  being 
in  a  strange  place,  it  can  hardly  be  thought  that 
the  power  of  life  and  death,  or  indeed  of  any  other 
penalty,  was  lodged  in  him  :  and  therefore  they 
think,  that  the  words  mean  no  more  than  this, 
that  she  should  be  brought  before  a  court  of  judi- 
cature, and  sentenced  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
j  country. — See  Selden,  Le  Clerc,  and  Howell. 


70 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


longed,  was  the  very  person  by  whom  she 
was  with  child. 

Judah,  convinced  of  the  deception,  ac- 
knowledged the  pledge,  and  reflecting  on 
the  injustice  he  had  done  her,  in  withhold- 
ing from  her  his  son,  whom  he  had  promis- 
ed her  in  marriage,  transferred  the  crime 
upon  himself,  by  declaring  that  she  had 
been  more  righteous  than  him.* 

When  the  time  of  her  travail  arrived, 
she  was  delivered  of  twins,  one  of  which 
putting  out  his  hand,  the  midwife  bound 
it  with  a  scarlet  thread  by  way  of  distinc-" 
tion  as  the  first-born  ;  but  he  drawing  back 
his  hand,  his  brother  came  forth,  where- 
upon he  was  called  Pharez,.  which  signifies 
an  irruption  or  breach,  and  the  other  with 
the  thread  on  his  hand,  Zara.f  Thus  in- 
stead of  the  son  raising  up  issue  to  the 
deceased  brother,  the  father  incestuously 
raised  issue  to  the  deceased  son,  but  shocked 
at  the  horrid  crime,  he  abandoned  all  future 
converse  with  that  subtle  woman. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Death  of  Isaac. — Joseph  is  advanced  in  Poti- 
phar's  house. — Resists  the  temptation  of  his 
mistress. — Is  falsely  accused  and  imprisoned. 
— Finds  favour  in  the  sight  of  the  keeper,  who 
commits  to  him  the  charge  of  two  of  Pharaoh's 
principal  officers. — Interprets  their  dreams. 
— Interprets  Pharaoh's,  and  is  thereby  greatly 
promoted. — Begets  children. — A  famine  suc- 
ceeds the  seven  years  plenty. — Joseph's  brethren 
arrive  in  Egypt,  and  are  imprisoned  by  him, 
but  sent  back  on  leaving  one  as  a  pledge,  and 
promising  to  bring  to  him  their  youngest  bro- 
ther Benjamin. 

When  Joseph  was  first  sold  into  Egypt, 
his  grandfather  was  living,  but  died  in  the 


*  He  does  not  say  Tamar  was  more  holy  or 
chaste,  but  more  righteous  or  just ;  that  is,  Judah 
not  keeping  his  promise  in  marrying  her  to  Shelah, 
provoked  her  to  lay  this  trap  for  him,  resolving, 
since  he  would  not  let  her  have  children  by  She- 
lah, she  would  have  them  by  him  :  thus,  though 
she  may  be  deemed  more  wicked  in  the  sight  of 
God,  she  appeared  more  just  in  the  judgment  of 
Judah. 

f  Zara  ;  that  is,  he  ariseth,  because  he  had 
given  a  sign  of  his  coming,  by  putting  out  his 
hand. 


course  of  the  event  that  followed,  being  an 
hundred  and  eighty  years  old,  having  lived 
longer  than  any  since  Terah.  The  good 
old  patriarch  was  buried  by  his  sons  Esau 
and  Jacob,  in  the  cave  that  is  in  the  field 
of  Machpelah,  which  Abraham  had  pur- 
chased of  Ephron,  for  a  burying-place  for 
his  family. 

But  with  the  sacred  writer  we  now  re- 
sume our  history,  which  has  been  inter- 
rupted by  the  transactions  relative  to  Ju- 
dah's  family,  and  observe,  that  Joseph  in 
process  of  time,  by  his  faithful  service  so 
obtained  the  favour  of  Potiphar  his  mas- 
ter, that  he  not  only  dismissed  him  from 
every  laborious  office,  but  made  him  over- 
seer of  his  whole  property,  and  committed 
the  charge  of  his  house  to  his  sole  care  and 
direction. 

Joseph  being  thus  appointed  sole  di- 
rector of  the  concerns  of  Potiphar  both 
within  and  without  doors,  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  command  a  blessing  on  the 
house  of  the  Egyptian,  who  flourished  ex- 
tremely, and  daily  increased  in  his  good 
offices  towards  his  faithful  servant. 

Thus  situated,  Joseph  had  reason  to 
hope  for  a  comfortable  life,  though  sold 
to  slavery,  and  await  his  liberty  as  the  re- 
ward of  his  truth  and  fidelity :  but  it 
pleased  God  farther  to  exercise  his  faith 
and  patience,  in  order  to  prepare  him  for 
a  still  brighter  display  of  his  grace  and 
goodness  towards  his  chosen  people. 

Joseph  was  of  a  very  comely  form, 
sweet  complexion,  and  winning  deport- 
ment: these  united  charms  in  process  of 
time  attracted  the  notice  and  excited  the 
love  of  his  master's  wife,  who,  when  all 
tacit  tokens  to  draw  the  youth  into  an  in- 
dulgence of  her  unlawful  flame  failed,  was 
so  fired  by  her  eager  passion,  that  she 
broke  through  every  rule  of  decency,  and 
in  plain  terms  courted  him  to  her  bed.} 


X  Joseph  at  this  time  was  about  seven  and 
twenty  years  old.  For  he  was  seventeen  when  he 
was  sold  to  Potiphar,  Gen.  xxxvii.  2.  and  he  was 
committed  to  prison  immediately  upon  his  non- 
compliance with  his  mistress's  temptation  ;  where. 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


71 


In  a  short  time  an  opportunity  offered, 
(as  vice  seldom  fails  of  assisting  its  ser- 
vants:) it  happened  one  day  that  Poti- 
phar  being  in  waiting  on  .the  king,  and 
the  rest  of  the  servants  employed  about 
their  work  in  the  field,  none  but  the  come- 
ly Hebrew  and  his  wanton  mistress  were 
left  in  the  house. 

When  Joseph  therefore  came  into  the 
room  where  she  was  sitting,  she  again  at- 
tacked him,  and  in  plain  terms  asked  him 
to  lie  with  her.  The  innocent  youth, 
startled  at  such  an  attack  from  one  of  her 
sex  and  quality,  to  avoid  the  commission  of 
so  disingenuous  a  crime,  expostulated  with 
her  on  its  horrid  and  aggravated  nature, 


as  far  as  it  appears,  he  had  not  been  long  before 
he  interpreted  the  dreams  of  the  two  disgraced 
courtiers  ;  and,  two  years  after  that,  lie  was  re- 
leased and  promoted,  viz.  when  he  was  thirty  years 
old  :  so  that  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  that 
this  temptation  befell  him  about  three  years  before 
his  releasement.  i.  e.  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of 
his  age.  At  this  time  it  is  supposable  that  he  was 
a  comely  person  enough,  but  the  stories  relating  to 
his  excessive  beauty,  as  they  are  recorded  by  the 
Talmudists,  are  ridiculous,  and  not  much  better 
than  what  Mahomet,  in  his  history  of  the  patriarch 
tells  us,  viz.  That  his  mistress  having  invited  the 
ladies  of  the  town  to  a  splendid  entertainment,  or- 
dered Joseph  to  be  called  for,  but  that  as  soon  as 
he  appeared,  they  were  amazed  at  his  beauty,  and 
so  confounded  that  they  knew  not  what  they  did, 
but  instead  of  eating  their  meat,  they  eat  their 
fingers,  and  said  among  themselves,  '  This  is  not  a 
man,  but  an  angel.' — Josephus  tells  us  that  Poti- 
phar's  wife  took  the  opportunity  of  a  certain  festi- 
val, when  all  the  people  were  gone  a  merry-mak- 
ing, to  tempt  Joseph  ;  that  feigning  herself  sick, 
she  decoyed  him  by  that  means  into  her  apart- 
ment, and  then  addressed  herself  to  him  in  words 
to  this  effect  : — "  It  had  been  much  better  for  you, 
says  she,  had  yon  complied  with  my  first  request; 
if,  for  no  other  consideration,  in  regard,  at  least,  to 
the  dignity  of  the  person  who  is  become  your  pe- 
titioner, and  to  the  excess  of  my  passion.  Be- 
sides, it  would  have  saved  me  the  shame  of  conde- 
scending to  some  words  and  expressions  which  1 
am  still  out  of  countenance  when- 1  think  of. — 
You  might  perhaps  make  some  doubt  before,  whe- 
ther 1  was  in  earnest ;  but  this  is  to  satisfy  you, 
that  I  mean  no  ill  by  my  persisting  in  the  same 
mind.  Take  therefore  your  choice  now,  whether 
you  will  improve  this  opportunity  of  a  present 
satisfaction,  in  the  embraces  of  a  creature  that 
loves  you  dearly,  and  from  whom  you  may  expect 
still  greater  tilings;  or  stand  the  shock  of  my  hatred 
and  revenge,  if  you  will  presume  to  value  yourself 
upon  the  vain  conceit  of  your  chastity,  more  than 
my  favour,"  &c. — Bibliotheca  Bib.,  Alkoran, 
and  Josephus. 


having  given  a  positive  denial :  '  But  he 
refused ;  and  said  unto  his  master's  wife, 
Behold,  my  master  wotteth  not  what  is 
with  me  in  the  house,  and  he  hath  com- 
mitted all  that  he  hath  to  my  hand.  There 
is  none  greater  in  this  house  than  I ;  nei- 
ther hath  he  kept  back  any  thing  from 
me,  but  thee,  because  thou  art  his  wife  : 
how  then  can  I  do  this  great  wickedness 
and  sin  against  God  ?' 

But  this  repulse,  sufficient  to  have  filled 
with  shame  a  mind  not  entirely  lost  to 
honour  and  virtue,  had  no  effect  on  this 
lewd  woman,  whose  desire  grew  so  vehe- 
ment, that  she  caught  him  by  his  gar- 
ment, and  again  importuned  him  to  lie 
with  her;  Joseph  therefore,  having  no 
other  means  of  escaping  from  her,  left  his 
cloak  in  her  hand  and  fled. 

Finding  his  virtue  unconquerable,  and 
fearing  the  disgrace  that  would  attend  the 
discovery  of  her  shameful  passion,  as  well 
as  determined  to  revenge  the  denial,  she 
came  to  a  resolution  of  laying  the  charge 
upon  him,  to  prevent  its  falling  upon  her- 
self; feigning  therefore  a  prodigious  out- 
cry and  uncommon  surprise,  and  holding 
at  the  same  time  Joseph's  garment  in  her 
hand,  those  servants  who  were  nearest  the 
house  immediately  ran  to  her  assistance ; 
upon  which  she  vehemently  exclaimed, 
'  See,  he  hath  brought  in  an  Hebrew* 
unto  us  to  mock  us :  he  came  unto  me, 
to  lie  with  me;'  and  further  to  engage 
them  in  her  cause  when  the  affair  should 
come  to  examination,  craftily  added,  '  And 
I  cried  with  a  loud  voice  ;  and  it  came  to 
pass,  when  he  heard  that  I  lifted  up  my 
voice  and  cried,  that  he  left  his  garment 
with  me,  and  fled,  and  got  him  out.' 

Having  thus  prepared  the  servants  to 
confirm  her  declaration,  she  laid  the  cloak 
by  her,  to  produpe  it  as  an  evidence 
against  him  on  her  lord's  return.     Poti- 


*  She  called  not  Joseph  by  his  own  name,  but 
that  of  his  people,  *  an  Hebrew,'  to  inflame  them 
the  more  against  him  :  for  the  Egyptians  most  in- 
veterately  hated  the  Hebrews. 


72 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


phar  had  no  sooner  entered  the  house, 
than  she  most  violently  exclaimed  against 
the  dishonour  offered  her  by  his  Hebrew- 
servant;  upon  which  the  credulous  hus- 
band, without  the  least  inquiry  into  the 
merits  of  the  cause,  immediately  com- 
mitted him  to  the  king's  prison.* 

Nor  did  a  covenant-keeping  God  desert 
his  faithful  servant  under  this  cloudy 
scene;  for,  thus  bereft  of  friend,  relation, 
and  every  kind  of  assistance,  he  received 
the  clearest  intimations  of  divine  favour, 
and  grew  so  highly  in  the  esteem  of  the 
gaoler,  that  he  committed  all  the  prisoners 
to  his  care,  and  gave  him,  as  his  master 
had  done  before,  the  sole  direction  of  all 
his  concerns.  This  conduct  of  the  prison- 
keeper  was  indeed  founded  on  the  same 
motive  as  that  of  Potiphar;  for  he,  as  well 
as  the  other,  observed  the  extraordinary 
success  with  which  God  crowned  all  his 
undertakings. 

While  Joseph  was  confined,  it  happened 
that  the  king's  chief  butler  and  baker  f 


*  It  is  somewhat  wonderful,  that,  if  Potiphar 
believed  his  wife's  story,  he  did  not  immediately 
put  him  to  death  ;  hut  there  is  one  tiling  which 
might  check  the  violence  of  his  passion,  and  that 
was,  the  good  opinion  he  had  for  some  time  been 
continued  in,  of  Joseph's  virtue  and  integrity. 
Joseph,  he  saw,  was  young  and  beautiful,  and 
therefore  he  might  think  it  a  thing  not  impossible 
for  a  lady  of  distincflon  to  be  in  love  with  him, 
and  upon  a  disappointment  to  be  exasperated  : 
as  therefore  he  would  not  inflict  any  capital  or 
corporal   punishment  on    him,  so  he  thought  it 

firudent  to  hurry  him  away  to  prison  unheard, 
est,  being  allowed  to  speak  in  his  own  vindica- 
tion, he  might  clear  himself,  and  thereby  bring 
discredit  upon  his  family.  It  must  not  be  de- 
nied however  (what  St  Chrysostom  has  observed) 
that  here  again  was  a  special,  and  as  it  were,  a 
miraculous  intervention  of  the  divine  power,  which 
preserved  his  life,  as  it  did  before,  when  he  was 
cast  into  the  pit.  The  superior  influence  which 
softened  the  heart  of  Reuben,  restrained  the  hand 
of  Potiphar,  in  order  to  make  our  patriarch  a 
more  glorious  example,  and  to  complete  those 
events,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  which  God  had 
predetermined  and  foretold. —  Chrysostom. 

f  It  is  evident  from  the  sacred  writings,  that 
these  men  held  considerable  posts  in  the  king's 
household.  Diodorus  Siculus  confirms  this  as- 
lertiun  by  affirming,  that  no  home-born  slaves 
were  admitted  to  serve  the  kings  of  Egypt,  but  all 
their  officers  were  sons  of  their  most  illustrious 
priests. 


were  committed  to  the  same  prison,  and 
being  delivered  to  the  care  of  Joseph,  he 
attended  them  in  person,  and  thereby 
contracted  an  intimacy  with  them.  On 
one  and  the  same  night,  they  each  of 
them  dreamed  a  very  extraordinary  dream, 
and  being  much  affected  with  the  same, 
Joseph  demanded  of  them  the  cause  of 
their  melancholy?  And  they  told  him 
they  had  each  dreamed  a  dream  that 
night,  and  being  in  prison  could  procure 
no  interpreter. 

Joseph,  to  take  off  their  minds  from  a 
reliance  on  the  vain  superstitions  that 
prevailed  in  the  country  of  the  Egyptians, 
who  in  such  cases  trusted  to  diviners  and 
soothsayers,  having  in  a  kind  of  appeal  tc 
them  given  them  to  understand  that  the 
interpretation  of  dreams  belonged  unto 
God,  desired  to  know  their  dreams.  The 
butler  told  him  he  dreamt  he  saw  a  vine 
that  had  three  branches,  which  budded  by 
degrees,  then  blossomed,  and  at  length 
brought  forth  ripe  grapes;  that  he  held 
Pharaoh's  cup  in  his  hand,  pressed  the 
juice  into  the  same,  and  gave  it  to  the 
king  to  drink.  Joseph  thus  interpreted 
the  dream;  'The  three  branches  denote 
three  days;  within  which  Pharaoh  shall 
lift  up  thy  head  and  restore  thee  to  thy 
place;  and  thou  shalt,  as  usual,  give  him 
to  drink  according  to  the  duty  of  thine 
office.' 

All  that  the  interpreter  required  for  so 
agreeable  a  presage  was,  that  he  would 
remember  him,  when  restored,  and  inter- 
cede with  the  king  for  his  enlargement 
from  a  confinement  inflicted  upon  him 
without  any  just  cause.  The  other  offi- 
cer, prompted  by  the  happy  interpretation 
he  had  already  given,  proceeded  to  tell 
him  that  he  dreamt  he  had  three  white 
baskets  upon  his  head ;  in  the  uppermost 
of  which  was  all  manner  of  baked  meats 
for  the  king's  table,  and  the  birds  eat 
them  out  of  the  basket  that  was  upon  his 
head.  Joseph  readily  interpreted  his 
dream  thus  :  'The  three  baskets  are  three 
days,  at  the  end  of  which  thou  shalt  have- 


ClIAP.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


73 


thy  head  taken  off,*  and  then  be  hanged 
on  a  tree,  where  the  birds  shall  eat  thy 
flesh.'  Joseph's  interpretation  was  soon 
verified ;  for  in  the  space  of  three  days 
the  butler  was  restored  to  his  former  of- 
fice, and  the  baker  hanged;  but  the  for- 
mer proved  ungrateful,  and  unmindful  of 
his  promise;  insomuch  that  a  considerable 
space  intervened  between  the  time  of  his 
being  restored  and  Joseph's  enlargement 
and  promotion  in  Pharaoh's  house,  which 
happened  in  consequence  of  the  following 
incident. 

When  Joseph  had  been  upwards  of  two 
years  in  prison,  Pharaoh  dreamt,  that  as 
he  stood  by  the  river  Nile,  there  came  I 
up  out  of  the  river  seven  fat  kine,  and 
they  fed  among  the  flags  ;f  after  which 
he  saw  seven  others  extremely  lean  and 
bagged,  and  the  latter  devoured  the  for- 
mer. 

This  dream  awoke  the  king,  but  he  did 
not  long  ruminate  upon  it  before  he  slept 
and  dreamed  that  he  saw  seven  full  ears  of 
corn  shoot  from  one  stalk;  and  soon  after 
seven  thin  and  blighted  ears  sprang  up, 
which  likewise  devoured  those  that  were 
good  and  plenteous. 

Pharaoh  awaking  in  great  surprise  and 
concern,  sent  for  all  the  magicians^  and 


*  Though  it  may  appear  strange,  that  the  sacred 
historian  asserts  the  baker  was  beheaded  first  and 
hanged  afterward,  Philo  observes  it  was  custom- 
ary to  behead  a  criminal  and  then  hang  him  up. 
Jeremiah  also  confirms  this  assertion,  when  he 
laments,  that  '  the  princes  were  hanged  up  by 
their  hands,'  which  intimates  that  they  had  lost 
their  heads  before. 

f  The  word  which  we  translate  meadow,  signi- 
fies &Jlug,  which,  according  to  St  Jerome,  was  a 
common  name  given  to  every  vegetable  that  grows 
in  a  marshy  place. 

\  The  Chaldeans  of  old  were  the  most  famous 
people  in  the  world  for  divination  of  all  kinds  ; 
and  therefore  it  is  very  probable  that  the  word 
which  we  render  magicians,  is  not  of  Hebrew,  but 
Chaldee  origin.  The  roots  however,  from  whence 
it  springs — if  it  be  a  compound  word,  as  probably  it 
is — are  not  so  visible  ;  and  therefore  commentators 
are  perplexed  to  know  by  what  method  men  of 
this  profession  proceeded  in  their  inquiry  into  se- 
cret things,  whether  they  pretended  to  expound 
dreams,  and  descry  future  events,  by  natural  obser- 
vations, by  the  art  of  astrology — which  came  much 


wise  men,  and  told  them  his  dreams,  but 
none  amongst  them  all  could  interpret  one 
of  them.  Finding  the  king  in  the  utmost 
perplexity  concerning  so  extraordinary  an 
event,  the  butler  at  length  remembered 
Joseph,  and  informed  Pharaoh,  that  when 
he  and  his  fellow-servant  laboured  under 
his  majesty's  displeasure,  they  both  dream- 
ed in  the  prison,  where  a  young  man,  a 
Hebrew  servant  to  the  captain  of  the 
guard,  interpreted  each  of  their  dreams 
exactly  answerable  to  the  event. 

The  anxious  king,  pleased  with  the  in- 
formation of, an  able  interpreter,  imme- 
diately sent  for  Joseph,  who  was  brought 
out  of  prison,  and  after  having  put  on  pro- 
per attire,  waited  upon  his  majesty,  who, 
impatient  to  hear  the  event,  told  him  with- 
out any  prelude,  that  he  had  dreamed  two 
dreams  which  none  of  his  wise  men  could 
expound,  and  had  therefore  sent  for  him, 
as  he  was  informed  that  he  was  skilful  in 
the  art  of  interpreting. 

Joseph  having  informed  him  that  the 
power  was  of  God  and  not  of  himself,  told 
him  he  should  receive  an  agreeable  inter- 
pretation of  the  dreams. 

Pharaoh  then  related  his  dreams,  as  al- 
ready recounted,  and  Joseph  told  him  they 
both  implied  one  and  the  same  thing,  and 
that  it  was  the  will  of  God  thereby  to  re- 
mind him  of  future  events. 

The  dream  he  interpreted  in  this  man- 
ner: 

'  The  seven  fat  kine  and  full  ears  de- 
note seven  years  of  plenty :  the  seven  lean 


in  request  in  future  ages — by  such  rules,  as  are  now 
found  in  the  books  of  Oneirocritics,  or  by  certain 
characters,  images,  pictures,  ar.d  figures,  which 
were  engraved"  with  magical  rites  and  ceremonies. 
It  is  not  to  be  doubted  indeed,  but  that  the  magi- 
cians, whom  Pharaoh  consulted  for  the  interpre- 
tation of  his  dreams,  made  use  of  some  at  least,  if 
not  all  these  arts  ;  and  the  Jewish  doctors  would 
make  us  believe,  that,  after  several  attempts  of 
divers  kinds,  they  came  at  last  to  this  exposition, 
that  Pharaoh's  daughters — for  they  suppose  him  to 
have  seven — should  die,  and  that  he  should  have 
seven  others  born  to  him  in  their  stead  ;  but  this 
being  not  at  all  satisfactory  to  their  muster,  put  the 
cup-bearer  in  mind  of  Joseph's  great  abilities  that 
way. — Le  Clerc's  and  Patrick's  Commentary. 


74 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


kine  and  withered  ears,  seven  years  of 
famine  which  were  to  succeed  ;  and  upon 
the  whole,  that  there  would  be  seven  fruit- 
ful years  followed  by  seven  years  so  very 
barren  and  unfruitful,  that  the  remem- 
brance of  plenty  should  be  lost  throughout 
the  land  of  Egypt,  and  absolute  famine 
universally  prevail,  and  that  the  double 
dream  was  to  assure  him  of  the  certainty 
of  the  awful  event.' 

Having  thus  interpreted  the  king's 
dream  to  his  utmost  satisfaction,  though 
no  small  concern,  Joseph  takes  upon  him 
the  office  of  a  counsellor ;  and  advises  him 
to  improve  the  hints  given  in  the  dreams, 
by  selecting  some  wise  and  honest  minis- 
ter, who,  under  him,  might  be  vested  with 
full  power  to  appoint  proper  offices  in 
every  city  and  town  throughout  his  do- 
minions ;  in  order  to  lay  up  the  fifth  part 
of  the  general  produce  of  the  seven  years' 
plenty  in  proper  granaries ;  which  reserve 
should  be  at  the  king's  disposal,  and  se- 
cured against  the  seven  years'  famine. 

Such  benevolent  as  well  as  provident 
care  and  counsel  immediately  obtained  the 
approbation  of  the  king,  who,  struck  with 
the  extraordinary  foresight  and  sagacity  of 
Joseph,  hesitated  not  long  in  fixing  the 
minister  thus  proposed;  for,  turning  first 
to  his  subjects,  and  then  to  Joseph,  he 
thus  addressed  them  respectively :  •  Can 
we  find  such  a  one  as  this  is;  a  man  in 
whom  the  spirit  of  God  is?  Forasmuch 
as  God  hath  showed  thee  all  this,  there  is 
none  so  discreet  and  wise  as  thou  art : 
thou  shalt  be  over  my  house  ;  and  accord- 
ing to  thy  word  shall  all  my  people  be 
ruled  :*  only  in  the  throne  will  I  be  great- 
er than  thou.' 


*  Literally,  '  At  thy  mouth  shall  all  my  people 
kiss.'  The  orientals  vary  their  salutations  accord- 
ing to  the  rank  of  the  persons  whom  they  address. 
When  they  salute  a  person  of  rank,  they  bow  al- 
most to  the  ground,  and  kiss  the  hem  of  his  gar- 
ment. The  two  Greek  nobleman  at  Scio,  who  in- 
troduced the  travellers  Egmont  and  Heyman  to 
the  cham  of  Tartary,  kissed  his  robe  at  their  en- 
trance, and  took  leave  of  him  with  the  same  cere- 
mony. Dr  Shaw,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  Ara- 
bian compliment,  or  common  salutation,  Peace  be 


As  a  confirmation  of  his  exalted  promo- 
tion, and  to  give  his  people  a  sense  of  the 
duty  they  owed  him,  he  took  the  ring  off 
his  own  hand,  and  putting  it  on  Joseph's, 
vested  him  with  every  ensign  of  royalty  ;f 
causing  him  to  ride  in  the  second  chariot 
and  ordering  Jiis  heralds  to  proclaim  before 
him,  <  Bow  the  knee,':};  as  a  token  of  honour 
and  subjection  to  him,  as  a  chief  governor 
of  Egypt. 

Having  thus  bestowed  on  him  the  great- 
est power  and  highest  honours  ;  to  attach 
him  more  strongly  to  his  interest,  Pharaoh 


unto  you,  observes,  that  inferiors,  out  of  deference 
•and  respect,  kiss  the  feet,  the  knees,  or  the  gar- 
ments of  their  superiors.  They  frequently  kiss  the 
hand  also  ;  but  this  last  seems  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  token  of  equal  submission  with  the  others ; 
for  D'Arvieux  observes,  that  the  women  who  wait 
on  the  Arabian  princesses,  kiss  their  hands  when 
they  do  them  the  favour  not  to  suffer  them  to  kiss 
their  feet,  or  the  border  of  their  robe.  The  ori- 
entals, as  a  proof  of  their  deep  respect,  not  only 
kissed  the  fringe  of  the  robe  which  their  sovereign 
wore,  but  they  carried  their  submission  so  far  as  to 
kiss  the  letters  in  which  his  orders  were  communi- 
cated ;  and  they  treated  with  almost  equal  respect 
the  mandates  of  his  chief  ministers.  The  Arabs  of 
mount  Carmel,  likewise,  when  they  present  any  pe- 
tition to  their  chief,  offer  it  with  their  right  hand, 
after  having  first  kissed  the  paper.  The  editor  of 
the  ruins  of  Balbec  observed,  that  the  Arab  gover- 
nor of  that  city  respectfully  applied  the  firman  or 
letter,  containing  the  commands  of  the  grand  sig- 
nior,  to  his  forehead,  when  he  and  his  fellow- 
travellers  first  waited  upon  him,  and  then  applied 
it  to  his  lips.  To  this  custom  Mr  Harmer  thinks 
Pharaoh  probably  refers  in  these  words  to  Joseph  : 
'  According  to  thy  word  shall  my  people  be  ruled.' 
— Scrip.  Illus. 

f  Joseph  could  not  but  foresee,  that  to  live  in 
the  palaces  of  kings,  and  to  accept  of  high  posts 
and  honours  would  be  very  hazardous  to  his  virtue : 
but,  when  he  perceived  the  hand  of  Providence  so 
visible  in  raising  him,  by  ways  and  means  so  very 
extraordinary,  to  eminence,  and  an  office  wherein 
he  would  have  it  in  his  power  to  be  beneficial  to 
so  very  many,  he  could  not  refuse  the  offers  which 
the  king  made  him,  without  being  rebellious  to  the 
will  and  destination  of  God.  To  him  therefore, 
who  had  secured  him  hitherto,  he  might,  in  this 
case,  commit  the  custody  of  his  innocence,  and  ac- 
cept of  the  usual  ensigns  of  honour,  without  in- 
curring the  censure  of  vanity  or  ostentation. — 
Stackhouse. 

%  The  word  Abrech,  which  we  render,  '  Bow  the 
knee,'  is  of  uncertain  signification.  Some  render 
it,  *  Saviour  of  the  world,'  some  '  Tender  father;' 
and  others,  '  Bow  the  knee,'  which  certainly  is 
most  proper  in  this  place,  being  a  token  of  honour 
and  subjection  to  Joseph,  now  appointed  chiet 
governor  of  Egypt. 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


changes  his  name  from  Joseph  to  Zaph-  j  had  amassed  such  quantities  of  provisions 


nath-paaneah,*  and  procures  him  an  hon- 
ourable alliance,  by  marriage  with  Asenath, 
the  daughter  of  Potipherah,  priest  of  On.f 
Then  seven  plenteous  years  commenc- 
ing soon  after  his  promotion,  Joseph  en- 
tered on  his  office  of  inspector-general  of 


as  even  to  exceed  computation. 

During  the  time  of  plenty,  two  sons 
were  born  to  Joseph,  the  eldest  of  whom 
he  called  Manasseh4  and  the  younger 
Ephraim.§ 

The  seven  years  of  plenty  being  expir- 


provisions    throughout    the    kingdom    of  \  ed,  the  seven  years  of  dearth  commenced, 

according  to  Joseph's  prediction,  and 
spread  not  only  throughout  the  land  of 
Egypt,  but  also  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tries; but  through  Joseph's  provident  care, 
under  the  blessing  of  divine  Providence, 
Egypt  was  well  furnished  with  provision, 
insomuch  that  application  was  made  to 
Pharaoh  not  only  by  his  own  subjects,  but 
foreigners,  for  bread  and  other  necessaries 
of  life. 

The  king  referred  all  that  applied  to 
him  to  Joseph,  who  opened  the  store- 
houses, and  sold  to  the  Egyptians  and 
others,  in  such  quantities  and  at  such 
rates  as  seemed  to  him  most  just  and 
equitable. 

The  famine  having  raged  more  than  a 
year  in  Jacob's  country,  ten  of  Joseph's 
brethren,  at  the  instigation  of  their  father, 
came  from  Canaan  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn, 
as  they  felt  the  effects  of  the  dearth  more 
severely  than  the  Egyptians,  who  had  corn 
laid  up  in  store. 

On  their  arrival,  their  business  neces- 
sarily brought  them  before  Joseph,  who 
had  the  entire  superintendence  of  the  dis- 
posal of  the  corn :  when  they  approached 
him  therefore,  they  bowed  as  a  token  of 
reverence  to  his  dignified  office.  ||  Joseph 
no  sooner  saw  them  than  he  knew  them 
to  be  his  brethren ;  but  choosing  to  try 
the  effect  of  severity  in  bringing  them  to 
a  due  sense  of  their  unnatural  behaviour 


Egypt ;  and  making  a  circuit,  reserved  all 
the  food  that  could  be  spared  from  the 
absolute  demands  of  present  use  in  store- 
houses appointed  for  that  necessary  pur- 
pose. 

The  same  method  he  invariably  pursued 
every  season  of  the  fruitful  years,  till  he 

*  Zaphnath-paaneah,  that  is,  |  Revealer  of  se- 
crets.' It  was  customary  for  princes  to  give  fo- 
reigners a  new  name,  to  denote  their  naturaliza- 
tion, to  take  away  all  invidious  distinction,  and 
declare  them  worthy  of  their  most  intimate  favour. 
See  Dan.  i.  7. 

f  The  word  translated  priest,  signifies  also  the 
friend  and  privy-counsellor  of  the  king,  and  the 
Chaldee  renders  it  here,  *  Prince  of  On.'  Some 
English  translations  render  it  prince  in  the  text, 
and  set  priest  in  the  margin  ;  and  the  last  transla- 
tion of  it,  renders  it  priest  in  the  text,  and  sets' 
prince  in  the  margin —  On  among  the  Egyptians 
signifies  the  sun.  Hence  the  city  On  was  uniform- 
ly rendered  Heliopolis,  or  the  city  of  the  sun. 
The  authors  of  the  Greek  version  call  Potipherah, 
priest  of  Heliopolis. 

Respecting  Joseph's  heathen  alliance,  in  marry- 
ing the  priest  of  On's  daughter,  Stackhouse  makes 
the  following  remark : — "  Though  in  after  ages  all 
marriages  with  infidels  were  certainly  prohibited, 
yet  there  seems  to  be,  at  this  time,  a  certain  dis- 
pensation current,  for  as  much  as  Judah,  to  be  sure, 
if  not  more  of  Joseph's  brethren,  had  done  tbe 
same  :  besides  that,  in  Joseph's  case,  there  was 
something  peculiar.  For,  as  he  was  in  a  strange 
country,  he  had  not  an  opportunity  of  making  his 
address  to  any  of  the  daughters  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham  ;  as  the  match  was  of  the  king's  making, 
he  was  not  at  liberty  to  decline  it,  without  forfeit- 
ing his*  pretensions  to  the  royal  favour,  and  conse- 
quently to  the  means  of  doing  so  much  good  ;  and, 
as  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  might  be  advised 
to  it  by  a  particular  revelation,  so  it  is  highly 
reasonable  to  believe  that  he  converted  his  wife, 
at  least,  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  before  he 
espoused  her:  even  though  there  should  be  no- 
thing in  that  opinion  of  the  Rabbins,  that  he  made 
a  proselyte  likewise  of  her  father,  the  priest  of 
On,  (who  could  not  but  be  desirous  to  purchase, 
at  any  rate,  so  advantageous  an  alliance,)  and  took 
this  occasion  to  establish  the  rite  of  circumcision, 
if  not  in  all  Egypt,  at  least  among  persons  of  the 
sacred  order,  who,  according  to  the  account  of 
those  who  wrote  the  history  of  that  country,  in 
very  early  days,  certainly  were  not  without  it." 


J  Manasseh,  or  forgetfulness,  for  said  he,  '  God 
hath  made  me  forget  all  my  toil,  and  all  my  father's 
house.' 

§  Ephraim,  or  fruitful,  alluding  to  the  words 
which  immediately  follow,  'God  hath  caused  me 
to  be  fruitful  in  the  land  of  my  affliction.' 

||  Thus  was  fulfilled  the  first  of  Joseph's  dreams, 
concerning  the  subjection  of  his  brethren  to  him, 
in  future  times.  t 


76 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


towards  him,  abruptly  demanded  of  them, 
whence  they  came  ?  And  on  their  reply- 
ing, •  From  the  land  of  Canaan  to  buy 
provisions ;'  he  charged  them  with  being 
spies,  who  came  thither  to  make  discovery 
of  the  nakedness  of  the  country.* 

They  assured  him  they  came  upon  no 
such  design,  but  merely  to  buy  corn ;  and 
to  enforce  their  declaration,  added,  that 
they  were  all  one  man's  sons,f  who  had 
been  twelve  formerly,  but  now  were  there 
only  ten,  the  youngest  being  with  their 
father,  and  the  next  to  him  dead. 

But  Joseph  still  insisted  that  they  were 
spies,  and  to  try  them,  put  the  charge 
upon  this  issue.  '  Ye  say,'  said  he,  •  ye 
have  a  younger  brother;  agree  upon  one 
of  you  to  go  and  fetch  him,  and  ye  shall 
be  kept  in  prison  the  mean  time,  that  I 
may  be  satisfied  whether  what  ye  say  be 
true ;  otherwise,  as  sure  as  Pharaoh  lives, 
I  shall  look  upon  you  as  spies.'J 

Jle  then  committed  them  to  custody  for 
three  days,  in  order  to  consult  what  was 
best  to  be  done,  and  on  the  third  day  ad- 
vised them  to  comply  with  his  injunction; 
assuring  them  that  he  was  actuated  by  the 
fear  of  God  :  '  This  do  and  live,  for  I  fear 
God  :'  and  farther  to  assure  them  of  his 
unwillingness  that  their  families  should 
suffer  for  their  faults,  or  that  they  should 


*  That  is,  to  observe  the  fortifications,  and  re- 
mark the  weakness  or  nakedness  of  the  land. 
Herodotus  observes  that  Joseph's  brethren  entered 
Egypt  through  those  passages  by  which  alone  it 
was  liable  to  be  invaded. 

f  As  if  they  had  said,  we  are  not  spies,  but  all 
the  sons  of  one  man,  and  surely  it  cannot  be  sus- 
pected that  any  person  would  send  all  his  children 
on  so  dangerous  a  design. 

J  lie  that  was  hated  of  his  brethren  for  being 
nis  father's  spy,  now  accuses  his  brethren  for  com- 
mon spies  of  the  weakness  of  Egypt  :  he  could 
not,  without  their  suspicion,  have  come  to  a  per- 
fect intelligence  of  his  father's  estate  and  theirs, 
if  he  had  not  objected  to  them  that  which  was  not. 
We  are  always  hound  to  go  the  nearest  way  to 
truth.  It  is  more  safe,  in  cases  of  inquisition,  to 
fetch  far  about  :  that  he  might  seem  enough  an 
Egyptian,  he  swears  heathenishly  :  how  little  could 
they  suspect  this  oath  would  proceed  from  the 
son  of  him,  which  swore  by  the  Fear  of  his  father 
Isaac  !  How  oft  have  sinister  respects  drawn  weak 
goodness  to  disguise  itself,  even  with  sins  ! — Hull. 


suffer  if  they  were  innocent,  he  added,  'If 
ye  be  true  men,  let  one  of  your  brethren 
be  bound  in  the  house  of  your  prison ;  go 
ye,  carry  corn  for  the  famine  of  your 
houses,  but  bring  your  youngest  brother 
unto  me,  so  shall  your  words  be  verified, 
and  ye  shall  not  die.' 

Being' reduced  to  a  state  of  extremity, 
and  knowing  it  vain  to  remonstrate  with 
one  under  whose  immediate  power  they 
were,  they  unanimously  agreed  to  the  pro- 
posal ;  while  their  present  situation  re- 
minded them  of  the  state  of  their  brother, 
who  might  probably  be  dead,  or  under 
miserable  circumstances;  and  they  began 
to  reproach  one  another  with  the  same,  in 
terms  to  this  effect:  'Justly  do  we  now 
suffer  for  our  cruelty  to  our  brother,  to 
whom  we  refused  mercy,  though  he  beg- 
ged it  in  the  anguish  of  his  soul,  therefore 
God  is  just  in  sending  upon  us  this  dis- 
tress.' 

Reuben  now  took  occasion  to  remind 
them  of  the  consequence  of  their  not  at- 
tending to  his  desire  and  advice:  '  Spake 
not  I  unto  you,  saying,  Do  not  sin  against 
the  child;  and  ye  would  not  hear?  there- 
fore behold  also  his  blood  is  required.'  It 
is  to  be  observed,  that  Joseph  before  had 
spoken  to  them  by  an  interpreter;  and 
they  therefore  knew  not  tfiat  he  under- 
stood their  language;  but  now  as  he  heard 
and  understood  their  discourse,  though 
the  interpreter  was  absent,  he  was  so  af- 
fected with  their  case,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  withdraw,  that  unseen  he  might  give 
way  to  his  affectionate  tears. 

When  he  returned  to  them  again,  he 
caused  Simeon  to  be  bound  in  their  sight,  § 


§  It  may  be  supposed  perhaps,  that  because 
Reuben  was  the  eldest,  he  upon  this  occasion  had 
been  the  most  proper  hostage:  hut  Reuben,  we 
may  observe,  had  showed  himself  averse  to  those 
lengths  of  wickedness  and  inhumanity  in  which  most 
of  the  other  brothers  were  agreed,  against  Joseph. 
Reuben,  in  short,  resolved  to  save  him,  and  as.lu- 
dah  was  inclined  to  favour  him,  had  Simeon  joined 
with  them,  their  authority  might  have  prevailed  for 
his  deliverance  ;  but  Simeon  was  the  person  who 
was  most  exasperated  against  him.  He  was  the 
eldest  of  those  who  had  proposed  to  murder  him, 


Chap.  XL] 


THE  BIBLE. 


77 


and  having  set  the  rest  at  liberty,  ordered 
their  sacks  to  be  filled  with  corn,  and  every 
man's  money  to  be  put  in  his  sack;  he 
then  dismissed  them. 

When  they  came  to  the  inn  where  they 
sojourned  the  first  night,  one  of  them, 
opening  his  sack  to  give  his  ass  provender, 
observed  his  money  in  the  mouth  of  it, 
and  being  surprised,  acquainted  his  bre- 
thren with  the  unexpected  event.  When 
they  beheld  the  money,  they  looked  con- 
fusedly at  one  another,  and  esteeming  this 
an  additional  judgment  of  God  upon  them, 
cried  out,  '  What  is  this  that  God  hath 
done  unto  us?'  In  due  time,  however, 
through  the  clemency  and  kindness  of 
their  unknown  brother,  they  reached  the 
much  desired  land  of  Canaan. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Joseph's  brethren  relate  to  their  father  the  par- 
ticulars of  their  adventures. — Jacob  is  with 

.  much  difficulty  prevailed  on  to  send  Benjamin 
into  Egypt. — Joseph's  brethren  arrive  in  Egypt, 
and  are  kindly  entertained  by  him. — Joseph's 
device  to  prolong  the  stay  of  his  brethren. — 
He  at  length  makes  himself  known  to  them,  and 
sends  for  his  aged  father,  who  is  rejoiced  at 
the  news  of  so  unexpected  an  event. 

The  sons  of  Jacob  being  arrived  at  the 
habitation  of  their  venerable  father,  with 
eagerness  of  impatience  told  him  the  par- 
ticulars of  their  journey?  but  especially  the 
reception  they  had  met  with  from  the  viceroy 
of  Egypt;  who,  having  charged  them  with 
being  spies,  and  they  being  wholly  incap- 
able in  a  strange  country  of  clearing  them- 
selves, had  obliged  them  to  leave  Simeon 
behind  in  prison,  as  a  pledge,  till  they 
should  bring  Benjamin,  on  which  terms 
alone  their  innocence  could  be  justified,  or 


and  wns  therefore  a  fit  proxy  for  the  rest;  the  man, 
as  the  Hebrews  say,  who  put  Joseph  in  the  pit,  and 
was  now  very  justly  to  be  served  in  his  kind : 
though  they  who  tell  us  this,  have  a  tradition, 
that,  as  soon  as  his  brothers  were  gone,  Joseph  had 
him  unbound,  and  ordered  him  what  provisions 
and  conveniences  he  pleased  during  his  confine- 
ment.— Patrick's  Commentary,  and  Bibliothcca 
Jiibl. 


they  obtain  liberty  of  carrying  on  any 
traffic  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

This  news  greatly  affected  the  good  old 
patriarch,  who  was  already  bereft  of  two 
of  his  children,  and  now  on  the  point  of 
losing  his  youngest  son  Benjamin.  To 
increase  his  concern,  when  they  emptied 
their  sacks  every  man's  money  was  found 
in  his  sack,  from  whence  they  all  feared 
that  this  circumstance  might  afford  fresh 
matter  of  accusation  and  hinder  their  clear- 
ing themselves  of  the  charge  alleged 
against  them.  But  the  case  was  urgent; 
Reuben  therefore,  to  prevail  with  his  father 
to  consent  to  the  departure  of  Benjamin, 
desired  him  to  commit  the  care  of  this 
darling  child  to  him,  engaging,  on  the 
penalty  of  losing  his  own  two  children,  to 
restore  him  in  safety. 

But  this  proposal  had  little  weight  with 
the  affectionate  patriarch,  who  answered 
him  in  a  manner  remarkably  pathetic, 
and  which  paints  him  to  us  in  an  attitude 
of  grief,  lamenting  the  loss  of  his  children 
in  the  most  melting  terms  of  paternal 
fondness:  'My  son  shall  not  go  down  with 
you,  for  his  brother  is  dead,*  and  he  is 
left  alone ;  if  mischief  befall  him  by  the 
way  in  the  which  ye  go,  then  shall  ye 
bring  down  my  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to 
the  grave.' 

In  this  state  of  doubt  and  perplexity 
they  passed  their  time,  ill  their  stock 
being  exhausted,  their  father  desired  them 
to  repair  to  Egypt  in  order  to  replenish 
it,  taking  no  notice  of  the  injunction  the 
viceroy  had  laid  upon  them,  not  to  pre- 
sume to  approach  him  more  without  their 
brother  Benjamin. 

His  sons,  knowing  that  their  departure 
without  him  would  not  only  argue  in  them 
the  greatest  folly  and  rashness,  but  also 
expose  them  to  the  resentment  of  the 
second  person  in  the  kingdom,  and  at 
the  same  time,  thinking  it  impossible  to 
bring   their  father   to  consent,-  were  re- 

*  His  only  brother  by  the  mother  Rachel,  his 
beloved  wife, — Joseph  and  Benjamin  being  the 
only  children  descended  from  Rachel. 


78 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


duced  to  the  utmost  dilemma.  Reuben 
had  tried  his  efforts  in  vain;  Judah  there- 
fore addressed  him  in  more  positive  terms, 
urging  at  once  the  absolute  and  indispen- 
sable necessity  of  carrying  Benjamin  with 
them;  'as  the  viceroy  had  most  solemnly 
declared,  they  should  not  so  much  as  see 
his  face,  if  they  brought  not  their  brother 
.Benjamin  with  them.' 

The  poor  old  man,  thus  reduced  to  a 
strait,  in  the  fulness  of  his  soul  reproves 
his  sons  for  acquainting  the  man  that  they 
had  a  brother.  And  they  in  excuse  told 
him,  '  that  he  inquired  so  minutely  into 
their  circumstances  and  family,  that  they 
could  not  possibly  avoid  it :  nay,  he  even 
asked  if  they  had  another  brother,  and 
whether  their  father  was  living;  and  add- 
ed moreover,  that  they  had  no  reason  to 
suppose  he  would  have  obliged  them  to 
bring  their  brother  with  them.' 

Judah  now  observing  his  father  in  some 
kind  of  doubt,  repeats  the  necessity  of 
their  return,  and  forcibly  urges  him  to 
consent;  'Send  the  lad  with  me,  and  we 
will  arise  and  go,  that  we  may  live  and 
not  die,  both  we  and  thou,  and  also  our 
little  ones:  I  will  be  surety  for  him;  of 
my  hand  shalt  thou  require  him;  if  I  bring 
him  not  unto  thee,  and  set  him  before  thee, 
then  let  me  bear  the  blame  for  ever.' 

Affection  at  length  submitted  to  neces- 
sity,  which  wrought  the  good  old  man  in- 
to compliance;  he  therefore  advised  them, 
as  it  must  be  so,  to  take  some  of  the  most 
valuable  commodities  of  the  country,  such 
as  balm,  spices,  myrrh  and  almonds,  to- 
gether with  double  money  in  their  sacks 
(lest  the  price  of  what  they  had  already 
brought  away  should  he  demanded),  and 
their  brother  Benjamin  ;  adding,  for  their 
success,   this   fervent   and  pious  prayer: 

*  And  God  Almighty  give  you  mercy  be- 
fore the  man,  that  he  may  send  away  your 
other  brother,  and  Benjamin.'  And  tak- 
ing his  leave  of  them,  affectionately  said: 

*  If  I  be  bereaved  of  my  children,  I  am 
bereaved.' 

Thus  patiently   acquiescing   with   the 


will  of  heaven,  he  dismissed  them,  who, 
according  to  his  advice,  having  taken 
double  money,  a  present*  to  appease  the 
incensed  viceroy,  and  their  brother  Benja- 
min, departed,  being  animated  with  the 
hope  of  appearing  in  Egypt  with  honour 
and  credit. 

Immediately  on  their  arrival,  they  were 
presented  to  the  viceroy,  who,  observing 
his  favourite  Benjamin  among  them,  com- 
manded his  steward  to  conduct  them  into 
the  house,  and  provide  suitable  entertain- 
ment, as  he  intended  they  should  dine  with 
him.  In  obedience  to  his  master's  com- 
mand, the  steward  conducted  them  in, 
and  observing  their  fear,  inquired  the 
cause;  and  when  they  told  him  it  arose 
from  a  suspicion,  that  they  Were  detained 
for  the  sake  of  the  money  which  was  left 
in  their  sacks  at  their  late  departure,  he 


*  From  time  immemorial  it  has  been  the  uni- 
versal custom  in  the  East  to  send  presents  one 
to  another.  No  one  waits  upon  an  eastern  prince, 
or  any  person  of  distinction,  without  a  present. 
This  is  a  token  of  respect  which  is  never  dispensed 
with.  How  mean  and  inconsiderable  soever  the 
gift,  the  intention  of  the  giver  is  accepted.  Plu- 
tarch informs  us  that  a  peasant  happening  to  fall 
in  the  way  of  Artaxerxes  the  Persian  monarch  in 
one  of  his  excursions,  having  nothing  to  present 
to  his  sovereign,  according  to  the  oriental  custom, 
the  countryman  immediately  ran  to  an  adjacent 
stream,  tilled  both  his  hands,  and  offered  it  to  his 
prince.  The  monarch,  says  the  philosopher,  smiled 
and  graciously  received  it,  highly  pleased  with  the 
good  dispositions  this  action  manifested.  All  the 
books  of  modern  travellers  into  the  East  abound 
with  numberless  examples  of  this  universally  pre- 
valent custom  of  waiting  upon  great  men  with 
presents, — unaccompanied  with  which,  should  a 
stranger  presume  to  enter  their  houses,  it  would 
be  deemed  the  last  outrage  and  violation  of  po- 
liteness and  respect.  So  common  is  the  custom, 
that  in  familiar  intercourse  among  persons  of  in- 
ferior station,  they  seldom  neglect  to  bring  a 
flower,  an  orange,  a  few  dates  or  radishes,  or  some 
such  token  of  respect,  to  the  person  whom  they 
visit.  In  Egypt  the  custom  is  equally  prevalent: 
the  visits  of  that  people,  which  are  very  frequent 
in  the  course  of  the  year,  are  always  preceded  by 
presents  of  various  kinds,  according  to  their  station 
and  property.  So  essential  to  human  and  civil 
intercourse  are  presents  considered  in  the  East, 
that,  says  Mr  Bruce,  "  whether  it  be  dates  or 
diamonds,  they  are  so  much  a  part  of  their  man- 
ners, that  without  them  an  inferior  will  never  be 
at  peace  in  his  own  mind,  or  think  that  he  has  a 
hold  of  his  superior  for  his  favour  or  protection." 
—Harwood  and  Pax  ton. 


Chap.  XI  ] 


THE  BIBLE. 


79 


bid  them  fear  nothing,  for  it  was  their  God 
and  the  God  of  their  fathers  who  had  put 
that  treasure  into  their  sacks,  and  in  order 
to  comfort  them,  brought  forth  their  bro- 
ther Simeon,  and  gave  orders  for  them  to 
be  treated  with  the  utmost  civility. 

As  the  steward  had  informed  them  they 
were  to  dine  with  the  viceroy,  they  pre- 
pared their  presents,  which,  when  he  en- 
tered, they  offered  with  the  lowest  pros- 
tration. 

Joseph  saluted  them  with  the  utmost 
cordiality,  anxiously  inquiring  concerning 
the  welfare  of  the  good  old  man.  They 
submissively  replied,  «  Thy  servant  our 
father  is  in  good  health,  he  is  yet  alive.' 
Though  Joseph  addressed  his  brethren  in 
general  terms,  his  attention  was  chiefly 
fixed  upon  his  brother  Benjamin,  who  was 
most  near  and  dear  to  him ;  he  therefore 
inquired  of  them,  if  he  was  the  younger 
brother  whom  they  had  mentioned  ?  And 
without  waiting  for  an  answer,  thus  salut- 
ed him :  •  God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my 
son.'  His  affection  was  now  wrought  to 
such  a  pitch,  that,  unable  to  contain  the 
flood  of  tears  that  was  ready  to  gush,  he 
retired  hastily  into  his  chamber,  in  order 
to  give  vent  to  the  excess  of  his  passion. 

When  he  had  dried  his  tears,  and  washed 
his  face  that  it  might  not  appear  he  had 
wept,  he  returned  to  them  very  cheerfully, 
and  ordered  the  provision  to  be  brought 
upon  table.  Joseph,  on  account  of  his 
exalted  station,  sat  by  himself,  provision 
having  been  prepared  for  his  brethren  by 
themselves,  and  also  for  the  Egyptians, 
who  were  to  dine  with  him,  by  themselves ; 
for  the  Egyptians  disdained  to  eat  with 
the  Hebrews,  who  were  employed  in  the 
humble  state  of  a  pastoral  life. 

The  brethren  were  placed  in  rank  ex- 
actly according  to  their  respective  ages,  a 
circumstance  which  not  a  little  surprised 
them:*  thus  placed,  Joseph  sent  each  of 


*  As  they  knew  not  their  brother  Joseph,  they 
might  well  marvel  by  what  means  he  could  attain 
to  so  exact  a  knowledge  of  their  respective  ages 


them  a  mess  from  his  own  table;  but  to 
Benjamin  he  sent  a  mess  containing  five 
times  as  much  as  any  of  the  rest;f  how- 
ever, they  were  all  refreshed  and  cheerful 
ly  regaled.  Jacob's  sons  being  thus  cor- 
dially received,  and  generously  entertain- 
ed, had  reason  to  banish  their  fears  and 
encourage  their  hopes;  but  a  cloud  yet 
hung  over  them;  for  though  Joseph,  from 
his  ardent  love  towards  his  brother  Ben- 
jamin, immediately  desired  to  make  him- 
self known,  yet  he  deferred  it  some  time 
longer,  in  order  to  accomplish  a  scheme, 
that  might  again  perplex  and  remind  them 
of  the  cruel  manner  in  which  they  had 
formerly  treated  him,  as  well  as  try  their 
affection  towards  his  darling  brother  Ben- 
jamin. 

To  effect  this  design,  he  ordered  his 
steward  to  fill  their  sacks  with  corn,  and 
to  put  every  man's  money  in  his  sack,  but 
to  put  into  the  sack  of  the  youngest  not 
only  his  money,  but  the  silver  cup  out  of 
which  he  used  to  drink.  This  done,  early 
the  next  morning  they  proceeded  on  their 
journey  homeward,  but  were  not  far  ad- 
vanced, when  Joseph  ordered  his  steward 
to  pursue,  and  reproach  them  with  the 
highest  ingratitude,  in  carrying  off  the 
particular  cup  out  of  which  his  lord 
drinketh  and  divineth. 

Conscious  of  their  innocence,  they  were 


f  The  manner  of  eating  among  the  ancients  was 
not  for  all  the  company  to  eat  out  of  one  and  the 
same  dish,  but  for  every  one  to  have  one  or  more 
dishes  to  himself.  The  whole  of  these  dishes  were 
set  before  the  master  of  the  feast,  and  he  distribut- 
ed to  every  one  his  portion.  As  Joseph  however 
is  here  said  to  have  had  a  table  to  himself,  we  may 
suppose  that  he  had  a  great  variety  of  little  dishes, 
or  plates  set  before  him;  and,  as  it  was  a  custom 
for  great  men  to  honour  those  who  were  in  their 
favour,  by  sending  such  dishes  to  them  as  were 
first  served  up  to  themselves,  Joseph  showed  that 
token  of  respect  to  his  brethren:  but,  to  express  a 
particular  value  for  Benjamin,  he  sent  him  five 
dishes  to  their  one,  which  disproportion  could  not 
but  be  marvellous  and  astonishing  to  them,  if  what 
Herodotus  tells  us  be  true,  namely,  'that  the  dis- 
tinction in  this  case,  even  to  Egyptian  kings  them- 
selves, in  all  public  feasts  and  banquets,  was  no 
more  than  a  double  mess.' — Patrick's  Commeif 
tary,  and  Bibliotheca  Bibl. 


80 


not  affected  by  the  charge,  and  as  a  test 
of  their  integrity,  reminded  the  steward  of 
their  bringing  back  the  money  which  they 
found  in  the  mouths  of  their  sacks:  nay, 
so  confident  were  they  of  their  probity, 
that  to  obviate  even  a  suspicion,  they  of- 
fered to  stand  search  under  the  severest 
penalties:  «  With  whomsoever  of  thy  ser- 
vants it  be  found,  both  let  him  die,  and 
we  also  will  be  my  lord's  bondmen.' 

The  steward  took  them  at  their  word, 
but  softened  the  penalty,  fixing  it  that  he 
on  whom  the  cup  should  be  found,  should 
be  his  servant,  and  the  rest  blameless.* 

Impatient  to  prove  their  innocence, 
every  one  hastily  unloaded  his  beast;  and 
as  they  opened  their  sacks,  the  steward 
searched  them,  and  beginning  at  the  eldest, 
and  proceeding  on  to  the  youngest,  found 
the  cup  in  Benjamin's  sack.f 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  I 

Here  was  an  absolute  conviction  with- 
out the  shadow  of  guilt;  yet  in  vain  did 
the  poor  youth  pretend  to  a  defence 
against  evident  demonstration.  Benja- 
min's life,  at  least  his  liberty,  was  forfeited 
by  mutual  agreement.  They  rent  there- 
fore their  clothes,  and  without  attempting 
even  tojutlliate  the  fact,  loaded  their  asses, 
and  returned  to  the  city. 

Joseph  had  remained  at  home  expecting 
the  event,  and  when  they  approached  his 
presence,  they  fell  to  the  ground  in  a 
most  sorrowful  submission. 

Without  giving  them  time  to  offer  a 
word  in  their  own  defence,  Joseph  charged 
them  with  the  fact,  and  their  folly  in  com- 
mitting it  without  the  least  prospect  of 
concealment;  '  What  deed  is  this  ye  have 


*  The  Hebrew  word  signifies  innocent  or  fault- 
less. 

f  It  may  be  thought  perhaps  a  piece  of  cruelty 
in  .loseph,  to  have  his  cup  conveyed,  of  all  others, 
into  Benjamin's  sack,  and  thereupon  to  threaten 
to  make  him  a  bond-slave  for  a  pretended  felony : 
but  herein  was  Joseph's  great  policy,  and  nicety  of 
judgment.  He  himself  had  been  severely  treated 
by  the  rest,  when  he  was  young,  and  therefore  was 
minded  to  make  an  experiment,  in  what  manner 
they  would  now  behave  towards  his  brother; 
whether  they  vftmld  forsake  him  in  his  distress, 
and  give  him  up  to  be  a  bond-slave,  as  they  had 
sold  him  for  one;  or  whether  they  would  stand  by 
him  in  all  events,  make  intercession  for  his  release, 
or  adventure  to  share  his  fate.  This,  perhaps,  may 
be  thought  his  carrying  the  matter  a  little  too  far: 
but,  without  this  conduct,  Joseph  could  not  have 
known  whether  his  brethren  rightly  deserved  the 
favour  and  protection  which  he  might  then  design, 
and  afterwards  granted  them.  Without  this  con- 
duct, we  had  not  had  perhaps  the  most  lively 
images  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  scripture,  of 
injured  innocence,  of  meekness  and  forbearance, 
and  the  triumphs  of  a  good  conscience  in  him  ; 
and  of  the  fears  and  terrors,  the  convictions  and 
self-condemnations  of  long-concealed  guilt  in  them. 
Without  this  conduct,  we  had  not  had  this  lovely 
portraiture  of  paternal  tenderness,  as  well  as  bro- 
therly affection  ;  we  had  never  had  those  solemn, 
lad,  and  melting  words  of  Jacob,  '  If  I  am  bereav- 
ed of  my  children,  1  am  bereaved,'  enough  to 
pierce  a  tender  parent's  heart ;  or  those  others, 
'Joseph  is  alive,  I  will  see  him  before  1  die,' 
enough  to  raise  it  into  joy  and  exultation  again. 
In  a  word,  without  this  conduct,  we  had  never  had 
that  courteous,  that  moving,  that  pleasingly  mourn- 
ful speech,  wherein  Moses  makes  Judah  address 
Joseph,  iu  behalf  of  his  poor  brother  Benjamin, 


done?    Wot  ye  not  that  such  a  man  as  I 
can  certainly  divine?' %     In  the  midst  of 


which  exceeds  all  the  compositions  of  human  in- 
vention, and  flows  indeed  from  such  natural  pas- 
sions, as  art  can  never  imitate.  So  that,  upon  a 
review  of  his  whole  conduct,  Joseph  is  so  far  from 
deserving  blame,  that  all  this  seeming  rigour  and 
imperiousness  of  his  did  eventually  produce  a 
great  deal  of  good  ;  and  was  in  reality,  no  more 
than  the  heightening  the  distress,  or  thickening 
the  plot,  as  we  call  it,  to  make  the  discovery,  or 
future  felicity,  he  intended  his  family,  more  con- 
spicuous and  agreeable. — Stackhouse. 

J  As  magical  arts  of  divers  kinds  were  in  use 
among  the  Egyptians  many  years  before  Joseph's 
time  of  coming  thither;  and  as  Joseph,  by  his 
wonderful  skill  of  interpreting  dreams,  had  gained 
a  great  reputation  for  knowledge,  and  perhaps, 
among  the  populace,  might  pass  for  a  diviner; 
he  took  an  occasion  from  hence,  in  order  to  carry 
on  his  design,  to  assume  a  character  that  did  not 
belong  to  him.  There  is  no  reason,  however,  to 
inter  from  the  words  of  Joseph  and  his  steward  that 
the  art  of  '  divining  by  the  cup '  was  then  in  me 
in  Egypt,  because  the  words  before  us  do  not  re- 
late to  this  cup  as  the  instrument,  but  as  the  sub- 
ject of  divination ;  not  as  the  thing  with  which, 
but  as  the  thing  concerning  which  this  magical 
inquiry  was  to  be  made,  and  so  the  sense  of  the 
steward's  words  will  be,  '  How  could  you  think, 
but  that  my  lord,  who  is  so  great  a  man  at 
divination,  would  use  the  best  of  his  skill  to 
find  out  the  persons  who  had  robbed  him  of  the 
cup,  which  he  so  much  jirizes?'  And  this  tallies 
exactly  with  the  words  of  Joseph,  '  Wot  ye  not 
that  such  a  man  as  I, — I,  who  have  raised  myself 
to  this  eminence  by  my  interpretation  of  dreams, 
and  may  therefore  well  be  accounted  an  adept  in 
all  other  sciences,  should  be  long  at  a  loss  to  know 
who  the  persons  were  that  had  taken  away  my 
cup?.'     This  seems  to  be  the  natural  sense  of  the 


Chap.  XL] 


THE  BIBLE. 


61 


a  general  horror,  Jtidali,  in  an  humble 
tone,  cries  out  to  this  effect,  'We  have 
nothing  to  offer  in  our  defence;  God  hath 
detected  our  iniquity,  and  we  must  re- 
main slaves  with  him  in  whose  sack  the 
cup  was  found.' 

Joseph  interrupted  him  by  declaring 
that  he  could  by  no  means  do  such  injus- 
tice; for  that  lie  only  who  stole  the  cup 
should  be  his  slave,  while  the  rest  of  them 
should  return  home  to  their  father. 

Judah,  finding  the  viceroy  somewhat 
softened,  was  encouraged  to  approach  him 
nearer,  and  represented  to  him,  in  a  very 
pahetic  manner,  the  case  between  them 
and  their  father,  relative  to  their  bringing 


words  :  the  only  one  indeed  that  they  will  fairly 
bear:  and  though  they  do  not  imply  that  Joseph 
was  actually  a  magician,  yet  they  seem  to  justify 
the  notions  of  those  men  who  think  that  he  carried 
his  dissimulation  to  his  brethren  so  far,  as  to  make 
them  believe  that  he  really  had  some  knowledge 
that  way — Stachhouse. 

Although  we  have  no  reason  to  infer  that 
Joseph  practised  divination  by  the  cup,  yet  it  cer- 
tainlv  prevailed  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Joseph, 
and  it  has  from  time  immemorial  been  prevalent 
amoni;  the  Asiatics,  who  have  a  tradition,  the 
origin  of  which  is  lost  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  that 
there  was  a  cup  which  had  passed  successively  into 
the  hands  of  the  different  potentates,  and  which 
possessed  the  strange  property  of  representing  in 
it  the  whole  world,  and  all  the  things  which  were 
then  doing  in  it.  The  Persians  Jo  this  day  call  it 
the  '  Cup  of  Jemsheed,'  from  a  very  ancient  king 
of  Persia  of  that  name,  whom  late  historians  and 
poets  have  confounded  with  Bacchus,  Solomon, 
Alexander  the  threat,  &c.  This  cup,  filled  with 
the  elixir  of  immortality,  they  say.  was  discovered 
when  disging  the  foundations  of  Persepolis.  To 
this  cup  the  Persian  poets  have  numerous  allusions: 
and  to  the  intelligence  supposed  to  have  been  re- 
ceived from  it  they  ascribe  the  great  prosperity  of 
their  ancient  monarclis,  as  by  it  they  understood  all 
events,  past,  present,  and  future.  Many  of  the 
Mohammedan  princes  and  governors  affect  still  to 
havp  information  of  futurity  by  means  of  a  cup. 
Thus  when  Mr  Norden  was  at  Dehr  or  Derri  in 
the  farthest  part  of  Egypt,  in  a  very  dangerous 
situation,  from  which  he  and  his  company  endeav- 
oured to  extricate  themselves  by  exerting  great 
spirit,  a  spiteful  and  powerful  Arab  in  a  threatening 
way  told  one  of  their  people,  whom  they  had  sent 
to  "him,  that  he  knew  what  sort  of  people  they 
were,  that  he  had  consulted  his  cup,  and  had  found 
by  it  that  they  were  those  of  whom  one  of  their 
prophets  had  said,  that  Franks  would  come  in  dis- 
guise, and  parsing  every  where,  examine  the  state 
of  the  country,  and  afterwards  bring  over  a  great 
number  of  other  Franks,  conquer  the  country,  and 
exterminate  all.     It  was  pre.Uely  the  same  thing 


their  brother  Benjamin  into  Egypt,  pas- 
sionately describing  the  old  man's  extra- 
ordinary affection  for  this  child  of  his  age; 
the  regret  with  which  he  parted  from  him, 
the  inconsolable  loss  that  would  result 
from  his  being  detained,  and  the  curses 
he  would  pronounce  on  them  in  his  de- 
parting moments,  for  depriving  him  of 
what  he  held  most  dear.  9 

To  this  striking  representation  he 
added,  'Now  therefore,  I  pray  thee,  let 
thy  servant  abide  instead  of  the  lad  a 
bond-man  to  my  lord,  and  let  the  lad  go 
up  with  his  brethren;  for  how  shall  I  go 
up  to  my  father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with 
me?  lest  peradventure  I  see  the  evil  that 
shall  come  on  my  father.' 

This  pathetic  address  struck  Joseph  to 
the  very  soul.  Ordering  therefore  all  the 
rest  to  depart,  that  he  might  discover 
himself  with  more  affectionate  freedom, 
he  burst  into  tears,  and  pathetically  ex- 
claimed, 'I  am  Joseph;  doth  my  father 
live?' — What  a  beautiful  transition!  His 
soul  was  so  full  of  filial  affection  for  the 
good  old  man,  that  before  he  had  finished 
his  sentence,  he  inquired  after  him, 
though  they  had  before  told  him  he  was 
alive. 

Conscious  guilt,  at  the  very  name  of 
that  Joseph  whom  they  had  so  unnatur- 
ally treated,  struck  them  dumb,  as  they 
now  dreaded  the  power  he  had  to  resent 

that  Joseph  meant  when  he  talked  of  divining  by 
his  cup.  Julius  Serenus  tells  us,  that  the  method 
of  divining  by  the  cup  among  the  Abyssinians, 
Chaldees,  and  Egyptians,  was  to  fill  it  first  with 
water,  then  to  throw  into  it  their  plates  of  gold 
and  silver,  together  with  some  precious  stones, 
whereon  were  engraven  certain  characters:  and 
after  that,  the  persons  who  came  to  consult  the 
oracle  used  certain  forms  of  incantation,  and  so 
calling  upon  the  devil,  received  their  answers 
several  ways ;  sometimes  by  articulate  sounds, 
sometimes  by  the  characters,  which  were  in  the 
cup,  arising  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  by 
this  arrangement  forming  the  answer;  and  many 
times  by  the  visible  appearing  of  the  persons  them- 
selves about  whom  the  oracle  was  consulted. 
Cornelius  Agrippa  tells  us  likewise,  that  the  man- 
ner of  some  was  to  pour  melted  wax  into  a  cup 
containing  water,  which  wax  would  range  itself 
into  order,  and  so  form  answers,  according  to  the 
questions  proposed. — Home. 


82 


HISTORY  OF 


fBooK  I. 


the  injuries  they  had  done  him.  But 
brotherly  love  overcame  resentment,  and 
banished  every  desire  of  revenge;  for  Jo- 
seph observing  the  confusion  of  his  bre- 
thren, in  the  most  endearing  accents  bids 
them  approach,  assuring  them  he  was  the 
very  brother  they  had  sold  into  Egypt; 
and  though  he  had  assumed  the  dignity 
^becoming:  his  office,  he  still  retained  the 
tenderness  of  a  brother;  and  lest  their 
fear  should  prevail,  he  desired  them  no 
longer  to  afflict  themselves  with  remorse 
for  their  former  behaviour  towards  him, 
since  it  was  the  means  by  which  a  wise 
providence  was  pleased  to  dispose  of  him 
for  their  preservation. 

He  then  proposed  that  they  should 
bring  his  father,  and  the  whole  family  of 
Israel  out  of  Canaan  into  Egypt;  and  as 
an  inducement  to  them  to  leave  their  own 
country,  desired  them  from  him  to  address 
their  father  to  this  effect :  «  God  hath 
made  me  lord  of  all  Egypt,  therefore  de- 
fer not  coming;  for  I  will  provide  Goshen* 
for  the  place  of  thy  habitation,  and  there 
will  I  nourish  thee  and  thy  family,  lest 
they  come  to  want.' 

Lest  they  might  doubt  that  he  was  in- 
deed their  brother  Joseph,f  he  told  them, 
'  Your  eyes  see,  and  the  eyes  of  my  bro- 
ther Benjamin,  (whom  my  father  will 
especially  regard,)  that  it  is  I  myself  that 
speak  to  you.    And  to  comfort  my  father, 


*  The  land  of  Goshen,  called  also  the  land  of 
Rameses,  lay  east  of  the  Nile,  by  which  it  was 
never  overflowed,  and  was  bounded  by  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Thebaid  on  the  south,  by  the  Nile  and 
Mediterranean  on  the  west  and  north,  and  by  the 
Red  sea  and  desert  of  Arabia  on  the  east.  It  was 
the  Heliopolitan  nome  or  district,  and  its  capital 
was  called  On.  Its  proper  name  was  Geshen,  the 
country  of  grass  or  pasturage,  or  of  the  shep- 
herds, in  opposition  to  the  rest  of  the  land,  which 
was  sown  after  having  been  overflowed  by  the 
Nile.  Bruce. — Goshen  was  the  most  fruitful  part 
of  all  Egypt,  especially  for  pasturage,  and  there- 
fore most  commodious  for  Jacob's  sons,  who  were 
brought  up  shepherds. 

\  Joseph  having  before  spoken  to  them  by  an 
interpreter,  he  bids  them  observe  that,  now  lie 
spoke  to  them  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  they  might 
the  better  be  assured  that  it  was  he  their  brother 
that  had  hitherto  conversed  with  them. 


tell  him  of  my  glory  here,  and  all  that 
you  have  seen ;  and  make  haste  and  con- 
duct him  hither.' 

Then  taking  Benjamin  in  his  arms, 
they  wept  for  joy ;  and,  as  a  seal  of  par- 
don for  all  offences,  he  tenderly  embraced, 
kissed  them  severally,  and  wept  over 
them.  Joseph's  kind  carriage  and  recon- 
ciliation having  dispelled  their  fears  and 
apprehensions  of  the  severe  resentment 
they  might  justly  have  expected  from 
him,  they  took  heart,  and  conversed  fa- 
miliarly with  him. 

The  report  of  the  arrival  of  Joseph's 
brethren  soon  spread  in  Pharaoh's  court, 
which,  for  the  great  respect  all  had  to 
Joseph,  was  very  agreeable  to  the  king 
and  all  about  him;  who  immediately  orders 
Joseph  to  send  his  brethren  to  conduct  his 
father,  and  all  that  belonged  to  him,  into 
Egypt,  where  he  should  share  of  the  best 
during  the  famine,  of  which  there  were 
five  years  to  come. 

Joseph  gladly  obeys,  and  accordingly 
provides  carriages  and  food  for  their  jour- 
ney. But  for  a  present  to  his  father  he 
sent  ten  asses  laden  with  the  choicest 
dainties  Egypt  afforded,  and  ten  she-asses 
laden  with  corn  and  provisions  for  him  by 
the  way.  To  cheer  his  brethren,  and 
confirm  his  love  to  them,  he  gave  to  each 
of  them  changes  of  raiment;  but  to  dis- 
tinguish Benjamin  from  the  rest,  he  gave 
him  three  hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and 
five  changes  or  suits  of  clothes:  and  know- 
ing their  quarrelsome  disposition,  and 
fearing  they  should  enter  into  some  de- 
bate who  was  most  in  fault  for  the  injury 
done  to  him,  he  lays  a  strict  charge  upon 
them,  not  to  fall  out  by  the  way. 

Joseph  having  dismissed  his  brethren, 
they  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  Canaan, 
where  they  were  joyfully  received  by  their 
good  old  father,  especially  upon  the  return 
of  his  two  sons,  Simeon  and  Benjamin, 
whom  he  scarce  expected  to  see  again. 
But  when  they  acquainted  him  with  Jo-' 
seph's  being  alive,  and  the  grandeur  he 
lived  in,  his  former  grief  revived,  and  dis- 


Chap.  XII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

trusting  the  extravagant  account  they 
gave,  lie  had  like  to  have  died:  but  when 
he  saw  the  carriages,  with  the  presents  and 
provisions,  Joseph  had  sent  for  him,  his 
fainting  spirits,  like  an  oil-spent  lamp  op- 
portunely supplied,  revived,  and  in  an 
ecstasy  of  joy,  he  cried  out,  'This  is  be- 
yond my  expectation  :  my  son  Joseph  yet 
alive!  I  will  go  and  see  him  before  I  die.' 
Accordingly  he  took  his  journey  with  all 
that  he  had;  and  stopping  at  Beer-sheba,* 
he  offered  sacrifice  to  the  God  of  his  father 
Isaac.  Here  it  was  God  spake  to  Israel 
in  the  visions  of  the  night,  bidding  him 
fear  not  to  go  down  into  Egypt,  f  for  he 
would  there  make  of  him  a  great  nation ; 
that  he  would  go  with  him,  and  surely 
bring  him  thence  again, J  and  that  his  be- 
loved Joseph  should  there  close  his  eyes.  § 

Jacob  encouraged  by  this  divine  pro- 
mise left  Beer-sheba,  and  cheerfully  pur- 
sues his  journey  towards  Egypt ;  his  sons 
carrying  with  them  their  little  ones  and 
their  wives  in  their  waggons  which  Pha- 
raoh had  sent  to  convey  them. 

They  took  also  with  them  their  cattle, 
and  their  goods,  which  they  had  gotten 
in  Canaan,  and  came  into  Egypt,  Jacob, 


*  Here  it  was  where  the  Lord  appeared  to  his 
father  Isaac,  and  blessed  him,  and  where  his  father 
built  an  altar,  and  worshipped  the  Lord,  Genesis 
xxvi.  23,  24,  25.  But  by  Jacob's  offering  sacrifice 
here,  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed  that  so  religi- 
ous a  man  as  he  was,  not  only  gave  God  thanks 
for  the  preservation  of  his  son  Joseph,  and  safe 
return  of  his  other  sons,  but  implored  the  divine 
protection  and  blessing  upon  him  and  his  in  the 
journey  he  had  now  undertaken. 

f  Though  God  had  promised  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  Israel's  posterity,  yet  he  persuades  him  to  go 
into  Egypt, — though  a  country  where  his  ancestors 
had  been  ill-treated— for  he  would  protect  him. 

|  That  is,  not  that  he  should  live  to  come  out 
of  Egypt,  but  that  his  body  should  be  carried  from 
thence  to  be  buried  in  the  sepulchre  of  his  ances- 
tors, and  that  his  posterity  should  possess  the  pro- 
mised land,  from  which  he  was  departed.  For  as 
to  Israel's  dying  in  Egypt,  it  is  plain  that  God  at 
the  time  of  this  vision  told  him  he  should  die 
there,  Gen.  xlvi.  4.  for  there  Joseph  is  promised 
to  close  his  eyes. 

§  From  hence  Jacob  might  justly  infer  that  he 
should  die  a  natural  death,  and  that  his  son  Joseph 
should  be  with  him  to  the  last  moments  of  his  life  ; 
which  was  a  great  comfort  to  the  fond  old  patri- 
arch. 


his  sons  and  his  sons'  sons,  his  daughterg(| 
and  his  sons'  daughters,  making  in  all 
seventy  persons.** 

Jacob  being  arrived  on  the  borders  of 
Egypt,  despatches  his  son  Judah  before 
him,  to  receive  directions  for  going  to 
Goshen  ;  who  soon  returns  to  his  father, 
and  conducts  him  thither ;  where  Joseph, 
with  a  train  becoming  his  high  station, 
meets  him,  and  with  infinite  satisfaction 
congratulates  his  happy  arrival  in  a  place 
where  he  had  power  to  make  the  rest  of 
his  life  easy  and  comfortable. 

Here  were  the  highest  ecstasies  of 
filial  duty  and  parental  affection  expressed: 
teais  of  joy  flowed  on  both  sides ;  and 
whilst  Joseph  was  contemplating  the  divine 
goodness  that  had  restored  him  once  more 
to  the  sight  of  his  aged  father,  the  pious 
patriarch,  thinking  his  joy  on  earth  com- 
plete, desired  to  live  no  longer :  '  Now,' 
says  he,  '  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen 
thy  face.' 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Joseph  introduces  his  father  and  brethren  to 
the  king,  who  receives  them  graciously,  and 
appoints  them  ample  maintenance. — Jacob's 
charge. — He  blesses  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
the  children  of  Joseph. — Blesses  his  sons  in 
particular,  and  having  given  them  charge  con- 
cerning his  burial,  dies. — Jacob's  burial. — 
Joseph  predicts  the  return  of  his  brethren  and 
dies. 

After  these  mutual  endearments,  Joseph 
proposes  to  his  father  and  brethren  that  he 
would  acquaint  the  king  with  their  arrival; 
which  he  was  in  gratitude  obliged  to  do, 


||  This  will  admit  of  a  two-fold  meaning  :  first, 
as  it  was  a  general  way  of  speaking,  such  as  Sarah 
used  when  she  said,  '  Who  should  have  said  to 
Abraham  that  Sarah  should  have  given  suck  to 
children  ?'  Gen.  xxi.  7.  whereas  she  never  gave 
suck  but  to  one  child,  Isaac.  Secondly,  though 
Jacob  strictly  had  but  one  daughter,  who  was 
Dinah,  yet  here  he  may  be  understood  to  speak  of 
his  daughters-in-law. 

•*  The  names  of  Jacob's  family,  which  he  brought 
with  him  into  Egypt,  are  particularly  expressed, 
Gen.  xlvi.  8,  25.  And  both  here  and  Deut.  x.  22, 
are  computed  to  be  in  the  whole  number  three- 
score and  ten  persons. 


84 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


ince  the  king  had  sent  for  them,  instruct- 
ing them  at  the  same  time  that  he  would 
acquaint  him  with  their  manner  of  life, 
which  was  in  breeding  and  nourishing 
cattle,  that  if  he  should  inquire  of  them 
what  occupa^on  they  were  bred  to,  they 
should  answer  accordingly  ;  by  which  they 
would  secure  the  land  of  Goshen  for  their 
use,  where  they  might  live  and  take  care 
of  their  flocks  and  herds  by  themselves ; 
for  the  Egyptians  did  so  abominate  shep- 
herds, that  they  would  never  suffer  them 
to  live  promiscuously  amongst  them.* 

*  The  country  of  Egypt  (as  Diodorus  tells  ns, 
b.  i.)  was  divided    into   three   parts,  whereof  the  i 
priests  had  mi",  the  king  a  second,  and  the  soldiery  I 
a  third  :  hut,  under  these,  there  were  three  other  i 
ranks  of  men,  shepherds,  husbandmen,  and  arti-  | 
rlcers.     The  husbandmen  served  the  king,  and  the  ' 
other  two  orders,  in  tilling  the  ground,  for  very 
small   wages,  and  so  did  the  shepherds,  in    their 
capacities  ;  for  the  Egyptians,  we  must  remember, 
had  sheep  and  oxen,  as  well  as  horses  and  asses, 
which  they  sold  unto  Joseph  in  the  time  of  the 
famine,     it  cannot  be  thought  therefore,  that  they 
abominated  all  shepherds  in  general,  but  only  such 
shepherds  that  were  foreigners,  and  for  what  rea- 
son it  was  that  they  did  tins,  is  not  so  easy  a  mat- 
ter to  resolve.     Some  are  of  opinion,  that  shep- 
herds were  held  in  d<  testation,  because  they  were 
a  people,  in  those  days,  addicted  to  robbery,  which 
made  them    very   odious  to    the  Egyptians  ;   but 
others  imagine  that  theft,  among  the   Egyptians,  \ 
was  not  reputed  so  abominable  a  crime  ;  and  there-  ! 
fore  thev  think,  that  the  most  probable  reason  of 
this  aversion  to  shepherds,  and  to  the  Hebrews,  as 
such,  was  the  great  oppression,  and  tyranny,  under 
which  they  had  lately  groaned,  when  the  Phceni- 
cian    shepherds    penetrated    Egypt,    wasted    their 
cities,  burnt  their  temples,  murdered  the  inhabi- 
tants, and   seated   themselves,   for  a  considerable 
while,  in  the  possession  of  it.     But,  upon  what- 
ever account  it  was  that  the  Egyptians  had  this 
aversion  to  shepherds,  it  certainly  was  an  instance 
of  Joseph's  great  modesty  and  love  of  truth,  that 
he  was  not  ashamed  of  an  employment  so  mean  in 
itself,  and  so  vile   in  the  eyes  of  the  Egyptians. 
Stackhuuse. — From  the  fragments  of  the  ancient 
historian    iManetiio,    preserved    in    Josephus   and 
African  us,  it  appears  that  that  country  had  been 
invaded   by  a   colony  of  Nomades  or  shepherds, 
descended' fiom  tush,  who  established  themselves 
there,  and  had  a  succession  of  kin»s.     After  many 
wars  between  them  and  the  Egyptians,  in  which 
some  of  their  principal  cities  were  burnt  and  great 
cruelties  were  committed,  they  were  compelled  to 
evacuate  the  country;   but   not  till  they  had  been 
in  possession  of  it  for  a  period  of  nine  hundred 
years.     Tnis  alone  was  sufficient  to  render  shep- 
herds odious  to  the  Egyptians  ;  hut  they  were  stdl 
mole  obnoxious,  because  they  killed  ami  ate  those 
animals,  particularly  the  sheep  and  the  ox,  which 


Taking  therefore  five  of  the  most  grace- 
ful persons  of  his  brethren,  he  went  and 
acquainted  Pharaoh  that  his  father  and 
family  were  arrived  in  Goshen,  and  pre- 
sented the  five  he  had  brought  with  him 
to  the  king,  who  treated  them  respectfully 
for  Joseph's  sake ;  and  demanding  what 
they  were  bred  to,  they,  according  to 
their  instructions,  answered,  that  they  were 
shepherds,  and  humbly  begged  leave  to 
settle  in  Goshen.  The  king,  turning  to 
Joseph,  told  him,  '  The  whole  land  is  at 
thy  disposal,  place  them  in  the  best  part 
of  it,  in  Goshen,  if  they  like  that  best; 
and  if  there  be  any  among  them  of  ex- 
traordinary skill  in  their  way,  let  them 
have  the  care  and  management  of  my 
cattle.' 

Joseph's  project  thus  happily  succeed- 
ing, he  introduces  his  father  to  the  king, 
whom  Jacob  reverently  salutes.  The 
king,  graciously  condescending  to  talk 
with  him,  inquires  his  age  ;  who  tells  him 
he  was  an  hundred  and  thirty  years  old, 
though  his  ancestors  had  lived  to  a  greater 
age. 

Then  taking  leave  of  Pharaoh,  Joseph 
placed  his  father  and  his  brethren  in 
Rameses,  a  city  afterwards  of  Goshen, 
which  was  the  most  fertile  part  of  Egypt, 
where  he  nourished  them,  and  provided 
for  them  according  to  their  families,  with 
that  care  and  tenderness,  as  if  they  had 
been  his  children. 

Good  old  Israel  and  his  family  being 
thus  happily  disposed,  Joseph  returns  to 
his  charge.  And  now  the  fairine  increas- 
ing, people  from  all  parts  of  Egypt  and 
Canaan  repair  to  Joseph,  who  furnished 
them  with  provisions  as  long  as  their 
money  held  out ;  by  which  means  he  had 
collected  all  the  money  in  the  land,  and 
!  brought  it  into  the  king's  exchequer.  Ant! 
j  when  their  money  failed,  they  brought 
their  cattle,  and  he  gave  them  bread  in 
exchange  for  them. 

were  accounted   most   sacred  among  them. —  See 
[Bryant's  Analysis  of  Ancient  Mythology 


Chap.  XII.J  THE  BIBLE. 

Thus  tliey  went  on  till  the  sixth*  year, 
and  then  the  famine  pressed  them  so  hard 
that  they  were  forced  to  lay  their  condi- 
tion before  him,  telling  him  that  their 
money  was  spent,  and  he  having  got  their 
cattle  already,  they  had  now  nothing  left 
to  offer  him  but  their  bodies  and  lands, 
which  they  besought  him  in  pity  to  accept, 
or  else  they  must  perish. 

Joseph  took  them  at  their  word,  and  in 
the  king's  name,  and  for  his  use,  bought 
all  the  land  of  Egypt,  except  the  land  of 
the  priests,f  who,  having  an  allowance 
from  the  king,  were  not  compelled  to  part 
with  their  possessions.  But  the  rest  of 
the  Egyptians  sold  their  estates ;  and  thus 
the  land  became  entirely  the  king's. 


85 


*  This  generally  is  translated  the  second  year  ; 
but  it  must  not  be  understood  to  be  the  second 
year  of  the  seven  years  of  famine,  hut  the  second 
from  the  time  that  their  money  failed,  which  was 
indeed  the  sixth  of  the  seven,  (Jen.  xlvii.  18. 

f  Why  Pharaoh,  when  he  thought  tit  to  lessen 
the  property  of  his  common  subjects,  did  not  at  the 
same  time,  attempt  to  reduce  the  exorbitant  riches 
of  the  priests,  we  may,  in  some  measure,  account 
for,  if  we  consider,  that,  according  to  the  constitution 
of  the  kingdom,  the  Egyptian  priests  were  ohliged 
to  provide  all  sacrifices,  and  to  bear  all  the  charges 
of  the  national  religion,  which,  in  those  days,  was 
not  a  little  expensive  ;  so  very  expensive,  that  we 
find  in  countries  where  the  soil  was  not  fruitful,  and 
consequently  the  people  poor,  men  did  not  well 
know  how  to  bear  the  burden  of  religion;  and 
therefore  Lycurgus,  when  he  reformed  the  Lacede- 
monian state,  instituted  sacrifices,  the  meanest  and 
cheapest  that  he  could  think  of.  But  Egypt,  we 
know,  was  a  rich  and  fertile  country,  and  therefore, 
in  all  probability,  the  king  and  people  being  desirous 
that  religion  should  appear  with  a  suitable  splen- 
dour, made  settlements  upon  the  priests  from  the 
very  first  institution  of  government  among  them, 
answerable  to  the  charges  of  their  function.  Add 
to  this,  that  the  priests  of  Egypt  were  the  whole 
body  of  the  nobility  of  the  land  ;  that  they  were 
the  king's  counsellors  and  assistants,  in  all  the 
affairs  which  concerned  the  public ;  were  joint 
agents  with  him  in  some  things,  and,  in  others,  his 
directors  and  instructors.  Add  again,  that  they 
were  the  professors  and  cultivators  of  astronomy, 
geometry,  and  other  useful  sciences  ;  that  they 
were  the  keepers  of  the  public  registers,  memoirs, 
and  chronicles  of  the  kingdom  ;  and,  in  a  word, 
that,  under  the  king,  they  were  the  supreme  magi- 
strates, and  filled  all  prime  offices  of  honour  and 
.trust;  and,  considering  them  under  these  views, 
we  may  possihly  allow,  that  Pharaoh  might  think 
that  they  had  not  too  much  to  support  the  station 
they  were  to  act  in,  and,  for  that  reaso.i,  ordered 
that  no  tax  should  be  raised  upon  them. — Stack- 
house. 


Then  Joseph,  repeating  the  condition  of 
the  bargain,  tells  them  :  •  Behold,  I  have 
this  day  bought  both  you  and  your  land 
for  Pharaoh.  Now  here  is  seed  for  you, 
and  ye  shall  sow  the  iand.f  But  upon 
these  terms  shall  you  hold  your  land :  ye 
shall  every  year  give  the  fifth  part  of  your 
increase  to  Pharaoh,  and  the  other  four 
parts  shall  be  your  own  for  seed,  and  for 
food  for  yourselves  and  families.' 

Thus  Joseph  settled  it  a  standing  law 
all  over  Egypt,  that  Pharaoh  should  have 
the  fifth  part  of  the  yearly  increase  of  the 
lands,  except  the  lands  of  the  priests.  As 
for  common  people,  Joseph  removed  them 
from  the  places  of  their  constant  abode  to 
a  greater  distance,  whereby  they  in  time 
knew  not  where  to  claim. § 

Thus  the  Egyptians  saved  their  lives  at 
the  loss  of  their  estate  and  liberties,  ancl,of 
freemen  became  bondmen  ;  in  which  con- 
dition they  yet  rejoiced,  and  gratefully 
acknowledged  Joseph's  care,  calling  him 
their  preserver  :  and  to  show  how  willing- 
ly they  submitted  to  these  terms,  which 
the  sons  of  liberty  and  property  would  in- 
veigh against  as  insupportable,  to  assure 
their  prince,  notwithstanding  this,  of  their 
duty  and  loyalty,  they  unanimously  cry 
out  to  Joseph,  •  Let  us  find  favour  in  thy 
sight,'  that  those  conditions  may  be  ratifi- 
ed, *  and  we  will  be  the  king's  servants.' 

The  seven  years  of  famine  were  suc- 
ceeded by  plentiful  and  seasonable  years, 
the  earth  resuming  its  former  fertility,  and 
the  whole  land  abounding  in  all  the  usual 
productions  of  nature.  Twelve  of  these 
years  of  plenty  Jacob  lived  to  see  :  at  the 
end  of  which  nature's  lamp  grew  dim,  and 
near  extinguished  in  him;  his  decayed 
spirits  warn  him  of  approaching  fate,  and 


J  This  being  the  last  year  of  the  seven  barren 
years,  they  might  sow  in  hope  of  plenty  again. 

$  This*  Joseph  probably  did,  with  intent,  that 
by  so  displacing  and  unsettling  them  from  their 
ancient  seats  and  demesnes,  arid  shifting  them  to 
and  fro,  one  upon  another's  land,  but  leaving  none 
Upon  their  own,  he  might  the  better  confirm 
Pharaoh's  title  to  the  whole.  Besides,  this  chang- 
ing of  habitations  showed  they  had  nothing  of  their 
own,  but  received  all  of  the  king's  bounty. 


80 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


eacli  drooping  faculty  beats  an  alarm  of 
death. 

He  therefore  sends  to  his  son  Joseph., 
and  obliges  him  by  an  oath  to  bury  him 
in  the  sepulchre  of  his  fathers,*  which 
Joseph  swears  to  do.  Upon  this  Jacob 
bowed  himself  to  God,  who,  besides  all  his 
other  mercies,  had  given  him  a  fresh  as- 
surance by  Joseph's  promise  and  oath,  that 
he  should  be  carried  out  of  Egypt  into  the 
promised  land. 

Joseph  leaving  his  father  entirely  satis- 
fied in  the  assurance  he  had  given  him, 
returns  home ;  but  is  soon  recalled  by  the 
sad  message  of  his  sickness.  Whereupon 
he  took  his  two  sons,  Manasseh  and 
Ephraim,  and  went  to  visit  him. 

The  feeble  patriarch  summoneth  all  his 
spirits,  and  exerts  them  so  far  as  to  sit  up 
iiw-liis  bed  to  receive  his  favourite  son. 
And  when  Joseph  came  near  him,  he  re- 
counted to  him  the  promise  which  God 
had  made  to  him  of  the  land  of  Canaan  ;f 


*  Though  there  be  something  of  a  natural  de- 
sire in  most  men  to  be  buried  in  the  places  where 
their  ancestors  lie,  yet  Jacob's  aversion  to  have  his 
remains  deposited  in  Egypt  seems  to  be  more  ear- 
nest than  ordinary,  or  otherwise  he  would  never 
have  imposed  an  oatli  upon  his  sons,  and  charged 
them  all,  with  his  dying  breath,  not  to  suffer  it  to 
be  done.  For  he  very  well  knew,  that  had  his 
body  been  buried  in  Egypt,  his  posterity,  upon 
that  very  account,  would  have  been  too  much 
wedded  to  the  country  ever  to  attempt  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  promised  land  ;  and  therefore,  to 
wean  them  from  the  thoughts  of  continuing  in 
Egypt,  and  fix  their  minds  and  affections  in  Ca- 
naan, he  ordered  his  body  to  be  carried  thither  be- 
forehand, in  testimony  that  he  died  in  full  per- 
suasion of  the  truth  of  the  promises  which  were 
given  to  him  and  his  ancestors :  nor  was  it  incon- 
venient that  future  generations,  after  their  return 
into  Canaan,  should  have  before  their  eyes  the 
sepulchre  of  their  forefathers,  for  a  record  of  their 
virtues,  and  an  incitement  to  the  imitation  of 
them.  But  the  strongest  motive  of  all  for  Jacob's  j 
desiring  to  be  buried  in  Canaan — supposing  that 
he  foreknew  that  our  Saviour  Christ  was  to  live 
and  die,  and  with  some  others,  rise  again  in  that 
country — was,  that  he  might  be  one  of  that  blessed 
number  ;  and  it  was  indeed  an  ancient  tradition  in 
the  church,  that  among  those  '  who  came  out  of 
their  graves  after  our  Lord's  resurrection,'  Matth. 
xxvii.  53.  the  patriarch  Jacob  was  one.— Poole's 
Annotations,  and  Bibliotheca  Bibl.  \ 

f  Perhaps  Joseph  might  not  know  of  this  be- 
fore, he  having  been  separated  from  his  father's 
family  when  he  was  but  a  boy. 


'  God  Almighty,'  said  he,  '  appeared  to 
me  at  Luz,  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
blessed  me;  and  said  unto  me,  Behold,  I 
will  make  thee  fruitful,  and  multiply  thee, 
and  make  of  thee  a  multitude  of  people, 
and  will  give  this  land  to  thy  seed  for  an 
everlasting  possession.' 

Then  taking  Joseph's  two  sons  into  a 
peculiar  participation  of  this  promise,  he 
adopted  them  as  his  own  immediate  off- 
spring; as  for  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
says  he,  they  shall  be  mine,  so  as  to  be- 
come each  of  them  head  of  a  distinct  tribe 
in  Israel,  and  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of 
primogeniture  in  right  of  their  father  Jo- 
seph, to  whom  the  birthright  was  trans- 
ferred from  Reuben,  because  of  his  incest- 
uous transgression  against  his  father.  But 
as  for  the  issue  thou  shalt  beget  after 
them,  they  shall  be  thine,  and  shall  be 
called  by  the  name  of  their  brethren  in 
their  inheritance.  And  going  on,  he  gave 
Joseph  a  short  account  of  the  death  and 
burial  of  Rachel  his  mother. 

All  this  while  that  Jacob  was  talking 
with  Joseph,  concerning  himself  and  his 
sons,  he  had  not  taken  notice  that  Joseph's 
sons  were  with  him,  but  spoke  of  them  as 
if  they  had  been  absent;  till  turning  to 
Joseph,  and  seeing  somebody  with  him, 
though  he  could  not  well  discern  who  they 
were,  (for  his  eyes  being  dim  with  age, 
and  the  children  standing  between  their 
father's  knees,  he  could  not  distinguish 
them,)  he  asked,  '  Who  are  these?'  Jo- 
seph as  piously  as  directly  answers,  •  They 
are  my  sons,  whom  God  hath  given  me  in 
this  place.' 

Then  Jacob  bids  him  bring  them  near 
him,  that  he  might  bless  them.  And  kiss- 
ing and  embracing  them,  said  to  Joseph, 
in  a  transport  of  joy,  '  I  was  out  of  hopes 
of  ever  seeing  thy  face  again,  and  now 
God  hath  doubled  that  blessing;  for  he 
hath  suffered  me  to  live  to  see  thee  and 
thy  children.' 

Joseph,  placing  the  children  according 
to  the  order  of  their  birth,  had  set  Ma- 
nasseh so  as  to  receive  the  blessing  of  his 


Chap.  XII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


87 


father's  right  hand,  and  Ephraim  that  of 
his  left,  guiding  his  hand  at  the  same  time. 
But  Israel  stretching  out  his  right  hand, 
laid  it  upon  the  head  of  Ephraim,  who  was 
the  younger,  and  his  left  upon  Manasseh's 
head;  and  he  blessed  Joseph  in  blessing 
his  children,  saying,  '  God,  before  whom 
my  fathers  Abrarw*  'id  Isa  did  walk, 
the  God  which  fed  in.  ait  my  iuvuutc  to 
this  day,  and  the  Angel*  which  redeemed 
me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads.  And  let 
my  name  be  named  on  them,f  and  the 
name  of  my  fathers,  and  let  them  grow 
into  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the 
earth.' 

Joseph  was  uneasy  that  his  father  laid 
his  right  hand  (which  carried  with  it  the 
preference)  on  the  head  of  the  youngest ; 
and  supposing  it  had  been  done  through 
inadvertency,  he  held  up  his  father's  hand 
to  remove  it  from  Ephraim's  to  Manasseh's 
head,  saying,  «  Not  so,  my  father;  for  this 
is  the  first-born,  therefore  put  thy  right 
hand  upon  his  head.' 

But  Israel,  actuated  by  divine  direction, 
refused,  saying,  '  I  know  it,  my  son,  I 
know  it.  He  also  shall  become  a  people, 
and  shall  be  great ;  but  truly  his  younger 
brother  shall  be  greater  than  he,  and  his 
posterity  shall  become  a  multitude.' 

Then  adding  to  his  former  blessing,  he 
said,  « In  thee  shall  Israel  bless,  saying, 
God  make  thee  as  Ephraim  and  as  Manas- 
seh;':}: still  setting  Ephraim  before  Ma- 
nasseh. 

Then  finding  himself  grow  weaker  he 
said  to  Joseph:  'I  am  now  near  my  end; 

*  That  is,  Christ,  who  is  called  the  Angel  or 
Messenger  of  the  covenant,  Mai.  iii.  1. 

+  That  is,  let  them  be  reckoned  into  our  fam- 
ily, equally  with  the  rest  of  my  sons. 

j  That  is,  when  any  of  the  people  of  Israel  shall 
bless  their  children,  they  shall  say,  '  Be  thou  mul- 
tiplied as  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  are  multiplied.' 
From  hence  it  was  the  custom  in  Israel,  that  chil- 
dren should  be  brought  to  men  eminent  for  piety, 
that  tiny  might  bless  them,  and  pray  over  them: 
thus  they  brought  their  children  to  Jesus.  But 
when  a  blessing  was  given  by  imposition  of  hands, 
if  it  was  to  a  son,  he  that  blessed  said,  '  God  make 
thee  as  Ephraim  and  Manasseh ;'  if  it  was  to  a 
daughter, '  God  make  thee  as  Sarah  and  Rebekah.' 


but  though  I  leave  you,  God  shall  be  with 
you,  and  bring  you  again  into  the  land  of 
your  fathers.  And  as  for  thee,  my  dear 
Joseph,  as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  my 
love,  I  have  given  thee  one  portion  above 
thy  brethren,  which  I  took  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Amorite,  with  my  bow,  and 
with  my  sword.'§ 

The  conversation  hitherto  was  private, 
between  Jacob  and  Joseph  only;  but  find- 
ing his  end  very  near,  he  called  for  all 
his  sons  together,  that  while  he  had 
strength  to  deliver  his  mind,  he  might 
take  his  farewell  of  them,  and  not  only 
distribute  his  blessings  among  them,  but 
foretell  what  should  befall  them  and  their 
posterity  in  after  times.  Then  directing 
his  speech  to  them  severally,  he  begins 
thus  to  the  eldest: — 

Reuben,  thou  art  my  first-born,  the 
prime  of  my  strength,  and  by  right  of 
primogeniture  wast  born  to  many  privi- 
leges and  prerogatives,  in  superiority  over 
thy  brethren,  and  in  power  from  the 
double  inheritance  annexed  in  course  to 
the  birthright:  but  these  thou  hast  for- 
feited by  defiling  thy  father's  bed.  [J 

Simeon  in  course  is  next;**  but  he  is 

§  Since  Jacob  was  so  peaceable  a  man,  that  he 
never,  as  we  read  of,  engaged  in  any  martial  en- 
terprise, it  may  be  inquired,  how  and  when  he 
took  this  portion  of  land,  which  he  here  gave  to 
Joseph,  from  the  Amorite  with  his  sword  and  bow, 
or  by  force  of  arms?  Some  refer  it  to  that  act  of 
Simeon  and  Levi,  in  destroying  the  inhabitants  of 
Shechem,  Gen.  xxxiv.  But  that  cannot  be;  for, 
first,  Jacob  disavowed  that  act,  and  blamed  them 
for  it  both  then  and  now,  Gen.  xlvi.  5,  6,  7.  Se- 
condly, those  people  of  Shechem,  whom  they  slew, 
were  not  Amorites,  but  Hivites,  descended  from 
Hivi  the  sixth  son  of  Canaan,  Gen.  x.  17.  where- 
as the  Amorites  came  from  the  fourth  son  of  Ca- 
naan, ver.  16.  Others  take  these  words  of  Jacob  to 
be  spoken  in  a  prophetic  sense ;  foretelling  what  he 
in  his  posterity  should  do:  and  through  assurance 
of  faith  looking  upon  it  as  done,  undertook  to  dis- 
pose of  a  double  portion  (appendant  to  the  birth- 
right of  Joseph,  on  whom  lie  had  conferred  the 
birthright)  to  be  possessed  on  his  posterity. 

||  When  Jacob  heard  that  Reuben  had  lain  with 
Bilhah,  his  concubinary  wife,  Gen.  xxxv.  '22,  the 
text  says  that  he  took  no  farther  notice  of  it  then ; 
but  now  at  his  death  he  reproaches  him  severely 
with  it,  and  gives  it  as  the  reason  for  which  he 
deprived  him  of  the  privileges  of  primogeniture. 

*  *  Reuben  having  forfeited  his  right  of  prirao. 


88 


HISTORY  OF 


[Hook  I. 


joined  with  Levi,  for  that  wicked  combi- 
nation between  them,  in  the  massacre  of 
Humor  and  his  people.  Of  these  there- 
fore Jacob  says,  that  they  were  brethren 
in  iniquity:  'Instruments  of  cruelty  were 
in  their  habitations:  O  my  soul  come  not 
into  their  secret;  let  not  my  honour  be 
united  to  their  assemblies;  for  in  their  an- 
ger they  slew  a  man,*  and  in  their  cruel 
rage  they  digged  down  a  wallrf  cursed 
be  their  anger,  for  it  was  fierce;  and  their 
wrath,  for  it  was  cruel.'  Thus  did  Jacob 
set  forth  their  offence  in  very  aggravating 
circumstances,  to  which  he  pronounces  a 
sentence  proportionate,  •  I  will  divide  them 
in  Jacob,  ^  and  scatter  them  in  Israel.' 

Jacob,  having  treated  his  three  eldest 
sons  with  some  severity,  softens  his  style 
when  he  comes  to  Judah ;  §  whose  name 


geniture,  it  might  be  expected  that  it  should  have 
devolved  upon  Simeon,  who  was  next :  but  for  his 
cruelty  to  Joseph  and  the  idolatry  of  his  tribe  in 
worshipping  Baal-peor,  Numb.  xxv.  the  priesthood, 
which  was  the  nobler  dignity  of  the  primogeniture, 
was  transferred  to  Levi,  the  third  son  ;  and  the 
kingdom,  the  other  part  of  the  primogeniture,  to 
Judah. 

*  This  is,  by  the  figure  synecdoche,  put  for  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Shechem. 

f  Meaning  the  destroying  and  spoiling  the  city. 

£  This  dividing  may  be  applied  to  Simeon, 
whose  tribe  had  not  a  distinct  lot  assigned  them 
in  Canaan,  as  the  other  tribes  had  ;  but  they  were 
thrust  within  the  lot  of  Judah,  Josh.  xix.  1.  until 
in  the  time  of  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah,  a  party  of 
them  smote  the  remainder  of  Amalek,  and  seating 
themselves  in  their  possessions,  1  Chron.  iv.  24. 
were  thereby  divided  from  the  rest  of  their  own 
tribe.  As  for  the  tribe  of  Levi,  it  was  scattered 
through  all  the  tribes,  having  no  peculiar  lot  or 
share  of  the  land  as  the  other  tribes  had. 

§  His  mother  Leah,  Gen.  xxix.  35.  at  his  birth 
gave  him  that  name,  in  gratitude  and  thankfulness 
to  God.  But  now  his  father  calls  him  so  for  an- 
other reason,  alluding  to  the  praise  his  brethren 
should  give  him  ;  and  that  for  many  reasons  ;  viz. 
1.  The  tribe  of  Judah  was  the  first  that  entered  the 
Red  sea  after  Moses.  2.  After  the  death  of  Joshua, 
the  tribe  of  Judah  was  pitched  upon  to  be  com- 
mander in  chief  of  all  the  other  tribes,  in  their 
wars,  Judg.  i.  3.  From  this  tribe  sprang  the  mighty 
and  powerful  king  David,  his  son  king  Solomon, 
and  several  other  kings  till  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
4.  This  tribe  waged  war  against  the  Ishmaelites, 
Idumeans,  Moabites,  Arabians,  and  other  neigh- 
bouring nations.  5.  From  this  tribe  descended 
Zerubbabel,  that  commanded  the  people  in  their 
return  from  Babylon.  C.  And  lastly,  from  this 
tribe  sprang  Christ. 


signifying  praise,  it  led  him  to  a  high  en- 
comium of  him. 

'Judah,'  said  he,  'thou  art  he  whom 
thy  brethren  shall  praise  for  thy  strength 
and  courage.  Thou  shalt  put  thy  enemies 
to  flight;  thou  shalt  pursue  t'.em,  lay  hold 
of  them,  and  destroy  them :  thy  father's 
children  shall  bow  down  before  thee.'  || 
And  then,  wrapped  up  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  Judah's  strength  and  glory,  he 
breaks  forth  into  these  elegant  allegories; 
'Judah  is  like  a  lion's  whelp.f  From 
the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone  up.  He 
stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion,  and 
as  an  old  lion,  who  shall  dare  to  rouse 
him?'  Then  describing  the  duration  of 
his  government;  '  The  sceptre,'  said  he, 
'shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law- 
giver be  wanting  of  his  issue,  till  the 
Messiah  come;  and  unto  him  shall  the 
gathering  of  the  people  be.'  Then  pur- 
suing his  allegories,  to  set  forth  the  pros- 
perity and  plenty  of  Judah's  tribe,  and 
the  abundant  fruitfulness  of  its  soil,  he 
added,  '  Binding  his  foal  unto  the  vine, 
and  his  ass's  colt  unto  the  choice  vine,  he 
washed  his  garments  in  wine,  and  his 
clothes  in  the  blood  of  grapes:'  signifying 
that  wine  should  with  them  be  us  plenti- 
ful as  water. 

Jacob,  keeping  still  in  Leah's  line,  passes 
by  Issachar  and  takes  Zebulun ;  whose 
name  signifying  Duelling,  he  only  says  of 
him,  that  he  shall  dwell  at  the  haven  for 
ships,  and  his  border  shall  be  an  haven  for 
ships,  and  his  border  shall  be  unto  Zidon.*  * 


||  By  this,  though  the  birthright  was  transferred 
from  Reuben  to  Jns<  ph,  1  Chron.  v.  1.  with  re- 
spect to  the  double  put  ion:  yet  that  part  of  the 
prerogalive  of  primogeniture,  which  OH  wormed 
authority,  or  government  over  the  rest,  is  plainly 
conferred  on  Judah  ;  and  so  it  is  explained  here, 
1  Chron.  v.  2.  For  Judah  prevailed  above  his 
brethren,  and  of  him  came  the  chief  ruler,  thou»li 
the  birthright  was  Joseph's  with  respect  to  the 
inheritance. 

f  Here  are  gradually  described  by  the  lion's  age, 
the  three  degrees  of  the  state  of  this  tribe  of  Judah. 
The  first,  its  infancy  under  Joshua  ;  the  second,  its 
virile  state  undef  David  ;  the  third,  its  continued 
state  under  Solomon. 
*  *  Accordingly  this  lot  came  forth,  Josh.  xix.  1 1, 


Chap.  XII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


89 


Coming  next  to  Issacliar,  he  compares 
him  to  a  strong  ass  couching  down  be- 
tween two  burdens;  seated  in  a  pleasant 
and  fertile  country ;  but  being  naturally 
slothful  and  pusillanimous,  loved  an  inglo- 
rious ease  more  than  active  liberty  and 
bravery. 

The  good  old  patriarch  having  gone 
through  with  Leah's  offspring,  he  takes 
the  handmaids'  sons  next,  beginning  with 
Dan,  son  of  Bilhah,  Rachel's  handmaid. 
Dan  signifying  judging,  he  said,  *  Dan 
shall  judge  his  people,*  as  one  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel ; '  that  is,  though  it  was  smaller, 
yet  should  bear  as  much  authority  us  an- 
other. That  it  should  be  like  a  snake  on 
the  way,f  or  an  adder  in  the  path,  which 
bites  the  horses'  heels,  and  makes  them 
throw  their  riders.  Here  Jacob  cried  out, 
'I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  O  Lord.'| 

When  he  spake  of  Gad,  alluding  also  to 
his  name,  lie  said,  'A  troop  shall  overcome 
him:  but  he  shall  overcome  at  last.'  By 
which  he  is  thought  to  have  referred  to 
what  was  afterwards  performed  by  Jeph- 
thah,  who  was  of  this  tribe. 

Of  lmppy  Asher  he  foretells,  his  bread 
shall  be  rich,  and  kings  should  reckon  it 
a  dainty;  which  denoted  the  exuberant 
richness  of  soil. 


*  This  was  fulfilled  in  Samson,  yet  was  no  more 
than  lssachar  did  by  Tola,  Judg.  x.  1.  But  it  is 
supposed  the  reason  why  this  was  said  of  Dan, 
was  to  show  that  the  sons  of  the  handmaids,  of 
which  Dan  is  the  first  named,  though  as  born  of 
bond-women,  they  were  in  that  respect  inferior  to 
the  rest  of  their  brethren,  should  notwithstanding 
obtain  some  share  in  the  government. 

■f  '1  his  seems  to  intimate  that  the  Danites  should 
prevail  more  by  policy  and  stratagem,  than  by  open 
force:  which  Samsons  dealing  with  the  Philistines, 
Judges  chap.  xiv.  and  xv.  and  the  Danites  taking 
Laish,  chap,  xviii.  confirms. 

J  Modern  interpreters  are  very  ridiculously 
fanciful  in  the  application  of  this  text,  distorting  it 
to  the  most  extiava^ant  and  contrary  meanings. 
There  being  no  context  to  make  it  out,  it  looks 
more  like  a  recommendatory  ejaculation  on  the 
death-bed.  But  if  we  suppose  something  more 
than  ordinary  impressed  the  patriarch's  spirit  at 
this  time,  might  he  not  have  some  sense  or  fore- 
sight of  the  mischief  the  Danites  afterwards 
brought  upon  themselves,  when  having  rifled  Mi- 
cah's  house,  and  robbed  him  of  his  gods,  they  fell 
into  open  idolatry  ? 


'  Naphtali,'  says  he,  ' shall  be  like  a 
tree  having  grafts,  shooting  out  pleasant 
branches  in  its  generation."  § 

And  now  he  comes  to  his  beloved  Joseph, 
on  whom  he  expatiates  very  largely,  think- 
ing he  cannot  say  enough  of  him. 

'Joseph,'  says  he,  'is  like  a  fruitful 
bough  of  a  tree  planted  near  a  spring, 
whose  branches  run  over  the  wall.'H 

And  having  thus  set  forth  his  future 
greatness  in  his  posterity,  he  looks  back 
and  recollects  his  past  troubles. 

'  The  archers,* %  said  he,  'have  sorely 
grieved  him,  and  shot  at  him,  and  hated 
him;  but  his  bow  abode  strong,  and  his 
hands  and  arms  were  made  strong  by  the 
hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob.  From 
thence  is  the  Shepherd,  the  stone**  of 


§  The  versions  generally  confound  the  animals 
that  the  scripture  speaks  of,  or  transform  them  in- 
to other  things,  and  sometimes  trees  or  plants  into 
animals.  Thus  here  in  Gen.  xlix.  21.  they  make 
Jacob,  prophesying  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  say, 
'  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose,  he  giveth  goodly 
words.'  Interpreters  differ  in  nothing  so  much  as 
this,  even  those  that  are  for  it,  confounding  tlieit 
own  opinion.  The  learned  Bochart  translates  the 
words  of  the  original  thus:  '  Naphtali  shall  be  like  a 
tree  having  grafts,  shooting  out  pleasant  branches.' 
— This  seems  to  be  most  rational  and  natural,  not 
only  from  the  words,  but  from  the  sense  ;  if  we 
consider  that  Jacob  compares  this  tribe  to  a  tree, 
as  he  does  that  of  Joseph  in  the  following  verses, 
and  as  good  men  are  often  compared  to  fine  trees, 
Psal.  i.  3.,  and  xcii.  12.  either  because  of  their 
fruitfulness,  Naphtali  having  brought  but  four 
children  to  Egypt,  Gen.  xlvi.  24.  which  in  less 
than  215  years  produced  more  than  fifty  thousand, 
Num.  i.  42. ;  or  upon  the  account  of  the  fruitful- 
ness of  the  country,  which  fell  to  their  lot,  which 
Moses  and  Josephus  represent  as  the  richest  of  all 
Judea. 

||  By  this  rhetorical  amplification  Jacob  sets 
forth  the  strength  of  Joseph's  family,  and  the  large 
extent  of  his  twofold  tribe,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
which  at  the  first  numbering  of  the  tribes  yielded 
of  men  able  to  go  forth  to  war  threescore  and 
twelve  thousand  and  seven  hundred  men,  Num.  i. 
And  at  the  second  numbering,  fourscore,  five 
thousand  and  two  hundred,  Num.  xxvi.;  far  ex- 
ceeding any  other  tribe. 

U  Amongst  these  archers,  his  brethren  may  un- 
doubtedly claim  the  first  place :  for  they  are  ex- 
pressly said  to  have  hated  him,  Gen.  xxxvii.  4.  and 
to  have  conspired  his  death,  ver.  IS  and  afterwards 
to  have  sold  him,  ver.  28.  Next  to  them  his  lewd 
mistress,  and,  by  her  means,  his  master  Pottphar, 
may  be  reckoned  among  these  archers  ttiat  sorely 
grieved  him. 

**  bo  the  last  English  translation  has  it,  making 
M 


90 


HISTORY  OF 


[Hook    J. 


Israel;  to  which  thou  wast  advanced  by 
the  God  of  thy  father,  who  shall  help  thee, 
and  by  the  Almighty,  who  shall  bless  thee 
with  the  blessings  of  heaven  above,  bless- 
ings of  the  deep  that  lieth  under,  blessings 
of  the  breasts,  and  of  the  womb.'  * 

Then  adding,  *  The  blessings  of  thy 
father  have  prevailed  above  the  blessings 
of  my  progenitors,  unto  the  utmost  bounds 
of  the  everlasting  hills. 'f  And  then  to 
centre  them  all  in  Joseph,  he  says,  '  They 
shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph,  and  on 
the  crown  of  him  that  was  separated  from 
his  brethren.' 

Jacob  concludes  with  Benjamin,  his 
youngest  son,  of  whom  he  said,  '  Benja- 
min shall  be  ravenous  as  a  wolf;  in  the 
morning  he  shall  devour  the  prey  and  at 
night  he  shall  divide  the  spoil;'  in  which 
words  he  as  aptly  as  briefly  foretells  the  j 
fierce  and  cruel  nature  of  that  tribe,  ex- 
emplified, among  other  instances,  in  that  of 
the  Levite's  concubine,  Judg.  xix.  20,  21. 

The  good  old  patriarch,  having  deliver- 
ed himself  thus  to  his  sons,  gives  them  his 
blessing,  not  according  to  his  own  natural 
aifection  or  inclination,  but  according  to 
the  divine  direction  then  given  him ;  and 
putting  them  in  mind  of  his  death,  says, 
1 1  am  going  to  be  gathered  to  my  people, 


the  Shepherd  and  Stone  synonymous.  That  of 
1610  reads  it,  '  of  whom  was  the  feeder  appointed 
by  the  Stone  of  Israel:'  taking  the  Stone  to  be 
Christ,  and  the  shepherd  or  feeder  appointed  by 
him  to  be  Joseph.  But  Tremellius  and  Junius 
make  Joseph  to  be  both  the  shepherd  and  the 
stone,  viz.  of  refuge  to  Israel.  There  is  an  ellipsis, 
or  defect  in  the  sentence,  which  interpreters  supply 
as  they  think  best.  However  it  be  taken,  un- 
doubtedly Jacob  had  a  regard  to  Joseph's  constant 
resisting  the  assaults  of  his  mistress,  and  patiently 
bearing  the  severity  of  his  master,  and  likewise  to 
his  taking  care  of  and  feeding  both  Israel  and  the 
Egyptians  and  others,  as  a  shepherd  provides  for  his 
flock. 

•  These  were  terms  comprehensive  of  all  out- 
ward blessings. 

f  Which  is  a  term  of  duration  commonly  used 
in  scripture:  but  Dent,  xxxiii.  15.  seems  to  ex- 
plain this  text  more  directly,  where  Moses'  repeat- 
ing this  very  blessing  of  Jacob  on  Joseph  does  not 
seem  so  much  to  regard  the  comparison  of  hills  in 
respect  of  duration,  as  in  point  of  blessing,  which 
God  more  largely  dispensed  in  hills  and  mountains. 


I  charge  you  bury  me  with  my  fathers  in 
the  cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Ephron  the 
Hittite  :'  which,  that  they  might  not  mis- 
take, he  further  describes  thus:  'In  the 
cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Machpelah, 
which  is  before  Mamre  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, which  Abraham  bought  with  the 
field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite,  for  a  posses- 
sion of  a  burying-place.'  And  to  engage 
them  the  more  to  perform  his  will  in  this, 
he  tells  them,  '  There  Abraham  and  Sarah 
his  wife  were  buried;  and  there  Isaac  and 
Rebekah  his  wife  were  buried ;  and  there 
I  buried  Leah.'  And  to  assure  them  of 
their  right  to  that  burying-place,  he  tells 
them  further,  'That  the  field  and  the  cave 
therein  were  purchased  not  only  of  Eph- 
ron, but  of  the  children  of  Heth.' 

Having  thus  given  his  last  charge  to 
his  sons  concerning  his  funeral,  he  laid  his 
feet  on  the  bed  and  quietly  expired.^ 

The  loss  of  so  good  a  father  must  un- 
doubtedly be  very  afflicting  to  so  numerous 
a  family,  whose  chief  support  depended  on 
the  piety  of  him ;  yet  we  find  none  of 
Jacob's  sons  that  paid  the  least  demonstra- 
tions of  filial  affection  and  duty  with  so 
much  devotion  as  the  pious  Joseph.  He 
could  not  see  his  aged  parent's  face,  though 
dead,  without  kissing,  and  bathing  it  with 
his  tears.  And  having  thus  given  vent  to 
his  passion,  he  commanded  his  servants 
the   physicians  to   embalm   him  ;§   which 


J  Whilst  Jacob  was  prophesying  and  blessing 
his  sons,  he  sat  on  the  bed,  his  feet  hanging  down  ; 
but  when  he  had  done  talking  to  them  and  taken 
his  leave  of  them,  he  gathered  his  feet  into  the  bed, 
and  departed. 

$  The  manner  of  embalming  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, according  to  Herodotus,  Diodorus,  and 
others,  was  as  follows.  When  a  man  died,  his 
body  was  carried  to  the  artificer,  whose  business  it 
was  to  make  coffins.  The  upper  part  of  the  coffin 
represented  the  person  who  was  to  be  put  in  it, 
whether  man  or  woman  ;  and  (if  a  person  of  dis- 
tinction) was  generally  adorned  with  such  paintings 
and  embellishments  as  were  suitable  to  its  quality. 
When  the  body  was  brought  home  again,  they 
agreed  with  the  embalmers  ;  but,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  person,  the  prices  were  different. 
The  highest  was  a  talent,  that  is,  about  three  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling ;  twenty  minae  was  a  moder- 
ate one  ;  and  the  lowest  a  very  small  matter.  As 
,  the  body  lay  extended,  one  of  them,  whom  they 


Chap.  XII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


91 


accordingly  they  did.  And  when  the 
usual  time  of  mourning  was  over,  Joseph 
entreated  some  of  Pharaoh's  courtiers  (for 
as  he  was  a  mourner,  it  was  not  proper  for 
him  to  appear  in  his  presence)  to  acquaint 
him,  that  his  father  just  before  his  death 
had  obliged  him  by  an  oath  to  bury  him 
in  the  sepulchre  of  their  family  in  the  land 
of  Canaan ;  and  therefore  to  beg  leave  of 
the  king  for  him  to  go  and  bury  his  father, 
upon  promise  to  come  again.  The  king 
readily  consents,  and  Joseph  sets  forward, 
attended  not  only  with  his  own  and  his 
father's  family,  but  with  the  chief  officers 
of  the  household  and  nobility,  who,  to  hon- 
our Joseph,  and  grace  the  funeral,  would 
bear  him  company,  partaking  in  all  the 
solemnity  performed  to  the  memory  of  his 
deceased  father.* 


called  the  designer,  marked  out  the  place,  on  the 
left  side,  where  it  was  to  be  opened,  and  then  a 
dissector,  with  a  very  sharp  Egyptian  stone,  made 
the  incision,  through  which  they  drew  all  the  in- 
testines, except  the  heart  and  kidneys,  and  then 
washed  them  with  palm-wine,  and  other  strong 
and  binding  drugs.  The  brains  they  drew  through 
the  nostrils  with  a  hooked  piece  of  iron,  made 
particularly  for  that  purpose,  and  tilled  the  skull 
with  astringent  drugs.  The  whole  body  they 
anointed  with  oil  of  cedar,  with  myrrh,  cinnamon, 
and  other  drugs,  for  about  thirty  days,  by  which 
means  it  was  preserved  entire,  without  so  much 
as  losing  its  hair,  and  sweet,  without  any  signs  of 
putrefaction.  After  this,  it  was  put  into  salt 
about  forty  days  ;  and  therefore  when  Moses  says, 
that  forty  days  were  employed  in  embalming  Jacob, 
Gen.  1.  3.  he  must  mean  the  forty  days  of  his  con- 
tinuing in  the  salt  of  nitre,  without  including  the 
thirty  days  that  were  spent  in  the  other  operations 
above  mentioned  ;  so  that,  in  the  whole,  they 
mourned  seventy  days  in  Egypt,  as  Moses  likewise 
observes.  Last  of  all,  the  body  was  taken  out  of 
this  salt,  washed,  and  wrapped  up  in  linen  swad- 
dling-bands dipped  in  myrrh,  and  rubbed  with  a 
certain  gum,  which  the  Egyptians  used  instead  of 
glue,  and  so  returned  to  the  relations,  who  put  it 
into  the  coffin,  and  k»pt  it  in  some  repository  in 
their  houses,  or  in  ;  .rr  os  "..«>«  f  \-a  rti  :ila  Jy  fo:  tlu  t 
purpose  —  Calmet  and  Warourton. 

*  The  splendour  and  magnificence  of  our  pa-  I 
triarch's  funeral  seem  to  be  without  a  parallel  in  | 
history.     The  noble  obsequies  of  Marcellus  com'  i 
nearest  in  comparison  ;  but  how  do  even  these  fall 
short  of  the  simple  narrative  before  us  !     For  what 
are  the  six  hundred  beds,  for  which  the  Roman 
solemnities  on  that  occasion  were  so  famous,  in 
comparison  of  this  national  itinerant  multitude, 
which  swelled  like  a  flood,  and  moved  like  a  river; 
to  'all  Pharaoh's  servants,  to  the  elders  of  his 


After  some  travel  they  came  to  the 
thrashing-floor  of  Atad,f  where  they  made 
a  halt;  and  Joseph  made  a  solemn  mourn- 
ing for  his  father  seven  days  together. 
The  Canaanites  who  inhabited  the  land, 
seeing  the  Egyptians  mix  themselves  in 
these  obsequies,  were  amazed,  and  think- 
ing they  had  the  greatest  concern  in  this 
funeral  lamentation,  could  not  forbear  say- 
ing, '  This  is  a  grievous  mourning  to  the 
Egyptians:'  from  whence  the  name  of 
that  place  was  called  Abel-Mizraim,  that 
is,  '  the  Mourning  of  the  Egyptians.' 

This  solemnity  being  ended,  they  went 
on  ;  and  being  come  to  the  field  of  Mach- 
pelah,  which  Abraham  had  bought  for  a 
burying-place,  they  buried  Jacob  in  the 
cave  there;  and  having  thus  performed 
Jacob's  will  they  all  returned  to  Egypt. 

So  long  as  Jacob  lived,  Joseph's  bre- 
thren knew  themselves  secure ;  but  now 
their  father  was  dead,  their  former  fear 
returned,  and  suggested  to  them  the  just 
revenge  Joseph  might  take  of  them  for 
the  former  miseries  they  had  occasioned 
to  him.  Wherefore  they  consulted  to- 
gether how  to  depreciate  their  offence ; 
which  they  soon  agreed  upon,  and  made 
their  dead  father,  whose  memory  they 
knew  was  very  dear  to  pious  Joseph,  their 
advocate ;  and  framing  a  message  in  Ja- 
cob's name,  they  sent  it  to  their  brother 
in  these  words  :  '  Thy  father  commanded 
us  before  he  died,  saying,  Thus  shall  ye 
say  to  Joseph  ;  Forgive  I  pray  thee  now 
the  trespass  of  thy  brethren,  and  their  sin; 
for  they  did  evil  unto  thee :  and  pardon 
them,  not  only  for  my  sake,  but  because 
they  are  the  servants  of  the  God  of  thy 
father.' 

This  message  was  artfully  worded  ;  for 


house,  and  all  the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt,' 
t"  at  is.  to  the  officers  of  his  household,  and  depu- 
ties of  his  provinces,  with  all  the  house  of  Joseph, 
and  his  brethren,  and  his  father's  house,  conducting 
their  solemn  sorrow  for  near  two  hundred  miles 
into  a  distant  country — Bibliotheca  Bibl. 

■f  It  is  uncertain  whether  Atad  be  the  name  of 
a  place  or  of  a  man  ;  the  thrashing-floor  was  pro- 
bably not  far  from  Hebron. — Dr  Wells. 


92 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I. 


they,  fearing  that  the  supposed  request  of 
their  dying  father  might  not  be  prevailing 
enough  now  lie  was  dead,  made  God  their 
intercessor.  But  there  was  no  need  of 
such  moving  arguments  to  Joseph's  rnm- 
passionate  temper ;  their  diffidence  of  his 
good-nature  is  as  afflicting  now  as  their 
offence  was  formerly  to  him.  He  wept  at 
the  delivery  of  the  message  ;  and  sending 
for  them,  they  falling  down  at  his  feet  in 
the  most  abject  manner,  he  tenderly  dis- 
misses their  fears,  and  comforts  them : 
4  Revenge,'  says  he,  *  belongs  to  God,  and 
I  forgive  you.  For  though  you  designed 
ill  against  me,  yet  God  turned  it  to  good, 
making  me,  through  your  malice,  an  in- 
strument under  him  to  save  much  people 
alive,  and  you  especially,  as  is  now  evi- 
dent. Therefore  fear  no  hurt  from  me  ; 
for  I  will  protect  and  cherish  you  and  your 
families.' 

Thus  the  pious  Joseph  dismissed  his 
brethren,  with  the  assurance  that  they 
should  always  find  in  him  an  affectionate 
brother,  and  a  constant  friend. 

Joseph  lived  four  and  fifty  years  after 
his  father's  death,  having  the  comfort  of 
seeing  himself  the  happy  parent  of  a  nu- 
merous offspring  in  his  two  sons  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh  to  the  third  generation. 

And  now  finding  himself  near  his  end, 
he  sent  for  his  brethren,*  and  said  thus  to 
them,  *  My  death  is  at  hand;  but  though 
I  leave  you,  yet  God  will  surely  remem- 
ber you,  and  bring  you  out  of  this  land, 
unto  the  land  which  he  aware  he  would 


*  Bv  brethren  we  are  not  to  understand  the 
other  eleven  sons  of  Jacob,  who,  except  Benjamin, 
being  all  older  than  himself,  might  probably  be  all 
or  mo-.t  of  them  dead  ;  but  it  must  here  be  meatit 
of  the  heads  of  their  families:  for  in  the  f  rupture 
dialect  all  near  kinsmen  go  under  the  general  ap- 
pellation of  brethren,  as  Abraham  called  Lot,  Gen. 
xiii.  8.  and  ch.  xxiv.  27. 


give  to  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob.  I  charge  you,  therefore,  when 
God  shall  thus  visit  you,  and  bring  you 
out  of  this  land,  that  you  carry  up  my 
bones  with  you.' 

This  eminent  patriarch,  having  thus 
bound  his  brethren  by  oath  to  convey  his 
remains  to  his  native  land,  departs  this 
life;  and  they,  in  compliance  with  his  in- 
junction, embalmed  his  body,  and  reserved 
it  in  a  coffin, f  till  the  prediction  was  ful- 
filled. 


f  It  seems  evident  that  coffins  were  not  uni- 
versally used  in  Egypt,  and  were  only  used  for 
persons  of  eminence  and  distinction.  Ir.  is  also 
reasonable  to  believe  that  in  times  so  remote  as 
those  of  Joseph  they  might  have  been  much  less 
common  than  afterwards,  and  that  consequently 
Joseph's  being  put  in  a  coffin  in  Egypt  Blight  be 
mentioned  with  a  design  to  express  the  great  hon- 
ours the  Egyptians  did  him  in  death,  as  well  as  in 
life;  being  treated  after  the  most  sumptuous  man- 
ner, embalmed,  and  put  into  a  coffin.  It  is  very 
probable  that  the  chief  difference  was  not  in  being 
with  or  without  a  coffin,  but  in  the  expensiveness 
of  the  coffin  itself;  some  of  the  Egyptian  coffins 
being  made  of  granite,  and  covered  all  over  with 
hieroglyphics,  the  cutting  of  which  must  have  been 
done  at  a  prodigious  expense,  both  of  time  and 
money ;  the  stone  being  so  hard  that  we  have  no 
tools  by  which  we  can  make  any  impression  on  it. 
Two  of  these  are  now  in  the  British  Museum,  that 
appear  to  have  belonged  to  some  of  the  nobles  of 
Egypt.  They  are  dug  out  of  the  solid  stone,  and 
adorned  with  almost  innumerable  hieroglyphics 
One  of  these,  vulgarly  called  Alexander's  tomb,  is 
ten  feet  three  inches  and  a  quarter  long,  ten  inches 
thick  in  the  sides,  in  breadth  at  bottom  four  feet 
two  inches  and  a  half,  and  three  feet  ten  in  depth, 
and  weighs  about  ten  tons.  In  such  a  coffin  I  sup- 
pose the  body  of  Joseph  was  deposited ;  and  such  an 
one  could  not  have  been  made  and  transported  to 
Canaan  at  an  expense  that  any  private  individual 
could  bear.  It  was  with  incredible  labour  and  at 
an  extraordinary  expense  that  the  coffin  in  ques- 
tion was  removed  the  distance  of  but  a  few  miles, 
from  the  ship  that  brought  it  from  Egypt,  to  its 
present  residence  in  the  British  Museum.  Judge, 
then,  at  what  an  expense  such  a  coffin  must  have 
been  digged,  engraved,  and  transported  over  the 
desert  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  miles!  We  need  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
of  carriages  and  horsemen,  a  very  great  company, 
when  such  a  coffin  was  to  be  carried  so  far,  with  a 
suitable  company  to  attend  it. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    II. 

FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  ISRAELITES'  OPPRESSION  IN  EGYPT  TO  THE 

DEATH  OF  MOSES. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

One  of  the  great  mysteries  in  the  dispen- 
sations of  Providence,  is  God's  making 
choice  of  the  children  of  Israel  for  his  pe- 
culiar people,  when  it  is  so  manifest,  as 
Moses  plainly  tells  them,  that  they  were  a 
stiff- necked  nation,  and  'had  been  rebel- 
lious from  the  very  first  day  that  he  knew 
them.'  '  God  will  be  gracious  to  whom 
he  will  be  gracious,  and  will  show  mercy 
to  whom  he  will  show  mercy.'  But,  upon 
supposition  that  the  children  of  Israel 
did  not  behave  so  well  during  their  abode 
in  Egypt,  that  they  neglected  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  and  complied  too 
much  with  the  idolatrous  customs  of  the 
country;  this  will  afford  us  reason  enough 
whv  («od  might  suffer  their  sorrows  to  be 
multiplied,  '  and  their  enemies  to  ride 
over  their  backs.'  '  He  does  not  indeed 
afflict  willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of 
men;'  and  therefore,  we  may  presume, 
that  this  severe  chastisement  of  his  rod 
was  to  make  them  smart  for  some  great 
and  national  defection ;  was  to  remind 
them  of  their  sad  degeneracy  from  the 
virtue  of  their  ancestors ;  and  so — in  the 
language  of  the  prophet— 'to  look  unto  the 
rock  whence  they  were  hewn,  and  to  the 
hole  of  the  pit  whence  they  were  digged; 


to  look  unto  Abraham  their  father,  and 
unto  Sarah  that  bare  them.'  But  even 
putting  the  case,  that  they  had  not  been 
thus  culpable;  yet,  since  'whom  the  Lord 
love th  he  chastene+.li,  and  scourgeth  every 
son  whom  he  receiveth,'  who  can  say,  but 
that  God  might  justly  permit  such  calami- 
ties to  befall  a  people  whom  he  had  adopt- 
ed for  his  own,  the  more  to  exercise  their 
virtue  and  patience,  and  resignation  to  the 
divine  will;  the  more  to  keep  up  a  distinc- 
tion between  them  and  the  Egyptians, 
which  a  friendly  usage  might  have  de- 
stroyed; the  more  to  prepare,  and  make 
them  willing  to  leave  1-gypt,  whenever 
God  should  send  them  an  order  to  depart; 
and  the  more  to  heighten  the  relish  01 
their  future  deliverance,  and  to  make  them 
more  thankful,  more  obedient  to  him  and 
his  injunctions,  upon  every  remembrance 
of  that  '  house  of  bondage,'  wherein  they 
had  suffered  so  much,  and  been  so  long 
detained? 

Of  all  the  writers  of  the  histories  of 
their  own  times,  there  is  none  to  be  com- 
pared to  Moses  in  this  respect,  that,  as 
well  as  faithfully  detailing  the  infirmities 
of  God's  chosen  people,  he  reveals  his 
own  faults  and  blemishes,  which  he  might 
have  easily  concealed,  and  conceals  many 
things,  recorded  in  other  authors,  which 


94 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


might  have  redounded  to  his  own  immortal 
honour.  He  might  have  concealed  the 
near  consanguinity  between  his  father  and 
mother,  which  in  after-ages  made  mar- 
riages unlawful,  though  then  perhaps  it 
might  be  dispensed  with.  He  might  have 
concealed  his  murder  of  the  Egyptian, 
and,  for  fear  of  apprehension,  his  escape 
into  Midian.  He  might  have  concealed 
his  aversion  to  the  office  of  rescuing  his 
brethren  from  their  bondage  ;  the  many 
frivolous  excuses  he  made,  and  the  flat 
denial  he  gave  God  at  last,  till  God  was 
in  a  manner  forced  to  obtrude  it  upon 
him.  He  might  have  concealed  his  ne- 
glect in  not  circumcising  his  son,  which 
drew  God's  angry  resentment  against  him, 
so  that  he  met  him,  and  would  have  slain 
him.  He  might  have  concealed  some 
peevish  remonstrances  he  made  to  God, 
when  Pharaoh  proved  obstinate  and  re- 
fused to  comply.  Above  all,  he  might 
have  concealed  the  whole  story  of  the 
magicians,  their  working  three  miracles 
equally  with  him,  and  every  other  circum- 
stance that  seemed  to  eclipse  his  glory ; 
but*  instead  of  this,  we  may  observe,  that 
as  he  makes  a  large  chasm  in  his  life  from 
his  childhood  to  his  being  forty  years  old, 
and  from  forty  to  fourscore,  so  he  has  left 
us  nothing  of  the  incomparable  beauty 
and  comeliness  of  his  person  ;  nothing  of 
the  excellency  of  his  natural  parts,  and 
politeness  of  his  education  ;  nothing  of  his 
Ethiopian  expedition,  the  conquests  he 
made  there,  and  the  posts  of  honour  which 
he  held  in  the  Egyptian  court ;  nothing, 
indeed,  of  all  the  transactions  of  the  pre- 
ceding part  of  his  life,  but  what  the  au- 
thor to  the  Hebrews  has  taken  care  to 
transmit,  namely,  •  that  when  he  came  to 
years,  he  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of 
Pharaoh's  daughter,  choosing  rather  to 
suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God> 
than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
season.'  So  that  here  we  have  a  signal 
evidence  of  the  truth  and  honesty  of  our 
historian,  that  in  the  passages  of  his  own 
life  he  conceals  such  as  an  impostor  would 


be  fond  to  emblazon,  and  discovers  others 
which  any  man  of  art  and  design  would  be 
careful  to  conceal.* 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  new  king  succeeding  to  the  Egypt'an  throne, 
soon  after  the  death  of  Joseph,  the  Israelites 
are  grievously  oppressed. —  The  king's  orders 
to  destroy  the  male  children  is  not  obeyed. — 
Moses  is  born,  and  brought  up  by  Pharaoh's 
daughter. — Avenges  the  cause  of  his  brethren. 
— Is  appointed  shepherd  to  Jethro. —  God  ap- 
pears to  him,  and  appoints  him  to  a  special 
embassy  to  the  king  of  Egypt. 

Unhappily  for  the  Israelites,  who  were 
strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt;  they  had 
not  long  lost  Joseph,  who  was  their  suc- 
cour and  support,  before  a  new  king  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne,  who,  regarding  them 
with  a  jealous  eye,  and  fearing  their  power 
and  influence,  as  they  were  become  very 
wealthy  by  means  of  their  brother,  sum- 
moned a  council,  and  laid  before  them  the 
absolute  necessity  of  checking  these  stran- 
gers in  their  fortunate  career. 

The  council  unanimously  agreed,  with 
their  jealous  prince,  in  the  expedient  he 
proposed,  which  was  to  employ  them  in 
making  bricks,  and  building  store-cities 
for  Pharaoh. 

To  gratify  their  avarice  as  weir  as  cru- 
elty, they  proposed  not  to  reap  the  profits 
of  their  service,  but  by  continual  hard 
labour  to  impoverish  their  spirits,  and  en- 
feeble their  bodies :  therefore  they  set 
taskmasters  to  oversee  and  keep  them  to 
hard  labour,  by  which,  and  other  servile 
work,  they  made  their  lives  very  uncom- 
fortable.f 


*  Stackliouse. 
f  Philo,  in  his  life  of  Moses,  tells  us,  that  they 
were  made  to  carry  burdens  above  their  strength, 
and  to  work  night  and  day  ;  that  they  were 
iorced,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  workers  and  ser- 
vers botli  ;  that  they  were  employed  in  brick- 
making,  digging,  and  building;  and  that  if  any  ol 
them  dropped  clown  dead  under  their  burdens, 
they  were  not  suffered  to  be  buried.  Josephus, 
in  his  Jewish  Antiquities,  tells  us,  in  like  manner, 
that  they  were  compelled  to  learn  several  labori- 
ous  trades,   to   build    walls    round   cities,   to  dig 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


95 


But  God  supported  them  under  their 
severities;  for  the  more  the  Egyptians 
oppressed  them,  the  more  they  grew  and 
multiplied,  which  increased  their  jealousy 
to  a  greater  degree  of  crueltv,  insomuch 
that  the  king,  to  suppress  their  growth, 
spoke  to  two  of  the  Hebrew  mid  wives,* 
Shiphrah  and  Puah,  and  gave  them  a  strict 
charge,  that  when  they  should  be  called 
to  do  their  office  to  the  Hebrew  women, 
if  the  child  were  a  son,  they  should  kill 
him ;  but  if  a  daughter,  that  she  should 
live.f 


trenches  and  ditches,  to  drain  rivers  into  channels, 
and  cast  up  dykes  and  banks  to  prevent  inunda- 
tions. And  not  only  so,  but  that  they  were  like- 
wise put  upon  the  erection  of  fantastical  pyramids, 
which  were  vast  piles  of  building,  raised  by  the 
kings  of  Egypt,  in  testimony  of  tlieir  splendour  and 
magnificence,  and  to  be  the  repositories  of  their 
bodies,  when  dead.  Thus,  by  three  several  ways 
the  Egyptians  endeavoured  to  bring  the  Israelites 
under  :  by  exacting  a  tribute  of  them,  to  lessen 
tlieir  wealth;  by  laying  heavy  burdens  upon  them, 
to  weaken  tlieir  bodies  ;  and  by  preventing,  by 
this  means,  as  they  imagined,  their  generating  and 
increasing. 

*  'lite  critics  very  needlessly,  and  with  more 
subtilty  than  solidity,  controvert  who  these  mid- 
wives  were  ?  and  whether  they  were  Hebrews  or 
Egyptian*?  Without  doubt  they  were  Hebrews  ; 
and  by  the  king  of  Egypt's  application  to  them, 
the  must  celebrated  of  their  profession. 

f  Josephus  tells  us,  that  there  was  a  certain 
scribe  (as  they  called  him)  a  man  of  great  credit 
for  his  predictions,  who  told  the  king,  that  there 
was  a  Hebrew  child  to  be  born  about  that  time, 
who  would  he  a  scourge  to  the  Egyptians,  and  ad- 
vance the  glory  of  his  own  nation,  and,  if  he  lived 
to  grow  up,  would  be  a  man  eminent  for  virtue 
and  courage,  and  make  his  name  famous  to  pos- 
terity ;  and  that,  by  the  counsel  and  instigation  of 
this  scribe  it  was,  that  Pharaoh  gave  the  midwives 
orders  to  put  all  the  Hebrew  male  children  to 
death. —  For  this  distinction  in  his  barbarity  the 
king  might  have  several  reasons.  As,  1.  To  have 
destroyed  the  females  with  the  males  had  been  an 
unnecessary  provocation  and  cruelty,  because  there 
was  no  fear  of  the  women's  joining  to  the  king's 
enemies,  and  righting  against  him.  2.  The  daugh- 
ters of  Israel  exceeded  very  much  their  own  wo- 
men in  beauty,  and  all  advantages  of  person  ;  and 
therefore  their  project  might  be,  to  have  them 
preserved  for  the  gratification  of  their  lust.  Philn 
tills  us  that  they  were  preserved  to  be  married  to 
the  slaves  of  tlie  Egyptian  lords  and  gentry,  that 
aiildren  descended  from  them  might  be  slaves  even 
by  birth.  But  suppose  they  were  married  to  free- 
men, Kiev  could  have  no  children  hut  such  as  would 
lie  Halt  Egyptians,  and  in  time  he  wholly  ingrafted 
into  ih.it  nation.  Hut  3.  Admitting  they  married 
not  at  all,  yet  as  the  female  sex  among  the  Hebrews 


But  these  pious  women,  fearing  the 
displeasure  of  the  almighty  King,  rather 
than  that  of  an  earthly  potentate,  notwith- 
standing the  strict  injunction,  preserved 
the  male  children ;  for  which  Pharaoh 
sends  for  them,  and  in  great  displeasure 
reprimands  their  neglect  of  his  edict.  In 
excuse  for  which  they  tell  him,  that  the 
Hebrew  women  are  not  as  the  Egyptian 
women,  for  they  are  like  wild  beasts,  J 
delivered  before  the  midwives  could  come 
to  them. 

The  piety  of  the  midwives  in  preserving 
the  male  children  was  so  acceptable  to 
God,  that  he  is  said  thereupon  to  deal 
well  with  the  midwives ;  and  because 
they  feared  God,  he  made  them  houses.§ 
And  by  this  means  the  people  multiplied, 
and  grew  mighty. 

The  king,  whether  satisfied  or  not  with 
this  answer  of  the  midwives,  not  finding  it 
safe  to  trust  them  any  longer,  resolved 
upon  a  more  effectual  method  to  extirpate 
the  Hebrews ;  and  therefore  he  gave 
charge  to  all  his  people,  that  every  son 
that  should  be  born  to  the  Hebrews  should 
be  thrown  into  the  river.  || 

This  cruel  edict  for  drowning  all  the 
male  children  must  needs  be  very  afflicting 


made  a  very  considerable  figure  in  Egypt  for  their 
sense  and  knowledge,  the  care  of  their  families, 
and  application  to  business,  and  for  tlieir  skill  and 
dexterity  in  many  accomplishments,  that  were 
much  to  be  valued  for  the  use  and  ornament  of 
life,  such  as  the  distaff  and  the  loom,  dying,  paint- 
ing, embroidering,  &c.  such  women  as  these  would 
make  excellent  servants  and  domestics  for  the 
Egyptian  ladies,  who  had  no  relish  of  spending 
their  time  any  other  way  than  in  idleness  and 
pleasure. — Jewish  Antiq.  and  Bibliotheca  Bibl. 

%  The  Hebrew  word  Chajoth,  which  is  the 
original,  signifies  not  only  animals  in  general,  but 
beasts,  and  even  wild  beasts,  as  has  been  observed 
by  learned  men,  and  may  be  seen  in  several  places 
of  scripture. 

$  That  is,  he  made  them  to  prosper,  gave  them 
children,  and  blessed  their  families;  the  word 
house  being  usually  in  scripture  taken  for  the 
offspring  or  family  of  any  one. 

||  This  inhuman  edict  is  supposed  by  commen- 
tators, to  be  so  abhorred  by  the  Egyptians,  that 
they  scarce  ever  put  it  in  execution  ;  and  that  it 
was  recalled  immediately  after  the  death  of 
Amenopthis,  then  king  of  Egypt,  who  enacted  it; 
which  time  Eusebius  and  others  place  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Moses. 


to  the  Hebrew  parents,  and  put  them  up- 
on many  a  thoughtful  contrivance  to  pie- 
serve  their  infants;  of  which  an  instance 
soon  followed;  for  one  Amram  of  the 
house  of  Levi,  having  married  a  daughter 
of  the  same  family,  named  Jochebed,  had 
by  her  a  daughter,  whose  name  was  Miri- 
am, and  four  vears  after  a  son,  whom  thev 
called  Aaron.  About  three  years  after 
Aaron's  birth  Jochebed  was  delivered  of 
another  son,  who  being  a  child  of  most 
elegant  beauty,  something  supernatural 
and  divine  appearing  in  his  form,  his 
mother  was  the  more  solicitous  for  Iris 
preservation. 

Having  kept  him  concealed  in  her 
house  three  months,  but  not  being  able 
any  longer  to  hide  him,  and  fearing  he 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  those  that 
were  appointed  to  drown  the  male  children, 
she  contrived  a  way  to  save  him,  by  mak- 
ing a  little  boat  of  bulrushes,  *  which 
she  daubed  with  pitch  and  slime,  to  keep 
the  water  out;  and  putting  the  child  into 
it,  she  laid  it  among  the  flags,  by  the 
river  side,  and  set  his  sister  Miriam  at  a 
distance  to  observe  what  became  of  him. 

But  the  providence  of  God  soon  inter- 
posed in  behalf  of  the  helpless  infant:  for 
Thermuthis,f  Pharaoh's  only  daughter, 
coming  to  the  river  to  bathe  1  erself,  her 
maids  looking  for  a  retirement  for  that 
purpose,  discovered  the  boat,  with  the 
child  in  it,  which  Thermuthis  command- 
ing them  to  bring  to  her,  she  no  sooner 
uncovered  the  child,  but  it  made  its  mourn- 
ful complaint  to  her  in  a  flood  of  tears. 


*  The  bulrush  here  mentioned  is  the  papyrus, 
for  which  the  banks  of  the  Nile  were  so  celebrated  ; 
the  inner  rind  of  which  was  manufactured  by  the 
Egyptians  into  a  substance  for  writing  on,  whence 
the  word  paper.  Various  ancient  authors  refer  to 
the  use  of  small  canoes  among  the  Egyptians,  com- 
posed of  interwoven  bulrushes  of  this  description 
overlaid  with  bitumen  and  pitch. — Patterson. 

f  So  Josephus  calls  her;  3nd  from  him  Philo, 
who  adds,  that  she  was  the  king's  only  daughter 
and  heir  ;  and  that  being  sometime  married,  but 
having  no  child,  she  pretended  to  be  big  with  child 
and  to  l>e  delivered  of  Moses;  whom  she  owned 
as  her  natural  son.  Agreeable  to  which  is  what 
the  apostle  says,  that  when  Moses  was  grown  up, 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  II. 

This  unexpected  accident,  and  the  ex- 
traordinary beauty  of  the  child,  moved  tlie 
Egyptian  princess  wjth  compassion,  which 
she  expressed  in  an  accent  of  pity,  saying 
to  this  effect:  'This  is  some  Hebrew  child, 
which  the  parents  have  hid  to  preserve 
him  from  the  king's  cruel  edict.' 

By  this  time  Miriam,  the  child's  sister, 
had  thrust  herself  in  amongst  the  attend- 
ants of  the  princess;  and  observing  with 
what  tenderness  she  looked  upon  t'ie 
child,  very  officiously  offered  her  service 
to  procure  an  Hebrew  nurse  for  him 
which  the  princess  accepted  :  and  the  girl 
hastened  away  to  her  mother,  and  brought 
her  to  the  place,  where  she  received  the 
child  from  the  princess,  who  engaged  to 
pay  her  for  her  care. 

No  doubt  this  was  a  welcome  bargain 
to  the  mother,  who,  taking  the  child  home 
with  her,  durst  now  nurse  it  openly,  hav- 
ing a  royal  protection  for  his  security. 

When  he  was  grown  big  enough  his 
mother  brought  him  to  court  to  show  him 
to  the  princess,  tm\  satisfy  her  how  he 
had  improved  under  her  care.  The  prin- 
cess grew  so  fond  of  him  that  she  adopted 
him  for  her  son;:}:  and  in  remembrance 
that  she  had  drawn  him  out  of  the  water, 
she  called  his  name  Moses;  §  and  to  ac- 
complish him  the  more,  she  keeps  him  at 
court,  where  he  is  instructed  in  all  the 
learning  and  discipline  used  among  the 


he  scorned  to  be  thought  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter.  From  whence  it  is  plain  he  was  esteem- 
ed as  such.  And  if  any  one  should  ask,  why  he 
did  not  in  right  of  his  mother  succeed  to  the  king- 
dom ?  It  may  reasonably  be  answered,  that  the 
fraud  of  his  adopted  mother  and  his  own  adoption 
being  detected,  he  could  pretend  no  right  to  the 
crown  of  Egypt. 

J  The  Jews  observe,  that  whoever  brings  up  a 
pupil  in  his  house,  is  in  scripture  said  to  have  be- 
gotten him.  And  thus  it  is  said,  that  Mo.»es  was 
the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  though  she  had 
only  taken  care  of  his  education. 

$  At  his  circumcision,  says  Clement  Alexandri- 
nus,  his  parents  called  him  Joachim,  (that  is,  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord,)  from  a  presaging  hope, 
that  the  Lord,  through  him,  would  raise  up  his 
people  Israel,  deliver  them  from  the  Egyptian 
bondage  they  were  then  in,  and  bting  them  again 
to  the  promised  laud. 


Chap.  I.] 

Egyptians,  both  civil  and  military,  and  in 
all  things  requisite  and  becoming  the 
character  and  quality  of  a  prince  of  the 
blood.  * 

Moses  being  forty  years  old  left  the 
court,  and  went  to  see  his  brethren;  and 
when  he  reflected  on  the  oppression  they 
laboured  under,  it  affected  him  with  com- 
passion and  indignation  to  see  the  ser- 
vants of  the  most  high  God  subjected  to 
a  servitude  exceeding  that  of  brutes. 
This  was  soon  increased  by  an  opportu- 
nity that  just  then  offered;  which  was  an 
Egyptian  striking  an  Hebrew.  This  in- 
flamed Moses's  zeal,  ,who,  looking  about 
to  see  whether  any  man  was  within  sight, 
chastises  the  Egyptian,  making  him  expi- 
ate his  barbarity  to  the  injured  Hebrew 
with  his  blood;  f  and  afterwards  buried 
him  in  the  sand;  supposing  by  his  taking 
upon  him  thus  to  administer  justice,  that 
his  brethren  would  have  understood,  that 
God  by  his  hand  would  have  delivered 
them;  but  they  understood  him  not. 
However,  the  next  day  he  went  out,  and 
showed  himself  among  them  again;  and 


*  Besides  the  education  which  his  own  parents 
gave  him,  Pliilo  acquaints  us,  that,  from  his  Egyp- 
tian masters,  he  was  taught  arithmetic,  geometry, 
physic,  music,  and  hieroglyphics,  otherwise  called 
enigmatical  philosophy ;  that  from  the  Chaldeans 
he  learned  astronomy ;  from  the  Assyrians  their 
character,  or  manner  of  writing;  and  from  the 
Grecians  all  their  liberal  arts  and  sciences.  But 
that  was  not  a  time  for  the  Egyptians,  who  ex- 
celled the  rest  of  the  world  in  all  sorts  of  learning, 
to  send  for  masters  from  Greece,  which  rather 
stood  in  need  of  Egyptian  teachers;  for,  to  be 
learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  (as  St 
Stephen  asserts  of  Moses,  Acts  vii.  22.)  was  to 
have  the  best  and  most  liberal  education  that  the 
whole  world  could  at  that  time  afford.  —  Stack- 
house. 

f  Some  object,  that  it  was  very  unreasonable  for 
Moses  to  kill  the  Egyptian  for  only  striking  one 
of  the  Hebrews.  In  answer  to  this  the  Hebrews 
say,  that  the  Hebrew  whom  the  Egyptian  struck 
was  husband  to  one  Salornith,  a  very  beautiful 
woman  whom  the  Egyptian  had  debauched. 
And  that  therefore  Moses  slew  the  Egyptian,  not 
for  striking  the  Hebrew,  but  for  the  adultery, 
which  he  discovered  from  them  whilst  they- were 
quarrelling:  some  say,  perhaps  the  Egyptian  had 
almost  killed  the  Hebrew,  and  that  Moses  could 
no  other  way  than  by  force  keep  him  off':  or  that 
the  Egyptian  attacked  Moses,  and  so  he  was  forced 
to  kill  him  in  his  own  defence. 


THE  BIBLE. 


97 


finding  two  men  of  the  Hebrews  quarrel- 
ling, he  endeavoured  to  reconcile  them, 
putting  them  in  mind  that  they  were  bre- 
thren; and  with  some  smartness  repre- 
hending the  aggressor,  he  demanded  for 
what  reason  he  thus  attacked  the  other? 
The  fellow,  thrusting  him  away  with  dis- 
dain, replies:  'Who  made  you  a  prince 
and  judge  over  us?  Do  you  intend  to 
kill  me,  as  you  did  the  Egyptian  yester- 
day?' Moses  was  startled  at  this,  and  to 
prevent  the  fatal  consequence  that  would 
attend,  in  reaching  the  ears  of  the  king, 
he  left  Egypt,  a  circumstance  that  strong- 
ly proves  his  being  immediately  under  the 
divine  care;  for  Pharaoh  soon  heard  of  it, 
but  Moses  was  fled  from  his  dominions 
into  the  land  of  Midian.J 

J  Josephus,  who  has  given  us  several  particulars 
of  Moses's  life,  which,  in  modesty  perhaps,  he 
might  not  think  proper  to  record  of  himself,  has 
assigned  a  farther  reason  for  his  leaving  Egypt,  of 
which  it  may  not  be  improper,  in  this  place,  to 
give  the  reader  this  short  abstract.  "  When  Moses 
was  grown  to  man's  estate,  he  had  an  opportunity 
offered  him  of  showing  his  courage  and  conduct. 
The  Ethiopians,  who  inhabited  the  other  land  on 
the  south  side  of  Egypt,  had  made  many  dreadful 
incursions,  plundered  and  ravished  all  the  neigh- 
bouring parts  of  the  country,  beat, the  Egyptian 
army  in  a  set  battle,  and  were  become  so  elated 
with  their  success,  that  they  began  to  march  to- 
wards the  capital  of  Egypt.  In  this  distress,  the 
Egyptians  had  recourse  to  the  oracle,  which  an- 
swered, that  they  should  make  choice  of  an  Hebrew 
for  their  general.  As  none  was  more  promising 
than  Moses,  the  king  desired  his  daughter  to  con- 
sent, that  he  should  go,  and  head  his  army  ;  but 
she,  after  having  first  expostulated  with  her  father, 
how  mean  a  thing  it  was  for  the  Egyptians  to  im- 
plore the  assistance  of  a  man  whose  death  they 
had  been  complotting,  would  not  agree  to  it,  until 
she  had  obtained  a  solemn  promise  upon  oath, 
that  no  practices  or  attempts  should  be  made  upon 
his  life.  When  Moses,  upon  the  princess's  pei- 
suasion,  had  at  last  accepted  the  commission,  he 
made  it  his  first  care  to  come  up  with  the  enemy 
before  they  were  aware  of  him  ;  and,  to  this  pur- 
pose, instead  of  marching  up  the  Nile,  as  the  cus- 
tom was  before,  he  chose  to  cross  the  country, 
though  the  passage  was  very  dangerous,  by  reason 
of  the  poisonous  flying  serpents  which  infested 
those  parts  ;  but  for  this  he  had  a  new  expedient. 
The  bird  ibis,  though  very  friendly  to  every  other 
creature,  is  a  mortal  enemy  to  all  serpents  ;  and 
therefore  having  got  a  sufficient  number  of  these, 
he  carried  them  along  witii  him  in  cages,  and  as 
soon  as  he  came  to  any  dangerous  places,  be  let 
them  loose  upon  the  serpents,  and  by  their  means 
and  protection,  proceeding  without  any  harm  or 
molestation,  he  entered  tne  enemy's  country,  took 
■ 


98 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


Here  was  the  happy  place,  and  then 
the  blessed  time  when  majesty,  guarded 
only  with  rural  innocence,  submitted  to  the 
humble  office  of  a  shepherd,  and  a  crook 
instead  of  a  sceptre  graced  the  peaceful 
monarch's  hand.  Here  Jethro,  first  in 
quality  both  of  prince  and  priest,  enjoy- 
ed the  blessings  of  a  quiet  reign,  whose 
daughters  laid  aside  the  distinction  of  their 
birth  to  feed  their  father's  flocks,  and  took 
more  delight  in  the  innocent  and  useful 
employment  of  tending  their  harmless 
sheep,  than  in  the  luxurious  gaiety  of  a 
court. 

In  the  plains  of  Midian  there  was  a  well 
common  to  all  the  natives  of  the  place  to 
water  their  cattle.  Hitherto  Moses  di- 
rected his  steps,  as  well  to  rest  himself,  as 
allay  his  thirst ;  where,  whilst  he  was  re- 
freshing himself,  the  seven  daughters  of 
the  prince  of  Midian  (that  is,  Jethro,  who 
was  both  priest  and  prince)  came  to  draw 
water  to  fill  the  troughs  to  give  their 
sheep  ;  but  some  churlish  shepherds,  hav- 
ing a  mind  to  serve  their  own  turns  first, 
came  rudely  and  put  the  royal  shepherd- 
esses by.  Moses  seeing  this,  steps  in  to 
their  relief;  and,  chastising  the  shepherds, 
made  them  fly. 

several  of  their  cities,  and  obliged  them  at  last  to 
retreat  into  Saba,  the  metropolis  of  Ethiopia. 
Moses  sat  down  before  it  ;  but,  as  it  was  situate 
in  an  island,  with  strong  fortifications  about  it,  in 
all  probability  it  would  have  cost  him  a  longer 
time  to  carry  it,  had  not  Tharbis,  the  king  of 
Ethiopia's  daughter,  who  had  the  fortune  once  to 
see  him  from  the  walls  behaving  himself  with  the 
utmost  gallantry,  fallen  in  love  with  him.  Where- 
upon she  sent  privately  to  let  him  know,  that  the 
city  should  be  surrendered  to  him,  upon  condition 
that  he  would  marry  her  immediately  after.  Moses 
agreed  to  the  proposal  ;  and  having  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  place,  and  of  the  princess,  returned 
with  his  victorious  army  to  Egypt.  Here,  instead 
of  reaping  the  fruits  of  his  great  achievements,  the 
Egyptians  accused  him  of  murder  to  the  king,  who, 
having  already  taken  some  umbrage  at  his  valour 
and  great  reputation,  was  resolved  to  rid  himself  of 
him  :  but  Moses,  having  some  suspicion  of  it, 
made  his  escape,  and  not  daring  to  go  by  the  com- 
mon roads,  for  fear  of  being  stopped  by  the  king's 
guards,  was  forced  to  pass  through  a  great  desert 
to  reach  the  land  of  Midian," — which  place  is 
generally  supposed  to  have  been  in  Arabia  Petraea, 
on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Red  sea,  not  far  from 
mount  Sinai. 


The  frighted  damsels  returned  to  the 
wells,  and  Moses  very  officiously  assists 
them  in  drawing  water  for  their  flocks : 
after  which,  they  took  their  leave,  and 
hasted  home  to  give  their  father  an  ac- 
count of  the  generosity  of  the  stranger, 
who  had  protected  them  against  the  in- 
sults of  the  rustics.  Jethro*  hearing  their 
story,  and  not  seeing  the  person  that  had 
thus  gallantly  defended  them,  reprehends 
their  ingratitude  and  incivility,  asking  what 
was  become  of  the  generous  stranger? 
They  told  him  they  left  him  at  the  well: 
whereupon  he  bid  them  go  and  invite  him 
home,  where  Moses  was  so  pleased  with 
their  kind  entertainment,  that  he  expressed 
a  willingness  to  take  up  his  residence  with 
them,  and  undertake  the  charge  of  their 
sheep.  Jethro  readily  closed  with  the 
proposal,  and  to  engage  him  the  more  to 
his  interest,  bestowed  Zipporah,  one  of  his 
daughters,  upon  him  for  a  wife  ;  by  whom 
he  had  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  he 
named  Gershom,  which  signifies  '  a  stran- 
ger here :'  for  he  said,  '  I  have  been  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  land ;'  and  the 
younger  he  called  Eliezer,  importing, 
*  God  my  help  :'  '  For  the  God  of  my  fa 
ther,  said  he,  was  my  help,  and  delivered 
me  from  the  sword  of  Pharaoh.' 

Whilst  Moses  continued  in  Jethro's 
family,  the  king  of  Egypt  died  :  but  his 
successor  proved  no  more  favourable  to 
the  poor  oppressed  Hebrews;  who  chang- 
ed their  oppressor,  but  not  their  condition; 
the  miseries  of  which  rather  increased  than 
abated.  In  vain  they  appeal  to  the  mer- 
ciless tyrant,  and  his  more  cruel  taskmas- 
ters, who  lord  it  over  them  with  unbound- 
ed severity. 

But  God,  who  saw  the  affliction  of  his 
people,  and  whose  ears  were  open  to  re- 
ceive their  complaints,  looked  with  an  eye 
of  compassion  upon  them ;  and  the  ap- 
pointed time  of  their  deliverance,  which 

*  In  Exod.  ii.  18.  he  is  called  Reuel;  so  that 
!  either  Reuel  was  his  name  as  well  as  Jethro  ;  or 
else  Heuel  was  the  father  of  Jethro,  and  therefore 
'  grandfather  of  these  young  women. 


Chap.  I.j 


THF  BIBLE. 


99 


he  in  his  secret  providence  had  determin- 
ed, being  near,  he  began  to  think  of  pre- 
paring Moses  for  it,  whom  he  intended  to 
make  use  of  as  an  instrument  in  the  great 
work. 

Whilst  Moses  "kept  his  father-in-law's 
sheep,  he  one  day  led*  them  as  far  into 
the  desert  as  Mount  Horeb,f  where  the 
angel  of  the  Lord 'appeared  to  him  in  a 
flame  of  fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush. 
Moses  was  startled  at  the  sight,  but  that 
which  added  to  his  admiration  and  roused 
his  curiosity,  was  the  continuance  of  the 
bush  unconsumed,  notwithstanding  it  was 
wholly  encompassed  with  flames.:]: 


*  Here  we  may  observe  the  manner  of  those 
times  and  countries,  that  whereas  the  shepherds 
here  drive  their  flocks  before  them,  the  shepherds 
there  went  before  their  flocks,  and  the  flocks  fol- 
lowed them.  The  oriental  shepherd,  to  facilitate 
the  management  of  his  charge,  gives  names  to  his 
sheep,  which  answer  to  them,  as  dogs  and  horses 
answer  to  theirs  in  these  parts  of  the  world.  The 
flocks  in  the  island  of  Cymon  ran  off*  when  a 
stranger  approached  them  ;  but  when  the  shep- 
herd blew  his  horn,  they  immediately  recognised 
the  sound,  and  scampered  towards  the  spot  from 
whence  it  came.  These  curious  customs  our  Lord 
beautifully  applies  to  his  own  management,  as  the 
great  Shepherd  of  his  church  :  '  the  sheep  hear  his 
voice  ;  and  he  calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name,  and 
leadeth  them  out.  And  when  he  putteth  forth  his 
sheep,  he  goeth  before  them  ;  and  the  sheep  fol- 
low him  ;  for  they  know  his  voice.  And  a  stranger 
will  they  not  follow,  but  will  flee  from  him  ;  for 
they  know  not  the  voice  of  strangers.' 

-f-  Which  signifies  forsaken,  and  is  here,  Exod. 
iii.  1.  called  the  mountain  of  God,  by  way  of  anti- 
cipation, both  from  the  following  appearance  of 
God  upon  it,  at  this  time,  and  hisdescenaing  upon 
it  afterwards,  to  give  the  law  to  his  people,  ch.  xix. 
20.  where,  though  it  is  called  Sinai,  it  is  the  same 
place  with  this,  for  St  Stephen  reciting  this  pre- 
sent passage  in  Acts  vii.  30.  calls  it  Mount  Sinai. 

J  It  is  not  unfitly  observed,  that  the  burning 
bush  may  represent  the  state  of  Israel  at  that  time, 
who  were  entangled  in  the  thorny  bush  of  adver- 
itv,  and  encompassed  with  the  fire  of  affliction,  in 
which  they  were  like  to  be  consumed.  It  is  also 
an  emblem  of  the  church,  to  which  it  may  be  com- 
pared on  account  of  its  weak,  obscure,  and  con- 
iemptible  state,  in  the  esteem  of  worldly  men,  who 
ore  taken  with  nothing  but  what  dazzles  the  eye 
of  sense.  For  though  there  is  a  real  glory,  and  a 
spiritual  magnificence,  in  this  holy  society,  she  can- 
not compete  with  earthly  kingdoms  in  outward 
splendour,  any  more  than  a  bush  in  the  wilderness 
can  vie  with  a  cedar  in  Lebanon  :  for  besides  the 
paucity  of  her  true  members,  they  are  commonly 
to  be  found  rather  in  smoky  cottages  than  proud 
palaces  ;  and  sometimes  they  have  been  found  in 


This  extraordinary  circumstance  made 
Moses  consider  it  more  attentively,  and 
therefore  said  to  himself,  I  will  turn  aside 
and  see  if  I  can  discover  the  reason  why 
the  bush  is  in  a  flame  of  fire,  and  yet  is 
not  consumed.  But  the  Lord,  to  prevent 
his  irreverent  approaches,  and  strike  the 
greater  awe  and  sense  of  the  divine  pre- 
sence into  him,  called  to  him  out  of  the 
bush,  and  forbade  him  drawing  nearer ; 
and  to  make  him  still  more  sensible  of  the 
sacredness  of  the  place,  God  commanded 
him  not  to  profane  it,  but  to  put  off  his 
sandals,  for  the  ground  whereon  he  stood 
was  holy.§ 

Moses  being  prepared  for  an  awful  at- 
tention, the  Almighty  thus  discovers  him- 


prisons,  dungeons,  dens,  and  caves  of  the  earth. 
Let  the  fire  in  which  the  bush  burned  signify  the 
fiery  trials  to  which  the  church  has  been  no  stranger 
in  all  ages.  Sometimes  she  has  burned  in  the  fire 
of  persecution,  and  sometimes  of  division.  But 
as  the  bush  was  not  consumed,  so  neither  shall  the 
church  be  finally  destroyed. — In  vain  shall  the 
great  red  dragon  persecute  this  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  and  watch  to  devour  her  offspring  ; 
for  a  place  is  prepared  for  her  in  the  wilderness  by 
the  great  God,  and  there  no  necessary  provision 
shall  be  wanting.  How  many  times  have  bloody 
and  deceitful  men  conspired  her  destruction  ? 
When  were  incendiaries  wanting  to  foment  and 
kindle  those  fires,  which,  without  the  immediate 
interposition  of  the  Keeper  of  Israel,  would  cer- 
tainly have  wasted  unto  destruction,  and  completed 
the  utter  extinction  of  this  humble  bush  ?  What 
society,  but  this  alone,  could  have  subsisted  to  this 
day,  in  the  midst  of  a  hating  world  ?  Where  are 
now  the  mighty  empires  of  antiquity?  They  are 
but  an  empty  name,  live  only  in  history,  having 
fallen  to  pieces  by  their  own  weight,  or  been  crushed 
by  bloody  war.  But  the  church  of  Christ,  though 
she  has  undergone  many  revolutions,  remains,  and 
will  remain,  when  the  consumption  determined  by 
the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  come  upon  all  the  earth. 
— MlEwen. 

§  Meaning,  that  wherever  God,  who  is  holiness 
itself,  appears,  the  place  is  holy,  while  he  is  there. 
— On  entering  a  sacred  place  it  was  usual  for  the 
orientals  to  lay  the  sandals  aside, — a  custom  which 
still  obtains  among  the  Mohammedans,  Brahmins, 
and  Parsees.  Morier  says  the  shoe  was  always 
considered  as  vile,  and  never  was  allowed  to  enter 
sacred  or  respected  places.  "  The  natives  of  Ben- 
gal," says  Ward,  "  never  go  into  their  own  houses 
with  their  shoes  on,  nor  into  the  houses  of  others, 
but  always  leave  their  shoes  at  the  door.  It 
would  be  a  great  affront  not  to  attend  to  this  mark 
of  respect  when  visiting ;  and  to  enter  a  temple 
without  pulling  off'  the  shoes  would  be  an  unpar- 
donable offeuce." 


100 


HISTORY  OF 


[  Book  II. 


self  to  him  :  < I  am  the  God  of  thy  father, 
the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.' 
The-e  words  struck  the  frighted  Moses 
with  such  reverence  of  the  divine  Majesty, 
and  fear  of  the  effects  of  his  presumption, 
that  he  fell  on  the  ground  and  covered  his 
face,  not  daring  to  look  upon  the  terrible 
glory. 

But  the  Lord  addressed  him  thus,  *  I 
have  seen  the  affliction  of  my  people ;  I 
have  heard  their  complaint,  and  am  come 
down*  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  hand  of 
their  oppressors,  and  to  conduct  them  to 
the  promised  land,  a  land  that  floweth  with 
milk  and  honey  ;f  to  the  place  of  the  Ca- 


*  This  is  speaking  according  to  human  passion, 
or  after  the  manner  of  men  ;  God  vouchsafes  to  ex- 
press himself  in  the  dialect  and  according;  to  tiie 
capacity  of  man,  that  he  may  understand  him. 

f  The  expression  of  'flowing;  with  milk  and 
honey,'  when  applied  to  any  country,  like  that  of 
king  Solomon's  making  silver  to  be  in  Jerusalem 
like  stones,  is  hyberholical.  It  denotes  very  rich 
pastures  and  grounds,  which  should  feed  cattle 
yielding  abundance  of  milk,  and  which  should  pro- 
duce great  plenty  of  flowers  and  plants,  for  the 
bees  to  make  honey.  It  represents  indeed  a  gen- 
eral fruitfuhiess  all  the  country  over  ;  for  which 
Palestine,  according  to  the  account  of  writers  of 
no  mean  character,  was  certainly  once  famous, 
however  it  came  intoStrabo's  head  to  disparage  it. 
For,  to  mention  an  author  or  two  of  some  note, 
Aristaeus,  who  was  there  to  bring  the  seventy  in- 
terpreters into  Egypt,  tells  us.  that  immense  and 
pro  li  ions  was  the  produce  and  plenty  it  afforded 
of  trees,  fruits,  pasture,  cattle,  honey,  besides  the 
spiceiy,  gold,  and  precious  stones,  imported  from 
Arabia.  Josephus  describes  the  country  as  it  was 
in  his  time,  i.  e.  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour  and  his 
apostles,  as  most  remarkably  fruitful  and  pleasant, 
and  abounding  in  the  very  choicest  productions  of 
the  earth.  Bochart,  much  later,  and  since  the 
country  has  been  inhabited  by  the  Turks,  lived  in 
it  for  the  space  of  ten  years,  and,  as  he  was  parti- 
cularly curious  and  diligent  in  informing  himself 
in  every  thing,  speaks  the  greatest  things  imagin- 
able of  the  richness  of  its  soil,  and  the  choiceness 
of  its  products  :  and,  to  name  no  more,  our  own 
countryman,  Mr  Sandys,  who  in  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century  travelled  through  it,  gives  it  the 
character  of '  a  land  adorned  with  beautiful  moun- 
tains, and  luxurious  valleys;  the  rocks  producing 
excellent  waters,  and  no  part  empty  of  delight  or 
profit  :'  and  certainly  those  who  either  were  na- 
tives or  have  sojourned  a  long  time  in  a  country, 
may  be  supposed  to  have  a  more  perfect  know- 
ledge of  it  than  a  foreigner  who  lived  at  a  distance, 
as  Strabo  did.  The  truth  rs,  if  we  consider  of 
what  a  small  compass  the  land  of  Canaan  is,  and 
yet  what  a  prodigious  number  of  inhabitants,  both 
before  and  after  the  Israelites  became  masters  of 


naanites  and  Hittites,  the  Aworites,  and 
the  Perizzites,  the  Hivites,  and  the  Je- 
busites.  And  thee  have  I  pitched  upon 
to  be  the  instrument  in  this  great  work ; 
therefore  be  of  good  courage ;  for  I  will 
send  thee  to  Pharaoh  to  demand  liberty  of 
him  for  my  people,  the  children  of  Israel.' 
Moses  considering  the  hatred  of  the 
king  of  Egypt  towards  him,  as  well  as  his 
own  insufficiency  for,  and  unworthiuess  of 
being  the  messenger  of  the  most  high 
God,  excused  himself  from  the  arduous 
task  in  these  words:  «  Who  am  I,  that  I 
should  go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  that  1  should 
bring  forth  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt?'  When  the  Lord  further  encour- 
aged him  to  proceed  on  the  task ;  he  still 
evaded  the  same,  inquiring  in  what  man- 
ner he  should  address  the  Israelites,  and 
by  whom  he  should  tell  them  he  was  de- 
puted. The  Lord  awfully  replied,  *  I  am 
that  I  am4  And  thou  shalt  further  say 
to  them,  I  am  that  I  am  ;  that  is,  the 
Lord,  the  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God 
of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  the  God  of 
Jacob,   has  sent  me  to  you ;  that  is  the 


it,  it  maintained,  we  must  conclude  it  could  not 
but  deserve  the  character  which  the  authors  above 
cited  have  given  us  of  it ;  and  the  barrenness  and 
poverty  of  its  soil,  which  some  modern  travellers 
seem  to  complain  of,  must  be  imputed  either  to 
its  want  of  tillage  and  cultivation — which  the 
Turks,  its  present  inhabitants,  are  utterly  ignorant 
of — or  to  the  particular  judgment  of  God,  who,  for 
the  wickedness  of  any  nation,  has  frequently  per- 
formed, what  he  threatened  to  the  Jews  of  old  : 
'  I  will  break  the  pride  of  your  power,  and  I  will 
make  your  heaven  as  iron,  and  your  earth  as  brass, 
and  your  strength  shall  be  spent  in  vain;  for  your 
land  shall  not  yield  her  increase,  neither  shall  the 
trees  of  the  land  yield  their  fruits.' — Stackhouse. 

X  This  denotes  the  eternity  of  God,  whose  es- 
sence knows  no  beginning  nor  end.  And  it  is 
common  with  the  Hebrews  to  express  the  future 
in  the  present  tense :  and  for  this  reason  some  say, 
'  1  will  be  what  1  will  be;'  and  rontuid  that  it 
ought  to  be  rendered  not  only  from  the  letter  of 
the  Hebrew  text,  but  from  the  genuine  sense  of 
the  words  :  from  which  others  likewise  infer  that 
it  ought  to  be  so  rendered,  '  I  will  be  for  ever :' 
and  '  I  will  be  with  you,  and  redeem  you  from  the 
J'gvptians  :'  and  others,  'I  will  be  with  you  in 
your  present  tribulations  and  future  calamities.' 
I  his  name  is  likewise  expressed  in  Revelation,  by 
which  it  signifies  '  Jehovah,'  which  is  the  proper 
name  of  God. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


101 


name  I  have  had  from  all  eternity,  and  by 
that  name  will  I  be  known  for  ever.  Go, 
gather  the  elders*  of  Israel,  and  say  to 
them,  The  Lord  God  of  your  fathers  hath 
appeared  to  me,  and  said,  I  have  seen  all 
the  calamities  that  have  befallen  you  in 
Egypt,  and  am  resolved  to  deliver  you, 
and  lead  you  into  the  land  of  Canaan. 
The  Israelites  shall  believe  you,  and  you 
shall  go  to  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  say  to 
him,  The  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  com- 
manded us  to  go  three  days'  journey  into 
the  desert,  there  to  offer  sacrifice  to  the 
Lord  our  God.  This  request,  though  so 
very  reasonable,  I  know  he  will  not  grant, 
but  refuse  to  let  you  go  unless  compelled 
by  a  powerful  hand.  But  I  will  exert 
myself  in  many  miraculous  operations 
upon  him  and  his  subjects ;  and  at  last  he 
shall  permit  you  to  depart;  but  you  shall 
not  go  away  empty,  for  ye  shall  be  loaded 
with  the  spoils  of  the  Egyptians/ 

This  solemn  assurance  delivered  by 
the  mouth  of  God,  one  would  be  apt  to 
think,  might  have  been  sufficient  to  have 
encouraged  Moses  willingly  to  undertake 
the  embassy  ;  but  either  from  the  difficulty 
or  boldness  of  the  enterprise,  or  from  dif- 
fidence of  his  own  abilities,  he  declined 
it,  and  questioned  whether  the  Israelites 
would  receive  his  credentials. 

This  objection  God  immediately  re- 
moved by  a  miracle;  for  commanding 
him  to  throw  his  sheep-hook  on  the 
ground,  it  was  instantly  turned  into  a  ser- 
pent. Moses,  affrighted  at  this  sudden 
change  of  his  sheep-hook,  fled  from  it. 
But  God,  to  encourage  him,  bid  him  take 
it  up  by  die  tail ;  which  he  had  no  sooner 
done  but  it  resumed  its  former  shape; 
and  at  the  same  time,  to  convince  him  that 
he  should  not  want  credit  with  the  Israel- 
ites, God  gave  commission  to  perform  the 
same  miracle  before  them. 

*  Ry  tliis  some  mean  the  doctors  and  governors; 
but  it  is  most  probable  the  elders  were  heads  or 
chiefs  of  tribes  and  families.  By  which  it  is  plain 
there  was  a  private  policy  and  economy  continued 
among  the  Israelites,  though  in  this  servile  con- 
dition. 


And  to  remove  all  further  scruple,  he 
condescended  to  give  him  another  sign, 
bidding  him  put  his  hand  into  his  bosom ; 
which  he  had  no  sooner  done  but  it  was 
struck  with  a  white  leprosy. f  And  when 
by  God's  command  he  had  put  it  into  his 
bosom  again,  and  plucked  it  out,  his  flesh 
resumed  its  former  colour  and  substance. 

Moreover,  to  arm  him  sufficiently,  be- 
yond all  question,  he  was  pleased  to  add 
a  third  miracle;  'If  they  will  not  believe 
these  two  former,  thou  shalt  take  of  the 
water  of  the  river,  and  pour  it  upon  dry 
land,  and  the  water  shall  become  blood.' 

Notwithstanding  these  solemn  and  re- 
peated assurances  of  the  divine  aid,  favour, 
and  protection,  Moses  still  waved  the  im- 
portant office,  urging  as  a  farther  plea, 
that  he  wanted  eloquence,  the  great  quali- 
fication of  an  ambassador;  and  since  God 
had  condescended  to  talk  to  him,  he  was 
more  slow  of  speech  than  before. 

This  objection  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
remove,  by  putting  him  in  mind  of  his 
omnipotence.  «  Who  made  the  mouth  of 
man  ?'  said  he.  '  And  who  made  the 
dumb  and  deaf,  and  the  blind,  and  him 
that  sees  ?  Was  it  not  I  ?  Now  there- 
fore go,  and  I  will  furnish  thee  with  words, 
and  make  thee  eloquent.' 

Hitherto  Moses  had  some  glimpse  of 
pretence  for  his  unwillingness  to  go ;  but 
now  all  his  objections  are  answered,  and 
his  scruples  removed,  he  very  bluntly 
begs  to  be  excused  from  this  enterprise, 
saying,  'O  my  Lord,  instead  of  me,  send, 
I  pray  thee,  by  him  whom  thou  wilt 
send.'  X 


■)-  The  evidence  of  this  miracle  was  so  much  the 
more  convincing,  because  the  white  leprosy,  which 
was  held  incurable,  was  both  inflicted  and  healed 
in  an  instant,  without  any  outward  means,  or  phy- 
sical application.  Dr  Mead  says,  "  I  have  seen  a 
remarkable  case  of  this  in  a  countryman,  whose 
whole  body  was  so  miserably  seized  with  it,  that 
his  skin  was  shining  as  if  covered  with  snow  ;  and 
as  the  furfuraceons  scales  were  daily  rubbed  off, 
the  flesh  appeared  quick  or  raw  underneath." 
The  heathens  imagined  that  this  disease  was  inflict- 
ed by  their  gods,  and  that  they  alone  could  re- 
move it. 

J  The  text  says, '  Send  by  the  hand  of  him  thou 


102 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


So  long  as  Moses  had  any  thing  to 
plead  in  excuse  for  his  not  going,*  God 
heard  him  patiently,  and  graciously  con- 
descended to  remove  his  doubts ;  but 
when  his  modesty  in  declining  the  office 
and  honour  God  proposed  to  him  was 
turned  into  an  obstinate  refusal,  the  Lord 
was  angry  with  him ;  but  in  his  anger 
remembering  mercy,  he  resumes  Moses's 
last  objection  (which  he  had  already  an- 
swered in  general)  and  shows  him  more 
particularly  how  to  supply  that  defect:  'Is 
not  Aaron  the  Levite  thy  brother?'  said 
he.  '  He  is  eloquent,  and  I  will  appoint 
him  to  meet  thee.  Tell  him  what  I  have 
said;  and  be  assured  that  I  will  assist  you 
both,  and  direct  you  what  to  say:  he  shall 
be  the  orator,  and  thou  shalt  be  to  him 
instead  of  God.f  And  to  strengthen  thy 
commission,  and  give  thee  credit  among 
my  people,  take  this  rod  in  thy  hand,  for 
I  will  enable  thee  to  do  many  miracles 
with  it.' 

Moses,  having  nothing  more  to  urge 
against  this  enterprise,  at  last  yields,  and 
took  the  rod  of  God X  in  his  hand.     Then 

wilt  send  ;'  where  the  word  hand  is  put  for  the 
office  or  ministry.  But  by  Moses's  desiring  God 
to  send  another  instead  of  him,  he  means  a  man 
fitter  to  execute  that  commission  than  himself 
was. 

*  It  is  the  opinion  of  several  commentators  on 
this  place,  and  it  is  very  probable,  that  Moses  had 
another  reason  besides  his  insufficiency,  which 
made  him  unwilling  to  go  on  this  errand  into 
Egypt,  and  which  he  was  not  willing  to  discover. 
Just  before  God  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  bush, 
and  had  this  discourse  with  him,  as  we  read  in 
Exodus,  the  king  of  Egypt  died  ;  that  king  in 
whose  reign  Moses  had  slain  the  Egyptian,  and 
who  sought  to  apprehend  him,  to  put  him  to  death 
for  it. 

f  That  is,  he  shall  consult  thee  instead  of  me, 
that  from  thee  he  may  know  my  will,  and  thou 
shalt  impart  to  him  what  thou  receivest  of  me. 
Consonant  to  this  is  that  of  our  Saviour  Christ 
to  his  apostles,  '  He  that  heareth  you  heareth  me,' 
&c. — By  the  words,  '  Thou  shalt  be  to  him  in- 
stead of,  or  as  God,'  commentators  show  the 
fiower  God  now  invested  Moses  with,  in  delivering 
lim  this  commission,  making  him  not  only  chief 
over  Aaron,  but  the  rest  of  the  Israelites.  For 
this  name  of  God  is  no  where  given  to  men,  but 
to»ignify  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  them. 
J.  So  it  is  now  called,  since  God  had  so  signally 

honoured  it,  and  as  it  were,  consecrated  it  to  an 

holy  use,  Exod.  iv.  26. 


taking  his  wife  and  sons  he  left  Mount 
Horeb,  and  went  to  Jethro  his  father-in- 
law,  with  whom,  it  seems,  he  left  them  till 
he  had  conducted  the  children  of  Israel 
out  of  Egypt,  when  Jethro  brought  them 
to  him  again  in  the  wilderness. 

Moses  being  thus  convinced  that  God 
had  designed  him  the  agent  in  transacting 
this  grand  affair,  whilst  he  was  preparing 
himself  for  his  journey,  to  make  him  more 
cheerfully  proceed  in  it,  and  to  dispel  his 
fears  of  being  called  to  account  for  his 
former  actions  in  Egypt,  God  bids  him 
return  thither,  assuring  him,  that  those 
who  had  a  design  against  his  life  were 
dead. 

Then  repeating  his  former  order,  he 
says,  '  When  thou  comest  into  Egypt,  be 
sure  to  perform  all  the  miracles  I  have 
enabled  thee  to  do ;  and  to  illustrate  my 
power,  I  will  so  harden  Pharaoh's  heart, 
that  he  shall  refuse  to  let  the  children  of 
Israel  go,  till  I  have  slain  his  son,  even 
his  first-born.' 

By  the  way  God  takes  occasion  to  put 
Moses  in  mind  of  the  danger  of  disobedi- 
ence, to  preserve  him  from  lapsing  into  it 
hereafter. 

It  seems  Moses,  either  through  neglect, 
or  indulgence  to  his  wife,  who  was  not  an 
Israelite,  had  not  yet  circumcised  his  son 
Eliezer,  by  which  he  provoked  the  Lord 
o  highly  that  in  the  way  he  threatened 
to  kill  him  for  his  neglect.§ 

His  wife  Zipporah,  understanding  the 
cause  of  the  divine  displeasure,  took  a 
sharp  flint,  and  immediately  circumcised 
the  child;  and  throwing  the  foreskin  at 
her  husband's  feet,  she  said,  '  Thou  art  a 
husband  of  blood  to  me.'H 


§  It  seems  most  probable  from  the  context  that 
Moses's  punishment  must  be  sickness,  or  some 
corporal  visitation  upon  him  ;  otherwise,  if  he  had 
been  in  health,  he,  and  not  Zipporah  his  wife, 
would  have  circumcised  the  child. 

||  Undoubtedly,  the  word  blood  here  refers  to 
the  circumcision  which  was  the  cause  of  its  effu- 
sion. Nor  do  they  seem  to  conjecture  amiss,  who 
thus  interpret  this  text :  '  With  the  blood  of  my 
child  1  preserve  and  save  thee:  for,  the  neglect  of 
the  child's  being  circumcised  being  thy  fault,  I 


Chap.  II.] 

This  being  over,  the  Lord  pardoned 
Moses,  and  dismissed  him  to  pursue  his 
journey,  which  he  did,  and  soon  arrived 
at  his  father-in-law  Jethro's  house,  whom, 
as  he  acquainted  not  with  the  particular 
reason  of  his  leaving  Egypt,  so  neither 
does  he  now  say  any  thing  to  him  of  the 
vision  he  had  seen,  nor  the  message  he 
had  received  from  God  to  deliver  to  the 
king  of  Egypt;  but  as  he  had  entered 
himself  by  contract  into  Jethro's  service, 
and  become  so  nearly  related  as  to  be  his 
son-in-law,  he  thought  it  but  reasonable 
to  ask  his  consent  to  return  to  Egypt  to 
visit  his  brethren,  and  see  whether  they 
were  living.  Jethro  readily  gave  consent 
in  the  usual  form,  '  Go  in  peace.' 

Moses  being  now  in  the  way  to  Egypt, 
the  Lord  commanded  Aaron  his  brother* 
to  go  into  the  wilderness  to  meet  Moses. 
Aaron  obeyed  the  holy  call,  and  went  as 
far  as  Mount  Horeb,  where  he  met  his 
brother,  and  embraced  him ;  to  whom 
Moses  told  all  that  God  had  commanded 
him,  and  the  wonders  he  was  to  perform. 

The  two  brothers  thus  joined  in  com- 
mission, though  Moses  was  sovereign,  re- 
pair to  Egypt;  and  summoning  the  elders 
of  the  people  together,  Aaron  delivers  the 
message  which  the  Lord  had  sent  by 
Moses,  and  Moses  straightway  confirmed 


THE  BIBLE.  103 

it,  by  doing  the  miracles  which  God  had 
commanded,  in  the  sight  of  the  people, 
who  thereupon  believed,  and  received  them 
joyfully. 

And  now,  all  being  convinced  that  the 
Lord  had  taken  compassion  on  the  wretch- 
ed condition  of  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
he  had  visited  them  in  their  affliction,  and 
had  taken  a  course  for  their  deliverance, 
they  fell  down  and  worshipped  him. 


have  saved  thy  life  by  the  blood  of  the  circumci- 
sion, which  otherwise  God  might  have  taken 
away.' — The  knives  of  stone,  used  by  the  Jews  in 
circumcision,  were  not  enjoined  by  the  law  ;  but 
the  use  was  founded  either  on  custom,  convenience, 
or  experience  that  instruments  of  this  kind  were 
less  dangerous  than  those  of  metal.  Zipporah 
used  a  stone  to  circumcise  her  son.  Joshua  did 
the  same  at  Gilgal,  Josh.  v.  2.  The  Egyptians 
used  knives  of  stone  to  open  dead  bodies  that  were 
to  he  enbalmed.  They  used  stone  knives  to  make 
incisions  in  the  tree,  whence  the  balm  distilled  ; 
also,  to  cut  the  canes  for  writing  with.  The  Af- 
ricans of  Morocco,  and  some  Americans,  still  have 
them  in  common  use.  The  oriental  Jews  com- 
monly used  them  for  the  circumcision  of  their 
children,  being  not  unlike  flints  for  guns:  but  the 
western  Jews  use  a  razor. —  Calrnet. 

*  Elence  it  is  plain,  that  Aaron,  as  a  prophet, 
received  a  revelation  from  God;  which  is  likewise 
confirmed,  1  Sam.  ii.  27.  '  Did  not  I  plainly  ap- 
pear to  the  house  of  thy  father,  when  they  were  in 
E^ypt?'  for  Eli  was  descended  from  Aaron. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Moses  and  Aaron  arrive  at  the  court  of  Pharaoh, 
deliver  their  message  to  the  king,  and  are  re- 
primanded by  him. — Pharaoh  increases  the 
burden  of  the  Israelites. —  God  renews  his 
promise  to  his  chosen  people. — Pharaoh's 
heart  is  hardened,  insomuch  that  he  would 
not  release  the  Israelites  from  bondage,  not- 
withstanding the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses 
and  Aaron. 

The  servants  of  God  thus  commissioned, 
arrive  at  the  court  of  Pharaoh;  and  in 
positive  terms  demanded  the  release  of 
the  Israelites.  The  haughty  tyrant  not 
only  denied  compliance  with  their  de- 
mand, but  most  impiously  arraigned  the 
divine  prerogative,  and  called  in  question 
the  existence  of  the  only  wise  and  true 
God  in  these  presumptuous  words:  'Who 
is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey  his  voice 
to  let  Israel  go?  I  know  not  the  Lord, 
neither  will  I  let  Israel  go.' 

Moses  and  Aaron,  to  inform  him  whom 
they  meant  by  the  Lord,  replied,  'The 
God  of  the  Hebrews  whom  we  adore, 
hath  commanded  us  to  offer  sacrifice  to 
him;  therefore  we  beg  leave  to  go  three 
days'  journey  into  the  desert,  that  we  may 
pay  due  adoration  to  our  God,  lest  he 
punish  us  for  our  disobedience,  and  you 
much  more  for  hindering  us.' 

The  king,  incensed  at  this  unusual  li- 
berty they  took,  and  looking  upon  them 
as  incendiaries,  sharply  reprimanded  them, 
saying,  'Why  do  ye  hinder  the  people 
from  work?  Because  they  are  numerous, 
you  would  incite  them  to  rebel:  be  gone 


JU4 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


all  to  your  labour,  or  I  will  make  you 
sensible  of  royal  displeasure.' 

The  king  having  thus  rudely  dismissed 
Moses  and  Aaron,  gave  charge  to  the 
taskmasters  that  they  should  no  more  give 
the  people  straw  to  make  brick  *  as  they 
had  done  before;  but  make  them  go 
gather  straw  for  themselves  where  they 
could  find  it ;  but  yet  to  lay  upon  them 
the  same  tale  of  bricks  without  abatement; 
for,  said  he,  they  are  idle,  and  this  is  but 
a  pretence  to  excuse  them  from  their  work. 
The  taskmasters  acquainted  their  under 
officers  with  this  severe  injunction,  who 
immediately  told  it  to  the  people,  and 
they  accordingly  were  forced  to  wander 
about  the  country  to  seek  for  stubble  in- 
stead of  straw;  the  taskmasters  at  the  same 
time  exacting  from  them  their  usual  num- 
ber  of  bricks;  which  when  they  were  not 
able  to  perform,  the  under  officers,  who 
were  Israelites,  and  whom  the  taskmasters 
had  set  over  them,  were  called  to  account, 
and  beaten. 

They,  not  well  knowing  from  whence 
this  severity  proceeded,  whether  from  the 
edict  of  the  king,  or  the  rigour  of  the 
taskmasters,  complained  to  the  king  him- 
self, and  laying  their  grievance  before 
him,  in  a  most  humble  manner  expostu- 
lated the  matter  with  him  thus:  'Why 
should  the  king  deal  so  severely  with  his 
servants?     The  taskmasters  allow  us  no 


*  The  Egyptian  bricks  were  a  mixture  of  elajr, 
mud,  and  straw,  slightly  blended  and  kneaded  to- 
gether, and  afterwards  baked  in  the  sun.  Philo, 
in  his  life  of  Moses,  says,  that  they  used  straw  to 
bind  their  bricks.  The  straw  still  preserves  its 
original  colour,  and  is  a  proof  that  these  bricks 
were  never  burnt  in  stacks  or  kilns.  Part  of  the 
bricks  of  the.  celebrated  tower  of  Babel  (or  of  Be- 
lus,  as  the  Greeks  termed  it,)  were  made  of  clay 
mixed  with  chopped  straw,  or  broken  reeds,  to 
compact  it,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun.  Their  so- 
lidity is  equal  to  that  of  the  hardest  stone.  Among 
the  ruins  discovered  on  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh, 
are  houses,  built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  cemented 
with  mud;  and  similarly  constructed  dwellings 
were  observed  by  Mr  Buckingham  in  the  village 
of  Karagoosh,  near  Mousul  in  Mesopotamia.  At 
this  day  the  town  of  Busheher  (or  Bushire,)  like 
most  of  the  towns  in  Persia,  is  built  with  sun- 
dried  bricks  and  mud. — Home. 


straw,  and  yet  demand  brick  of  us,  which 
is  impossible  to  be  done:  and  though  they 
are  in  fault,  yet  are  we  punished.' 

This  just  and  reasonable  desire,  instead 
of  redress,  met  with  an  addition  to  the 
cause  of  their  complaint;  the  king  told 
them  they  should  have  no  straw,  and  yet 
deliver  the  full  tale  of  bricks. 

This  answer  gave  them  much  uneasi- 
ness, and  drove  them  almost  to  despair: 
so  that,  meeting  with  Moses  and  Aaron  in 
the  way,  as  they  came  from  Pharaoh,  and 
looking  upon  them  as  the  cause  of  having 
these  heavier  burdens  laid  upon  them, 
they  unadvisedly  giving  way  to  their  pre- 
sent passion,  discharged  their  grief  and 
anger  upon  them,  Baying,  'The  Lord  re- 
venge us  on  you;  for  ye  have  made  us 
hateful  and  abominable  in  the  sight  of  the 
king  and  his  subjects,  and  have  given 
them  occasion'  to  oppress  us  the  more.f 

This  reflection  grieved  the  soul  of 
Moses,  who  expected  a  more  grateful  re- 
turn for  his  care  and  concern  for  them; 
wherefore  retiring  from  them,  he  address- 
ed himself  to  God  in  this  humble  expos- 
tulation: 'Why,  O  Lord,  hast  thou  thus 
afflicted  this  people?  For  since  I  spoke 
to  Pharaoh  in  thy  name,  he  hath  treated 
them  with  more  severity  than  before;  and 
they  are  more  unlikely  to  be  delivered 
than  ever.' 

Moses's  concern  for  the  oppression  of 
the  Israelites  made  him  forget  the  pro- 
mise God  had  given  him,  and  the  per- 
verseness  of  Pharaoh,  which  he  had  fore- 
told: however,  God,  to  encourage  him, 
gives  him  this  gracious  answer:  'I  am  the 
Lord,  the  Almighty  God,  that  appeared 
to  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  Was  I  not 
known  to  them  by  my  name  Jehovah? 
Be  assured  that  I  the  Lord,  who  made  a 
covenant  with    their   fathers   to  give    to 


t  The  text  is  in  Exod.  v.  21.  *Ye  have  put  a 
sword  into  their  hand  to  slay  us,'  which  cannot  be 
literally  taken  here ;  for  the  Egyptians  had  both 
the  civil  and  military  sword  always  in  their  power, 
to  use  as  they  pleased.  But  this  is  a  script i  re 
phrase,  and  is  often  used  to  express  any  pungent 
calamity  or  affliction. 


Chap.  II.]  THL  BIBLE. 

their  posterity  the  land  of  Canaan,  have 
heaid  their  complaints,  and  remembered 
my  promise.  Therefore  say  thus  to  the 
children  of  Israel:  I  am  Jehovah,  who  ex- 
ist only  of  myself,  and  give  existence  to 
all  beings.  Tell  them,  I  will  deliver 
them  from  the  Egyptian  slavery,  with 
the  power  of  my  Almighty  arm,  and  in- 
flict heavy  judgments  on  those  that  op- 
press them.  Nor  will  I  only  deliver  you 
all  from  this  bondage,  but  I  will  take  you 
under  my  immediate  protection:  ye  shall 
be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your  God. 
And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah, 
your  God,  who  will  release  you  from  the 
oppressions  of  Egypt:  and  I  will  bring 
you  into  the  land,  concerning  which  I 
lifted  up  my  hand*  in  confirmation  that  I 
would  give  it  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Ja- 
cob in  their  posterity:  and  I  will  give  it 
you  for  an  inheritance.  I  am  Jehovah, 
the  Lord,  that  promiseth  this,  and  that 
can,  and  will  do  it.' 

Encouraged  by  this  gracious  declaration 
of  the  Almighty,  Moses  accordingly  re- 
paired to  the  children  of  Israel,  and  de- 
livered his  message,  as  God  had  command- 
ed. But  they,  considering  the  sad  in- 
crease of  their  servitude  ever  since  he 
undertook  to  be  their  deliverer,  were  so 
prejudiced  against  him,  that  they  would 
not  believe  him. 

Upon  this  he  left  them,  till  either  the 
extremity  of  their  sufferings,  or  the  hand 
of  God  eminently  appearing  in  plaguing 
their  oppressor,  should  awaken  them  to  a 
greater  desire  of  deliverance. 

But  God,  pursuing  the  ends  of  his 
Providence,  commanded  Moses  to  go  to 
the  king  of  Egypt,  and  demand  the  liber- 
ty of  his  people. 

Moses  having  been  so  roughly  dismiss- 
ed from  Pharaoh's  presence,  and  so  un- 
kindly rejected  by  the  Israelites,  declined 
the  errand,  by  drawing  an  argument  from 


105 

each:  'Since  the  children  of  Israel,  says 
he,  thine  own  people,  would  not  hear  me, 
though  what  I  offered  was  so  much  to 
their  advantage,  how  can  I  expect  that  so 
wicked  a  prince  as  Pharaoh  is,  should 
give  credit  to  such  a  stammererf  as  I  am, 
in  a  matter  so  much  to  his  loss?' 

But  the  Lord,  as  before,  was  still  pa- 
tient in  hearing,  and  removed  Moses's 
objections;  and  therefore  said  to  him, 
'  Consider,  I  have  made  thee  as  a  God  £ 
to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron  thy  brother  shall 
be  thy  interpreter,  or  orator.  Thou  shalt 
tell  him  all  that  I  have  commanded  thee, 
and  ye  shall  demand  of  Pharaoh  the  deli- 
verance of  my  people.  And  that  thou 
mayest  not  be  discouraged  by  a  repulse 
as  before,  take  notice  that  Pharaoh  shall 
give  no  credit  to  what  thou  sayest,  that  I 
may  thereby  show  my  power  and  wonders 
on  him  and  his  people,  and  deliver  the 
children  of  Israel  by  the  strength  of  my 
hand.  For,  since  Pharaoh  hath  begun  to 
harden  his  heart  in  contemptuously  treat- 
ing me  and  abusing  my  people,  I  will 
now  permit  him  to  go  on  in  his  obstinate 
humour,  that  I  may  exert  my  power  in 
miraculous  operations  in  the  land  of 
Egypt.  Therefore  when  ye  come  into 
Pharaoh's  presence,  and  he  shall  demand 
a  miracle  of  you  to  convince  him  of  the 
truth  of  your  message,  thou  shalt  direct 
Aaron  to  cast  his  rod  on  the  ground  be- 
fore Pharaoh,  and  it  shall  be  turned  into 
a  serpent.' 

Pursuant  to  the  divine  command,  they 
appeared  before   Pharaoh,  and  delivered 


*  This  is  a  phrase  often  used  in  scripture  to 
express  swearing,  which  was  usually  done  hy  lift- 
ing up  of  hands. 


t  The  word  in  the  text,  Exod.  vi.  12.  is  ren- 
dered, '  Who  am  of  nncircumcised  lips,'  that  is, 
slow  of  speech  ;  for  Moses  laboured  under  a  defect 
in  his  tongue,  as  he  urged  when  God  first  pitched 
upon  him  to  undertake  the  deliverance  of  his  peo- 
ple. But  the  word  uncircumcised  is  phraseologi- 
cally  used  upon  several  occasions  by  the  Hebrews, 
as  when  they  called  any  one  uncircumcised  in 
heart,  mind,  or  tongue,  they  mean  one  that  la- 
bours under  a  defect  in  any  of  these;  besides,  as 
circumcision  was  the  first  and  greatest  sacrament 
among  them,  so  uncircumcision  was  esteemed  by 
them  the  greatest  scandal  and  disgrace. 

X  That  is,  by  exercising  the  judgments  of  God 
upon  him,  thou  shalt  be  as  terrible  to  him  as  God. 
O 


106 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


their  message;  which  he  rejecting,  Aaron 
cast  down  his  rod  before  the  king,  in  the 
sight  of  his  servants,  and  it  became  a 
serpent. 

To  confront  this  miracle,  the  king  pre- 
sently sent  for  his  magicians,  who  by  their 
enchantments  performed  the  same  that 
Aaron  did  by  God's  immediate  power. 
For  throwing  down  their  rods,  they  be- 
came in  appearance  serpents ;  but  with 
this  difference,  that  Aaron's  devoured 
theirs,  and  resumed  its  wonted  form.* 


*  No  doubt  Pharaoh  and  his  servants  were  both 
astonished  and  alarmed,  when  they  saw  Aaron's 
rod  become  a  terrible  serpent  before  them.  But 
as  magicians  and  sorcerers  were  in  high  repute  in 
Egypt,  being  called  wise  men,  and  supposed  capa- 
ble of  performing  very  extraordinary  things  by 
their  skill  in  the  occult  sciences  ;  probably  Pharaoh 
and  his  courtiers  endeavoured  to  believe,  that 
Moses  and  Aaron  were  nothing  more  than  two 
great  magicians,  and  that  the  sorcerers  and  magi- 
cians of  Euypt  were  able  to  contend  with  them. 
Accordingly,  some  of  the  most  renowned  among 
them  were  called  in,  of  whom  we  find  Jannes  and 
Jambres  were  the  principal :  2  Tim.  iii.  8  :  and 
'they  also  did  in  like  manner  with  their  enchant- 
ments ;  for  they  cast  down  every  man  his  rod,  and 
they  became  serpents.' — No  doubt  many  of  these 
professors  of  sorcery,  or  magic,  were  expert  in  le- 
gerdemain, and  imposed  on  the  spectators  by  vari- 
ous artifices :  yet  they  who  reverence  the  scriptures, 
will  hardly  deny,  that  many  of  them  had  a  real 
intercourse  with  evil  spirits,  and  by  their  help 
actually  made  discoveries,  and  produced  effects  be- 
yond the  reach  of  human  power  or  sagacity.  It 
remains  therefor*  to  inquire  into  the  fact  here 
briefly  recorded,  what  it  was,  and  how  performed. 
Some  expositors  consider  it  as  merely  an  illusion, 
by  which  the  magicians  made  the  spectators  think 
that  they  saw  serpents  when  they  did  not.  Others 
imagine,  that  the  magicians  had  contrived  to  con- 
vey serpents  thither,  concealing  their  rods,  to  make 
it  appear  as  if  they  were  changed  into  serpents. 
Others  think,  that  the  power  of  Satan  produced 
ri|)pearances  like  serpents,  instead  of  the  rods  which 
were  conveyed  away.  But  some  expositors  are 
<iot  satisfied  with  any  of  these  interpretations,  be- 
cause it  is  expressly  said,  'they  became  serpents:' 
and  '  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  their  rods.'  They 
iherefore  conclude,  that  the  rods  actually  became 
real  living  serpents,  and  in  that  form  were  swal- 
lowed by  the  serpent  into  which  Aaron's  rod  was 
changed.  We  cannot  indeed  in  general  assign  ex- 
act bounds  to  the  power  of  evil  spirits,  who,  when 
permitted,  seem  capable  of  any  thing  which  created 
beings  can  do  :  yet,  creation  in  every  instance  is 
commonly  supposed  to  be  exclusively  the  work  of 
(iod.  And  on  this  account,  they  who  adhere  to 
the  literal  interpretation  conclude,  that  while  the 
magician!  used  their  enchantments,  expecting  the 
interposition  of  the  demons  to  whom  they  applied, 
the  Lord  himself  was  pleased  to  interpose,  and  to 


This  miracle  made  no  impression  on  the 
obstinate  tyrant;  therefore  God  resolved 
to  make  use  of  more  sensible  scourges, 
and  afflict  the  Egyptians  with  such  a  suc- 
cession of  plagues,  as  should  compel  them 
to  dismiss  the  enslaved  Israelites;  and 
having  observed  to  Moses,  that  Pharaoh's 
heart  was  hardened,  he  bid  him  take  the 
rod  which  had  been  turned  into  a  serpent, 
and  present  himself  in  Pharaoh's  view,  at 
his  usual  time  of  coming  to  the  banks  of 
the  river  Nile;f  giving  him  this  fresh  in- 

effect  a  real  change  of  their  rods  into  serpents ; 
and  as  they  could  not  certainly  know  how  far  the 
power  of  their  demons  extended,  they  would  natu- 
rally suppose  that  this  was  the  effect  of  their  enchant- 
ments.— Pharaoh  was  evidently  seeking  some  pre- 
tence for  disregarding  the  miracle  which  he  had 
witnessed,  and  proudly  disobeying  the  divine  com- 
mand ;  and  it  was  the  Lord's  design  to  give  him  up 
to  final  obduracy.  It  does  not  therefore  appear, 
that  there  is  any  thing,  on  this  supposition,  incon- 
sistent with  the  divine  perfections,  or  materially 
different  from  his  dealings  with  other  haughty  and 
obstinate  rebels  in  similar  circumstances.  But, 
however  this  may  be  determined,  when  '  Aaron's 
rod  swallowed  up  their  rods  ;'  that  is,  when  the 
serpent,  into  which  his  rod  had  been  changed, 
swallowed  the  serpents  into  which  their  rods  had 
been  changed :  and  when  it  again  became  a  rod  in 
Aaron's  hand,  but  their  rods  were  vanished,  and 
were  no  more  found  ;  the  event  would  have  satis- 
fied any  impartial  person,  on  which  side  the  truth 
lay:  and,  had  not  a  previous  bias  lain  upon  Pha- 
raoh's mind,  this  must  have  convinced  him  that 
Moses  and  Aaron  spake  and  acted  by  divine  au- 
thority.— Scott. 

y  The  Nile  is  a  large  river  of  Africa,  which 
flows  through  Nubia  and  Egypt.  Below  Cairo, 
where  it  is  1000  yards  wide,  it  divides  into  two 
main  branches,  which  again  separate  into  several 
arms,  the  extreme  eastern  and  western  of  which 
give  to  the  lower  part  of  Egypt  the  form  of  a  delta. 
There  were  anciently  reckoned  seven  principal 
mouths  by  which  its  waters  were  poured  into  the 
Mediterranean  ;  only  those  of  Damietta  and  Bos- 
etta  are  at  present  navigable  ;  the  others  have  been 
choked  up.  The  sources  of  the  Nile  have  never 
been  accurately  determined.  The  true  Nile  is 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Bahr-el-Abiad,  or 
white  river,  and  the  Bahr-el-Azrek,  or  blue  river. 
The  former,  rising  in  Abyssinia,  to  the  south-west 
of  lake  Dembea,  comes  from  the  south  east,  and 
was  considered  by  Bruce  as  the  Nile.  The  latter, 
however,  which  comes  from  the  south-west,  and  is 
supposed  to  rise  in  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon, 
brings  down  the  greatest  mass  of  water,  and  is 
considered  by  Cailliaud  and  Browne  as  the  true 
Nile.  The  distance  from  the  confluence  of  its 
two  head  branches  to  the  sea  is  about  1500  miles  ; 
from  its  highest  sources,  probably  not  far  from 
2500  miles.  The  cataracts,  so  much  celebrated  by 
the  ancients,  modern  discoveries  have  shown  to  bo 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE.  107 

struction:  'Tell  him  the  almighty  God  of  afflict  him  for  his  perverseness :  that  he 
the  Hebrews  hath  sent  thee  to  him;  and  j  will  make  him  sensible  by  his  judgments, 
though  he  hath  been  so  obstinate  hitherto   which  he  will  inflict  upon   him  and  his 


people.' 

And  to  encourage  Moses  in  the  execu- 
tion of  his  commission,  he  promised  his 
assistance  in  the  performance  of  the  first 
miracle,  which  was  turning  the  water  ot 
the  river  into  blood. 

Moses,  ever  attentive  to  the  divine 
command,  at  the  time  appointed  waited 
the  king's  coming  to  the  river,  and  accost- 
ed him  with  the  message.  The  infidel 
prince,  deaf  to  the  call  of  God  by  two 
heavenly  missionaries,  persisted  in  his  re- 
solution, (so  little  did  the  first  miracle 
operate  upon  him,)  and  though  Moses  and 
Aaron  admonished  him  of  the  omnipotence 
of  their  God,  he  would  not  believe  them. 

Aaron  therefore  receiving  the  rod  from 
Moses,  lifted  it  up,  as  God  had  command- 
ed ;  and  striking  the  water,  it  turned  into 
blood ;  *  which  immediately  stagnating, 
grew  so  offensive,  that  the  fish  were  suf- 
focated, and  the  inhabitants,  loathing  to 
drink  of  the  waters  of  the  river,f  were 


as  to  detain  the  Israelites,   their  God  will 


insignificant ;  they  appear  to  be  hardly  any  thing 
more  than  what  we  call  in  this  country,  rapids. 
The  inundations  of  the  Nile  are  owing  to  perio- 
dical rains,  which  fall  to  the  .south  of  the  seven- 
teenth degree,  and  melt  the  snow  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Abyssinia.  They  commence  in  March, 
but  have  no  effect  upon  the  river  until  three 
months  later.  Towards  the  end  of  June,  it  begins 
to  rise,  and  continues  rising  at  the  rate  of  about 
four  inches  a  day,  until  the  end  of  September, 
when  it  falls  for  about  the  same  period  of  time. 
Herodotus  informs  us  that,  in  his  time,  a  rise  of 
sixteen  cubits  was  sufficient  to  water  the  country  ; 
at  present,  twenty-two  cubits  are  considered  a 
good  rise.  A  rise  of  twenty-six  cubits,  in  1829, 
destroyed  a  great  many  villages,  with  their  inhabi- 
tants. The  lower  part  of  Egypt  has,  therefore, 
been  very  much  raised  since  the  time  of  Herodotus, 
by  the  accumulated  deposits  of  rich  slime  brought 
down  by  the  river.  Mr  Bruce,  speaking  of  the 
inundation  attending  the  Nile,  says, — every  morn- 
ing "about  nine,  a  small  cloud  not  above  four  feet 
broad,  appears  in  the  East,  whirling  violently 
round,  as  if  upon  an  axis  ;  but,  arrived  near  the 
zenith,  it  first  abates  its  motion,  then  loses  its  form, 
and  extends  itself  greatly,  and  seems  to  call  up 
vapours  from  all  opposite  quarters.  These  clouds 
having  attained  nearly  the  same  height,  rush  against 
each  other  with  great  violence,  and  put  me  always 
in  mind  of  Elisha  foretelling,  rain  on  mount  Car- 
mel."  Among  the  animals  with  which  the  Nile 
abounds,  the  most  remarkable  are  the  crocodile  and 
the  hippopotamus.  In  the  ancient  Egyptian  mytho- 
logy, the  Nile  was  revered  as  the  tutelary  deity  of 
the  country;  and  it  is  therefore  probable  that 
Pharaoh  went  to  pay  his  morning  adoration  to  the 
river, — the  Egyptians  esteeming  it  a  part  of  their 
religion  to  wash  themselves  in  the  river  twice  or 
thrice  a-day.  When  the  waters  began  to  rise,  the 
inhabitants  celebrated  the  festivals  called  Niloa,  sac- 
rificed a  black  bull  to  him,  strewed  lotus  flowers  on 
the  water,  &c.  An  instrument,  called  a  Nilometer, 
was  constructed  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  consist- 
ing of  a  rod  or  pillar,  marked  with  the  necessary 
divisions  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  pro- 
portionate increases  of  the  flood  of  the  Nile.  It  is 
said  by  several  Arabian  writers  to  have  been  first 
set  up  by  Joseph  during  his  regency  in  Egypt. — 
There  cannot  be  a  finur  sight  than  Egypt  at  two 
seasons  of  the  year.  For  if  a  man  ascends  some 
mountain,  on  one  of  the  largest  pyramids  of  Grand 
Cairo,  in  the  month  of  July  and  August,  he  be- 
holds a  vast  sea,  in  which  numberless  towns  and 
villages  appear,  with  several  causeys  leading  from 

place  to  place  ;  the  whole  interspersed  with  groves  j  wIipii  they  beheld  their  sacred  stream  changed 
and  fruit-trees,  whose  tops  only  are  visible;  all  and  polluted  ;  and  the  divinity  whom  they  wor- 
which  forms  a  delightful  prospect.  This  view  is  shipped  so  shamefulhy  foiled  and  debased.— 
bounded  by  mountains  and  woods,  which  termin-  j  Fleetwood  and  Bryant. 

ate,  at  the  utmost  distance  the  eye  can  discover,  j  f  The  force  of  this  expression  cannot  be  well 
the  most  beautiful  horizon  that  can  be  imagined,  felt  without  taking  into  consideration  the  peculiar 
On  Hie  contrary,  in  winter, — Januarvand  February,  pleasantness  and  great  salubrity  of  the  waters  of 
—the  whole  country  is  like  one  continued  scene  of   the  Nile.     "  The  water  of  Egypt,"  says  the  Abbe 


beautiful  meadows,  whose  verdure,  enamelled  with 
flowers,  charms  the  eye.  The  spectator  beholds, 
on  every  side,  flocks  and  herds  dispersed  over  all 
the  plains,  with  infinite  numbers  of  husbandmen 
and  gardeners.  The  air  is  then  perfumed  by  the 
great  quantity  of  blossoms  on  the  orange,  lemon, 
and  other  trees,  and  is  so  pure,  that  a  wholesorner 
or  more  agreeable  is  not  found  in  the  world. — 
See  Brit.  Cycl. 

*  Theodoret  upon  Exodus  says  thus  of  this 
change  of  the  waters  of  the  Nile:  being  changed  in- 
to blood  they  accused  the  Egyptians  of  the  murder 
of  the  infants.  And  the  book  of  Wisdom,  xi.  f>. 
makes  the  same  observation  :  *  Instead  of  a  foun- 
tain of  running  water,  the  enemies  were  troubled 
with  corrupt  blood,  which  was  to  rebuke  the  com- 
mandment of  the  killing  of  the  children.' — The 
Egyptians  looked  upon  their  river  not  only  as 
consecrated  to  a  deity  ;  but,  if  we  may  believe 
some  authors,  as  their  chief  national  god  ;  and 
worshipped  it  accordingly.  There  was  therefore 
a  great  propriety  in  this  judgment.  They  must 
have   felt   the   utmost   astonishment   and   horror 


108 


HISTORY  OF 


[Boor  II. 


forced  to  dig  for  water  in  new  places,  to 
allay  their  thirst. 

Notwithstanding  this  plague  continued 
upon  them  for  seven  days,  yet  Pharaoh 
was  still  obstinate;  and  his  hatred  to  the 
Israelites  inflamed  t!ie  more,  because  Mo- 
ses being  known  to  have  had  his  educa- 
tion among  the  Egyptians,  the  king  con- 
cluded, that  all  this  was  performed  by 
magic  skill.  Wherefore  calling  for  his 
magicians,  he  put  them  upon  the  same 
trial;  who,  taking  some  of  the  water  which 
the  Egyptians  had  digged,  by  their  en- 
chantments they  made  him  believe  that 
they  turned  it  to  blood. 

Mascrier,  "  is  so  delicious,  that  one  would  not 
wish  the  heat  to  be  less,  or  to  be  delivered  from 
the  sensation  of  thirst.  The  Turks  find  it  so  ex- 
quisite that  they  excite  themselves  to  drink  of  it  by 
eating  salt.  It  is  a  common  saying  among  them, 
that  if  Mohammed  had  drank  of  it  he  would  have 
besought  God  that  he  might  never  die,  in  order  to 
have  had  this  continual  gratification.  When  the 
Egyptians  undertake  the  pilgrimage  of  Mecca,  or 
go  out  of  their  country  on  any  other  account,  they 
speak  of  nothing  but  the  pleasure  they  shall  have 
at  their  return  in  drinking  of  the  waters  of  the 
Nile.  There  is  no  gratification  to  be  compared  to 
this;  it  surpasses,  in  their  esteem,  that  of  seeing 
their  relations  and  families.  All  those  who  have 
tasted  of  this  water  allow  that  they  never  met  with 
the  like  in  any  other  place.  When  a  person  drinks 
of  it  for  the  first  time  he  can  scarcely  be  persuaded 
that  it  is  not  a  water  prepared  by  art ;  for  it  has 
something  in  it  inexpressibly  agreeable  and  pleas- 
ing to  the  taste  ;  and  it  should  have  the  same  rank 
among  waters  that  champaign  has  among  wines. 
But  its  most  valuable  quality  is  that  it  is  exceeding- 
ly salutary.  It  never  incommodes,  let  it  be  drank 
in  what  quantity  it  may  :  this  is  so  true  that  it  is 
no  uncommon  thing  to  see  some  persons  drink 
three  buckets  of  it  in  a  day  without  the  least  in- 
convenience !  When  I  pass  such  encomiums  on 
the  water  of  Egypt  it  is  right  to  observe  that  I 
speak  only  of  that  of  the  Nile,  which  indeed  is 
the  only  water  drinkable,  for  their  well  water  is 
detestable  and  unwholesome.  Fountains  are  so 
rare  that  they  are  a  kind  of  prodigy  in  that  coun- 
try ;  and  as  to  rain  water,  that  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, as  scarcely  any  falls  in  Egypt." — "A  person," 
says  Mr  Harmer,  "who  never  before  heard  of  the 
deliciousness  of  the  Nile  water,  and  of  the  large 
quantities  which  on  that  account  are  drank  of  it, 
will,  1  am  sure,  find  an  energy  in  those  words  of 
Moses  to  Pharaoh, '  The  Egyptians  shall  loathe  to 
drink  of  the  water  of  the  river,'  which  he  never 
observed  before.  They  will  loathe  to  drink  of  that 
water  which  they  used  to  prefer  to  all  the  waters 
of  the  universe;  loathe  to  drink  of  that  for  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  long,  and  will  rather 
choose  to  drink  of  well  water,  which  in  their 
country  is  detestable !" — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


Although  this  was  but  a  delusion,  yet 
it  convinced  Pharaoh,  that  what  Moses 
and  Aaron  had  done  was  not  the  effect  of 
any  supernatural  virtue,  but  a  mere  trick 
of  art,  and  thereupon  returned  resolute  to 
stop  the  Israelites. 

But  it  pleased  God  to  display  repeated 
miracles  before  this  cruel  and  obstinate 
monarch ;  for  as  soon  as  the  seven  days 
were  expired,  Moses,  at  the  command  of 
God,  accosted  him  again,  and  renewed 
his  instances  for  the  delivery  of  the  Israel- 
ites, threatening  upon  his  refusal  to  bring 
upon  the  land  such  a  prodigious  number 
of  frogs,  as  should  visit  him  and  his  sub- 
jects in  their  most  private  recesses. 

Pharaoh,  regardless  of  his  threats,  de- 
fied him;  upon  which  Moses  gave  Aaron 
an  order  to  take  the  rod,  and  stretch  forth 
his  hand  with  it  over  the  river,  which  in 
an  instant  so  affected  all  the  waters  of 
Egypt,  that,  not  waiting  for  the  slow  pro- 
ductions of  nature,  the  animated  streams 
unburdened  themselves  upon  the  land  in 
shoals  of  frogs,  which  immediately  invad- 
ed all  parts,  infesting  even  the  royal  pa- 
lace with  their  disagreeable  croaking.* 


*  As  the  frog  was,  in  Egypt,  an  emblem  of 
Osiris,  or  the  sun,  the  first  object  of  idolatrous  wor- 
ship to  the  nations  of  the  East,  it  is  probable  the 
Egyptians  regarded  it  with  superstitious  venera- 
tion. If  this  conjecture  is  well  founded,  it  brings 
into  view  the  secret  reason  of  the  second  plague  ; 
for  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  divine  wisdom 
to  punish  a  nation  by  means  of  that  which  they 
foolishly  revere.  These  vengeful  reptiles  were 
produced  in  the  streams  of  the  Nile,  and  in  the 
lakes  which  were  supplied  from  his  waters,  be- 
cause the  river  was  supposed,  by  that  deluded 
people,  to  possess  an  uncommon  degree  of  sancti- 
ty, and  to  deserve  their  religious  veneration  ;  it 
was  the  object  of  their  confidence,  it  was  account- 
ed the  grand  source  of  their  enjoyments,  and  was 
the  constant  theme  of  their  praise  ;  it  was,  there- 
fore, just  to  pollute  those  waters  with  an  innumer- 
able multitude  of  impure  animals,  to  which  the 
respect  and  confidence  which  were  due  only  to 
the  true  God,  the  father  of  the  rain,  had  been  im- 
piously transferred.  This  loathsome  plague  ex- 
tended to  every  place,  and  to  every  class  of  men 
The  frogs  came  up  and  covered  the  land  of  Egypt ; 
they  entered  into  their  houses,  and  into  their  bed- 
chambers ;  they  crawled  upon  their  persons,  upon 
their  beds  and  into  their  kitchen  utensils.  The 
whole  country,  their  palaces,  their  temples,  their 
persons — all  was  polluted  and  hateful.     Nor  was 


Chap.  If.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


109 


Now  again  Pliaraoh  had  recourse  to  his 
magicians,  who  by  their  mimic  power  so 
delude*}  him,  that  they  made  him  believe 
they  wrought  the  same  miracle,  which 
hardened  him  for  a  while ;  but  the  loath- 
some p'ague  pursuing  him  and  his  people 
wherever  they  went,  he  was  forced  to  ap- 
ply to  Moses  and  Aaron  for  relief,  offering 
to  capitulate  with  their  God  upon  terms 
of  permission  for  them  to  go  and  sacrifice 
to  him. 

Moses  demanded  the  time  when  this 
should  be  put  to  an  issue,  and  they  both 


it  in  their  power  to  wash  away  the  nauseous  filth 
wit!)  which  they  were  tainted,  for  every  stream 
and  every  lake  was  full  of  pollution.  To  a  people 
who  affected  the  most  scrupulous  purity  in  their 
persons,  their  habitations,  and  manner  of  living, 
nothing  almost  can  be  conceived  more  insufferable 
than  this  plague.  The  frog  is,  compared  with 
many  other  reptiles,  a  harmless  animal;  it  neither 
injures  by  its  bite  nor  by  its  poison :  but  it  must 
have  excited  on  that  occasion,  a  disgust  which 
rendered  life  almost  an  insupportable  burden. 
The  eye  was  tormented  with  beholding  the  march 
of  their  impure  legions,  and  the  ear  with  hearing 
the  harsh  tones  of  their  voices:  the  Egyptians 
could  recline  upon  no  bed  where  they  were  not 
compelled  to  admit  their  cold  and  filthy  embrace  ; 
they  tasted  no  food  which  was  not  infected  by 
their  touch;  and  they  smelled  no  perfume,  but 
the  foetid  stench  of  their  slime,  or  the  putrid  ex- 
halations emitted  from  their  dead  carcases.  The 
insufferable  annoyance  of  such  insignificant  crea- 
tures illustriously  displayed  the  power  of  God. 
while  it  covered  the  haughty  and  unfeeling  per- 
secutors of  his  people  with  confusion,  and  filled 
them  with  utter  dismay.  When  the  Lord  remov- 
ed the  frogs,  however,  they  were  not  swept  asvay 
like  the  locusts  which  succeeded  them,  but  de- 
stroyed, and  left  on  the  face  of  the  ground.  They 
were  not  annihilated,  nor  resolved  into  mud,  nor 
marched  back  into  the  river,  from  whence  they  had 
come  ;  hut  left  dead  upon  the  ground,  to  prove  the 
truth  of  the  miracle, — that  they  had  not  died  by 
the  hands  of  men,  but  by  the  power  of  God  ;  that 
the  great  deliverance  was  not  like  the  works  of 
the  magicians,  a  lying  wonder,  but  a  real  interpo- 
sition of  almighty  power,  and  an  effect  of  divine 
goodness.  The  Egyptians  were,  therefore,  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  collecting  them  into  heaps, 
which  had  the  effect  of  more  rapidly  disengaging 
the  putrid  effluvia,  and  thus  for  a  time  increasing 
the  wretchedness  of  the  country.  Their  destruc- 
tion was  probably  followed  by  a  pestilence,  which 
cut  off  many  of  the  people,  in  addition  to  those 
that  died  in  consequence  of  the  grievous  vexations 
they  endured  from  their  loathsome  adversaries  ; 
for,  in  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion,  it  is  said,  '  he 
sent  frogs,  which  destroyed  them  ;'  laid  waste 
their  lands,  and  infected  themselves  with  pestilen- 
tial disorders. — Pazton's  Script.  Must, 


agreed  upon  the  next  day.  Accordingly, 
Moses  addressed  himself  to  God,  and  the 
frogs  soon  died,  which  the  people  gather- 
ed in  heaps,  so  that  the  land  stank  of 
them,  before  they  could  be  disposed  of. 

The  impious  Pharaoh  vainly  imagined 
that  the  artillery  of  vengeance  was  then 
exhausted,  unfaithfully  broke  his  word, 
and  refused  to  let  the  Israelites  go  to 
serve  their  God. 

This  violation  so  provoked  the  Almigh- 
ty, that  he  resolved  to  treat  the  haughty 
tyrant  in  a  more  surprising  manner  than 
he  had  hitherto  done ;  for  before,  he  first 
denounced  his  judgments,  by  giving  him 
warning,  that  he  might  escape  them. 
But  now  he  would  give  him  no  further 
notice,  and  therefore  commanded  Moses 
to  direct  Aaron  to  stretch  out  his  rod,  and 
strike  the  dust  with  it,  that  it  might  be- 
come lice. 

Aaron  had  no  sooner  obeyed,  than 
straightway  the  animated  dust  turned  in- 
to swarms  of  vermin,  which  the  magicians, 
who  had  faintly  imitated  the  former 
plagues,  now  attempted  in  vain.  They 
owned  their  art  outdone,  and  acknowledg- 
ed this  to  be  the  inimitable  work  of  a  di- 
vine hand.* 


*  The  Egyptians  affected  great  external  purity, 
and  were  very  nice  both  in  their  persons  and  cloth- 
ing. Uncommon  care  was  taken  that  they  might 
not  harbour  any  vermin.  They  were  particularly 
solicitous  upon  this  head  ;  thinking  it  would  be  a 
great  profanation  of  the  temple  which  they  enter- 
ed, if  any  animalcula  of  this  sort  were  concealed  in 
their  garments.  It  would  have  been  well  if  their 
worship  had  corresponded  with  their  outward  ap- 
pearance ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  have 
been  more  foul  and  base  than  that  of  any  other 
nation.  Their  gods  were  contemptible  and  ridicu- 
lous, and  their  rites  filthy,  and  to  the  last  degree 
bestial  and  obscene.  Yet  they  were  carried  on 
with  an  appearance  of  outward  purity,  and  a  scru- 
pulous show  of  cleanliness.  The  judgments  there- 
fore inflicted  by  the  hand  of  Moses  were  directed 
against  the  prejudices  of  the  h gyptiaus  ;  and  they 
were  made  to  suffer  for  their  false  delicacy  in  plac- 
ing the  essence  of  religiou  in  external  cleanliness, 
to  the  omission  of  things  of  real  weight. —  When 
the  devil  and  his  agents  are  in  tlie  height  of  their 
pride,  God  shames  them  in  a  trifle.  The  rod  is 
lift  up.  The  very  dust  receives  life.  Lice  abound 
every  where,  and  make  no  difference  betwixt  heg- 
gars  and  princes.     Though  Pharaoh  and  his  cuur- 


110 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


And  yet  again,  notwithstanding  the 
obstinacy  of  Pharaoh,  who  would  not  in 
the  least  hearken  to  Moses  and  Aaron, 
God  condescended  to  give  him  another 
summons. 

1  Rise  up,'  says  God  to  Moses,  '  early 
in  the  morning,  and  meet  Pharaoh  as  he 
comes  to  the  river.  Tell  him,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  Let  my  people  go  that  they 
may  serve  me,  or  I  will  send  swarms  of 
flies  *  upon  thee  and  thy  people,  which 


tiers  abhorred  to  see  themselves  lousy,  yet  they 
hoped  this  miracle  would  be  more  easily  imitable  : 
but  now  the  greater  possibility,  the  greater  foil. 
How  are  the  great  wonder-mongers  of  Egypt  abash- 
ed, that  they  can  neither  make  lice  of  their  own, 
nor  deliver  themselves  from  tlie  lice  that  are  made  ! 
Those  that  could  make  serpents  and  frogs,  could 
not  either  make  or  kill  lice  ;  to  show  them  that 
those  frogs  and  serpents  were  not  their  own  work- 
manship. Now  Pharaoh  must  needs  see  how  im- 
potent a  devil  he  served,  that  could  not  make  that 
vermin  which  every  day  arises  voluntarily  out  of 
corruption.  Jannes  and  Jambres  cannot  now 
make  those  lice  (so  much  as  by  delusion,)  which, 
at  another  time,  they  cannot  choose  but  produce 
unknowing,  and  which  now  they  cannot  avoid. 
That  spirit  which  is  powerful  to  execute  the  great- 
est things  when  he  is  bidden,  is  unable  to  do  the 
least  when  he  is  restrained.  Now  these  co-rivals 
of  Moses  can  say,  '  This  is  the  finger  of  God.' 
Ye  foolish  enchanters,  was  God's  ringer  in  the  lice, 
not  in  the  frogs,  not  in  the  blood,  not  in  the  ser- 
pent? And  why  was  it  rather  in  the  less  than  in 
the  greater?  because  ye  did  imitate  the  other,  not 
these  ;  as  if  the  same  ringer  of  God  had  not  been 
before  in  your  imitation,  which  was  now  in  your 
restraint ;  as  if  ye  could  have  failed  in  these,  if  ye 
had  not  been  only  permitted  the  other — Bryant 
and  Hall. 

*  The  judgment  to  be  denounced  was  a  plague 
of  flies,  (including  dog-flies,  hornets,  wasps,  beetles, 
&c.,)  which  were  brought  all  over  the  land  in 
vast  numbers  ;  and  seem  to  have  been  not  only 
formidable  for  their  swarms,  but  for  the  painfulness 
of  their  stings,  as  well  as  of  their  bite,  which  was 
intolerable.  There  is  reason  to  think,  that  the 
Egyptians  had  particular  deities,  whose  department 
was  to  ward  off'  those  natural  evils  to  which  their 
votaries  were  liable.  The  province  allotted  to 
several  deities  was  particularly  to  drive  away  flies. 
But  this  is  not  all :  these  insects,  however  incredi- 
ble it  may  appear,  were  in  many  places  worshipped. 
This  reverence  seems  to  have  been  shown,  some- 
times, to  prevent  their  being  troublesome ;  at 
other  times,  because  they  were  esteemed  sacred  to 
the  deity.  Nor  did  they  only  show  an  idolatrous 
regard  to  flies  in  general ;  there  was  a  deity  styled 
Deus  Mnsca,  who  was  particularly  worshipped 
under  the  characteristic  of  a  fly.  This  idolatry 
originated  in  Egypt,  whence  it  was  brought  to 
Palestine,  &c.  by  the  Phoenicians  to  Sidon,  Tyre, 
and  Byblus;  and  so   into  other  regions  of  the 


shall  fill  their  houses,  and  cover  the  face 
of  the  earth.  And  that  thou  mayest  know 
that  this  is  brought  as  a  judgment  upon 
thee  and  thy  subjects,  for  oppressing  my 
people,  I  will  on  that  day  separate  the 
land  of  Goshen,  in  which  my  servants 
dwell,  from  the  rest  of  Egypt,  that  the 
flies  shall  not  molest  them.' 

Accordingly,  upon  Pharaoh's  obstinately 
persisting  to  detain  the  Israelites  in  slavery, 
the  next  day  clouds  of  swarming  insects 

world.  Such  being  the  worship  of  this  people, 
nothing  could  be  more  striking  and  determinate 
than  the  judgment  brought  upon  them.  They 
were  punished  by  the  very  things  which  they  re- 
vered ;  and  though  they  boasted  of  spells  and 
charms,  yet  they  could  not  ward  off"  the  evil.  They 
had  gods,  who,  they  thought,  could  avert  all  mis- 
chief ;  but  their  power  was  ineffectual  ;  and  both 
the  prince  and  the  people  were  obliged  to  acknow- 
ledge the  inferiority  of  their  own  deities  by  suing 
through  Moses  to  the  God  of  Israel. 

How  intolerable  a  plague  flies  can  prove,  mav 
be  known  from  places  near  lakes  and  pools,  which 
have  been  on  their  account  deserted,  and  rendered 
desolate.  Such  was  the  fate  of  Myuns  in  Ionia, 
and  of  Atarnae.  The  inhabitants  were  forced  to 
quit  these  cities,  not  being  able  to  stand  the  flies 
and  gnats  with  which  they  were  pestered.  Trajan 
was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  a  city  in  Arabia, 
before  which  he  had  sat  down,  being  driven  away 
by  the  swarms  of  these  insects.  '  The  fly  of 
Egypt'  seems  to  have  been  proverhial.  Hence 
Isaiah  says,  ■  The  Lord  shall  hiss  for  the  fly  of 
Egypt,'  vii.  18.  We  are  told  by  Moses,  that  the 
hornet  drove  out  the  Canaanite  :  by  which  we  may 
infer,  that,  before  the  coming  of  the  Israelites, 
several  cities  had  been  evacuated  through  the 
terror  of  this  insect. — Philo,  the  Jew,  has  a  fine 
observation  on  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  "  Some 
perhaps  may  inquire,  why  did  God  punish  the 
country  by  such  minute  and  contemptible  animals, 
as  frogs,  lice,  flies,  rather  than  by  bears,  lions,  leo- 
pards, or  other  kinds  of  savage  beasts,  which  prey 
on  human  flesh  ?  or  if  not  by  these,  why  not  by 
the  Egyptian  asp,  whose  bite'  is  instant  death  ? 
But  let  him  learn,  if  he  be  ignorant,  first,  that 
God  chose  rather  to  correct  than  destroy  the  in- 
habitants :  for  if  he  desired  to  annihilate  them 
utterly,  he  had  no  need  to  have  made  use  of  ani- 
mals as  his  auxiliaries,  but  of  the  divinely  inflicted 
evils  of  famine  and  pestilence.  Next,  let  him  fur- 
ther learn  that  lesson,  so  necessary  for  every  state 
of  life,  namely,  that  men,  when  they  war,  seek  the 
most  powerful  aid  to  supply  their  own  weakness  ; 
but  God,  the  highest  and  greatest  power,  who 
stands  in  need  of  nothing,  if  at  any  time  he 
chooses  to  employ  instruments,  as  it  were,  to  in- 
flict chastisement,  chooses  not  the  strongest  and 
greatest,  disregarding  their  strength  ;  but  rather 
the  mean  and  the  minute,  which  he  endues  with 
irresistible  power  to  chastise  offenders." — Bryant 
and  Hales. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


Ill 


filled  the  air,  which  in  numberless  troops 
descended  to  the  earth,  and  with  their 
sullen  and  unusual  noise  surprised  and 
affrighted  the  wretched  inhabitants. 

All  attempts  proved  vain  and  fruitless 
to  remove  this  increasing  evil;  their  most 
private  recesses  could  not  secure  them 
from  the  poisonous  bitings  of  these  re- 
vengeful animals,  and  a  succession  of 
painted  misery  invaded  them  on  all  sides. 

Pharaoh's  guards  could  not  save  him 
from  the  painful  attacks  of  this  flying  host, 
which  boldly  swarmed  about,  and  seized 
the  very  weapons  they  should  draw  in  their 
master's  defence. 

The  sword  and  spear  were  useless  to 
repel  this  airy  foe,  whose  penetrating  sting 
was  sharper  than  their  point. 

The  magicians  with  confusion  looked 
upon  this  direful  plague,  and  no  more 
pretended  to  offer  at  any  imitation.  A 
general  horror  filled  the  towns  and  fields, 
and  all  the  country  echoed  with  the  cries 
of  tortured  men  and  cattle. 

Pharaoh,  not  able  to  endure  this  plague, 
called  presently  for  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
in  a  sullen  discontented  tone  bid  them  go 
and  sacrifice  to  their  God,  but  not  beyond 
the  bounds  of  Egypt. 

He  was  desirous  of  relief,  but  unwilling 
to  part  with  a  people  by  whose  slavery  he 
bad  reaped  so  great  advantage;  and  being 
a  stranger  and  enemy  to  the  true  God,  did 
not  conceive  that  the  Israelites  could  not 
acceptably  sacrifice  to  their  God,  whilst 
under  the  Egyptian  bondage. 

Moses,  desirous  of  convincing,  rather 
than  inflaming  the  infidel  prince,  discreetly 
answered,  'We  cannot  sacrifice  to  our  God 
in  this  land,  for  that  would  be  an  affront* 
to  the  Egyptians,  and  they  will  be  re- 
venged on  us:  permit  us  therefore  to 
avoid  their  resentment,   by  going  tlfree 


*  That  is,  if  we  should  sacrifice  those  creatures 
which  the  Egyptians  worship  for  gods,  as  the  ox 
and  the  sheep,  they  will  be  affronted  to  see  us 
sacrifice  their  gods  to  our  God.  Herodotus  ex- 
pressly tells  us  that  the  Egyptians  esteemed  it  a 
profanation  to  sacrifice  any  kind  of  cattle,  except 
swine,  bulls,  clean  cUves,  and  geese. 


days'  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and 
sacrifice  to  our  God,  as  he  hath  com- 
manded us.' 

1  If  nothing  else  will  serve  you,'  said 
Pharaoh,  *  but  to  go  into  the  desert,  I  will 
let  you  go,  but  not  far;  and  in  return  for 
this  concession,  entreat  your  God  to  re- 
move this  plague.' 

Moses  promised  to  intercede  for  him, 
but  cautioned  Pharaoh  to  be  sincere  in  his 
grant.  And  being  gone  from  his  presence, 
addressed  himself  to  God  to  remove  the 
plague  of  flies.  His  prayers  were  heard, 
and  the  insects  took  their  flight.  But  the 
plagues  were  no  sooner  removed,  than  the 
tyrant  reassumed  his  former  obstinacy,  nor 
would  even  yet  suffer  the  Israelites  to 
worship  the  Lord  their  God  in  the  way 
and  manner  he  had  directed  them. 

Upon  this  high  provocation,  God  sent 
Moses  again  to  Pharaoh  with  this  mes- 
sage: '  Thus  saith  the  God  of  the  Hebrews, 
Let  my  people  go  that  they  may  serve  me, 
or  be  assured  I  will  visit  all  thy  cattle  that 
are  in  the  field  with  a  grievous  murrain  ;f 
and  to  make  thee  still  more  sensible  of  my 
omnipotence,  I  will,  by  a  wonderful  dis- 
tinction, preserve  the  cattle  of  my  people, 
whilst  I  destroy  those  of  the  Egyptians.' 

The  awful  threatening  was  most  severe- 
ly executed  the  very  next  day,  through 
the  obstinacy  of  the  king.     The  generous 


•J-  We  may  observe  a  particular  scope  and  mean- 
ing in  this  calamity,  if  we  consider  it  with  regard 
to  the  Egyptians,  which  would  not  have  existed  in 
respect  to  any  other  people.  It  is  well  known 
that  they  held  in  idolatrous  reverence  the  lion, 
wolf,  dog,  cat,  ape,  and  goat.  But  they  had  gods 
which  they  held  in  still  greater  reverence  than 
these;  such  were  the  ox  or  steer;  the  cow  and 
heifer;  and  the  ram.  Among  these  the  Apis  and 
Mnevis  are  well  known;  the  former,  a  sacred 
bull  adored  at  Memphis;  and  the  latter  at  Helio- 
polis.  There  was  also  a  cow  or  heifer  which 
had  the  like  honours  at  Momemphis.  To  these 
may  be  added  the  goat  at  Mendes,  though  perhaps 
not  so  celebrated  as  the  others.  This  judgment, 
therefore,  upon  the  kine  of  Egypt,  was  very  signi- 
ficant in  its  execution  and  purport.  The  Egyp- 
tians not  only  suffered  a  severe  loss,  but  what  was 
of  far  greater  consequence,  they  saw  the  represen- 
tative of  their  deities,  and  their  deities  themselves, 
sink  before  the  God  of  the  Hebrews. — Bryant. 


112 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IL 


horse  loathed  his  full  manger  and  loved 
pastures,  and  sunk  under  his  rider ;  the 
ass  and  camel  could  no  longer  support 
their  burdens,  or  their  own  weight;  the 
labouring  ox  dropped  down  dead  before 
the  plough  ;  the  harmless  sheep  died  bleat- 
ing, and  the  faithful  dogs  lay  gasping  by 
them. 

Notwithstanding  this  horrid  spectacle, 
Pharaoh  continued  his  former  temper,  re- 
solved still  to  brave  heaven  with  his  im- 
pious perverseness :  and,  remembering 
what  Moses  had  said  of  the  preservation 
of  the  Israelites'  cattle,  he  sent  to  Goshen 
to  learn  how  it  had  fared  with  them,  and 
was  assured  there  was  not  one  of  the  cat- 
tle of  the  Israelites  dead;  by  which  he 
might  have  seen  that  this  was  no  casualty, 
but  a  direct  judgment  upon  him,  exactly 
answering  the  divine  prediction.  Not- 
withstanding this,  he  continued  in  his 
former  resolution,  not  to  let  the  Israel- 
ites go. 

As  all  these  means  proved  ineffectual 
to  soften  the  obdurate  heart  of  this  im- 
pious monarch,  the  Almighty  therefore 
determined  to  surprise  him  with  a  plague, 
without  giving  him  any  warning,  and  im- 
mediately commanded  Moses  and  Aaron 
to  take  handsful  of  ashes  from  the  furnace, 
and  before  Pharaoh's  face  to  throw  them 
in  the  air. 

The  ashes  soon  spread  the  dire  con- 
tagion, and  the  tainted  air  infected  the 
Egyptians'  blood  with  its  poisonous  influ- 
ence ;  which  appeared  upon  their  skin  in 
swelling    scabs    and    ulcers,*    and    their 


*  As  the  Egyptians  were  celebrated  for  their 
medical  skill,  and  their  physicians  were  held  in  the 
highest  repute,  the  sixth  plague, — the  infliction  of 
boils  accompanied  with  hlaius  (Exod.  ix.  8 — 12.), 
which  neither  their  deities  could  avert,  nor  the  art 
of  man  alleviate,  would  further  show  the  vanity  of 
their  gods.  Aaron  and  Moses  were  ordered  to 
take  ashes  of  the  furnace,  and  to  scatter  them  to- 
wards heaven,  that  they  might  be  wafted  over  the 
face  of  the  country.  This  was  a  significant  com- 
mand. The  ashes  were  to  be  taken  from  that  fiery 
furnace,  which  in  the  Scripture  was  used  as  a  type 
of  the  slavery  of  the  Israelites,  and  of  the  cruelty 
which  they  experienced  in  Egypt.  (Deut.  iv.  20.) 
The  process  has  still  a  further  allusion  to  an  idol- 
atrous and  cruel  rite,  which  was  common  among 


whole  constitution  became  a  noisome 
spring  of  sores.  This  plague  was  so  tor- 
turing that  the  magicians,  who  possibly 
once  more  would  have  tried  their  skill  to 
see  if  thev  could  regain  their  credit,  were 
not  able  to  stand  before  Moses,  for  it  af- 
fected them  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 
Egyptians. 

Pharaoh's  obstinacy,  which  before  pro- 
ceeded from  an  implacable  hatred  to  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  now  arose  from  a 
judicial  hardness  of  heart,  as  the  immediate 
effect  of  a  divine  and  supernatural  cause. 
The  Almighty  rendered  the  very  powers 
of  heaven  subservient  to  his  divine  pur- 
pose, giving  this  charge  to  his  servant 
Moses,  '  Go  early  in  the  morning  to  the 
king  of  Egypt,  and  tell  him  that  I, 
the  God  of  the  Hebrews,  demand  the  li- 
berty of  my  people,  that  they  may  wor- 
ship me :  which  if  he  refuse,  he  may  be 
assured  I  will  shower  my  plaguesf  upon 
him,  and  his  people,  and  I  will  make  him 
know  that  I  am  the  only  God  on  earth. 
Say  further  to  him  :  If  when  lately  I  smote 
the  cattle  with  the  murrain,  I  had  smitten 
thee  and  thy  people  with  pestilence,  thou 
hadst  been  cut  off  from  the  earth. :f     But 


the  Egyptians,  and  to  which  it  is  opposed  as  a  con- 
trast. They  had  several  cities  styled  Typhonian, 
such  as  Heliopolis,  Idythia,  Abaris,  and  Busiris. 
In  these,  at  particular  seasons,  they  sacrificed  men. 
The  objects  thus  destined,  were  persons  with 
bright  hair,  and  a  particular  complexion,  such  as 
were  seldom  to  be  found  among  the  native  Egyp- 
tians. Hence,  we  may  infer  that  they  were  for- 
eigners ;  and  it  is  probable,  that  whilst  the  Israel- 
ites resided  in  Egypt,  they  were  chosen  from  their 
body.  They  were  burnt  alive  upon  a  high  altar, 
and  thus  sacrificed  for  the  good  of  the  people.  At 
the  close  of  the  sacrifice,  the  priests  gathered  toge- 
ther the  ashes  of  these  victims,  and  scattered  them 
upwards  in  the  air,  with  the  view,  probably,  that 
where  any  atom  of  this  dust  was  carried,  a  blessing 
might  be  entailed.  The  like  was,  therefore,  done 
by  Moses,  though  with  a  different  intention,  and 
to  a  fbore  certain  effect. — Bryant. 

\  By  plagues,  in  this  place,  Exod.  ix.  14.  is  not 
meant,  that  God  would  send  all  the  plagues  which 
he  afterwards  inflicted  successively,  but  those 
which  attended  this  plague  from  heaven,  as  hail, 
thunder,  lightning,  and  rain. 

%  Here  God  shows  that  he  wanted  not  power 
to  destroy  Pharaoh  and  his  subjects  for  oppressing 
his  people  Israel  ;  but  that  ||p  reserved  him  tor 
greater  punishment. 


Chap.  II.  ] 


THE  BIBLE 


113 


I  have  reserved  thee  to  show  my  power 
upon,  and  by  the  judgments  I  shall  inflict 
upon  him,  I  will  publish  my  name  to  all 
the  world.  Oppress  not,  nor  detain  my 
people ;  for  if  thou  dost,  to-morrow  by 
this  time,  unless  thou  submittest  thyself, 
I  will  send  such  a  storm  of  hail  from  hea- 
ven upon  Egypt,  as  never  was  known  since 
it  was  a  nation.  And  that  thou  mayest 
not  lose  what  cattle  the  murrain  hath 
left,  which  being  not  in  the  field  escaped 
that  plague,  send  thy  servants,  and  let  them 
drive  them  under  shelter  ;  for  upon  every 
man  and  beast,  which  shall  be  found  in 
the  field,  the  storm  shall  fall,  and  they 
shall  surely  die.' 

So  heedless  as  well  as  impious  was 
Pharaoh,  that  even  this  declaration  could 
not  induce  to  preserve  himself,  or  his  peo- 
ple :  but  some  of  them,  who  had  been  wit- 
nesses of  the  dreadful  wrath  of  God,  made 
a  prudent  use  of  the  divine  caution,  and 
housed  their  cattle  in  time,  by  which 
means  they  were  preserved.* 

The  time  appointed  being  come,  Moses 
attended  the  hardened  king,  and  to  con- 
vince him  of  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
threatened  him  with,  waved  his  wand  in 
the  air,  which  soon  began  to  murmur  in 
imperfect  sounds,  till  full  charged  clouds 
with  impetuous  force  burst  and  discharged 
themselves  in  such  terrible  peels  of  thun- 
der, as  shook  the  whole  frame  of  nature. 
This  was  succeeded  by  a  stony  shower  of 
monstrous  hail,f  such  as  winter  never  yet 

*  It  is  said  of  those  that  secured  their  cattle  by 
housing  them  before  the  storm,  that  'they  feared 
the  Lord ;'  which  implies  not  a  reverential  fear, 
but  a  servile  fear,  into  which  they  had  been  terri- 
fied by  the  judgments  God  had  inflicted  on  them. 

•f-  Tuis  plague  demonstrated  that  neither  Osiris, 
who  presided  over  tire,  nor  Isis,  who  presided  over 
water,  could  protect  the  fields  and  the  climate  of 
Egypt  from  the  thunder,  the  rain,  and  the  hail  of 
Jehovah.  These  phenomena  were  of  extremely 
rare  occurrence  at  any  period  of  the  year ;  they 
now  fell  at  a  time  when  the  air  was  most  calm 
and  serene.  Bryant. — Though  this  was  a  preter- 
natural storm,  there  have  been  many  of  a  natural 
kind  that  have  proved  exceedingly  destructive. 
Mezeray  informs  us  that  in  Italy,  in  1510,  after  a 
horrible  darkness,  there  fell  a  shower  of  hailstones 
which  destroyed  most  of  the  animals  in  tne  coun- 


produced,  which  covered  the  ground  with 
the  scattered  ruins  of  trees  and  houses, 
and  the  dead  bodies  of  men  and  beasts. 

Nor  did  the  divine  vengeance  stop  here; 
the  heavens  became  a  body  of  liquid  fire, 
which  darting  on  the  ground,  glided  over 
the  waters,  and  filled  every  place  with 
dreadful  horror. 

This  shocked  the  haughty  tyrant;  who 
seeing  nature,  as  he  imagined,  ready  to 
dissolve,  melted  into  penitence,  and  con- 
fessed himself  guilty. 

But  this  being  an  act  of  necessity,  not 
of  virtue,  it  died  with  his  fear,  which 
Moses  foresaw;  for  when  Pharaoh  begged 
him  to  intercede  to  God  for  him,  and  to 
remove  this  plague,  Moses  told  him  he 
would  answer  his  request,  but  assured 
him  he  knew  he  did  not  mean  sincerely; 
and  that  his  repentance  was  only  the 
effect  of  his  fright.  % 


try.  In  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  in  1697,  a  storm 
of  hail  for  about  sixty  miles  in  length,  did  exten- 
sive damage  by  killing  birds  and  small  animals, 
knocking  down  men  and  horses,  &c.  And  Brown 
mentions  a  storm  in  Hertfordshire,  whose  stones 
were  from  ten  to  fourteen  inches  in  circumference. 
Jehovah  says  to  Job,  ■  Hast  thou  seen  the  trea- 
sures of  the  hail,  which  I  have  reserved  against  the 
time  of  trouble,  against  the  day  of  battle  and  war,' 
Job  xxxviii.  22,  23.  While  (iod  has  such  artil- 
lery at  command,  how  soon  may  he  desolate  a 
country  or  a  world  ! 

J  He  saw  his  cattle  struck  dead  with  a  sudden 
contagion;  he  saw  his  sorcerers  (after  their  con- 
testation with  God's  messengers)  struck  with  * 
scab  in  their  very  faces,  and  yet  his  heart  is  not 
struck.  Who  would  think  it  possible,  that  any 
soul  could  be  secure  in  the  midst  of  such  variety 
and  frequence  of  judgments?  These  very  plague* 
have  not  more  wonder  in  them  than  their  success 
hath.  To  what  a  height  of  obduration  will  sin 
lead  a  man,  and  of  all  sins,  incredulity!  Amidst 
all  these  storms  Pharaoh  sleepeth,  till  the  voice  of 
God's  mighty  thunders,  and  hail  mixed  with  fire, 
roused  him  up  little.  Now  as  betwixt  sleepini 
and  waking,  he  start.  up.  and  says,  'God  is  righte- 
ous, 1  am  wicked  -  Moses,  pray  for  us;'  and  pre- 
sently lays  down  >us  heat:  again.  God  hath  no 
sooner  done  thunae:rin6  than  he  hath  done  fear- 
ing. All  this  which  yoi  never  find  him  careful  to 
prevent  any  one  evil,  but  desirous  still  to  shift  it 
off,  when  he  feels  it;  never  holds  constant  to  any 
good  motion ;  never  prays  for  himself,  but  care- 
lessly wills  Mo3es  and  Aaron  to  pray  for  him  ; 
never  yields  (iod  his  whole  demand,  but  higglctu 
like  some  hard  chapman,  that  would  get  a  releaso 
with  the  cheapest.  —  Hall. 


114 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book 


Of  this  the  Lord,  as  he  had  done  be- 
fore, gave  Moses  notice:  'I  have  harden- 
ed his  heart,*  and  the  hearts  of  his  ser- 
vants, that  I  may  show  these  my  wonders 


*  Several  things  are  said  in  scripture  to  be 
done  by  God,  which  are  only  permitted  by  him 
to  come  to  pass  in  their  ordinary  course  and  pro- 
cedure :  and  thus  God  may  be  said  to  harden  Pha- 
raoh's heart,  only  because  he  did  not  interpose, 
but  suffered  him  to  be  carried,  by  the  bent  of  his 
own  passions,  to  that  inflexible  obstinacy,  which 
proved  his  ruin.  That  Moses,  to  whom  God  used 
these  expressions  concerning  Pharaoh,  understood 
them  in  this  sense,  is  evident  from  many  parts  of 
his  behaviour  to  him,  and  especially  from  his 
earnestly  entreating  him  to  be  persuaded,  and  to 
let  the  people  go.  Had  Moses  known,  or  ever 
thought,  that  God  had  doomed  Pharaoh  to  un- 
avoidable ruin,  it.  had  been  an  unwarrantable  pre- 
sumption in  him  to  have  persuaded  him  to  have 
avoided  it:  but  that  Moses,  with  all  possible  appli- 
cation, endeavoured  to  make  an  impression  upon 
Pharaoh  for  his  good,  is  manifest  from  this  passage, 
'glory  over  me,'  i.  e.  do  me  the  honour  to  believe 
me,  when  I  shall  entreat  for  thee,  and  for  thy  ser- 
vants ;  wherein  he  makes  an  earnest  address  to 
Pharaoh,  to  induce  him  to  be  persuaded  to  part 
with  the  people,  which  he  certainly  never  would 
have  done,  had  he  been  satisfied  that  God  himself 
had  prevented  his  compliance,  on  purpose  to  bring 
him  to  ruin.  It  is  farther  to  be  observed,  there- 
fore, that,  not  only  in  the  Hebrew,  but  in  most 
other  languages,  the  occasion  of  an  action,  and 
what  in  itself  has  no  power  to  produce  it,  is  very 
often  put  for  the  efficient  cause  thereof.  Thus,  in 
the  case  before  us,  God  sends  Moses  to  Pharaoh, 
and  Moses  in  his  presence  does  such  miraculous 
works  as  would  have  had  an  effect  upon  any 
other:  but  because  he  saw  some  of  the  miracles 
imitated  by  the  magicians  ;  because  the  plagues 
which  God  sent  came  gradually  upon  him,  and  by 
the  intercession  of  Moses  were  constantly  remov- 
ed; he  thence  took  occasion,  instead  of  being  soft- 
ened by  this  alternative  of  mercy  and  judgment, 
to  become  more  sullen  and  obdurate.  *  When 
Pharaoh,'  as  the  text  tells,  'saw  that  the  rain,  and 
the  hail,  and  the  thunder  ceased,  he  sinned  yet 
more,  and  hardened  his  heart.'  The  mercy  of  God, 
which  should  have  led  him  to  repentance,  had  a 
contrary  effect  upon  him,  and  made  him  more  ob- 
stinate; 'for  an  hardened  heart,'  as  Bishop  Patrick 
expresses  it,  '  is  neither  cut  by  compunction,  nor 
softened  by  any  sense  of  pity.  It  is  neither  moved 
by  entreaties,  nor  yields  to  threatenings,  nor  feels 
the  smart  of  scourges.  It  is  ungrateful  to  benefac- 
tors, treacherous  to  counsels,  sullen  under  judg- 
ments, fearless  in  dangers,  forgetful  of  things  past, 
negligent  of  things  present,  and  improvident  for  the 
future;'  all  which  bad  qualities  seem  to  have  con- 
centred in  Pharaoh.  For  whatever  might  have  con- 
tributed to  his  obduration  at  first,  it  is  plain  that,  in 
the  event,  even  when  the  magicians  owned  a  divine 
power  in  what  they  saw  done,  and  were  quite  con- 
founded when  they  felt  themselves  smitten  with  the 
boils,  and  might  thereupon  very  likely  persuade  him 
to  surrender ;  he  is  so  far  from  relenting,  that  he 


before  them,  and  that  thou  mayest  tell  in 
the  hearing  of  thy  sons,  and  the  Israelites 
to  succeeding-  generations,  what  prodigies 
I  have  wrought  in  Egypt,  that  ye  may  all 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  the  almighty 
Jehovah.  Wherefore  go  to  Pharaoh,  and 
tell  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  the 
Hebrews,  Why  dost  thou  persist  in  thy 
obstinacy  ?  Let  my  people  go  that  they 
may  serve  me,  or  I  will  bring  the  locusts 
into  thy  land  to-morrow,  which  shall  come 
in  such  swarms,  as  shall  cover  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  devour  all  the  products 
of  it  that  have  escaped  the  former  plagues. 
And  this  shall  prove  such  a  plague  as 
none  of  thy  predecessors  ever  saw.' 

Having  thus  delivered  the  will  of  the 
Almighty,  his  servant  Moses  retired,  which 
the  courtiers  perceiving,  and  fearing  he 
was  gone  to  call  down  more  plagues  upon 
them,  very  roughly  accosted  their  king, 
desiring  him  to  let  the  Israelites  go  to 
serve  their  God,  lest  he  destroy  them  all 
for  his  obstinacy.  Their  importunity  pre- 
vailed more  than  God's  threats  and  judg- 
ments ;  therefore  sending  for  Moses  and 
Aaron,  he  told  them  they  might  go  and 
serve  their  God;  but  only  the  men,  not 
women  or  children  Moses  insisted  upon 
all  the  Israelites  going,  young  and  old, 
sons  and  daughters ;  nay,  and  their  flocks 
and  herds:  'For  we  must  hold  a  feast,' 
says  he,  ■  to  the  mighty  Jehovah,  and  all 
must  be  at  it'  This  put  Pharaoh  out  of 
temper,  for  he  looked  upon  this  demand 
as  very  insolent;  therefore  he  bade  them 
look  to  it,  and  consider  well  what  they 
insisted  on,  and  in  a  very  threatening 
manner  dismissed  them. 

The  servant  of  God  being  again  repuls- 
ed, another  judgment  was  inflicted  on  tin- 
miserable  subjects  of  an  infidel  king ;  for 

does  not  so  much  as  ask  a  removal  of  the  plague 
It  was  therefore  entirely  agreeable  to  the  rules  ul 
divine  justice,  when  nothing  would  reclaim  this 
wicked  king;  when  even  that  which  wrought  upon 
the  ministers  of  Satan,  made  no  impression  upon 
him,  to  let  his  crime  become  his  punishment,  and 
to  leave  him  to  'eat  the  bitter  fruit  of  his  own 
ways,  and  to  be  filled  with  his  own  devices.'— 
Stackhouse. 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE.  115 

Moses  by  the  divine  command  stretched  !  naked  and  depopulated,  as  if  the  northern 
out  his  hand  with  the  rod  in  it,  and  im-  j  storms  of  winter  had  invaded  it.  The 
mediately  a  scorching  hot  wind  *  blew  all ,  happy  product  of  the  fertile  Nile,  and  all 
that  day  and  the  night  following,  which  by  that  bountiful  nature  afforded,  was  carried 
next  morning  brought  endless  legions  of  ■  off  by  these  airy  pillagers.  Pharaoh  be- 
devouring  locusts,  f  which  left  the  earth  as   gan  to  be  a  little  more  sensibly  touched 


*  Our  translation  has  east  wind  ;  the  Vulgate, 
a  burning  wind  ;  the  Septuagint,  a  south  wind, — 
which  opinion  I  follow,  (though  the  Jews  will 
unanimously  have  it  to  be  an  east  wind,)  because 
the  south  parts  of  Africa  were  most  infested  with 
locusts,  where  they  are  in  some  places  the  chief 
food  of  the  inhabitants. 

•j-  They  are  like  the  creature  which  we  properly 
cali  a  grasshopper.  Wonderful  are  the  accounts 
which  authors  report  of  these  kinds  of  armies  of 
locusts,  and  of  the  order  and  regularity  of  their 
marches.  Aldronandus  and  Fincilius  say,  that  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  852,  they  were  seen  to  fly 
over  twenty  miles  in  Germany  in  one  day,  in  the 
manner  of  a  formed  army,  divided  into  several 
squadrons,  and  having  their  quarters  apart  when 
they  rested ;  that  the  captain  marched  a  day's  jour- 
ney before  the  rest,  to  choose  the  most  opportune 
place  for  their  camp :  that  they  never  removed  till 
sun  rising ;  at  which  time  they  went  away  in  as  much 
order  as  an  army  of  men  could  do;  that  at  last 
having  done  great  mischief  wheresoever  they  pass- 
ed, after  prayers  made  to  God,  they  were  driven 
by  a  violent  wind  into  the  Belgic  ocean,  and 
there  drowned  ;  but  being  cast  again  by  the  sea 
upon  the  shore,  caused  a  great  pestilence  in  the 
country.  Some  add,  that  they  covered  an  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  land  at  a  time.  St  Jerome 
upon  Joel  speaks  thus:  'When  the  armies  of  lo- 
custs came  lately  into  these  parts  and  rilled  all  the 
air,  they  flew  in  so  great  order,  that  slates  in  a 
pavement  cannot  be  laid  more  regularly,  neither 
did  they  stir  one  inch  out  of  their  ranks.'  A 
number  of  locusts  were  seen  and  taken  near  Lon- 
don in  1748,  which  measured  from  two  to  four 
inches  long Fleetwood. 

The  locust  is  one  of  the  most  terrible  scourges 
witli  which  the  incensed  Majesty  of  heaven  chas- 
tises a  guilty  world.  In  some  regions  of  the  east, 
the  whole  earth  is  at  times  covered  with  this 
creature  for  the  space  of  several  leagues,  often  to 
the  depth  of  four,  sometimes  of  six  or  seven  inches. 
Their  approach,  which  causes  a  noise  like  the 
rushing  of  a  torrent,  darkens  the  horizon,  and  so 
enormous  is  their  multitude,  it  hides  the  light  of 
the  sun,  and  casts  an  awful  gloom  like  that  of  an 
eclipse  over  the  field.  Major  Moore,  when  at 
Poonah,  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  an  im- 
mense army  of  these  animals,  which  ravaged  the 
Mahratta  country,  and  was  supposed  to  have  come 
from  Arabia.  "  The  column  they  composed," 
says  he,  "  extended  five  hundred  miles ;  and  so 
compact  was  it  when  on  the  wing,  that  like  an 
eclipse,  it  completely  hid  the  sun,  so  that  no  sha- 
dow was  cast  by  any  object;"  and  some  lofty 
tombs  distant  from  his  residence  not  two  hundred 
yards,  were  rendered  quite  invisible.  The  noise 
they  make  in  browsing  on  the  trees  and  herbage, 
may  be  heard  at  a  great  distance,  and  resembles 


the  rattling  of  hail,  or  the  noise  of  an  army  forag- 
ing in  secret.     The  inhabitants  of  Syria  have  ob- 
served that  locusts  are  always  bred  by  too  mild 
winters,  and  that  they  constantly  come  from  the 
deserts  of  Arabia.     When  they  breed,  which  is  in 
the  month  of  October,  they  make  a  hole  in  the 
ground  with  their  tails,  and  having  laid  three  hun- 
dred eggs  in  it,  and  covered  them  with  their  feet, 
expire  ;  for  they  never  live  above  six  months  and 
a  half.     Neither  rains  nor  frost,  however  long  and 
severe,  can  destroy  their  eggs  ;  they  continue  till 
spring,  and,  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  the 
young  locusts  issue  from  the  earth  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April.     Wherever  their  innumerable  bands 
direct  their  march,  the  verdure  of  the  country, 
though  it  resembled  before  the  paradise  of  God, 
almost  instantaneously  disappears.     The  trees  and 
plants,  stripped  of  their  leaves,  and  reduced  to 
their  naked  boughs  and  steins,  cause  the  dreary 
image  of  winter  to  succeed  in  an  instant  to  the 
rich  scenery  of  spring;  and  the  whole  country  puts 
on  the  appearance  of  being  burnt.     Fire  itself  de- 
vours not  so  fast ;  nor  is  a  vestige  of  vegetation  to  be 
found  when  they  again  take  their  flight  to  produce 
similar  disasters.      In  a  few  hours  they  eat  up 
every  green  thing,  and  consign  the  miserable  in- 
habitants of  the  desolated  regions  to  inevitable 
famine.     Many  years  are  not  sufficient  to  repair 
the  desolation  which  these  destructive  insects  pro- 
duce.    When  they  first  appear  on  the  frontiers  of 
the  cultivated  lands,  the  husbandmen,  if  sufficient- 
ly numerous,  sometimes  divert  the  storm  by  their 
gestures  and  their  cries,  or  they  strive  to  repulse 
them  by  raising  large  clouds  of  smoke,  but  fre- 
quently their  herbs  and  wet  straw  fail  them  ;  they 
then  dig  a  variety  of  pits  and  trenches,  all  over 
their  fields  and  gardens,  which  they  till  with  water, 
or  with   heath,   stubble,   and   other   combustible 
matter,  which  they  set  on  tire  upon  the  approach 
of  the  enemy.     But  they  are  all  to  no  purpose, 
for  the  trenches  are  quickly  tilled,  and  the  fires 
extinguished,   by  infinite  swarms  succeeding  one 
another;  and  forming  a  bed  on  their  fields  of  six 
or  seven  inches  in  thickness.    The  southerly  winds 
waft  them  over  the    Mediterranean,   where  they 
perish  in  so  great  quantities,  that  when  their  car 
cases  are  cast  on  the  shore,  they  infect  the  air  for 
several  days  to  a  considerable  distance.     In  a  state 
of  putrefaction,   the   stench   emitted   from    their 
bodies  is  scarcely  to   be  endured  ;  the  traveller, 
who  crushes  them  below  the  wheels  of  his  waggon, 
or  the  feet  of  his  horses,  is  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  washing  his  nose  with  vinegar,  and  holding  ht> 
handkerchief,  dipped  in  it,  continually  to  his  nos- 
trils. 

One  of  the  most  grievous  calamities  ever  inflict- 
ed by  the  locust,  happened  to  the  regions  of  Africa 
in  the  time  of  the  Komans,  and  fell  with  peculiar 
weight  on  those  parts  which  were  subject  to  their 


116 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


with  this  plague  than  any  of  the  former; 
for  lie  plainly  foresaw  that  the  destruction 
of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  must  in  time 
prove  the  destruction  of  man  and  beast; 
therefore  calling  hastily  for  Moses  and 
Aaron,  he  in  a  more  suppliant  manner 
than  usual  addressed  himself  to  them  :  '  I 
have  indeed  offended  Jehovah,  your  God, 
in  refusing  to  obey  his  command,  and  you, 
in  breaking  my  word  so  often  with  you ; 
forgive  me  this  offence,  and  entreat  your 
God  to  avert  this  judgment,  that  I  and  my 
people  perish  not  by  devouring  famine. 
Moses  answered  his  request,  and  once 


empire.  An  immense  number  of  locusts  covered 
the  whole  country,  consumed  every  plant  and 
every  blade  of  grass  in  the  Held,  without  sparing 
the  roots,  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  with  the 
tendrils  upon  which  they  grew.  These  being  ex- 
hausted, they  penetrated  with  their  teeth  the  bark, 
however  bitter,  and  even  corroded  the  dry  and 
solid  timber.  After  they  had  accomplished  this  ter- 
rible destruction,  a  sudden  blast  of  wind  dispersed 
them  into  different  portions,  and  after  tossing 
thi'm  awile  in  the  air,  plunged  their  innumerable 
hosts  into  the  sea.  But  the  deadly  scourge  was 
not  then  at  an  end,  the  raging  billows  threw  up 
enormous  heaps  of  their  dead  and  corrupted  ftodies 
upon  that  long  extended  coast,  which  produced  a 
most  insupportable  and  poisonous  stench.  This 
soon  brought  on  a  pestilence,  which  affected  every 
species  of  animals;  so  that  birds,  and  sheep,  and  cat- 
tle, and  even  tUe  wild  beasts  of  the  Held,  perished  in 
great  numbers  ;  and  their  carcasses,  being  soon  ren- 
dered putrid  by  the  foulness  of  the  air,  added  great- 
ly to  the  general  corruption.  The  destruction  of 
tlie  human  species  was  horrible;  in  Numidia,  where 
at  that  time  31icipsa  was  king,  eighty  thousand 
prisons  died  ;  and  in  that  part  of  the  sea-coast 
which  bordered  upon  the  region  of  Carthage  and 
Ufie  i,  two  hundred  thousand  are  said  to  have  been 
carried  off' by  this  pestilence — The  Jews  were  al- 
lowed to  eat  locusts;  and  when  sprinkled  with  salt, 
and  fried,  they  are  pot  unlike  our  fresh  water  cray 
fish.  Many  nations  in  the  East,  as  the  Indians  of 
tlit*  Hashee  islands,  the  Tonquinese,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Madagascar,  make  no  scruple  to  eat 
these  insects,  of  which  they  have  innumerable 
bwaims,  and  prefer  them  to  the  Hnest  Hsh.  The 
Amlw  feed  on  them  to  this  day,  and  prepare  them 
for  use  in  the  following  manner:  they  grind  them 
to  Hour  in  their  hand-mills,  or  powder  them  in 
Mime  mortars.  This  Hour  they  mix  with  water  to 
t!i>-  consistency  of  dough,  and  make  thin  cakes  of 
it,  which  they  bake  like  other  bread  on  a  heated 
girdles  and  this,  observes  llasselquist,  serves  in- 
stead of  bread  lo  support'life  for  want  of  something 
bi  tier.  At  other  times  they  boil  them  in  water, 
and  afterwards  stew  them  with  butter,  and  make 
a  sort  of  fricassee,  which  has  no  bad  taste. — Pax- 
Ion »  Script.  Must. 


more  compassionating  the  case  of  the  just- 
ly afflicted  king,  besought  the  Almighty 
in  his  behalf,  and  the  locusts  were  driven 
by  force  of  a  westerly  wind  into  the  Ked 
sea.* 

This  plague  thus  removed,  Pharaoh 
returned  to  his  former  obstinacy  and  con- 
tempt of  God's  commands,  and  refused  to 
let  the  Israelites  go. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  plague  of  darkness. — Death  of  the  first-born 
threatened. — Institution  of  the  passover. — 
Late  threatening  fulfilled. — Expulsion  of  the 
Israelites. —  The  first-born  devoted  to  the 
Lord. —  God  directs  the  Israelites  by  an  ex- 
traordinary token  in  their  passage  out  of 
Egypt. —  The  Israelites  are  pursued  by  Phar- 
aoh, who,  together  with  his  host,  are  drowned 
in  the  Red  sea. —  The  Israelites  praise  Goa 
for  their  deliverance. 

All  these  methods  proving  ineffectual  to 
reduce  Pharaoh  to  obedience  to  the  divine 
command,  God  bade  Moses  stretch  forth 
his  hand  towards  heaven,  that  there  might 
be  darkness  over  the  land  of  Egypt,  so 
thick  that  it  might  be  felt,  f 


*  The  sea  of  Suph,  or  the  Red  9ea,  lies  between 
Arabia  on  the  east,  and  Egypt  and  Abyssinia  on 
the  west,  and  is  in  length  about  1400  miles.  It  is 
by  some  thought  to  have  been  called  the  sea  of 
Suph,  or  the  weedy  sea,  because  of  the  great 
quantity  of  reeds  or  sea-wrack  found  at  its  bottom, 
and  on  its  shores.  Others,  however,  and  among 
them  is  Bruce,  think  it  derived  its  name  from  the 
great  quantity  of  coral  found  in  it.  Pliny  says,  it 
obtained  the  name  of  the  Red  sea,  in  Greek 
Erythrea,  from  a  king  called  Erythros,  who  reign- 
ed iti  Arabia,  and  whose  tomb  was  seen  in  the 
island  Tyrine,  or  Agyris.  Several  learned  men 
believe,  that  this  king  Erythros  is  Esau,  or  Edom ; 
Edom,  in  Hebrew,  signifying  red  or  ruddy,  as 
Erythros  does  in  Greek,  lint  the  dwelling  of 
Edom  was  east  of  Canaan,  towards  Bozra  ;  and 
Calmet  is  therefore  of  opinion,  that  this  name  was 
not  given  it  till  after  the  ldumeans,  the  descend- 
ants of  Edom,  had  spread  themselves  westward  a3 
far  as  the  Red  sea.  It  might  then  receive  the 
name  of  the  sea  of  Edom,  which  the  Greeks  ren- 
dered Thalassa  Erythrea,  or  the  Red  sea. 

t  So  the  Septuagii.t  and  most  translations  ren- 
der it.  Some  will  have  this  to  be  a  hyperhol  cal 
expression,  to  set  forth  the  excess  of  this  plague  : 
though  whether  this  darkness  was  really  in  the  air, 
or  only  in  their  eyes,  which  might  be  blinded  for 
a  time;  or  whether  a  suspension  of  light  from  the 
act  of  illumination  in  that  country  ;  or  whether  it 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


117 


Moses  obeyed  the  heavenly  command, 
and  immediately  such  solid  clouds  of  dark- 
ness invaded  the  sky,  that  nature  at  once 
seemed  to  be  involved  in  one  dreadful 
eclipse;  the  sun  no  longer  encouraged  the 
lower  world  with  his  cheerful  beams;  the 
moon,  with  the  stars,  no  more  illuminated 
the  darkened  air;  and  all  things  put  on 
the  dismal  aspect  of  death,  as  if  nature 
were  returning  to  her  original  chaos. 

This  scene  of  horror  lasted  for  three 
days,  which  so  affected  the  haughty  king, 
that  though  he  had  long  stood  immoveable 
against  the  threatenings  and  judgments  of 
God:  yet  now  fearing  a  universal  dissolu- 
tion, and  frighted  at  the  continual  terrors 
of  this  long  night,  *  he  began  to  relent  a 


were  from  a  black,  thick  and  damp  vapour,  which 
possessed  all  the  air,  it  is  impossible  to  determine. — 
As  the  Egyptians  betrayed  an  undue  reverence  for 
the  sun  and  light  ;  so  they  showed  a  like  venera- 
tion for  night  and  darkness :  regarding  them  as 
real,  sensible,  substantial  beings  ;  and  giving  them 
a  creative  power.  They  were  therefore  very  just- 
ly condemned  to  undergo  a  palpable  and  coercive 
darkness  ;  such  as  prevented  all  intercourse  for 
three  days.  In  short,  they  suffered  a  preternatural 
deprivation  of  fight,  which  their  luminary  Osiris 
could  not  remedy;  and  they  were  punished  with 
that  essential  night,  which  they  so  foolishly  had 
imagined,  and  at  last  found  realised — Bryant. 

*  It  is  the  opinion  of  several,  that  during  this 
three  days'  darkness,  the  Egyptians  were  frighted 
with  terrible  visions  and  spectres  ;  which  opinion 
is  very  much  strengthened  in  Wisdom,  xvii.  2 — 19. 
'  The  Egyptians  were  shut  up  in  their  houses,  the 
prisoners  of  darkness:  and  were  fettered  with  the 
bonds  of  a  long  night.  They  were  scattered  un- 
der a  dark  veil  of  forget  fulness,  being  horribly  as- 
tonished and  troubled  with  strange  apparitions  ; 
for  neither  might  the  corner  that  held  them  keep 
them  from  fear  ;  but  noises  as  if  waters  falling 
down  sounded  about  them  ;  and  sad  visions  ap- 
peared unto  them  with  heavy  countenances.  No 
power  of  the  tire  could  give  them  light — only  there 
appeared  unto  them  a  fire  kindled  of  itself  very 
dreadful;  for  being  much  terrified,  they  thought  the 
tilings  which  they  saw  to  be  worse  than  the  sight 
they  saw  not.  For  though  no  terrible  thing  did 
scare  them,  yet  being  scared  with  beasts  that  pass- 
ed by-  and  hissing  of  serpents,  they  died  for  Tear : 
for  whether  he  were  husbandman,  or  shepherd,  or 
a  labourer  in  the  field,  he  was  overtaken  ;  for  they 
were  all  bound  with  one  chain  of  darkness.  Whe- 
ther it  were  a  whistling  wind,  or  a  terrible  sound 
of  stones  cast  down,  or  a  running  that  could  not 
be  seen  of  tripping  beasts,  or  a  roaring  voice  of 
most  savage  wild  beasts,  or  a  rebounding  echo 
from  the  hollow  mountains,  these  things  made 
them  to  swoon  for  fear.'  Undoubtedly  from  such 
uti usual  darkness  they  thought  the  whole  order  of 


little,  and  calling  for  Moses,  said  to  him, 
'Ye  may  go  with  your  little  ones,  and 
serve  the  Lord;  but  for  my  security,  I 
would  have  you  leave  your  flocks  and 
herds  behind  you.' 

As  this  was  not  absolutely  consistent 
with  the  divine  command,  Moses  would 
not  deign  to  accept  it;  assuring  him  that 
it  was  the  express  command  of  their  God 
to  remove  with  all  their  substance;  and 
that  they  knew  not  in  what  manner  they 
were  to  offer  sacrifice  to  their  God,  till 
they  came  to  the  wilderness. 

The  haughty  tyrant,  incensed  at  his 
non-compliance  with  what  he  himself  es- 
teemed a  very  great  indulgence,  com- 
manded him  to  be  gone;  and  assured  him, 
that  if  ever  he  appeared  before  him  again, 
it  should  cost  him  his  life. 

Moses  took  him  at  his  word,  and  pro- 
mised never  more  to  see  his  face;  but  be- 
fore he  left  his  presence,  he  denounced 
this  judgment  to  him:  'Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  About  midnight  will  I  enter  Egypt, 
and  all  the  first-born  of  the  land  shall  die, 
from  the  first-born  of  Pharaoh  that  should 
succeed  him  in  the  throne,  to  the  first- 
born of  the  servant  in  the  mill;-!-  an(l  a^ 
the  first  born  of  beasts  shall  die.' 


the  world  to  be  overset  and  dissolved. — The  Is- 
raelites might  now  have  marched  off  unmolested  ; 
but  it  was  the  Lord's  pleasure  that  they  should  go 
forth,  not  as  abject  slaves,  but  as  triumphant  con- 
querors. 

f  The  people  of  the  East  commonly  make  use 
of  hand-mills.  Chardin  remarks  that  the  persons 
employed  in  grinding  are  generally  femnle  slaves, 
who  are  least  regarded,  or  are  least  fit  for  any 
thing  else  :  for  the  work  is  extremely  laborious, 
and  esteemed  the  lowest  employment  about  the 
house.  Most  of  their  corn  is  ground  by  these 
little  mills,  although  they  sometimes  make  use  of 
large  mil's,  wrought  by  oxen  or  camels.  Almost 
every  family  grind  their  wheat  and  barley  at 
home,  having  two  portable  millstones  for  that 
purpose;  of  which  the  uppermost  is  turned  round 
by  a  small  handle  of  wood  or  iron,  that  is  placed 
in  the  rim.  W  hen  this  stone  is  large,  or  expedi- 
tion is  required,  a  second  person  is  called  in  to  as- 
sist; and  as  it  is  usual  for  the  women  only  to  be 
concerned  in  this  employment,  who  seat  themselves 
over  against  each  other,  with  the  millstone  be- 
tween them,  we  may  see  the  propriety  of  the  ex- 
pression in  the  declaration  of  Moses  :  •  And  all 
the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  dfe,  from 


118 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


And  to  possess  Pharaoh  and  his  sub- 
jects with  the  greater  fear  of  this  judg- 
ment, he  told  them  there  should  be  such 
great  lamentations  through  all  Egypt  as 
never  was  known  before.  And  to  con- 
vince them  of  his  care  and  indulgence  of 
his  own  people,  he  told  the  Egyptians 
that  not  the  least  harm  should  befall  the 
Israelites. 

Though  the  king  still  bid  him  defiance, 
to  let  him  see  he  despised  his  threats,  he 
told  him,  he  would  so  humble  his  subjects 
with  the  succeeding  plague,  that  even  his 
counsellors  and  prime  ministers  of  state 
should  come  and  fall  down  at  his  feet  and 
entreat  him  and  the  Israelites  to  be  gone. 
And  after  that,  said  Moses,  I  will  go  out. 

Having  thus  delivered  his  last  message 
to  the  king  of  Egypt  with  a  more  than 
usual  warmth  of  zeal,  he  took  his  leave. 

As  the  chosen  people  of  God  were  not 
only  oppressed  in  their  persons,  but  also 
in  their  property,  by  the  tyranny  of  the 


the  first-bom  of  Pharaoh,  that  sitteth  upon  his 
throne,  even  unto  the  first-born  of  the  maid-servant 
that  is  behind  the  mill.'  The  manner  in  which  the 
hand-mills  are  worked,  is  well  described  by  Dr 
Clarke,  in  his  travels :  '  Scarcely  had  we  reached 
the  apartment  prepared  for  our  reception,  when, 
looking  from  the  window  into  the  court  yard  be- 
longing to  the  house,  we  beheld  two  women  grind- 
ing at  the  mill,  in  a  manner  most  forcibly  illustrat- 
ing the  saying  of  our  Saviour :  '  Two  women  shall 
be  grinding  at  the  mill,  the  one  shall  be  taken  and 
the  other  left.'  The  two  women,  seated  upon  the 
ground  opposite  to  each  other,  held  between  them 
two  round  flat  stones,  such  as  are  seen  in  Lapland, 
and  such  as  in  Scotland  are  called  querns.  In  the 
centre  of  the  upper  stone  was  a  cavity  for  pouring 
in  the  corn ;  and  by  the  side  of  this,  an  upright 
wooden  handle  for  moving  the  stone.  As  this 
operation  began,  one  of  the  women  opposite  re- 
ceived it  from  her  companion,  who  pushed  it  to- 
wards her,  who  again  sent  it  to  her  companion ; 
thus  communicating  a  rotatory  motion  to  the  up- 
per stone,  their  left  hands  being  all  the  while  em- 
ployed in  supplying  fresh  corn,  as  fast  as  the  bran 
and  flour  escaped  from  the  sides  of  the  machine. 
'  At  the  earliest  dawn  of  the  morning,'  says  Mr 
Forbes,  'in  all  the  Hindoo  towns  and  villages,  the 
hand-mills  are  at  work,  when  the  menials  and 
widows  grind  meal  for  the  daily  consumption  of 
the  family :  this  work  is  always  performed  by 
women,  who  resume  their  task  every  morning,  es- 
pecially the  forlorn  Hindoo  widows,  divested  of 
every  ornament  and  with  their  heads  shaved,  de- 

fraded  to  almost  a  state  of  servitude.'  —  Script, 
llust. 


Egyptians,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  en- 
courage his  servant  Moses  to  support 
them  in  their  deliverance  from  bondage, 
to  promise  them  favour  with  their  former 
oppressors,  and  instruct  him  to  borrow  of 
them  their  most  valuable  commodities. 

It  was  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
first  month  *  that  Moses  took  his  leave  of 
Pharaoh:  and  God,  having  predetermined 
his  people's  deliverance  at  this  time,  had 
instituted  the  passover  some  days  before, 
and  given  direction  to  Moses  how  it 
should  be  observed ;  which  was  after  this 
manner. 

Every  family  of  Israel,  or  if  the  family 
was  too  little,  two  neighbouring  families 
joining  together,  was  on  the  tenth  day  of 
this  month  to  take  a  lamb  or  kid,  and  shut 
it  up  till  the  fourteenth  day  of  this  month; 
and  then  it  was  to  be  killed. 

The  lamb  or  kid  must  be  a  male  of  the 
first  year,  and  without  blemish ; — a  type 
of  Christ,  who  was  perfectly  innocent. 
When  it  was  killed,  they  were  to  take  a 
bunch  of  hyssop,f  and  dipping  it  in  the 
blood,  which  for  that  end  was  preserved 
in  a  vessel,  they  were  to  wipe  the  upper 
door-post,  and  the  side-posts  of  the  outer 
door  of  every  house  where  they  did  eat  it; 


*  The  Israelites,  till  they  had  been  captives  in 
Babylon,  which  was  about  eight  hundred  years 
after  they  came  out  of  Egypt,  counted  their  months 
without  any  name  according  to  their  number,  the 
first,  second,  third  month,  &c.  And  before  their 
coining  out  of  Egypt,  they  began  their  years  in 
that  month  which  was  afterwards  called  Tisri, 
which  took  in  part  of  the  seventh  and  part  of  the 
eighth  month  with  us,  and  they  continued  always 
after  to  begin  their  year  with  that  month  for  civil 
affairs,  according  to  which  computation,  that  month, 
which  was  afterwards  Nisan,  in  which  God  deliver- 
ed Israel  out  of  Egypt,  was  their  seventh.  And 
this  Nisan  answers  to  part  of  those  two  months, 
which  from  the  heathen  Romans  are  commonly 
called  March  and  April. 

■f  Hyssop  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  smallest  of 
herbs.  It  has  a  bitter  taste,  and  grows  on  the 
mountains  near  Jerusalem.  This  plant  is  ex- 
tremely well  adapted  for  sprinkling.  It  literally 
grows  in  bunches,  putting  out  abundance  of  suck- 
ers from  a  single  root.  It  grows  about  a  foot  and 
a  half  high  ;  and  at  u  distance  on  both  sides  of  its 
stock  it  pushes  out  longish  leaves,  and  carries  a 
blossom  on  the  top  of  the  stem,  of  an  azure  colour 
and  like  an  car  of  corn. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


119 


and  they  were  not  to  stir  out  of  the  house 
till  the  next  morning. 

This  was  done  to  the  intent,  that  when 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  should  go  from 
house  to  house  through  all  Egypt,  to  slay 
the  first-born  of  both  man  and  beast  of 
the  Egyptians,  he  seeing  the  blood  smear- 
ed on  the  door-posts,  might  pass  over 
those  houses,  wherein  the  Israelites  were 
eating  the  lamb  or  kid,  without  doing  them 
any  hurt :  and  from  the  angel's  thus  pass- 
ing over  their  houses,  this  institution  was 
called  the  Passover.  The  lamb  or  kid 
was  to  be  eaten  neither  raw  nor  sodden, 
but  roasted  with  fire,  and  to  be  dressed 
whole :  nor  might  a  bone  of  it  be  broken. 
It  was  tr  h*  eaten  with  unleavened  bread, 
and  with  bitter  herbs,  *  in  memory  of  the 
severe  bondage  they  had  undergone  in 
Egvpt.  If  there  remained  more  than 
could  be  eaten,  it  was  to  be  burnt;  and 
no  stranger  might  eat  of  it,  unless  he  was 
circumcised.  As  to  the  manner  of  eating 
it,  at  this  time  only,  they  were  to  eat  it  as 
in  haste,  with  their  clothes  on,  and  their 
staves  in  their  hands:  which  ceremony 
showed  their  eager  desire  of  deliverance, 
ind  their  readiness  for  it. 

These  precautions  being  taken  in  obe- 
dience to  the  divine  command,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Israelites,  at  midnight 
the  Lord  smote  all  the  first-bornf  in  the 

*  These  bitter  herbs,  according  to  the  Jews, 
were  probably  such  as  lettuce,  endive  or  cichory, 
chervel,  and  the  like. 

f  The  word  bekor  signifies  sometimes  a  person 
of  some  eminence  or  excellence,  as  well  as  the 
first-born :  and  therefore  it  may  not  be  an  unrea- 
sonable supposition,  that,  where  a  family  had  no 
first-born,  the  principal,  or  most  eminent  person, 
was  smitten  with  death, — which  is  certainly  better 
than  to  imagine,  with  some,  both  Jewish  and 
Christian  interpreters,  that  the  words  of  Moses 
are  only  applicable  to  a  house  that  had  a  first- 
born, or  with  St  Austin,  that  providence  did  so 
order  it  at  this  time  that  every  house  had  a  first- 
born. Since  this  however  is  the  concluding  judg- 
ment which  God  sent  upon  the  Egyptians,  it  may 
not  be  improper  here  to  inquire  a  little  how  long 
Moses  was  in  working  all  these  miracles.  Accord- 
ing to  Archbishop  Usher  then — who  has  included 
them  all  within  the  space  of  one  month — we  may 
suppose,  that,  about  the  18th  day  of  the  sixth 
month,  was  sent  the  plague  of  the  waters  turned 
into  blood,  which  ended  seven  days  after.     On  me 


land  of  Egypt,  from  the  first-born  of 
Pharaoh,  to  the  first-born  of  the  captive 
that  was  in  the  dungeon  ;|  and  all  the 
first-born  of  the  cattle  were  smitten,  as 
the  Lord  had  that  morning  denounced  to 
Pharaoh  and  Moses. 

This  severe  stroke  of  divine  vengeance 
at  length  alarmed  the  obdurate  Pharaoh 
and  blinded  subjects,  who  waked  each 
other  with   their   dismal  cries,  §  and   the 

25th  came  the  second  plague  of  frogs,  which  was 
removed  the  day  following,  and  on  the  27th,  that 
of  the  lice.  About  the  28th  Moses  threatened  the 
fourth  plague  of  flies,  and  inflicted  them  on  the 
29th.  On  the  1st  of  the  next  month,  which  was 
afterwards  made  the  first  month  of  the  year,  he 
foretold  the  fifth  plague  of  the  murrain,  and  in- 
flicted it  the  next;  and  on  the  3d,  the  sixth  plague 
of  boils,  which  fell  upon  the  Egyptians  themselves. 
About  the  4th  day  he  foretold  the  seventh  plague 
of  thunder  and  hail,  and  on  the  5th  inflicted  it. 
On  the  7th,  he  threatened  the  eighth  plague  of 
locusts,  and  having  sent  them  the  day  following, 
removed  them  on  the  ninth.  On  the  10th  he  in- 
stituted the  feast  of  the  passover,  and  brought  upon 
Egypt  the  ninth  plague,  of  darkness,  which  lasted 
for  three  days  ;  and  on  the  14th,  he  foretold  the 
tenth,  viz.  the  destruction  of  all  their  first-born, 
which  came  to  pass  the  night  following.  This 
seems  to  be  a  reasonable  period  of  time  ;  and  the 
gradual  increase  of  these  judgments  is  somewhat 
remarkable.  The  four  first  plagues  were  loath- 
some, rather  than  fatal,  to  the  Egyptians  ;  but 
after  that  of  the  flies,  came  the  murrain,  which 
chiefly  spent  its  rage  upon  the  cattle:  the  boils 
and  blains  reached  both  man  and  beast,  though 
there  was  still  a  reserve  for  life.  The  hail  and 
locusts  extended,  in  a  great  measure,  even  to  life 
itself;  the  first  by  an  immediate  stroke,  and  both 
consequently  by  destroying  the  fruits  of  the  earth. 
That  of  darkness  added  consternation  to  their 
minds,  and  lashes  to  their  consciences;  and  when 
all  this  would  not  reclaim,  at  length  came  the  de- 
cisive blow;  first  the  excision  of  the  first-born,  and 
then  the  drowning  of  the  incorrigible  tyrant  and 
all  his  host.  '  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works, 
O  Lord  God  Almighty  !  just  and  true  are  thy 
ways,  thou  King  of  saints  !' — Stackhouse. 

t  That  is,  those  meaner  servants,  that  are  put 
to  grinding,  as  Samson  afterwards  was,  when  he 
had  lost  at  once  both  his  eyes  and  liberty. 

§  The  Egyptians  of  all  nations  upon  earth  were 
most  frantic  in  their  grief.  When  any  person  died 
in  a  family,  all  the  relations  and  all  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  co-operated  in  a  scene  of  sorrow. 
And  the  process  was  to  quit  the  house ;  at  which 
the  women,  with  their  hair  loose,  and  their  bosoms 
bare,  ran  wild  about  the  streets.  The  men  like- 
wise, with  their  apparel  equally  disordered,  kept 
them  company  ;  all  shrieking,  and  howling,  and 
beating  themselves,  as  they  passed  along.  This 
was  upon  the  decease  of  an  individual :  but  when 
there  was  one  dead  in  every  family,  every  house 
must  have  been  in  a  great  measure  vacated,  and 


120 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


horror  of  the  night  added  to  their  confu- 
sion;  the  expiring  groans  of  their  beloved 
first-born  deeply  affected  them,  and  they 
expected  a  succession  of  death  upon  them- 
selves; Pharaoh,  hoping  to  avert  an  un- 
timely death,  in  haste  sent  for  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  commanded  them  to  be  gone 
with  all  speed.  *  Get  you  forth,'  says  he, 
1  from  among  my  people,  both  you  and 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  go  serve  your 
God  as  ye  have  said;  and  take  your  flocks 
and  your  herds,  as  ye  demanded,  and  be 
gone :  I  will  stand  no  longer  on  terms 
with  you;  only  pray  for  me,  that  this 
plague  may  go  no  further.'  Nor  were 
the  people  less  importunate  for  them  to 
be  gone;  for  they  concluded,  if  the  Israel- 
ites tarried  any  longer  among  them,  that 
they  should  all  die. 

Moses,  having  by  God's  express  com- 
mand directed  the  children  of  Israel  to 
borrow  of  their  Egyptian  neighbours 
jewels  of  silver  and  gold,  and  the  Lord 
having  disposed  the  Egyptians  to  lend 
them  what  they  asked  for,  they  by  these 
means  spoiled  the  Egyptians  of  their  most 
valuable  things:*  nay,  so  fearful  were  they 


the  streets  quite  filled  with  mourning.  Hence  we 
mav  he  assured  that  those  violent  emotions  were 
general  ;  and  at  the  same  time  shocking  past  all 
imagination.  The  suddenness  of  the  stroke,  and 
the  immediate  and  universal  cries  of  death  at  mid- 
night, that  particularly  awful  season,  must  have 
filled  every  soul  with  horror.  It  was  therefore 
very  truly  said  by  the  prophet  of  God,  '  There 
shall  be  a  great  cry  throughout  all  the  land  of 
Egypt;  such  as  there  was  none  like  it'  before, 
*  nor  shall  be  like  it  any  more.' — '  And  Pharaoh 
rose  up  in  the  night,  he,  and  all  his  servants,  and 
all  the  Egyptians  ;  and  there  was  a  great  cry  in 
Egypt,'  Exod.  xii.  30. — Bryant. 

*  The  word,  which  our  translators  render 
borrow,  more  properly  signifies  to  ask  of  one  ; 
and  what  they  render  to  lend,  is  as  literally  to 
give.  For  the  case  stood  thus  between  the  two 
nations.  The  Egyptians  had  been  thoroughly 
terrified  with  what  had  passed,  and  especially  with 
the  last  terrible  plague  upon  their  first-bom,  and 
were  now  willing  to  give  the  Hebrews  any  thing, 
or  every  thing,  only  to  get  quit  of  them.  They 
therefore  bribed  them  to  be  gone,  and  courted 
them  with  presents,  so  very  profusely,  as  even  to 
impoverish  themselves  :  but  for  this  the  Israelites 
were  not  at  all  culpable,  because  they  only  accept- 
ed of  what  the  others  pave  them ;  and  what  was 
freely  given,  they  doubtless  had  a  right  to  detain. 


that  some  heavy  judgment  would  attend 
their  longer  continuance  among  them, 
that  they  forced  them  away,  not  suffer- 
ing them  to  finish  their  bread,  but  oblig- 
ing them  to  tie  up  their  dough  in  their 
clothes,  and  carry  it  away  on  their  backs 
unbaked. 

The  Lord  having  thus  avenged  on  the 
Egyptians  the  obstinacy  of  their  king,  in 
detaining  his  people  in  bondage,  they 
now  on  a  sudden  thrust  them  out,  as  God 
had  foretold,  and  drove  them  away  in 
great  haste. 

So  punctual  were  the  ancient  servants 
of  God  in  complying  with  the  request  of 
their  dying  friends  or  relations,  or  any 
who  had  signalized  themselves  in  the 
service  of  the  faithful,  that  we  find  men, 
notwithstanding  the  hasty  departure  of 
the  Israelites,  did  not  forget  to  take  the 
bones  of  Joseph,  which  he,  dying  in  the 
faith  of  their  deliverance,  had  solemnly 
engaged  the  children  of  Israel  to  carry  up 
out  of  Egypt  with  them,  and  which  had 
now  lain  entombed  there  more  than  a 
hundred  and  forty  years. 

The  place  of  general  rendezvous  for 
the  Israelites  was  Rameses,  the  chief  city 
of  Goshen;  from  whence,  on  the  fifteenth 


But  suppose  that  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  was, 
that  they  really  did  borrow  many  valuable  things 
of  the  Egyptians  ;  yet  it  is  a  truth  allowed  on  all 
hands,  that  <iod,  who  is  the  supreme  Lord  of  all 
things,  may,  when  he  pleases,  and  in  what  manner 
he  pleases,  transfer  the  rights  of  men  from  one  to 
another.  Considering  then,  that  God  was  now  be- 
come the  king  of  the  Israelites,  in  a  proper  and 
peculiar  manner;  and  considering  farther,  what 
insufferable  wrongs  the  king  and  people  of  Egypt 
had  done  to  this  people  of  God,  who  were  now 
become  his  peculiar  subjects,  and  proprietary 
lieges;  this  act  of  'spoiling  the  Egyptians,' — even 
in  the  harshest  sense  of  the  word — was,  according 
to  the  laws  of  nations,  more  justifiable  than  royal 
grants  of  letters  of  mart,  or  other  such  like  reme- 
dies, as  kings  are  accustomed  to  make  use  of 
against  other  powers  that  have  wronged  their 
subjects,  or  suffered  them  to  be  wronged  by  those 
that  are  under  their  command,  without  making  a 
proper  restitution.  In  short,  whatever  the  He- 
brews took  from  the  Egyptians,  they  took,  and 
possessed  it  by  the  law  of  reprisals,  that  is,  by 
virtue  of  a  special  warrant  from  the  Lord  himself, 
who  was  now  become,  not  their  Uod  only,  but 
their  peculiar  king. — Stackhouse. 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

day  of  their  first  month,*  they  set  forward 
as  regularly  as  a  well-ordered  army,  being 
in  number  about  six  hundred  thousand 
men,  besides  children,  and  marched  to 
Succoth.  With  them  went  a  mixed 
multitude  that  were  not  Israelites,  but 
strangers  of  several  nations,  who,  having 
seen  the  ealamities  that  Egypt  had  suffer- 
ed for  Israel's  sake,  chose  rather  to  seek 
their  fortunes  with  the  Israelites,  than 
tarry  in  a  country  almost  made  desolate. 

To  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  this 
glorious  display  of  divine  power  and  good- 
ness in  their  behalf,  God  by  Moses  com- 
manded the  people  of  Israel,  that  when 
they  should  be  brought  into  the  land  of 
Canaan,  they  should  set  apart,  and  devote 
unto  the  Lord  their  first-born,  both  of 
man  and  beast,  as  a  token  that  God,  for 
their  sakes,  had  slain  all  the  first-born  in 
Egyptf 

*  This  was  afterwards  called  Nisan,  and  Abib, 
which  takes  in  part  of  the  first,  and  part  of  the 
second  month  with  us. 

f  If  a  man  had  many  wives,  lie  was  obliged  to 
offer  the  first-born  son  by  each  one  of  them  to  the 
Lord.  The  first-born  were  offered  at  the  temple, 
and  redeemed  for  five  shekels.  The  firstling  of  a 
clean  beast  was  offered  at  the  temple,  not  to  be 
redeemed,  but  to  be  killed  ;  an  unclean  beast,  a 
horse,  an  ass,  or  a  camel,  was  either  redeemed,  or 
exchanged ;  an  ass  was  redeemed  by  a  lamb,  or 
five  shekels:  ..  not  redeemed,  it  was  killed.  Com- 
mentators hold  that  the  first-born  of  dogs  were 
killed,  because  they  were  unclean ;  and  that  no- 
thing was  given  for  them  to  tie  priests,  because 
there  was  no  trade  or  commerce  in  them.  The  cere- 
monies of  the  Jews  for  the  redemption  of  their 
first-born,  are  as  follows :  if  the  child  be  a  boy, 
when  he  is  thirty  days  old,  a  descendant  of  Aaron 
is  sent  for,  who  is  most  agreeable  to  the  father ; 
and  the  company  being  met,  the  father  brings  gold 
or  silver  in  a  cup  or  bason.  The  child  is  then 
put  into  the  priest's  hands,  who  asks  the  mother 
aloud,  Whether  this  boy  is  hers?  £ke  answers, 
Yes.  He  adds,  '  Have  you  never  had  any  other 
child,  male  or  female;  no  untimely  birth,  or  mis- 
carriage?' She  answers,  No.  '  It'  so,'  says  the 
priest,  '  this  child,  as  the  first-born,  belongs  to  me.' 
Then  turning  to  the  father,  he  says,  '  If  you  desire 
to  have  him  you  must  redeem  him.'  *  This  gold 
and  this  silver,'  replies  the  father,  '  is  offered  to 
you  for  that  purpose  only.'  The  priest,  turning  to 
the  assembly,  says,  '  'I  his  child,  as  the  first-born,  is 
therefore  mine,  according  to  this  law, — those  who 
are  to  be  redeemed  from  a  month  old  shalt  thou 
redeem,  according  to  thine  estimation  for  the 
money  of  five  shekels,'  &c. — '  but  1  am  content 
with  this  in  exchange.'     He  then  takes  two  gold 


121 

The  Israelites  being  to  remove  from 
Succoth,  the  Lord,  for  their  encourage- 
ment and  security,  went  I  efore  them  in 
the  day-time  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  and  by 
night  in  a  pillar  of  nre,^    to  direct  and 


crowns,  or  thereabout,  and  restores  the  infant.  If 
the  father  or  mother  are  of  the  race  of  priests,  or 
Levites,  they  do  not  redeem  their  son. — The  Hin- 
doos frequently  make  a  vow,  and  devote  to  an 
idol  the  first-born  of  a  goat  and  of  man.  The 
goat  is  permitted  to  run  wild,  as  a  consecrated  ani- 
mal. A  child  thus  devoted  has  a  lock  of  hair 
separated,  which  at  the  time  appointed  is  cut  off 
and  placed  near  the  idol.  Hindoo  women  some- 
times pray  to  Gunga  (the  Ganges)  for  children, 
and  promise  to  devote  the  first-born  to  her.  Chil- 
dren thus  devoted  are  cast  into  the  Ganges,  but 
are  generally  saved  by  the  friendly  hand  of  some 
stranger. —  Calrnet  and  Ward. 

%  The  Lord,  who  makes  the  clouds  his  chariots, 
and  darkness  his  pavilion,  was  pleased  to  go  before 
them  in  a  marvellous  pile  of  cloudy  vapours,  re- 
sembling a  pillar,  ascending  from  their  camp. 
The  fame  of  this  strange  phenomenon  was  spread 
abroad  among  the  nations,  who  heard  that  the 
cloud  of  the  Lord  stood  above  them,  and  might 
very  well  be  supposed  to  move  the  question,  '  Who 
is  this  that  comes  up  from  the  wilderness  like  pil- 
lars of  smoke?'  For  this  cloud  differed  so  much 
from  all  others  that  ever  were  seen,  as  it  may  just- 
ly be  reckoned  a  complication  of  miracles.  It  was 
miraculous  that  its  form  was  never  changed,  when 
there  is  nothing  more  variable  than  the  appearance 
of  the  ordinary  clouds  that  sail  through  the  airy 
regions.  It  was  miraculous  that  it  should  always 
maintain  its  station  over  the  tabernacle,  when 
other  clouds  are  carried  about  with  tempests,  and 
driven  with  fierce  winds,  from  the  one  extremity 
of  heaven  to  the  other.  It  was  miraculous  that  it 
should  preserve  its  consistency  forty  years ;  where- 
as all  other  clouds  are  dissipated  by  the  wind,  ex- 
haled by  the  sun,  or  dissolved  in  rain  and  dew, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  are  blotted  from  the  face 
of  the  sky.  It  was  miraculous  that  this  cloud 
should  move  in  such  peculiar  direction,  as  it  had 
been  endued  with  instinct  and  intelligence  ;  for  it 
was  carried  about  by  his  counsels  in  a  more  im- 
mediate way  than  can  be  said  of  the  other  clouds 
of  heaven.  But  especially  it  was  miraculous,  that, 
contrary  to  the  nature  of  all  other  clouds,  it  should 
be  brighter  by  night  than  by  day,  when  it  had  the 
appearance  of  the  shining  of  a  flaming  fire. — It 
was  their  guide  that  went  before  them  in  the  vast 
pathless  desert,  where  they  wandered  in  a  solitary 
way.  It  was  their  guard  that  protected  them, 
when  their  Egyptian  pursuers  were  pressing  on 
their  rear;  for  it  removed  on  that  occasion  from 
their  van,  and  went  behind  them,  forbidding  by  its 
darkness  the  approach  of  the  hostile  army  all  that 
night  on  which  they  travelled  through  the  flood 
on  foot.  On  this  occasion,  we  are  told,  that  the 
Lord  looked  through  the  pillar,  and  troubled  the 
Egyptian  host  at  the  hour  of  midnight.  '  The 
waters  saw  thee,  O  God;  the  waters  saw  thee: 
they  were  afraid  :  the  deeps  also  were  troubled 


122 


HISTORY  OF 


TBook  II. 


guide  them;  and  though  the  Philistines 
country  was  the  nearest  tor  them  to  pass  • 
yet,  lest  they,  seeing  them  with  an  armed 
force  oppose  their  passage,  should  repent 
of  their  deliverance,  and  wilfully  turn 
back  to  Egypt,  he  led  them  about  through 
the  way  of  the  wilderness  of  the  Red  sea, 
and  marching  to  Etham  they  encamped 
there  on  the  borders  of  the  wilderness, 
which  took  its  name  from  that  place. 
From  thence  drawing  them  down  more  to 
the  Red  sea,  he  caused  them  to  encamp 
there,  between  the  straits  of  the  moun- 
tains, in  sight  of  the  sea.  This  was  the 
divine  pleasure,  that  the  almighty  Jehovah 
might  more  fully  triumph  over  the  Egyp- 
tian tyrant:  for  he  had  told  Moses,  that 
Pharaoh  would  say,  they  were  entangled 
in  the  wilderness;  and  that  he  would 
harden  Pharaoh's  heart,  that  he  should 
pursue  them,  and  be  destroyed.  This 
succeeded  accordingly :  for,  after  the 
Egyptians  had  buried  their  dead  first- 
born, Pharaoh,  being  told  that  the  Israel- 
ites were  gone,  and  concluding,  from  their 
long  and  speedy  marches,  that  they  fled 
indeed,  repented  that  he  had  let  them 
go :  his  bounty  in  dismissing  the  enslaved 
Israelites  scarce  survived  his  deliverance 
from  the  angel's  slaughtering  hand,  and 
rage  and  revenge  succeeded  to  his  late 
fear  and  grief  for  the  death  of  the  first- 
born :    he   forgot   the   Almighty   power, 


The  clouds  poured  out  water,  the  skies  sent  out  a 
sound  :  thine  arrows  went  abroad.  The  voice  of 
thy  thunder  was  in  the  heavens  ;  thy  lightnings 
lightened  the  world,  the  earth  trembled  and  shook. 
Thy  way  was  in  the  sea,  thy  path  in  the  mighty 
waters,  and  thy  footsteps  were  not  known.  Thou 
leddest  thy  people  like  a  flock,  by  the  hand  of 
Moses  and  Aaron.'  It  was  their  candle  that  en- 
lightened their  darkness;  that  smoothed  the  rugged 
brow  of  the  night,  and  served  to  abate  the  horrors 
of  the  wilderness  after  the  sun  was  set ;  for  it  re- 
served its  shining  appearance  to  the  season  when 
the  Israelites  were  most  in  need  of  its  cheerful 
aspect.  It  was  their  umbrella  or  screen  to  shade 
them  from  the  sultry  beams  of  the  sun  in  that 
torrid  wilderness.  A  most  grateful  service !  And 
whereas  an  apostle  speaks  of  our  fathers  being 
baptized  in  the  cloud,  it  would  seem,  that  on  some 
occasions,  this  beneficial  cloud  refreshed  the  Israel- 
ites, by  shedding  kind  dews  upon  their  camp. — 
M'Ewvu 


that  by  a  succession  of  plagues  had  so 
lately  afflicted  him  and  his  people,  and, 
regardless  of  the  danger  of  provoking  it 
again,  blindly  pursued  hit.  own  fate,  in- 
stead of  the  Israelites. 

Raising  all  the  force  which  the  shortness 
of  the  time  would  admit,  he  headed  them, 
and  immediately  pursued  the  departing 
Israelites,  in  order  to  enslave  them  deeper. 

He  had  with  him  six  hundred  chosen 
chariots,  and  all  the  chariots  of  Egypt 
besides,  that  could  be  got  ready  at  so 
short  a  warning,  with  their  commanders, 
and  horsemen,  *  with  which  he  pursued 
them;  and  on  the  sixth  day,  after  their 
departure  out  of  Egypt,  came  up  with 
them,  and  found  them  encamped  by  the 
sea;  so  that,  as  he  had  proposed  to  him- 
self, he  found  the  Israelites  beset  on  every 
side,  the  sea  in  front,  huge  mountains  on 
their  flank,  and  his  own  army  in  their 
rear. 

The  sight  of  this  army,  and  their  old 
oppressor  at  the  head  of  them,  struck  ter- 
ror into  the  poor  Israelites,  who,  soon  for- 
getting their  new-gotten  liberty,  betrayed 
a  servile  mind,  and  envied  the  slavish  con- 
dition they  but  lately  deplored. 

*  Josephus,  who  loves  to  magnify  matters  when 
they  tend  to  the  glory  of  his  countrymen,  as  well 
as  conceal  what  would  occasion  their  disgrace, 
tells  us  that  the  Egyptian  army  consisted  of  600 
chariots,  50,000  horse,  and  200,000  foott  but  how 
so  large  a  number  could  be  raised  in  so  short  a 
time,  or  what  need  there  was  of  so  vast  an  arma- 
ment against  a  weak  and  defenceless  people,  is 
hardly  conceivable.  As  therefore  we  may  pre- 
sume, that  the  haste  which  the  Egyptians  were  in 
lest  the  Israelites  should  get  out  of  the  straits 
wherein  they  were  entangled,  or  make  their  escape 
some  other  way,  before  they  came  up  with  them, 
made  them  pursue  them  with  chariots  and  horse- 
men for  the  greater  expedition  ;  so  we  may  ob- 
serve, that  the  chariots  they  employed  in  this 
pursuit  are  called  chosen  chariots,  which  most 
interpreters  imagine  to  be  such  as  were  armed 
with  scythes,  which  being  drawn  with  horses,  and 
filled  with  men  who  threw  darts  and  spears,  and 
other  offensive  weapons  from  them,  could  not  but 
make  a  strange  havoc  wherever  they  came;  and 
the  number  which  the  Scripture  mentions,  under 
proper  captains  who  might  have  the  direction  of 
tin  in,  was  enough  to  destroy  all  the  Israelites, 
being  worn  with  hard  bondage,  wearied  with 
marching,  destitute  of  arms,  strangers  to  war,  and 
now  encamped  in  a  very  disadvantageous  situation 
— Josephus,  Ainsworth,  and  HourelL 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


123 


They  reproached  Moses  as  the  author 
of  all  their  imaginary  woes,  and  wished  to 
resume  the  yoke  they  had  but  now  shaken 
off.  Long  custom  had  inured  them  to  a 
state  of  slavery,  and  continual  servitude  of 
body  debased  their  spirits. 

But  pious  Moses,  not  resenting  their 
reproachful  taunts,  but  pitying  their  ab- 
ject fear,  cheered  them  up  with  the  assur- 
ance of  God's  protection  and  care,  and 
gaid,  {  The  Lord  will  fight  for  you,  and 
complete  your  deliverance  ;  and  this  nu- 
merous army  of  the  Egyptians,  which  now 
terrifieth  you,  shall  no  more  affright  or 
molest  you.' 

Moses,  before  this  encouraging  assur- 
ance, had  addressed  himself  to  God,  who 
admonished  him  no  more  at  this  juncture 
to  apply  himself  to  him,  but  to  press  the 
murmuring  Israelites  to  move  forward, 
giving  him  instructions  how  to  secure  his 
people,  and  afflict  their  enemies. 

The  sacred  rod,  by  which  Moses  had 
formerly  wrought  so  many  miracles,  still 
retained  its  virtues,  as  inimitable;  but 
now  more  fatally  destructive :  *  Lift  up 
the  rod,'  saith  the  Lord,  'and  stretch  thy 
hand  over  the  sea,  and  divide  it;  and  the 
children  of  Israel  shall  go  on  dry  land 
through  the  midst  of  the  sea :  and  I  will 
harden  the  hearts  of  the  Egyptians,  that 
they  shall  pursue  them  ;  and  there  will  I 
get  me  honour  upon  the  ruin  of  Pharaoh, 
and  his  mighty  army.' 

To  convince  the  doubting,  intimidated 
Israelites  of  the  peculiar  favour  and  re- 
gard which  God  bore  toward  them,  as  his 
chosen  people,  the  angel  of  God,  which 
went  before  the  camp  of  Israel,  in  the 
pillar  of  the  cloud,  removed  and  went  be- 
hind them,  by  which  means  it  kept  the 
two  camps  apart  all  night;  and  the  cloudy 
side,  being  next  the  Egyptians,  cast  a 
darkness  towards  them ;  but  the  fiery  side, 
being  next  to  the  Israelites,  gave  them 
light. 

Israel  being  thus  secured  from  the 
terrifying  sight  of  their  enemies,  Moses 
waved  the  sacred  rod  over  the  seaj  and 


immediately  a  strong  east  wind  blew,  and 
drove  the  sea  back  from  the  land ;  and, 
dividing  the  waters,  made  a  dry  and  safe 
passage  for  the  Israelites,*  who,  under  the 


*  The  rabbins,  and  many  of  the  ancient  fathers, 
relying  on  Psal.  exxvi,  13.  'to  him  which  divided 
the  Red  sea  into  parts,'  have  maintained  that  the 
Red  sea  was  so  divided  as  to  make  twelve  passages ; 
that  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  passed  through  a 
different  passage.  But  other  authors  have  ad- 
vanced, that  Moses  having  lived  long  near  the 
Red  sea,  in  the  country  of  Midian,  had  observed 
that  it  kept  its  regular  ebbing  and  flowing  like  the 
ocean  ;  so  that,  taking  the  advantage  of  the  time 
of  the  ebb,  he  led  the  Hebrews  over;  but  the 
Egyptians,  not  knowing  the  nature  of  the  sea,  and 
rashly  entering  it  just  before  the  return  of  the  tide, 
were  all  swallowed  up  and  drowned,  as  Moses  re- 
lates. Thus  the  priests  of  Memphis  explained  it, 
and  their  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  a  great 
number  of  modems,  particularly  by  the  learned 
critic  and  philologer,  John  David  Michaelis,  who 
in  the  queries  which  he  sent  to  the  Danish  tra- 
veller M.  Niebuhr,  while  in  Egypt,  proposed  to 
him  to  inquire  upon  the  spot,  whether  there  were 
not  some  ridges  of  rocks  where  the  water  was 
shallow  so  that  an  army  at  particular  times  may 
pass  over  ?  Secondly,  Whether  the  Etesian  winds, 
which  blow  strongly  all  summer  from  the  north- 
west, could  not  blow  so  violently  against  the  sea  as 
to  keep  it  back  on  a  heap ;  so  that  the  Israelites 
might  have  passed  without  a  miracle  ?  and  a  copy 
of  these  queries  was  left  also  for  Mr  Bruce,  to  join 
his  inquiries  likewise,  his  observations  on  which 
are  excellent.  "  I  must  confess,"  says  he,  "  how- 
ever learned  the  gentlemen  were  who  proposed 
these  doubts,  I  did  not  think  they  merited  any 
attention  to  solve  them.  This  passage  is  told  us 
by  Scripture  to  be  a  miraculous  one;  and  if  so, 
we  have  nothing  to  do  with  natural  causes.  If 
we  do  not  believe  Moses,  we  need  not  believe  the 
transaction  at  all,  seeing  that  it  is  from  his  authority 
alone  we  derive  it.  If  we  believe  in  God,  that  he 
made  the  sea,  we  must  believe  he  could  divide  it 
when  he  sees  proper  reason  ;  and  of  that  he  must 
be  the  only  judge.  It  is  no  greater  miracle  to 
divide  the  Red  sea  than  to  divide  the  river  Jordan. 
If  the  Etesian  winds,  blowing  from  the  north-west 
in  summer,  could  keep  up  the  sea  as  a  wall  on  the 
right,  or  to  the  south,  of  fifty  feet  high,  still  the 
difficulty  would  remain  of  building  the  wall  on  the 
left  hand  or  to  the  north.  Besides,  water  standing 
in  that  position  for  a  day  must  have  lost  the  nature 
of  fluid.  Whence  came  that  cohesion  of  particles 
which  hindered  that  wall  to  escape  at  the  sides  ? 
This  is  as  great  a  miracle  as  that  of  Moses.  If 
the  Etesian  winds  had  done  this  once,  they  must 
have  repeated  it  many  a  time  before  and  since, 
from  the  same  causes.  Yet  Diodorus  Siculus  says 
the  Troglodytes,  the  indigenous  inhabitants  of  that 
very  spot,  had  a  tradition  from  father  to  son,  from 
their  very  earliest  ages,  that  once  this  division  of 
the  sea  did  happen  there  ;  and  that,  after  leaving 
its  bottom  some  time  dry,  the  sea  again  came  back, 
and  covered  it  with  great  fury.  The  words  of  this 
\  author  are  of  the  most  remarkable  kind :  we  cannot 


124 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


conduct  of  their  great  Guide,  entered  the 
sandy  plain,  and  with  amazement  beheld 
the  till  then  secret  wonders  of  the  deep. 
Enchanted  with  the   floods,    they  boldly 


think  this  heathen  is  writing  in  favour  of  revela- 
tion :  he  knew  not  Moses,  nor  says  a  word  about 
Pharaoh  and  his  host  ;  hut  records  the  miracle  of 
the  division  of  the  sea  in  words  nearly  as  strong  as 
those  of  Moses,  from  the  mouths  of  unbiassed  on- 
designing  pagans.  Were  all  these  difficulties  sur- 
mounted, what  could  we  do  with  the  pillar  of  fire? 
The  answer  is,  We  should  not  believe  it.  Why, 
then,  believe  the  passage  at  all  ?  We  have  no 
authority  for  the  one  but  what  is  for  the  other :  it 
is  altogether  contrary  to  the  ordinary  nature  of 
things  \  and  if  not  a  miracle,  it  must  be  a  fable." 

Still, such  sceptical  queries  have  their  use:  they 
lead  to  a  stricter  investigation  of  facts,  and  thereby 
tend  strongly  to  confirm  the  veracity  of  the  his- 
tory they  meant  to  impeach.  Thus  it  appears, 
from  the  accurate  observations  of  Niebuhr  and 
Bruce,  that  there  is  no  ledge  of  rocks  running 
across  the  gulf  any  where,  to  afford  a  shallow  pas- 
sage. And  the  second  query,  about  the  Etesian 
or  northerly  wind,  is  refuted  by  the  express  men- 
tion of  a  strong  easterly  wind  blowing  across,  and 
scooping  out  a  dry  passage  ;  not  that  it  was  neces- 
sary for  Omnipotence  to  employ  it  there  as  an  in- 
strument, any  more  than  at.  Jordan  ;  but  it  seems 
to  be  introduced  in  the  sacred  history  by  way  of 
anticipation,  to  exclude  the  natural  agency  that 
might  in  after  times  be  employed  for  solving  the 
miracle;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  monsoon 
in  the  Red  sea  blows,  the  summer  half  of  the  year 
from  the  north,  the  winter  half  from  the  south, 
neither  of  which  could    produce   the  miracle   in 

3uestion.  Wishing  to  diminish,  though  not.  to 
eny  the  miracle,  Niebuhr  adopts  the  opinion  of 
those  who  contend  for  a  higher  passage  near  Suez. 
"  For,"  says  he,  "  the  miracle  would  be  less  if  they 
crossed  the  sea  there,  than  near  Bedea.  But  who- 
soever should  suppose  that  the  multitude  of  the 
Israelites  could  be  able  to  cross  it  here  without  a 
prodigy  would  deceive  himself;  for  even  in  our 
days,  no  caravan  passes  that  way  to  go  from  Cairo 
to  Mount  Sinai,  although  it  would  shorten  the 
journey  considerably.  The  passage  would  have 
been  naturally  more  difficult  for  the  Israelites  some 
thousands  of  years  back,  when  the  gulf  was  pro- 
oably  larger,  deeper,  and  more  extended  towards 
the  north  ;  for  in  all  appearance  the  water  has 
retired,  and  the  ground  near  this  end  has  been 
raised  by  the  sands  of  the  neighbouring  desert." 
But  it  sufficiently  appears,  even  from  Niebuhr's 
own  statement,  that  tlie  passage  of  the  Israelites 
could  not  have  taken  place  near  Suez  :  for,  I.  He 
evidently  confounded  the  town  of  Kolsum,  the 
ruins  of  which  he  places  near  Suez,  and  where 
he  supposed  the  passage  to  be  made,  with  the 
bay  of  Kolsum,  which  began  about  45  miles  lower 
down  ;  as  Mr  Bryant  has  satisfactorily  proved, 
from  the  astronomical  observations  of  Ptolemy 
and  Uiug  Beigh,  made  at  Heroum,  the  ancient 
head  of  the  gulf. 

2.  Instead  of  crossing  the  sea  at  or  near  Ethan, 
their  second  station,  the  Israelites  "  turned"  south- 


marched  on,  and  instead  of  being  terrified 
with  the  sight  of  a  pursuing  enemy,  were 
entertained  with  the  pleasing  view  of  the 
sea's  old  spoils,  and  the  treasures  of  the 
divided  main. 

wards  along  the  western  shore  ;  and  their  third 
station  at  Pihahiroth,  or  Bedea,  was  at  least  a  full 
day's  journey  below  Ethan,  as  Mr  Bryant  has 
satisfactorily  proved  from  Scripture,  (Exod  xiv. 
2.)  And  it  was  this  unexpected  change  in  the 
direction  of  their  march,  which  intimated  an  in- 
tention in  the  Israelites  to  quit  Egypt  ;  and  the 
apparently  disadvantageous  situation  in  winch  they 
were  then  placed,  "  entangled  in  the  land,  and 
shut  in  by  the  wilderness,"  with  a  deep  sea  in 
front,  the  mountains  of  Attaka  on  the  sides,  and 
the  enemy  in  their  rear,  that  tempted  the  Kizyp- 
tians  to  pursue  them  through  the  valley  of  Bedea, 
by  the  direct  road  from  Cairo;  who  "overtook 
them  encamping  by  the  sea,  beside  Pihahiroth, 
opposite  to  Baalzephon." 

Niebuhr  wonders  how  the  Israelites  could  suffer 
themselves  to  be  brought  into  such  a  disadvanta- 
geous situation,  or  be  led  blindfold  by  Moses  to 
their  apparent  destruction  :  "one  need  only  travel 
with  a  caravan,"  says  he,  "which  meets  with  the 
least  obstacle,  viz.  a  small  torrent,  to  be  convinc- 
ed that  the  Orientals  do  not  let  themselves  be 
led,  like  fools,  by  their  Caravan  Baschi,''  or  lead- 
er of  the  caravan.  But  the  Israelites  went  out 
of  Egypt  with  "a  high  hand,"  though  led  by 
Moses,  yet  under  the  visible  guidance  and  protec- 
tion of  "  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews,"  who 
went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud, 
and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire  ;  and  who.  for  their 
encouragement  to  enter  the  passage  of  the  sea 
miraculously  prepared  for  them,  removed  the  cloud 
which  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel  hitherto, 
and  placed  it  behind  them.  (Kxod.  xiv.  8 — 20.) 
"  And  it  came  between  the  camp  of  the  Egyp- 
tians and  the  camp  of  Israel  ;  and  it  was  a  cloud 
and  darkness  to  the  one,  but  gave  light  by  night 
to  the  other  ;  so  that  the  one  came  not  near  the 
other  all  the  night."  The  preceding  elaborate 
view  of  this  subject  furnishes  a  most  clear  and 
satisfactory  answer  to  the  cavils  of  modern  infidels. 

Various  ancient  traditions  among  the  heathen 
historians  attest  the  reality  of  the  miraculous 
passage  of  the  Bed  sea  by  the  Israelites  :  to  which 
we  may  add  that  it  is  manifest  from  the  text  of 
Moses  and  other  sacred  authors,  who  have  men- 
tioned this  miraculous  passage,  that  no  other  ac- 
count is  supportable  but  that  which  supposes  the 
Hebrews  to  cross  over  the  sea  from  shore  so  shore, 
in  a  vast  space  of  dry  ground  which  was  left  void 
by  the  waters  at  their  retiring.  (Exod.  xiv.  16,  17, 
&c.)  To  omit  the  numerous  allusions  in  the  book 
of  Psalms,  Isaiah  says  (Ixiii.  1 1,  &c.)  that  the  Lord 
divided  the  waves  before  his  people,  that  he  con- 
ducted them  through  the  bottom  of  the  abyss,  as  a 
horse  is  led  through  the  midst  of  a  field.  Hahak- 
kuk  says  (iii.  15.),  that  the  Lord  made  himself  a 
road  to  drive  his  chariot  and  horses  across  the  sea, 
across  the  mud  of  great  waters.  La.-tly,  in  the 
apocryphal  book  of  Wisdom  we  read  (xix.  7,  8.  x. 
i  17,  18.),  that  the  dry  land  appeared  all  on  a  sud- 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


125 


The  Egyptians  actuated  by  fury  and 
revenge  pursued  the  tract,  and  not  sus- 
pecting but  that  they  with  their  chariots 
and  horsemen  might  safely  follow  where 
the  Israelites  being  but  footmen,  went  be- 
fore, enter  in  after  them  to  the  midst  of 
the  sea.  But  when  in  the  morning  watch* 
the  Lo.d  had  looked  through  the  pillar  of 
fire  and  cloud  upon  the  Egyptians,  and 
throwing  their  chariots  off  the  wheels,  had 
disordered  their  army,  the  Egyptians  saw 
their  error,  and  said  one  to  another,  '  Let 
us  fly  from  the  face  of  Israel,  for  Jehovah 
fighteth  for  them  against  us.'f  But  it  was 
too  late  to  fly ;  for  Moses  at  God's  com- 
mand waving  the  sacred  wand  again,  the 
sea  returned  to  its  strength;  and  the 
divided  parts  suddenly  uniting,  covered 
the  thirsty  bottom,  whilst  horror  and  con- 
fusion invaded  the  frighted  Egyptians. 
They  heard  and  saw  the  roaring  waves 
break  loose  from  their  invisible  chain, 
and  with  helpless  speed  endeavoured  to 
avoid  their  relentless  fury,  but  in  vain ; 
the  mighty  God  of  Jacob  will  avenge 
himself  on  the  obstinate  infidels,  and  their 
ruin  shall  be  a  lasting  monument  of  his 
justice  and  his  vengeance. 

Thus  did  the  Lord  rescue  the  Israelites 
from  the  king  of  Egypt  and  his  mighty 
army  ;  which  being  cast  on  the  shore,  was 


den  in  a  place  where  water  was  before  ;  that  a 
free  passage  was  opened  in  a  moment  through  the 
midst  of  the  Ked  sea ;  and  that  a  green  field  was 
seen  in  the  midst  of  the  abyss. — Home. 

*  This  is  reckoned  to  begin  at  the  third,  and 
reach  to  the  sixth  hour  in  the  morning. 

+  The  Jewish  historian  tells  us,  that  before 
God  let  loose  the  waves  upon  the  Egyptians,  fierce 
winds  and  tempests,  storms  of  hail  and  rain,  terri- 
ble thunderings  and  lightnings,  and  whatever  else 
could  make  their  condition  horrible,  were  sent 
down  upon  them  from  above;  and  therefore  it  is  not 
without  good  reason,  that  these  words  of  the  Psal- 
mist have  been  applied  to  this  occasion  :  '  The 
waters  saw  thee,  O  God,  the  waters  saw  thee,  and 
were  afraid;  the  depths ailso  were  troubled:  the 
clouds  poured  out  water,  the  air  thundered,  and 
thine  arrows  went  abroad.  The  voice  of  thy 
thunder  was  heard  round  about,  the  lightning 
shone  upon  the  ground,  the  earth  was  moved,  and 
shook   withal.     Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and   thy 

fiaths  in  the  great  waters  ;  thou  leddest  thy  people, 
ike  sheep,  by  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron.' 


a  delightful  spectacle  to  the  Israelites, 
and  a  confirmation  of  the  power  of  their 
Almighty  God,  who  had  delivered  them 
from  inevitable  ruin.  This  created  an 
awful  reverence  in  them,  not  onlv  to  God 
himself,  but  his  servant  Moses  their  happy 
|  guide,  by  whose  hand  God  had  wrought 
;  so  many  wonders  for  their  preservation 
and  safety. 

Being  now  safely  got  to  shore  again, 
Moses  and  the  Israelites  in  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  their  deliverance,  sung 
a  triumphant  song;  in  which  Miriam  the 
prophetess,  sister  to  Moses  and  Aaron, 
joined,  taking  a  timbrel  in  her  hand,  and 
followed  by  the  Israelitish  women  with 
timbrels  and  dances,  answered  the  men, 
repeatedly  and  alternately,  some  parts  of 
the  song4 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Dearth  of  water. —  Bitter  waters  arc  sweetened. 
— Dearth  of  bread. — Provision  is  sent  from 
heaven. — People  again  murmur  on  account  of 
a  dearth  of  water. — Are  miraculously  suppli- 
ed.— Isruel  overcomes  Amalek. — Moses  enter- 
tains Jethro,  and  taketh  his  advice. —  God's 
message  from  the  mount  and  terrible  appear- 
ance. 

Having  thus  rendered  their  grateful  tri- 
bute of  praise  to  their  Almighty  deliverer, 
Moses  led  the  childreu  of  Israel  from  the 
Red  sea  into  the  desert  of  Shur  or  Etham,§ 

\  In  the  oriental  dances,  in  which  the  women 
engage  by  themselves,  the  lady  of  highest  rank  in 
the  company  takes  the  lead  ;  and  is  followed  by 
her  companions,  who  imitate  her  steps,  and  if  she 
sing,  make  up  the  chorus.  The  tunes  are  ex- 
tremely gay  and  lively,  yet  witli  something  in 
them  wonderfully  soft.  The  steps  are  varied  ac« 
cording  to  the  pleasure  of  her  who  leads  the  dance, 
but  always  in  exact  time.  This  statement  may 
enable  us  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  dance, 
which  the  women  of  Israel  performed  under  the 
direction  of  Miriam,  on  the  hanks  of  the  Red  sea. 
The  prophetess,  we  are  told,  '*  took  a  timbrel  in 
her  hand  and  all  the  women  went  out  after  her, 
with  timbrels  and  dances."  She  led  the  dance, 
while  they  imitated  her  steps,  which  were  not 
conducted  according  to  a  set,  well  known  form,  as 

in   th's  country,  but  extemporaneous PaxtoiCs 

Scri]/t.  Iltus. 

<§  Etham  lay  at  the  extremity  of  the  western 
gulf  of  the  Red  sea  ;  and  the  wilderness,  both  on 


126 


HISTORY  OF 


TBook  II. 


in  which  they  marched  three  days  with- 
out finding  any  water;  which  to  so  great 
a  number  of  people,  in  so  hot  a  country 
and  season,  must  needs  be  very  irksome. 
But  at  length  they  came  to  a  place  where 
there  was  water  enough,  but  so  bitter,  * 
that  they  could  not  drink  it.  This  dis- 
appointment inflamed  their  thirst,  and  in- 
creased their  dissatisfaction;  and  though 
it  was  but  three  or  four  days  since  they 
so  joyfully  and  thankfully  praised  God 
for  their  deliverance  from  the  oppressions 
of  the  Egyptians,  yet  they  murmured 
against  Moses,  asking  him  what  they 
should  drink? 

Moses  was  sensible  of  the  calamity  un- 
dei  which  they  laboured;  and  fearing  they 
should  by  their  future  murmurings  pro- 
voke the  Lord  to  punish  them  as  they 
deserved,  he  straightway  addressed  him- 
self to  him  in  their  behalf;  who  no  sooner 
heard  the  complaint,  but  redressed  it; 
directing  Moses  to  a  tree,  which  when  he 
had  cast  into  the  waters,  they  became 
sweet,  and  the  people  satisfied  their 
thirst. 

Their  pressing  wants  being  thus  won- 
derfully and  amply  supplied,  it  might  be 
imagined  that  after  this,  and  so  many  for- 
mer tokens  of  the  interposition  of  the  di- 
vine power  and  goodness  in  their  behalf, 


the  east  and  west  of  the  Red  sea  was  called  by 
this  name. — Shnr  lay  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
Red  sea,  and  consisted  of  about  a  fourth  part  of  the 
wilderness  of  Etham. 

*  From  the  bitterness  of  the  waters,  the  place 
took  the  name  of  Marali,  which  signifies  bitterness. 
Most  travellers  attest  that  there  are  several  bitter 
fountains  not  far  from  the  Red  sea  ;  and  Dr  Shaw 
fixes  these  waters  at  Corondel,  a  place  where  there 
is  a  small  rill,  which,  unless  it  be  diluted  by  dews 
and  rain,  still  continues  to  be  brackish.  Mr 
Came,  a  latter  traveller,  who  visited  this  region  a 
century  after  Dr  Shaw,  describing  these  waters, 
says,  that  "the  Pool  of  Ma  rah  is  of  a  circular  form, 
about  sixty  feet  round  :  it  gushes  forth  from  a  rock 
at  the  foot  of  a  barren  mountain,  and  one  or  two 
palm  trees  spread  their  shade  over  it. .  This  pool, 
the  only  one  found  for  a  great  distance  around,  in 
spite  of  its  clear  and  tempting  appearance,  is  brack- 
ish and  bitter  to  the  taste,  offering  one  of  the  great- 
est disappointments  to  the  weary  traveller,  whose 
thirst  indeed  may  be  quenched,  though  the  hope 
of  a  sweet  and  delicious  draught  is  baffled." — 
Home. 


they  would  no  longer  mistrust  the  good- 
ness of  their  covenant-God;  but  their 
faith  scarcely  survived  his  miracles. 

From  Mar  ah  they  marched  to  Elim, 
where  they  found  better  accommodations; 
for  there  were  twelve  wells  of  water,  and 
seventy  palm,  or  date  trees,  f 

Here  it  may  be  supposed  they  made 
some  stay;  for  when  they  removed  from 
hence  and  came  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
which  is  between  Elim  and  Sinai,  it  was 
the  fifteenth  day  of  the  second  month, 
which  was  just  a  month  from  the  day  o. 
which  they  set  forward  out  of  Egypt. 

Here  again  the  Israelites  fell  into  a 
general  mutiny  against  Moses  and  Aaron. 
The  sight  of  a  barren  wilderness,  and 
shortness  of  provisions,  made  them  dis- 
trust God,  and  break  into  very  indecent 
expressions;  'Would  to  God,'  cried  they 
in  their  discontent,  'we  had  died  by  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
where  we  had  plenty  of  bread  and  meat; 
for  now  ye  have  brought  us  into  this  de- 
sert, where  we  must  perish  with  famine.' 

This  ungrateful  treatment  of  his  ser- 
vants, the  Lord  resented,  as  done  to  him- 
self, and  of  which  Moses  and  Aaron  made 
them  sensible;  for,  said  they,  'Your  mur- 
murings are  not  only  against  us,  but 
against  the  Lord,  who  hath  heard  them; 
and  ye  shall  soon  know  that  it  was  the 
Lord  that  brought  you  out  of  Egypt; 
whose  arm  is  not  shortened,  but  can  make 
a  provision  for  you  as  miraculous  as  your 
deliverance.' 

The  Lord  therefore  to  awe  this  mur- 


f  Elim,  situated  in  the  north  skirt  of  the  desert, 
was  esteemed  a  pleasant  and  fruitful  place,  at  least 
in  comparison  of  the  barren  parts  about  it.  Dr 
Shaw,  who  visited  this  place,  says  "  I  saw  no  more 
than  nine  of  the  twelve  wells  that  are  mentioned 
by  Moses ;  the  other  three  being  filled  up  by  those 
drifts  of  sand  which  are  common  in  Arabia.  Yet 
this  loss  is  amply  made  up  by  the  great  increase  of 
the  palm  trees, — the  seventy  having  propagated 
themselves  into  more  than  two  thousand.  Under 
the  shade  of  these  trees  is  the  Hummum  Mousa 
— the  Bath  of  Moses — which  the  inhabitants  of 
Tor  have  in  extraordinary  esteem  and  veneration ; 
acquainting  us  that  it  was  here  that  Moses  himself 
and  his  particular  household  encamped  !" 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

muring  people  into  a  belief  of  his  power 
and  providence,  having  first  showed  his 
glory  in  the  cloud,  told  them  by  Moses, 
that  at  evening  they  should  eat  flesh,  and 
in  the  morning  be  filled  with  bread;  which 
he  made  good  by  causing  quails*  to  come 
up  so  thick  in  the  evening,  that  they  co- 
vered the  camp,  and  afforded  the  Israel- 
ites a  sufficiency  of  flesh. 

And  in  the  morning,  when  the  dew  was 
gone,  there  lay  upon  the  ground  a  little 


127 


*  The  quail  is  an  inhabitant  of  nearly  all  coun- 
tries, and  in  all  is  esteemed  excellent  food.  In 
appearance  it  is  so  like  the  partridge,  that  it  is 
sometimes  called  Dwarf  Partridge;  and,  in  the 
mariners  of  the  two  species,  there  is  a  great  re- 
semblance. They  feed,  form  their  nest,  and  rear 
their  young  ones,  nearly  in  the  same  way.  They 
are,  however,  in  many  respects  very  different. 
Quails  migrate :  they  are  always  smaller ;  and 
have  not  a  naked  space  between  the  eyes,  nor  the 
figure  of  a  horse  shoe  on  their  breasts.  These 
birds  usually  sleep  during  the  da}1,  concealed  in 
the  tallest  grass ;  lying  on  their  sides,  with  their 
legs  extended.  So  very  indolent  are  they  that 
a  dog  must  absolutely  run  upon  them  before  they 
are  flushed  ;  and  when  they  are  forced  upon  wing, 
they  seldom  fly  far.  Quails  are  found  in  several 
parts  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  the  time  of  their  mi- 
gration from  this  country  is  August  or  September. 
They  are  supposed  to  winter  in  Africa  ;  and  they 
return  early  in  the  spring.  At  their  arrival  in 
Alexandria,  such  multitudes  are  exposed  in  the 
markets  for  sale,  that  three  or  four  may  sometimes 
be  bought  for  a  medina, — a  coin  less  than  three 
farthings  in  value.  With  wind  and  weather  in 
their  favour  these  birds  have  been  known,  in  the 
course  of  one  night,  to  perform  a  flight  of  fifty 
leagues  across  the  Black  sea  ;  a  wonderful  dis- 
tance for  so  short-winged  a  bird.  Such  prodi- 
gious numbers  of  quails  have  sometimes  appear- 
ed on  the  western  coasts  of  the  kingdom  of  Na- 
ples, that  a  hundred  thousand  have,  in  one  day, 
been  caught  within  the  space  of  three  or  four 
miles.  Most  of  these  are  taken  to  Rome ;  where 
they  are  in  great  request,  and  are  sold  at  high 
prices.  Clouds  of  quails  also  alight,  in  spring, 
along  the  coasts  of  Provence.  Here  they  are 
sometimes  found  so  exhausted,  that  for  a  few  of 
the  first  days  they  may  be  caught  with  the  hand. 
In  some  parts  of  the  south  of  Russia  they  abound 
so  greatly,  that  at  the  time  of  their  migration  they 
are  caught  by  thousands,  and  sent  in  casks  to 
Moscow  and  Petersburgh.  Quails  are  birds  of 
undaunted  courage  ;  and  their  quarrels  often  ter- 
minate in  mutual  destruction.  This  irascible  dis- 
position induced  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans 
to  fight  them  with  each  other.  And  such  favour- 
ites were  the  conquerors,  that  in  one  instance 
Augustus  punished  a  prefect  of  Egypt  with 
death,  for  having  brought  to  his  table  one  of  these 
birds  which  had.  acquired  celebrity  for  its  vic- 
tories.—  Bingley's  Animal  Biography. 


white  round  thing,  as  small  as  the  hoar 
frost,  and  like  coriander  seed  for  shape ; 
which  when  the  Israelites  saw,  they  won- 
dering said  one  to  another,  What  is  this?+ 
for  they  knew  not  what  it  was.  But  God 
was  pleased  by  Moses  to  give  them  a  di- 
rection in  the  gathering  and  use  of  it. 

First,  it  was  to  be  gathered  fresh  every 
morning ;  all  that  was  gathered  was  to  be 
spent  the  same  day.  And  when  some  of 
them,  either  out  of  curiosity  or  diffidence, 
that  they  might  have  a  reserve,  kept  some 
of  it  till  the  next  morning,  it  putrefied  and 
stunk.  They  were  to  gather  it  by  mea- 
sure, according  to  the  number  of  heads  in 
every  family. 

On  the  seventh  day,  which  was  the 
Sabbath,  there  was  none  to  be  found; 
therefore  they  were  to  gather  a  double 
portion  on  the  sixth  day,  and  lay  it  up 
for  the  seventh  day,  which  being  kept  by 


f  Our  translation,  and  some  others,  make  Moses 
fall  into  a  plain  contradiction  in  relating  this  story 
of  the  manna,  Exod.  xvi.  14.  which  they  render 
thus  :  '  And  when  the  children  of  Israel  saw  it, 
they  said  to  one  another,  It  is  manna,  for  they  wist 
not  what  it  was."  But  why  should  they  have  for- 
saken the  Septuagint,  and  several  authors,  both 
ancient  and  modern,  that  have  translated  this  text 
according  to  the  original?  'The  Israelites  seeing 
this,  said  one  to  another,  What  is  this  ?  for  they 
knew  not  what  it  was.' — There  is  a  vegetable 
substance  called  manna  which  falls  in  Arabia,  in 
Poland,  in  Calabria,  in  mount  Libanus,  and  else- 
where. The  most  common  and  the  most  famous 
is  that  of  Arabia,  which  is  a  kind  of  condensed 
honey,  found  in  the  summer  time  on  the  leaves 
of  trees,  on  herbs,  on  the  rocks,  or  the  sand  ot 
Arabia  Petraea.  That  which  is  gathered  about 
mount  Sinai  has  a  very  strong  smell,  which  it  re 
ceives  from  the  herbs  on  which  it  falls.  It  easily 
evaporates,  insomuch  that  if  thirty  pounds  of  it 
were  kept  in  an  open  vessel,  hardly  ten  would  re- 
main at  the  end  of  fifteen  days.  Several  writers 
think  that  the  manna  with  which  the  Israelites 
were  fed  was  like  thai  now  found  in  Arabia,  and 
that  the  only  thing  that  was  miraculous  in  the  oc- 
currence was  the  regularity  of  the  supply,  and  its 
cessation  on  the  sabbath.  The  Jews,  however, 
with  the  majority  of  critics,  are  of  opinion  that  it 
was  a  totally  different  substance  from  the  vege- 
table manna,  and  was  specially  provided  by  ihe 
Almighty  for  his  people.  Burckhardt  says  that  in 
the  valley  of  Ghor  (the  Jordan)  the  manna  is  still 
found,  dropping  from  the  sprigs  of  several  trees, 
but  principally  from  the  Gharrab.  It  is  collected 
by  the  Arabs,  who  make  cakes  of  it,  and  call  it 
•Assal  Beyrouk,'  or  '  honey  of  Beyrouk.' — Calmet. 


128 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


God's  appointment,  and  for  that  use  did 
not  corrupt. 

This  was  tv  them  instead  of  bread,  and 
of  this  they  did  eat  forty  years,  till  they 
arrived  on  the  borders  of  Canaan.  And 
as  a  memorial  of  it,  that  after-generations 
might  see  the  bread  with  which  he  had 
fed  their  forefathers  in  the  wilderness, 
God  appointed  that  an  omer  *  of  this 
manna  should  be  put  up  in  a  pot,  and  be 
laid  up  before  the  Lord. 

The  Almighty  not  only  supplied  the 
wants  of  the  discontented  Israelites  in 
the  most  ample  manner;  but  farther  to 
convince  them  of  his  peculiar  favour  and 
regard,  directed  their  marches  from  place 
to  place,  and  ordered  their  encampments. 

Accordingly  they  moved  from  the  de- 
sert of  Sin,  and  encamped  in  Rephidim,f 
where  they  had  no  water.  Here  again 
they  fell  into  their  old  way  of  distrusting 
God's  providence,  which  they  well  knew 
had  never  hitherto  failed  them ;  and  for- 
getting the  late  miraculous  supplies,  they 
reproached  Moses  for  his  ill  conduct  and 
neglect  of  them.  Moses  meekly  rebuked 
them,  and  cautioned  them  not  to  reflect 
on  him,  for  in  so  doing  they  affronted  the 
Lord.  But  thirst  inflaming  them,  they 
regarded  not  his  cautions,  and  grew  more 
mutinous,  charging  him  with  a  design  of 
bringing  them  out  of  Egypt  to  kill  them 
with  thirst. 

These  complaints  and  reproaches  deep- 
ly affected  Moses,  who  immediately  ad- 
dressed himself  to  God  for  relief  in  this 
distress,  expostulating  with  him  thus: 
'  What  shall  1  do  with  this  people?  thirst 
makes  them  impatient,  and  they  are  ready 
to  stone  me.'  Considering  the  many  in- 
stances of  God's  providence,  notwithstand- 
ing their  present  necessity,  the  Israelites 


*  This  was  the  proportion  daily  allowed  to  one 
man,  and  is  computed  to  contain  of  English  mea- 
sure three  pints  and  a  half,  and  a  tiftli  part  of  a 
pint. 

f  Moses  does  not  here  observe  every  place 
where  the  Israelites  encamped,  as  he  doth  in 
Numb,  xxxiii.  hut  only  those  places  where  some 
remarkable  thing  was  done. 


had  no  reason  to  distrust.  However,  the 
Lord  had  compassion  on  Moses,  and  did 
also  pity  and  bear  with  the  people;  'Give 
order  to  the  people,'  said  he,  *  to  march ; 
and  take  thy  rod,  with  which  thou  didst 
smite  the  river,  and  take  the  elders  of  the 
people  with  thee,  and  go  thou  on  before ; 
and  behold,  I  will  stand  before  thee  upon 
the  rock  in  Horeb,  and  thou  shalt  strike 
the  rock,  which  shall  yield  water  for  the 
people  to  drink.^: 

Moset;  did  as  God  commanded,  and  in 
memory  of  the  mutiny  of  the  Israelites, 
he  named  the  place  Massah  and  Meribah, 
which  signify  temptation  and  strife. 

But  the  faith   and  fortitude  of  the  Is 
raelites  were  put  to  a  more  severe  trial 
before  they  could  remove  from  Rephidim, 
for  an   army  of  the  Amalekites§  was  at 


f  It  seems  as  if  God  had  directed  the  attention 
of  Moses  to  a  particular  rock,  with  which  he  was 
well  acquainted;  for  every  part  of  the  mount  and 
its  vicinity  must  have  been  well  known  to  Moses 
during  the  time  he  kept  Jethro's  flocks  in  those 
quarters.  Dr  Priestley  has  left  the  following 
sensible  observations  upon  this  miracle:  "The 
luminous  cloud,  the  symhol  of  the  divine  presence, 
would  appear  on  the  rock,  and  Horeb  was  pro- 
bably a  part  of  the  same  mountain  with  Sinai. 
This  supply  of  water,  on  Moses  only  striking  the 
rock,  where  no  water  had  been  before  nor  has 
been  since,  was  a  most  wonderful  display  of  the 
divine  power.  The  water  must  have  been  in 
great  abundance  to  supply  two  millions  of  persons, 
which  excluded  all  possibility  of  artifice  or  impos- 
ture in  the  case.  The  miracle  must  also  have 
been  of  some  continuance  no  doubt  so  Ion**  as 
they  continued  in  that  neighbourhood,  which  was 
more  than  a  year.  There  are  sufficient  traces  of 
this  extraordinary  miracle  remaining  at  this  day. 
This  rock  has  been  visited,  drawn,  and  described 
by  Dr  Shaw,  Dr  Pococke,  and  others  ;  and  holes 
and  channels  appear  in  the  stone,  which  could 
only  have  been  formed  by  the  bursting  out  and 
running  of  the  water.  No  art  of  mar)  could  have 
done  it,  if  any  motive  could  be  supposed  for  the 
undertaking  in  such  a  place  as  this."  It  is  a  vast 
block  of  red  granit?,  fifteen  feet  long,  ten  broad, 
and  twelve  high Dr  A.  Clarke. 

§  These  were  a  people  descended  from  Amalek, 
the  grandson  of  Esau,  see  lien,  xxxvi.  12.  The 
ground  of  their  enmity  against  the  Israelites  is  gen- 
erally supposed  to  have  been  an  innate  hatred, 
from  the  remembrance  of  Jacob's  depriving  theii 
progenitor  both  of  his  birthright  and  blessing 
Their  falling  upon  them  however,  and  that  with- 
out any  provocation,  when  they  saw  them  reduced 
to  so  low  a  condition  by  the  fatigue  of  their  marcli, 
and  the  excessive  drought  they  laboured  under, 
was  an  inhuman  action,  and  justly  deserved  the 
defeat  whkil  Joshua  gave  them. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


129 


their  heels,  and  ready  to  attack  them. 
Moses  thereupon  ordered  Joshua,  a  valiant 
young  man  that  always  attended  him,  to 
draw  out  a  party  of  choice  men  against 
the  next  morning,  and  to  give  the  Ama- 
lekites  battle ;  and  said,  v  I  will  stand  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  with  the  rod  of  God  in 
my  band.' 

Joshua  obeyed ;  and  having  drawn  up 
his  men,  Moses  in  the  morning,  while  the 
two  armies  engaged,  went  up  to  the  top 
of  the  hill,  taking  Aaron  and  Hur*  with 
him,  and  holding  up  the  rod  of  God,  as  an 
ensign  in  his  hand,  Israel  taking  courage 
from  thence  prevailed ;  but  when,  through 
weariness,  he  let  his  hand  down,  Amalek 
prevailed :  therefore  Aaron  and  Hur,  ob- 
serving that  Moses's  hands,  through  a 
continued  waving  of  the  rod,  were  grown 
feeble  and  weary,  took  a  stone,  and  laid 
it  under  him,  and  standing  on  each  side 
of  him,  held  up  his  hands  steady  till  the 
going  down  of  the  sun;  in  which  time 
Joshua  routed  the  Amalekite  army,  and 
put  them  to  the  sword. 

This  success  in  their  first  martial  enter- 
prise very  much  encouraged  Joshua  and 
the  Israelites ;  and  that  so  remarkable  an 
action  might  be  transmitted  to  posterity, 
God  commanded  it  to  be  recorded  in  a 
book,  and  bid  Moses  rehearse  it  to  Joshua 
the  general  to  animate  him  to  future  ser- 
vice ;  for,  saith  the  Lord,  *  I  will  utterly 
put  out  the  remembrance  of  Amalek  from 
under  heaven.' 

And  for  a  memorial  of  this  victory, 
Moses  built  an  altar  to  sacrifice  thereon 
for  it,  and  called  it  Jehovah-nissi  ;f  be- 
cause, said  he,  the  Lord  hath  sworn  that 
he  will  have  war  with  Amalek  from  gen- 
eration to  generation. 

The  Israelites  soon  after  came  near  to 
the   place   where  God  first   appeared    to 


*  Josephus  says  Hur  was  the  husband  of  Miri- 
am. Certainly  he  was  a  person  of  wisdom  and 
piety,  or  he  would  not  have  been  joined  with 
Moses  and  Aaron. — Bishop  Patrick. 

f  That  is,  '  the  Lord  is  my  banner,'  as  he  de- 
clared by  holding  up  his  rod  and  his  hands. 


Moses  in  the  burning  bush,  and  not  far 
from  his  father-in-law  Jethro's  habitation : 
Jethro  having  heard  of  all  that  God  had 
done  for  Moses  and  his  people  Israel,  and 
understanding  they  were  now  near  him, 
took  his  daughter  Zipporah,  Moses's  wife, 
with  their  two  sons,  Gershom  and  Eliezer, 
and  brought  them  to  him  to  the  Israelitish 
camp  ;  where,  after  mutual  salutations  and 
embracings,  Moses  gave  Jethro  a  parti- 
cular account  of  the  Lord's  dealing  with 
Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians  in  defence  of 
Israel,  and  of  all  that  had  befallen  them 
during  their  march  thither. 

Jethro  being  a  devout  man,:}:  testified 
his  joy  by  rendering  solemn  praise  to  God, 
and  acknowledging  his  sovereignty,  offer- 
ing at  the  same  time  a  burnt-offering  and 
sacrifices  of  thanksgiving  to  God,  in  which 
Aaron  and  all  the  elders  of  Israel  joined 
with  him,  and  feasted  together. 

During  Jethro's  stay  in  the  camp,  he 
observed  the  great  weight  of  business 
under  which  Moses  laboured,  in  hearing 
the  complaints,  and  determining  the  dif- 
ferences of  so  great  a  people ;  and,  there- 
fore, being  a  wise  and  experienced  man 
himself,  he  advised  his  son-in-law  to  sub- 
stitute certain  subordinate  officers,  pro- 
perly qualified,  men  of  sincerity  and  abil- 
ities, such  as  feared  God  and  hated  covet- 
ousness,  to  be  rulers ;  some  over  thou- 
sands, some  over  hundreds,  some  over 
fifties,  and  some  over  tens,  who  should 
hear  and  end  all  smaller  matters  among  the 
people,  and  refer  the  greater  and  more 
weighty  causes  only  to  him  ;  assuring  him, 
that  if  with  God's  approbation  he  did  fol- 
low this  advice,  it  would  be  better  both 
for  the  people  and  himself. 

Moses  approved  of  his  counsel,  and  im- 
mediately put  it  in  practice,  to  the  great 
ease  of  himself  and  the  people.  Jethro 
seeing  things  thus  settled,  took  his  leave 


J  Jethro  being  sprung  from  the  loins  of  Abra- 
ham by  Keturah  his  second  wife,  though  not  ot\ 
the  seed  of  promise,  it  is  evident  that  he  worship, 
ped  the  true  God,  and  therefore  Moses  refused  not 
to  marry  his  daughter. 


130 


HISTORY   OF 


[Book 


of  his  son-in-law,  and  returned  to  his  own 
land. 

Three  months*  after  the  miraculous 
deliverance  of  the  Israelites  from  Egyp- 
tian bondage,  they  left  Rephidim,  and  en- 
camped in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  before 
the  mount  of  God. 

Here  it  pleased  God  to  summons  his 
servant  Moses,  and  command  him  to  re- 
mind his  people  Israel  of  the  signal  proofs 
he  had  given  of  his  gracious  regard ;  and 
also  to  assure  them,  that  though  they  had 
mistrusted  both  his  truth  and  power,  yet 
if  they  would  constantly  bear  in  mind  the 
covenant  he  had  established  with  them,  he 
would  manifest  farther  tokens  of  his  love 
toward  them,  and  signalize  them  from  all 
other  nations  upon  earth,  as  a  people  more 
immediately  devoted  to  the  service  of  their 
God. 

Moses  having  communicated  this  to  the 
elders  and  people,  they  unanimously  an- 
swered, That  whatsoever  the  Lord  had 
commanded  them,  they  would  obediently 
perform.  Moses  returned  the  people's 
answer  to  God,  who  said  to  Moses,  '  I  will 
come  to  you  in  the  darkness  of  a  cloud, 
that  the  people  may  see  something  of  me, 
when  I  shall  speak  to  you,  and  may  always 
believe  you.' 

Then  he  commanded  him  to  direct  the 
people  to  cleanse  themselves,  and  to  wash 
their  garments  during  two  days,  and  to  be 
ready  the  third  day  on  which  the  Lord 
would  descend  f  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
people  on  mount  Sinai  ;|  that  he  should 


*  This  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  month 
Sivan,  containing  part  of  May  and  June. 

f  It  must  be  observed  here,  and  likewise  in 
other  places  of  the  same  nature,  that  the  scripture, 
suiting  itself  to  man's  common  way  of  speaking 
and  thinking,  assigns  such  things  to  God  as  are 
only  proper  to  the  effects.  It  is  said  that  God 
descended  on  the  mountain,  because  he  made  his 
presence  more  visible  there,  by  sensible  and  sur- 
prising effects.  It  may  be  also  said,  it  was  an  angel 
descended  from  God,  who  spoke  to  Moses,  and 
gave  the  law;  but  the  text  expresses,  Exod.  xix. 
20.  that  it  was  God  himself  who  descended  upon 
the  top  of  mount  Sinai. 

J  The  mountains  of  Sinai  and  Horeb  are  pro- 
miscuously used  by  the  sacred  historian,  by  reason 


mark  out  bounds  about  the  mountain, 
which  none  was  to  pass  before  the  trum- 
pet began  to  sound. 

These  were  the  preparatory  solemnities 
to  the  Lord's  giving  the  law;§  after 
which  followed  divers  judicial  laws  inter- 
mixed with  some  ceremonials,  and  backed 
with  promises  of  blessings  upon  the  peo- 
ple's obedience. 

All  this  Moses  wrote  in  a  book,  and 
then  read  it  to  the  people;  and  having, 
by  God's  command,  brought  up  Aaron 
with  his  two  sons,  Nadab  and  Abihu,  and 
seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  so  near  that 
they  saw  the  divine  Majesty,  yet  they 
were  not  smitten  by  it,  but  survived  the 
sitrht. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Moses  goes  up  to  the  mount  with  Joshua,  and 
commits  the  charge  of  his  people  to  Aaron 
and  Hur. — Receives  the  tables  of  stone  on 
which  were  inscribed  the  words  of  the  law. — 

Various  ceremonies  instituted. — Aaron  contri- 
butes to  the  idolatry  of  the  people,  who  are 
severely  chastised  by  Moses  on  his  return. — 

God  threatens  the  people. —  Converses  famil- 


of  their  contiguity  ;  and  yet  it  is  certain  that  they 
are  two  different  places.  Sinai,  which  the  Arabi- 
ans at  this  day  call  Tor,  or  the  mountain,  by  way 
of  eminence,  or  otherwise,  Gibel  Mousa,  the  mount 
of  Moses,  stands  in  a  kind  of  peninsula,  formed 
by  two  arms  of  the  Red  sea,  one  of  which  stretches 
out  towards  the  north,  and  is  called  the  gulf  of 
Kolsom  ;  the  other  towards  the  east,  and  is  called 
the  gulf  of  Elan,  or  the  Elanitish  sea.  Sinai  is, 
at  least,  one  third  part  higher  than  Horeb,  and  of 
a  mucli  more  difficult  ascent  ;  whose  top  termi- 
nates in  an  uneven  and  rugged  space,  capable  of 
containing  about  sixty  persons.  Here  is  built  the 
little  chapel  of  St  Catharine,  where  it  is  thought 
that  the  body  of  this  saint  rested  for  330  years,  but 
was  afterwards  removed  to  the  church,  which  is  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Not  far  from  this 
chapel  issues  out  a  fountain  of  good  fresh  water, 
which  is  looked  upon  as  miraculous,  because  it  is 
not  conceivable  how  water  can  rise  from  the  brow 
of  so  high  a  mountain.  Horeb  is  to  the  west  of 
Sinai,  so  that  at  sun-rising  the  shadow  of  Sinai 
entirely  covers  Horeb.  At  the  foot  of  this  mount 
there  is  a  fountain,  which  supplies  water  to  the 
monastery  of  St  Catharine  ;  and  about  five  or  six 
paces  from  it  they  show  us  the  stone,  from  whence 
it  is  thought  that  the  water  came  forth  which  the 
Israelites  did  drink. —  Calmet. 

§    Which   contained   the   ten   commandments, 
from  thence  called  the  Decalogue. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


131 


iarly  with  Moses,  whose  face  shines  with  un- 
common lustre. — Building  of  the  tabernacle, 
and  settling  other  holy  concerns. 

Soon  after  Moses,  at  the  divine  command, 
ascended  the  mount,  together  with  Joshua 
only,  directing  the  elders  to  tarry  for  them 
till  they  should  return,  and  referring  them 
to  Aaron  and  Hur  for  assistance  and  ad- 
vice in  any  difficult  case  that  might  be 
brought  before  them.  Moses  was  no 
sooner  got  up  to  the  mountain  of  God, 
but  a  cloud  covered  the  mount,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  abode  upon  it  like  a 
devouring  fire,  in  the  sight  of  the  children 
of  Israel.  The  seventh  day  God  called 
Moses  from  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  he 
entered  the  midst  of  the  cloud,  and  went 
further  up  the  mount,  and  remained  there 
forty  days  and  as  many  nights.  During 
which  time  he  received  the  tables  of  stone, 
wherein  God  himself  had  written  the  law; 
and  was  instructed  by  God  how  the  tent 
or  tabernacle  should  be  made,  wherein  he 
should  be  worshipped. 

He  likewise  described  the  sanctuary, 
the  table  for  the  show-bread,  the  altar  of 
frankincense,  the  altar  for  the  burnt-offer- 
ings, the  court  of  the  tabernacle,  the  bason 
to  wash  in,  the  ark,  the  candlestick,  the 
priestly  vestments,  and  taught  him  how 
the  priests  were  to  be  consecrated,  what 
part  of  the  offering  they  were  to  take,  and 
how  the  perpetual  sacrifice  was  to  be 
offered.  God  likewise  pitched  upon  the 
very  men  to  undertake  the  building,  Be- 
zaleel  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  Aholiab 
of  the  tribe  of  Dan. 

In  fine,  he  recommended  the  keeping 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  having  ended  the  dis- 
course,* gave  Moses  two  stone  tables, 
containing  the  covenant  or  law,  which 
were  written  by  the  hand  of  God. 

Whilst  Moses  was  conversing  with  God 
upon  the  mount,  and  Joshua  dutifully 
waiting  his  return,  the  people  in  the  camp, 
growing  impatient  of  his  long  absence, 


*  See  the  particulars  from  the  twenty-third  to 
the  thirty-second  chapter  of  Exodus. 


tumultuously  repaired  to  Aaron;  and,  ds 
if  they  despaired  of  God's  protection,  be- 
cause he  did  not  continually  work  miracles 
to  convince  them,  they  concluded  Moses 
had  deserted  them;  and  therefore  demand- 
ed of  Aaron  to  make  them  gods  to  go  be- 
fore them. 

Aaron,  who  should  have  restrained 
them  from  this  madness,  too  easily  com- 
plied ;  and  for  want  of  reproving  and  ex- 
postulating with  them  on  the  unreasonable- 
ness of  their  wild  desire,  contributed  to 
their  idolatry;  and,  as  if  he  had  a  mind 
to  forward  them  in  this  wicked  intention, 
he  bid  them  break  off  the  golden  rings,f 
which  were  in  the  ears  of  their  wives  and 
children,  and  bring  them  to  him.  When 
he  had  received  these,  he  tied  them  in  a 
bag,  and  made  a  molten  calf  %  of  them, 
which  they  owned  for  their  god,  saying, 
*.  This  is  thy  god,  O  Israel,  that  brought 
thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.'  Aaron, 
seeing  the  people  so  much  delighted  with 
their  golden  god,  as  if  he  were  possessed 
with  the  same  idolatrous  spirit,  built  an 
altar  before  it,  and  proclaimed  a  feast  to 
be  holden  the  next  day  to  the  Lord.  But 
it  proved  rather  a  feast  of  revelling  and 
luxury ;  for  after  they  had  made  their 
oblations  and  peace-offerings,  they  sat 
down  to  eat  and  drink,  and  spent  the 
whole  day  in  feasting  and  pleasure.  § 

Moses  was  in   the    mount  conversino- 


f  These  probably  were  the  same  which  they  had 
borrowed  of  the  Egyptians. 

|  The  reason  why  they  worshipped  God  rather 
in  the  similitude  of  a  calf  than  of  any  other  crea- 
ture, is  generally  by  expositors  conceived  to  be 
from  the  corruptions  they  had  learned  among  the 
Egyptians,  (who  worshipped  their  idol  Apis  or 
Serapis  in  a  living  ox,  and  likewise  in  an  imace 
made  in  the  form  and  similitude  of  an  ox  withTa 
bushel  on  his  head)  in  memory,  as  some  say,  of 
Pharaoh's  dreams,  and  Joseph's  providence,  who 
measured  out  the  corn  to  the  people  in  that  ex- 
treme dearth. 

§  It  is  supposed  that  all  this  merriment  of  thei.-s 
was  in  imitation  of  the  Egyptians,  who,  when  they 
had  found  out  their  god  Apis,  (whereof  this  goldeu 
calf  was  designed  for  an  emblem)  were  used  to 
bring  him,  in  solemn  pomp,  to  Memphis,  the  royal 
city,  with  children  going  before  in  procession,  and 
all  the  company  singing  a  song  of  praise  to  th« 
deity. — Patrick's  Commentary. 


132 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


with  his  God,  while  the  wanton  Israelites 
were  revelling  in  the  camp,  little  suspect- 
ing so  sudden  a  change  in  a  people  who 
had  so  late  and  solemnly  entered  into  a 
covenant  of  obedience  to  all  that  God 
should  command.  But  he,  from  whom 
no  secret  can  be  hid,  was  instantly  ap- 
prised of  their  sudden  revolt;  therefore 
telling  Moses  what  crime  the  people  had 
committed,  he  expressed  his  indignation 
against  their  rebellion  and  ingratitude; 
«Go  down,'  saith  he,  'for  thy  people* 
whom  thou  broughtest  out  of  Egypt  have 
corrupted  themselves.  I  know  them  to 
be  an  obstinate  people  in  many  instances; 
therefore  intercede  not  for  them,  but  see 
me  express  my  resentments  in  the  de- 
struction of  them ;  and  to  thee  will  I 
transfer  the  blessings  I  intended  for  them, 
and  of  thee  will  I  make  a  great  nation.' 

But  notwithstanding  the  Israelites'  fre- 
quent rebellions  against  God,  and  tu- 
multuous mutinies  against  him,  Mosos 
was  so  far  from  seeking  his  own  interest 
by  their  destruction,  that  he  interposed 
with  his  prayers ;  and  with  his  importun- 
ate entreaties  so  appeased  the  Lord,  that 
lie  desisted  from  their  destruction. 

The  pious  Moses  having  deprecated 
the  awful  stroke  of  divine  vengeance 
hastened  down  from  the  mount,  and  took 
Joshua  with  him,  who  had,  during  his 
stay  above,  waited  for  him  below.  As 
they  went,  Joshua,  hearing  the  noise  of 
the  people  shouting,  observed  to  Moses, 
that  there  was  a  noise  of  war  in  the  camp. 
But  Moses,  who  knew  the  accursed  and 
idolatrous  cause  of  the  same,  replied,  'that 
the  noise  was  not  like  that  of  those  which 
shouted  for  victory,  nor  of  those  that  cried 
for  quarter,  but  of  such  as  rejoiced.' 

Being  come  within  sight  of  the  camp, 
Moses  spied  the  calf,  and  the  people 
dancing  before  it,  which  so  incensed  him, 
that  in  a  holy  rage  at  their  ingratitude 


*  By  this  expression  it  seems  as  if  God  had  dis- 
owned them  any  more  to  be  Ids  people,  and  would 
east  tliem  off',  had  not  a  mediator  interceded  in 
their  behalf. 


and  rebellion,  he  threw  the  tables,  where- 
on God  had  with  his  own  hand  written 
the  law,  against  the  rock,  and  brake  them 
to  pieces.  Then  taking  the  idol  calf,  to 
deface  it,  he  first  threw  it  into  the  fire 
and  burnt  it,  and  grinding  it  to  powder, 
he  took  the  powder,  and  strewed  it  upon 
the  water ;  and  to  make  them  more  sensi- 
ble of  their  folly  in  worshipping  that  as 
a  god,  which  should  pass  through  their 
bodies,  he  made  the  Israelites  drink  of 
the  water. 

Moses,  having  given  the  people  these 
manifest  tokens  of  his  resentment  of  their 
idolatry,  chastised  Aaron  for  being  acces- 
sary to  the  abominable  crime;  which  Aaron 
very  poorly  excused,  by  urging  the  mis- 
chievous temper  of  the  people,  and  that 
he  had  complied  with  them  for  quiet-sake. 
Moses  did  not  long  reason  the  case  with 
Aaron ;  for  seeing  that  the  people  by 
Aaron's  indiscretion  were  naked,  and 
stripped  of  the  defence  and  protection 
which  God's  presence  and  favour  had 
been  to  them,  and  that  too  amongst  their 
enemies ;  and  to  make  a  further  atone- 
ment for  this  sin,  beside  that  of  burning 
the  calf,  he  went  into  the  midst  of  the 
camp,  and  calling  out,  said,  '  Let  those 
who  are  for  the  Lord  join  themselves 
with  me.'  Upon  which  all  the  sons  of 
Levi,  who  were  not  concerned  in  the  late 
idolatry,  repaired  to  him,  whom  he  order- 
ed to  arm,  and  go  through  the  camp,  and 
slay  all  the  ringleaders  of  the  sedition, 
with  their  followers :  the  Levites  thus 
commissioned  fell  on,  and  slew  about 
three  thousand  men.  For  this  laudable 
zeal,  and  ready  obedience,  Moses  biessed 
the  family  of  Levi,f  assuring  them  that 
by  this  shedding  the  blood  of  their  idol- 
atrous brethren  without  favour  or  distinc- 
tion, they  had  consecrated  themselves  to 
the  Lord,  who  would  not  fail  to  bless 
them  for  it. 


f  This  fact  did  so  please  God,  that  he  turned 
away  the  curse  of  Jacob  against  Levi,  to  a  bless- 
ing. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


133 


Though  it  pleased  God  to  suspend  the 
execution  of  his  wrath  upon  the  ungrate- 
ful and  unbelieving  Israelites;  yet  he  as- 
sured them  he  had  in  reserve  for  them  a 
very  severe  punishment,  which  on  fresh 
provocation  he  inflicted  in  a  very  aggra- 
vated manner. 

After  this,  Moses,  returning  to  the 
Lord,  acknowledged  Israel's  sin,  and  ask- 
ed forgiveness  for  it  with  that  earnestness 
and  concern,  that  he  prayed  God  to  blot 
him  out  of  his  book,*  rather  than  not  to 
pardon  them.  But  this  was  inconsistent 
with  the  divine  justice,  and  therefore  God 
gave  him  this  short  answer :  *  Whosoever 
hath  sitined  against  me,  him  will  I  blot 
out  of  my  book.' 

The  divine  wrath,  being  in  some  mea- 
sure appeased  at  the  intercession  of  Moses, 
the  Lord  commanded  him  to  lead  the 
people  to  the  place  he  had  appointed:  bat 
let  him  know  he  was  not  willing  to  go 
along  with  them,  because  they  wore  a 
stiff-necked  people,  lest  they  should  pro- 
voke him  to  consume  them  in  the  way ; 


*  This  way  of  speaking  is  evidently  grounded 
upon  the  numbering  of  the  children  of  Israel  at 
their  coming  out  of  Epypt,  and  the  registering  of 
their  names  in  a  scroll  or  register,  as  may  be  seen 
Num.  i.  The  same  method  was  likewise  taken 
at  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  books  of  »■  zra  and  Nehemiah; 
and  those  who  were  enrolled  in  this  book,  are 
said  to  be  written  for  life,  or  among  the  living,  for 
every  year  they  blotted  out  of  this  catalogue  the 
names  of  those  who  died.  If  Moses  had  desired 
to  be  damned,  atheists  and  deists  might  have 
reason  to  say,  that  he  had  made  a  very  extravagant 
demand,  which  looked  more  like  madness  than  in- 
spiration. But  Dr  Stillingfleet,  after  several 
others,  has  proved  that  he  had  not  the  least 
thought  of  damnation.  No  such  thing  can  be 
found  in  what  goes  before  or  after  ;  and  besides, 
the  whole  design  of  this  chapter  is  quite  opposite 
to  this  sort  of  thought,  and  runs  all  on  temporal 

fiuiKshments.  And  this  may  be  gathered  from  a 
ike  prayer  of  Moses  on  another  occasion,  where 
he  says,  '  If  thou  deal  thus  with  me,  kill  me,  I 
pray  thee,  out  of  hand,'  Num.  xi.  15.  The  He- 
brew word  also,  which  is  rendered  to  blot  out  sig- 
nifies to  kill  or  destroy.  It  is  therefore  evident, 
that 'to  be  written  in  the  book  of  life,' signifies 
to  be  under  the  favour  and  protection  of  God,  and 
that  to  be  blotted  out  of  it  signifies  to  lose  life  by 
a  just  punishment,  as  most  of  the  learned  do  al- 
low. 


yet,  to  show  that  he  had  still  some  tender- 
ness and  regard  for  them,  he  would  send 
his  angel  before  them,  to  drive  out  the 
inhabitants  of  the  promised  land,  that  so 
he  might  perform  the  oath  which  he  had 
sworn  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 

This  was  very  afflicting  news  to  the 
Israelites,  who  now  plainly  perceived  that 
God's  withdrawing  his  immediate  presence 
from  them  was  the  effect  of  their  rebellion; 
upon  which  they  mourned,  and,  to  show 
their  humiliation,  they  forbore  to  put  on 
their  ornaments.  But  Moses,  to  humble 
them  the  more,  and  make  them  more  sen- 
sible of  their  sin,  took  a  tent,  and  pitching 
it  without  the  camp  at  a  good  distance, 
called  it  the  tabernacle  of  the  congrega- 
tion :  intimating  to  them  by  this,  that  the 
Lord  was  so  highly  offended  with  them 
for  their  idolatry,  that  he  had  removed 
from  them,  and  would  no  longer  dwell 
amongst  them  as  he  had  done  before :  by 
which  means,  every  one  that  sought  the 
Lord  was  obliged  to  go  to  this  tabernacle 
without  the  camp ;  and  when  Moses  went 
to  it,  as  he  entered  in,  the  cloudy  pillar,  in 
which  the  Lord  used  to  appear,  descended 
and  stood  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle. 

These  tokens  of  the  divine  wrath  ren- 
dered the  people  more  careful  in  observ- 
ing the  motions  of  Moses;  and  therefore 
when  he  went  out  of  the  camp  to  the 
tabernacle  they  rose  up,  and  stood  every 
man  at  his  tent  door  looking  after  him,  till 
he  was  gone  in:  and  when  they  saw  the 
cloudy  pillar,  which  they  knew  was  a  token 
of  God's  presence,  they  all  worshipped. 
Here  the  Lord  talked  with  Moses,  and 
permitted  Moses  to  talk  with  him  very 
familiarly  ;f  which  favour  Moses  improved 
to  the  people's  advantage;  labouring  with 
much  importunity  to  reconcile  God  to 
them. 

After    which,    the    Lord    having,    at 


■j-  Moses  talking  familiarly  with  God  is  accommo- 
dated to  man's  capacity,  which  is  expressed,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  1 1.  to  be  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  to 
his  friend. 


134 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


Moses's  request,  and  to  encourage  and 
comfort  him,  shown  him  so  much  of  his 
glory,  as  he  was  capable  of  seeing,  being 
overcome  with  this  good  man's  excess  of 
charity,  he  bid  him  prepare  two  new 
tables  of  stone,*  like  the  former,  which  he 
had  broken,  and  come  up  himself  alone 
with  them  in  the  morning  to  mount  Sinai, 
and  I,  said  he,  will  write  in  those  tables 
the  words  that  were  in  the  first. 

Moses  accordingly  rose  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  repaired  to  mount  Sinai 
with  the  two  tables,  where  prostrating 
himself  before  the  divine  Majesty,  who 
appeared  in  the  cloud  on  the  top  of  the 
mount,  most  humbly  beseeched  him  to 
pardon  the  sin  of  his  people.  The  Lord 
favourably  received  his  intercession,  and 
promised  to  make  a  covenant  with  his 
people,f  upon  condition  they  would  keep 
his  commandments ;  that  they  would  not 
worship  the  gods  of  the  Canaanites;  that 
they  would  make  no  alliances  with  the 
people  of  that  country;  that  they  would 
have  no  strange  gods;  that  they  would 
keep  the  sabbath,  the  passover,  and  other 
festivals  ordained  by  the  law. 

Moses  having  continued  in  the  mount 
forty  days  and  forty  nights  in  communion 
with  God  without  meat  and  drink,  return- 
ed to  the  people  with  the  two  tables  of 
the  law;  but  he  knew  not  that  with  God's 
talking  with  him  his  face  had  contracted  a 
splendour.;}:  Wherefore  Aaron  and  the  Is- 
raelites being  frighted  at  the  lustre  of  his 


*  It  is  thought  by  Eusebius  that  Moses  first 
taught  the  use  of  letters  to  the  Jews,  and  that  the 
Phoenicians  learned  them  from  the  Jews,  and  the 
Grecians  from  the  Phoenicians.  The  matter  upon 
which  men  wrote  in  ruder  times  was  different : 
some  on  rinds  of  trees;  some  on  tiles;  some  on 
tables ;  which  last  was  chiefly  in  use  among  the 
Jews. 

-f  God  here  calls  the  children  of  Israel,  thy 
people,  that  is,  Moses's  people,  for  he  would  not 
call  them  his:  for  this  reconciliation  of  God's  was 
hut  conditional,  and  in  proportion  to  their  obe- 
dience. 

%  The  vulgar  Latin  renders  Moses's  face  horned; 
from  whence,  it  is  probable,  of  old  he  was  pictured 
with  horns  on  his  head.  But  the  Septuagint  ren- 
der it  much  better,  glorified,  to  which  the  apostle, 

Cor.  iii.  7.  alludes. 


countenance,  durst  not  approach  him ; 
which  Moses  perceiving,  he  put  a  veil 
upon  his  face,  and  then  calling  the  rulers 
and  all  the  people  to  him,  he  gave  them 
in  command  all  that  the  Lord  had  charg- 
ed him  with  in  the  mount:  and  from  that 
time,  so  long  as  the  lustre  lasted  upon  his 
face,  when  he  talked  with  the  people  he 
put  on  the  veil,  but  when  he  went  in  to 
speak  to  the  Lord  he  put  it  off. 

Moses  now  informed  the  people,  that  it 
was  the  Lord's  will  to  have  a  tabernacle  built; 
and  that  he  had  commanded  him  to  speak 
to  them  to  bring  in  their  offerings,  which 
were  to  consist  of  materials  with  which  it 
was  to  be  made.  The  directions  now 
given  were  the  same  with  those  when 
Moses  went  first  up  to  the  mount;  but, 
by  reason  of  the  people's  transgression  in 
idolizing  the  calf,  they  were  not  then  de- 
livered to  them.  This  offering  was  not 
to  be  exacted,  but  the  people  were  to 
give  it  voluntarily;  to  which  God  so  in- 
clined them,  that  they  soon  brought  in 
more  than  was  requisite,  so  that  Moses 
was  obliged  to  cause  proclamation  to  be 
made  to  restrain  their  liberality. 

Preparations  being  made,  the  charge 
was  delivered  to  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab, 
two  ingenious  men,  and  well-skilled  in 
architecture  and  all  manner  of  workman- 
ship, who  employed  all  the  men  and  wo- 
men that  had  any  skill  in  curious  opera- 
tions. 

This  tabernacle  was  a  tent  covered 
with  curtains  and  skins,  but  much  larger 
than  the  other  tents.  It  was  divided  into 
two  parts:  the  one  covered,  and  properly 
called  the  tabernacle;  and  the  other  open, 
called  the  court.  The  covered  part  was 
again  divided  into  two  other  parts;  the 
one  called  the  holy  of  holies,  the  curtains 
of  which  were  made  of  embroidered  linen 
of  several  colours.  There  were  ten  cur- 
tains, twenty-eight  cubits  long,  and  four 
in  breadth,  five  curtains  together  made 
two  coverings,  which  being  made  fast  to- 
gether covered  all  the  tabernacle.  Over 
the  rest  there  were  two  other  coverings, 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


]35 


the  one  of  goats'  hair,  the  other  of  sheep- 
skins. These  veils  or  coverings  were  laid 
on  a  square  frame  of  planks  resting  on 
bases.  There  were  forty-eight  large 
planks,  each  a  cubit  and  half  wide,  and 
ten  cubits  high,  twenty  of  them  on  each 
side,  and  six  at  one  end  to  the  westward, 
and  one  on  each  corner:  each  plank  was 
borne  on  two  silver  bases;  they  were  let 
into  one  another,  and  held  by  bars  run- 
ning the  length  of  the  planks.  The  east 
end  was  open,  and  only  covered  with  a 
curtain.  The  holy  of  holies  was  parted 
from  the  rest  of  the  tabernacle  by  a  cur- 
tain made  fast  to  four  pillars,  standing  ten 
cubits  from  the  end.  The  whole  length 
of  the  tabernacle  was  thirty-two  cubits 
high,  the  upper  curtain  hung  on  the  north 
and  south-sides  eight  cubits,  and  on  the 
east  and  west  four  cubits. 

The  court  was  a  spot  of  ground  an  hun- 
dred cubits  long,  and  fifty  in  breadth,  in- 
closed by  twenty  columns,  each  of  them 
twenty  cubits  high,  and  ten  in  breadth, 
covered  with  silver,  and  standing  on  cop- 
per bases,  five  cubits  distant  from  each 
other,  between  which  there  were  curtains 
drawn,  and  fastened  with  hooks.  At  the 
east-end  was  an  entrance  twenty  cubits 
wide,  covered  with  a  curtain  hanging 
loose. 

The  ark  was  in  the  sanctuary;  it  was 
a  square  chest  made  of  shittim-wood*  two 

*  Jerome  says,  'the-shittim  wood  grows  in  the 
deserts  of  Arabia;  that  it  is  like  white  thorn  in  its 
colour  and  leaves,  but  not  in  its  size,  for  the  tree 
is  so  large,  that  it  affords  very  long  planks.  The 
wood  is  hard,  tough,  smooth,  without  knots,  and 
extremely  beautiful;  so  that  the  rich  and  curious 
make  screws  of  it  for  their  presses.  It  does  not 
grow  in  cultivated  places,  nor  in  any  other  places 
of  the  Roman  empire,  but  only  in  the  deserts  of 
Arabia."  He  also  says,  that  shittim-wood  is  of 
admirable  beauty,  solidity,  strength,  and  smooth- 
ness. From  this  description,  it  is  thought  he 
means  the  black  Acacia,  which  is  found  in  the 
deserts  of  Arabia,  and  the  wood  of  which  is  very 
common  about  mount  Sinai,  on  the  mountains 
which  border  on  the  Red  sea,  and  is  so  hard  and 
solid  as  to  be  almost  incorruptible.  It  is  by  no 
means  certain,  however,  that  the  Acacia  is  the 
wood  described  by  the  Hebrew  shittim.  The 
LXX,  unable  to  indentify  it,  have  rendered  the 
word  "incorruptible  wood." — Calmet. 


cubits  and  a  half  long,  and  one  cubit  and 
a  half  wide  and  deep.  It  was  covered 
with  gold  plates,  and  had  a  gold  cornice 
which  bore  the  lid.  On  the  sides  of  it 
were  rings,  to  put  poles  through  to  carry 
it.  The  covering  was  all  of  gold,  and 
called  the  propitiatory,  or  mercy  seat- 
There  were  two  cherubim  on  it,  which 
covered  it  with  their  wings;  the  tables  of 
the  law  were  in  the  ark,  which  was  there- 
fore called  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  or  of 
the  covenant. 

The  table  was  made  of  cedar  covered 
with  gold,  two  cubits  long,  one  in  breadth 
and  one  and  a  half  in  height  About  the 
edge  of  it  was  an  ornament;  it  stood  on 
four  feet,  and  had  wooden  bars  plated 
with  gold  to  carry  it  on.  They  laid  on 
it  the  offering  or  show-bread,-]-  (which  was 
changed  every  day,)  six  loaves  at  each 
end,  with  incense  Over  them.  It  was  not 
lawful  for  any  but  the  priests  to  eat  of 
that  bread. 

The  candlestick  was  of  pure  gold,  had 
seven  branches,  three  on  each  side,  and 
one  in  the  middle:  each  branch  had  three 
knobs  like  apples,  and  three  sockets  in 
the  shape  of  half  almond  shells;  that  in 
the  middle  had  four;  on  each  branch  was 
a  gold  lamp,  and  there  were  gold  snuffers 
and  nippers  to  dress  them. 

There    were    two   altars,    one  for    the 


f  The  Hebrews  affirm,  that  the  loaves  were 
square,  having  four  sides,  and  covered  with  leaves 
of  gold.  They  were  twelve  in  number,  in  memory 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  in  whose  names  they 
were  offered.  Every  loaf  was  composed  of  two  as- 
sarons  of  flour,  which  make  about  five  pints  1-1  Oth. 
The  loaves  had  no  leaven  ;  were  presented  hot  every 
sabbath  day,  the  old  loaves  being  taken  away,  which 
were  to  be  eaten  by  the  priests  only.  "With  this 
offering  there  were  salt  and  incense ;  and  even 
wine,  according  to  some  commentators.  Scripture 
mentions  only  salt  and  incense;  but  it  is  presumed 
wine  was  added,  because  it  was  not  wanting  in 
other  sacrifices  and  offerings.  It  is  believed  that 
the  loaves  were  placed  one  upon  the  other  in  two 
piles,  of  six  each;  and  that  between  every  loaf 
there  were  two  thin  plates  of  gold,  folded  back  in 
a  semicircle,  the  whole  length  of  them,  to  admit 
air,  and  to  hinder  the  loaves  from  growing  mouldy. 
These  golden  plates,  thus  turned  in,  were  support- 
ed at  their  extremities  by  two  golden  forks  which 
rested  upon  the  ground. 


136 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IL 


burnt-offerings,  five  cubits  long  and  wide, 
and  three  in  height,  with  a  sort  of  sera- 
phim at  each  corner.  It  was  hollow,  cov- 
ered both  within  and  without  with  brass 
plate,  and  open  both  at  top  and  bottom. 
In  the  midst  of  it  was  a  copper  grate, 
standing  on  four  feet,  a  cubit  and  a  half 
high,  and  fastened  with  hooks  and  rings. 
On  it  were  burned  the  wood  and  the  of- 
ferings. There  were  all  necessaries  for 
that  service,  as  kettles,  ladles,  tongs, 
hooks,  and  the  rest. 

The  altar  of  the  incense  was  but  one 
cubit  in  length  and  breadth,  and  two  cu- 
bits high.  It  was  plated  with  gold,  and 
had  a  crown  of  gold  over  it  The  altar 
was  in  the  sanctuary  with  the  ark;  that  of 
the  burnt  offering  was  in  the  tabernacle 
on  the  north-side,  on  the  table  opposite  to 
it  on  the  south-side.  In  the  court  was  a 
great  copper  bason  on  a  pillar,  with  seve- 
ral cocks  for  water  to  run  out,  for  washing 
the  hands  of  those  that  ministered. 

The  vestments  of  the  high-priest  were 
the  breast-plate,  the  ephod,  the  robe,  the 
close  coat,  the  mitre,  and  the  girdle.  The 
ephod,  the  robe,  and  the  close  coat  were  of 
linen,  and  covered  the  whole  body  from 
the  neck  to  the  heels.  Over  all  was  a 
purple  tunic,  a  vestment  larger  and  finer 
wrought,  which  reached  not  so  low,  but  at 
the  bottom  of  it  hung  pomegranates  and 
bells.*    The  ephod  consisted  of  two  bands 


*  What  the  number  of  the  bells,  worn  by  the 
high-priest,  was,  the  scripture  is  silent,  and  authors 
are  not  so  well  agreed,  but  the  sacred  historian  has 
let  tvs  into  the  use  and  intent  of  them  in  these 
words  ;  '  And  it  shall  be  upon  Aaron  to  minister: 
and  his  sound  shall  he  heard  when  he  goeth  into 
the  holy  phice  before  the  Lord,  and  when  he  com- 
eth  out,  that  he  die  not.'  The  kings  of  Persia 
are  said  to  have  the  hem  of  their  robes  adorned, 
like  the  Jewish  high-priest,  with  pomegranates, 
and  gold  bells.  The  ladies,  who  were  about  his 
person,  and  whose  business  it  is  to  please  and  di- 
vert him,  have  little  gold  bells  fastened  to  their 
legs,  their  neck,  and  elbows,  and  when  they  dance, 
the  sound  of  these  makes  a  very  agreeable  har- 
mony. The  Arabian  princesses  wear  large  hollow 
gold  rings,  which  are  rilled  with  little  Hints,  and 
make  a  sound,  like  little  bells,  when  they  walk  ; 
and  besides  these,  they  have  abundance  of  little 
flat  bobs  fastened  to  the  ends  of  their  hair,  which 


made  of  gold  thread,  and  of  several  colours, 
made  fast  to  a  sort  of  collar,  which  hung 
down  before  and  behind  on  both  shoulders, 
and  meeting,  served  for  a  girdle  to  the 
tunic  or  vestment.  On  the  shoulders 
were  two  large  precious  stones,  which 
joined  the  fore  and  the  hind  parts  of  the 
ephod,  on  which  were  carved  the  names  of 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  six  on  each 
of  them.  The  breast-plate  being  of  the 
same  workmanship,  but  double,  was  made 
fast  with  gold  chains  to  the  ephod.  It 
was  a  square  ornament,  very  thick,  and 
covering  the  breast.  The  girdle  was  the 
ephod  itself  crossed,  or  some  other  band 
of  the  same  matter.  The  mitre  was  of 
fine  flax;  it  covered  the  head;  and  on  the 
forehead  was  a  gold  plate,  on  which  were 
carved  these  words,  the  holiness  of  the 
Ijord. 

These  were  the  solemn  ornaments  be- 
longing to  the  high-priest;  the  others 
were  only  a  simple  tunic  or  vestment,  a 
linen  mitre,  and  a  girdle.  They  had  all 
breeches  of  linen  and  cotton,  covering 
their  legs  and  thighs,  and  reaching  up  to 
the  waist. 

The  orders  being  punctually  obeyed, 
the  vestments  and  other  apparatus  were 
submitted  to  the  inspection  of  Moses,  who 
having  viewed  them,  and  found  that  all 
was  done  as  the  Lord  had  commanded, 
praised  God  for  the  people's  diligence, 
and  prayed  for  them.    And  now  all  things 


make  a  noise,  as  often  as  they  stir,  and  give  notice 
that  the  mistress  of  the  house  is  going  by,  that  so 
the  servants  of  the  family  may  behave  themselves 
respectfully,  and  strangers  retire,  to  avoid  seeing 
the  person  that  is  passing.  It  was,  therefore,  in  all 
probability,  with  a  design  of  giving  notice,  that 
the  high-priest  was  passing  by,  that  he  too  wore 
little  bells  on  the  hem  of  his  robe  ;  or  rather,  it 
was  (as  it  were)  a  kind  of  public  notice,  that  he 
was  going  into  the  sanctuary;  for,  as  in  the  king 
of  Persia's  court,  no  one  was  suffered  to  enter  the 
apartments,  without  giving  notice  thereof  by  the 
sound  of  something  ;  so  the  high-priest,  out  of  re- 
spect to  the  divine  presence,  residing  in  the  holy 
of  holies,  did,  by  the  sound  of  little  bells,  fattened, 
to  the  bottom  of  his  robe,  desire,  as  it  were,  per- 
mission to  enter,  that  the  sound  of  the  bells  might 
be  heard,  and  he  not  punished  with  death  for  an 
unmannerly  intrusion. —  Culmtt. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


137 


being  ready,  on  the  first  day  of  the  first 
month,  in  the  second  year  after  their  de- 
parture from  Egypt,  the  tabernacle  was 
by  God's  immediate  command  set  up,  and 
all  its  furniture  disposed  in  the  proper 
places. 

This  done,  the  cloud  covered  it,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  it;  so  that 
for  a  while  Moses  himself  was  not  able  to 
enter  it. 

This  cloud  was  the  signal  to  the  people 
of  Israel  by  which  they  knew  when  to 
march,  and  when  to  rest.  For  when  the 
cloud  was  taken  up  from  over  the  taber- 
nacle, the  children  of  Israel  journeyed; 
but  if  the  cloud  was  not  taken  up,  they 
journeyed  not  until  it  was. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Institution  of  the  sacrifice,  and  various  other 
ceremonies. — Appointment  of  Aaron  and  his 
sons  to  the  priestly  office. — First  burnt-offer- 
ing.—  Terrible  judgment  inflicted  on  Nadab 
and  Abihu ShelomitK's  sons  stoned  for  blas- 
phemy.—  The  Israelites  are  mustered  and  en- 
camped.—  The  manner  of  their  dislodgment. — 
Quails  sent  for  food  to  the  Israelites. 

The  tabernacle  being  set  up,  and  all 
things  prepared,  God  proceeded  to  give 
direction  to  Moses,  and  by  him  to  the 
people,  in  what  manner  his  public  wor- 
ship, under  that  dispensation,  should  be 
performed,  which  was  by  sacrifice;  and 
this  was  an  offering  made  to  God,  to  ac- 
knowledge his  sovereignty  over  his  crea- 
tures, and  to  expiate  sin. 

Only  five  sorts  of  creatures  were  ap- 
pointed to  be  offered  in  sacrifice,  which 
were  oxen,  lambs,  goats,  turtles,  and 
young  doves,  all  which  were  to  be  males, 
without  blemish. 

He  who  presented  an  offering  did  it  at 
the  altar,  and  laid  his  two  hands  on  the 
head  of  the  creature,  and  then  the  throat 
of  it  was  cut  within  the  first  tabernacle. 
The  blood  was  received  in  a  bason,  and 
with  it  the  priest  sprinkled  the  vessels  and 
corners  of  the  altar;  the  rest  was  spilled 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar.     The  victim  was 


skinned,  cut  in  pieces,  and  laid  on  the 
altar,  where  either  the  whole  or  some  part 
of  it  was  burnt,  according  to  the  several 
sorts  of  sacrifices. 

Libations  likewise  were  added  to  the 
sacrifices.  All  the  wine,  or  flour,  which 
were  offered  with  the  victim,  were  called 
effusion,  or  pouring  out. 

There  was  a  separate  offering  of  fine 
flour  and  oil,  baked  on  an  iron,  or  in  a 
pan.  These  were  sprinkled  with  oil  and 
frankincense  added  to  them. 

The  sacrifices  were  of  four  sorts  : 

1.  The  burnt-offering,  every  part  of 
which  was  consumed  by  fire  on  the  altar, 
after  washing  the  feet  and  entrails. 

2.  The  peace-offering,  of  which  only 
the  inward  fat  or  tallow  was  burnt  on  the 
altar,  made  up  with  the  liver  and  kidneys, 
and  the  tails  of  the  lambs.  The  breast 
and  the  right  shoulder  belonged  to  the 
priests,  who  were  obliged  to  eat  them  in 
the  holy  place  ;  the  rest  belonged  to  him 
who  offered  the  sacrifice. 

3.  The  sacrifice  for  sin,  committed 
either  wilfully  or  ignorantly:  and  in  this 
the  priest  took  some  of  the  blood  of  the 
victim,  dipped  his  finger  in  it,  and  sprinkled 
seven  times  towards  the  vail  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. The  same  parts  of  the  victim  were 
burnt  on  the  altar  in  this  as  in  the  former 

i  sacrifice :  the  rest,  if  the  sacrifice  was 
i  offered  for  the  sin  of  the  high-priest,  or 
for  the  people,  was  carried  without  the 
camp  to  be  burnt  there,  with  the  skin, 
the  head,  the  feet,  and  the  bowels.  If  it 
was  for  a  private  person,  the  victim  was 
I  divided,  as  was  said  above,  between  the 
priest  and  the  offerer. 

4.  The  sacrifice  of  oblation  was  either 
fine  flour,  or  incense,  or  cakes  of  fine 
flour  and  oil  baked,  or  the  first-fruits  of 
new  corn.  With  the  things  offered  there 
were  always  oil,  salt,  wine,  and  frankin- 
cense.*    All  the   frankincense  was   cast 

*  Frankincense  is  an  aromatic  and  odoriferous 
gum  which  issues  out  of  a  tree  named  by  the  an- 
cients Thurifera; — its  leaves  resemble  those  of  a 
pear-tree,  according  to  Theophrastus.     Incisions 
S 


13' 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


into  the  fire;  but  of  the  other  things 
offered,  the  priest  took  one  part,  which  he 
also  burnt,  and  the  rest  belonged  to  him. 

The  next  principal  object  of  the  Jewish 
worship  was  their  festivals.  The  first  of 
which  was  their  sabbath,*  which  they  kept 
very  strictly,  dedicating  it  wholly  to  rest, 
not  doing  the  least  servile  work  on  that 
day. 

It  bearan  like  all  other  festivals,  on  one 
evening,  and  ended  the  next.  The  pass- 
overf  was  likewise  a  very  solemn  festival. 

are  made  in  it,  in  the  dog-days,  to  procure  the 
gum.  Male  incense  is  the  best ;  it  is  round,  white, 
fat,  and  kindles  on  being  put  to  the  fire.  It  is 
also  called  Olibanum.  Female  incense  is  soft, 
more  gummy,  and  less  agreeable  in  smell  than  the 
other.  That  of  Saba  was  the  best,  and  most  es- 
teemed by  the  ancients,  who  speak  of  it  with  great 
approbation. 

*  The  Rabbins  reckon  thirty-nine  primary  pro- 
hibitions, which  ought  to  be  observed  on  the  sab- 
bath, and  several  other  secondary  ones  dependent 
on  them.  Their  number  is,  in  fact,  so  great,  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  them  all  ;  and  the 
Rabbins  affirm,  that  if  the  people  of  Israel  could 
keep  but  two  sabbaths  as  they  ought  to  be  kept, 
they  should  soon  see  themselves  delivered  from 
the  evils  under  which  they  groan.  Their  scrupu- 
losity even  forbids  to  peel,  or  to  roast,  an  apple  ; 
to  kill  a  flea,  a  fly,  or  other  insect,  if  it  is  so  big 
that  the  sex  may  be  distinguished  ;  to  sing,  or  to 
play  on  an  instrument,  so  loud  as  to  awaken  a 
child.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  Samari- 
tans pretend,  that  the  Jews  are  not  religious 
enough  in  their  observation  of  the  sabbath.  As 
for  them,  they  will  not  light  a  fire  on  this  day, 
they  abstain  from  the  use  of  marriage,  they  do  not 
stir  from  their  places,  save  only  to  go  to  the  house 
of  the  Lord  :  they  employ  themselves  wholly  in 
reading  the  law,  in  prayers  and  thanksgivings. 
Of  all  the  festivals  God  has  enjoined,  there  are 
none  of  which  the  Jews  are  so  jealous,  or  of  which 
thev  speak  so  magnificently,  as  of  the  sabbath. 
They  call  it  their  spouse,  because  God  has  given 
it  to  them,  specially,  exclusive  of  all  other  nations. 
Leo  of  Modena,  who  alone  is  equivalent  to  all  the 
modern  Jews,  says,  the  Rabbins  have  reduced  all 
that  is  forbidden  on  the  sabbath-day,  to  thirty-nine 
heads,  each  of  which  have  their  circumstances,  and 
dependences.  But  they  are  of  little  importance, 
and  their  enumeration  would  occupy  much  space. 
—Calmet. 

+  Dr  Lightfoot  has  collected  from  the  Talmud 
a  variety  of  passages  relative  to  the  Jewish  mode 
of  celebrating  the  passover  ;  from  which  we  have 
abridged  the  following  particulars.  The  guests 
being  placed  around  the  table,  they  mingled  a  cup 
of  wine  with  water,  over  which  the  master  of  the 
family  (or,  if  two  or  more  families  were  united,  a 
person  deputed  for  the  purpose)  gave  thanks,  and 
then  drank  it  off.  The  thanksgiving  for  the  wine 
was  to  this  effect,  '  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord,  who 


It  began  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  March  moon.  They  ate  none 
but  unleavened  bread  for  seven  days,  and 
the  seventh  day  was  another  great  festival. 
The  first  day  after  the  passover  they 
offered  new  ears  of  corn,  and  from  that 
day  they  reckoned  seven  full  weeks,  or 
fifty  days,  and  that  fiftieth  day  was  another 
solemn  festival,  called  the  harvest  festival; 
and  they  offered  in  thanksgiving,  two 
loaves  of  new  wheat,  as  the  first  fruits  of 
the  harvest. 

The    first  day   of  the    seventh  month 
which   was   the    first   of    the   civil   year, 


hast  created  the  fruit  of  the  vine ;'  and  for  the 
day,  as  follows — '  Blessed  be  thou  for  this  good 
day,  and  for  this  holy  convocation,  which  thou 
hast  given  us  for  joy  and  rejoicing!  Blessed  be 
thou,  0  Lord,  who  hast  sanctified  Israel  and  the 
times  !'  Of  these  cups  of  wine  they  drank  four  in 
the  course  of  the  ordinance.  They  then  washed 
their  hands,  after  which  the  table  was  furnished 
with  the  paschal  lamb,  roasted  whole,  with  bitter 
herbs,  and  with  two  cakes  of  unleavened  bread, 
together  with  the  remains  of  the  peace-offerings 
sacrificed  on  the  preceding  day,  and  the  charoseth, 
or  thick  sauce.  The  officiator,  or  person  pre- 
siding, then  took  a  small  piece  of  salad,  and 
having  blessed  God  for  creating  the  fruit  of 
the  ground,  he  ate  it,  as  also  did  the  other  guests : 
after  which  all  the  dishes  were  removed  from 
the  table,  that  the  children  might  inquire  and  be 
instructed  in  the  nature  of  the  feast.  The  text 
on  which  they  generally  discoursed  was  Deut. 
xxvi.  5 — 11.  Then  replacing  the  supper,  they 
explained  the  import  of  the  bitter  herbs  and  pas- 
chal lamb  ;  and  over  the  second  cup  of  wine  re- 
peated the  hundred  and  thirteenth  and  hundred 
and  fourteenth  psalms,  with  an  eucharistic  prayer. 
The  hands  were  again  washed,  accompanied  by  an 
ejaculatory  prayer ;  after  which  the  master  of  the 
house  proceeded  to  break  and  bless  a  cake  of  the 
unleavened  bread,  which  he  distributed  among  the 
guests,  reserving  half  of  the  cake  beneath  a  nap- 
kin, if  necessary,  for  the  aphicomen,  or  last  morsel ; 
for  the  rule  was,  to  conclude  with  eating  a  small 
piece  of  the  paschal  lamb,  or,  after  the  destruction 
of  the  temple,  of  unleavened  bread.  They  then  ate 
the  rest  of  the  cake  with  the  bitter  herbs,  dipping 
the  bread  into  the  charoseth,  or  sauce.  Next  they 
ate  the  flesh  of  the  peace-offerings  which  had  been 
sacrificed  on  the  fourteenth  day,  and  then  the  flesh 
of  the  paschal  lamb,  which  was  followed  by  return- 
ing thanks  to  God,  and  a  second  washing  of  hands. 
A  third  cup  of  wine  was  then  filled,  over  which 
they  blessed  God,  or  said  grace  after  meat  (whence 
it  was  called  the  cup  of  blessing),  and  drank  it  off. 
Lastly,  a  fourth  cup  of  wine  was  filled,  called  the 
cup  of  the  hallel :  over  it  they  completed,  either 
by  singing  or  recitation,  the  great  hallel,  or  hymn 
of  praise,  consisting  of  psalms  cxv.  to  cxviii.  in- 
clusive, with  a  prayer,  and  so  concluded. — Home. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


139 


published  by  sound  of  trumpet,  was  also  a 
festival.  On  the  tenth  of  the  same  month 
was  kept  the  feast  of  expiation,  and  that 
was  the  day  on  which  the  priests  went  into 
the  sanctuary.  They  offered  two  goats, 
one  of  which  was  a  solemn  sacrifice  for  sin. 
The  high-priest  took  the  blood  of  this, 
and  of  the  lamb  killed  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  sprinkled  them;  the  other  goat  was 
carried  not  only  out  of  the  tabernacle,  but 
without  the  camp  also,  and  was  therefore 
called  Azazely  or  the  scape-goat. 

On   the  fifteenth  of  the    same  month 
began  the  feast  of  tabernacles,*  and  lasted 


*  The  design  of  this  feast  was,  to  return  thanks 
to  God  for  the  fruits  of  the  vine,  as  well  as  of 
other  trees,  which  were  gathered  about  this  time, 
and  also  to  implore  his  blessing  upon  those  of  the 
ensuing  year.  The  following  were  the  principal 
ceremonies  observed  in  the  celebration  of  this 
feast.  During  the  whole  of  this  solemnity  they 
were  obliged  to  dwell  in  tents,  which  anciently 
were  pitched  on  the  flat  terrace-like  roofs  of  their 
houses.  Besides  the  ordinary  daily  sacrifices,  there 
were  several  extraordinary  ones  offered  on  this 
occasion,  which  are  detailed  in  Numb.  xxix.  Dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  this  feast,  they  carried  in 
their  hands  branches  of  palm-trees,  olives,  citrons, 
myrtles,  and  willows;  singing  *  Hosanna,  save,  I 
beseech  thee,'  in  which  words  they  prayed  for  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah.  These  branches  also  bore 
the  name  of  Hosanna,  as  well  as  all  the  days  of 
the  feast.  During  its  continuance,  they  walked  in 
procession  round  the  altar  with  the  above  men- 
tioned branches  in  their  hands,  amid  the  sound  of 
trumpets,  singing  Hosanna;  and  on  the  last  or 
seventh  day  of  the  feast,  they  compassed  the  altar 
seven  times.  This  was  called  the  great  Hosanna. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  ceremonies  performed 
at  this  feast  in  the  later  period  of  the  Jewish  polity, 
was  the  libation  or  pouring  out  of  water,  drawn 
from  the  fountain  or  pool  of  Siloam,  upon  the 
altar.  On  the  last  day,  the  Jews  fetched  water 
from  that  fountain  in  a  golden  pitcher,  which  they 
brought  through  the  water-gate  into  the  temple, 
with  great  rejoicing.  The  officiating  priest  pour- 
ed it,  mixed  with  wine,  upon  the  morning  sacri- 
fice, as  it  lay  on  the  altar.  The  Jews  seem  to 
have  adopted  this  custom  (for  it  is  not  ordained  in 
the  law  of  Moses)  as  an  emblem  of  future  bless- 
ings, in  allusion  to  this  passage  in  Isaiah,  '  With 
joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salva- 
tion :'  expressions  that  can  hardly  be  understood 
of  any  benefits  afforded  by  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion. Water  was  offered  to  God  this  day,  partly 
in  reference  to  the  water  which  flowed  from  the 
rock  in  the  wilderness,  but  chiefly  to  solicit  the 
blessing  of  rain  on  the  approaching  seed-time. 
No  festival  was  celebrated  with  greater  rejoicings 
than  this,  which  Josephus  calls  "a  most  holy  and 
most  eminent  feast."     Dancing,  music,  and  feast- 


eight  days,  being  kept  as  a  memorial  that 
the  children  of  Israel  had  lived  in  tents. 
During  this  feast  they  lived  in  huts  cover- 
ed with  boughs  of  trees,  and  spent  those 
days  in  mirth,  holding  boughs  in  their 
hands,  with  which  they  went  round  the 
altar. 

Every  seventh  year  was  dedicated  to 
rest;  for  in  them  they  neither  sowed  nor 
reaped  :  but  the  fiftieth  year,  called  Jubi- 
lee,-}- was  most  solemn  ;  for  then  all  estates 


ing  were  the  accompaniments  of  this  festival,  to- 
gether with  such  brilliant  illuminations  as  lighted 
the  whole  city  of  Jerusalem.  These  rejoicings  are 
supposed  to  have  taken  place  in  the  court  of  the 
women,  in  order  that  they  might  be  partakers  of 
the  general  hilarity.  In  every  seventh  year  the 
law  of  Moses  was  also  read  in  public,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  the  people. — Home. 

f  The  jubilee  year  began  on  the  first  day  of 
Tizri,  (the  first  month  of  the  civil  year,)  and  about 
the  autumnal  equinox.  During  the  year  no  one 
either  sowed  or  reaped  ;  but  all  were  satisfied 
with  what  the  earth  and  the  trees  produced  spon- 
taneously. Each  resumed  possession  of  his  in- 
heritance, whether  it  were  sold,  mortgaged,  or 
alienated  ;  and  Hebrew  slaves  of  every  description 
were  set  free,  with  their  wives  and  children,  Lev. 
xxv.  The  first  nine  days  were  spent  in  festivity, 
during  which  no  one  worked,  and  every  one  put  a 
crown  on  his  head.  On  the  tenth  day,  which  was 
the  day  of  solemn  expiation,  the  Sanhedrim  order- 
ed the  trumpets  to  sound,  and  instantly  the  slaves 
were  declared  free,  and  the  lands  returned  to  their 
hereditary  owners.  This  law  was  mercifully  de- 
signed to  prevent  the  rich  from  oppressing  the 
poor,  and  reducing  them  to  perpetual  slavery ; 
and  also  to  prevent  their  getting  possession  of  all 
the  lands  by  purchase,  mortgage,  or  usurpation  ; 
that  debts  should  not  be  multiplied  too  much  ; 
and  that  slaves  should  not  continue,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  in  perpetual  bondage.  Be- 
sides, Moses  intended  to  preserve,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  liberty  of  persons,  a  due  proportion 
of  fortunes,  and  the  order  of  families  ;  as  well  as 
that  the  people  should  be  bound  to  their  country, 
their  lands,  and  inheritances  ;  and  that  they  should 
cherish  an  affection  for  them,  as  estates  descended 
from  their  ancestors,  and  designed  fcr  their  pos- 
terity. There  were  several  privileges  belonging 
to  the  jubilee  year,  which  did  not  belong  to  the 
sabbatical  year  ;  though  the  latter  had  some  ad- 
vantage above  the  former.  The  sabbatical  year 
annulled  debts,  which  the  jubilee  did  not;  but  the 
jubilee  restored  slaves  to  their  liberty,  and  lands 
to  their  owners  ;  besides  which,  it  made  restitu- 
tion of  the  land  immediately  on  the  beginning 
of  the  jubilee  ;  whereas,  in  the  sabbatical  year, 
debts  were  not  discharged  till  its  close.  Houses 
and  other  edifices  built  in  walled  towns  did  not 
return  to  the  proprietor  in  the  jubilee  year.  After 
the  captivity  of  Babylon,  the  Jews  continued  to 


140 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


alienated  returned  to  those  who  had  sold 
them,  and  slaves  recovered  their  liberty. 

The  Israelites  in  their  eating  distin- 
guished between  clean  and  unclean  crea- 
tures; it  was  lawful  for  them  to  eat  of  the 
first,  but  not  of  the  last. 

There  were  two  qualifications  required 
for  the  reckoning  of  a  beast  clean  ;  which 
were,  that  it  should  have  a  cloven  hoof, 
and  that  it  should  chew  the  cud ;  so  that 
it  was  unlawful  for  them  to  eat  swine's 
flesh,  because  they  do  not  chew  the  cud ; 
or  rabbits  and  hares,  because  they  have 
not  cloven  feet,  like  the  ox,  the  stag,  the 
sheep,  but  toes  joined  by  skins.  Among 
fishes  they  were  allowed  to  eat  such  as  had 
fins  and  scales.  All  birds  of  prey  were 
forbid  them ;  and  it  was  unlawful  for  them 
to  eat  blood,  or  the  flesh  of  beasts  stran- 
gled. 

Of  uncleanness  there  were  many  sorts 
among  the  Israelites ;  not  only  they  who 
eat  of  unclean  beasts  were  reckoned  un- 
clean, but  also  those  who  touched  their 
carcasses.      Leprosy*  was  reckoned  the 


observe  the  sabbatical,  but  not  the  jubilee,  year. 
Alexander  the  Great  granted  the  Jews  an  exemp- 
tion from  tribute  every  seventh  year,  by  reason  of 
the  rest  which  they  then  observed.  But,  as  the 
jubilee  was  instituted  only  to  prevent  the  utter 
destruction  of  the  partition  made  by  Joshua,  and 
the  confusion  of  tribes  and  families,  it  was  no 
longer  practicable  as  before  the  dispersion  of  the 
tribes;  those  which  returned  from  the  captivity 
settling  as  they  could,  and  where  they  could,  while 
a  great  number  of  families,  and  perhaps  whole 
tribes,  continued  in  the  place  of  their  captivity. 
Usher  places  the  first  Jubilee  after  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  law  by  Moses,  A.  M.  2609 ;  the  second, 
A.  M.  2658;  the  third,  A.  M.  2707.—  Calmet. 

*  This  disease  affects  the  skin,  and  sometimes 
increases  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  scurf, 
scabs,  and  violent  itchings,  and  to  corrupt  the 
whole  mass  of  blood.  At  other  times  it  is  only  a 
deformity.  The  Jews  regarded  the  leprosy  as  a 
disease  sent  from  God,  and  Moses  prescrihes  no 
natural  remedy  for  the  cure  of  it.  Those  who 
have  treated  of  this  disease,  have  distinguished  a 
recent  leprosy  from  one  already  formed  and  become 
inveterate.  A  recent  leprosy  may  be  healed,  but 
an  inveterate  one  is  incurable.  Travellers  who 
have  seen  lepers  in  the  East  say,  that  the  disease 
attacks  principally  the  feet.  Maundrell,  who  had 
seen  lepers  in  Palestine,  says,  that  their  feet  are 
swelled  like  those  of  elephants,  or  horses'  feet 
swelled  with  the  farcy.  The  common  marks  by 
which,  as  physicians  tell  us,  an  inveterate  leprosy 


greatest  uncleanness ;  of  the  nature  and 
quality  of  which  the  priest  was  to  judge, 
and  to  separate  the  lepers  from  the  rest  of 
the  people  as  he  thought  fit. 

There  was  also  a  leprosy  which  clung 
to  clothes  and  walls,  and  the  garments; 
after  which  the  moveables  and  the  houses 
became  unclean.  The  women  were  un- 
clean after  lying-in,  for  forty  days  if  they 
had  a  son,  and  sixty  days  if  it  were  a 
daughter.  Of  these  uncleannesses  some 
sorts  were  cleansed  by  washing  their  gar- 
ments and  bodies ;  and  others,  as  the  last, 
by  offering  sacrifice  to  cleanse  them. 


may  be  discerned  are  these :  the  voice  becomes 
hoarse,  like  that  of  a  dog  which  has  been  long 
barking,  and  comes  through  the  nose  rather  than 
the  mouth :  the  pulse  is  small  and  heavy,  slow  and 
disordered :  the  blood  abounds  with  white  and 
bright  corpuscles,  like  millet-seeds  ;  is,  in  fact,  all 
a  scurfy  serum,  without  due  mixture  ;  so  that  salt 
put  into  does  not  melt,  and  is  so  dry  that  vinegar 
mixed  with  it  bubbles  up;  the  face  is  like  a  coal 
half  extinguished,  shining,  unctuous,  bloated,  full 
of  very  hard  pimples,  with  small  kernels  round 
about  the  bottom  of  them  :  the  eyes  are  red  and 
inflamed,  and  project  out  of  the  head,  but  cannot 
be  moved  either  to  the  right  or  left :  the  ears  are 
swelled  and  red,  corroded  with  ulcers  about  the 
root  of  them,  and  encompassed  with  small  kernels; 
the  nose  sinks,  because  the  cartilage  rots:  the 
nostrils  are  open,  and  the  passages  stopped  with 
ulcers  at  the  bottom  :  the  tongue  is  dry,  black, 
swelled,  ulcerated,  shortened,  divided  in  ridges, 
and  beset  with  little  white  pimples ;  the  skin  of  it 
is  uneven,  hard,  and  insensible  ;  even  if  a  hole  be 
made  in  it,  or  it  be  cut,  a  putrefied  sanies  issues 
from  it  instead  of  blood.  Leprosy  is  very  easily 
communicated  ;  and  hence  Moses  has  taken  so 
much  precaution  to  prevent  lepers  from  communi- 
cation with  persons  in  health.  His  care  extended 
even  to  dead  bodies  thus  infected,  which  he  direct- 
ed should  not  be  buried  with  others.  We  can 
hardly  fail  of  observing  the  character,  and  terror  in 
consequence,  of  this  disease  ;  how  dreadful  is  the 
leprosy  in  scripture!  how  justly  dreadful,  when 
so  fatal,  and  so  hopeless  of  cure!  Mungo  Park 
states  that  the  Negroes  are  subject  to  a  leprosy  of 
the  very  worst  kind;  and  Mr  Grey  Jackson,  in  his 
*  Account  of  Morocco,'  (p.  192.)  informs  us,  that 
the  species  of  leprosy  called  jeddem,  is  very  preva- 
lent in  Barbary.  "  At  Morocco  there  is  a  separate 
quarter,  outside  of  the  walls,  inhabited  by  lepers 
only.  Those  who  are  affected  with  it  are  obliged 
to  wear  a  badge  of  distinction  whenever  they  leave 
their  habitations,  so  that  a  straw  hat,  with  a  very 
wide  brim,  tied  on  in  a  particular  manner,  is  the 
signal  for  persons  not  to  approach  the  wearer. 
Lepers  are  seen  in  many  parts  of  Barbary.  sitting 
on  the  ground,  with  a  wooden  bowl  before  them, 
begging.  They  intermarry  with  each  other  "— 
Calmet. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


141 


The  laws  relating  to  matrimony  were 
these.  The  Israelites  were  forbid  to 
marry  strange  women.  One  man  might 
have  several  wives ;  but  the  persons 
among  them,  with  whom  it  was  not  allow- 
ed to  contract  matrimony,  were  the  father, 
the  mother,  the  mother-in-law,  the  sister 
by  the  father  or  mother's  side,  the  son's  or 
daughter's  daughter,  the  father's  wife's 
daughter,  the  father  or  mother's  sister,  the 
uncle,  the  daughter-in-law,  the  brother's 
wife,  the  wife's  sister  and  daughter,  or 
grandson  or  grand-daughter. 

However,  it  was  not  only  lawful,  but  a 
command,  that  the  brother  should  marry 
the  brother's  widow,  if  he  died  without 
issue.  Adultery  and  other  sins  of  impur- 
ity were  severally  forbidden  by  the  law. 
In  short,  there  was  a  ceremony  to  try 
whether  women  were  guilty  of  adultery.* 


*  The  trial  by  what  was  afterwards  called  ordeal 
fa  certainly  of  very  remote  antiquity,  and  was  evi- 
dently of  divine  appointment.  In  this  place  we 
have  a.)  institution  relative  to  a  mode  of  trial  pre- 
cisely of  that  kind  which  among  our  ancestors  was 
called  ordeal  ;  and  from  this  all  similar  trials  in 
Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe  have  very  probably  de- 
rived their  origin.  The  Rabbins  who  have  com- 
mented on  this  ordeal  give  us  the  following  informa- 
tion :  when  any  man,  prompted  by  the  spirit  of 
jealousy,  suspected  his  wife  to  have  committed 
adultery,  he  brought  her  first  before  the  judges, 
and  accused  her  of  the  crime  ;  but  as  she  asserted 
her  innocency,  and  refused  to  acknowledge  herself 
guilty,  and  as  he  had  no  witnesses  to  produce,  he 
required  that  she  should  be  sentenced  to  drink  the 
waters  of  bitterness  which  the  law  had  appointed  ; 
that  God,  by  this  means,  might  discover  what  she 
wished  to  conceal.  After  the  judges  had  heard  the 
accusation  and  the  denial,  the  man  and  his  wife 
were  both  sent  to  Jerusalem,  to  appear  before  the 
Sanhedrim,  who  were  the  sole  judges  in  such  mat- 
ters. The  Rabbins  say  that  the  judges  of  the  San- 
hedrim, at  first,  endeavoured  with  threatenings  to 
confound  the  woman,  and  cause  her  to  confess  her 
crime ;  when  she  still  persisted  in  her  innocence, 
she  was  led  to  the  eastern  gate  of  the  court  of 
Israel,  where  she  was  stripped  of  the  clothes  she 
wore,  and  dressed  in  black,  before  a  number  of 
persons  of  her  own  sex.  The  priest  then  told  her, 
that  if  she  knew  herself  to  be  innocent  she  had  no 
evil  to  apprehend  ;  but  if  she  were  guilty,  she 
might  expect  to  suffer  all  that  the  law  threatened  ; 
to  which  she  answered,  Amen,  amen.  The  priest 
then  wrote  the  words  of  the  law  upon  a  piece  of 
vellum,  with  ink  that  had  no  vitriol  in  it,  that  it 
might  be  the  more  easily  blotted  out.  The  words 
written  on  the  vellum  were,  according  to  the  Rab- 
bins, the  following :  '  If  a  strange  man  have  not 


But  besides  the  moral  precepts  contained 
in  the  decalogue,  and  more  particularly  ex- 
plained in  the  books  of  Moses,  that  l;oly 
legislator  by  God's  direction  gave  them 
laws  for  the  government  of  their  common- 
wealth, which  were  agreeable  to  reason 
and  equity.  It  is  worthy  of  observation, 
that  the  general  laws  and  customs  of  the 


come  near  thee,  and  thou  art  not  polluted  by  for- 
saking the  bed  of  thy  husband,  these  bitter  waters 
which  1  have  cursed  will  not  hurt  thee  :  but  if 
thou  have  gone  astray  from  thy  husband,  and  have 
polluted  thyself  by  coming  near  to  another  man, 
may  thou  be  accursed  of  the  Lord,  and  become  an 
example  for  all  his  people  ;  may  thy  thigh  rot,  and 
thy  belly  swell  till  it  burst !  may  these  cursed 
waters  enter  into  thy  belly,  and,  being  swelled 
therewith,  may  thy  thigh  putrefy  ! '  After  this  the 
priest  took  a  new  pitcher,  rilled  it  with  water  out 
of  the  brazen  bason  that  was  near  the  altar  of 
burnt-offering,  cast  some  dust  into  it  taken  from 
the  pavement  of  the  temple,  mingled  something 
bitter,  as  wormwood,  with  it,  and  having  read  the 
curse3  above  mentioned  to  the  woman,  and  receiv- 
ed her  answer  of  Amen,  he  scraped  off"  the  curses 
from  the  vellum  into  the  pitcher  of  water.  During 
this  time  another  priest  tore  her  clothes  as  low  as 
her  bosom,  made  her  head  bare,  untied  the  tresses 
of  her  hair,  fastened  her  torn  clothes  with  a  girdle 
below  her  breasts,  and  presented  her  with  the 
tenth  part  of  an  ephah,  or  about  three  pints  of 
barley-meal,  which  was  in  a  frying-pan,  without  oil 
or  incense.  The  other  priest,  who  had  prepared  the 
waters  of  jealousy,  then  gave  them  to  be  drank  by 
the  accused  person,  and  as  soon  as  she  had  swal- 
lowed them  he  put  the  pan  with  the  meal  in  it  into 
her  hand.  This  was  waved  before  the  Lord,  and 
a  part  of  it  thrown  into  the  fire  of  the  altar  If 
the  woman  was  innocent,  she  returned  with  her 
husband  ;  and  the  waters,  instead  of  incommoding 
her,  made  her  more  healthy  and  fruitful  than  ever 
if  on  the  contrary  she  were  guilty,  she  was  seen 
immediately  to  grow  pale,  her  eyes  started  out  of 
her  head,  and,  lest  the  temple  should  be  defiled 
with  her  death,  she  was  carried  out,  and  died 
instantly  with  all  the  ignominious  circumstances 
related  in  the  curses,  which  the  Rabbins  say  had 
the  same  effect  on  him  with  whom  she  had  been 
criminal,  though  he  were  absent  and  at  a  distance. 
They  add,  however,  that  if  the  husband  himself 
had  been  guilty  with  another  woman,  then  the 
waters  had  no  bad  effect  even  on  his  criminal 
wife  ;  as  in  that  case  the  transgression  on  the  one 
part  was  in  a  certain  sense  balanced  by  the  trans- 
gression on  the  other.  There  is  no  instance  in  the 
scriptures  of  this  kind  of  ordeal  having  ever  been 
resorted  to  ;  and  probably  it  never  was  during  the 
purer  times  of  the  Hebrew  republic.  God  had 
rendered  himself  so  terrible  by  his  judgments, 
that  no  person  would  dare  to  appeal  to  this  mode 
of  trial  who  was  conscious  of  her  guilt ;  and  in 
case  of  simple  adultery,  where  the  matter  was 
either  detected  or  confessed,  the  parties  were 
ordered  to  be  put  to  death. —  Clarke. 


142 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


Israelites  tended  to  promote  their  good 
both  in  a  social  and  individual  sense ;  and 
that  the  most  enormous  crimes  were  pun- 
ished in  a  most  extraordinary  manner. 

After  some  of  these  directions  for  the 
worship  of  God,  Moses,  by  the  express 
command  of  God,  appointed  Aaron  high- 
priest,  and  his  sons,  and  their  offspring,  to 
be  the  priestly  race.  When  they  were 
sanctified,  Moses  robed  them,  anointed 
their  heads  with  oil,  and  made  them  offer 
sacrifice  for  sin.  The  function  of  the 
priests  in  general  was  to  offer  sacrifice  to 
the  Lord,  only  the  high-priest's  was  pecu- 
liar; for  he  was  allowed  to  go  once  a  year 
into  the  sanctuary  on  the  day  of  expiation,* 


*  This  was  one  of  the  principal  solemnities  of 
the  Jews,  and  the  ceremonies  to  be  observed  hereon 
were  such  as  these.  The  high-priest,  after  he  had 
washed  not  only  his  hands  and  feet,  as  usual  in 
common  sacrifices,  but  his  body  likewise,  dressed 
himself  in  a  plain  linen  garment  like  one  of  the 
priests,  and  had  neither  his  purple  rod,  his  ephod, 
nor  his  pectoral  on,  because  he  was  going  to  ex- 
piate his  own,  as  well  as  the  people's  sins.  He 
first  of  all  offered  a  bullock  and  a  ram  for  his  own 
sins,  and  those  of  the  other  priests,  putting  his 
hand  upon  their  heads,  and  confessing  his  own 
sins  and  the  sins  of  his  house ;  then  he  received 
from  the  princes  of  the  people  two  goats  for  a  sin- 
offering,  and  a  ram  for  a  burnt-offering,  to  be  of- 
fered in  the  name  of  all  the  people.  By  lots  it 
was  determined  which  of  the  two  goats  should  be 
sacrificed,  and  which  set  at  liberty  ;  and  therefore, 
after  that  he  had  perfumed  the  sanctuary  with 
some  burning  incense,  he  took  of  the  blood  of  the 
bullock  which  he  had  sacrificed,  and,  dipping  his 
finger  in  it,  sprinkled  it  seven  times  between  the 
ark  and  the  vail,  which  separated  between  the 
holy  of  holies  and  the  body  of  the  tabernacle,  or 
temple.  After  this  he  came  out  again,  and,  hav- 
ing sacrificed  the  goat  upon  which  the  lot  was 
fallen,  he  returned  with  some  of  its  blood  into  the 
sanctuary,  and  there  sprinkled  it  as  he  had  done 
before  :  then  coming  out  again,  he  sprinkled  both 
sides  of  the  court  with  the  blood  of  the  goat,  and 
so  proceeding  to  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  he 
wet  the  four  horns  of  it  with  the  blood  of  the  goat 
and  the  bullock,  and  sprinkled  it  seven  times  with 
the  same.  After  all  these  ceremonies  were  finish- 
ed, the  goat  that  was  to  be  set  at  liberty,  (which 
was  commonly  called  the  scape-goat,)  was  brought 
to  the  high-priest,  who  put  both  his  hands  upon 
its  head,  and  having  confessed  all  his  own  sins  and 
the  sins  of  the  people,  delivered  it  to  persons  ap- 
pointed to  that  office,  who  carried  it  into  the  wil- 
derness, and  left  it  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice 
at  twelve  miles  distance  from  Jerusalem.  After 
all  which,  the  high-priest  washed  himself  all  over 
again  in  the  tabernacle,  or  temple,  and  putting  on 
bis  pontifical  dress,  sacrificed  two  rams  for  a  burnt- 


clad  in  his  priestly  arments,  to  burn  in- 
cense there  before  the  ark,  and  sprinkle 
the  blood  of  the  offering  seven  times  with 
his  finger.  To  the  priests  were  joined  all 
the  tribe  of  Levi,  to  serve  in  the  taber- 
nacle ;  to  both  which  were  appointed  par- 
ticular allowances  for  their  subsistence. 
But  if  any  of  the  priestly  race  or  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  had  any  bodily  imperfec- 
tions, they  were  excluded  from  the  func- 
tion, but  still  enjoyed  the  right  and  privi 
leges  of  their  birth.  The  obligations  they 
lay  under  were  these :  they  were  to  drink 
no  wine  or  intoxicating  liquors  when  they 
were  to  officiate  in  the  tabernacle;  they 
were  not  to  marry  a  woman  that  was  di- 
vorced, or  had  been  prostituted ;  they 
were  not  to  be  at  funerals,  unless  they 
were  of  their  own  fathers,  mothers,  sons, 
daughters,  brothers,  and  maiden  sisters. 
But  now  let  us  return  to  the  historical 
account. 

Eight  days  after  the  consecration  of 
Aaron  and  his  sons,  Aaron  offered  his 
first  burnt-offering  for  himself  and  the 
people.  This  was  so  acceptable  to  God, 
that  he  gave  a  miraculous  testimony  of  his 
approving  it  by  sending  fire  upon  the 
altar  which  consumed  the  offering  in  the 
sight  of  the  people,  who  in  loud  shouts 
and  acclamations  expressed  their  joy  of 
God's  so  signally  owning  their  offering, 


offering,  one  for  himself,  and  the  other  for  the  peo- 

[)le;  and  so  concluded  the  day  with  reading  the 
aw,  and  giving  the  blessing  to  the  people,  who 
all,  upon  this  occasion,  behaved  with  great  devo- 
tion, fasted  punctually,  and  returned  home  with  a 
full  persuasion  and  assurance  that  their  sins  were 
entirely  done  away,  and  expiated.  The  modern 
Jews,  who  have  no  sacrifices,  content  themselves 
with  reading  in  Leviticus  what  relates  to  the  solemn 
service  of  this  day,  and  the  ceremonies  concerning 
the  scape-goat.  They  in  like  manner  fast  very 
strictly,  and  pray  very  devoutly,  until  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  day,  when,  having  received  the  Rabbin's 
blessing,  they  go  home,  fully  satisfied  that  all  their 
iniquities  are  pardoned:  for  their  standing  maxim 
is,  that  repentance,  though  accompanied  with  a 
resolution  of  living  well,  does  but  suspend  sins  ; 
whereas  the  feast  of  expiation  does  absolutely 
abolish  them.  The  reader  that  is  desirous  to  know 
more  of  this  subject,  may  consult  Kasnage's  His- 
tory of  the  Jews,  and  Calmet's  Dictionary,  under 
the  word  Expiation. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


143 


and  in   reverence   they  prostrated  them- 
selves on  the  ground. 

The  fire  thus  miraculously  kindled,  ought 
to  have  been  kept  continually  burning; 
for  so  the  Lord  had  expressly  command- 
ed.* But  Nadab  and  Abihu,  two  unhappy 
sons  of  Aaron,  forgetful  of  their  duty,  took 
their  censers,  and  putting  common  fire  f 
in  them,  laid  incense  thereon,  and  offered 
strange  fire  before  the  Lord.J     So  flagrant 

*  See  Lev.  vi.  12,  13.  This  fire  which,  Lev.  ix. 
24.  is  said  to  come  from  heaven,  and  to  have  con- 
sumed the  first  burnt-offering,  lasted  till  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon.  It  can  admit  of  little  doubt 
that  the  perpetual  sacred  fires  of  the  heathens, 
whether  Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  Indians,  &c. 
were  copied  from  this  divine  original  amongst  the 
Jews.  The  antiquity  of  sacred  fires  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  is  well  known.  Theophrastus 
informs  us  that  this  rite  of  burning  perpetual  fire 
to  the  gods  had  formed  a  part  of-  their  worship 
from  time  immemorial,  being  used  as  an  expressive 
symbol  or  figure  of  their  immortality.  The  sacred 
fire  among  the  Persians  was  viewed  with  such 
superstitious  regard,  that,  if  ever  it  were  extin- 
guished, they  would  only  rekindle  it  by  fire  lighted 
up  from  the  sun. — Biblioth.  Bibl. 

f  There  were  two  sorts  of  fire  used  in  the 
tabernacle  ;  the  holy  fire  which  came  from  heaven, 
and  which  God  had  commanded  to  be  kept 
always  burning  for  the  use  of  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offering  ;  and  the  common  or  profane  fire,  which 
was  used  to  boil  the  flesh  of  the  peace-offer- 
ing, and  sacrifice  for  sin.  Common  fire,  they 
thought,  might  serve  the  purpose  of  burning  in- 
cense, as  well  as  that  which  was  held  more  sacred: 
at  least,  in  the  gaiety,  or  rather  naughtiness  of 
their  hearts,  they  were  minded  to  make  the  experi- 
ment, even  in  opposition  to  the  divine  command  ; 
and  therefore  it  was  just  and  requisite  in  God,  espe- 
cially in  the  beginning  of  the  priesthood,  and  when 
one  alteration  of  a  divine  precept  might,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  be  productive  of  many  more,  to  in- 
flict an  exemplary  punishment,  that  others  might 
hear,  and  fear,  and  not  commit  the  like  abomina- 
tion. 

%  Whether  these  sons  of  Aaron  had  too  far  in- 
dulged themselves  in  the  use  of  wine  or  other 
strong  liquors  which  might  have  made  them  for- 
getful of  their  duty,  doth  not  plainly  appear  from 
the  text,  Lev.  x.  1.  Yet  some  Jewish  doctors 
affirm  it  ;  and  from  the  context,  ver.  9.  there  is 
some  reason  to  suspect  it,  because,  as  soon  as  they 
were  carried  out,  God  charged  Aaron  and  his  sons, 
on  pain  of  death,  '  Not  to  drink  wine  or  strong 
drink,'  when  they  were  to  go  into  the  tabernacle 
of  the  congregation  ;  telling  them,  '  It  shall  be  a 
statute  to  them  throughout  all  generations.'  And 
he  assigns  there  the  reasons  of  this  so  strict  prohi- 
bition. '  That  ye  may  put  a  difference  between 
the  holy  and  unholy,  between  the  clean  and  un- 
clean ;  and  that  ye  may  teach  the  children  of  Israel 
all  the  statutes  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  to 
them  by  Moses.' 


an  insult  was  severely  punished  by  a 
righteous  and  tremendous  God,  for  a  suf- 
focating flame  darted  through  their  insides, 
and  stifled  them,  without  destroying  their 
bodies  or  garments. 

In  order  to  excite  in  the  rest  of  the 
priestly  order  an  awe  of  the  divine  ma- 
jesty, and  deter  them  from  disobedience 
to  the  command  of  heaven,  Moses  ordered 
them  to  bring  the  dead  bodies  of  Nadab 
and  Abihu  from  before  the  sanctuary,  and 
carry  them  out  of  the  camp  in  the  same  • 
condition  they  found  them.  He  likewise 
charged  Aaron  and  his  sons  not  to  mourn 
for  Nadab  and  Abihu,  in  shaving  their 
heads,  or  rending  their  clothes ;  but  that 
they  should  leave  those  marks  of  mourn- 
ing to  the  rest  of  the  people,  from  whom 
they  ought  to  distinguish  themselves  in 
this,  as  well  as  in  other  points,  in  rever- 
ence to  that  holy  anointing,  whereby  they 
had  been  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  and 
separated  from  the  rest  of  their  brethren. 
A  good  instruction  and  warning  to  others 
to  beware  of  murmuring  or  extreme  sor- 
rowing, when  the  hand  of  God  should  visit 
in  judgment. 

The  next  historical  matter  is  another 
awful  proof  of  the  danger  of  incurring  the 
displeasure  of  the  Almighty,  exemplified 
in  the  case  of  one  whose  mother's  name 
was  Shelomith,  an  Israelitisli  woman  of 
the  tribe  of  Dan ;  but  his  father  was  an 
Egyptian,  and  supposed  to  be  a  proselyte 
to  Israel. 

This  young  man  going  out  of  his  tent, 
quarrelled  with  a  man  of  Israel,  and  fight- 
ing, the  son  of  Shelomith  was  worsted. 
Being  enraged  at  this  disgrace,  and  re- 
taining, as  may  be  supposed,  too  much  of 
his  father's  principles,  he  fell  a  cursing 
and  blaspheming  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
For  this  he  was  immediately  apprehended, 
and  brought  before  Moses,  who  committed 
him  to  custody  till  the  mind  of  the  Lord 
should  be  known  concerning  him;  for 
though  the  third  command  in  the  deca- 
logue forbids  the  taking  of  God's  name  in 
vain,  yet  this  blasphemous  cursing,  being 


144 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


an  offence  of  a  higher  nature,  against 
which  no  positive  law  was  yet  provided, 
Moses  had  recourse  to  the  Lord  for  coun- 
sel and  direction  therein;  who  determined 
thus :  '  Bring  forth  him  that  hath  cursed 
without  the  camp,  and  let  all  that  heard 
him  lay  their  hands  upon  his  head,*  and 
let  all  the  congregation  stone  him.' 

Moses,  in  obedience  to  the  divine  com- 
mand, ordered  the  sentence  to  be  put  in 
execution  accordingly ;  and  a  law  was 
thereupon  made,  that  whosoever  should, 
from  that  time,  blaspheme  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  whether  he  were  an  Israelite  or  a 
stranger,  he  should  be  stoned  to  death. 

During  the  time  of  the  Israelites'  en- 
campment in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  the 
Lord  appointed  Moses  to  take  Aaron,  and 
with  him  a  principal  man  of  every  tribe, 
whom  the  Lord  pitched  upon  by  name, 
and  make  a  general  muster  of  the  men  fit 
to  bear  arms.  Moses  therefore  with 
Aaron  and  their  assistants,  having  taken 
an  exact  account  by  poll,  of  all  the  males 
from  twenty  years  old  and  upwards,  that 
were  able  to  go  forth  to  war  in  Israel, 
found  the  number  to  be  six  hundred  and 
three  thousand,  five  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  besides  the  Levites.f 


*  This  way  of  laying  hands  on  the  heads  of 
criminals  may  seem  to  arise  from  several  causes. 
].  That  they  were  witnesses  of  the  fact,  and  that 
the  person  condemned  suffered  justly  ;  protesting, 
that  if  he  were  innocent  they  desired  his  blood 
might  fall  on  their  own  heads.  2.  They  put  their 
hands  on  the  head  of  the  criminal  in  token  of  an 
expiatory  sacrifice  ;  for  idolatry,  blasphemy,  and 
such  grievous  crimes,  if  they  were  not  punished, 
they  expected  would  attract  a  guilt,  not  only  on 
the  witness,  but  the  whole  nation,  which  by  the 
death  of  the  criminal,  as  by  a  victim,  might  be 
expiated.  3.  That  the  criminal  was  the  just  cause 
of  his  own  death. 

■f  By  this  we  may  see  how  much  this  people 
were  increased  in  number  in  about  a  year's  time, 
and  notwithstanding  they  had  been  in  a  travelling 
condition,  and  engaged  in  battle  with  the  Amale- 
kites,  had  lost  about  three  thousand  men  upon 
the  account  of  their  calf.  For  they  were  comput- 
ed to  be  but  about  six  hundred  thousand  men,  in- 
cluding the  tribe  of  Levi  with  them,  when  they 
came  out  of  Egypt.  And  now  they  were  603,550 
men,  besides  the  tribe  of  Levi,  which  being  num- 
bered by  itself  yielded  22,000  males  of  a  month 
old  and  upwards. 


God  had  expressly  exempted  the  tribe 
of  Levi  out  of  this  muster,  because  he 
had  designed  them  to  the  peculiar  service 
of  the  tabernacle;  not  only  to  take  charge 
thereof,  and  of  all  the  vessels  belonging 
to  it,  but  to  take  it  down  upon  every  re- 
move, and  carry  both  the  tabernacle  and 
the  vessels,  and  set  it  up  when  they 
pitched  again. 

Being  thus  mustered,  Moses  and  Aaron, 
by  the  express  command  of  God,  ordered 
the  encampment  of  this  great  body  of 
people  in  this  manner;  they  were  dispos- 
ed into  four  battalions,  each  under  one 
general  standard,  which  were  so  placed 
that  they  inclosed  the  tabernacle. 

The  standard  of  the  camp  of  Judah  was 
first,  which  consisted  of  the  tribes  of 
Judah,  Issachar,  and  Zebulun,  the  sons  of 
Leah,  pitched  over  against  the  tabernacle 
on  the  east  side  of  it,  towards  the  rising  of 
the  sun. 

On  the  south-side  was  the  standard  of 
the  camp  of  Reuben,  under  which  were 
the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Simeon,  the 
sons  of  Leah  likewise,  and  of  Gad  the 
son  of  Zilpah  her  maid. 

On  the  west-side  was  the  standard  of 
the  camp  of  Ephraim,  under  which  were 
the  tribes  of  Ephraim,  Manasseh,J  and 
Benjamin. 

And  on  the  north-side  was  the  standard 
of  the  camp  of  Dan,  under  which  were 
the  tribes  of  Dan  and  Naphtali,  the  sons 
of  Bilhah,  Rachel's  maid,  and  of  Asher 
the  son  of  Zilpah. 

Between  §  the  four  great  camps  ||  and 


J  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  supplied  the  place  of 
Joseph  their  father  ;  and  therefore  they  are  taken 
to  be  Rachel's  children,  and  so  they  aNd  Benjamin 
make  the  third  standard. 

§  Josephus  tells  us,  that  between  each  tribe  :n 
every  one  of  these  four  quarters  there  were  distant 
spaces,  like  streets,  where  they  bought  arid  sold  as 
in  a  market,  and  tradesmen  in  their  shops,  in 
manner  of  a  city  leading  to  and  fro.  This  camp 
is  thought  to  be  round,  a  mile  distant  from  the 
tabernacle,  that  is,  a  Sabbath  day's  journey,  where 
the  distance  between  the  people  and  the  ark  is 
commanded  to  be  two  thousand  cubits. 

||  The  later  Jews  allege,  that  Judah  carried  in 
his  standard  the  figure  of  a  lion,  and  Reuben  the 


Chap    VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


145 


the  tabernacle  were  pitched  four  less 
camps,  consisting  of  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites, near  to  the  tabernacle,  in  and  about 
which  their  service  lay. 

On  the  east-side  encamped  Moses  and 


figure  of  a  man ;  Ephraim  of  an  ox,  and  Dan  of 
an  eagle  ;  but  these  are  merely  the  conjectures  of 
a  heated  imagination,  and  are  entitled  to  no  serious 
attention.  It  is  more  probable,  that  the  name  of 
each  tribe  was  embroidered  on  the  standard  under 
which  they  marched  ;  or  perhaps  they  were  dis- 
tinguished, as  in  some  other  countries,  only  by 
their  colours.  Mr  Harmer  is  inclined  to  a  differ- 
ent opinion  ;  he  thinks  the  standards  of  the  tribes 
were  not  flags,  but  little  iron  machines  carried  on 
the  top  of  a  pole,  in  which  fires  were  lighted  to 
direct  their  march  by  night,  and  so  contrived,  as 
sufficiently  to  distinguish  them  from  one  another. 
This  is  the  kind  of  standard  by  which  the  Turkish 
caravans  direct  their  march  through  the  desert  to 
Mecca,  and  seems  to  be  very  commonly  used  by 
travellers  in  the  East.  Dr  Pococke  tells  us,  that 
the  caravan  with  which  he  visited  the  river  Jordan, 
set  out  from  thence  in  the  evening  soon  after  it 
was  dark  for  Jerusalem,  being  lighted  by  chips  of 
deal  full  of  turpentine,  burning  in  a  round  iron 
frame,  fixed  to  the  end  of  a  pole,  and  arrived  at 
the  city  a  little  before  day  break.  But  he  states 
also,  that  a  short  time  before  this,  the  pilgrims 
were  called  before  the  governor  of  the  caravan,  by 
means  of  a  white  standard  that  was  displayed  on  an 
eminence  near  the  camp,  in  order  to  enable  him  to 
ascertain  his  fees.  In  the  Mecca  caravans,  they 
use  nothing  by  day,  but  the  same  moveable  beacons 
in  which  they  burn  those  fires,  which  distinguish 
the  different  tribes  in  the  night.  From  these  cir- 
cumstances, Harmer  concludes,  that,  "since  tra- 
velling in  the  night  must  in  general  be  most  desir- 
able to  a  great  multitude  in  that  desert,  and  since 
we  may  believe  that  a  compassionate  God  for  the 
most  part  directed  Israel  to  move  in  the  night,  the 
standards  of  the  twelve  tribes  were  moveable  bea- 
cons, like  those  of  the  Mecca  pilgrims,  rather  than 
flags  or  any  thing  of  that  kind."  On  this  reason- 
ing, the  following  remarks  are  offered:  1.  The 
people  of  Israel  and  the  Mecca  pilgrims,  ware  in 
very  different  circumstances ;  the  former  did  not 
need  such  fire  beacons,  because  they  enjoyed  the 
light  and  direction  of  a  pillar  of  tire,  which,  for 
any  thing  we  know  to  the  contrary,  was  quite  suf- 
ficient to  enlighten  and  guide  the  step  of  every  one 
in  the  camp.  2.  Flags  were  actually  carried  in 
the  caravan  to  Mecca,  beside  the  fire  beacons  ;  for 
a  white  standard  was  raised  on  an  eminence,  to 
summon  the  pilgrims  into  the  governor's  presence. 
We  may  therefore  suppose,  that  the  many  thou- 
sands of  Israel  might  have  their  flags  in  the  desert, 
to  guide  the  motions  of  the  tribes  :  and  this  con- 
jecture receives  some  countenance  from  the  fact, 
that  such  ensigns  have  been  used  in  the  East  from 
the  remotest  ages.  3.  The  chosen  people  were 
not  under  the  same  necessity  of  travelling  in  the 
night,  because  they  were  defended  from  the  intense 
heat  of  the  sun  by  the  pillar  of  cloud,  which  was 
expanded  like  an  immense  curtain  over  their  host, 
all  the  day. — Pax  ton. 


Aaron,  with  Aaron's  sons,  who  had  the 
charge  of  the  sanctuary. 

On  the  south-side  were  the  Kohathites, 
a  part  of  the  Levites  descended  from 
Kohath  the  second  son  of  Levi. 

On  the  west-side,  behind  the  tabernacle, 
stood  the  Gershonites,  another  part  of  the 
Levites,  descended  from  Gershon,  Levi's 
eldest  son. 

And  on  the  north-side  were  planted  the 
Merarites,  the  remaining  part  of  the  Le- 
vites, who  sprung  from  Merari,  Levi's 
youngest  son. 

This  was  the  order  of  their  encamping. 
The  manner  of  their  dislodging  and 
marching  was  thus:  when  they  were  to 
remove  (which  was  when  the  cloud  was 
taken  off  the  tabernacle,)  the  trumpet  was 
sounded,  and  upon  the  first  alarm  the 
standard  of  Judah  being  raised,  the  three 
tribes  which  belonged  to  it  set  forward. 
Then  the  tabernacle  being  taken  down, 
the  Gershonites  and  the  Merarites  attend- 
ed the  waggons,  with  the  boards  and 
staves  of  it.  When  these  were  on  their 
march,  a  second  alarm  was  sounded ;  up- 
on which  the  standard  of  Reuben's  camp 
advanced,  with  the  tribes  under  it. 

After  them  followed  the  Kohathites, 
bearing  the  sanctuary,  which  being  more 
holy,  and  less  cumbersome  than  the  heavy 
boards  and  pillars  of  the  tabernacle,  was 
not  put  into  a  waggon,  but  carried  on 
their  shoulders. 

Next  followed  the  standard  of  Ephraim's 
camp,  with  the  three  tribes  belonging  to  it 
And  last  of  all,  the  other  three  tribes  un- 
der the  standard  of  Dan  brought  up  the 
rear. 

*  Having  remained  a  considerable  time 


*  Designing  in  the  text  to  keep  chiefly  to  the 
historical  part  of  the  sacred  writ,  and  to  preserve 
the  connection  of  matter  of  fact,  with  which  the 
preceptive  would  interfere,  I  thought  it  more  use- 
ful for  the  reader  to  continue  the  series  of  the 
siory  in  the  text,  and  put  the  intervening  precepts, 
and  orders  here  in  the  notes.  In  the  third  and 
fourth  chapters  of  Numbers,  therefore,  we  have 
the  Lord's  taking  the  Levites  to  himself  in  ex- 
change for  the  first-born,  with  the  reason  for  his 
so  doing;  likewise  his  giving  the  Levites  to  the 


146 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


before  the  mount  of  the  Lord,  the  Israel-  I  place  called  Taberah,  which  signifies  burn" 
ites  decamped  by  God's  command  on  the  ing.  This  exertion  of  divine  power,  in- 
first  day  of  the  second  month,  the  second  !  stead  of  terrifying  them  into  their  duty, 
year  after  their  coming  out  of  Egypt.  In  did  but  increase  their  murmuring.  For 
their  march  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  j  being  come  to  new  quarters,  they  expect- 
Lord  went  before  them,  to  search  out  a  [  ed  change  of  diet;  and  because  God  did 
resting  place  for  them:  at  the  setting  for-  not  presently  gratify  them,  they  in  con- 
ward  of  which  Moses  said,  '  Rise,  Lord,  tempt  preferred  the  rank  food  of  Egypt, 
and  let  thine  enemies  be  scattered;  and  onions,  leeks,  and  garlic,  to  the  deli- 
let  them  that  hate  thee  flee  before  thee.'  cious  heavenly  dainties  with  which  God 
And  when  the  ark  rested  again,  he  added,  i  had  daily  fed  them.  Moses  had  often 
'Return,  O  Lord,  unto  the  many  thou- !  heard  their  murmuring,  and  patiently 
sands  of  Israel.'  Having  marched  three  ■  borne  with  them;  but  now  that  they  were 
days  into  the  wilderness,  they  came  to  a    grown  so  numerous,  and  the  greatness  of 


place  called,  'The  graves  of  lust,'  from 
what  happened  to  the  Israelites  there. 
Murmuring  against  the  Lord,  and  com- 


their  numbers  demanding  still  more  care 
and  vigilance  to  govern  and  provide  for 
them,  the  sense  of  the  weight  so  great  a 


plaining  of  the  weariness  of  their  journey,  I  charge  occasioned,  gave  much  uneasiness 
he  was  so  incensed  against  them,  that  he  i  to  Moses,  who,  in  his  address  to  God, 
sent  down  fire,  and  destroyed  those  that  !  complained  of  the  heavy  burden  which 
were  in  the  extreme  parts  of  the  camp.*  the  care  of  so  numerous  and  mutinous  a 
Frighted  at  this  judgment,  they  repaired  ,  people  brought  upon  him. 


to    Moses,   upon   whose   intercession   the 
fire  was  quenched,  and  the  name  of  that 


priests  for  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  distribut- 
ing them  into  three  classes  or  orders,  and  appoint- 
in"  them  their  several  services.      Afterwards,  in 


The  Almighty  no  sooner  heard  the 
complaint  of  his  faithful  servant,  than  he 
relieved  him  from  his  cares,  bidding  him 
choose  seventy  men  of  the  elders  of  Israel, 
and  bring  them  with  him  to  the  tabernacle 
of  the   congregation.     '  And  there,'  said 


chaD.  v.  follows  that  clear  and  excellent  type  of  1  .1       T       1     ,  T       mi  j  j    A  11 

gospel  purity,  and  Christian  church-discipline,  ex-    the    Lord>    <X   wlU  come   down>    and   talk 

pressed  in  commanding  the  children  of  Israel  to    with   thee;    and   I  wiU   endue   them   with 


presse 

put  out  of  the  camp  every  leper,  and  every  one 
that  had  a  running  issue,  and  whosoever  was  de- 
filed with  the  dead,  both  male  and  female  ;  that 
they  might  not  defile  their  camps  in  the  midst  of 
which  tbe  Lord  dwelt.  In  the  sixth  chapter  fol- 
low divers  laws  relating  to  restitution  in  cases 
of  trespass,  and  to  ttie  trial  of  jealousy  between 
men  and  their  wives  ;  to  the  vow  of  the  Nazarites, 
to  which  is  subjoined  the  form  of  that  divine  bless- 
ing which  the  Lord  himself  did  dictate  for  the 
priests  to  pronounce  upon  the  people.  The  se- 
venth chapter  contains  the  offerings  of  the  princes 
at  the  dedication  of  both  the  tabernacle  and  the 
altar,  &c.  The  consecration  and  purification  of 
the  Levites  are  set  down  in  the  eighth  ;  a  rein- 
forcement of  the  passover,  and  the  guiding  of  the 
Israelites  by  the  cloud  in  the  ninth  chapter. 

*  This  "fire  came  either  immediately  from 
heaven,  like  lightning,  or  did  issue  from  the  pillar 
of  the  cloud,  which  went  before  the  tabernacle;  or 
that,  which  is  here  called  fire,  might  be  a  hot,  burn- 
ing wind,  in  those  desert  places  not  unusual,  and 
many  times  very  pestilential,  and,  on  this  occasion, 


the  same  spirit  with  which  I  have  inspir- 
ed thee,  and  they  shall  bear  the  burden 
of  the  people  with  thee.'  Moses  accord- 
ingly brought  the  seventy  elders  of  the 
children  of  Israel  before  the  Lord,  who 
kept  his  word  with  him;  for,  being  inspir- 
ed, they  straightway  prophesied.  Nay, 
this  inspiration  was  so  extensive,  that  two 
of  those  seventy,  though  they  came  not 
out  with  the  rest  to  the  tabernacle,  but 
remained  behind  in  the  camp,  were  taken 
in  among  the  rest,  and  received  the  same 
impression  of  the  Spirit,  and  prophesied 
as  the  others  did.  This  so  surprised  a 
certain  young  man,  that  he  ran  from  the 
camp  to  the  tabernacle  to  acquaint  Moses 
pretematn  rally  'raised  in  the  rear  of  the  army,  to  that  Eldad  and  Medad,  for  so  they  were 
punish  the  stragglers,  and  such  as  loitered  behind  name(l  were  pr0phesying  in  the  camp, 
out  of  a  pretence  of  weariness. — Le  Clercs  com-  '  r     r       '     °  ;■      ' 

mentary.  Joshua,  who  as  yet  was  not  acquainted 


HAP.    VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


147 


with  the  operations  of  the  Lord  by  his 
Spirit,  over-hearing  this  message,  and 
thinking  it  some  derogation  from  his  mas- 
ter that  they  should  prophesy,  and  not 
follow  him,  advised  Moses  to  forbid  them. 
But  Moses,  reproving  him  gently  for  hie 
rashness,  cried,  •  Dost  thou  envy  them 
upon  my  account?  Would  to  God  all  the 
Lord's  people  were  inspired,  and  that  they 
might  prophesy.' 

Amidst  divers  complaints  of  Moses  to 
God  of  his  incapacity  to  sustain  the  hea- 
vy weight  of  so  great  a  charge,  as  the  di- 
rection of  so  numerous  a  people,  he  ex- 
postulated with  the  Lord  on  the  impossi- 
bility of  their  being  supplied  with  flesh 
in  that  place,  because  they  were  so  nu- 
merous. The  Lord,  knowing  the  great 
fatigue  Moses  had  gone  through  in  the 
conduct  of  this  people,  bore  with  him, 
and  only  gave  him  this  gentle  rebuke:  'Is 
the  Lord's  hand  shortened?  Thou  shalt 
see  whether  my  word  shall  come  to  pass 
unto  thee  or  not.' 

Accordingly,  when  Moses  with  the  el- 
ders were  gone  back  to  the  camp,  and 
had  acquainted  the  people  with  it,  a 
south  wind  arose,  and  drove  vast  numbers 
of  quails  from  the  sea  coast  within  a 
mile  of  the  camp,  where  they  lay  about  a 
yard  thick  upon  the  ground.*     The  peo- 


*  We  may  consider  the  quails  as  'flying  within 
two  cubits  of  the  ground ;'  so  that  the  Israelites 
could  easily  take  as  many  of  them  as  they  wished, 
while  flying  within  the  reach  of  their  hands  or 
their  clubs.      The  common   notion   is,   that  the 

! mails  were  brought  round  about  the  camp,  and 
ell  there  in  such  multitudes  as  to  lie  two  feet 
thick  upon  the  ground ;  but  the  Hebrew  will  not 
bear  this  version.  The  Vulgate  has  expressed 
the  sense,  '  And  they  flew  in  the  air,  two  cubits 
high  above  the  ground.'  While  these  immense 
flocks  were  flying  at  this  short  distance  from  the 
ground,  fatigued  with  the  strong  wind  and  the 
distance  they  had  come,  they  were  easily  taken  by 
the  people  ;  and  as  various  flocks  continued  to 
succeed  each  other  for  two  days  and  a  night, 
enough  for  a  month's  provision  might  be  collected 
in  that  time.  If  the  quails  had  fallen  about  the 
tents,  there  was  no  need  to  have  stood  up  two 
days  and  a  night  in  gathering  them  ;  but  if  they 
were  on  the  wing,  as  the  text  seems  to  suppose,  it 
was  necessary  for  them  to  use  despatch,  and  avail 
themselves  of  the  passing  of  these  birds  while  it 


pie  fell  greedily  to  gathering  the  quails, 
which  they  (still  distrusting  God's  provi- 
dence, which  had  hitherto  never  failed 
them)  did  in  such  great  quantities,  as  if 
they  were  to  have  no  more. 

But  God  soon  called  them  to  a  dread- 
ful account  for  their  insolent  demand  of 
flesh,  and  doubtful  distrust  of  his  power : 
for  while  they  were  regaling  themselves 
with  these  dainties,  God  visited  them 
with  a  very  severe  plaguef  whereof  many 
died,  and  were  buried  in  the  place,  which 
from  their  lusting  after  flesh  was  called 
Kibroth-hattaavah,  which  signifies  '  the 
graves  of  lust  or  concupiscence.' 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Aaron  and  his  sister  Miriam  enviously  seek  to 
raise  a  sedition  ;  the  latter  is  punished  with 
leprosy,  and  having  been  made  a  general  ex- 
ample to  the  people  is  healed. — Appointment 
of  the  spies,  with  their  particular  acts. —  The 
people  are  threatened  for  murmuring  at  them. 
—  God  averts  the  judgment,  but  punishes  those 
who  spread  a  false  report. — Sabbath  breaking 
punished  with  death. —  The  rebellion  and  pun- 
ishment of  Korah. —  The  plague  appeased. 

From  hence  they  took  their  journey  to 
Hazeroth,  which  signifies  'palaces.'  And 
here  another  unhappy  accident  befell 
them  :  Aaron  and  his  sister  Miriam  ob- 
serving the  great  power  of  Moses  their 
brother  with  the  people,  and  that  God 
chiefly  made  use  of  him  in  the  delivery  of 
his  sacred  oracles  to  them,  began  to  envy 
him :  to  give  some  colour  to  their  quarrel, 
they  pretended  to  fall  out  with  him  upon 
the  account  of  his  marrying  a  foreigner, 

continued.  Maillet  observes  that  birds  of  alf 
kinds  come  to  Egypt  for  refuge  from  the  cold  of  a 
northern  winter  ;  and  that  the  people  catch  them, 
pluck,  and  bury  them  in  the  burning  sand  for  a 
few  minutes,  and  thus  prepare  them  for  use. 
This  is  probably  what  is  meant  by  'spreading 
them  all  abroad  round  the  camp.' — Dr  A.  Clarke. 
f  It  probably  seems  to  have  been  a  suffocating, 
distemper,  like  the  quinsey,  which  choked  them 
as  they  were  eating  or  soon  after ;  for  the  words 
are  very  express  :  '  While  the  meat  was  in  their 
mouth,  the  wrath  of  God  fell  upon  them.'  This 
is  further  confirmed  by  Psalm  lxxviii.  30,  31. 


148 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


calling  her  Ethiopian,*  and  emulating 
Moses's  great  gifts  and  authority,  they 
added,  «  What!  hath  the  Lord  spoken  only 
by  Moses?  Hath  he  not  spoken  also  by 
us?'  Moses  saw  their  discontent;  and 
though  he  was  naturally  of  a  meek  dispo- 
sition, and  could  pardon  an  injury  offered 
to  himself,  his  righteous  soul  was  grieved 
and  incensed  when  mortals  dared  to  in- 
sult the  Majesty  of  heaven  ;  but  looking 
on  this  as  a  personal  pique,  he  would  not 
take  notice  of  it. 

However,  God,  who  was  more  imme- 
diately concerned  in  this,  resolved  to  vin- 
dicate himself  and  his  faithful  servant; 
for  on  a  sudden  calling  for  Moses,  Aaron, 
and  Miriam,  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle, 
he  sharply  reprehended  them  for  their  in- 
solence, asking  them,  how  they  durst 
speak  against  his  servant  Moses?  '  Youf 
share,'  said  he,  '  the  great  prophetic  office 
indeed,  and  to  you  I  have  declared  my 
will  in  dreams  and  visions;  but  with 
Moses  I  have  conversed  more  familiarly, 
and  I  will  speak  face  to  face  with  him, 
and  show  him  as  much  of  my  glory  as  he 
is  capable  of  seeing.' 

Upon  this  the  Lord  withdrew  in  great 
displeasure  from  them.  Moses  had  the 
comfort  of  seeing  himself  justified :  but 
Aaron,  to  his  great  confusion,  saw  his  sis- 
ter Miriam  made  a  dreadful  example  of 
God's  anger ;  for  on  a  sudden  she  became 
a  loathsome  deformed    leper; J  and   well 


*  Zipporah,  Moses's  wife,  was  a  Midianite  ;  and 
because  Midian  bordered  on  Ethiopia,  she  was  so 
called,  and  it  is  sometimes  in  holy  scripture  com- 
prehended under  this  name.  But.  here  Zipporah 
is  called  Ethiopian  in  ridicule  and  spite,  which 
they  ought  not  to  have  done,  for  she  having  sub- 
mitted to  the  law,  ought  to  have  been  reckoned  an 
Israelite,  as  Ruth  and  Hahab  were. 

+  Miriam  is  called  a  prophetess. 

|  A  leprosy,  as  well  as  all  other  distempers 
(such  as  the  scurvy,  ring-worm,  itch,  &c.)  which 
bear  resemblance  to  it,  proceeds  originally  from  a 
previous  ill  disposition  both  in  the  blood  and 
juices,  but  the  more  immediate  cause  of  it  is  an 
infinity  of  small  imperceptible  worms  that  insin- 
uate themselves  between  the  flesh  and  skin,  which 
first  prey  upon  the  scarf-skin,  then  upon  the  inner 
skin,  and  afterwards  upon  the  extremities  of  the 
nerves  and  muscles,  fiom  whence  arises  a  total 


knowing  he  deserved  to  share  in  this 
curse  for  his  ungrateful  murmuring,  pre- 
sently addressed  himself  to  Moses,  ac- 
knowledged their  sin,  begged  pardon,  and 
interceded  for  his  sister,  that  she  might 
be  restored  to  her  health. 

Good  Moses,  who  was  never  wanting 
in  charity  even  to  his  enemies,  melted 
into  pity,  and  complied  with  his  request. 
But  yet,  to  terrify  others  from  moving 
sedition  again,  and  because  the  offence 
was  public,  God  resolved  to  make  an  ex- 
ample of  Miriam  in  her  cure,  and  there- 
fore he  commanded  Moses  to  turn  her  out 
of  the  camp,  as  a  common  leper,  for  seven 
days,  and  then  to  receive  her  again. 

Miriam  being  returned  to  the  camp,  the 
Israelites  removed  to  the  desert  of  Paran; 
from  whence,  after  several  encampments, 
they  came  to  Kadesh-barnea,  on  the 
frontiers  of  Canaan. 

Here  Moses  let  them  know  that  they 
were  come  near  the  promised  land;  and 
for  their  satisfaction,  God  commanded 
Moses  to  send  twelve  men,  one  of  each 
tribe,  to  take  a  view  of  the  country.  He 
charged  them  to  go  up  to  the  hills  to  ob- 
serve whether  the  country  was  strong  or 
weak ;  whether  there  were  many  inhabi- 
tants; how  their  towns  were  situated,  and 
whether  fortified;  whether  the  soil  was 
fertile  or  barren ;  whether  it  was  planted 
with  trees  or  not;  what  fruit  they  bore,  and 


corruption  of  the  whole  mass  of  blood,  and  all  the 
other  symptoms  attending  it.  But  the  leprosy 
here  inflicted  upon  Miriam  was  sudden  and  in- 
stantaneous. The  juices  of  her  body  were  not 
corrupted  by  a  gradual  decay,  bnt  turned  at  once 
into  these  corroding  animals.  And  as  this  was  a 
fit  punishment  for  her  pride  and  detraction,  so  by 
its  being  inflicted  on  her,  and  not  on  Aaron,  it 
seems  not  improbable  that  she  was  first  in  the 
transgression,  and  drew  Aaron  (who  seems,  in 
some  instances,  to  be  a  person  of  too  much  facility) 
over  to  her  party.  Aaron  indeed,  by  his  office, 
was  appointed  to  judge  of  leprosy,  which  he  could 
not  have  done,  had  himself  been  infected  with  it ; 
and  as  he  was  lately  consecrated  his  high-priest, 
God,  for  the  preservation  of  his  authority,  might 
not  think  it  proper  to  make  him  oo  soon  become 
vile  and  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
as  this  distemper  was  known  to  make  men. — 
CalmeVs  Dissertation,  and  Patrick's  Commen- 
tary. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


149 


to  bring  some  of  it ;  for  then  was  the  time 
when  the  first  grapes  were  ripe, — that  was, 
in  July. 

With  these  instructions  the  twelve  spies 
set  forward ;  and  having  taken  a  view  of 
the  country  from  north  to  south,  in  their 
return  they  passed  through  a  fertile  val- 
ley which  abounded  in  vines,  where  they 
cut  down  a  branch  with  but  one  cluster  of 
grapes  on  it,  but  that  of  so  vast  a  weight 
and  bigness,  that  they  were  forced  to  carry 
it  upon  a  staff  between  two.* 

Nor  was  this  the  only  product  of  this 
happy  soil ;  the  golden  fig,  and  beautiful 
pomegranate,  adorned  the  trees,  and  va- 
riety of  fruits  loaded  the  luxuriant  branches. 
Of  each  of  these  they  took  a  sample  ;  and 
upon  their  leaving  the  place,  from  the 
great  plenty  of  grapes,  they  called  it  the 
valley  of  Eshcol,  which  signifies  a  cluster 
of  grapes. 

Having  spent  forty  days  in  viewing 
and  observing  the  country,  they  returned 
to  the  camp  of  Israel  at  Kadesh ;  and 
having  showed  the  fruits  of  the  land  to 
Moses  and  Aaron,  and  the  whole  congre- 
gation, they  related  the  observations  they 
had  made  in  their  journey,  and  said,  •  We 
have  been  in  the  country  to  which  you 
have  sent  us.  It  is  a  fertile  and  plentiful 
land ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  it  are  power- 
ful. There  are  great  cities  with  strong 
walls.  We  have  seen  there  men  of  the 
race  of  Anak,  warlike  men,  and  of  a  gi- 
gantic stature.     The  Amalekites  inhabit 


*  The  vines  and  grapes  are  prodigiously  large 
in  those  eastern  and  southern  parts  of  the  world. 
Straho  says,  that  in  Margiana,  and  other  places, 
the  vines  were  so  big,  that  two  men  could  scarce 
compass  them  ;  and  that  they  produced  bunches 
of  grapes  two  cubits  long.  Olearius  tells  us,  that 
not  far  from  Astracan.  in  Persia,  he  saw  vines 
that  a  man  could  hardly  grasp  with  both  arms. 
And  Huetius  affirms,  that  in  Crete,  Chios,  and 
other  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  there  are  bunches 
of  grapes  from  ten  to  forty  pounds  in  weight. 
Stachhouse. — Dandini,  though  an  Italian,  seems 
to  have  been  surprised  at  the  extraordinary  size  of 
the  prapes  of  Mount  Libanus,  which  he  describes 
as  equal  to  a  prune.  It  is  no  wonder  the  Israel- 
ites were  struck  with  them  ;  because,  according  to 
Norden,  the  grapes  of  Egypt,  though  excellent,  are 
very  small. — Harmer. 


the  south  part  of  the  land;  the  Hittites, 
Jebusites,  and  Amoritcs,  on  the  moun- 
tains ;  and  the  Canaanites,  on  the  sea- 
coasts,  and  the  river  Jordan.' 

Such  a  relation  could  not  but  terrify  a 
people  possessed  with  suspicions  and  dis- 
content; and  they  soon  discovered  their 
fear.  But  Caleb,  one  of  those  that  were 
sent  to  discover  the  country,  to  pacify 
them,  said,  « Let  us  make  ourselves  mas- 
ters of  the  country,  for  we  are  strong 
enough  to  conquer  those  people.' 

But  the  mutineers  declared  against  en- 
gaging in  a  war,  wishing  they  were  in 
Egypt  again  ;  and  choosing  rather  to  die 
in  the  wilderness,  than  to  fall  by  the 
sword,  and  have  their  wives  and  children 
enslaved.  In  short,  they  proposed  to 
choose  themselves  a  chief  and  return  to 
Egypt. 

This  so  deeply  affected  Moses,  that 
notwithstanding  they  were  so  obstinately 
bent  upon  their  own  ruin,  he  and  Aaron, 
in  the  presence  of  the  assembly,  fell  on 
their  faces  to  deprecate  the  vengeance 
which  they  feared  God  would  let  fly  at 
these  rebellious  mutineers.  Whilst  Caleb 
and  Joshua,  through  excess  of  sorrow  for 
the  people's  blasphemy,  rending  their 
clothes,  boldly  stood  up  and  endeavoured 
to  persuade  them  that  they  might,  by 
God's  help,  overcome  the  inhabitants  of 
that  country ;  they  said,  •  The  land  that 
we  passed  through  is  indeed  a  rich  and 
fertile  land,  abounding  with  all  things 
necessary  for  life.  If  we  please  the  Lord, 
he  will  bring  us  into  this  land,  and  give 
it  us.  Do  not  therefore,  by  rebelling 
against  him,  forfeit  his  promise  and  pro- 
tection. Nor  be  afraid  of  the  people  of 
the  land,  whom  we  shall  as  surely  conquer 
as  we  eat  our  food,  and  as  easily ;  for  God 
hath  withdrawn  his  care  of  them ;  and 
if  the  Lord  continue  it  to  you,  ye  have 
nothing  to  fear.' 

This  speech  made  so  little  impression 
upon  them,  that  in  a  tumultuous  manner 
they  called  out  to  stone  them  ;  and  which 
they  had   probably  done,  had  not  God 


ISO 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  11 


miraculously  interposed,  by  sending  his 
glory,  which  visibly  appeared  at  that  in- 
stant in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation 
before  them  all. 

While  the  people  were  thus  contemning 
the  power  of  the  Most  High,  Moses  and 
Aaron  at  humble  distance  prostrated  them- 
selves before  the  Lord;  and  God,  being 
highly  incensed  with  this  insolence  of  the 
Israelites,  told  Moses  he  would  send  the 
plague  that  should  extirpate  this  people, 
and  would  make  him  prince  of  a  more 
numerous  and  powerful  nation.  But  good 
Moses,  as  he  had  before  done,  preferred 
the  interest  of  an  unworthy  people,  and 
the  honour  of  God,  to  all  selfish  views, 
representing  to  the  Lord,  that  if  he  de- 
stroyed the  Israelites,  the  Egyptians,  and 
other  nations  thereabout,  who  saw  he  had 
taken  them  into  his  protection,  would  not 
fail  to  say  he  was  not  able  to  carry  them 
into  the  land  he  had  promised  them. 
Then  imploring  God's  mercy,  and  with 
repeated  and  importunate  entreaties  beg- 
ging pardon  for  the  people,  God  at  length 
suffered  himself  to  be  prevailed  on,  and  to 
satisfy  Moses,  he  pronounced  thein  par- 
doned ;  but  it  was  with  this  restriction  ; 
for,  reproaching  them  with  their  ingrati- 
tude, who  had  so  often  and  wonderfully 
tasted  of  his  bounty  in  providing  against 
their  wants,  screening  them  from,  their 
enemies,  and  preserving  them  in  all  dan- 
gers ;  since  they  had  so  often  provoked 
him  with  their  disobedience,  he  declared 
that  not  one  of  those  who  had  murmured 
should  enter  into  the  promised  land,  ex- 
cept Caleb  and  Joshua;  and  they  should 
wander  about  there  with  their  children 
for  the  space  of  forty  years.  And  though 
God  at  the  pressing  entreaty  of  Moses  did 
reverse  the  sentence  of  sudden  death  upon 
the  whole  congregation  of  murmurers,  yet 
the  ten  false  spies,  the  immediate  authors 
of  the  rebellion,  who  had  brought  an  evil 
report  upon  the  good  land,  were  punished 
with  death,  by  the  plague. 

But  Caleb  and  Joshua,  who  had  done 
iheir  duty,  in  giving  a  faithful  account  of 


their  observations,  were  not  only  preserv- 
ed, but  commended  of  God,  who  gave  them 
his  promise  that  they  should  live  to  enter 
and  take  possession  of  the  good  land. 

On  the  first  report  of  these  things,  the 
children  of  Israel  are  said  to  have  mo  >rn- 
ed  greatly.  But  by  their  actions  it  d  ith 
not  appear  they  were  any  better  disposed: 
for,  changing  their  minds  on  a  sudden, 
from  a  cowardly  fearfulness  to  a  pre- 
sumptuous rashness,  the  next  morning 
they  declared,  •  We  are  ready  to  go  to  the 
place  whereof  the  Lord  hath  spoken  to  us.' 

But  this  was  undertaken  in  their  re- 
bellious, obstinate  temper,  and  was  adding 
sin  to  sin.  Nor  was  Moses  ignorant  of 
it;  for  he  endeavoured  to  restrain  them, 
and  expostulated  with  them  on  the  dan- 
ger, telling  them  their  enterprise  was 
against  the  express  command  of  God,  that 
it  would  not  prosper,  and  forbid  them 
going  \ipon  pain  of  being  defeated  and 
slain,  assuring  them,  that  God  had  left 
them,  and  that  the  Amalekites  and  Ca- 
naanites  had  gained  the  passes  in  the 
mountains  before  them. 

These  admonitions  had  no  weight  with 
those  obstinate  people.  They  presump- 
tuously supposed  the  boldness  of  the  at- 
tempt would  wipe  off  their  former  cowar- 
dice, and  reinstate  them  in  God's  favour ; 
and  though  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  which 
was  to  go  before  the  host,  went  not  with 
them,  nor  Moses  their  general  at  the  head 
of  them,  yet  they  resolutely  marched  to 
the  top  of  the  hills,  where  the  enemy  sur- 
prised, defeated,  and  slew  many  of  them, 
and  pursued  the  rest  as  far  as  Hormah. 

After  this,  though  it  was  but  eleven 
days'  journey  from  Horeb  to  Kadesh-Bar- 
nea;  yet  through  their  disobedience,  they 
spent  near  two  years  in  going  that  eleven 
days'  journey.  And  which  is  still  more 
strange,  turning  back  from  Kadesh-har- 
nea,  and  being  near  the  confines  of  the 
promised  land,  they  were  eight  and  thirty 
years  more  wandering  in  the  wilderness, 
before  they  could  come  to  the  borders  of 
the  promised  land  again. 


Chap.  VII.  1 


THE  BIBLE. 


151 


Moses  having  led  them  back  again  into 
desert,  toward  the  Red  sea,  they  con- 
tinued thereabout,  making  in  the  afore- 
said time,  eighteen  several  removes  or 
dislodgments,  and  at  last  they  returned 
to  Kadesh-barnea,  near  the  place  from 
whence  they  went. 

Many  circumstances  worthy  of  notice 
happened  to  the  Israelites  during  their 
continuance  in  the  wilderness. 

The  first  of  which  is  of  a  man,  who  by 
a  post- facto  law,  was  adjudged  to  be  stoned 
to  death  for  violating  the  sabbath,  by 
gatnering  sticks  on  that  day,  the  celebra- 
tion of  which  God  had  strictly  enjoined, 
though  there  was  no  penalty  annexed  to 
the  breach  of  it.  Those  who  brought  the 
offender  before  Moses,  knew  he  would 
determine  justly ;  and  committing  the  man 
to  safe  custody,  Moses  inquired  of  God 
what  he  should  do  in  this  case? — who 
immediately,  from  his  heavenly  oracle, 
returned  this  answer,  « That  the  criminal 
should  be  conveyed  without  the  camp  and 
there  be  stoned  to  death  ;'*  which  was 
executed  accordingly. 


*  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  culprit  was 
exposed  to  the  unbridled  fury  of  the  thousands  of 
Israel  ;  this  would  be  brutality,  not  justice,  for 
the  very  worst  of  tempers  and  passions  might  be 
produced  and  fostered  by  such  a  procedure.  The 
Jews  themselves  tell  us  that  their  manner  of  ston- 
ing was  this  :  they  brought  the  condemned  person 
without  the  camp,  because  his  crime  had  render- 
ed him  unclean,  and  whatever  was  unclean  must 
be  put  without  the  camp.  When  they  came 
within  four  cubits  of  the  place  of  execution,  they 
stripped  the  criminal,  if  a  man,  leaving  him  no- 
thing but  a  cloth  about  the  waist.  The  place  on 
which  he  was  to  be  executed  was  elevated,  and  the 
witnesses  went  up  with  him  to  it,  and  laid  their 
hands  upon  him, — for  it  was  by  this  ceremony 
that  the  people  who  heard  him  curse  bore  their 
public  testimony  in  order  to  his  being  fully  con- 
victed, and  without  that  his  punishment  would  not 
have  been  lawful.  Then  one  of  the  witnesses 
struck  him  with  a  stone  upon  the  loins;  if  he  was 
not  killed  with  that  blow,  then  the  witnesses  took 
up  a  great  stone,  as  much  as  two  men  could  lift, 
and  threw  it  upon  his  breast.  This  was  the  coup 
de  grace,  and  finished  the  tragedy.  When  a  man 
was  stoned  by  the  mob,  then  brutal  rage  armed 
every  man,  justice  was  set  aside,  and  the  will  and 
fury  of  the  people  were  law,  judge,  jury,  and  exe- 
cutioner. Such  disgraceful  stonings  as  these,  were 
co  doubt  frequent  among  the  Jews. — A.  Clarke. 


The  Israelites  now  increased  in  wicked- 
ness and  impiety,  and  vexed  the  souls  of 
the  few  pious  among  them,  the  haughty 
Korah,  great-grandson  of  Levi,  separated 
from  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  having  se- 
duced Dathan  and  Abiram,  sons  of  Eliab, 
of  Reuben's  family,  and  drawn  in  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Levites  to  his  party, 
that  were  men  of  fame  and  interest  among 
the  people,  he  made  most  grievous  com- 
plaint against  Moses  and  Aaron,  charging 
them  with  pride,  in  usurping  upon  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  who,  they  said, 
were  as  holy  as  themselves. 

Moses,  on  hearing  this,  fell  on  his  face;f 
and  soon  after  rising  from  that  humble 
posture,  he,  with  great  courage  and  assu- 
rance, let  them  know,  that  the  next  day 
the  Lord  would  decide  the  controversy, 
and  would  make  it  appear  who  were  his 
servants,  and  who  was  holy,  and  would  ad- 
mit whom  he  had  chosen  to  come  near  him. 

Then,  with  his  usual  calmness  and 
serenity  of  mind,  he  argued  the  matter 
with  them,  mildly  rebuked  their  insolence, 
and  toid  them  that  they  took  too  much 
upon  themselves. 

But  in  a  more  particular  manner  he 
addressed  himself  to  Korah  and  the  Le- 
vites that  joined  him,  and  said,  •  Hear  me, 
ye  sons  of  Levi ;  is  it  a  matter  of  so  light 
concern,  that  the  God  of  Israel  hath  dis- 
tinguished you  from  the  rest  of  Israel,  to 
admit  you  to  the  more  immediate  service 
of  the  tabernacle,  and  to  stand  before  the 
congregation,  and  minister  to  them  ?  Is 
not    this  an   honour  sufficient  to  satisfy 


•f-  This  is  a  phrase  often  used  to  express  divine 
adoration  and  application  to  God  for  help  ;  and 
good  reason  there  is  to  believe  that  at  this  time 
Moses,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  gracious 
and  ready  assistance  of  God  in  time  of  need,  might 
apply  himself  to  the  Lord  for  protection  against 
this  mutinous  crew,  as  apprehending  some  violence 
from  them,  who  in  this  tumultuous  manner  attack- 
ed him.  And  it  is  very  reasonable  to  think  that, 
whilst  he  lay  in  this  humble  posture  God  appear 
ed  to  him,  and  both  comforted  and  advised  him  ; 
for  presently  after  he  spoke  to  the  rebels  with 
great  assurance,  and,  to  vindicate  himself,  put  the 
matter  between  him  and  them  upon  trial  the  next 
day. 


152 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


your  ambitious  spirit,  but  that  you  must 
aim  at  the  priesthood  too  ?  This  is  the 
cause  of  your  clamours;  and  for  this  ye 
have  moved  the  people  to  sedition.  But 
be  assured,  whatever  ye  may  pretend 
against  Aaron,  this  insult  is  against  the 
Lord,  as  it  is  against  his  dispensations, 
that  ye  murmur  and  conspire.' 

Dathan  and  Abiram  stood  at  a  distance, 
while  Moses  talked  with  the  rest,  and 
therefore  he  sent  for  them  to  come  to  him  ; 
but  they  surlily  returned  for  an  answer, 
that  they  would  not  come.  And  to  re- 
tort his  own  expressions  upon  himself, 
they  added,  '  Is  it  a  matter  of  so  small 
moment,  that  thou  hast  brought  us  out  of 
a  land  that  floweth  with  plenty,  to  kill  ue 
in  the  desert?  Thou  affectest  dominion, 
and  wouldest  make  thyself  prince  of  us 
also.  Notwithstanding  thy  fair  promises, 
thou  hast  not  brought  us  into  a  land  that 
floweth  with  milk  and  honey,  nor  given 
:i»  inheritance  of  fields  and  vineyards ;  but 
when  we  were  ready  to  take  possession  of 
the  promised  land,  thou  hast  turned  us 
back  into  this  barren  desert,  to  repeat  the 
fatigues  and  hardship  we  had  before  un- 
dergone.     We  will  not  come.' 

These  unjust  reproaches  highly  pro- 
voked Moses,  who,  instead  of  returning 
any  ill  language  to  them,  addressing  him- 
self to  God,  said,  '  Respect  not  thou  their 
offering;  for  though  they  reflect  thus  un- 
justlv  upon  me,  I  have  not  taken  so  much 
as  an  ass  from  them,  neither  have  I  hurt 
one  of  them.'  Then  summoning  Korah 
and  all  his  company  to  meet  him  and 
Aaron  before  the  Lord  next  day,  he  or- 
dered them  to  bring  their  censers  ready 
prepared  with  incense  in  them,  and  to  ap- 
pear all  before  the  Lord. 

Accordingly,  on  the  morrow  they  came 
with  great  confidence  :  and  having  set  fire 
to  the  incense  in  their  censers,  they  bold- 
ly planted  themselves  in  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle  with  Moses  and  Aaron  ;  and  to 
bid  the  greater  defiance  to  these  holy 
men,  they  had  persuaded  all  the  congre- 
gation to  side  with  them. 


This  impious  and  presumptuous  be- 
haviour so  provoked  the  Almighty,  that  he 
resolved  to  take  the  matter  into  his  own 
hand  ;  and  darting  forth  his  glory  upon 
the  tabernacle,  he  commanded  Moses  and 
Aaron  to  withdraw,  that  he  might  consume 
the  rebels.  But  the  two  good  men,  know- 
ing that  the  people  were  drawn  into  this 
insolence  by  the  wicked  arts  of  Korah 
and  his  party,  prostrated  themselves  before 
the  Lord,  and  by  their  prayers  interceded 
for  the  people :  *  O  God,  thou  God  of  the 
spirits  of  all  flesh,'  said  they,  '  shall  one 
man  sin,  and  wilt  thou  be  angry  with  all?' 
Their  prayers  were  heard  as  soon  as  de- 
livered, and  God  bid  them  command  the 
people  to  withdraw,  who,  frightened  with 
the  amazing  splendour  that  broke  from  the 
cloud,  readily  took  the  warning,  and  drew 
off  from  the  tents  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and 
Abiram,  who  came  boldly  out,  and  stood 
daring  at  the  doors  of  their  tents,  with 
their  wives  and  families.  Then  Moses 
addressing  himself  to  the  people,  said,  *  By 
this  you  shall  know  that  the  Lord  lias 
commissioned  me  to  do  what  I  have  done, 
and  that  I  have  undertaken  nothing  of  my 
own  head.  If  these  men  die  the  common 
way  of  nature,  or  be  visited  as  other  men, 
then  take  it  for  granted  the  Lord  hath 
not  sent  me  ;  but  if  he  deal  with  them 
after  a  strange  and  unusual  manner,  and 
the  earth,  opening  her  mouth,  swallow 
them  up  alive,  then  shall  ye  understand 
that  these  men  have  provoked  the  Lord.' 

Moses  had  no  sooner  spoken  these 
words,  but  terrible  convulsions  heaved  the 
labouring  earth,  the  surface  of  which  cleav- 
ing asunder,  Korah  and  his  faction,  with 
their  goods  and  families,*  were  swallowed 


*  On  a  close  inspection  of  Num.  xvi.  27.,  we 
shall  rind  that  the  sons  and  the  little  ones  of  Da- 
than and  Abiram  alone  are  mentioned.  '  So  they 
»at  up  from  the  tabernacle  of  Korah,  Dathan.  and 
Abiram,  on  every  side  ;  and  Dathan  and  Ab'ram 
came  out — and  their  wives,  and  their  sona,  and 
their  little  ones.'  Here  is  no  mention  of  the 
children  of  Korah,  they  therefore  escaped,  while 
it  appears  those  of  Dot  ban  and  Abiram  perished 
!  with  their  fathers.  And  it  is  expressly  mentioned 
j  in  chap.  xxvi.  1 1,  that  tile  children  of  Korah  died 


Chap.  VII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

up  alive,  and  the  ground  closing  upon 
them  they  perished. 

The  rest  of  the  people  that  stood  round 
them,  and  saw  their  dismal  fate,  being 
frightened  with  the  loud  cries  and  shrieks 
of  the  departing  mutineers,  fled  away  for 
fear  the  earth  should  have  swallowed  them 
too. 

In  the  mean  time  God,  to  complete  his 
vengeance  on  the  rest  of  the  leaders  in 
this  rebellion,  who  had  profanely  attempt- 
ed to  offer  incense  contrary  to  the  law, 
sent  down  fire  from  heaven,  and  destroyed 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  that  had 
joined  with  Korah.*  The  censers,f  on 
frhich  they  intended  to  offer,  remained 
amidst  the  congregation,  which  God  had 
ordered  to  be  preserved,  but  not  for  the 
same  use  as  formerly,  nor  in  the  same 
form;  therefore  he  commanded  Moses  to 
direct  Eleazer,  Aaron's  son,  to  beat  them 
out  into  small  plates,  and  fix  them  to  the 
altar  of  the  burnt-offerings;  assigning  this 
reason  for  it,  '  That  it  might  be  for  a  me- 
morial to  the  children  of  Israel,  that  no 
stranger,  or  any  that  was  not  of  Aaron's 
family,   should  presume   to   offer  incense 


153 


not  in  this  destruction  which  involved  the  entire 
families  of  the  other  two. 

*  There  were  two  sorts  of  traitors  ;  the  earth 
swallowed  up  the  one,  the  fire  the  other.  All  the 
elements  agree  to  serve  the  vengeance  of  their 
Maker.  Nadab  and  Ahihu  brought  fit  persons, 
but  unfit  fire  to  God;  these  Levites  bring  the 
right  fire,  but  unwarranted  persons  before  him  ; 
fire  from  (iod  consumes  both.  It  is  a  dangerous 
thing  to  usurp  sacred  functions Hall. 

•f-  The  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes  had  not 
offered  any  incense,  being  prevented  by  death : 
however,  it  may  be  presumed  that  they  had  lighted 
their  incense  at  the  holy  fire  ;  by  which  they  ob- 
tained— at  least  in  the  opinion  of  the  people — a 
sort  of  consecration.  The  Lord  therefore,  to  keep 
up  among  them  the  reputation  and  esteem  of 
things  devoted,  would  not  have  them  put  to  pro- 
fane uses :  and  to  make  a  difference  between  his 
own  institutions  and  men's  contrivances  (especially 
those  of  wicked  men)  he  ordered  all  those  brazen 
censers  to  be  wrought  into  broad  plates,  and  to 
cover  the  altar  with  them  ;  to  the  intent  that 
these  brazen  plates  being  polished  bright,  might 
by  their  lustre  put  the  people  in  mind  of  the 
offence  of  those  that  were  once  the  owners  of 
them  ;  and  by  seeing  them  often — as  they  must  do 
every  time  they  looked  upon  the  altar — they  might 
be  warned  of  the  same  crime. 


before  the  Lord,  lest  he  died  the  death  of 
Korah  and  his  company.' 

This  judgment,  severe  as  it  was,  had 
no  other  effect  on  the  Israelites  than  the 
former;  for  the  next  day  they  took  occa- 
sion to  mutiny  afresh,  murmuring  against 
Moses  and  Aaron,  and  charging  them 
with  the  murder  of  so  many  persons. 
They  well  knowing  the  unruly  nature  of 
this  obstinate  people,  and  fearing  to  what 
degree  of  madness  and  violence  they  might 
have  proceeded,  took  sanctuary  in  the 
tabernacle;^  where,  as  soon  as  they  had 
entered,  the  cloud  covered  it,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  appeared,  which  was  a 
sure  token  that  the  Lord  had  something 
to  say  to  them. 

Immediately  God  called  to  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  bid  them  be  gone  from  the 
rest  of  the  congregation ;  for  he  would 
consume  them  in  a  moment.  They  there- 
upon fell  down,  as  they  used  to  do  on  such 
occasions,  to  intercede  for  the  people; 
but,  as  early  as  they  were  in  supplicating, 
vengeance  was  before  them  ;  for  the  Lord, 
provoked  by  their  repeated  rebellions,  had 
already  sent  a  plague  §  among  them, 
which  Moses  perceiving,  bid  Aaron  take 
a  censer,  and  put  fire  in  it  from  the  altar, 
and  incense ;  and  hasten  to  the  congre- 
gation to  make  an  atonement  for  them. 
Aaron  did  as  Moses  directed  him,  and 
standing  between  the  dead  and  the  living, 
he  prayed  for  the  people,  and  the  plague 
ceased. 

However,  in  that  short  space  of  time 
that  the  plague  raged  amongst  them,  there 
died  fourteen  thousand,  seven  hundred 
men,  without  reckoning  those  who  perish- 
ed in  the  sedition  with  Korah  and  his 
company. 

J  This  shows  to  whom  we  ought  to  fly,  in  any 
persecution  or  distress;  and  that  God  is  our  only 
refuge  and  protection.  Whence  the  great  fruit 
and  advantage  of  persecution  appears,  that  it  com- 
pels us  to  apply  to  him. 

§  Plague  is  a  comprehensive  term,  as  we  see  in 
the  plagues  of  Egypt,  which  are  all  called  plagues, 
though  they  were  all  different  from  each  other. 
We  may  reasonably  think  that  it  was  the  pesti 
lence  or  infectious  sickness. 


154 


HISTORY  OF 


[Bouk  II. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


God  causes  Aaron's  rod  to  bud,  and  to  be  left  as 
a  monument  to  the  people,  in  order  to  prevent 
their  future  murmuring. — Moses  supplies  the 
people  with  water  out  of  the  rock. — Death  of 
Aaron. —  The  plague  of  fiery  serpents. — Re- 
medied by  looking  up  to  the  brazen  one  set  up 
by  Moses. —  The  Israelites  obtain  victory  over 
several  princes,  who  endeavoured  to  oppose 
their  march. 

God  having  in  so  dreadful  a  manner  de- 
clared against  those  who  opposed  the 
government  of  Moses  and  the  priesthood 
of  Aaron,  to  end  all  contests  and  disputes 
among  the  ambitious  and  aspiring,  re- 
solved by  a  convincing  miracle  to  put  an 
end  to  the  controversy,  and  establish  and 
confirm  the  priesthood  in  the  family  in 
which  he  had  placed  it. 

In  order  to  this,  he  commanded  Moses 
to  take  a  rod  from  each  tribe,  and  to  write 
upon  it  the  name  of  the  prince  of  that  tribe 
to  which  it  belonged;  and  on  the  rod  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi  to  write  Aaron's  name;  which 
when  he  had  done,  he  was  to  lay  up  these 
twelve  rods  in  the  tabernacle,  before  the  ark 
of  the  testimony,  where  God  was  to  declare 
his  will  farther  to  them.  And  to  let  them 
know  that  God  would  determine  the  con- 
troversy, and  put  an  end  to  their  murmur- 
ings,  he  would  cause  the  rod  of  that  man 
to  blossom  whom  he  would  choose. 

Moses,  who  never  failed  immediate  com- 
pliance with  the  divine  command,  took  a 
rod  from  the  prince  of  each  tribe,  wrote 
his  name  upon  it,  and  laid  up  all  the  rods 
together  in  the  tabernacle.  And  the  next 
day  he  went  in  and  brought  forth  all  the 
rods,  and  in  the  presence  of  all  the  peo- 
ple he  gave  each  man  his  rod,  which  they 
found  to  be  the  same  as  they  had  deliver- 
ed to  Moses  over  night,  except  Aaron's, 
which  had  not  only  budded,  but  blossom- 
ed, and  bore  ripe  almonds.*     This  was  a 


*  That  is,  on  tne  same  rod  or  staff  were  found 
buds,  blossom-,  and  ripe  fruit.  It  has  been  thought 
by  some  that  Aaron's  staff  (and  perhaps  the  staves 
off  all  the  tribes)  was  made  out  of  the  amygdala 
communis,  or  common  almond  tree.     In  a  favour- 


convincing  proof  that  God  had  singled 
out  Aaron  to  the  priestly  office. 

To  preserve  the  memory  therefore  of 
the  determination  of  this  controversy,  the 
Lord  bid  Moses  bring  Aaron's  rod  back 
again,  and  lay  it  before  the  ark  of  the 
tabernacle,  to  be  kept  for  a  memorial  of 
their  rebellion  :  and  that  seeing  it  they 
might  forbear  to  murmur;  and  so  prevent 
sudden  death. 

These  obstinate  people  now  began  to 
be  sensible  of  the  justice  of  their  punish- 
ment; and  sinee  God  in  his  own  house 
visited  them  for  their  sins,  they  enumer- 
ated the  several  ways  they  had  been 
punished. f 

Behold,  said  they,  we  die ;  we  perish ; 
we  are  all  lost ;  and  because  God  had  in 
the  tabernacle  expressed  his  displeasure 
more  than  once  in  punishing  them  in  an 
exemplary  manner,  they  cried  out,  '  If 
we  approach  the  tabernacle  we  die ;'  not 
considering,  that  their  own  iniquities  drew 
the  justice  of  God  upon  them  in  this 
place,  for  which  he  had  ordered  the  altar 
to  be  covered  with  remarkable  shining 
brass,J  to  put  them  in  mind  of  their  obe- 
dience. 

The  next  historical  matter  §  we  meet 


able  soil  and  climate  it  grows  to  twenty  feet  in 
height,  is  one  of  the  most  noble  flourishing  trees 
in  nature  ;  its  flowers  are  of  a  delicate  red,  and  it 
puts  them  forth  early  in  March,  having  begun  to 
bud  in  January.  It  has  its  name  from  a  root  which 
signifies  to  awake,  because  it  buds  and  flowers 
sooner  than  most  other  trees. — A.  Clarke. 

f  The  Chaldee  text  describes  their  murmuring 
thus :  we  die  by  the  sword  ;  as  in  the  case  of 
their  daring  to  enter  the  promised  land  contrary 
to  Moses's  advice,  when  they  were  slain  by  tiie 
Canaanites  and  Amalekites.  The  earth  swallows 
us  up ;  as  in  the  case  of  Korah  and  his  associates 
The  pestilence  doth  consume  us;  as  in  the  case  of 
the  14,700  that  died  of  it. 

J  As  being  made  of  the  brazen  censers,  which 
belonged  to  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes  that 
had  joined  Korah. 

$  The  history  breaks  off  at  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  Numbers,  and  begins  not  again  till  the 
twentieth.  By  the  interposition  of  these  matters 
in  these  two  chapters,  we  miss  the  account  how 
the  Israelites  came  to  Kadesh  again  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Zin  ;  only  Moses  briefly  reciting  some  of 
their  faults,  tells  us,  that  after  they  had  been  beat- 
en by  the  Amalekites  and  Canoanites,  they  turned 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


155 


with  is  the  Israelites  being  at  Kadesh ; 
where  Miriam  (who  was  sister  to  Aaron 
and  Moses,  and  elder*  than  both)  died, 
and  was  buried  there.  In  this  place  the 
Israelites,  impatient  of  any  inconveniency 
for  want  of  water,  began  (as  usual)  to  ex- 
claim against  Moses  and  Aaron,  saying, 
'  Why  have  ye  brought  the  Lord's  people 
into  the  wilderness  to  kill  them  and  their 
cattle?  Why  did  you  persuade  us  to 
leave  the  fertile  land  of  Egypt  to  bring 
us  into  this  barren  place,  which  aftprds 
neither  water  to  quench  our  thirst,  nor 
fruits  to  satisfy  our  hunger?  Would  to 
God  we  had  perished  with  our  brethren 
before  the  Lord.' 

The  servants  of  God  according  to  their 
usual  custom  addressed  themselves  to  God 
for  help;  who  bids  Moses  take  the  rod, 
and  that  he  and  Aaron  should  assemble 
the  people;  and  then,  said  the  Lord, 
*  Speak  ye  to  the  rock  in  their  sight,  and 
it  shall  yield  water  for  them.' 

Moses  hereupon  taking  the  rodf  from 
before  the  Lord,  went,  and  with  Aaron's 
assistance  assembled  the  people  together 
before  the  Lord.  Moses  hitherto  had 
paid  an  exact  and  absolute  obedience  to 
all  the  commands  God  had  enjoined  him ; 
but  now,  in  deviating  from  his  instructions, 
though  seemingly  but  a  little,  he  com- 
mitted the  greatest  miscarriage  of  his 
whole  life;  for  he   was   bid  to  speak  to 

and  took  their  way  in  the  wilderness  along  the 
Red  sea,  as  God  had  commanded  Moses,  and  com- 
passed Mount  Seir  many  days,  (which  hoth  Tre- 
mellitis  and  our  Bible  in  their  notes  reckon  ehdit 
and  thirty  years,)  till  at  length  the  Lord  said,  '  Ye 
have  compassed  this  mountain  long  enough,  turn 
ye  northward.' 

*  Miriam  died  four  months  before  Aaron  and 
eleven  months  before  Moses,  being  at  her  death 
about  130.  Josephus  tells  us  she  was  buried  with 
great  solemnity ;  and  Eusebins  relates  that  her 
sepulchre  was  extant  in  his  time  at  Kadesh,  not 
far  from  the  city  Petra,  the  metropolis  of  Arabia 
Petraea. — Stackhouse. 

f  The  text  does  not  expressly  tell  us,  whether 
of  the  rods  this  was  ;  that  with  which  he  did  so 
many  miracles  in  Egypt  formerly,  or  that  by  which 
they  were  so  lately  reclaimed  from  a  rebellion  :  it 
seems  most  likely  to  be  the  latter ;  because  it  is 
called  *  the  rod  from  before  the  Lord,'  and  which 
yet  bore  a  miracle  upon  it,  the  buds  and  almonds. 


the  rock  before  the  people;  but  instead 
of  doing  it,  he  speaks  to  the  people,  say- 
ing, '  Hear  now,  ye  rebels !  must  we 
fetch  water  for  you  out  of  the  rock?'  in 
which  he  not  only  expressed  impatience 
and  heat  of  spirit,  but  incredulity,  making 
a  doubt  of  what  God  had  positively  pro- 
mised. 

It  is  certain  he  disobeyed  God  in  this ; 
for  he  smote  the  rock  twice  \  with  the 
rod,  and  immediately  there  issued  out 
water  in  great  plenty;  by  which  we  may 
see,  God  would  not  lose  the  honour  of  his 
miracle  for  his  servant's  fault,  but  caused 
the  water  to  flow  from  the  rock.  But  to 
show  he  expected  an  entire  obedience  to 
his  commands,  though  Moses»had  been  his 
faithful  servant  in  performing  all  his  in- 
structions before ;  yet  now,  for  the  breach 
of  his  disobedience,  he  denounces  to  Moses 
and  Aaron,  who  was  in  the  same  trans- 
gression with  him,  their  doom  in  these 
words ;  '  Because  ye  believed  me  not,  to 
sanctify  me  §  in  the  sight  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  therefore  you  shall  not  have  the 
honour  of  leading  the  people  into  the  land 
which  I  have  given  them.'  |i  From  this 
unhappy  accident,  the  place  was  called 
Meribah,  which  signifies,  'the  water  of 
contradiction.' 

Moses  patiently  received  the  divine 
chastisement,  but  continued  in  his  com- 


J  If  it  should  be  alleged  in  favour  of  Moses, 
that  when  he  was  sent  to  the  rock  before,  he  was 
bid  to  take  his  rod  in  his  hand,  and  smite  the  rock, 
that  the  water  might  come  forth  ;  and  that  from 
thence  he  might  infer,  he  was  also  now  to  smite 
the  rock  with  his  rod :  it  may  be  said,  that  as  he 
then  followed  his  instruction,  so  he  was  to  have 
done  here.  He  smote  the  rock  then,  because  he 
was  bid;  but  he  did  not  speak  to  it,  because  he 
was  not  bid  :  so  now  he  should  have  spoken  to  it, 
because  he  was  bid  ;  and  not  have  smitten  it,  be- 
cause he  was  not  bid. 

§  That  is,  you  should  show  them  that  I  am  holy, 
omnipotent,  merciful,  and  true  ;  and  that  I  can 
and  will  perform  my  promise  to  this  wicked  and 
ungrateful  people,  as  ye  know,  and  ought  to  re- 
member I  have  often  done. 

||  This  was  a  sore  mortification  to  Moses  not  to 
see  the  promised  Canaan,  being  thereby  frustrated 
of  the  fruit  of  his  long  and  troublesome  conduct. 
By  which  we  ought  to  learn  to  die  to  the  world 
and  ourselves,  and  live  only  to  God. 


156 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


maud  and  care  of  the  people,  and  intend-  I 
ing  to  decamp,  that  he  might  secure  their  j 
march  from  Kadesh,  he  sent  an  embassy  | 
to  the  king  of  Edom,  upon  whose  borders  ' 
they  now   were,    to   inform    him    of  the  \ 
travels  of  the  Israelites,  desiring  leave  to  . 
pass  through  his  country,  on  account  that 
they  were  both  descended  from  Isaac  and 
Rebekah  ;  assuring  him  that  they  would  . 
commit  no  acts  of  hostility,  nor  trespass  in 
his  fields  or  vineyards,  nor  so  much  as 
drmk  of  his  water,  without  paying  for  it, 
but  only  travel   on   the  king's  highway. 
The  inhospitable  Edomite  not  only  refus- 
ed them  passage,  but  with  a  potent  army 
came  out  to  defend  his  frontiers;  and  op- 
pose the  Israelites  should  they  attempt  to 
pass. 

They  therefore  turned  another  way,  and 
marching  from  Kadesh  came  to  mount 
Hor,  near  the  borders  of  Edom.  And 
now  the  time  drawing  near  that  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  were  to  enter  the  promised 
land,  into  which  the  Lord  had  told  Aaron 
he  should  not  enter,  because  of  his  trans- 
gression at  Meribah,  God  gave  Aaron 
notice  of  his  approaching  death,  and  com- 
manded Moses  to  take  Aaron,  and  Eleazar 
his  son,  who  was  to  succeed  him  in  the 
office  of  high-priest,  to  the  mount,  there 
to  strip  Aaron  of  his  priestly  garments, 
and  put  them  upon  Eleazar  his  son;  which 
when  Moses  had  done,  Aaron  died  on  the 
top  of  mount  Hor,  being  a  hundred  twenty 
and  three  years  old:  and  when  the  people 
saw  that  Aaron  was  dead,  they  bewailed 
him  thirty  days. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  month 
of  the  fortieth  year  of  their  travels  from 
Egypt,  when  they  were  upon  the  borders 
of  Canaan;  and  Arad,  one  of  the  kings  of 
Canaan,  that  dwelt  in  the  south,  hearing 
which  way  they  came,  went  out  and 
fought  them,  and  took  some  of  them 
prisoners.  This  defeat  brought  them  to 
a  sense  of  their  duty;  and  knowing  they 
were  now  upon  the  borders  of  the  promis- 
ed land,  they  made  a  vow  to  the  Lord, 
promising  that  if  he  would  deliver  this 


people  into  their  hands,  they  would  utterly 
destroy  their  cities.  God  took  them  at 
their  word,  and  gave  them  such  success, 
that  at  Hormah  *  they  engaged  these  Ca- 
naanites,  and  defeated  them,  took  their 
cities  and  utterly  destroyed  them. 

Elated  with  this  success,  they  dislodged 
from  mount  Hor,  and  took  their  way  by 
the  Red  sea,  marching  round  Edom, 
through  which  they  had  been  denied  pas- 
sage, and  forbidden  to  force  their  way. 
And  because  the  way  was  long,  the  passes 
uneasy,  and  the  country  barren,  they, 
forgetting  their  late  success,  and  reflect- 
ing only  on  the  present  discouragements, 
relapsed  into  their  old  humour  of  murmur- 
ing, complaining  directly  against  God  and 
Moses :  *  Wherefore,'  say  they,  '  have  ye 
brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  die  in  the 
wilderness,  where  there  is  neither  meat, 
nor  drink,  but  this  manna,  which  our 
stomachs  loathe?'  To  punish  this  repeat- 
ed instance  of  impiety  and  distrust  of  his 
care,    God   sent   fiery    serpents  f   among 


*  This  seems  to  be  the  same  place  at  which  the 
Amalekites  had  beaten  and  chased  the  Israelites 
about  eight  and  thirty  years  before. 

f  The  seraph  is  a  flying  serpent,  the  only  one 
that  has  wings.  The  word  properly  sanities  to 
burn  ;  and  this  name  was  probably  given  it,  either 
because  of  its  colour,  or  because  of  the  heat  and 
thirst  which  its  bite  occasions.  Its  wings  are  not 
feathers,  like  the  wings  of  birds  ;  but  rather  like 
those  of  bats.  When  the  Arabians  go  to  gather 
the  aromatic  reed,  or  cassia,  of  which  these  ser- 
pents are  very  fond,  they  cover  all  their  heads,  ex- 
cept their  eyes,  with  skins  to  secure  themselves 
from  the  bite  of  the  serpent,  which  is  very  danger- 
ous. As  Moses  represents  these  serpents  to  have 
caused  a  great  mortality,  so  the  heathen  writers 
concur  in  testifying,  that  the  deserts,  wherein  the 
Israelites  journeyed,  produced  serpents  of  so  vene- 
mous  a  kind,  that  their  biting  was  deadly,  beyond 
the  power  of  any  art  then  known  to  cure  it.  The 
ancients  observed  in  general,  that  the  most  barren 
and  sandy  deserts  had  the  greatest  number  and 
most  venemous  of  serpents ;  Diodorns  remarks 
this  more  particularly  of  the  sands  in  Africa ;  but 
it  was  equally  true  of  the  wilderness  in  which  the 
Israelites  journeyed.  Serpents  and  scorpions  were 
here,  according  to  Moses,  as  natural  as  drought 
and  want  of  water,  Deut.  viii.  15.  Strabo's  obser- 
vation agrees  with  Moses  ;  and  both  Strabo  and 
Diodorus  concur,  that  the  serpents  which  were 
so  numerous  here,  were  of  the  most  deadly  kind, 
and  that  there  was  no  cure  for  their  biting. —  CaU 
met  and  Stackhouse. 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


157 


them,  which  destroyed  a  great  number  of 
these  rebels.  This  punishment  brought 
the  rest,  to  their  senses,  who,  flying  to  in- 
jured Moses,  acknowledged  their  guilt, 
and  cried  for  mercy :  Moses,  though  he 
had  lately  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the 
Lord  on  their  account,  in  pity  to  their 
distress,  addressed  himself  in  prayer  to 
God  for  them ;  who  did  not  immediately 
take  away  the  serpents,  but  leaving  them 
to  be  a  farther  scourge,  and  make  them 
more  sensible  of  their  transgression,  pro- 
vided a  remedy  to  prevent  their  death, 
and  heal  their  hurts :  for  he  ordered 
Moses  to  make  a  serpent  *  of  a  fiery 
colour,  and  to  set  it  up  on  a  high  pole, 
that  the  people,  who  were  bitten  by  the 
fiery  serpents,  might,  by  looking  up  to  it, 
be  recovered. 

Moses  accordingly  made  the  form  of  a 
serpent  in  brass,  and  set  it  up  as  a  banner; 
and  whoever  afterwards  was  bitten  by  a 
serpent,  if  he  looked  upon  that  brazen 
serpent,  recovered. 

The  Israelites  at  this  time  were  at 
Punon,  whither  they  were  come  from 
Zalmonah,  their  first  camp,  after  they  re- 
moved from  about  mount  Hor.  From 
Punon  they  went  and  encamped  at  Oboth, 
and  thence  to  Ije-abarim,  in  the  desert 
that  is  before  Moab  to  the  eastward. 

Decamping  from  thence  they  came  to 
Zared,  and  afterwards  encamped  by  the 
river  of  Arnon,  which  is  in  the  desert,  and 
runs  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Amorites;  for 
it  divides  them  from  the  Moabites.  They 
held  on  their  march,  and  at  length  came 
into  the  plains  of  Moab,  on  the  banks  of 
Jordan,  opposite  to  Jericho,  to  the  top  of 
Pisgah. 


*  This  brazen  serpent,  a  significant  type  of  onr 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  being  lifted  up  as  an  en- 
sign for  the  nations,  gives  life  and  salvation  to  all 
them  that  in  true  faith  look  up  to  hiin,  remained 
among  the  Jews  700  years,  to  the  time  of  Heze- 
kiah  king  of  Judali  ;  who  in  a  holy  zeal,  pursuant 
to  God  s  command,  removing  the  high  places, 
breaking  the  images,  and  cutting  down  the  groves, 
broke  also  in  pieces  this  brazen  serpent  among  the 
rest. 


From  hence  Moses  sent  ambassadors  to 
Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites,  to  demand  a 
passage  through  his  country,  promising 
not  to  break  into  the  fields  or  vineyards, 
nor  to  drink  of  the  water,  but  only  to 
march  along  the  highway,  till  they  were 
past  his  country. 

The  Amorite  prince,  fearing  to  admit  so 
formidable  a  body  into  the  heart  of  his 
kingdom,  positively  denied  them  passage: 
and,  thinking  it  better  policy  to  att-tck 
than  be  attacked,  gathering  what  force  he 
could,  marched  out  to  give  them  battle  at 
Jahaz,  where  Israel  routed  him,  and  seized 
his  country.  They  likewise  took  Hesh- 
bon,  and  the  villages  about  it,  which 
Sihon  had  before  taken  from  the  Moab- 
ites; and  being  thus  possessed  of  the 
Amorites'  land,  they  dwelt  there. 

After  this,  Moses  sent  out  forces  to  dis- 
cover Jazar,  another  city  of  the  Amorites, 
which  they  took  with  all  its  territories, 
and  drove  out  the  people  that  dwelt  there. 
Then  turning  another  way,  they  marched 
towards  Bashan,f  where  the  giant  Og, 
another  Amorite  king,  reigned. 


f  Bashan  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  countries  in 
the  world,  lying  eastward  of  Jordan  and  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  northward  of  the  river  Jabbok,  westward 
of  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  and  south  of  Hermon 
and  the  kingdom  of  Geshuri.  Besides  villages,  it 
contained  sixty  fenced  cities.  It  was  peculiarly 
famous  for  its  rich  pasture,  excellent  flocks  and 
herds,  and  stately  oaks.  Mr  Buckingham  gives  the 
following  account  of  this  country  : — "  We  ascended 
the  steep  on  the  north  side  of  the  Zerkah,  or  Jab- 
bok, and  on  reaching  the  summit,  came  again  on  a 
beautiful  plain,  of  an  elevated  level,  and  still  cov- 
ered with  a  vpry  rich  soil.  We  had  now  quitted 
the  land  of  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites,  and  enter- 
ed into  that  of  Og  king  of  Bashan.  We  continued 
our  way  over  this  elevated  tract,  continuing  to 
behold  with  surprise  and  admiration  a  beautiful 
country  on  all  sides  of  us  ;  its  plains  covered  with 
a  fertile  soil, — the  hills  covered  with  forests, — at 
every  new  turn  presenting  the  most  magnificent 
landscapes  that  could  be  imagined.  Amongst  the 
trees  the  oak  was  frequently  seen  ;  and  we  know 
that  this  territory  produced  them  of  old.  Some 
learned  commentators,  indeed,  believing  that  no 
oaks  grew  in  these  supposed  desert  regions,  have 
translated  the  word  (Ezek.  xxvii.  6.)  by  alders,  to 
prevent  the  appearance  of  inaccuracy  in  the  in- 
spired writer.  The  expression  of  fat  bulls  of  Ba- 
shan seemed  to  us  equally  inconsistent  as  applied 
to  the  herds  of  a  country  generally  thought  to  be  a 


158 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


This  powerful  piince  with  his  gigantic 
troops  drew  out  to  give  the  Israelites  bat- 
tle ;  but  lest  they  should  be  discouraged 
at  the  sight  of  this  formidable  army,  who 
exceeded  the  common  size  of  nature, 
Moses,  by  the  command  of  God,  bid  them 
fear  nothing,  for  he  had  delivered  them 
into  their  hands,  and  they  should  make  as 
easy  a  conquest  over  them,  as  they  did 
over  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites. 

Israel  thus  encouraged  joined  battle, 
and  slew  king  Og*  and  his  sons,  and  all 


desert,  in  common  with  the  whole  tract  which  is 
laid  down  in  our  modern  maps  as  such  between 
the  Jordan  and  the  Euphrates  ;  but  we  could  now 
fully  comprehend,  not  only  that  the  bulls  of  this 
luxuriant  country  might  be  proverbially  fat,  but 
that  its  possessors  too  might  be  a  race  renowned 
for  strength  and  comeliness  of  person.  The  gen- 
eral face  of  this  region  improved  as  we  advanced 
farther  into  it;  and  every  new  direction  of  our 
path  opened  upon  us  views  which  surprised  and 
charmed  us  by  their  grandeur  and  their  beauty. 
Lofty  mountains  gave  an  outline  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent character  ;  flowing  beds  of  secondary  hills 
softened  the  romantic  wildness  of  the  picture  ; 
gentle  slopes,  clothed  with  wood,  gave  a  rich  vari- 
ety of  tints  hardly  to  be  imitated  by  the  pencil ; 
deep  valleys  filled  with  murmuring  streams  and 
verdant  meadows,  offered  all  the  luxuriance  of  cul- 
tivation, and  herds  and  flocks  gave  life  and  anima- 
tion to  scenes  as  grand,  as  beautiful,  and  as  highly 
picturesque  as  the  genius  or  taste  of  a  Claude' 
could  either  invent  or  desire." 

*  The  description  of  this  gigantic  king,  who  was 
the  last  of  the  race  of  the  giants,  whose  stature  we 
may  guess  at  by  the  size  of  his  bed,  which  being 
made  of  iron  for  strength,  was  thirteen  feet  and  a 
half  for  the  length,  and  two  yards,  or  six  feet,  for 
the  breadth.  The  people  of  the  East  use  a  kind 
of  settle,  called  a  duan,  or  divan,  or  sofa  ;  consist- 
ing of  boards  raised  from  the  ground,  about  five 
feet  broad,  and  one  and  a  half  high,  reaching  some- 
times quite  round  the  room,  sometimes  only  along 
a  part  of  it  :  it  is  covered  with  a  carpet,  and  fur- 
nished with  mattresses,  to  sit  upon  cross-legged 
after  the  Turkish  fashion,  and  with  cushions  placed 
against  the  wall  to  lean  upon.  They  serve  for 
beds  at  night.  This  custom  may  serve  to  illustrate 
the  dimensions  of  •  the  bedstead'  of  Og.  English 
ideas  have  measured  this  by  English  bedsteads. 
But  when  we  reflect  that  neither  the  divan  nor  its 
covering  is  so  nearly  fitted  to  the  size  of  the  per- 
son as  our  bedsteads  in  England  are,  we  may  make, 
in  the  necessary  dimensions  of  his  '  bedstead,'  no 
inconsiderable  allowance  for  the  repose  of  this 
martial  prince. — The  Mosaic  account  of  men  of  a 
gigantic  stature,  who  were  inured  to  deeds  of  law- 
less violence  and  rapine,  is  confirmed  by  the  Greek 
and  Latin  poets,  who  relate  that  there  were  giants 
in  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  and  also  by  the 
Greek  and  Latin  historians,  particularly  by  Pau- 


his  people.  They  also  took  all  his  cities, 
threescore  in  number,  all  fenced  with  high 
walls,  gates  and  bars,  besides  open  towns 
and  villages  a  great  number;  destroying 
utterly  the  inhabitants,  but  keeping  all  the 
cattle  and  the  spoil  of  those  cities  for  a 
prey  to  themselves,f  as  they  had  done  be- 
fore in  the  case  of  Sihon,  the  other  Amo- 
rite  king. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Balak  king  of Moab  fears  the  inroads  of  the  Is- 
raelites.— Sends  messengers  to  Balaam  to  per- 
suade him  to  curse  than. — Balaam's  merce- 
nary conduct  remarkably  chastised. — BalaKs 
sacrifice. — Balaam's  parable. — Balaam  pro- 
phecies the  success  of  the  Israelites. —  They 
are  drawn  by  the  Moabites  into  whoredom 
and  idolatry. —  They  are  severely  punished  for 
their  sins. 

Encouraged  with  these  successes  the 
Israelites  marched  to  the  plains  of  Moab, 
and  encamped  on  this  side  Jordan  by  Jeri- 
cho. The  approach  of  these  victorious 
strangers  struck  a  terror  wherever  they 
came,  and  the  fame  of  their  late  success 
against  the  Amorites  put  the  king  of 
Moab  and  his  people  into  a  terrible  con- 


sanias  and  Philostratus  among  the  Greeks,  and 
Pliny  among  the  Romans,  who  have  recorded  that, 
on  opening  some  sepulchres,  the  bodies  of  men 
were  found  to  be  much  larger  in  old  times.  Jose- 
phus  also  speaks  of  bones  seen  in  his  days,  of  a 
magnitude  almost  exceeding  credibility.  These 
testimonies  of  historians  of  former  ages  to  the  gen- 
erally gigantic  stature  cf  men,  furnish  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  the  petty  cavils  of  those  who  object  to 
the  credibility  of  Moses,  from  his  mentioning  the 
gigantic  size  of  Og's  bedstead.  (Deut.  iii.  1 1.) 
But  men  of  very  large  size  are  occasionally  seen 
even  in  our  (Jays.  Some  allowance  may  also  be 
made  for  royal  vanity  ;  as  Alexander  the  Great 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  enlarge  the  size  of  their 
beds  that  they  might  give  to  the  Indians,  in  suc- 
ceeding ages,  a  great  idea  of  the  prodigious  stature 
of  the  Macedonian  soldiers. —  Home,  &c. 

f  So  they  were  commanded,  where  the  sociiil 
laws,  or  laws  of  war  and  heraldry  are  set  down  : 
by  which  they  were  required  upon  their  approach 
to  any  city,  to  offer  peace  first,  which  if  the  in- 
habitants accepted,  and  surrendered  to  them,  they 
should  only  make  them  tributaries.  But  if  they 
refused  peace,  and  put  them  to  besiege  and  storm 
the  place,  they  should,  when  they  had  taken  it, 
put  all  the  men  to  the  sword  ;  but  might  keep  the 
women  and  children  with  the  cattle  and  other 
spoil  for  themselves. 


Chap.  IX] 


THE  BIBLE. 


159 


sternation.*  Balak  the  kin^  knowing 
himself  too  weak  to  engage  the  mighty 
force  of  Israel,  advised  with  the  chiefs  of 
Midian,f  to  whom  he  proposed  the  com- 
mon danger  of  these  invaders:  the  result 
of  tlicir  consultation  was  this;  king  Balak 
should  send  messengers  to  Balaam,  J  the 
son  of  Beor,  who  lived  at  Pethor,  a  city 
in  Mesopotamia,  to  invite  and  bribe  him 
to  curse  the  Israelites;  for  they  had  so 
great  an  opinion  of  his  skill  and  power  in 

*  If  the  Moabites  had  known  the  protection 
they  were  under,  they  needed  not  to  have  been 
afraid,  for  if  they  would  have  been  quiet  they  were 
particularly  exempted  from  the  sword  of  Israel. 

f  The  Midianites  were  neighbours  and  con- 
federates with  the  Moabites  ;  therefore  Balak 
represented  to  them  the  danger,  and  asked  their 
advice  and  assistance. 

J  It  is  a  question  much  debated  among  com- 
mentators, whether  Balaam  was  a  true  prophet  of 
the  Lord,  or  only  a  magician  and  diviner  or  for- 
tune-teller :  and  the  arguments  on  each  side  are 
so  strong,  as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
both — a  Chaldean  priest,  magician,  and  astrologer 
by  profession,  a  prophet  by  accident.  He  dwelt 
in  a  conntrv,  which,  from  time  immemorial,  was 
celebrated  for  the  observation  of  the  stars  ;  and 
the  astronomy  of  antiquity  was  never,  perhaps, 
free  from  astrology.  His  fame,  in  every  thing 
which  at  that  time  formed  the  science  of  Chaldaea, 
filled  Asia:  the  honours  and  presents  which  he 
received,  show  the  high  estimation  in  which  he 
was  held.  It  is  a  circumstance,  moreover,  worthy 
of  remark,  that  his  religion  was  not  a  pure  idol 
He  knew  and  served  the  Loud 


atry. 


the  know- 


ledge and  worship  of  the  true  God  did  not  simul- 
taneously disappear  among  the  nations  ;  as  is  evi- 
dent from  the  circumstances  recorded  of  Melchise- 
dek,  Jethro,  and  perhaps,  Abimelech.  The  his- 
tory of  Balaam  presents  the  last  trace  of  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God,  which  is  found  out  of  Ca- 
naan. If  the  rites  celebrated  by  him  were  not  de- 
void of  superstition  ;  if  it  be  difficult  to  put  a  fav- 
ourable construction  upon  the  enchantments  which 
Moses  seems  to  attribute  to  him,  it  only  follows 
that  Balaam,  like  Laban,  blended  error  and  truth. 
The  mixed  religion,  thus  professed  by  him,  fur- 
nishes a  key  to  his  mysterious  history.  Sacer- 
dotal maledictions  were  at  that  time  regarded  as 
inevitable  scourges,  and  the  people  of  Moab  and 
Midian  thought  that  they  should  find  in  Moab  an 
adversary,  who  was  capable  of  opposing  Moses  ; 
and  it  was  only  opposing  a  prophet  to  a  prophet, 
a  priest  to  a  priest.  In  the  judgment  of  these 
nations,  Moses  was  a  formidable  magician  ;  and, 
as  Pharaoh  had  done  forty  years  before,  they 
sought  out,  on  their  part,  a  magician,  to  defend 
them:  they  wished  to  curse  the  Israelites  in  the 
very  name  of  Jehovah,  whom  they  supposed  to  be 
a  more  powerful  deity  than  their  own  god.  These 
circumstances  will  enable  us  without  difficulty  to 
conceive  how    Balaam   received   the  gift  of  pro- 


divination,  that  they  thought  he  could 
curse  or  bless  as  he  pleased.  §  By  general 
consent  therefore  they  deputed  a  select 
number  of  their  chief  men  with  presents 
to  invite  him  to  go  with  them  to  Balak- 


phecy.  The  terms  employed  by  the  sacred  his- 
torian are  so  express,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  he, 
occasionally,  at  least,  was  inspired.  Besides,  his 
predictions  are  extant ;  nor  does  it  avail  to  say, 
that  Balaam  was  a  wicked  man.  The  gift  of  pro- 
phecy did  not  always  sanctify  the  heart.  (See 
Matt.  vii.  22.)  If,  then,  we  refer  to  the  circum- 
stances of  that  memorable  day,  we  shall  find  in 
that  dispensation  reasons  worthy  of  the  divine 
wisdom.  The  Hebrews  had  arrived  on  the  bor» 
ders  of  Canaan,  which  country  they  were  on  the 
point  of  entering  ;  they  knew  that  Moses  wov.ld 
not  enter  it ;  and  in  order  to  encourage  the  peo- 
ple to  effect  the  conquest  of  the  promised  laud, 
even  without  Moses,  God  caused  one  who  was 
hostile  to  them  to  utter  predictions  of  their  victo- 
ry. How  encouraging  must  this  circumstance 
have  been  to  the  Hebrews,  at  the  same  time  that 
it  would  prove  to  them  (who  were  about  to  come 
into  continual  contact  with  the  Canaanites)  how 
vain  and  useless  against  them  would  be  the  su- 
perstitions of  those  idolatrous  nations.  The  three 
hills  on  which  Balaam  offered  sacrifices  in  the 
presence  of  the  Israelitish  camp,  remind  us  of  one 
of  the  prejudices  of  ancient  times.  The  ancients 
believed  that  a  change  of  aspect  induced  a  change 
of  condition. — Home. 

§  Before  the  idolatrous  nations  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  undertook  a  warlike  expedition,  or  en- 
tered into  battle,  they  endeavoured  to  bring  down 
a  curse  upon  their  enemies,  which  should  inevi- 
tably secure  their  overthrow.  Influenced  by  an 
opinion,  which  long  prevailed  in  those  parts  of  the 
world,  that  some  men  had  a  power,  by  the  help  of 
their  gods,  to  devote  not  only  particular  persons, 
but  even  whole  armies  to  destruction,  Balak  sent 
for  Balaam  to  curse  Israel,  before  he  would  ven- 
ture to  attack  their  camp.  This  was  done  some- 
times by  words  of  imprecation,  of  which  there  was 
a  set  form  among  some  people,  which  Kschines 
calls  the  determinate  curse.  Besides  this,  they 
sometimes  offered  sacrifices,  and  used  certain  rites 
and  ceremonies  with  solemn  charms.  Some  of  the 
charms  used  by  the  heathen  on  such  occasions,  are 
mentioned  in  the  life  of  Crassus  from  the  pen  of 
Plutarch.  The  historian  states  that  Atticus,  a  tri- 
bune of  the  people,  made  a  fire  at  the  gate,  out  of 
which  the  general  was  to  march  against  the  Par- 
tisans, into  which  he  threw  certain  thing?  to  make 
a  fume,  and  offered  sacrifice  to  the  most  angry 
gods,  with  horrid  imprecations.  These,  he  says, 
according  to  ancient  traditions,  had  such  a  power 
that  no  man  who  was  loaded  with  them  could 
avoid  being  undone.  Under  the  influence  proba- 
bly of  the  same  opinion,  the  renowned  champion 
of  the  Philistines,  sure  of  the  favour  and  protection 
of  his  deities,  and,  consequently,  persuaded  that 
his  enemies  must  necessarily  be  the  objects  of  their 
displeasure  and  vengeance,  cursed  David  by  his 
gnris.  devoting  him  to  utter  destruction. — Paxton. 


160 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


When  tliey  came  to  him,  and  delivered 
their  message  from  the  king,  he  desired 
them  to  tarry  with  him  that  night,  for  he 
could  give  them  no  answer  till  he  had 
consulted  the  Lord. 

But  that  omniscient  Being,  to  whom  the 
secrets  of  all  hearts  are  known,  could  not 
be  ignorant  of  Balaam's  base  motive ;  in 
order  therefore  to  try  in  what  manner  he 
would  endeavour  to  palliate  the  same, 
asked  him,  *  What  men  they  were  that 
were  with  him?'  'They  are  some,'  said  he, 
*  whom  the  king  of  Moab  hath  sent  to  me, 
to  let  me  know,  that  there  is  a  people 
come  out  of  Egypt,  which  cover  the  face 
of  the  earth;  and  to  desire  me  to  come  to 
him,  and  curse  them,  in  hopes  that  he 
then  may  be  able  to  overcome  them,  and 
drive  them  away.'  But  God  said  to  him, 
*Thou  shalt  not  go  with  them,  nor  curse 
that  people,  for  they  are  blessed.' 

Balaam,  not  daring  to  disobey  the 
command  of  the  Lord,  got  up  in  the 
morning,  and,  dismissing  the  messengers, 
said,  '  Be  gone  to  your  own  country ;  for 
the  Lord  refuseth  to  give  me  leave  to  go 
with  you.'  They  returned  to  the  king, 
but  misreported  Balaam's  answer ;  for 
instead  of  telling  him  that  God  had  re- 
fused to  let  him  come,  they  told  him  that 
Balaam  refused  to  come.  Whereupon 
Balak,  falsely  suggesting  to  himself,  that 
either  the  number  and  quality  of  his  mes- 
sengers did  not  answer  Balaam's  ambition, 
or  the  value  of  the  presents  his  covetous- 
ness,  resolved  to  gratify  both ;  and  there- 
fore he  immediately  despatched  away 
messengers  of  more  honourable  rank,  and 
with  larger  proposals.  « Let  nothing,' 
said  he,  *  hinder  thee  from  coming  to  me ; 
for  I  will  promote  thee  to  very  great  hon- 
our, and  give  thee  whatsoever  thou  wilt 
ask,  if  thou  wilt  come  and  curse  this 
people.' 

Such  was  the  prevalence  of  Balaam's 
avarice,  that  though  he  had  been  so  so- 
lemnly prohibited  from  going  and  cursing 
the  people  whom  God  had  blessed;  he 
accepted  of  these  presents  of  their  enemies, 


and  afterwards  evaueu  compliance  with 
their  request,  by  assuring  them  he  durst 
not,  on  any  account,  counteract  the  divine 
will,  but  to  amuse  them,  desired  they 
would  tarry  a  little  while  he  inquired 
farther  of  the  Lord. 

This  was  tempting  God;  who  therefore 
in  displeasure  left  him  to  his  own  will.* 
He  had  positively  at  first  told  him  his 
mind,  and  it  was  the  highest  disobedience 
and  presumption  to  pretend  or  offer  at 
the  reversion  of  it,  by  a  farther  applica- 
tion. However,  blinded  with  covetous- 
ness  and  pride,  he  again  addressed  him- 
self to  God ;  who,  provoked  at  his  obsti- 
nacy, leaves  him  to  himself,  and  tells  him, 
1  If  the  men  come  to  call  thee,  rise  and  go 
with  them  ;f  but  what  I  shall  say  to  thee, 
that  only  shalt  thou  do.' 

Notwithstanding  this  permission  to  go, 
God  was  resolved  to  make  Balaam  sensible 
of  his  displeasure.  Upon  this  concession 
he  got  up  in  the  morning,  and  went  with 
the  princes  of  Moab.  But  as  he  was  on 
the  road,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  on  the 
way  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand. 

A  regard  to  the  divine  omnipresence 
was  almost  banished  in  the  mind  of 
Balaam,  by  the  longing  desire  after  the 
reward  of  his  impiety ;  but  it  pleased 
God  to  give  the  ass,:}:  on  which  Balaam 

*  From  hence  we  may  observe  how  unfit  we  are 
to  choose  for  ourselves  ;  especially  in  opposition 
to  God's  immediate  commands  and  instructions. 

f  This,  by  the  consent  of  interpreters,  is  looked 
upon,  not  as  a  command  but  a  permission  ;  and 
seems  ironically  spoken;  as  if  God  had  said,  'Since 
thou  art  so  eager  to  go,  thou  knowest  it  is  against 
my  mind,  take  thy  own  course  ;  go  if  thou  wilt. 
But  yet  thou  shalt  not  gain  thy  end  ;  thou  shalt 
go  with  this  restriction  on  thy  will,  thou  shalt  say 
nothing  but  what  I  shall  direct  thee.' 

\  The  common  breed  of  asses  in  the  East  is 
larger  than  that  usually  seen  in  Britain  ;  and  an- 
other, still  larger,  is  preserved  for  the  saddle :  for 
the  ordinary  people,  and  many  of  the  middle  class 
commonly  ride  asses.  Asses  are  often  preferred 
to  horses  by  the  Sheiks,  ^r  religious  men ;  and 
though  most  of  the  opulent  merchants  keep  horses, 
they  are  not  ashamed,  especially  when  old,  to  ap. 
pear  mounted  on  asses.  Those  intended  for  the 
saddle,  of  the  best  sort,  bear  a  high  price ;  they 
are  tall,  delicately  limbed,  go  swiftly  in  an  easy 
pace  or  gallop,  and  are  very  sure- Tooted,  They 
are  fed  aud  dressed  witli  the  same  care  as  horses. 


Chap.  IX.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


161 


rode,  such  quickness  of  sight,  that  she 
both  saw  the  angel  and  shunned  him,  by 
turning  out  of  the  road  into  the  field. 
Balaam  for  this  beat  the  ass,  and  strug- 
gling to  put  the  beast  into  the  way,  the 
angel  stood  in  another  narrow  way  be- 
tween two  walls,  which  inclosed  some 
vineyards.  The  ass  seeing  the  angel, 
clung  up  to  the  wall,  and  crushed  Ba- 
laam's foot.  This  so  incensed  him,  that 
he  beat  her  again.  But  when  the  angel 
went  farther,  and  stood  in  a  narrow  place, 
where  the  ass  could  not  turn,  she  fell 
down  under  him.  For  this  Balaam  was 
iii  a  greater  passion  than  before,  beating 
her  with  his  staff. 

But  God,  to  rebuke  the  wilfulness  of 
the  prophet,  miraculously  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  ass,*  and  she  said  to  him, 

The  bridle  is  ornamented  with  fringe  and  cowries, 
or  small  shells;  and  the  saddle,  which  is  broad 
arid  easy,  is  covered  with  a  tine  carpet. — Dr 
Russtl. 

*  If  the  ass  had  opened  her  own  mouth,  and 
reproved  the  rash  prophet,  we  might  well  be  as- 
tonished. Maimonides  and  others  have  imagined 
that  the  matter  was  transacted  in  a  vision.  But 
it  is  evident,  from  the  whole  tenor  of  the  narration, 
as  well  as  from  the  declaration  of  an  inspired 
writer  (2  Pet.  ii.  14 — 16..)  that  it  is  to  he  understood 
as  a  literal  narrative  of  a  real  transaction.  The 
ass,  it  has  been  observed,  was  enabled  to  utter 
such  and  such  sounds,  probably  as  parrots  do, 
without  understanding  them  :  and,  whatever  may- 
be said  of  the  construction  of  the  ass's  mouth,  and 
of  the  tongue  and  jaws  being  so  formed  as  to  be 
unfit  for  speaking,  yet  an  adequate  cause  is  as- 
signed for  this  wonderful  effect ;  for  it  is  expressly 
said,  that  'the  Lord  opened  the  mouth  of  the  ass.' 
The  miracle  was  by  no  means  needless  or  super- 
fluous :  it  was  very  proper  to  convince  Balaam, 
that  the  mouth  and  tongue  were  under  God's  di- 
rection, and  that  the  same  divine  power,  which 
caused  the  dumb  ass  to  speak  contrary  to  its  na- 
ture, could  make  him  in  like  manner  utter  bless- 
ings contrary  to  his  inclination.  The  fact  is  as 
consonant  to  reason  as  any  other  extraordinary 
operation  ;  for  all  miracles  are  alike,  and  equally 
demand  our  assent,  if  properly  attested.  The 
giving  of  articulation  to  a  brute  is  no  more  to  the 
Deity,  than  the  making  of  the  blind  to  see,  or  the 
deaf  to  hear.  And  the  reputed  baseness  of  the 
instrument,  of  which  God  was  pleased  to  make 
use,  amounts  merely  to  this,  that  (as  the  apostle 
observes  on  another  occasion,)  '  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise,'  1  Cor.  i.  £?,  There  was,  therefore,  a  fit- 
ness in  the  instrument  used  :  for,  the  more  vile 
the  means  were,  the  litter  they  were  to  confound 
the  unrighteous  prophet. — Home. 


*  What  have  I  done  to  thee,  that  thou 
shouldest  beat  me  these  three  times.' 
'Because,'  said  he,  'thou  hast  deserved  it, 
in  mocking  me :  had  I  a  sword  in  my 
hand  I  would  kill  thee.'  The  ass  replied, 
'  Am  I  not  thine  ass,  upon  which  thou 
hast  been  used  to  ride  ever  since  1  was 
thine ;  did  I  ever  serve  thee  so  before  T 
He  answered,  •  No.'  Such  an  incident 
might  have  alarmed  a  mind  less  prepos- 
sessed than  that  of  Balaam,  which  re- 
mained blinded,  till  God  himself  opened 
his  eyes,  and  let  him  see  the  angel  stand- 
!  ing  in  the  way  with  his  sword  drawn  in 
his  hand;  at  the  sight  of  which,  he  bowed 
himself  down,  and  fell  on  his  face.  The 
angel  expostulated  with  him,  and  told  him 
his  undertaking  was  perverse,  in  attempt- 
ing to  go  against  the  express  command  of 
God,  and  that  therefore  he  was  come  to 
stop  him :  and,  but  for  his  ass,  which  he 
had  so  barbarously  abused,  he  had  slain 
him. 

Balaam,  self-convicted,  acknowledged 
his  crime,  and  offered  to  return  home 
again,  if  so  be  his  journey  was  displeas- 
ing to  God.  However,  the  Lord  resolv- 
ed out  of  this  man's  wicked  inclination 
to  raise  some  advantage ;  and  therefore, 
since  he  #was  gone  so  far,  he  would  not 
send  him  back,  but  make  him,  who  was 
hired  to  curse,  be  the  instrument  of  pro- 
nouncing a  blessing  on  his  people. 

Having  thus  chastised  Balaam  on  the 
way,  he  suffered  him  to  go  on;  but  with. 
this  charge,  that  he  should  only  speak 
what  God  should  tell  him. 

Balaam  then  went  on  his  journey  with 
the  princes  of  Moab;  and  when  Balak  un- 
derstood that  Balaam  was  coming,  that 
he  might  the  more  oblige  him  by  per- 
sonal civilities,  he  came  out  to  meet  him 
(himself  receiving  him  upon  the  confines 
of  his  dominion.)  At  their  meeting,  the 
king  in  a  friendly  manner  blamed  Balaam 
for  refusing  to  come  to  him  upon  his  first 
sending,  since  it  was  in  his  power  to  ad- 
vance him.  But  Balaam,  to  excuse  him- 
self,   let   him    know    what   restraint   the 


162 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


Lord  had  laid  upon  him.  Then  enter- 
taining him  publicly  with  his  princes  and 
great  men  that  day,  the  next  day  he 
brought  him  up  into  the  high  places  of 
Baal,  #  that  from  thence  he  might  take  a 
view  of  the  camp  of  Israel. 

Whilst  they  were  here,  the  prophet  di- 
rected the  king  to  order  seven  altars  f  to 
be  erected  for  him:  and  seven  oxen,  with 
seven  rams,  to  be  prepared ;  which  be- 
ing done,  they  both  together  offered  an  ox 
and  a  ram  upon  each  altar.  Then  leaving 
Balak  to  stand  by  his  burnt-offering,  Ba- 
laam withdrew  to  consult  the  Lord,  who 
met  and  instructed  him  what  to  say;  and 
returning  to  Balak,  whom  he  found  stand- 


*  The  word  Baal  signifies  Lord,  and  was  the 
name  of  several  gods,  both  male  and  female,  as 
Selden  shows.  The  god  of  the  Moabites  was 
Chemosh,  but  here  very  probably  is  called  by  the 
common  name  of  Baal:  and,  as  all  nations  wor- 
shipped their  gods  upon  high  places,  so  this  god 
of  Moab,  having  more  places  of  worship  than  one, 
Balak  carried  Balaam  to  them  all,  that  from  thence 
he  might  take  the  most  advantageous  prospect  of 
the  Israelites.  These  high  places  were  full  of 
trees,  and  shady  groves,  which  made  them  com- 
modious both  for  the  solemn  thoughts  and  pray- 
ers of  such  as  were  devout,  and  for  the  filthy  in- 
clinations and  ahominahle  practices  of  such  as  af- 
fected to  be  wicked. — Patrick's  Commentary. 

f  According  to  the  account  which  both  Festus 
and  Servius  give  us  of  ancient  times,  the^  heathens 
sacrificed  to  the  celestial  gods  only  upon  altars  : 
to  the  terrestrial,  they  sacrificed  upon  the  earth  ; 
and  to  the  infernal,  in  holes  digged  in  the  earth. 
And  though  the  number  seven  was  much  observed 
among  the  Hebrews,  even  by  God's  own  appoint- 
ment. Lev.  iv.  6.  yet  we  do  not  read  of  more  than 
one  altar  built  by  the  patriarchs,  when  they  offered 
their  sacrifices,  nor  were  any  more  than  one  al- 
lowed by  Moses  :  and  therefore  we  may  well  sup- 
pose, that  there  was  something  of  heathen  super- 
stition in  this  erection  of  seven  altars,  and  that 
the  Moabites,  in  their  worship  of  the  sun,  (who  is 
here  principally  meant  by  Baal)  did  at  the  same 
time  sacrifice  to  the  seven  planets.  This  was  ori- 
ginally a  part  of  the  Egyptian  theology;  for  as 
they  worshipped  at  this  time  the  lights  of  heaven, 
so  they  first  imagined  the  seven  days  of  the  week 
to  be  under  the  respective  influence  of  these  se- 
ven luminaries.  Belus,  and  his  Egyptian  priests, 
having  obtained  leave  to  settle  in  Babylon,  about 
half  a  century  before  this  time,  might  teacli  the 
Chaldeans  their  astronomy,  and  so  introduced  this 
Egyptian  notion  of  the  influence  of  the  seven  rul- 
ing stars,  which  Balaam,  being  no  stranger  to  the 
learning  of  the  age  and  country  he  lived  in,  might 
pretend  to  Balak  to  proceed  upon  in  his  divina- 
tions and  auguries — Le  Clerc  and  Shuchford. 


ing  at  the  altar,  and  the  princes  of  Moab 
with  him,  he  thus  addressed  himself  to 
them:  'Thou  hast  caused  me,  O  king,  to 
come  from  Aram,  %  out  of  the  mountains 
of  the  east  to  curse  the  family  of  Jacob, 
and  bid  defiance  to  Israel.  But  how  shall 
I  curse  those  whom  God  hath  not  cursed? 
and  how  shall  I  defy  those  whom  the 
Lord  hath  not  defied?  From  the  top  of 
the  rocks  I  see  their  protector,  and  from 
the  hills  I  behold  him.  Behold,  this  peo- 
ple shall  be  separated  to  God,  and  distin- 
guished from  all  other  people  in  religion, 
laws,  and  course  of  life;  they  shall  not  be 
reckoned  among  the  nations.'  Then  set- 
ting forth  the  prosperity  and  increase  of 
Israel,  he  wished  that  his  lot  might  be 
with  them  in  life  and  death. 

Balak,  as  much  alarmed  as  incensed  at 
the  prophecy  of  Balaam,  so  contrary  to 
his  expectation,  passionately  inquired, — 
'  What  hast  thou  done?  I  sent  for  thee 
to  curse  mine  enemies,  and  thou  hast 
blessed  them.'  Balaam  excused  himself 
by  the  necessity  of  his  instructions,  from 
which  at  this  time  it  was  not  in  his  power 
to  deviate. 

However,  as  Balak  was  not  discourag- 
ed; from  the  change  of  the  place  he  hoped 
a  change  of  fortune  or  better  success;  and 
therefore  taking  Balaam  into  the  field  of 
Zophim  to  the  top  of  Pisgah,  he  tried 
whether  he  could  curse  from  thence. 

Balaam,  who  was  willing  to  please  him, 
had  seven  altars  there,  and  a  bullock  and 
a  ram  offered  on  each.  Then  withdraw- 
ing again,  as  before,  to  consult  the  Lord, 
he  received  fresh  instructions.  Balak  now 
began  to  understand  the  interview  between 
the  Lord  and  Balaam ;  and  upon  his  re- 
turn to  him  and  his  attendants,  who  were 
big  with  expectation  of  the  result,  demand- 
ed what  the  Lord  had  spoken  ?  Upon 
which  Balaam,  to  bespeak  the  greater  at- 
tention and  regard  to  what  he  should  say, 
began  thus:    'Consider,   O   Balak,    thou 


J  The  same  as  Mesopotamia,  which  the   He* 
brews  call  Aram-naharaim. 


Chap.  IX.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


163 


son  of  Zippor,  consider  that  God,  who 
hath  already  blessed  Israel,  and  forbidden 
me  to  curse  them,  is  not  like  a  man,  that 
he  should  renounce  his  promise,  or  repent 
of  what  he  does.  Hath  he  promised,  and 
shall  he  not  perform?  Or  hath  he  spoken, 
and  shall  he  not  make  it  good?  Behold, 
I  have  received  commission  to  bless,  and 
he  hath  blessed,  and  I  cannot  reverse 
it.  He  does  not  approve  of  afflictions  or 
outrages  against  the  posterity  of  Jacob, 
nor  of  vexation  or  trouble  against  the 
posterity  of  Israel.*  The  Lord  his  God 
is  with  him,  and  the  shout  of  a  kingf  is 
in  him.  God  hath  brought  him  out  of 
Egypt:  he  hath,  as  it  were,  the  strength 
of  a   unicorn.:}:     Surely  no   enchantment 


*  Tlie  text  should  be  rendered  as  above:  '  He 
does  not  approve  of  afflictions  or  outrages  against 
the  posterity  of  Jacob,  nor  vexation  or  trouble 
against  the  posterity  of  Israel.'  This  is  very 
agreeahle  to  all  that  Balaam  said  and  did  on  this 
occasion,  and  stops  the  months  of  Jibertines  and 
enthusiasts. 

f  So  Jerome,  Arius  Montanus,  Tremellius,  and 
Junius  turn  it.  That  is,  the  triumph  of  a  king 
victorious  over  his  enemies. 

£  This  animal,  generally  supposed  to  be  the 
rhinoceros,  is  frequently  used  to  express  extra- 
ordinary strength.  The  principal  reason  for  trans- 
lating the  word  reem,  unicorn,  and  not  rhinoceros, 
is  from  a  prejudice  that  he  must  have  but  one 
horn.  But  this  is  by  no  means  so  well  founded, 
as  to  be  admitted  as  the  only  argument  for  estab- 
lishing the  existence  of  an  animal  which  never  has 
appeared  after  the  search  of  so  many  ages.  Scrip- 
ture speaks  of  the  horns  of  the  unicorn  ;  so  that, 
even  from  this  circumstance,  the  reem  may  be  the 
rhinoceros,  as  the  Asiatic  and  part  of  the  African 
rhinoceros  may  be  the  unicorn.  Next  to  the  ele- 
phant, the  rhinoceros  is  said  to  be  the  most  power- 
ful of  animals.  It  is  usually  found  twelve  feet  long, 
from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  insertion  of  the 
tail  ;  from  six  to  seven  feet  high  ;  and  the  circum- 
ference of  its  body  is  nearly  equal  to  its  length. 
It  is,  therefore,  equal  to  the  elephant  in  hulk  ; 
and  the  reason  of  its  appearing  so  much  smaller 
to  the  eye  than  that  animal  is,  that  its  le»s  are 
so  much  shorter.  Words,  says  Goldsmith,  can 
convey  but  a  very  confused  idea  of  this  animal's 
shape  ;  and  yet  there  are  few  so  remarkably  form- 
ed. But  for  its  horn,  which  has  been  found  to  mea- 
Bure  between  thirty  and  forty  inches  in  length,  its 
head  would  have  the  appearance  of  that  part  of 
a  hog.  The  skin  of  the  rhinoceros  is  naked,  rough, 
knotty,  and  lying  upon  the  body  in  folds,  in  a  very 
peculiar  manner  ;  the  skin,  which  is  of  a  dirty 
brown  colour,  is  so  thick  as  to  turn  the  edge  of  a 
scimitar,  and  to  resist  a  musket-ball.  Such  is  the 
general  outline  of  an  animal  that  appears  chiefly 


can  prevail  against  Jacob  nor  any  divina- 
tion against  Israel.  So  that  considering 
what  God  shall  work  this  time  for  the 
deliverance  of  his  people,  all  the  world 
shall  wonder  and  say,  what  hath  God 
wrought!  Who  hath  put  his  people  out 
of  the  reach  of  fraud  or  force,  and  turned 
the  intended  curse  into  a  blessing.  And 
to  show  their  future  strength  and  sue- 
cess,  the  people  shall  rise  up  as  a  great 
lion,  and  lift  up  themselves  as  a  young 
lion :  they  shall  not  lie  down  until  they 
eat  of  the  prey,  and  drink  of  the  blood 
of  the  slain.'  § 


formidable  from  the  horn  growing  from  its  snout ; 
and  formed  rather  for  war,  than  with  a  propensity 
to  engage.  The  elephant,  the  boar,  and  the  buffalo, 
are  obliged  to  strike  transversely  with  their  wea- 
pons ;  but  the  rhinoceros,  from  the  situation  of  his 
horn,  employs  all  his  force  with  every  blow  ;  so 
that  the  tiger  will  more  willingly  attack  any  other 
animal  of  the  forest,  than  one  whose  strength  is  so 
justly  employed.  Indeed,  there  is  no  force  which 
this  terrible  animal  has  to  apprehend  :  defend- 
ed on  every  side  by  a  thick  horny  hide,  which 
the  claws  of  the  lion  or  the  tiger  are  unahle 
to  pierce,  and  armed  before  with  a  weapon  ttiut 
even  the  elephant  does  not  choose  to  oppose. 
Travellers  have  assured  us,  that  the  elephant  U 
often  found  dead  in  the  forests,  pierced  with  the 
horn,  of  a  rhinoceros.  In  addition  to  these  parti- 
culars, Mr  Bruce  informs  us,  that  the  rhinoceros 
does  not  eat  hay  or  grass,  but  lives  entirely  upon 
trees  ;  he  does  not  spare  the  most  thorny  ones, 
but  rather  seems  to  be  fond  of  them  ;  and  it  is  not 
a  small  branch  that  can  escape  his  hunger,  for  he 
has  the  strongest  jaws  of  any  creature  known  to 
him,  and  best  adapted  to  grinding  or  bruising  any 
thing  that  makes  resistance.  But,  besides  the 
trees  capable  of  most  resistance,  there  are  in  the 
vast  forests  which  he  inhabits  trees  of  a  softer 
consistence,  and  of  a  very  succulent  quality,  which 
seem  to  be  destined  for  his  principal  food.  For 
the  purpose  of  gaining  the  highest  branches  of 
these,  his  upper  lip  is  capable  of  being  lengthened 
out,  so  as  to  increase  his  power  of  laying  hold 
with  this,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  elephant 
does  with  his  trunk.  With  this  lip,  and  the  assist- 
ance of  his  tongue  he  pulls  down  the  upper  bran- 
ches, which  have  most  leaves,  and  these  he  devours 
first ;  having  stripped  the  tree  of  its  branches,  he 
does  not  therefore  abandon  it,  but  placing  his 
snout  as  low  in  the  trunk  as  he  finds  his  horn  will 
enter,  he  rips  up  the  body  of  the  tree,  and  reduces 
it  to  thin  pieces,  like  so  many  laths;  and  when  he 
has  thus  prepared  it,  he  embraces  as  much  of  it  as 
he  can  in  his  monstrous  jaws,  and  twists  it  with  as 
much  ease  as  an  ox  would  do  a  root  of  celery. 

$  These  passages  are  a  manifest  prophecy  of  the 
victories  which  the  Israelites  should  gain  over  their 
enemies,  and  particularly  the  Canaanites ;  and  of 
their  secure   possession   and   quiet  enjoyment  of 


161 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IL 


Balak  was  so  incensed  at  this  peremp- 
tory prophecy  of  the  immediate  interposi- 
tion of  providence  in  favour  of  God's 
chosen  people,  that  lie  forbid  Balaam  to 
exercise  his  prophetic  talent;  though  soon 
after  his  eagerness  to  have  Israel  cursed 
made  him  change  his  mind;  for  he  called 
for  Balaam,  and  entreated  him  to  try  an- 
other place,  in  hopes  God  would  permit 
him  to  curse  Israel.  Hereupon  Balaam 
followed  Balak  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Peor,*  a  hill  that  looked  towards  the  wii- 
deni;  ss. 

Whatsoever  ground  Balak  might  have 
for  his  hopes,  it  is  certain  Balaam  knew 
the  positive  will  of  God  in  this  case  was 
to  bless  and  not  to  curse;  and  this  he  had 
declared  to  be  irreversible,  when  he  told 
Balak  God  was  not  like  fickle  man.  Yet 
stimulated  with  the  blind  desire  of  reward, 
he  consented  to  Balak  to  tempt  the  Lord 
afresh  ;  for  he  there  erected  seven  altars 
and  laid  seven  sacrifices  thereon. 

But  having  in  vain  tried  all  his  arts  of' 
divination,  and  seeing  that  God  was  re- 
solved to  continue  biessing  Israel  (with- 
out withdrawing,  as  before,  under  pre- 
tence to  consult  the  Lord)  looking  on  the 
camp  of  Israel,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  f 
came  upon  him,  and  he  cried  out  in  an 
ecstasy,  'How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Ja- 
cob, and  thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel!'  Then 
by  signifieant  metaphors,  he  foretold  the 
extent,  fertility,  and  strength  of  Israel; 
and   those   that   bkssed   them   should   be 


the  land  afterwards,  particularly  in  the  reigns  of 
David  and  Solomon.  It  i»  remarkable  that  (»od 
hath  here  put  into  the  mouth  of  Balaam  much  the 
same  thin  s  which  Jacoh  had  before  predicted  of 
Judah,  den.  xiix.  9.  Such  is  the  analogy  and 
harmony  between  the  prophecies  of  scripture. — 
Jtishop  Newton. 

*   Probably  the  place  where  the  famous   Baal- 
peor  had  Ins  chief  temple.     He  was  a  deity  of  the 
Moabitts   and    Mdianites,    supposed    to    be    the  ] 
same  as  Hie  l'riapus  of  the  Romans,  and  worship-  \ 
ped  witn  similar  obscene  rites. 

+  In  Num.  xxiii.  it  is  observable,  that  while 
Balaam  used  his  art  of  divination  or  enchantment, 
he  had  only  a  word  put  into  his  mouth;  hut  now 
having  laid  aside  his  enchantments,  the  Spirit  of 
God  cume  upon  him. 


blessed,  and  those  that  cursed  them  should 
be  cursed. 

Balak  now  upbraided  Balaam  with  de- 
ceit and  falsehood,  and  smiting  his  hands 
together,  being  no  longer  able  to  restrain 
his  rage,  bid  him  haste  and  be  gone; 
•  For  I  thought,'  said  he,  « to  have  pro- 
moted thee  to  great  honour,  if  thou  hadst 
answered  my  design  in  cursing  Israel,  but 
the  Lord  hath  hindered  thy  preferment.' 

Balaam  had  recourse  to  his  old  excuse, 
that  he  could  not  exceed  the  commands  of 
the  Lord,  but  must  speak  what  he  put  in 
his  mouth.  And  though  he  was  willing 
to  gratify  the  king  of  Moab  in  some  sort, 
and  perhaps  (considering  his  covetous 
temper)  to  entitle  himself  to  some  reward, 
he  offered  to  advertise  them  now  at  part- 
ing, what  the  Israelites  should  do  to  his 
people  in  the  latter  days.  But  still,  against 
his  own  inclination,  he  bestowed  blessings 
on  Israel,  and  prophesied,  a  star  should 
come  forth  from  Jacob,  and  a  rod  from 
Israel;  that  it  should  smite  the  chiefs  of 
Moab,  and  destroy  the  children  of  Sheth;| 


J  This  prophecy  was  exactly  fulfilled  in  the 
person  and  actions  of  David:  but  most  Jewish  as 
well  as  Christian  writers  apply  it,  primarily  per- 
haps to  David,  but  ultimatelj  to  the  Messiah,  as 
the  person  chiefly  intended,  in  whom  it  was  to  re- 
ceive its  full  and  entire  completion.  Onkelos,  the 
most  ancient  and  valuable  of  the  Chaldee  para- 
phrasts,  interprets  it  of  the  Messiah  :  M  When  a 
prince,"  says  he,  "shall  arise  of  the  bouse  of  Jacob, 
and  Ci  rist  shall  be  anointed  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
he  shall  both  slay  the  princes  of  Moab,  and  rule 
over  all  the  sons  of  men  :"  and  with  him  agree  the 
other  Targums  or  paraphrase*.  Maimouides,  one 
of  the  most  learned  and  famous  of  the  Jewish  doc- 
tors, understands  it  partly  of  David,  and  partly  of 
the  Messiah  ;  and  with  him  agree  other  rabbles, 
cited  by  the  critics  and  commentators  to  this  pur- 
pose. It  appears  to  have  been  generally  under- 
stood by  the  Jews  as  a  prophecy  of  the  Messiah, 
because  the  false  Christ,  who  appeared  in  the 
reign  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Adrian,  assumed  the 
title  of  Bartkochebus,  or  *  the  son  of  the  star,'  in 
allusion  to  this  prophecy,  and  in  order  to  have  it 
believed  that  he  was  the  star  whom  Balaam  had 
seen  afar  off'.  The  Christian  fathers  are  unani- 
mous in  applying  this  prophecy  to  our  Saviour, 
and  to  the  star  which  appeared  at  his  nativity. 
Origen  in  particular  saitn,  that  in  the  law  there 
are  many  typical  and  enigmatical  references  to  the 
Messiah:  but  he  produces  this  as  one  of  the  plain- 
est am!  clearest  of  prophecies.  And  both  Origen 
and  luisebius  affirm,  that  it  was  in  consequence  of 


Chap.  IX.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


165 


that  Eclom  should  fall  under  its  power; 
and  that  the  Amalekites  and  Kenites 
should  be  extirpated.  In  fine,  he  fore- 
told, tha£  the  western  nations,  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  should  vanquish  the  Assy- 
rians, destroy  the  Hebrews,  and  perish 
themselves. 

But  the  monstrous  wickedness  of  this 
man  is  further  apparent;  for  after  these 
predictions,  as  if  vexed  at  his  own  disap 
pointinent  in  missing  the  reward  he  ex- 
pected, and  to  be  revenged  on  the  Israel- 
ites as  the  occasion  of  it,  he  instructed  the 
Moabites  and  Midianites  in  a  wicked  ar- 
tifice; which  was  to  send  their  daughters 
to  the  camp  of  the  Israelites,  to  draw 
those  people  into  idolatry ;  the  sure  me- 
thod to  deprive  them  of  the  assistance  of 
God,  who  protected  them.  This  artifice 
succeeded;  for  the  next  account  we  have 
of  the  Israelites  is,  that  they  lay  encamp- 
ed at  Shittim;  where  many  of  them 
were  deluded  by  the  Moabitish  and  Mi- 
dianitish  women,  and  were  drawn  in,  not 
only  to  commit  whoredom  with  them,  but 
to  assist  at  their  sacrifices,  and  worship 
their  gods,  even  Baal-peor.  * 


Balaam's  prophecies,  which  were  known  and  be- 
lieved in  the  East,  that  the  Magi,  upon  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  new  star,  came  to  Jerusalem  to  wor- 
ship Him  who  was  horn  king  of  the  Jews.  The 
stream  of  modern  divines  and  commentators  runs 
the  same  way  :  that  is,  they  apply  the  prophecy 
principally  to  our  Saviour,  and  by  Moab  and 
Eclom  understand  the  enemies  and  persecutors  of 
the  church.  In  favour  of  this  opinion  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  that  many  prophecies  of  scripture 
have  a  double  meaning,  literal  and  mystical  ;  re- 
spect two  events ;  and  receive  a  twofold  comple- 
tion. David  too  was  in  several  things  a  type  and 
figure  of  the  Messiah.  If  by  'destroying  all  the 
children  of  Sheth'  be  meant  'ruling  over  all 
mankind,'  this  was  never  fulfilled  in  David.  A 
star  did  really  appear  at  our  Saviour's  nativity  ; 
and  ifi  scripture  He  is  styled  '  the  day  star,'  2  Pet. 
i.  19:  'the  morning  star,'  Rev.  ii.  28;  'the 
bright  and  morning  star,'  xxii.  16;  perhaps  in  al- 
lusion to  this  very  prophecy.  Upon  the  whole,  it 
is  probable  that  the  Messiah  was  remotely  intend- 
ed ;  but  that  the  primary  and  literal  meaning  of 
the  prophecy  rfspects  the  person  and  actions  of 
David  :  particularly  for  this  reason,  because  Ba- 
laam is  here  advertising  Balak,  '  what  this  people 
should  do  to  his  people  in  the  latter  days;'  that 
is,  what  the  Israelites  should  do  to  the  Moabites 
hereafter. — Bishop  Newton. 

*  The  Jewish  doctors  tell  us,  that  on  a  great 


But  God,  who  hated  sin  in  his  chosen 
people,  suffered  not  their  iniquity  to  go 
unpunished;  for  he  showed  terrible  re- 
sentment against  both  their  atrocious 
crimes,  commanding  Moses  to  take  the 
chiefs  of  those  that  had  joined  themselves 
to  Baal-peor,  and  hang  them  up  before 
the  Lord  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people. 

Moses  accordingly  gave  charge  to  the 
judgesf  of  Israel  to  see  execution  done, 
every  one  on  the  men  under  his  charge, 
that  sacrificed  to  Baal-peor.  But  the 
divine  justice  did  not  stop  here.  Their 
whoredom  must  be  punished  as  well  as 
their  idolatry ;  which  was  aggravated  vast- 
ly by  a  person  of  considerable  rank  and 
dignity. 

Bold  Zimri,  the  son  of  Salu,  prince  of 
a  chief  house  among  the  Simeonites,  took 
Cozbi,  the  daughter  of  Zur,  who  was  also 
a  prince  of  a  chief  house  in  Midian,  and 
daringly  brought  her  to  the  Israelitish 
camp,  in  contempt  of  Moses,  and  in  sight 
of  the  congregation,  who,  because  of  the 
late  execution  done  upon  their  princes, 
stood  weeping  before  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle;  and  leading  her  openly  into 
his  tent,  there  lay  with  her. 

This  superlative  impudence  and  open 
violation  of  God's  law,  none  offered  to  re- 


festival,  which  the  Moabites  made  in  honour  of 
their  god  Baal-peor,  some  Israelites,  who  happen- 
ed to  be  there,  casting  their  eyes  upon  their  young 
women,  were  smitten  with  their  beauty,  and  court- 
ed their  enjoyment;  hut  that  the  women  would 
not  yield  to  their  motion,  upon  any  other  condi- 
tion than  that  they  would  worship  their  gods. 
Whereupon,  pulling  a  little  image  of  Peor  out  of 
their  bosom,  they  presented  it  to  the  Israelites  to 
kiss,  and  then  desired  them  to  eat  of  the  sacrifices. 
which  had  been  offered  to  him.  But  Josephus 
tells  the  story  otherwise,  namely,  that  the  women, 
upon  some  pretence  or  other,  came  into  the  Israel- 
itish camp  ;  and  when  they  had  enamoured  the 
young  Hebrews,  according  to  their  instructions, 
they  made  a  pretence  as  though  they  must  be 
gone  ;  but  upon  passionate  entreaties,  accompani- 
ed with  vows  and  oaths  on  the  other  side,  the 
subtle  enchantresses  consented  to  stay  with  them, 
and  grant  them  everything  that  they  desired,  upon 
condition  that  they  would  embrace  their  reli"ion. 
— Patrick's  Commentary,  and  Josephus. 

f  Probably  these  were  the  judges  whom,  by  the 
advice  of  his  father-in-law  Jethro,  wiJi  God's  ap- 
probation, lie  had  set  over  the  people. 


166 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


sent,  but  Pliinelias,  Aaron's  grandson, 
who,  rising  up  from  the  congregation,  and 
filled  with  a  divine  zeal,  took  a  javelin  in 
his  hand,  and  followed  them  to  the  tent ; 
where,  in  the  very  act  of  whoredom,  he 
thrust  them  both  through.* 

This  zealous  act  of  Phinehas  put  a  stop 
to  the  plague,  which  God  sent  among  the 
people  for  this  audacious  act  of  Zimri's, 
and  the  other  lewdnesses  and  impieties  of 
his  comrades.  However,  there  died  on 
this  occasion  no  less  than  four  and  twenty 
thousand.f  Phinehas's  holy  zeal  for  God's 
honour  gained  him  not  only  high  com- 
mendation, but  a  perpetual  settlement  of 
the  priesthood  on  himself  and  his  posterity. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Israelites  overcome  the  Midianites  without 
sustaining  the  least  loss. —  They  are  numbered, 
and  the  different  tribes  put  in  possession  of 
their  respective  departments. — Moses,apprised 
of  his  death,  assembles  the  people,  and  having 
enumerated  the  peculiar  blessings  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  enjoined  on  them  future  obedience, 


*  Phinehas  was  inspired  undoubtedly  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  God  of  justice  to  do  this  act,  which 
can  never  be  a  precedent  on  any  common  occasion. 
An  act  something  similar  occurs  in  our  own  his- 
tory. In  1381,  in  the  minority  of  Richard  II.,  a 
most  formidable  insurrection  took  place  in  Kent 
and  Essex  ,  about  100,000  men,  chiefly  under  the 
direction  of  Wat  Tyler,  seized  on  London, 
massacred  multitudes  of  innocent  people,  and  were 
proceeding  to  the  greatest  enormities,  when  the 
king  requiring  a  conference  in  Smithfield  with  the 
rebel  leader,  Sir  William  Walworth,  then  mayor 
of  London,  provoked  at  the  insolence  with  which 
Tyler  behaved  to  his  sovereign,  knocked  him  off 
his  horse  with  his  mace,  after  which  lie  was  in- 
stantly despatched.  While  his  partisans  were 
bending  their  bows  to  revenge  the  death  of  their 
leader,  Richard,  then  only  sixteen  years  of  age, 
rode  up  to  them,  and  with  great  courage  and 
presence  of  mind  thus  addressed  them  :  "  What, 
my  people,  will  you  kill  your  king  ?  be  not  con- 
cerned for  the  death  of  your  leader  ;  follow  me, 
and  I  will  be  your  general."  They  were  suddenly 
appeased,  and  the  rebellion  terminated.  The  ac- 
tion of  Sir  William  Walworth  was  that  of  a  zealot, 
of  essential  benefit  at  the  time,  and  justified  only 
by  the  pressing  exigencies  of  the  case. — A.  Clarke. 

•f-  In  this  number,  it  is  probable,  Moses  in- 
cludes the  thousand  princes  that  were  hanged. 
Which  computation  reconciles  this  place  to  that  of 
the  apostle,  1  Cor.  x.  8.  where  he  mentions  but 
three  and  twenty  thousand,  without  the  thousand 
p  rinces  that  were  hanged. 


recited  to  them  a  song,  composed  at  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  God. — Appoints  Joshua 
his  successor  and  dies. 

These  disorders  thus  quieted,  and  the 
offenders  punished,  the  next  thing  was  to 
take  vengeance  of  the  Midianites,:}:  who 
had  debauched  the  Israelites  with  their 
idolatry  and  whoredoms.  In  order  to 
this,  Moses  commanded  a  detachment  of 
twelve  thousand  select  men,  a  thousand 
out  of  every  tribe,  to  go  against  the 
Midianites ;  among  whom  went  the  zea- 
lous Phinehas,  who  carried  with  him  the 
holy  instruments,  or  trumpets,  to  animate 
the  people. 

Such  was  the  exertion  of  the  divine 
power  in  behalf  of  the  Israelites,  that 
though  very  inferior  in  number,  they 
slew  five  kings,  and  all  their  men  ;  among 
whom  was  the  wicked  prophet  Balaam,y 
who,  though  he  had  before  escaped  the 
angel's  sword,  yet  now  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
the  injured  people  of  God. 

They  burned  all  the  cities  and  castles, 
took  all  the  women  and  children  prisoners, 
and  seized  on  their  cattle,  flocks,  and 
goods.  After  which,  loaded  with  the 
spoils  of  their  enemies,  they  returned  in 
triumph  to  the  Israelitish  camp. 

In  the  way  home  they  were  met  by 
Moses,  Eleazar  the  high  priest,  and  all 
the  princes;  who  congratulated  their  suc- 
cess. But  Moses  seeing  the  Midianitisk 
women  among  the  captives,  was  much 
offended  at  the  officers  of  the  army  for 
saving  them  ;  '  for  these,'  said  he,  '  by  the 
counsel  of  Balaam,  caused  the  Israelites 
to  sin  against  the  Lord  in  the  business  of 
Peor,  and  provoked  him  to  send  a  plague 
upon  the  congregation  of  Israel.'  And 
thereupon  he  commanded  them  to  kill 
every  male  among  the  children,  and  every 


J  They  inhabited  the  country  on  the  East  to- 
wards the  Red  sea. 

<)  By  this  it  seems  he  was  not  got  home  ;  and 
it  may  be  witli  reason  conjectured,  that  he  was 
devising  much  the  same  mischief  against  the  He- 
brews whilst  he  was  among  the  Midianites,  as 
when  he  was  among  the  Moabites  ;  and  therefore 
he  justly  fell  by  the  sword  of  Israel. 


Chap.  X.]  THE  BIBLE. 

woman   that  had   lain  with  man;   and  to 
save  none  alive  but  the  virgin  females. 

After  this  they  were  to  abide  seven 
days  without  the  camp,  and  both  soldiers 
and  spoils  pass  through  the  ceremonies  of 
a  legal  purification  :  which  when  they  had 
performed,  God  directed  Moses  to  take 
an  account  of  the  whole  prey  ;  and  divid- 
ing it  into  two  equal  parts,  to  give  one 
to  the  soldiers  who  had  taken  it,  and  the 
other  part  among  the  rest  of  the  people 
that  stayed  at  home.  Out  of  the  soldiers' 
part  he  levied  the  five  hundredth  part, 
both  of  persons  and  beasts,  which  he  paid 
as  a  tribute  to  Eleazar  the  priest,  for  a 
heave-offering  to  the  Lord ;  and  out  of  the 
other  part,  which  the  people  had,  one  part 
out  of  fifty  of  both  persons  and  beasts,  was 
given  to  the  Levites. 

The  officers  of  the  army,  out  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  booty  which  they  had  taken, 
as  jewels  of  gold,  bracelets,  rings,  ear- 
rings and  tablets,  brought  their  expiatory 
offering*  to  atone  for  their  transgressions 
in  saving  the  Midianitish  women,  and 
their  gratulatory  offering  of  thanksgiving 
for  so  great  a  victory ;  the  greatness  of 
which  may  be  guessed  from  the  number 
of  their  prisoners  and  cattle ;  the  virgin 
females  were  two  and  thirty  thousand ;  all 
the  rest  of  the  people,  men,  women,  and 
children,  were  put  to  the  sword. 

The  plunder  in  cattle  and  flocks  con- 
sisted  of  six   hundred   seventy  and  five 


167 


*  After  the  rich  and  various  spoils  of  Midian 
were  divided,  the  officers  of  the  army,  penetrated 
with  gratitude  that  they  had  not  lost  a  man  iu  the 
contest,  '  presented  an  oblation  to  the  Lord,' — the 
gold  of  which  amounted  to  16,750  shekels,  equal  to 
.£37,869  16*.  5d.  sterling.  To  this  splendid  ex- 
ample of  devout  acknowledgment  to  the  God  of 
battles  may  be  traced  the  origin  of  the  same  cus- 
tom observed  by  other  nations.  The  Greeks,  be- 
fore the  spoils  were  distributed,  considered  them- 
selves obliged  to  dedicate  a  part  of  them  to  the 
gods  to  whose  assistance  they  reckoned  them- 
selves indebted  for  them  all.  They  had  several 
methods  of  doing  thu  ;  at  one  time  they  collected 
them  into  a  heap,  and  consumed  them  with  fire; 
at  another  they  suspended  their  offerings  in  the 
temples.  Pausanias,  the  Spartan,  is  reported  to 
have  consecrated  out  of  the  Persian  spoils,  a  tri- 
pod to  Delphian  Apollo,  and  a  statue  of  brass, 
■even  cubits  long,  to  Olympian  Jupiter. — Paxton. 


thousand  sheep,  seventy  and  two  thousand 
beeves,  and  sixty-one  thousand  asses;  be- 
sides rich  goods  and  ornaments;  and  to 
make  this  still  more  great  and  miraculous, 
the  victory  was  gained  without  the  loss  of 
one  man  on  Israel's  side,  as  appears  from 
the  report  the  officers  made  upon  a  muster. 

The  Israelites  thus  taking  possession  of 
the  country  on  this  side  Jordan,  the 
tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  observing  it  to  be  a 
fertile  so:!,  and  good  pasturage,  desired  of 
Moses  that  they  might  settle  in  that 
country,  upon  condition  that  they  should 
march  with  the  other  tribes  to  conquer 
the  land  whrre  they  were  to  settle ;  that 
they  would  not  return  till  the  others  were 
in  possession ;  and  that  they  would  claim 
no  part  of  the  lands  that  were  beyond 
Jordan. 

Moses,  at  first,  thought  they  intended 
to  venture  no  farther,  but  had  a  mind  to 
sit  down  in  a  country  ready  gained,  and 
leave  their  brethren,  the  rest  of  the  tribes. 
Upon  which  he  blamed  them  for  offering 
such  a  proposal  to  discourage  the  rest  of 
the  Israelites;  but  when  he  understood 
their  real  design,  upon  condition  they 
performed  their  promise,  he  granted  their 
request. 

Moses  then  enumerated  the  several  sta- 
tions and  removes  which  the  children  of 
Israel  made  from  Rameses  in  Egypt,  to 
the  river  Jordan  in  Canaan,  and  describ- 
ed the  bounds  of  the  promised  land,  and 
gave  the  names  of  the  persons  appointed 
to  divide  it  among  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

Orders  were  afterwards  given,  that  the 
children  of  Israel  should  assign  to  the 
Levites  eight  and  forty  cities,  with  sub- 
urbs to  them,  in  which  the  Levites 
might  live  among  the  tribes,  and  of  which 
number,  six  were  appointed  to  be  cities 
of  refuge  f  for  the  manslayer  to  fly  to, 


f  These  cities  were  of  easy  access,  situated  in 
mountains  or  large  plains.  That  nothing  might 
retard  the  manslayer  in  his  flight  to  them,  the 
roads,  to  the  width  of  58  feet  4  inches,  were  kept 
in  good  repair,  and  the  rivers  of  note  had  bridge* 


168 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II. 


a   man 


by 


who    had    happened    to    kill 
chance. 

Hut  provision  was  made  that  he,  who 
should  be  duly  convicted  of  wilful  mur- 


thrown  over  them  ;  where  any  other  way  crossed 
or  parted  from  them,  posts,  marked  with  reftgk, 
directed  to  the  city  of  refuge.     On  the  15th  day  of 
the    I2tli    month,  at  the  end  of  the  winter,  the 
roads  were  inspected  by  the  magistrates,  and  re- 
pairs were  ordered.     These  cities  were  plentifully 
stored  witli  necessary  provisions:  but  no  weapons 
of  war  were  made  or  sold  therein.     When  a  He- 
brew, or  a  stranger  among  them,  unwittingly  kill- 
ed his  neighbour,  he  fled  with  all  possible  expedi- 
tion to  the  city  of  refuge  that  was  next  to  him  ; 
for  if  any  of  the  friends  of  the  killed  person  could 
overtake  him   before   he   got  thither,    they   were 
warranted  to  slay  him.     Whenever  the  manslayer 
entered  the  city,  he  used  to  send  some  prudent  and 
moderate  persons  to  meet  the  pursuing  avenger  of 
blood,  to  soften  his  rage.     When  he  came  up,  he 
presented  an  accusation  to  the  judges  of  the  place, 
upon  the  footing  of  which  the  manslayer  was  cited 
to  their  bar.      If  upon  trial  it  appeared  he  had 
slain  his  neighbour  unwittingly,  he  was  received  as 
a  lodger  into  the  city.     Only,  it  is  said,  that  the 
cause  was  again  tried  in  the  manslayer's  own  city  ; 
and  if  he  was  again  found  to  have  done  it  unwit- 
tingly, he  was  safely  conducted  back  to  the  city  of 
refuge,  and  abode  there  till  the  death  of  the  high 
priest ;  but  he  was  obliged  to  apply  himself  to  some 
business,  that  he  might  not  be  chargeable  to  the 
inhabitants. —  In  Europe  we  do  not  discover  that 
Distinguished    wisdom   in    the  institution   of  the 
cities  of  refuge,  which  there  really  is.     With  us 
murder  or  manslaughter  is  prosecuted  so  regular- 
ly, that  we  are  apt  to  overlook  the  policy  of  this 
national  appointment.      It  deserves  notice,  too, 
that   the  appropriation  of  certain  cities  for  the 
purposes  of  refuge,  seems  peculiar  to  the  Mosaic 
dispensation  :  we  read  nothing  of  it  in  Egypt ;  and 
there  is  at  this  time  no  trace  of  it  in  the  East, 
notwithstanding  the  utility  of  such  appointments 
might  deservedly  have  preserved  the  custom  among 
those  who  had  once  known  it.      Travellers  inform 
us,  that  such  is  the  irritable  and  vindictive  spirit 
of  the  Arabs  and  other  inhabitants  of  hot  climates, 
that  if  one  Sheik  should  seriously  say  to  another, 
'  Thy  bonnet  is  dirty,'  or  *  the  wrong  side  of  thy 
turban  is  out,'  nothing  but  blood  can  wash  away 
the  reproach  ;  and  not  merely  the  blood  of  the  of-  ; 
fender,  but  that  also  of  all  the  males  of  his  family! 
Volney  informs  us  that  the  interest  of  the  common 
safety  has,  for  ages,  established  a  law  among  the 
Arabians,  which  decrees  that  the  blood  of  every 
man,  who  is  slain,  must  be  avenged  by  that  of  his 
murderer.      This  vengeance  is  called  tar,  or  re- 
taliation ;  and  the  right  of  exacting  it  devolves  on 
the  nearest  of  kin  to  the  deceased.     So  nice  are 
the  Arabs  on  this  point  of  honour,  that,  if  any 
one  neglects  to  seek  his  retaliation,  he  is  disgraced 
for  ever.    He  therefore  watches  every  opportunity 
of  revenge:   if  his  enemy  perishes  from  any  other 
cause,  still  he  is  not  satisfied,  and  his  vengeance 
is  directed  against  the  nearest  relation.       These 
animosities   are   transmitted,    as   an   iuheiitance, 


der,  should  be  put  to  death;  and  in  capi- 
tal cases  it  was  provided,  that  none  should 
be  convicted  of  such  crimes  by  the  evi- 
dence of  one  single  man. 

There  was  a  law  likewise  made,  that 
every  daughter,  who  should  possess  an 
inheritance  in  any  tribe  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  should  be  married  to  one  of  the 
tribes  of  her  father,  that  so  the  children 
of  Israel  might  enjoy  every  one  the  inhe- 
ritance of  his  rather;  and  the  inheritance 
not  to  be  transferred  to  another  tribe. 
This  was  grounded  upoi»  a  law  made  be- 
fore, which  empowered  daughters  to  in- 
herit land,  where  the  heirs  male  should 
be  deficient;  and  was  the  case  of  Zelophe- 
had's  daughters,  who,  upon  obtaining  this 
act,  were  required  to  marry  within  the 
family  of  their  own  father's  tribe.* 


from  father  to  children,  and  never  cease  but  by 
the  extinction  of  one  of  the  families,  unless  they 
agree  to  sacrifice  the  criminal,  or  purchase  the 
blood  for  a  stated  price,  in  money  or  in  flocks. 
Without  this  satisfaction  there  is  neither  peace, 
nor  truce,  nor  alliance  between  them  ;  nor,  some- 
times, even  between  whole  tribes.  '  There  is 
blood  between  us,'  say  they  on  every  occasion  ; 
and  this  expression  is  an  insurmountable  barrier. 
Among  the  Circassians  all  the  relativ  es  of  the  mur- 
derers are  considered  as  guilty.  This  customary 
infatuation  to  avenge  the  blood  of  relations,  gt  De- 
rates most  of  the  feuds,  and  occasions  great  blood- 
shed among  all  the  tribes  of  Caucasus:  for,  unless 
pardon  be  purchased,  or  obtained  by  intermarriage 
between  the  two  families,  the.  principle  of  revenge 
is  propagated  to  all  succeeding  generations.  If 
the  thirst  of  vengeance  is  quenched  by  a  price 
paid  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  this  tribute  is 
called  'the  price  of  blood  ;'  but  neither  princes  nor 
usdens  (or  nobles)  accept  of  such  a  compensation, 
as  it  is  an  established  law  among  them  to  demand 
blood  for  blood.  Dr  Henderson,  in  describing 
the  operation  of  the  oriental  law,  of  'Mood  for 
blood'  among  the  Ingush  Tartars,  mentions  the 
case  of  "a  young  man  of  amiable  disposition,  who 
was  worn  down  almost  to  a  skeleton,  by  the  con- 
stant dread  in  which  he  lived,  of  having  avenged 
upon  him  a  murder  committed  by  his  father  before 
he  was  born.  He  can  reckon  up  more  than  a 
hundred  persons  who  consider  themselves  hound 
to  take  away  his  life,  whenever  a  favourable  op- 
portunity shall  present  itself." — Brown,  Culnut, 
and  Home- 

*  The  original  division  of  land  was  to  the  several 
tribes  according  to  their  families;  so  that  each  tribe 
was  settled  in  the  same  county,  and  each  family  in 
the  same  barony  or  hundred.  Nor  was  the  estate 
of  any  family  in  one  tribe  permitted  to  pass  into 
another,  even  by  the  marriage  of  an  heiress.     So 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


169 


By  this  time  the  forty  years'  travel  of 
the  Israelites  were  near  expired.  Moses 
therefore  considering,  that  the  present 
generation  of  the  Israelites,  now  ready  to 
pass  over  Jordan  to  take  possession  of 
the  promised  land,  were  either  sprung  up 
since  the  law  was  given  at  Mount  Sinai, 
near  forty  years  before,  or  too  young  to 
remember  and  understand  the  law  then 
given,  thought  lit  to  repeat  the  law  to 
them. 

A  little  before  his  death,  therefore,  he 
assembled  the  people  of  Israel,  on  the  first 
day  of  the  eleventh  month,  in  the  fortieth 
year  from  their  departure  out  of  Egypt 
(the  people  being  yet  in  the  plains  of 
Moab  by  Jordan,  and  near  Jericho,)  he 
repeated  to  them  briefly  all  that  had  be- 
fallen their  fathers  since  they  left  Egypt, 
the  gracious  dealings  of  God  with  them, 
their  unruliness,  disobedience,  and  rebel- 
lions, which  had  so  often  provoked  the 
Lord  to  punish  them,  and  by  which  means 
they  brought  upon  them  that  grievous  sen- 
tence, '  That  they  should  not  enter  into 
that  good  land.' 

This  account  he  often  repeated,  that 
they  might  take  warning  by  the  miscar- 
riages of  their  forefathers. 

Then  he  repeated  the  decalogue,  and 
divers  other  laws  and  precepts,  formerly 
given,  though  not  without  some  varia- 
tion, with  the  addition  of  some  new  laws 
on  divers  subjects,  and  some  explanations 
of  the  old ;  exhorting  them  to  a  strict 
observation  of  them,  promising  that  they 
should  soon  enter  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  also  commanded  them  to  destrov  all 


that,  not  only  was  tlie  original  balance  of  property 
preserved,  but  the  closest  and  dearest  connections 
of  affinity  attached  to  each  other  the  inhabitants 
of  e  very  vicinage.  Thus  domestic  virtue  and  affec- 
tion had  a  more  extensive  sphere  of  action :  the 
happiness  of  rural  life  was  increased,  and  a  gene- 
ral attention  to  virtue  and  decorum  was  promoted, 
from  that  natural  emulation,  which  each  family 
would  feel  to  preserve  unsullied  the  reputation  of 
their  neighbourhood:  and  the  poor  might  every 
where  expect  more  ready  assistance,  since  they 
implored  it  from  men  whose  sympathy  in  their 
sufferings  would  be  quickened  by  hereditary  friend- 
ship, and  hereditary  connexion. — Dr  Graves. 


the  idols  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
and  to  extirpate  the  people.* 

He  encouraged  them  to  be  faithful  unto 
God,  assuring  them,  if  they  kept  his  com- 


*  The  Canaanites  were  unquestionably  a  most 
depraved  and  idolatrous  race;  and  to  have  suffered 
them  to  remain  and  coalesce  with  the  Israelites, 
would  have  been  to  sanction  idolatry  by  encourag- 
ing their  union  with  idolatrous  nations.  It  mils' 
be  admitted  that  God  has  a  rinht  to  punish  wicked 
nations  by  the  infliction  of  judgments,  such  as 
pestilence,  or  famine,  or  by  employing  the  sword 
of  enemies  ;  because  we  see  that  he  actually  does 
so  in  the  course  of  his  providence;  and  we  cannot 
see  what  essential  difference  there  is  between  this 
and  his  giving  a  command  to  the  Israelites  to  de- 
stroy the  wicked  Canaanites  ;  for  it  is  a  notorious 
fact,  that  these  latter  were  an  abominably  wicked 
people.  Bishop  Watson  remarks,  "  It  is  needless 
to  enter  into  any  proof  of  the  depraved  state  of  their 
morals;  they  were  a  wicked  people  in  the  time  of 
Abraham  ;  and  even  then  were  devoted  to  destruc- 
tion by  God  ;  but  their  iniquity  was  not  then  full, 
that  is,  they  were  not  yet  arrived  to  such  a  height 
of  profligacy  and  impiety  as  required  their  destruc- 
tion. In  the  time  of  Moses,  they  were  idolaters  ; 
sacrificers  of  their  own  crying  and  smiling  infants  ; 
devourers  of  human  flesh  ;  addicted  to  unnatural 
lusts;  immersed  in  the  nlthiness  of  all  manner  of 
vice.  Now,  it  will  be  impossible  to  prove,  that  it 
was  a  proceeding  contrary  to  God's  moral  justice 
to  exterminate  so  wicked  a  people.  He  made  the 
Israelites  the  executors  of  his  vengeance  :  and,  in 
doing  this,  he  gave  such  an  evident  and  terrible 
proof  of  his  abomination  of  vice,  as  could  not  fail 
to  strike  the  surrounding  nations  with  astonish- 
ment and  terror,  and  to  impress  on  the  minds  of 
the  Israelites  what  they  were  to  expect,  if  they 
followed  the  example  of  the  nations  whom  he 
commanded  them  tn  cut  off.  '  Ye  shall  not  com- 
mit any  of  these  abominations,  that  the  land  spue 
not  you  out  also,  as  it  spued  out  the  nations  which 
were  before  you,'  Lev.  xviii.  28.  How  strong 
and  descriptive  this  language!  the  vices  of  the  in- 
habitants were  so  abominable,  that  the  very  land 
was  sick  of  them,  and  forced  to  vomit  them  forth, 
as  the  stomach  disgorges  a  deadly  poison."  After 
the  time  of  God's  forbearance  was  expired,  they 
had  still  the  alternative  either  to  flee  elsewhere, 
as,  in  fact,  many  of  them  did,  or  to  surrender 
themselves,  renounce  their  idolatries,  and  serve 
the  God  of  Israel :  in  which  case  it  appears  that 
there  was  mercy  for  them.  The  destruction  is 
not  to  be  attributed  to  Israel  wholly,  even  as  in- 
struments. The  Lord  himself,  partly  by  storms 
and  tempests,  partly  by  noxious  insects,  and  part- 
ly by  injecting  terror  into  the  minds  of  the  inhab- 
itants, perhaps  expelled  and  destroyed  more  than 
the  Israelites  themselves  ;  the  wonderful,  and  we 
may  add  the  miraculous  power  of  God,  co-operat- 
ing with  them.  Compare  Exod.  xxi.i.  27,  28. 
Josh.  x.  1 1,  &c.  Doubtless  God  might  have  de- 
stroyed these  nations  by  earthquake,  tire,  storm, 
or  plague,  and  no  man  surely  would  have  disputed 
his  ju-tice  or  authority.  Then  why  should  men 
dispute  his  equity  in  destroying  them  by  the  sword 


170 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  1 


mandments,   they  should  have   blessings 
heaped  upon  them ;  and  threatened  them 
with  all  manner  of  calamities,  if  they  de-  : 
parted  from  them. 

He  renewed  the  covenant  with  the 
people  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  com- 
manding them  with  a  loud  voice,  to  pro- 
claim on  the  mountains  of  Gerizim  and 
Ebal,*    beyond  Jordan,    blessings   to  all 

of  war  ?  Or,  if  we  admit  for  a  moment  the  exist- 
ence of  invisible  spirits,  he  might  have  sent  an 
angel  to  destroy  them  ;  and  would  it  be  unworthy 
of  an  angel  to  be  the  minister  of  his  displeasure? 
Why,  then,  are  Joshua  and  the  Israelites  to  be 
abused  on  the  same  ground  ?  The  Almighty  has, 
in  fact,  executed  judgments  on  mankind  far  more 
severe  than  this.  Though  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  are  reckoned  seven  or  eight  nations,  their 
whole  country  was  much  less  than  England,  and 
what  is  this  to  the  drowning  of  the  world  ?  a  fact, 
attested  by  all  ancient  histories,  divine  and  human, 
and  confirmed  by  innumerable  monuments.  These 
considerations  will  sufficiently  justify  Joshua  and 
the  other  Hebrew  worthies,  who  engaged  in  this 
war  in  obedience  to  the  divine  command:  and 
unless  we  admit  them  in  a  great  degree,  we  know 
not  how  any  war  at  all  can  be  justified,  however 
necessary.  If  many  of  the  people  engaged  in  it 
from  baser  motives,  we  are  not  required  to  answer 
for  their  conduct.  There  will  always  be  bad  char- 
acters in  an  army,  and  we  do  not  reckon  the  Jews 
to  be  a  nation  of  pure  saints.  But  the  fact  is,  that 
it  nowhere  appears  (nor  can  it  be  proved,)  that 
the  Israelites  in  general  contracted  ferocious  habits 
by  this  exterminating  war.  Few  nations,  if  any, 
ever  engaged  less  frequently,  or  in  fewer  offensive  > 
wars  than  Israel;  and  their  agriciltural  habits,  to-  , 
gether  with  other  circumstances,  operated  against  i 
such  wars  of  ambition  and  conquest.  If  any  in-  I 
dividuals,  or  even  the  nation  in  some  instances,  i 
did  gratify  a  ferocious  spirit,  they  proportionately  | 
violated  their  own  laws,  which  enjoined  love  to 
neighbours,  strangers,  and  enemies.  The  most 
remote  shadow  of  proof  cannot  be  adduced  that 
Moses  carried  on  war,  under  the  pretext  of  reli- 
gion. He  made  no  proselytes  by  the  sword ;  and 
neither  he  nor  any  other  person  mentioned  with 
approbation  in  scripture,  made  war  on  any  nation 
beyond  the  borders  of  the  promised  land  because 
they  were  idolaters. — Home. 

*  These  two  mountains  are  situate  in  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  near  Shechem,  in  the  province  of 
Samaria,  and  are  so  near  to  one  another,  that  no- 
thing but  a  valley  of  about  two  hundred  paces 
wide  parts  them  ;  so  that  the  priests,  standing  and 
pronouncing  the  blessings  and  curses,  that  were  to 
attend  the  doers  or  violaters  of  the  law  in  a  very 
loud  and  distinct  manner,  might  well  enough  be 
heard  by  the  people,  that  were  seated  on  the  sides 
of  the  two  hills,  especially  if  the  priest*  were  ad- 
vanced upon  pulpits,  as  Ezra  afterwaids  was, 
Kehem.  viii.  4,  and  had  their  pulpits  placed  at 
proper  distances.  Patrick's  and  Calmets  Com- 
mentary.— "  There  is  a  kind  of  sublime  horror," 


those  who  kept  the  covenant,  and  curses 
to  those  who  broke  it:  and  to  erect  an 
altar  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  on  which 
they  should  write  the  terms  and  conditions 
of  their  covenant  with  God. 

These  things,  with  rehearsals  sometimes 
of  their  fathers',  and  their  own  prevarica- 
tions, Moses  not  only  delivered  to  the 
people  by  word  of  mouth,  but  wrote  them 
in  a  book,  which  he  gave  into  the  custody 
and  care  of  the  Levites,  with  direction 
from  the  Lord,  that  they  should  put  it 
into  the  side  of  the  ark,  to  be  kept  there 
for  a  witness  against  Israel,  if  they  should 
rebel. 

Besides  this,  Moses,  by  the  immediate 
direction  of  God,  composed  a  song,  in 
which  were  at  large  described,  by  the 
many  benefits  and  favours  of  God  to  his 
people,  their  ingratitude  to,  and  forge tful- 
ness  of  him  ;  the  punishments  by  which 
he  corrected  them,  with  threatening  of 
greater  judgments,  if  they  persisted  to 
provoke  him  by  a  repetition  of  their  fol- 
lies. 

This  song  Moses  recited  to  the  people, 
and  gave  order  that  they  should  learn  it, 
and  repeat  it  often ;  that  when  for  their 
transgressing  the  law,  many  calamities 
and  troubles  should  befall  them,  this  song 
might  be  a  witness  for  God  against  them. 

The  time  was  just  now  approaching, 
and  the  people  ready  to  pass  over  Jordan; 
but  the  Lord  having  before  told  Moses, 
that  he  should  not  conduct  the  people  into 
the  promised  land,  because  of  his  error  at 
the  waters  of  Meribah,  he  bid  him  now 
get  him  up  into  the  mountains  of  Abarim,f 


says  Jowett,  "  in  the  lofty,  craggy,  and  barren  as- 
pect of  these  two  mountains,  which  seem  (o  face 
each  other  witli  an  air  of  defiance;  especially  as 
they  stand  contrasted  with  the  rich  valley  beneath, 
where  the  city  [of  Shechem  or  Napolose]  appears 
to  be  embedded  on  either  side  ill  green  gardens 
and  extensive  olive  grounds,  rendered  more  ver- 
dant by  the  lengthened  periods  of  shade  which 
they  enjoy  from  the  mountains  on  each  side.  Of 
the  two,  Gerizim  is  not  wholly  without  cultiva- 
tion." 

+  The  mountains  of  Abarim  were  a  ridge  of 
hills  between  the  two  rivers  Anion  and  Jo. dan 
One  part  of  these  mountains  was  distinguished  br 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


171 


unto  mount  Nebo,  in  the  land  of  Moab, 
over-against  Jericho,  and  take  a  view  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  then  die  there  on 
that  mount,  as  his  brother  Aaron  had  died 
on  mount  Hor. 

Moses  had  before  endeavoured  to  de- 
precate one  part  of  his  sentence,  his  not 
being  permitted  to  enter  into  the  promised 
land,  but  in  vain ;  he  therefore  humbly 
submitted  to  the  Almighty's  pleasure  now, 
and  took  a  solemn  farewell  of  the  people 
in  a  prophetic  blessing,  which  he  pro- 
nounced upon  each  tribe,  as  Jacob  had 
done  just  before  his  death. 

And  having  before,  by  God's  command, 
appointed  Joshua  to  be  his  successor,  to 
conduct  the  people  to  the  promised  land, 
he  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  in  such  a 
solemn  and  public  manner,  as  gave  all  the 
people  to  understand,  that  after  Moses's 
death  Joshua  was  to  be  their  leader. 
Moses  went  up  to  the  top  of  Pisgah,  over- 
against  Jericho,  from  whence,  as  the  Lord 
had  promised  him,  he  could  take  a  full 
view  of  the  countries  round  about. 

Though  this  servant  of  God  was  very 
aged,  being  an  hundred  and  twenty  years 
old,  and  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  yet  he 
was  in  such  good  health  and  strength, 
that  his  eyes  were  neither  dim,  nor  his 
natural    force    abated;    therefore,    whilst 


the  name  of  Nebo,  as  appears  from  Deut.  xxxii. 
49.  and  comparing  this  with  Dent,  xxxiv.  1.  we 
shall  find  that  Nebo  and  Pisgah  were  one  and  the 
same  mountain,  and  that  if  there  was  any  distinc- 
tion between  the  names,  it  was  probably  this,  tbat 
the  top  of  the  mountain  was  more  peculiarly  called 
Pisgah,  because  it  comes  from  a  root  which  signi- 
fies to  elevate,  or  raise  up,  and  so  may  very  proper- 
ly denote  the  top  or  summit  of  any  mountain. 
Not  far  from  Nebo  was  beth-peor,  which  was  very 
probably  so  called  from  some  deity  of  the  same 
name,  that  was  worshipped  there.  But  of  all  these 
mountains  it  must  be  observed,  that  though  they 
are  said  to  be  in  the  land  of  Moab,  yet  thpy  really 
stood  in  the  territories  of  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amor- 
ites,  however  they  retained  th'eir  old  names,  be- 
cause once  they  belonged  to  the  Moabites. — Stack- 
kouae. 


these  lasted,  he  surveyed  with  pleasure 
the  beauteous  prospect. 

He  viewed  Jericho ;  saw  Lebanon's 
fair  cliffs  and  lofty  cedars ;  and  then  re- 
signed his  soul  into  the  hands  of  seraphs, 
who  waited  to  convey  him  to  a  happier 
Canaan  than  what  he  had  just  before  sur- 
veyed. 

The  Lord,  sensible  that  the  Israelites 
were  prone  on  the  slightest  temptation  to 
idolatry,  lest  they,  when  they  remembered 
the  wonderful  things  Moses  had  performed 
for  them,  should  pay  any  superstitious 
adoration  to  his  remains  after  his  death, 
paid  the  funeral  honours  to  this  great  pro- 
phet himself;*  and  in  a  valley  in  the 
land  of  Moab,  over-against  Beth-peor, 
buried  him  so  secretly,  that  no  man  ever 
knew  where  his  sepulchre  was. 

Thus  departed  this  life,  Moses,  a  most 
eminent  servant  of  God,  and  the  great 
conductor  of  his  chosen  people,  by  whom 
he  was  lamented  with  great  solemnity, 
weeping  and  mourning  for  him  in  the 
plains  of  Moab  thirty  days.f 


*  The  same  God,  that  by  the  hands  of  his 
angels  carried  up  the  soul  of  Moses  to  his  glory, 
doth  also  by  the  hand  of  his  angels  carry  his  body 
down  into  the  valley  of  Moab,  to  his  sepulture. 
Those  hands,  which  had  received  the  law  from 
Him,  those  eyes  that  had  seen  His  presence,  those 
lips  that  had  conferred  so  often  with  Him,  that 
face  that  did  so  shine  with  the  beams  of  His  glory, 
may  not  be  neglected  when  the  soul  is  gone:  He, 
that  took  charge  of  his  birth  and  preservation  in 
the  reeds,  takes  charge  of  his  carriage  out  of  the 
world  :  the  care  of  God  ceaseth  not  over  His  own, 
either  in  death,  or  after  it — Bp.  Hall. 

■f  Josephus,  the  celebrated  historian,  gives  Moses 
the  following  character:  "  He  exceeded  all  that 
ever  went  before  him  in  wisdom,  and  made  the 
best  use  of  what  he  understood.  His  address,  as  a 
speaker,  was  admirable,  especially  in  those  speeches 
which  were  made  in  public.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  was  so  great  a  master  of  his  own  passions, 
that  he  seemed  to  have  none,  or  knew  them  only 
by  name,  and  by  observing  them  in  others.  He 
was  one  of  the  greatest  commanders.  As  a  pro- 
phet, there  was  never  his  equal  ;  for  all  his  words 
were  oracles.  Nor  was  he  less  famous  to  posterity 
for  his  writings  than  he  was  to  the  age  he  lived  in 
for  his  actions." 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    III. 


FROM  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  JOSHUA  AS  MOSES'  SUCCESSOR  TO  THE  ANOINTING 

OF  SAUL. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

We  now  enter  on  that  portion  of  the  Old 
Testament,  which  is  commonly  distinguish- 
ed as  historical.  For  though  the  books  of 
Moses  contain  a  large  proportion  of  his- 
tory, and  are  the  only  authentic  records 
existing  of  those  primeval  ages ;  and 
though  several  of  the  prophetical  books 
are  in  part  historical ;  yet  these  having 
been  denominated  "  the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets," from  the  grand  peculiarities  of 
each,  the  books  before  us  may  properly  be 
called  historical,  by  way  of  distinction. 
From  the  death  of  Moses  to  that  of  Ne- 
hemiah,  at  least  1050  years  intervened; 
indeed  some  genealogies  in  Nehemiah  ex- 
tend beyond  that  period  :  and  of  this  suc- 
cession of  ages  these  books  contain  a  con- 
nected and  regidar  narrative,  which  is 
extremely  interesting  to  the  sober  student, 
as  well  as  edifying  to  every  pious  reader. 
If  we  except  some  Phenician  fragments, 
filled  with  inconsistencies,  and  of  doubtful 
authority  ;  and  a  few  traditions  concern- 
ing the  Egyptians  and  Assyrians,  distort- 
ed by  the  most  extravagant  relations,  and 
evidently  replete  with  fables ;  there  is 
scarcely  any  thing  extant,  which  gives  us 
the  least  information  of  what  was  trans- 
acted in  any  of  the  nations  of  the  world, 


during  by  far  the  greater  part  ot  this  period. 
For  it  does  not  yet  appear,  that  any 
dependence  can  be  placed  on  those  narra- 
tives from  the  eastern  world,  which  have 
j  lately  been  brought  into  Europe,  and  have 
|  excited  considerable  attention  ;  and  which 
some  have  so  highly  extolled,  as  to  insin- 
uate, not  only  that  they  render  question- 
able other  ancient  histories  hitherto  of  ap- 
proved authority,  but  that  their  testimony 
ought  to  have  some  weight  even  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  records  of  the  Scripture. 
Yet  it  is  notorious,  that  they  are  so  dis- 
figured by  fable  or  allegory,  as  to  be 
scarcely  intelligible  ;  and  that  they  relate 
events  of  the  most  extravagant  and  in- 
credible antiquity.  Leaving  these,  how- 
ever, till  fuller  investigation  has  shown 
what  credit  they  deserve  ;  it  is  obvious  to 
remark,  that  Herodotus,  who  used  to  be 
called  the  father  of  history,  is  supposed  to 
have  been  contemporary  with  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah,  the  latest  writers  of  these 
scriptural  records:  and  all  that  he  collect- 
ed, concerning  times  long  preceding  his 
own,  is  generally  allowed  to  be  of  doubt- 
ful.authority,  and  blended  with  much  that 
is  altogether  fabulous.  Yet  the  history 
on  which  we  are  entering,  though  modern 
compared  with  that  contained  in  the  books 
of  Moses,  commences  at  least  1000  years 


Chap.  I.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


173 


before  the  days  of  this  father  of  history  ! 
And  (except  as  sceptics  choose  to  con- 
found well  attested  publicmiracles,  wrought 
by  the  Almighty  God  for  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  purposes,  with  the  absurd 
and  pernicious  fables  of  pagan  writers,) 
the  whole  narrative  is  exceedingly  proba- 
ble and  rational,  and  accords  with  the 
known  character  and  general  conduct  of 
mankind,  in  the  various  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed.  It  also  agrees 
with  the  most  sober  traditions  and  detach- 
ed fragments  of  antiquity  ;  and  serves  to 
elucidate  many  obscure  parts  of  profane 
history,  and  to  decide  many  questions  in 
respect  of  ancient  chronology.  It  also 
coincides  with  the  manners  and  customs 
of  those  eastern  regions,  in  the  remotest 
ages,  as  far  as  any  accounts  of  them  have 
come  down  to  us. 

The  books,  on  which  we  now  enter,  do 
not  contain  a  complete  political  history  of 
Israel,  but  merely  a  connected  account  of 
the  most  material  events,  or  of  such  as 
were  most  suited  to  convey  important  in- 
struction :  and  because  transactions,  which 
in  the  general  estimate  of  mankind  are  con- 
sidered as  comparatively  little,  frequently 
inculcate  the  most  salutary  lessons  of 
heavenly  wisdom ;  these  are  often  very 
fully  recorded,  while  the  more  splendid 
concerns  of  courts  and  camps  are  passed 
over  in  silence,  or  but  cursorily  noticed.* 

CHAPTER  I. 

Joshua  succeeds  Moses  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Israelites,  and  is  formally  installed  into  his 
office. — Is  encouraged  by  the  divine  promise. 
— Sends  out  spies  to  view  the  land  of  Jericho ; 
they  are  concealed  by  Rahab,  and  afterwards 
return. —  The  Israelites  pass  the  river  Jordan. 
—  Circumcision  renewed. 

Joshua  after  the  death  of  Moses,  who 
was  under  God  the  great  conductor  of 
the  Israelites,  succeeded  to  his  office,  and 
was  installed  into  the  same  with  the  usual 
ceremonies.      Having    been    immediately 


*  Scott's  Commentary 


under  the  direction  of  Moses  near  forty 
years,  in  which  he  had  been  eye-witness 
to  many  wonderful  exertions  of  providence 
in  behalf  of  God's  chosen  people,  he  ap- 
peared to  have  been  peculiarly  adapted  to 
the  very  important  work  allotted  him. 

Being  now  ready  to  enter  and  take 
possession  of  the  promised  land,  God,  for 
Joshua's  greater  encouragement,  strength- 
ened his  former  commission,  by  giving 
him  a  more  immediate  and  express  com- 
mand, as  he  had  before  done  to  his  ser- 
vant Moses,  to  lead  the  people  over  Jor- 
dan ;f  telling  him,  that  every  place,  upon 
which  the  sole  of  their  feet  should  tread, 
should  be  their  own ;  and  assuring  him, 
that  there  should  not  any  man  be  able  to 


+  The  principal  river  which  waters  Palestine  fa 
the  Jordan.  Its  true  source  is  in  two  fountains  at 
Paneas  (a  city  better  known  by  its  subsequent 
name  of  Caesarea  Pliilippi),  at  the  foot  of  Anti- 
Libanus  ;  its  apparent  source  flows  from  beneath 
a  cave  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice,  in  the  sioVs  of 
which  are  several  niches  with  «?reek  inscriptions. 
During  several  hours  of  its  course,  it  continues  to 
be  a  small  and  insignificant  rivulet  It  (lows  due 
south  through  the  centre  of  the  country,  intersect- 
ing the  lake  Merom  and  the  sea  or  lake  of  halilee, 
and  (it  is  said)  without  mingling  with  its  waters  ; 
and  it  loses  itself  in  the  lake  Asphaltites  or  the 
Dead  sea,  into  which  it  rolls  a  considerable  volume 
of  deep  water,  with  such  rapidity  as  to  prevent  a 
strong,  active,  and  expert  swimmer  from  swimming 
across  it.  The  course  of  the  Jordan  is  about  one 
hundred  miles  ;  its  breadth  and  depth  are  various. 
Dr  JShaw  computed  it  to  be  about  thirty  yards 
broad,  and  three  yards  or  nine  feet  in  depth  :  and 
states  that  it  discharges  daily  into  the  Dead  sea 
about  6,090,000  tons  of  water.  Viscount  Chateau- 
briand (who  travelled  nearly  a  century  after  him) 
found  the  Jordan  to  be  six  or  seven  feet  deep 
close  to  the  shore,  and  about  fifty  paces  in  breadtb. 
The  late  Count  Volney  asserts  it  to  be  scarcely 
sixty  paces  wide  at  its  embouchure.  Messrs  Banket 
and  Buckingham,  who  crossed  it  in  January,  1816, 
pretty  nearly  at  the  same  ford  over  which  the 
Israelites  passed  on  their  first  entering  the  pro- 
mised land,  found  the  stream  extremely  rapid  ; 
and  as  it  flowed  at  that  part  over  a  bed  of  pebid  eg, 
its  otherwise  turbid  waters  were  tolerably  clear,  a.i 
well  as  pure  and  sweet  to  the  taste.  It  is  here 
fjrdable,  being  not  more  than  four  feet  deep,  with 
a  rapid  current.  Anciently  the  Jordan  overflowed 
its  banks  about  the  time  of  barley  harvest,  or  the 
feast  of  the  passover  ;  when  the  snows  being  dis- 
solved on  the  mountains,  the  torrents  discharged 
themselves  into  its  channel  with  »reat  impetuosity. 
When  visited  by  Mr  Mauodrell,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  he  could  discern  no  sign  or 
probability  of  such  inundations,  though  so  late  as 


174 


HISTORY  OF 


[Boo*  in. 


stand  before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life  : 
for  as  he  had  been  with  Moses,  so  he 
would  be  with  him,  and  never  fail,  nor 
forsake  him:  therefore  he  bid  him  be 
strong  and  of  good  courage,  for  he  should 
divide  the  land  for  an  inheritance  to  the 
people.  And  to  engage  him  to  a  perfor- 
mance of  the  law,  which  he  had  delivered 
to  Moses,  he  annexed  a  continual  series 
of  prosperity  and  success;  charging  him 
to  make  it  his  study  day  and  night,  as 
the  standard  of  all  his  future  actions,  and 
repeating  his  former  assurance  of  his  pre- 
sence with  him  wheresoever  he  went. 

Joshua,  thus  encouraged  by  the  promise 
of  God,  prepared  to  execute  the  divine 
command,  and  that  nothing  material  might 
be  omitted,  he  ordered  the  officers  to  go 
through  the  camp  and  give  notice  to  the 
people,  that  within  a  few  days  they  should 
pass  the  Jordan,  in  order  to  possess  the 
land  which  the  Lord  their  God  had  given 
them,  and  that  they  should  provide  them- 


the  30th  of  March  :  and  so  far  was  the  river  from 
overflowing,  that  it  ran  almost  two  yards  below 
the  brink  of  its  channel.  It  may  be  said  to  have 
two  banks, — the  first,  that  of  the  river  in  its 
natural  state  ;  the  second,  that  of  its  overflowings. 
After  descending  the  outermost  bank,  the  traveller 
proceeds  about  a  furlong  upon  a  level  strand,  be- 
fore becomes  to  the  immediate  bank  of  the  river. 
This  second  bank  is  now  (as  it  anciently  was)  so 
beset  with  bushes,  reeds,  tamarisks,  willows,  olean- 
ders, and  other  shrubs  and  trees,  which  form  an 
asylum  for  various  wild  animals,  that  no  water  is 
perceptible  until  the  traveller  has  made  his  way 
through  them.  In  this  thicket,  several  kinds  of 
wild  beasts  used  formerly  to  conceal  themselves, 
until  the  swelling  of  the  river  drove  them  from 
their  coverts.  The  passage  of  this  deep  and  rapid 
river  by  the  Israelites,  at  the  most  unfavourable 
season,  when  augmented  by  the  dissolution  of  the 
winter  snows,  was  more  manifestly  miraculous,  if 
possible,  tiiati  that  of  the  Red  sea;  because  here  was 
no  natural  agency  whatever  employed  ;  no  mighty 
winds  to  sweep  a  passage  as  in  the  former  case; 
no  reflux  in  the  tide  on  which  minute  philosophers 
might  fasten  to  depreciate  the  miracle.  It  seems, 
therefore,  to  have  been  providentially  designed,  to 
silence  cavils  respecting  the  former :  it  was  done 
at  noonday,  in  the  presence  of  the  neighbouring 
inhabitants  ;  and  it  struck  terror  into  the  kings  of 
the  Atnorites  and  Canaanites  westward  of  the 
river,  '  whose  hearts  melted,  neither  was  there  any 
spirit  in  them  any  more,  because  of  the  children 
of  Israel,'  Josh.  v.  1.  The  place  where  the 
Israelites  thus  miraculously  passed  this  river,  is 
supposed  to  be  the  fords  of  Jordan  mentioned  in 
ludg.  iii.  26. — Home, 


selves  with  victuals  for  such  a  march." 
The  city  of  Jericho  was  just  opposite  to 
the  place  where  they  were  to  pass.  Jo- 
shua therefore,  before  his  order  for  their 
making  provision  for  this  march,f  sent 
two  spies  thither  to  observe  the  situation 
and  strength  of  the  place,  and  the  aven- 
ues to  it;  because  it  would  be  the  first 
place  they  were  to  attack,  after  they  had 
passed  the  river. 

These  spies  entering  Jericho,  went  to  a 
public  house  of  entertainment,  which  was 
kept  by  llahab,:};  and  there  took  up  their 


*  The  usual  food  of  the  Israelites,  while  they 
sojourned  in  the  wilderness,  w;is  manna  :  but  as 
they  approached  the  promised  land,  where  they 
might  have  provision  in  an  ordinary  way,  that 
miraculous  bread  did  perhaps  gradually  decrease  ; 
and  in  the  space  of  a  few  days  alter  this  was  totally 
withdrawn.  They  were  now  in  the  countries  of 
Sihon  and  Og,  which  they  had  lately  conquered, 
and  the  victuals  which  they  were  commanded  to 
provide  themselves  with,  were  such  as  their  new 
conquest  afforded :  for  being,  after  three  days,  to 
remove  very  early  in  the  morning,  they  might  not 
perhaps  have  had  time  to  gather  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  manna,  and  to  bake  it,  before  they  were 
obliged  to  march. — Patrick's  Commentary. 

f  This  direction  for  marching  is  mentioned  in 
the  text,  before  the  sending  the  spies  to  Jericho. 
But  it  seems  the  spies  were  sent  before  that,  and 
returned  to  the  camp  at  Shittim,  before  they  took 
their  march  towards  Jordan. 

J  Interpreters  are  at  variance  about  the  quality 
of  this  woman  ;  most  agreeing  she  was  an  hostess, 
which  is  very  probable.  In  ancient  times,  there 
was  a  great  affinity  between  the  business  of  an 
hostess  and  a  harlot.  Those  who  kept  inns,  or 
public  houses  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers, 
made  no  scruple  of  prostituting  their  bodies  :  and 
for  this  reason  perhaps  it  is,  that  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  there  is  but  one  word,  namely,  zonah,  to 
denote  persons  of  both  professions.  For  this  rea- 
son very  likely  it  was,  that  the  Septuagint,  speak- 
ing of  Rahab,  give  her  the  appellation  of  a  harlot, 
and  (as  the  Septuagint  was,  at  this  trme,  the  com- 
mon translation  of  the  Jews)  for  tins  very  reason, 
the  two  apostles,  St  Paul,  and  St  James,  as  they 
found  it  in  the  translation,  might  make  use  of  the 
same  expression.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however, 
that  as  the  expression  is  capable  of  another  sense, 
the  Chaldee  paraphrast  calls  her  by  a  word  which 
comes  from  the  Greek,  signifying  'a  woman  that 
kept  a  public  house,'  without  any  mark  of  infamy  ; 
and  therefore  charity  should  incline  us  to  think 
the  best  of  a  person,  whom  both  these  apostles 
have  ranked  with  Abraham,  the  father  of  the 
faithful,  and  propounded  as  an  example  of  faith 
and  good  works ;  who  was  admitted  into  the  so- 
ciety of  God's  people  ;  married  into  a  noble  family 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah;  and  of  whose  posterity 
Christ  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  was  bom. — Stack- 
house. 


ClIAP.    I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


175 


lodging.  But  being-  observed  by  some 
to  go  in  there,  information  was  speedily 
given  to  the  king  of  Jericho,  that  two  Is- 
raelites were  come  to  search  the  country. 

Upon  this  the  king  sent  to  Rahab  to 
produce  them ;  but  she,  having  timely 
notice,  had  hid  them  upon  the  roof  of 
the  house  under  the  stalks  of  the  flax,* 
which  she  had  spread  there. 

Having  thus  secured  the  men,  she  put 
off  the  king's  messengers  with  a  feigned 
story,  pretending  that  some  men  came  to 
her  house,  but  she  knew  not  what  they 
were,  nor  whence  they  came ;  and  that 
when  it  was  dark,  before  the  gates  were 
shut,  they  went  out,  but  she  knew  not 
whither;  and  to  prevent  any  farther  sus- 
picion, she  advised  to  pursue  them  quick- 
ly, for  they  could  not  be  far  off.  They 
therefore  sent  out  several  to  take  them, 
who  went  as  far  as  the  fords  of  Jordan,f 
but  in  vain. 

As  soon  as  they  were  departed,  Rahab 
went  up  to  the  men  she  had  hid,  and  thus 
accosted  them :  '  I  know  the  Lord  hath 
given  you  this  land,  and  the  fame  of  you 
is  become  so  terrible  to  us,  that  our  peo- 
ple are  utterly  discouraged.  We  have 
heard  how  the  Lord  hath  dried  up  the 
water  of  the  Red  sea  for  you  to  pass  over, 
when  ye  came  out  of  Egypt;  and  how 
you  subdued  Sihon  and  Og,  the  two 
Amorite  kings,  on  the  other  side  of  Jor- 
dan.    These  actions  have  flashed   terror 


*  The  houses  in  eastern  countries  had  flat  roofs, 
so  that  men  might  walk  or  lie  upon  them.  The 
stalks  of  flax  were  either  newly  cut  and  laid  upon 
the  roof  of  the  house  to  be  dried  by  the  sun,  till 
they  were  fit  to  be  peeled  ;  or  they  had  been  cut  the 
year  before,  and  were  now  made  use  of  by  Rahab 
to  make  the  king's  officers  think  that  nobody  had 
ii<>ne  upon  the  roof  where  the  stalks  were. — Bp. 
Patrick. 

f  •  The  fords,'  or  passages,  were  no  doubt  parts 
of  the  river,  where  it  might  be  passed  without 
danger,  either  by  walking  or  swimming  across. 
Here,  probably,  the  messengers  waited  a  consider- 
able time  to  intercept  the  spies  :  and  lest  they 
should  have  staid  in  the  city,  the  gates  were  im- 
mediately shut  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their 
escape.  But  they  found  a  way  of  getting  out  of 
the  city,  and  in  due  time  ot  crossing  Jordan  at  the 
fords. 


among  our  people,  and  quite  dispirited 
them.  Your  God  is  the  only  God  in  hea- 
ven and  earth.  Now  therefore,  in  regard 
of  the  service  I  have  done  in  concealing 
you,  show  favour  to  me  and  my  family, 
when  you  come  into  power,  and  save  us 
alive ;  and  of  this  ye  shall  give  me  some 
assurance.' 

They  readily  promised  upon  their  lives 
to  secure  her,  and  all  that  belonged  to 
her.  Upon  which  she  let  them  down  by 
a  cord  from  the  window,  which  faced  the 
country,  for  her  house  stood  on  the  town 
wall. 

When  they  were  down,  she  advised 
them  to  make  to  the  mountains  to  avoid 
the  pursuers,  and  to  conceal  themselves 
three  days,  till  the  search  was  over. 

The  spies  seeing  the  sincerity  of  the 
woman  in  consulting  their  security,  re- 
solved -to  make  her  easy  in  their  promise 
to  her;  and  for  a  token  of  their  integrity 
in  the  performance  of  it,  gave  her  this  far- 
ther assurance :  when  she  should  see  the 
Israelitish  army  approach  the  town,  they 
bid  her  to  be  sure  to  tie  a  scarlet  twine  in 
the  window  through  which  she  let  them 
down  ;  and  to  bring  her  father  and  mother, 
brethren,  and  all  her  family  home  to  her, 
and  be  careful  to  keep  them  within  doors, 
that  when  their  forces  should  enter  the 
town,  by  this  token  they  might  distinguish 
the  house,  and  spare  them.  And  if  any 
should  straggle  from  the  house,  their  blood 
should  be  upon  their  own  heads;  but  if 
any  one  in  the  house  should  come  to  any 
damage,  they  would  answer  for  it.  To 
these  terms  she  gladly  agreed,  and  so  dis- 
missed them. 

The  spies  having  hitherto  thus  hap- 
pily succeeded,  took  Rahab's  advice,  and 
made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  moun- 
tains, where  they  lay  hid  three  days;  in 
which  time,  those  that  went  in  pursuit  of 
them,  despairing  to  find  them,  returned  to 
Jericho;  and  the  spies,  descending  from 
the  mountains,  forded  over  Jordan,  arrived 
safe  in  the  camp,  ancr  gave  Joshua  their 
general  a  faithful  account  of  their  expedi- 


76 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


tion ;  adding,  that  for  certain  the  Lord 
had  delivered  the  country  into  their  hands, 
for  the  people  were  quite  dispirited  at  the 
fame  of  them. 

Joshua,  pleased  at  this  information,  de- 
parted from  Shittim,  and  led  the  people 
down  to  the  river.*  Then  putting  the 
tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half 
tribe  of  Mauasseh  in  mind  of  the  agree- 
ment made  between  Moses  and  them,  that 
they,  leaving  their  families  and  cattle  on 
this  side  Jordan,  should,  with  their  best 
forces,  go  over  armed  before  their  bre- 
thren, to  help  to  subdue  their  enemies,  and 
place  them  in  their  possessions.  They 
acknowledged  the  agreement,  and  declar- 
ed their  readiness  to  go;  promising  in  all 
things  to  be  subject  to  him  their  general, 
as  they  had  been  to  Moses,  and  in  all 
things  to  obey  his  commands,  under  the 
penalty  of  death. 

Provision  being  made  for  the  army  in 
their  inarch,  the  officers  going  through  the 
host  commanded  the  people,  that  when 
they  should  see  the  ark.  of  the  cove- 
nant of  the  Lord  their  God,  and  the 
priests,  the  Levites,  bearing  it,  then  they 
should  move  and  follow  it,  that  they  might 
know  the  way  by  which  they  were  to  go; 
because  they  had  never  before  passed  that 
way. 

And  that  a  decency  might  be  observed 
in  their  march,  direction  was  given  that 
they  should  leave  a  space  of  about  two 
thousand  cubits  between  the  ark  and  them. 

These  dispositions  being  made,  Joshua, 
early  in  the  morning,  on  the  ninth  day  of 
the  first  month,  exhorted  the  people  to 
sanctify  themselves,  because  the  Lord 
would  do  wonders  next  day  among  them. 
And  giving  orders  for  the  priests  to  move, 
they  took  up  the  ark,  and  marched  with  it 
before  the  people  to  the  banks  of  Jordan, 
where  they  halted. 

Here  the  Lord   toH   Joshua,   that  he 


*  From  Sliittim,  where  they  had  lately  heen  en- 
camped, to  Jordan  was  about  sixty  stadia,  accord- 
ing to  Josephus  ;  that  is,  about  eight  English 
miles. 


would  so  d'stinguish  him  in  the  sight  of 
Israel,  that  they  should  know  his  presence 
should  be  with  him,  as  it  had  been  with 
Moses. 

He  directed  him  to  bid  the  priests,  who 
were  to  carry  the  ark,  stop  upon  the  brink 
of  the  river, — which  they  did;  and  Joshua 
thereupon  calling  the  people  together,  to 
hear  the  words  of  the  Lord  their  God, 
told  them,  'That  they  should  thereby 
know,  that  the  living  God  was  amongst 
them,  and  would  drive  out  the  nations 
from  before  them;  for  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant of  the  Lord  of  all  the  earth  should 
pass  before  them  into  the  river  Jordan ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  feet  of  the  priests  that 
bare  it  should  touch  the  waters,  they 
should  divide  and  stand  on  a  heap.' 

Accordingly  the  priests  marched  into 
the  river  with  the  ark,  and  stopping  in  the 
midst  of  it,  they  stood  on  firm  ground;  the 
rapid  stream  dividing,  and  the  waters,  for- 
getting their  fluidity,  condense  in  heaps  to 
afford  them  a  dry  passage. f 

-f-  One  of  the  reasons  why  God  divided  the 
river  for  the  Israelites  to  pass  over,  seems  to  be 
that  thereby  he  might  inject  a  terror  into  the  in- 
habitants of  Canaan,  and  so  facilitate  the  conquest 
of  their  country.  On  the  side  of  Jordan,  the  kings 
of  the  neighbourhood  feared  no  invasion.  Tlie 
deptli  of  the  river,  especially  at  the  time  of  its 
overflowing,  which  was  in  the  harvest  when  the 
Israelites  passed  it,  was  barrier  sufficient,  they 
thought,  against  all  that  the  Israelites  could  do. 
For  in  those  days,  pontoons  were  things  never 
heard  of  in  military  expeditions;  and  the  stream 
is,  even  at  this  day,  allowed  to  be  too  fierce  and 
rapid  for  any  one  to  swim  over:  and  therefore,  as 
they  expected  no  danger  from  that  quarter,  and 
might  for  that  reason  draw  out  no  forces  to  defend 
that  side  of  their  frontier,  so  the  sacred  historian 
has  taken  care  to  inform  us,  that  when  all  the 
kings  of  the  Amorites,  which  were  on  the  side  of 
Jordan  westward,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  which  were  by  the  sea,  heard  that  the  Lord 
had  dried  up  the  waters  of  Jordan  from  before  the 
children  of  Israel,  until  they  were  passed  over, 
their  hearts  melted,  neither  was  there  spirit  in 
them  any  more.'  And  as  this  miraculous  passage 
could  not  but  fill  their  enemies  with  confusion,  so 
it  added,  no  doubt,  fresh  courage  to  the  Israelites, 
when  they  came  to  consider,  that  the  same  God, 
about  forty  years  before,  had  wrought  the  like 
miracle  for  them  in  their  passage  of  the  Red  sea ; 
that  then  he  divided  the  waves,  to  confirm  the 
commission  which  he  had  given  Moses,  and  now 
had  paj  ted  the  stream,  to  strengthen  the  authority 
of  his  successor,  Joshua,  and  to  give  them  assur- 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE, 


177 


Thus  did  God  make  good  his  word  to 
Joshua,  in  promising  to  magnify  him  in 
the  sight  of  the  people,  by  dividing  the 
waters  of  Jordan,  as  he  had  done  before 
to  Moses,  when  the  Israelites  had  passed 
the  Red  sea. 

Before  this  miraculous  exertion  of  di- 
vine power,  the  Lord  commanded  Joshua 
to  select  twelve  men,  one  out  of  each 
tribe,  who,  as  soon  as  the  people  had 
passed  the  river,  were  to  take  up  twelve 
stones  from  the  placeAwhcre  the  priests 
stood  on  dry  ground,  according  to  the 
number  of  the  twelve  tribes,  and  to  set 
them  up  as  a  memorial  of  this  great  mira- 
cle, in  that  place.  He  commanded  them 
likewise  to  take  other  twelve  stones,  and 
to  carry  them  on  shore,  for  another  me- 
morial of  the  same  miracle. 


ance,  that  lie  would  be  with  the  one  as  he  had 
been  witli  the  other,  and  empower  the  latter  to 
make  good  their  possession  of  the  land  of  promise, 
even  as  lie  had  enabled  the  former  to  accomplish 
their  deliverance  out  of  the  land  of  bondage.  In 
all  rivers  whatever,  there  questionless  are  some 
shallower  places  than  ordinary,  or  some  passages, 
either  by  boats  or  bridges,  that  may  be  called  fords ; 
but  that  the  Jordan,  at  this  time,  was  either  so 
vastly  overflown,  as  to  render  these  fords  impass- 
able, or  that  the  Israelites  crossed  it  at  places 
which  the  enemy  never  thought  of,  and  where 
none  of  these  passes  were  to  be  found,  is  pretty 
evident  from  the  Canaanites  making  no  prepara- 
tion to  defend  their  coasts  on  the  river  side,  and 
from  the  great  consternation  we  find  them  in, 
when  once  they  understood  that  the  Jewish  army 
had  got  over.  For,  whatever  opinion  we,  at  this 
distance  of  time,  may  have  of  the  matter,  they 
justly  inferred,  that  the  suspension  of  a  river's 
course  could  be  effected  no  other  way  than  by  a 
divine  power,  either  immediately  acting  itself,  or 
by  the  instrumentality  of  its  angels.  And  though 
there  possibly  may  be  some  instance  in  history, 
wherein  by  the  violence  of  adverse  winds,  the 
course  of  rivers  has  either  been  retarded,  or  driven 
back;  yet.  as  we  read  of  no  such  wind  concerned 
in  this  event,  the  prediction  of  Joshua,  and  the 
promises  of  (>od  concerning  this  miracle,  the  time 
in  which  he  chose  to  work  it,  and  the  analogy  it 
bears  with  what  before  was  wrought  at  the  Ked 
sea ;  these,  and  several  other  circumstances,  make 
this  transaction  beyond  compare,  and  rank  it,  not 
only  among  those  prodigies  which  very  rarely 
come  to  pass,  but  among  those  stupendous  works 
which,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature,  the  great 
author  and  ruler  of  the  universe,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  people,  and  the  manifestation  of  his 
own  glory,  is  sometimes  observed  to  do. — Stack- 
house. 


The  priests  that  carried  the  ark  walked 
on  dry  ground  to  the  midst  of  Jordan;  and 
stopping  there,  as  Joshua  had  ordered 
them,  he  commanded  the  rest  of  the  peo- 
ple to  follow,  forty  thousand  of  the  tribes 
of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half  tribe  of 
Manasseh,  well  armed,  leading  the  van. 

When  they  were  safely  arrived  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  the  general  com- 
manded the  priests  that  bare  the  ark, 
which  stood  in  the  midst  of  Jordan  till 
all  the  people  had  passed  over,  to  come 
out  of  the  river  with  it;  which  they  had 
no  sooner  done,  than  the  waters  returned 
to  their  natural  channel,  and  overflowed 
the  banks,  as  they  usually  did. 

The  Israelites  having  thus  securely 
passed  Jordan,  on  the  tenth  day  of  the 
first  month,  encamped  in  a  place  called 
afterwards  Gilgal,  which  was  in  the  east 
border  of  Jericho. 

Here  Joshua  erected  the  twelve  stones* 
which  the  twelve  men  had  brought  out  of 
Jordan  as  a  monument  to  posterity,  that 
when  the  descendants  of  the  Israelites  in 
future  times  should  ask  the  reason  of  it, 
they  might  know  that  the  Lord  their  God 
had  dried  up  the  waters  of  Jordan,  and 
caused  his  people  Israel  to  pass  that  river 
on  dry  land,  as  he  had  formerly  dried  up 
the  Red  sea  for  their  passage  out  of 
Egypt;  and  that  all  the  people  of  the 
earth  might  be  sensible  of  the  omnipo- 
tency  of  the  mighty  God  of  Israel. 

This  extraordinary  event  was  soon  ru- 
moured throughout  the  adjacent  parts,, 
and  filled  the  people  with  amazement  and 
horror;  for  when  the  kings  of  the  Amor^ 
ites,  which  were  on  the  west  side  of  Jor- 
dan,  and   the    kings    of  the   Canaanites,.. 


*  It  is  very  likely  that  a  base  of  mason-work 
was  erected  of  some  considerable  height,  and  then 
the  twelve  stones  placed  on  the  top  of  it ;  and 
that  this  was  the  case  both  in  Jordan  and  in  GiJgal : 
for  twelve  such  stones  as  a  man  could  carry  a  con- 
siderable way  on  his  shoulder,  see  Josh.  iv.  5,  could 
scarcely  have  made  any  observable  altar,  or  pillar 
of  memorial:  but  erected  on  a  high  base  ofmason- 
work  they  would  be  very  conspicuous,  and  thus, 
properly  answer  the  end  for  which  God  ordered 
them  to  be  set  up. — JDr  A.  Clarke. 


178 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IIL 


which  inhabited  by  the  sea,  heard  that  the 
Lord  bad  miraculously  conveyed  his  peo- 
ple over  the  river  by  dividing  the  waters, 
their  hearts  sunk  for  fear,  and  their  cour- 
age failed  them. 

Joshua  having  thus  conducted  the  Is- 
raelites over  the  river,  God  commanded 
him  to  cause  them  all  to  be  circumcised : 
which  being  done,  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua, 
4  this  day  I  have  taken  away  the  shame  * 
of  Egypt  from  you.'  And  from  this  act 
of  circumcision,  the  place  where  it  was 
done  was  then  called  Gilgal.f     Here  the 


*  The  'rolling  away  the  reproach,'  or  'taking 
away  the  shame,'  of  Egypt,  is  supposed,  by  some, 
to  relate  to  the  reproaches  which  the  Egyptians 
used  to  cast  upon  the  Israelites  ;  namely,  that 
the  Egyptians,  seeing  the  Israelites  wander  so  long 
in  the  wilderness,  reproached  and  flouted  them, 
as  if  they  were  brought  to  be  destroyed  there, 
and  not  conducted  into  the  promised  land,  from 
which  reproaches  God  now  delivered  them,  when, 
by  enjoining  circumcision,  he  gave  them  assurance 
that  they  should  shortly  enjoy  the  country  which 
no  uncircumcised  person  might  inherit.  Our 
learned  Spencer  thinks  the  reproach  of  Egypt  to 
be  the  slavery  to  which  they  had  long  been  there 
subject,  but  were  now  fully  declared  a  free  people, 
by  receiving  a  mark  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and 
being  made  heirs  of  the  promised  land.  But  the 
most  common  opinion  is,  that,  by  the  reproach  of 
Egypt,  is  meant  nothing  else  but  uncircumcision, 
with  which  the  Israelites  always  upbraided  other 
people,  and  particularly  the  Egyptians,  with  whom 
they  had  lived  so  long,  and  were  best  acquainted  ; 
and,  admitting  this  to  be  the  true  (as  it  is  the 
most  unconstrained)  sense,  this  passage  is  a  plain 
proof  that  the  Israelites  could  not  learn  the  rite 
of  circumcision  from  the  Egyptians,  (as  some  pre- 
tend,) but  that  the  Egyptians,  contrary-wise,  must 
have  had  it  from  them. — Stackhouse. 

f  Gilgal,  the  place  where  the  Israelites  encamp- 
ed for  some  time  after  their  passage  over  the  river 
Jordan,  was  so  called,  because  here  the  rite  of 
circumcision,  which  had  long  been  disused,  was 
renewed:  whereupon  'the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua, 
this  day  have  I  rolled  away  the  reproach  of  Egypt 
{i.  e.  uncircumcision)  from  off  you  ;  wherefore 
the  name  of  the  place  is  called  Gilgal  (i.  e.  rolling) 
unto  this  day/  Josh.  v.  9.  From  this  expression 
the  place  received  its  name,  and  if  we  look  into 
its  situation,  we  shall  find,  that,  as  the  Israelites 
jpassed  over  Jordan  right  against  Jericho,  Josh.  iii. 
16.  and  encamped  in  Gilgal,  in  the  east  border  of 
Jericho,  it  is  plain,  that  Gilgal  must  be  situated 
between  Jordan  and  Jericho  ;  and  therefore,  since 
Josephus  tells  us,  that  Jericho  was  sixty  furlongs 
distant  from  Jordan,  and  the  camp  of  tiilgal  was 
fifty  furlongs  from  the  same  river ;  hence  it  fol- 
lows, that  dilgal  was  ten  furlongs,  that  is,  about  a 
mile  and  a  quarter,  from  Jericho  eastward.  But 
as  tome  learned  men  have  observed,  that  five  of 


Israelites  tarried  till  their  circumcision- 
wounds  were  healed ;  and  here  it  was 
they  kept  the  passover,}  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  first  month,  in  the  evening. 

Now  the  Israelites  began  to  enjoy  the 
good  of  the  land;  the  delicious  products 
of  the  promised  inheritance;  for  on  the 
next  day  after  the  passover  they  ate  of 
the  corn,  and  there  being  plenty  of  alt 
fruits,  on  the  morrow  the  manna  was 
withdrawn. 

CHAPTER  II. 

An  angel  appears  to  Joshua. — Jericho  taken.— 
The  walls  fall  down. —  The  Israelites  are 
conquered  at  Ai. — Achan  punished  as  the 
cause  of  God's  displeasure. —  The  Israelites 
conquer  their  enemies  at  Ai. 

All  things  being  ready  for  approaching 
the   city    of  Jericho,  §    Joshua   gave  the 


the  furlongs  used  by  Josephus,  make  up  an 
Italian  mile,  so  the  distance  between  Gilgal  and 
Jericho  will  be  just  two  miles ;  which  exactly 
agrees  with  the  testimony  of  ISt  Jerome,  who 
makes  it  two  miles  distant  from  Jericho,  and  a 
place  held  in  great  veneration  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country,  in  his  days. —  Wells's  Geography 

\  This  was  the  third  passover  the  Israelite? 
celebrated.  The  first,  was  the  day  before  they 
came  out  of  Egypt.  The  second,  was  the  year 
after  upon  their  receiving  the  law,  and  setting  up 
the  tabernacle  in  Sinai.  The  third,  was  this  here 
in  the  Holy  Land,  in  the  plains  of  Jericho. 

§  Jericho  was  a  city  of  Canaan,  which  afterwards 
fell  to  the  lot  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  about 
seven  leagues  distant  from  Jerusalem,  and  two 
from  Jordan.  Moses  calls  it  likewise  the  city  of 
palm-trees,  because  there  were  great  numbers  of 
them  in  the  plains  of  Jericho  ;  and  not  only  of 
palm-trees,  but,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  balsam-trees 
likewise,  which  produced  the  precious  liquor  in 
such  high  esteem  among  the  ancients.  The  plain 
of  Jericho  was  watered  with  a  rivulet,  which  was 
formerly  salt  and  bitter,  but  was  afterwards  sweet- 
ened by  the  prophet  Elisha,  whereupon  the  adja- 
cent country,  which  was  watered  by  it,  became 
not  only  one  of  the  most  agreeable,  but  most  fer- 
tile spots  in  all  that  country.  As  to  the  city  itself, 
after  it  was  destroyed  by  Joshua,  it  was,  in  the 
days  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  rebuilt  by  Hiel  the 
Bethelite,  and,  in  the  times  of  the  last  kings  of 
Judea,  yielded  to  none,  except  Jerusalem.  For  it 
was  adorned  with  a  royal  palace,  wherein  Herod 
the  Great  died  ;  with  an  hippodromus,  or  place 
where  the  Jewish  nobility  learned  to  ride  the 
great-horse,  and  other  arts  of  chivalry ;  with  an 
amphitheatre,  and  other  magnificent  buildings; 
but,  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  the  treachery 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


179 


word,  and  the  army  marched  towards  it. 
The  place  was  strong,  well-provided,  and 
full  of  inhabitants,  who  had  retired  into  it, 
and  seemed  resolved  to  make  a  brave  de- 
fence. Joshua  therefore  undertook  to 
view  the  place  by  himself,  in  order  to 
find  out  the  most  advantageous  approaches 
to  it.  Whilst  he  was  making  his  observa- 
tion, there  appeared,  as  he  thought,  the 
awful  form  of  a  man,  but  with  a  lustre  in 
his  face  that  bespoke  him  more  than  mor- 
tal. In  his  hand  he  had  a  flaming  sword, 
and  his  whole  appearance  far  surpassed 
any  thing  of  human  nature.  The  Israel- 
itish  general  advanced  to  this  great  un- 
known with  a  courage  becoming  his  char- 
acter, and  boldly  demanded  who  he  was 
for.  He  answered,  for  Israel,  of  whose 
army  and  people  he  was  the  guardian. 

At  these  words  the  general  fell  pro- 
strate,* and  waited  the  command  of  his 
Lord,  who  bid  him  loose  his  sandals,  and 
not  profane  the  holy  place  with  irreverent 
approaches.  Joshua  obeyed,  and  received 
new  orders  for  the  better  management  of 
the  siege  of  Jericho.  He  was  to  cause  all 
the  forces  to  march  round  the  place  six 
days  successively;  and  that  the  seventh 
day  the  priests  should  take  the  seven 
trumpets    made   of    rams-horns,f    which 


of  its  inhabitants  provoked  the  Romans  to  destroy 
it.  After  the  siege  was  over,  there  was  another 
city  built,  but  not  upon  the  same  place  where  the 
two  former  stood  ;  for  the  ruins  of  them  are  seen 
to  this  day.  Of  what  account  and  bigness  it  was, 
we  have  no  certain  information ;  but  some  later 
travellers  inform  us,  that,  at  present,  it  is  no  more 
than  a  poor,  nasty  village  of  the  Arabs,  consisting 
of  about  thirty  miserable  huts,  so  low,  that  at 
night  one  might  almost  ride  over  them,  without 
beingaware  of  the  fact. —  Wells  and  Maundrell. 

*  By  this  act  of  adoration,  the  title  of  Jehovah, 
performed  and  given  by  Joshua,  and  accepted  by 
the  other,  it  is  evident,  that  this  guardian  or  cap- 
tain of  the  Lord's  host  was  Christ,  the  son  of  God, 
who  was  pleased  in  this  manner  to  appear  to 
Joshua,  both  to  encourage  and  direct  him. 

■f  The  inside  of  the  ram's  horn  is  by  no  means 
hard,  and  may  easily  be  taken  out,  except  about 
four  or  five  inches  at  the  point,  which  was  to  be 
sawed  off,  in  order  to  proportion  the  aperture  to 
the  mouth  ;  after  which  the  rest  is  easily  pierced. 
Trumpets  thus  made  are  used  by  the  shepherds  in 
the  soutli  of  Germany. —  Universal  History. 


were  used  to  declare  the  jubilee  year; 
that  they  should  go  before  the  ark,  and 
round  the  city,  and  when  the  trumpets 
sounded  first  loud,  and  then  low,  the 
people  should  all  give  a  shout,  for  then 
the  walls  of  the  city  should  fall,  and 
every  man  should  march  in  at  the  place 
which  was  directly  before  him. 

Having  rounded  the  city  six  days,  as 
they  were  commanded,  on  the  seventh  by 
break  of  day  they  compassed  it  seven 
times,  and  at  the  seventh  time,  when  the 
priests  blew  with  the  trumpets,  the  gene- 
ral said  to  the  people,  <  Shout !  for  the 
Lord  hath  given  you  the  city.'  With 
that  the  people  gave  a  shout,  and  there- 
upon the  walls  of  the  city  fell  down  flat;J 


\  Whatever  materials  these  trumpets  were  made 
of,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  there  should 
be  any  power  in  their  sound  to  demolish  cities; 
and  though  the  noise  of  a  great  number  of  people 
might  be  very  loud,  yet  still  it  would  require  a 
miracle  in  Joshua  to  know  what  the  just  propor- 
tion was  between  their  noise,  and  the  strength  of 
the  walls  of  Jericho,  since  the  least  deviation  in 
this  respect  would  have  defeated  the  whole  experi- 
ment. What  the  etfect  of  gunpowder,  or  of  other 
sulphureous  matter  fired  under  ground,  or  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  is,  no  one,  that  has  seen  either 
the  springing  of  a  mine,  or  felt  the  convulsions  of 
an  earthquake  needs  be  told;  but  that  no  strata- 
gem of  this  kind  could  be  employed  in  the  siege 
of  Jericho,  is  manifest,  because  the  invention  of 
gunpowder  is  a  novel  tiling,  nor  had  the  Israelites 
been  long  enough  on  the  western  side  of  Jordan 
to  have  undermined  its  walls,  even  though  they 
had  had  the  secret  of  some  inflammatory  stratum  to 
have  lodged  under  them.  On  the  contrary,  the 
whole  process  of  this  siege  (if  we  may  so  call  it) 
was  managed  at  such  a  rate,  as  plainly  discovered 
an  expectance  of  a  miracle  to  be  wrought:  forbad 
not  this  been  the  case,  instead  of  sauntering  about 
the  walls  for  seven  days,  they  should  have  beer 
working  in  their  trenches,  and  carrying  on  theii 
approaches,  as  we  now  call  it.  The  art  of  wai 
was  then  but  in  its  infancy;  and,  as  the  manner 
of  undermining  and  blowing  up  the  most  ponde- 
rous bodies  was  what  the  ancients  were  unac- 
quainted with,  so  was  the  battering-ram  an  inven- 
tion of  a  later  date  than  some  imagine.  Pliny 
indeed  seems  to  say,  that  Epeus  first  made  use  of 
it  at  the  siege  of  Troy;  but,  in  all  probability, 
Ezekiel  is  the  earliest  author  that  mentions  this 
machine,  and  perhaps  the  first  time  that  it  was 
employed  was  under  Nebuchadnezzar,  at  the  sie<*e 
of  Jerusalem.  But  there  is  no  need  to  ransack 
history  for  the  confutation  of  this  system,  which 
they  who  propose  it  do  nevertheless  acknowledge, 
that,  though  the  walls  of  Jericho  might  have  fallen 
without  any  extraordinary  act  of  the  divine  power. 


180 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


so  that  the  army  marched  directly  up  to 
it,  and  took  it,  putting  all  to  the  sword, 
both  man  and  beast,  old  and  young;  only 
Rahul)  and  those  in  her  house  were  saved 
alive:  for  Joshua  had  given  a  strict  charge 
beforehand  to  the  two  spies,  (which  she 
had  formerly  concealed,)  to  take  care, 
when  the  town  should  be  taken,  to  go  to 
her  house,  and  bring  out  her  family,  in 
discharge  of  their  oath  to  her;  which  they 
accordingly  did,  and  left  her  with  all  her 
kindred  and  substance  safe  without  the 
camp  of  Israel.* 

Then  setting  fire  to  the  city,  they  de- 
stroyed every  thing  in  it  except  the  silver 
and  gold,  and  vessels  of  brass  and  iron, 
which  were  put  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Lord,  as  it  had  been  commanded.  And 
lest  any  one  should  attempt  to  rebuild 
this  city,  Joshua  published  this  prophetic 
imprecation  on  the  bold  undertaker;  'that 
he  should  lay  the  foundation  thereof  in  his 
first-born,  and  set  up  the  gates  thereof  in 
his  youngest  son.'f  By  which  he  meant, 
that  it  should  be  the  ruin  of  his  family. 


yet,  by  the  circumstances  of  the  whole  account,  it 
appears  that  this  event  was  altogether  miraculous. 
— Stackhouse. 

*  Being  aliens  or  heathens,  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  come  within  the  camp  till  they  were 
proselyted,  or  at  least  legally  purified. 

f  Joshua's  denouncing  an  anathema  over  the 
vanquished  city  is  not  a  thing  unprecedented, 
since  the  like  practice  has  been  observed  by  some 
of  tlie  greatest  generals  of  other  nations;  foras- 
much as  Agamemnon,  after  he  had  taken  Troy, 
denounced  a  curse  upon  those  who  should  at  any 
time  attempt  to  rebuild  it;  the  Romans  published 
a  decree  of  execration  against  them  who  should 
do  the  like  to  Carthage  ;  and  when  Crassus  had 
demolished  Sidon,  (which  had  been  a  linking 
place  to  the  tyrant  Glaucias.)  he  wished  the  great- 
est evils  imaginable  upon  the  head  of  that  man 
who  should  but  so  much  as  build  a  wall  about  the 
place  where  it  once  stood.  "Joshua's  anathema," 
says  Maimonides,  "  was  pronounced,  that  the 
miracle  of  the  subversion  of  Jericho  might  be 
kept  in  perpetual  memory;  for  whosoever  saw  the 
walls  sunk  deep  into  the  earth  (as  he  understands 
it)  would  clearly  discern,  that  this  was  not  the  form 
of  u  building  destroyed  by  men,  but  miraculously 
thrown  down  by  God."  Iliel,  however,  in  the 
reign  of  Ahah,  cither  not  remembering,  or  not  be- 
lieving this  denunciation,  was  so  taken  with  the 
beauty  of  its  situation,  that  he  rebuilt  Jericho, 
and  (as  the  sacred  history  informs  us)  '  laid  the 


Joshua  seems  to  have  been  persuaded 
of  the  success  of  this  undertaking,  for  be- 
fore the  city  was  taken,  Joshua  had  cau- 
tioned the  people  not  to  spare  any  thing 
that  was  in  it,  but  to  destroy  all  that  lay 
in  their  way,  except  silver,  gold,  brass,  and 
iron;  which  were  to  be  consecrated  to  the 
Lord.  And  therefore  he  warned  them 
not  to  meddle  with  any  thing,  for  fear  of 
bringing  a  curse,  not  only  upon  them- 
selves, but  upon  all  the  nation  of  the  Is- 
raelites. 

Notwithstanding  the  strict  charge  of 
Joshua  against  meddling  with  any  thing 
that  was  devoted  to  this  general  destruc- 
tion, or  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  yet  so 
prevailing  was  the  sacrilegious  thirst  of 
gold,  that  one  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  whose 
name  was  Achan,  contrary  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  general,  took  some  things  of 
the  spoil  of  either  sort,  and  hid  them. 
This  proved  of  ill  consequence  to  Israel 
in  general,  which  was  discovered  upon 
this  occasion. 

Joshua  being  desirous  to  take  in  a  little 
city,  named  Ai,  near  Bethaven  to  the 
east  of  Bethel,  and  knowing  that  it  was 
neither  populous  nor  well  defended,  de- 
tached a  body  of  three  thousand  men  only 
to  go  and  attack  it,  who  no  sooner  ap- 
proached the  town,  but  the  inhabitants 
sallied  out  and  repulsed  them,  and  drove 
them  to  their  camp,  whither  those  that 
escaped  went  so  frighted,  that  they  brought 
a  terror  upon  the  whole  army. 

This  defeat  so  afflicted  Joshua,  that 
rending  his  clothes,  and  prostrating  him- 
self before  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  he  lay 

foundation  thereof  in  Abiram,  his  first-born,  and 
set  up  the  gates  thereof  in  his  youngest  son 
Segub,  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which 
he  spoke  by  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,'  I  Kings 
xvi.  {34.  However,  after  that  Iliel  had  ventured 
to  rebuild  it,  no  scruple  was  made  of  inhabiting 
it;  for  it  afterwards  became  famous  upon  many 
.'(counts.  Here  the  prophet  sweetened  the  waters 
of  the  spring  that  supplied  it,  and  the  neighbouring 
countries:  hen-  Herod  built  a  sumptuous  palace  : 
it  was  the  dwelling-place  of  Zaccheus  ;  and  was 
honoured  with  the  presence  of  Christ,  who  vouch- 
safed likewise  to  work  some  miracles  here. —  Uni- 
versal History. 


Chap.  II.] 

there  till  the  evening,  both  lie  and  the 
elders;  and  in  token  of  extreme  sorrow 
and  humiliation,  sprinkled  dust  on  their 
reverent  heads. 

But  Joshua,  being  wholly  ignorant  of 
the  offence,  and  desirous  to  know  the 
cause  that  had  provoked  God  thus  to  de- 
sert his  people,  in  this  humble  expostula- 
tion complained  to  him,  4  Wherefore,  () 
Lord  God,  hast  thou  brought  this  people 
over  Jordan  to  deliver  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  Amorites  to  destroy  them  ? 
We  had  been  happy  hadst  thou  permitted 
us  to  have  dwelt  on  the  other  side  of  Jor- 
dan. What  shall  I  say,  when  Israel  turn 
their  backs  upon  their  enemies?  For 
when  the  Canaanites,  and  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  land  shall  hear  this,  they  will 
encompass  us,  and  cut  us  off;  and  what 
will  become  of  thy  honour  !' 

Lest  Joshua  should  be  dispirited  by  the 
conquest  the  enemy  had  obtained  over 
them,  or  pine  under  the  apprehension  of 
being  deserted  by  him,  God  told  him 
there  was  a  latent  cause  of  his  displeasure 
among  the  people.  That  some  of  them 
had  taken  of  the  accursed  thing,*  and 
also  of  those  thing's  which  were  devoted 
to  the  Lord,  and  pretending  as  if  they  had 
brought  it  all  into  the  treasury  of  God, 
had  concealed  it  for  their  own  use.  And 
to  put  him  in  a  way  to  clear  the  camp  of 
this  accursed  thing,  which  had  brought 
this  judgment  upon  them,  the  Lord  com- 
manded Joshua  to  proclaim  among  the 
peopie,  •  There  is  an  accursed  thing  in 
the  midst  of  thee,  O  Israel.  Ye  cannot 
stand  before  your  enemies,  until  ye  have 


*  In  the  same  sense  is  the  word  anathema  used 
in  the  New  Testament,  by  ist  Paul,  who  pro- 
nounces offenders  anathema,  separated  from  God, 
that  is,  accursed:  which  is  the  old  word  for  ex- 
communication, upon  the  breach  of  several  canons 
in  Hie  most  early  ages  of  the  church.  In  this  one 
instance  it  is  observable,  that  though  it  was  but 
one  man  that  was  actually  guilty  ;  yet  the  guilt 
was  charged  upon  the  whole  people,  and  they  felt 
the  effects  thereof,  till  they  had  convinced  and 
punished  the  offender,  liow  great  then  is  the 
guilt  of  nations  in  general  where  sins  are  epidemi- 
cal, and  repeated  from  age  to  age  ! 


THE  BIBLE.  181 

removed  the  accursed  thing  from  among 
you.' 

Then  directing  Joshua  how  he  should 
find  outthe  offender;  and  when  he  was 
found  and  convicted,  how  he  should  be 
punished ;  he  early  next  morning  sum- 
moned all  the  tribes  before  the  Lord  :  and 
the  lot  being  cast  upon  the  tribes,  the 
tribe  of  Judah  was  the  tribe  to  whom  the 
guilty  person  belonged.  Then  proceed- 
ing by  lot  from  tribe  to  family,  from 
family  to  household,  and  thence  to  parti- 
cular persons,  the  lot  fell  at  last  upon 
Achan. 

Having    tbus    happily    discovered    the 

person,    Joshua,    like    a    prudent   judge, 

with  great  mildness  examined  the  criminal, 

and  brought  him  to  a  confession  :   'I  have 

I  sinned  against  the   Lord  God  of  Israel,' 

I  said  he,  '  for  when  I  saw  among  the  spoil  a 

[  royal  garmentf  and  two  hundred  shekels 

j  of  silver,  with  a  wedge|  of  gold  of  fifty 

shekels  weight,  my  covetousness  prompted 

me  to  take  them,  which  I  did,  and   lud 

them   in   the   earth  in   the   midst  of  my 

tent' 

Joshua,  for  the  more  evident  convic- 
tion, sent  messengers  to  Action's  tent; 
who  finding  the  things  hid,  as  he  had 
confessed,  brought  them  to  the  assembly, 
and  laid  them  before  the  Lord. 

f  In  the  original,  this  robe  is  called  a  garment  of 
Shinar,  that  is,  of  Babylon  ;  and  the  general  opin- 
ion is,  that  the  richness  and  excellency  of  it  con- 
sisted not  so  much  in  the  stuff'  whereof  it  was 
made,  as  in  the  colour  whereol  it  was  dyed,  which 
most  suppose  to  have  been  scarlet,  a  colour  in 
high  esteem  among  the  ancients,  and  for  which 
the  Babylonians  were  justly  famous.  Bochart 
however  maintains,  that  the  colour  of  this  robe 
was  various  and  not  all  of  one  sort  ;  that  the 
scarlet  colour  the  Babylonians  first  received  from 
Tyre,  but  the  parti-colour,  whether  so  woven,  or 
wrought  with  the  needle,  was  of  their  own  inven- 
tion, for  which  he  produces  many  passages  out  of 
heathen  authors.  However  this  be,  it  is  certain 
that  the  robe  could  not  fail  of  being  a  verv  rich 
and  splendid  one,  and  therefore  captivated  either 
Achan  s  pride,  or  rather  covetousness  ;  since  his 
purpose  seems  to  have  been,  not  so  much  to  wear 

it  himself  as  to  sell  it  for  a  large  price Bochart 

and  Saurin. 

J  This  was  made  in  the  form  of  a  tongue,  and 
for  that  reason  is  not  improperly  sometimes  called 
a  tongue  of  gold. 


182 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


And  now  Achan  being  duly  convicted, 
by  his  own  confession  and  the  notorious- 
ness of  the  fact,  Joshua  proceeded  to  exe- 
cution, by  the  express  command  of  God ; 
which  was  thus :  they  took  Achan,  with 
the  garments,  the  money,  and  the  wedge 
of  gold,  as  evidences  of  his  guilt,  and 
with  him  his  sons,  his  daughters,*  his 
cattle,  his  tent,  and  all  his  moveables;  and 
brought  them  into  the  valley  of  Achor 
(which  from  him  took  its  name,  signifying 
trouble)  where  he  and  his  family,  being 
first  stoned,  were  afterwards  burnt.  And 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  for.  a 
warning  to  others,  they  raised  a  great 
heap  of  stones  over  them.f 

The  vengeance  of  the  Almighty  being 
appeased  by  the  sentence  executed  upon 
the  delinquent  Achan,  he  encouraged 
Joshua  to  attack  Ai  afresh,  assuring  him 
that  he  had  given  the  king  of  Ai  and  all 
his  people  and  country  into  his  hand,  and 


*  Dr  Adam  Clarke  is  of  opinion  that  Achan 
only  was  stoned,  and  that  his  substance  was  burn- 
ed with  fire  ;  or  that  even  his  oxen,  &c.  were  de- 
stroyed, yet  his  sons  and  daughters  were  left  un- 
injured, and  were  brought  out  into  the  valley  only 
that  they  might  see  and  fear,  and  be  for  ever  de- 
terred by  their  father's  punishment  from  imitating 
his  example.  The  reason  which  the  doctor  assigns 
for  this  opinion  is,  that  the  children  of  Achan 
could  not  justly  suffer  with  him,  because  of  the 
law,  Dent.  xxiv.  1(5,  unless  they  had  been  accom- 
plices in  his  guilt,  of  which,  as  he  suggests,  there 
is  no  evidence.  The  learned  editor  of  Calmet 
acquiesces  in  this  opinion,  and  gives  the  following 
as  the  probable  sense  of  the  passage  : — "  They 
stoned  him  (Achan)  with  stones  :  and  burned 
them  (his  property)  with  fire,  and  (rather  or)  ston- 
ed them  with  stones  ;"  that  is,  making  a  distinc- 
tion in  guilt  between  his  property,  and  the  things 
stolen  ;  "and  raised  over  him  (Achan)  a  heap  of 
stones."  In  justification  of  this  interpretation  of 
the  passage,  he  suggests,  that,  had  his  family  been 
stoned,  the  heap  of  stones  would  have  included 
them  also  ;  whereas  it  is  raised  over  him,  and  that 
the  burning  was  probably  applied  to  such  things 
as  might  suffer  by  burning,  and  the  stonini:  to 
what  the  fire  might  have  haa  little  or  no  effect 
on. —  Carpenter. 

■f-  Such  a  heap  was  also  accumulated  over  Ab- 
salom. The  Arabs,  long  after  the  time  of  Joshua, 
expressed  their  detestation  of  deceased  enemies  in 
the  same  manner.  Similar  heaps  were  raised  over 
persons  murdered  in  the  highways  in  the  time  of 
the  prophet  Ezekiel,  as  tuey  also  are  to  this  day, 
in  Palestine,  and  other  parts  of  the  East. — Home. 


that  he  should  do  to  them  as  he  had  done 
to  Jericho  and  her  king ;  only  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  soldiers,  he  allowed 
them  the  plunder  of  the  city  and  the  cattle 
for  themselves;  giving  Joshua  particular 
instructions  %  to  lay  a  party  of  men  in 
ambuscade  §  behind  the  city. 

In  order  to  this  action,  Joshua  selected 
thirty  thousand  men,  out  of  which  he  ap- 
pointed five  thousand  to  hide  themselves 
between  Bethel  and  Ai,  who,  upon  t.he- 
signal  that  he  should  give  them,  which 
was  by  holding  up  a  spear  with  a  banner 
upon  it,  should  enter  the  city,  and  set  it 
on  fire;  himself  having  first,  by  another 
stratagem,  drawn  all  the  forces  out  of  the 
town  to  pursue  him  in  his  pretended  flight. 

Every  thing  being  prepared  according 
to  the  direction  of  Joshua,  he  drew  up 
before  the  north  part  of  the  city  of  Ai, 
and  towards  night  he  marched  into  the 
valley  in  sight  of  the  enemy  to  tempt 
them  to  sally  out  upon  him.  This  suc- 
ceeded as  Joshua  desired ;  for  the  king  of 
Ai,  thinking  he  had  them  sure  now,  early 
the  next  morning  drew  out  all  his  forces 
to  give  Israel  battle;  who  at  the  first 
charge  gave  way  and  fled. 

This  so  animated  the  king  of  Ai's  army, 
that  concluding  the  Israelites  fled  indeed 
through  fear  of  them,  they  called  out  all 
the  citizens  to  assist  in  the  pursuit,  which 
they  eagerly  did,  leaving  the  town  naked 
and  defenceless.  But  this  confidence  of 
victory  cost  them  dear ;  for  when  Joshua 
by  his  sham  flight  had  drawn  them  a  good 
distance  from  the  city,  he  gave  the  signal 
to  the  ambuscade,  who  immediately  en- 
tered the  city  and  set  it  on  fire. 

When  Joshua  by  the  smoke  perceived 
his  men  had  possessed  themselves  of  the 
town,  he   faced  about,  and  charged  the 


\  God  would  not  destroy  Ai  by  a  miracle,  as 
he  had  done  Jericho,  because  he  had  a  mind  to 
make  his  people  formidable  for  their  power  and 
policy  to  other  nations,  with  whom  they  were 
afterwards  to  engage. 

§  This  is  the  first  ambuscade  we  read  of  in 
history 


CllAP.    III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


183 


Aian  army;  who,  not  in  the  least  expect- 
ing the  Israelites  would  rally,  began  to 
think  of  retiring  into  the  city;  but  when 
they  saw  their  city  in  flames,  they  were 
«o  dispirited,  that  they  had  no  power  to 
fight  or  fly.  In  the  mean  time  the  am- 
buscade having  performed  their  orders  in 
burning  the  city,  fell  upon  the  rear  of  the 
king  of  Ai's  dismayed  forces,  who  being 
thus  encompassed  were  cut  to  pieces. 

Having  thus  completely  vanquished  the 
enemy,  Joshua  marched  to  Ai,  and  put 
all  he  found  in  it  to  the  sword;  so  that 
die  number  of  the  slain  that  day  amount- 
ed to  twelve  thousand  men  and  women. 

The  cattle  and  spoil  of  the  city  were 
given  to  the  soldiers,  who  burnt  the  city, 
and  made  it  a  heap  of  rubbish.  As  for 
the  king  of  Ai,  he  was  taken  prisoner  in 
the  flight;  and  being  brought  before  the 
general,  he  was  by  his  command  hanged 
on  a  tree*  till  sunset,  at  which  time  he 
was  taken  down,  and  buried  under  a  grdat 
heap  of  stones  at  the  entrance  of  the  gate 
of  the  city. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Joshua  erects  an  altar,  and  repeats  to  the  people 
the  words  of  the  law  of  Moses. — Several  kings 
combine  against  Israel,  and  are  condemned  to 
perpetual  bondage. — Joshua  rescues  Gibeon 
from  the  attack  of  five  kings. — Is  empowered 
to  confirm  his  authority  by  an  extraordinary 
command. — Returns  and  re-encamps  his  army 

in  Gilgal Obtains  divers  signal  victories. — 

The  tribes  are  appointed  their  distinct  lots  of 
inheritance. —  The  death  of  Joshua. 

Joshua  having  thus  happily  succeeded  in 
this  action  against  Ai,  in  token  of  grati- 
tude to  the  great  giver  of  victory,  erected 
an  altar  to  him  in  mount  Ebal,  as  the 
Lord  had  by  Moses  before  commanded, 


*  The  kings  of  Canaan  lay  under  the  same  curse 
as  their  subjects,  and  probably  were  more  deeply 
criminal.  Tlie  reserving  of  the  king  of  Ai  for  a 
solemn  execution,  would  tend  to  strike  terror 
into  the  other  kings,  contribute  to  the  success  of 
Israel,  and  give  their  proceedings  the  stamp  of  a 
judicial  process,  and  of  executing  the  vengeance 
of  God  upon  his  enemies. — Scott. 


on  which  he  offered  burnt-offerings  and 
sacrificed  peace-offerings.  And  then  he 
not  only  read  unto  the  people,  both  Israel- 
ites and  strangers,  the  words  of  the  law 
given  by  Moses,  but  wrote  also  upon 
great  stones  a  copy  of  the  law  which 
Moses  had  written. f 

The  fame  of  the  Israelites'  success 
against  Jericho  and  Ai,  and  the  terrible 
slaughter  of  the  inhabitants,  alarmed  ail 
the  kings  on  that  side  Jordan,  who,  con- 
sulting the  common  security,  confederated 
together,  and  entered  into  a  league  for 
their  mutual  defence. 

But  the  Gibeonites,J  who  were  more 
deeply  affected  with  the  rumour  of  the 
Israelites'  courage  and  power,  distrusting 
a  confederated  force  against  so  great  and 
numerous  a  people,  and  so  well  skilled  in 
the  art  of  war,  had  recourse  to  a  stratagem 
to  save  themselves  from  the  general  de- 
struction,  which,  they  plainly  perceived, 
hung  over  their  heads. 

They  chose  a  certain  number  of  their 
men,  who  were  instructed  to  feign  them- 
selves to  be  ambassadors,  come  from  a  far 
country,  to  treat  for  peace,  and  enter  into 
a  league  with  Israel. 

To  give  this  deception  an  air  of  truth, 
they  dressed  themselves  in  old  clothes, 
with  old  clouted  shoes  on  their  feet,  and 
put  dry  mouldy  bread  into  old  sacks,  and 
wine  into  old  bottles. § 


f  It  is  no  great  difficulty  to  apprehend  how 
many  of  the  Gentile  nations  came  to  imitate  the 
Jews  in  many  of  their  religious  observances  and 
rites,  since  the  Mosaic  law  was  so  publicly  expos- 
ed to  the  sight  of  all. 

J  The  Gibeonites  were  a  part  of  the  Hivite 
Canaanites,  Gibeon  being  situated  not  far  from 
Ai,  to  the  westward. — Pyle. 

§  These  bottles  were  made  of  leather,  in  which 
they  formerly,  and  now  in  some  countries,  keep 
their  wine.  The  Arabs,  and  all  those  who  lead  a 
wandering  life,  still  keep  their  water,  milk,  and 
other  liquors,  in  leathern  bottles,  which  are  gener- 
ally made  of  goat-skins.  The  liquors  thus  keep 
more  fresh  than  they  would  otherwise  do.  These 
nations  never  go  a  journey  without  a  small  leathern 
bottle  of  water  hanging  by  their  side  like  a  scrip. 
When  these  bottles  are  old  and  much  used,  they 
mend  them  either  by  sewing  in  a  piece,  or  by 
gathering  up  the  broken  place  in  the  manner  of  a 
purse. —  Char  din. 


184 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


Thus  accoutred,  they  came  to  the  Is- 
raelitish  camp  at  Gilgal,  and  presenting 
themselves  before  the  general,  told  him, 
they  were  come  from  a  far  country,  and 
desired  to  enter  into  a  league  with  Israel. 

The  people  at  first  suspected  these  am- 
bassadors, and  told  them,  that  perhaps 
they  possessed  part  of  that  land  which  God 
had  given  them  ;  and,  if  so,  they  could 
not  make  peace  with  them.  Joshua,  put- 
ting this  question  directly  to  them,  asked 
them,  who  they  were,  and  from  whence 
they  came  i  To  which  they  cunningly, 
but  falsely  replied,  '  From  a  far  country 
are  we  come,  where  we  have  heard  of  the 
fame  of  the  Lord  thy  God  ;  of  all  that  he 
did  for  thee  in  Egypt,  and  to  Sihon  and 
Og,  the  Amorite  kings.  Wherefore  our 
governors  bid  us  take  provision  for  our 
journey,  and  tell  you,  we  are  your  ser- 
vants, and  desire  to  be  in  amity  with 
you.' 

Then  producing  their  mouldy  bread, 
their  torn  bottles,  and  their  old  clothes 
and  shoes,  they  assured  them,  that  they 
took  the  bread  hot  out  of  their  houses 
when  they  came  from  home,  that  their 
bottles  were  then  new,  and  that  their  gar- 
ments and  shoes  were  worn  old  by  reason 
of  the  length  of  their  journey. 

The  Israelites  were  prevailed  on  in  this 
respect,  though  they  had  an  infallible 
method  of  coming  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  deceit.  But  neglecting  to  ask  coun- 
sel at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  they  suffer- 
ed themselves  to  be  imposed  on  by  the 
seeming  simplicity  of  the  subtle  Gibeon- 
ites. 

This  stratagem  of  theirs  had  its  desired 
effect.  The  credulous  Israelites  believed 
the  plausible  story  of  the  Gibeonites,  con- 
firmed sufficiently,  as  they  thought,  by 
demonstrable  tokens,  and  of  which  their 
own  eyes  were  judges;  so  that  without 
any  farther  hesitation  or  scruple,  they  re- 
ceived them  into  their  alliance ;  Joshua 
making  peace  with  them  to  let  them  live, 
and  the  princes  of  the  congregation  swear- 
ing solemnly  to  obser/e  it. 


But  within  three  days  this  cheat  was 
discovered ;  and  they,  who  pretended  to 
come  from  a  distant  country,  proved  to  be 
their  neighbours,  and  inhabited  a  p;<rt  of 
that  land  which  God  had  given  Israel  to 
possess. 

When  the  Israelites  found  out  the  de- 
sign of  the  Gibeonites,  which  was  to  pre- 
vent their  cities  from  sharing  the  fate  of 
their  neighbours,  they  could  not  forbear 
mutinying  against  the  princes  who  had 
sworn  to  observe  the  league ;  which  they 
perceiving,  endeavoured  to  pacify  them 
by  urging  the  necessity  they  were  under 
of  keeping  their  oath,  lest  they  should  in- 
cur God's  displeasure;  and  that  though 
the  alliance  extended  to  the  saving  their 
lives,  yet  it  did  not  exempt  them  from 
tribute  or  service,  from  which  they  might 
reap  considerable  advantages,  intending 
to  make  them  hewers  of  wood,  and  draw- 
ers of  water,*  for  the  use  of  all  the  con- 
gregation. 

This  being  approved,  appeased  the  peo- 
ple; and  Joshua  calling  for  the  Gibeon- 
ites, expostulated  the  matter  with  them, 
for  thus  imposing  on,  and  deceiving  them  ; 
till  they  in  excuse  answered,  that  they 
were  sensible  God  had  given  them  all  the 


•  The  disgrace  of  this  state  lay  not  in  the  la- 
boriousness  of  it,  but  in  its  being  the  common  em- 
ployment of  the  females  :  if  the  ancient  customs 
among  the  same  people  were  such  as  prevail  now. 
The  most  intelligent  travellers  in  those  countries 
represent  collecting  wood  for  fuel,  and  carrying 
water,  as  the  peculiar  employment  of  the  females. 
The  Arab  women  of  Barhary  do  so,  according  to 
Dr  Shaw.  The  daughters  of  the  Turcomans  in 
Palestine  are  employed,  according  to  D'Arvieux, 
in  fetching  wood  and  water  for  the  accommodation 
of  their  respective  families.  From  these  circum- 
stances Mr  Harmer  reasons  thus  :  "  The  bitterness 
of  the  doom  of  the  Gibeonites  does  not  seem  to 
have  consisted  in  the  laboriousness  of  the  service 
enjoined  them,  for  it  was  usual  for  women  and 
children  to  perform  what  was  required  of  them  ; 
but  its  degrading  them  from  the  characteristic  em- 
ployment of  men,  that  of  bearing  arms  ;  and  con- 
demning them  and  their  posterity  for  ever  to  the 
employment  of  females.  The  not  receiving  them 
as  allies  was  bitter  ;  the  disarming  them  who  had 
been  warriors,  and  condemning  them  to  the  em- 
ployment of  females,  was  worse  ;  but  the  extend- 
ing this  degradation  to  their  posterity,  w;is  bitterest 
of  all.  It  is  no  wonder  that  in  these  circumstances 
they  are  said  to  have  been  cursed." — A.  Clarke. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  HIBLE. 


185 


land  where  they  dwelt,  and  commanded 
them  to  kill  all  the  inhabitants;  and  that 
they  had  made  use  of  this  stratagem  to 
save  their  lives. 

Though  they  escaped  with  their  lives, 
they  were  justly  condemned  to  perpetual 
bondage,  as  a  punishment  for  their  wicked 
design;  and  Joshua  himself  pronounced 
this  sentence  against  them  :  '  Now  there- 
fore are  ye  cursed,  and  there  shall  none  of 
you  be  freed  from  being  bondmen,  even 
hewers  of  wood,  and  drawers  of  water,  for 
the  use  of  my  God.'* 

The  Gibeonites,  glad  to  come  off  so 
well,  replied,  '  Behold,  we  are  in  thy  hand, 
do  with  us  what  thou  wilt.' 

Thus  Joshua  delivered  the  Gibeonites 
from  the  fury  of  the  Israelites,  who  would 
have  put  them  all  to  the  sword.  But 
though  they  had  by  this  policy  saved 
their  lives,  with  the  loss  of  their  liberty, 
yet  their  neighbours  the  Amorites  put 
them  in  fresh  danger  of  losing  them.  For, 
deserting  the  common  interest,  and  mak- 
ing a  separate  league  with  Israel  for 
themselves,  they  resolved  to  take  revenge 
of  them. 

Accordingly  Adonizedek,  king  of  Je- 
bus,f  taking  with  him  four  neighbouring 
kings,  Hoham,  king  of  Hebron;  Piram, 
king  of  Jarmuth  ;  Japhia,  king  of  Lachish; 
and  Debir,  king  of  Eglon,  with  their  join- 
ed forces,  they  encamped  before  Gibeon. 

The  Gibeonites,  not  daring  to  trust  the 
strength  of  their  city  against  so  potent 
and  confederate  a  force,  despatched  mes- 
sengers to  their  new  and  great  allies  to 
their  camp  at  Gilgal,  to  acquaint  them, 
that  the  kings  of  the  Amorites,  that  dwelt 
in  the  mountains,  had  armed  against  them; 
and  to  entreat  them  to  come  up  to  their 
relief  with  speed. 

Joshua  was  bound   in   honour  and  in- 


*  From  tne  Gibeonites  being  thus  given  or  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  and  of  all 
the  congregation,  their  posterity,  after  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple,  were  called  Nethmims,  that  is, 
given. 

i  This  place  was  afterwards,  in  David's  time, 
called  Jerusalem. 


terest  to  succour  them,  to  which  God  him- 
self gave  particular  encouragement,  as- 
suring him  of  victory.  Upon  which  Joshua 
by  a  swift  march  came  up  with  them  by 
night,  and  surprised  them  in  the  morning. 
The  action  was  hot  for  some  time,  but 
they  were  soon  put  to  flight;  and  as  they 
fled,    a   storm    of   liail|    overtook    them, 

J  Commentators  are  not  agreed  whether  we  are 
to  understand  this  miracle  of  a  shower  of  stones, 
properly  so  called,  or  of  a  shower  of  hail.  The 
iearned  Calmet,  in  a  dissertation  prefixed  to 
his  Commentary  upon  Joshua,  has  taken  a  great 
deal  of  pattis  to  show,  that  the  stones,  which  the 
Lord  is  said  to  have  cast  upon  the  Amorites,  were 
not  ordinary  hailstones,  (since  it  would  be  incon- 
gruous, as  he  thinks,  to  interest  God  in  so  common 
an  occurrence)  but  real  solid  stones,  which  he  sup- 
poses might  have  been  engendered  in  the  air  bv  a 
whirlwind  carrying  up  sand  or  gravel  into  a  cloud, 
and  there  mixing  it  with  some  such  oily  or  nitro- 
sulphureous  matter,  as  might  consolidate,  and 
form  it  into  a  combustible  body  ;  that  so,  when, 
by  frequent  agitation,  it  came  to  be  fired,  it  might 
hurst  through  the  cloud,  and  scattering  itself  upon 
the  explosion,  might  fall  down  upon  the  earth 
in  the  nature  of  a  perfect  shower  of  stones. 
That  great  quantities  of  stones  have  in  this 
manner  been  discharged  from  the  clouds,  is  evi- 
dent from  several  histories.  Diodorus  Siculus  in- 
forms us,  that  as  the  Persian  army  were  on  their 
march  to  plunder  the  temple  at  Delphos,  thunder 
and  lightning,  and  a  violent  storm  of  stones  fell  in 
their  camp,  and  destroyed  a  great  number  of  men. 
In  the  reign  of  Tullus  Hostilius,  when  news  was 
brought  to  the  government  that  it  had  rained 
stones  upon  Mount  Alba,  those  who  were  sent  to 
inquire  into  the  matter,  brought  word,  not  only 
that  the  fact  was  true,  but  that  these  stones  had 
fallen  from  the  skies  with  an  impetuosity  equal 
to  the  most  violent  storm  of  hail.  Not  long  alter 
the  battle  at  Cannae,  the  same  author  assures  us, 
that  a  storm  of  the  same  kind  fell  on  the  same 
mountain,  which  lasted  for  two  whole  days  ;  and 
events  of  this  nature,  attested  by  the  best  authors, 
have  been  so  frequent  at  Home,  at  Capua,  at 
Livinium,  and  several  other  places  in  Italy,  that  a 
man  must  be  destitute  of  all  modesty  who  pre- 
tends to  deny  them  absolutely.  Nay,  not  only 
great  quantities  of  smaller  stones,  but  sometimes 
stones  of  a  prodigious  size  have  been  known  to 
fall  from  the  clouds,  whereof  this  learned  author, 
among  many  others,  gives  us  several  instances, 
both  of  ancient  and  modern  date.  But  the 
truth  is,  there  is  no  reason  for  carrying  this  mir- 
acle so  high ;  since  a  sbower  of  hailstones  will 
not  only  do  the  work  every  whit  as  well,  but 
seems  to  be  the  genuine  import  of  Joshua's  words; 
who,  having  acquainted  us,  that  'the  Lord  cast 
down  great  stones  upon  the  Amorites,'  adds,  by 
way  of  explication,  '  that  they  were  more  that 
died  by  the  hailstones  than  by  the  sword  ;'  where 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  had  there  been 
great  stones,  as  well  as  hail,  the  death  of  the  great- 
er number  of  those  that  perished  would  not  liave 
2  A 


186 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  111 


which  fell  with  such  violence  upon  them, 
that  more  were  destroyed  by  the  hailstones 
than  by  the  sword.  The  five  confederate 
kings,  escaping  the  storm  in  their  flight, 
made  to  a  cave  in  a  place  called  Makke- 
ilah,  and  there  hid  themselves  from  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  ;  but  Joshua  having 
intelligence  of  their  concealment,  ordered 
the  cave  to  be  blocked  up,  and  set  a  guard 
upon  it  to  prevent  their  escape ;  com- 
manding the  rest  of  the  army  to  continue 
the  pursuit,  and  to  do  execution  on  their 
enemies,  lest  they  should  retreat  to  any 
fortified  place. 

That  they  might  not  want  time  to  com- 
plete their  victory,  Joshua,  addressing 
himself  to  God  in  prayer,  received  author- 
ity from  him  to  command  the  sun,  in  the 
sight  of  Israel,  to  stand  still,  saying,  *  Sun, 
6tand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon,  and  thou 
moon  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon.' 

been  attributed  to  the  hail  only.  Nor  are  there 
wanting  examples  of  a  later  date,  of  the  vast 
havock  and  destruction  that  hailstones  from  one 
to  five  pounds  weight  have  done  in  several  places  ; 
killing  both  man  and  beast,  and  laying  the  whole 
country  waste,  for  some  sixty,  or  seventy  miles 
round.  And  therefore,  since  it  is  agreed  on  all 
hands,  that  hailstones  have  frequently  fallen,  large 
enough  to  destroy  never  so  great  a  number  of  peo- 
ple, when  naked  and  defenceless  against  their  blows, 
what  need  is  there  for  our  liaving  recourse  to  any 
other  solution  ?  The  oriental  hail  storm  is  a  most 
terrific  agent  ;  the  hailstones  are  sometimes  as  big 
as  walnuts,  and  rather  resemble  large  masses  of 
ice,  which  scatter  desolation  and  terror  over  the 
face  of  nature  with  irresistible  fury.  A  shower  of 
hail  indeed,  may  be  supposed  to  proceed  from  a 
more  natural  cause  :  but  when  the  event  happen- 
ed at  the  very  instant  wherein  God  promised  to 
assist  his  people  against  their  enemies ;  when, 
though  it  might  have  annoyed  either  army,  it  fell 
only  on  that  which  God  had  before  determined  to 
ruin  ;  and  fell  so  very  heavily  upon  it,  as  to  de- 
stroy '  more  than  the  sword  of  the  conquerors  had 
done  ;'  such  an  event  as  this,  I  say,  cannot  but  be 
looked  upon  as  a  miraculous  interposition  of  pro- 
vidence, how  fortuitous  soever  the  concourse  of 
second  causes  may  be.  In  working  of  miracles, 
God  usually  employs  natural  causes  and  produc- 
tions. He  does  not  create  any  new  thing  for  the 
purpose  ;  but  makes  use  of  what  is  already  created, 
in  a  new  and  extraordinary  manner  j  and  there- 
fore, though  the  shower  of  hail,  and  probahly  the 
wind  too,  which  made  it  fall  with  such  impetuosity, 
were  both  of  them  natural ;  yet  the  sending  them 
at  the  very  nick  of  time,  and  directing  them  to  fall 
upon  the  enemy  only,  in  this  there  was  manifestly 
the  hand  of  God,  and  something  supernatural. — 
StacJdiouu. 


The  heavenly  orbs  obeyed,  and  stood 
unmoved  at  his  command.*  This  was  a 
long  day  indeed ;  for  never  before  or  since 
did  God  honour  man  so  much  as  to  change 


*  The  sun  appeared  to  rise  over  Gibeon,  which 
lay  to  the  east  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  moon  to 
he  about  setting  over  Ajalon,  which  lay  to  the 
west  of  them,  towards  the  Mediterranean  sea.  In 
this  situation,  Joshua,  moved  by  a  divine  impulse, 
uttered  the  invocation  in  the  sight  of  Israel  ;  and 
in  consequence,  the  sun  '  hasted  not  to  go  down 
about  a  whole  day,'  that  is,  in  that  climate,  near 
the  vernal  equinox,  about  13  hours  ;  and  thus 
about  twenty-six  hours  of  day-light  were  afforded 
them  for  the  destruction  of  their  enemies,  during 
which  they  took  the  city  of  Makkedah,  and  slew 
the  five  kings  who  hid  themselves  in  a  cave  near 
it,  Josh.  x.  21.  fee.  Dr  Hales. — It  can  never  be 
affirmed  that  the  miracle  here  recorded  of  the  sun 
standing  still  is  impossible  or  incredible,  since  it  is 
certain  and  self-evident  that  the  great  Author  of 
nature,  who  gave  being  and  motion  to  the  sun 
and  stars,  may  stop  that  motion  when  and  as  long 
as  he  pleases,  especially  when  their  rest  will  con- 
tribute to  his  glory,  (as  was  the  case  in  the  present 
instance,)  as  much  as  their  continued  motion  does. 
We  talk  of  greater  and  lesser  miracles,  when,  in 
reality,  to  the  almighty  power  of  God  all  things 
are  equally  easy.  The  motion  and  other  proper- 
ties of  all  created  beings  were  at  first  impressed  by 
him  ;  and  with  the  same  facility,  he  can  retard 
or  suspend  their  operations,  for  they  have  no 
power  of  resisting  the  first  movement  of  his  will. 
Since  therefore  every  thing,  that  is  contrary  to  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature,  requires  the  interposi- 
tion of  an  Almighty  power,  and  whatever  is  not 
impossible  in  itself,  is  equally  possible  with  God; 
with  him  there  can  be  no  difference  between 
stopping  the  waters  of  Jordan,  and  drying  up  the 
Red  sea  ;  between  drawing  water  from  the  stony 
rock,  and  arresting  the  sun  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven  ;  for  4  whatsoever  he  pleaseth,  that  he 
doeth,  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  in  the  sea  and  all 
deep  places.'  Stachhouse. — It  is  remarkable,  that 
the  terms  in  which  this  event  is  recorded  in  the 
sacred  writings,  do  not  agree  with  what  is  now 
known  concerning  the  motions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  ;  for,  whereas  it  is  recorded,  that  the  sun 
and  moon  were  made  to  stop  for  a  whole  day,  it  is 
now  sufficiently  known  that  day  and  night  are  not 
caused  by  any  motion  of  the  sun,  but  by  the  rota- 
tion of  the  earth  on  its  own  axis.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  as  iu  those  early  ages 
meu  had  not  the  slightest  notion  of  the  modern 
discoveries  in  astronomy,  it  was  unavoidably  ne- 
cessary that  the  event  should  be  described  ac- 
cording to  the  knowledge  which  then  obtained. 
If  God  had  dictated  to  Joshua  to  record  the  mi- 
racle in  terms  suitable  to  the  modern  discoveries 
in  astronomy,  Joshua  would  have  appeared  to  ex- 
press it  in  a  manner  directly  contrary  to  all  rule* 
of  science  then  known  ;  and  his  account  of  what 
I lati  happened  would  have  been  objected  to,  as 
false  in  astronomy.  It  would  have  appeared  rather 
a  wild  fancy,  or  a  gross  blunder  of  his  own,  than  a 
t  true  account  of  a  real  miracle  ;  and  so  would  have 


Chap.  Ill  ] 


THE  BIBLE. 


187 


the  course  of  nature,  and  stop  the  motion 
of  the  rolling  luminaries. 

Having  received  so  remarkable  a  dis- 
play of  divine  favour  and  concurrence,  in 
vanquishing  the  foes  of  Israel,  Joshua  re- 
turned from  the  chase,  and  ordered  the 
cave  to  be  opened,  where  the  five  kings 
lay  hid;  he  commanded  them  to  be  brought 
before  him.,  Then  calling  for  the  officers 
of  the  army,  he  bid  them  set  their  feet 
upon  the  necks  of  those  kings ;  which 
they  did. 

This  was  not  to  insult  over  the  wretch- 
ed captives,  but  an  emblematical  predic- 
tion of  their  future  success  over  the  ene- 
mies of  God's  people,  t  For  thus,'  says 
Joshua,  •  I  will  do  to  all  that  oppose  you.' 
Then  commanding:  execution  to  be  done 
upon  them,'  he  caused  them  to  be  hanged 
up  on  several  trees  until  the  evening; 
when  he  ordered  them  to  be  taken  down, 


been  received  with  little  attention  by  the  persons 
for  whom  it  was  written.  Thus,  when  God  di- 
rected Joshua  to  record  this  miracle,  he  did  not 
direct  him  to  record  it  in  a  manner  more  agreeable 
to  true  astronomy  ;  because,  if  he  had  done  so, 
unless  he  inspired  the  world  at  the  same  time 
witli  a  true  knowledge  of  astronomy,  the  account 
would  rather  have  tended  to  raise  amongst  those 
who  read  it  and  heard  of  it,  disputes  and  "oppo- 
sitions of  science  falsely  so  called,"  than  have  pro- 
moted the  great  ends  of  religion  intended  by  it. 
Shuchford. —  A  confused  tradition  concerning  this 
miracle  of  the  sun  standing  still,  and  a  similar  one 
in  the  time  of  Ahaz,  when  the  sun  went  back  ten 
degrees,  had  been  preserved  amongst  one  of  the 
most  ancient  nations,  as  we  are  informed  by  one  of 
the  most  ancient  historians.  Herodotus,  speaking 
of  the  Egyptian  priests,  says,  "  They  told  me  that 
the  sun  has  four  times  deviated  from  his  course, 
having  twice  risen  where  he  uniformly  goes  down, 
and  twice  gone  down  where  he  uniformly  rises. 
This,  however,  had  produced  no  alteration  in  the 
climate  of  Egypt  ;  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  the 
phenomena  of  the  Nile,  had  been  always  the  same." 
The  last  part  of  this  observation  confirms  the  con- 
jecture that  this  account  of  the  Egyptian  priests 
had  a  reference  to  the  two  miracles  respecting  th^ 
sun  mentioned  in  Scripture  ;  for  they  were  not  of 
that  kind  which  could  introduce  any  change  in 
climates  or  seasons.  I  think  it  idle,  if  not  impi- 
ous, to  undertake  to  explain  how  the  miracle  was 
performed  ;  but  one  who  is  not  able  to  explain  the 
mode  of  doing  a  thing,  argues  ill  if  he  thence  infers 
that  the  thing  was  not  done.  The  machine  of  the 
universe  is  in  the  hand  of  (iod  :  he  can  stop  the 
motion  of  any  part,  or  of  the  whole,  with  less  trou- 
ble, and  less  danger  of  injuring  it,  than  any  of  us 
can  stop  a  watch. —  Watson. 


and  cast  into  the  cave  where  they  had  hid 
themselves,  making  their  intended  sanc- 
tuary their  sepulchre. 

Having  totally  routed  the  combined 
forces,  Joshua  proceeded  to  reduce  the 
cities  to  subjection  of  the  Israelites.  He 
marched  first  to  Makkedah,  then  to  Lib- 
nah  ;  from  thence  to  Lachish,  where  he 
slew  the  king  of  Gezer,  who  came  to  the 
relief  of  Lachish  ;  from  Lachish  he  march- 
ed to  Eglon,  from  Eglon  to  Hebron,  and 
from  Hebron  to  Debir.  All  which  places 
he  took  by  storm,  and  put  the  inhabitants, 
both  kings  and  people,  to  the  sword,  as 
God  had  commanded. 

Joshua  having  performed  such  great 
exploits,  and  conquered  so  many  kings  and 
nations  in  one  expedition*  through  the 
assistance  of  the  mighty  God  of  Israel,  re- 
turned with  hjs  victorious  army  to  his 
camp  at  Gilgal. 

The  signal  conquest  of  the  Israelites 
spread  a  fame,  and  greatly  alarmed  the 
more  distant  nations,  especially  the  Hazor- 
ites,  whose  king  thinking  it  in  vain  for  the 
princes  of  Canaan  to  encounter  singly 
with  so  puissant  and  victorious  an  army, 
sent  to  Jobab  king  of  Madon,  to  the  king 
of  Shimron,  and  to  the  king  of  Achshaph, 
and  to  all  the  neighbouring  princes  within 
reach,  to  invite  them  into  a  league,  that 
with  their  united  force  they  might  drive 
the  Israelites  out  of  the  land  they  had 
conquered. 

Enraged  at  the  continual  success  of  the 
Israelites,  the  different  powers,  next  cam- 
paign, raised  a  very  numerous  army  to 
engage  Joshua;  whose  God,  to  chastise 
the  pride  and  presumption  of  his  enemies, 
and  to  encourage  his  general,  bid  him  not 
to  fear  them,  *  For  to-morrow,'  says  he, 
*  I  will  deliver  them  into  the  hand  of 
Israel,  and  thou  shalt  disable  their  horses, 
and  burn  their  chariots. 'f 


*  All  these  great  achievements  are  by  some 
chronologers  reckoned  to  have  been  performed  in 
the  first  year  of  Joshua's  government,  and  placed 
in  the  year  of  the  world  2o53 

f  Military  chariots  were  much  in  u.-c  among  the 


188 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


Relying  on  the  strength  of  their  num- 
bers, the  combined  potentates  vainly 
faltered  themselves  they  should  intimi- 
date the  general  of  the  Israelites ;  but 
Joshua,  in  pursuance  of  the  encourage- 
ment and  instructions  God  had  given  him, 
without  delay  took  the  field,  marched  di- 
rectly towards  the  enemy,  and  fell  so 
suddenly  upon  them,  that  he  immediately  , 
routed  them  ;  and  in  the  pursuit  put  all  j 
to   the   sword.     And  because  Jabin,   the 


Egyptians,  Canaan  ites,  and  other  oriental  nations. 
Two  sorts  are  mentioned  in  tlie  Scriptures  ;  one 
in  which  princes  and  generals  rode,  the  other  to 
break  the  enemy's  battalions  by  rushing  in  among 
them,  armed  with  iron  scythes,  which  caused  terri- 
ble havoc.  The  most  ancient  war-cha riots,  of 
which  we  read,  are  those  of  Pharaoh,  which  were 
destroyed  in  the  Hed  sea.  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  Hebrews  ever  used  chariots  in  war,  though 
Solomon  had  a  considerable  number ;  but  we 
know  of  no  military  expedition  in  which  he  em- 
ployed them.  In  the  second  hook  of  Maccabees, 
mention  is  made  of  chariots  armed  with  scythes, 
which  the  kitig  of  Syria  led  against  the  Jews. 
These  chariots  were  generally  placed  on  the  whole 
front  of  the  infantry,  ranged  in  a  straight  line, 
parallel  sometimes  to  the  cavalry.  Some  of  them 
were  with  four,  others  with  two  wheels  only  : 
these  were  driven  against  the  enemy,  whom  they 
never  failed  to  put  into  disorder,  when  they  were 
followed  closely  by  the  line.  There  were  two 
ways  of  rendering  them  useless:  first,  by  opening 
a  passage  for  them  through  the  battalions  :  second- 
ly, by  killing  the  horses  before  they  were  too  far 
advanced  :  in  which  case  they  were  of  the  greatest 
disservice  to  those  who  employed  them,  because 
they  not  only  embarrassed  them,  but,  further, 
broke  the  closeness  of  the  line,  and  checked  all  the 
force  of  the  onset.  The  ancient  chariots  are 
described  in  the  following  manner  :  "  The  beam,  to 
which  the  horses  were  fastened,  was  armed  with 
spikes  with  iron-points,  which  projected  forward  : 
the  yokes  of  the  horses  had  two  cutting  falchions 
of  three  cubits  length  :  the  axle-trees  had  fixed  to 
them  two  iron-spits,  with  scythes  at  their  extremi- 
ties ;  the  spokes  of.  the  wheels  were  armed  with 
javelins,  and  the  very  felloes  with  scythes,  which 
tore  every  thing  they  met  with  to  pieces.  The 
axle-tree  was  longer,  and  the  wheels  stronger  than 
usual,  that  they  might  be  the  better  able  to  bear  a 
shock,  and  the  chariot  less  liable  to  be  overturned." 
The  charioteer,  who  was  covered  all  over  with  ar- 
mour, sat  in  a  kind  of  tower,  made  of  very  solid  wood 
about  breast  high,  and  sometimes  men  well  armed 
were  put  into  the  chariot,  and  fought  from  thence 
with  darts  and  arrows.  So  that  a  dreadful  slaughter 
these  machines  must  at  first  have  made,  when  they 
met  with  the  enemy's  troops  ;  but,  in  time,  when 
men  came  to  find  out  the  way  of  declining  them, 
they  did  not  do  so  much  execution,  and  were  con- 
sequently disused. — See  Diodorus  Siculus,  Quin- 
tus  Curtius,  Xenopkun,  Sfc. 


king  of  Hazor,*  had  been  the  head  of  the 
confederacy,  he  caused  that  city  to  be 
burnt  to  the  ground;  but  all  the  other 
cities,  whose  inhabitants  were  slain  in  the 
action,  he  left  standing,  and  y-ave  the  cat- 

©  © 

tie  and  plunder  of  them  to  the  soldiers. 

Thus  did  Joshua  by  degrees  recover  all 
the  land  of  Canaan,  subduing  the  people 
that  possessed  it,  and  slaying  all  their 
kings,  one  and  thirty  in  number,  with  the 
Anakites  or  giants,  of  whom  he  left  none 
remaining,  except  in  Gaza,  Gath,  and 
Ashdod.f  And  now  Joshua  began  to 
think  of  a  settlement,  which  he  did,  by- 
dividing  the  land  beyond  Jordan  among 
the   nine   tribes   and    half;  J    who    being 

*  It  is  probable  that  Jabin  was  the  common 
name  of  all  the  kings  of  Hazor. — The*  city  of  Ha- 
zor was  situated  above  the  lake  Semechon,  iu 
Upper  (lalilee,  according  to  Josephus.  It  was 
given  to  the  tribe  of  Naphtali.  Josh.  xix.  36,  who 
it  appears  did  not  possess  it  long  ;  for  though  it 
was  burnt  by  Joshua,  ver.  1  I,  it  is  likely  that  the 
Canaanites  rebuilt  it,  and  restored  the  ancient 
government,  as  we  find  a  powerful  kiiii;  there 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  the  death 
of  Joshua,  Jud.'.  iv.  I.  It  is  the  same  that  was 
taken  by  Tiglath-pilezer,  together  with  Kadesh,  to 
which  it  is  contiguous  ;  see  '2  Kings  xv.  29.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  given  name  to  the  valley  or  plain 
of  Hazor  or  Nasor,  situated  between  it  and  Ka- 
desh, where  Jonathan  and  Mattalhias  defeated  the 
armies  of  Demetrius,  and  slew  three  thousand  of 
their  men,  I  Maccab.  xi.  63 — 74.  It  was  in  an- 
cient times  the  metropolitan  city  of  all  that  dis- 
trict, and  a  number  of  petty  kings  or  chieftains 
were  subject  to  its  king  ;  and  it  is  likely  that  it 
was  those  tributary  kings  who  were  summoned  to 
attend  the  king  of  Hazor  on  this  occasion  ;  for 
Joshua,  having  conquered  the  southern  part  of  the 
promised  land,  the  northern  parts  seeing  them- 
selves exposed  made  a  common  interest,  and  join- 
ing with  Jabin,  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
progress  of  the  Israelites. — See  Culinet,  and  Dr 
A.  Clarke. 

f  Three  cities  of  the  Philistines,  whose  country 
the  Israelites  did  not  possess  till  the  time  of 
David. 

\  The  following,  according  to  Josephus,  are  the 
territorial  divisions  of  these  tribes: — "Judah  had 
assigned  him  by  lot  the  upper  part  of  Judea, 
reaching  as  far  as  Jerusalem,  and  its  breadth  ex- 
tended to  the  lake  of  Sodom.  Now  in  the  lot  of 
this  tribe  there  were  the  cities  of  Askelon  and 
Gaza.  The  lot  of  Simeon,  which  was  the  second, 
included  that  part  of  Idumea  winch  bordered  upon 
Egypt  and  Arabia.  As  to  the  Benjamitcs,  their 
lot  fell  so,  that  its  length  reached  from  the  river 
Jordan  to  the  sea;  but  in  breadth  it  was  hounded 
by  Jerusalem  and  Bethel ;  and  this  lot  was  the 
narrowest  of  all,  by  reason  of  the  goodness  of  the 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


189 


settled  in  their  several  possessions,  Joshua 
set  up  the  tabernacle  at  Shiloh.* 

Tnen  calling  the  Reubenites,  Gadites, 
and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  and  ac- 
knowledging that  they  had  faithfully  kept 
their  covenant  in  accompanying  their 
brethren,  and  helping  them  to  subdue 
their  enemies,  he  kindly  dismissed  them, 
advising  them  to  continue  steadfast  in  their 
duly  to  God;  and  giving  them  his  bless- 
ing, they  returned  to  their  families,  loaded 
with  spoils,  consisting  of  gold,  bass,  iron, 
raiment,  and  a  great  quantity  of  cattle, 
which  was  their  share  of  the  plunder  taken 
from  the  enemy  during  the  war. 

These  two  tribes  and  half,  being  safely 
arrived  on  the  borders  of  Jordan,  erected 
an  altar,  not  for  any  religious  use,  but  as 


land  ;  for  it  included  Jericho  and  the  city  of 
Jerusalem.  The  tribe  of  Ephraim  had  by  lot  the 
land  that  extended  in  length  from  the  river  Jordan 
to  (iezer ;  but  in  breadth  as  far  as  from  Bethel, 
till  it  ended  at  the  Ureal  Plain.  The  half-tribe  of 
Manasseh  had  the  land  from  Jordan  to  the  city 
Dora;  but  its  breadth  was  at  Bethshan.  which  is 
now  called  Scythopolis  ;  and  after  these  was 
Issachar,  which  had  its  limits  in  length,  Mount 
Carmel  and  the  river,  but  its  limit  in  breadth  was 
Mount  Tabor.  The  tribe  of  Zebul tin's  lot  includ- 
ed the  land  which  lay  as  far  as  the  lake  of  Genes- 
areth,  and  litat  which  belonged  to  Carmel  and  the 
sea.  The  tribe  of  Asher  had  that  part  which  was 
called  the  Valley,  for  such  it  was,  and  all  that  part 
which  lay  over-against  Sidon.  The  city  Arce  be- 
longed to  their  share,  which  is  also  named  Actipus. 
The  Naphthalites  received  the  eastern  parts,  as 
far  as  the  city  of  Damascus  and  the  Upper  Galilee, 
unto  Mount  Libanus,  and  the  Fountains  of  Jordan, 
which  rise  out  of  that  mountain  ;  that  is,  out  of 
that  part  of  it  whose  limits  belong  to  the  neigh- 
bouring city  of  Arce.  The  Danites'  lot  included 
all  that  part  of  the  valley  which  respects  the  sun- 
setting,  and  were  bounded  by  Azjtus  and  Dora; 
as  also  they  had  all  Jamnia  and  Gath,  from  FJ-.ro n 
to  that  mountain  where  the  tribe  of  Judah  begins." 
*  'I  his  appears  to  have  been  a  considerable  town 
about  fifteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  in  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim,  and  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  whole 
land.  To  this  place  both  the  camp  of  Israel,  and 
the  ark  of  the  Lord,  were  removed  from  Gilgal, 
alter  a  residence  there  of  seven  years.  Here  the 
tabernacle  remained  one  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
as  is  generally  supposed,  being  the  most  convenient- 
ly situated  for  access  to  the  different  tiibes.  and  for 
safety,  the  Israelites  having  possession  of  the  land 
on  all  sides  ;  for  it  is  added,  the  land  was  subdued 
bi  fore  them — the  Cauaanites  were  so  complete- 
ly subdued,  that  there  was  no  longer  any  general 
resistance  to  the  Israelitish  arms. — Dr  Adam 
Clarke. 


a  memorial  to  succeeding  ages,  that  though 
they  were  parted  from  their  brethren  by 
Jordan,  yet  they  were  all  of  one  extrac- 
tion and  religion,  and  had  an  equal  right 
to  the  altar  of  the  Lord  at  Shiloh,  and 
the  worship  performed  there. 

This  had  like  to  have  proved  of  fatal 
consequence,  and  occasioned  a  war  be- 
tween them  and  the  other  tribes ;  to 
whom  the  matter  being  either  mi  repre- 
sented, or  they  misapprehending  it,  and 
suspecting  their  brethren  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan  were  ready  to  revolt  from 
God  and  them,  they  unanimously  assem- 
bled their  forces  at  Shiloh,  in  order  to  de- 
clare wat  against  them. 

But  before  they  proceeded  to  extremi- 
ties, they  chose  ten  princes,  one  out  of 
each  tribe,  and  they  the  chiefs  of  their 
families,  with  Phinehas  and  Elea/ar,  and 
sent  them  away  to  inquire  into  the  cause 
of  this  new-erected  altar. 

On  their  arrival,  they  accosted  them 
in  very  severe  terms,  charging  them  with 
rebellion  against  the  Lord.  To  aggravate 
the  matter  farther,  they  put  them  in  mind 
of  the  sin  of  Peor;  and  to  let  them  see 
that  it  was  not  out  of  an  officious  busy 
temper  or  humour  that  they  came  to  them 
thus,  but  out  of  a  generous  concern  for 
the  whole  people,  they  said,  '■  It'  thou  thus 
rebel  against  the  Lord,  he  wiil  soon  be 
angry  with  the  whole  congregation  of 
Israel.' 

This  they  enforced  by  the  late  instance 
of  Achan.  And  to  prevent  any  objection, 
and  take  from  them  all  pretence  of  excuse 
or  defence,  they  added  :  '  If  ye  have  done 
this  from  any  apprehension  that  the  land 
ye  possess  on  that  side  Jordan  is  unclean, 
or  less  holy  than  ours,  because  the  taber- 
nacle is  on  our  side  the  river,  return  and 
settle  among  us  where  the  tabernacle 
resteth ;  but  by  no  means  rebel  against 
the  Lord,  nor  us,  in  building  you  an  altar 
besides  the  altar  of  the  Lord.' 

The  Reubenites,  Gadites,  and  Manas- 
sites,  were  very  much  concerned  at  the 
ill  opinion  their  brethren  entertained  of 


190 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


them.  But  well  knowing  their  own  in- 
nocency,  with  a  solemn  appeal  to  God, 
returned  answer  to  Phinehas  and  his  com- 
panions in  this  manner: 

■  The  Lord  of  the  whole  world,  and  all 
Israel,  shall  know  how  innocent  we  are  of 
the  rebellion  with  which  you  charge  us. 
If  we  have  set  up  an  altar  in  opposition 
to  the  Lord's  altar,  let  him  judge  and 
punish  us;  neither  do  ye  show  us  any 
favour.  But  when  ye  shall  know  the 
truth,  you  will  find  what  we  have  done 
was  to  prevent  what  you  fear.  For  we 
considered,  that  in  time  to  come,  your 
children  might  say  unto  our  children, 
What  have  ye  to  do  with  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel?  For  since  the  Lord  hath 
made  Jordan  a  border  and  bound  between 
us  and  you,  you  have  no  part  in  the  Lord: 
that  is,  you  do  not  belong  to  the  congre- 
gation of  the  Lord,  nor  have  any  right  to 
come  before  his  tabernacle,  nor  to  offer 
upon  his  altar ;  and  so  your  children* 
might  be  an  occasion  to  our  children  to 
turn  rebels  to  the  Lord.  Therefore  we 
agreed  to  build  an  altar,  not  for  burnt- 
offering,  nor  for  sacrifice,  but  to  be  a  wit- 
ness between  you  and  us  and  our  gene- 
rations after  us ;  that  when  we  should 
come  to  perform  sacrifice  to  the  Lord 
with  our  burnt-offering  and  sacrifice  be- 
fore him,  if  your  children  should  say  unto 
ours,  Ye  have  no  part  in  the  Lord;  our 
children  might  reply,  Behold  the  pattern 
of  the  altar  of  the  Lord  which  our  fathers 
made,  not  to  sacrifice  upon,  but  to  be  a 
witness  between  us  and  you.  But  as  to 
the  matter  you  charge  us  with,  God  forbid 
that  we  should  rebel  against  the  Lord,  and 
turn  this  day  from  following  the  Lord,  to 
build  an  altar  for  burnt-offerings,  meat- 
offerings, or  sacrifices,  besides  the  altar  of 
our  God,  that  is  before  his  tabernacle.' 

Phinehas  and  the  princes  of  the  people 
that  were  with  him,  struck  with  this  just 
vindication  of  the  Reubenites  and  the 
rest,  applauded  them  for  it;  and  Phinehas, 
to  testify  his  sense  and  approbation  of 
their  innocence,  assured  them  that  he  es- 


teemed the  proof  they  had  given  of  it  as 
a  token  of  their  regard  to  God,  and  of  his 
presence  with  them. 

Then  taking  leave  of  their  brethren, 
they  returned  in  triumph  to  the  Israelites 
at  Shiloh,  who  with  infinite  p'easure  and 
joy  received  the  good  tidings  of  their  bre- 
thren's innocence,  and  of  their  pious  care 
and  zeal  to  preserve  their  posterity  in  the 
fear  and  service  of  the  true  God.  And 
changing  their  angry  thoughts  of  war 
into  those  of  tenderness  and  peace,  they 
blessed  God  for  the  happy  issue  of  this 
dangerous  affair.  As  for  the  Reubenites 
and  their  brethren,  to  prevent  any  future 
jealousy  or  suspicion  of  their  intentions, 
they  called  the  altar  which  they  had  built 
Ed,  which  signifies  a  witness,  adding 
this  as  the  reason  of  the  name,  *  For  it 
shall  be  a  witness  between  us  and  our 
brethren,  the  other  tribes  of  Israel,  that 
the  Lord  is  God.'  Intimating  by  this, 
that  though  they  lived  at  a  distance  from 
the  rest  of  their  brethren,  yet  both  had 
but  one  God,  who  was  the  God  of  Israel. 

The  great  warrior  of  Israel  having  ob- 
tained a  complete  victory  over  his  ene- 
mies, enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  labour  in 
the  agreeable  repose  of  a  settled  peace; 
and  at  last  being  grown  old,  and  fore- 
seeing his  end  to  be  near  at  hand,  he 
caused  all  Israel  to  be  assembled;  to 
whom  he  thus  briefly  enumerated  the 
blessings  God  had  bestowed  on  their  an- 
cestors and  themselves:  'Your  fathers 
dwelt  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  from 
whence  the  Lord  brought  Abraham  his 
servant  to  this  happy  country,  where  he 
blessed  his  old  age  with  a  son,  and  that 
son  with  two  others,  Jacob  and  Esau. 
Esau  possessed  mount  Seir,  but  Jacob 
and  his  family  went  into  Egypt,  where; 
their  posterity  remained  under  slavish 
bondage,  till  God  sent  Moses  and  Aaron 
to  deliver  them.  You  cannot  be  ignorant 
of  the  wonders  God  wrought  by  their 
hands,  when  he  plagued  Egypt  for  then 
sakes,  nor  of  his  care  in  protecting  them 
against  the   Amorites.     Y'ourselves  have 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


19) 


lately  seen  confederate  nations  fall  before 
yon,  and  the  way  to  an  easy  victory  for 
you  over  all  your  enemies.  And  now  at 
last  he  hath  left  yon  in  quiet  possession 
of  a  land  that  aboundeth  with  all  manner 
of  plenty,  whose  happy  soil,  without  your 
labour,  yields  the  comfortable  product  of 
all  that  nature  can  give.  In  recompence 
for  all  this,  your  great  Protector  and  Be- 
nefactor requires  only  an  exact  obedience 
to  his  laws.' 

Then  solemnly  declaring,  *  That  what 
course  soever  the  rest  should  take,  he  and 
his  house  would  serve  the  Lord;'*  and 
exhorting  them  to  a  faithful  observance 
of  the  laws  of  God,  he  invited  them  to 
renew  their  covenant  with  God.  Which 
having  done  in  very  ample  and  significant 
terms,  he  wrote  the  words  of  the  covenant 
in  the  book  of  the  law  of  God:  then  setting 
up  a  great  stone  under  an  oak  by  the 
sanctuary  of  the  Lord,  he  bid  the  people 
take  notice,  that  that  very  stone  should 
be  a  witness  to  them,  to  put  them  in 
mind  of  the  covenant  which  they  had 
made,  to  prevent  them  hereafter  from 
denying  their  God. 

Soon  after  this,  Joshua  being  arrived 
at  the  hundred  and  tenth  year  of  his  age, 
died;  and  was  buried  in  the  border  of  his 
inheritance,  in  Timnath-serah,  in  mount 
Ephraim;+  which  city,  upon  the  division 


*  Joshua  puts  Israel  to  their  choice,  whom  they 
would  serve,  whether  the  Lord  Jehovah,  or  the 
idols  of  the  Amorites  where  they  dwelt:  and,  as  a 
leader  in  Israel  and  pattern,  he  set  hefore  them  his 
own  choice  and  the  strength  of  his  love  to  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel:  'as  for  him  and  his  house, 
they  would  serve  the  Lord:'  a  happy  and  honour- 
able resolution,  not  only  worthy  to  be  followed 
hv  the  head  and  members  of  every  family,  but  it  is 
their  greatest  honour  and  privilege  in  life. 

■j*  The  mountains  of  Ephraim  were  situated  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  opposite 
to  the  mountains  of  Judah.  The  soil  of  both 
ridges  is  fertile,  excepting  those  parts  of  the 
mountains  of  Israel  which  approach  the  region  of 
the  Jordan,  and  which  are  both  rugged  and  difficult 
of  ascent,  and  also  with  the  exception  of  the  chain 
extending  from  the  mount  of  Olives  near  Jerusa- 
lem to  the  plain  of  Jericho,  which  has  always  af- 
forded lurking  places  to  robbers.  The  most  ele- 
vated summit  of  this  ridge,  which  appears  to  be 
the  same  that  was  anciently  called  the  Rock  of 


of  the  land  amongst  the  tribes,  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  by  God's  direction  gave 
unto  him,  in  token  of  gratitude  for  the 
many  services  and  benefits  they  had  re- 
ceived by  his  administration. 

Much  about  the  same  time  also  died 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron,  the  priest, 
whom  they  buried  in  a  hill,  which  was 
given  him  in  mount  Ephraim,  and  which 
descended  to  Phinehas  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor in  the  priesthood. 

The  children  of  Israel  being  obliged 
by  oath  to  carry  Joseph's  bones  into  She- 
chem,  they  there  buried  them  in  a  parcel  of 
ground  which  Jacob  had  formerly  bought 
of  the  son  of  Hamor,  the  father  of  She1- 
chem;  which  parcel  of  ground  afterwards 
became  the  inheritance  of  Joseph's  pos- 
terity. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Judah  and  Simeon  are  continued  by  God 
successors  to  Joshua  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Israelites. —  Their  success  over  their  enemies. 
—  They  are  rebuked  by  an  angel  for  their 
neglect  of  the  divine  command. —  Wickedness 
and  punishment  of  the  succeeding  generation. 
— Piety  of  Micah,  in  restoring  the  money 
which  his  mother  had,  through  a  mistaken 
zeal,  devoted  to  the  Lord. 

The  Israelites,^  mindful  of  the  advice  of 
their   deceased   leader,    awarded   by   the 


Rimmon,  is  at  present  known  by  the  name  of 
Qnarantania.  It  is  described  by  Maundrell,  as 
situated  in  a  mountainous  desert,  and  being  a 
most  miserably  dry  and  barren  place,  consisting  of 
high  rocky  mountains,  torn  and  disordered,  as  if 
the  earth  had  here  suffered  some  great  convulsion. 
The  mountain  on  which  Timnath-serah  was  built, 
was  called  Gaash.  It  is  generally  allowed  to 
have  been  a  barren  spot  in  a  barren  country.  It 
is  probable  that  Joshua,  as  he  was  buried  in  his 
own  country,  had  forbidden  all  funeral  pomp,  and 
was  privately  interred.  His  tomb,  according  to 
Eusebius,  was  known  in  his  time. 

|  After  the  death  of  Joshua,  the  Israelites  were 
long  without  any  king  or  sovereign.  Every  tribe, 
being  governed  by  its  elders,  chose  its  own  com- 
manders for  war,  and  they  by  degrees  subdued  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  either  de- 
stroying or  making  them  tributaries.  The  neigh- 
bouring kings  made  war  on  and  sometimes  subdued 
them  ;  but  God  from  time  to  time  raised  some 
persons,  who  delivered  them  from  their  oppressions. 


192 


HISTOUY  OF 


[Book  III. 


dreadful  punishments  that  had  been  in- 
flicted on  the  disobedience  of  their  fore- 
fathers, presumed  not  to  take  any  step  at 
this  critical  juncture,  without  applying  tor 
tuc  divine  instruction ;  therefore  as  there 
were  still  remaining  several  Canaanitish 
kings  uuconquered,  and  who  might  be 
troublesome  to  them,  they  unanimously 
repaired  to  the  onicle  at  Shiloh  to  ask 
direction  who  should  go  first  up  for  them 
to  fight  the  Canaanites? 

The  Lord  gave  this  first  post  of  honour 
to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  with  an  assurance 
of  victory.  Whereupon  they  invited  the 
tribe  of  Simeon,  whose  lot  lay  within 
theirs,  to  accompany  them  in  this  expedi- 
tion ;  they  promised  them,  if  they  would 
join  forces  with  them  now,  they  would  do 
the  like  for  them  afterwards. 

Simeon  agreed ;  and  taking  the  field 
they  both  attacked  the  cruel  king  of 
Bezek,  who  having  fortified  himself  in 
the  city,  could  not  long  hold  out  against 
victorious  Israel:  but  seeing  his  heartless 
troops  give  way,  quitted  the  place  and 
endeavoured  by  ignoble  flight  to  save  his 
life,  but  in  vain ;  for  the  Israelites  having 
taken  the  town,  and  put  ten  thousand  of 
the  people  to  the  sword,  they  pursued 
Adonibezek*  the  king;  and  having  taken 
him  they  cut  off  his  thumbs  and  great 
toes.-f 


In  acknowledgment  for  which  henefit  the  people 
appointed  them  their  judges,  that  is,  their  supreme 
magistrates,  to  administer  justice  and  govern  them. 

*  Adonibezek  is  literally  the  *  lord  of  Bezek.'  It 
is  very  probable  that  the  different  Canaanitish 
tribes  were  governed  by  a  sort  of  chieftains,  similar 
to  those  among  the  clans  of  the  ancient  Scottish 
Highlanders.  Bezek  is  said  by  some  to  have  been 
in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Eusebius  and  St  Jerome 
mention  two  villages  of  this  name,  not  in  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  but  about  seventeen  miles  from  Shechem. 
—Br  A.  Clarke. 

•  That  the  cutting  off  the  thumbs  and  toes  of 
captured  enemies  was  an  ancient  mode  of  treating 
them,  we  learn  from  ^Elian,  Var.  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  9. 
who  tells  us,  that  the  "  Athenians,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  C'leon,  son  of  CleOEiiatus,  made  a  decree 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  vEgina 
should  have  the  thumb  cut  off  from  the  rignt  hand, 
m>  that  they  might  ever  after  be  disabled  from 
holding  a  spear,  yet  might  handle  an  oar."  It  was 
a  custom  among  those   Romans  who  disliked  a 


This  execution  drew  from  the  tyrant 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  justice  of 
God  upon  him;  for  he  confessed  he  had 
cut  off  the  thumbs  and  great  toes  of  no 
less  than  seventy  kings,  whom,  in  this 
mangled  condition,  he  made  to  gather 
their  meat  like  dogs  under  his  table. 

The  old  city  Jehus,!  vv i 1 1 1  its  territories, 
lay  in  two  parts;  of  which  one  part  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Judah,  the  other  to  that  of 
Benjamin. 

Judah  soon  overrun  that  part  of  it  that 
belonged  to  him;  and  having  put  the  in- 
habitants to  the  sword,  set  the  place  on 
fire.  Hither  it  was  they  brought  the 
captive  king  Adonibezek,  where  he  died. 

The  next  march  of  the  Israelites  was 
against  the  Canaanites  that  dwelt  to  the 
southward  of  the  mountains,  and  in  the 
plains;  where,  having  taken  Hebron,  they 
marched  to  attack  Debir,  which  was  a 
part  of  Caleb's  portion,  but  possessed  by 
the  Canaanites. 

This  being  Caleb's  property,  notvvith- 


military  life  to  cut  off  their  own  thumbs,  that  they 
might  not  be  capable  of  serving  in  the  army. 
Sometimes  the  parents  cut  off  the  thumbs  of  their 
children,  that  they  might  not  be  called  into  the 
army.  According  to  Suetonius,  a  Roman  knight, 
who  had  cut  off  the  thumbs  of  his  two  sons,  to 
prevent  them  being  called  to  a  military  life,  was, 
by  the  order  of  Augustus,  publicly  sold  both  he 
and  his  property.  Calmet  remarks,  that  the  Italian 
language  has  preserved  a  term,  poltro7ie,  which 
signifies  one  whose  thumb  is  cut  off,  to  designate 
a  soldier  destitute  of  courage. — Home. 

J  This  city  and  its  territories  had  hitherto  been 
possessed  by  the  Jebusites,  who  sprung  from  Jebusi, 
the  third  son  of  Canaan.  It  is  in  Judges  called 
Jerusalem,  which  name  it  had  long  after  the  Israel- 
ites had  sacked  and  burnt  it;  it  was  rebuilt  again, 
and  afterwards  made  the  metropolis  of  the  whole 
kingdom.  We  do  not  read  that  Jerusalem  was 
ever  taken  by  Joshua,  though  it  seems  highly  pro- 
bable, that,  when  he  took  the  king  of  Jerusalem, 
he  did  to  it  as  he  did  to  the  rest  of  the  cities  be- 
longing to  those  kings.  Josh.  x.  3,  23.  But  when 
lie  was  gone  to  conquer  other  parts  of  the  country, 
it  is  likely  that  the  old  inhabitants  returned  again, 
and  took  possession  of  it,  for  the  land  was  not  then 
divided  among  the  Israelites.  But  as  Joshua,  a 
little  before  his  death,  divided  the  land,  and  this 
city  fell,  in  part,  to  the  share  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
they  dispossessed  the  Jebusites,  that  dwelt  there, 
of  all  but  the  strong  fortress  on  the  top  of  mount 
Sion  which  held  out  till  the  days  of  David. — Pa- 
tricks Commentary. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


193 


standing  his  great  age,  he  resolved  to 
storm  the  place ;  and  to  encourage  his 
men  the  more  in  this  brave  attempt,  he 
made  proclamation  in  his  camp,  that  he 
would  give  Achsah  his  daughter  to  the 
brave  hero  who  should  attack  and  take 
the  town.* 

The  hopes  of  this  beautiful  prize  raised 
in  all  the  youth  a  generous  emulation, 
and  spurred  them  on  to  love  and  glory. 
But  none  came  near  the  brave  Othniel,f 
whose  conquering  sword  at  the  head  of 
his  party  hewed  down  all  before  him,  and 
paved  the  way  to  victory.  In  short,  he 
won  the  place,  and  with  it  the  fair  prize. 

Othniel's  gallantry  being  thus  nobly 
rewarded  by  Caleb,  the  beauteous  Achsah, 
thinking  herself  not  a  sufficient  gratuity 
for  the  service  of  her  valiant  hero,  put 
him  upon  asking  of  her  father  a  parcel  of 
land  which  lay  commodiously  by  their 
estate. 

Othniel,  thinking  his  service  already 
overpaid,  seemed  backward  in  the  re- 
quest; therefore  Achsah  addressing  her- 
self to  her  father  Caleb,  desired  him  in 
general  terms  to  give  her  a  blessing,  but 
more  particularly  she  thus  applied  to  him: 
*  Thou  hast  already  given  me  a  pleasant 
estate  in  the  south  part  of  the  country ; 
but  it  is  hot  and  dry,  and  likely  to  prove 
barren ;  give  me,  1  pray  thee,  this  parcel 
of  land,  which  is  well  watered.'  Upon 
which  the  generous  parent  granted  her 
request,  giving  her  the  upper  and  lower 
springs. 

Old  Caleb,  though  advanced  beyond  his 


*  In  ancient  times  fathers  assumed  an  absolute 
right  over  their  children,  especially  in  disposing 
of  them  in  marriage  ;  and  it  was  customary  for  a 
king  or  great  man  to  promise  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage to  him  who  should  take  a  city,  kill  an  enemv, 
&c.  So  Saul  promised  his  daughter  in  marriage 
to  him  who  should  kill  Goliath,  1  Sam.  xvii.  25  ; 
and  Caleb  offers  his  on  this  occasion  to  him  who 
should  take  Debir.  Profane  writers  furnish  many 
similar  examples. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 

f  He  was  somewhat  of  kin  to  Caleb,  being,  as 
Tremellius  and  Junius  say,  of  the  posterity  of 
Kenaz;  from  whom  Caleb  being  descended,  was 
therefore  called  the  Kenazite. 


eighty-fifth  year,  retained  his  strength 
and  power  both  of  body  and  mind,  pursu- 
ed his  success  with  undaunted  resolution, 
and  took  Hebron,  as  has  been  already 
said,  with  other  places,  expelling  the 
gigantic  race  of  Anak;  but  the  inhabitants 
of  the  valley  kept  their  ground,  being  a 
hardy  people,  and  well  provided  with  am- 
munition, such  as  iron  chariots,  &c. 

Those  of  Joseph's  family,  who  went  up 
against  Bethel,  did  by  the  assistance  of 
the  Lord  prevail ;  for  sending  out  spies 
to  discover  the  city,  they  Seeing  a  man 
come  out  of  it,  seized  him,  and  promised 
him  mercy,  if  he  would  show  them  the 
avenues  to  it. 

The  man,  to  save  his  life,  gave  them 
the  best  information  he  could ;  by  which 
they  so  well  succeeded,  that  having  given 
notice  to  the  rest  of  their  forces  to  join 
them,  they  entered  the  town,  and  put  the 
inhabitants  to  the  sword,  except  the  man 
who  had  discovered  the  entrance,  with  his 
family. 

The  rest  of  the  tribes  took  possession  of 
the  land  respectively,  and  allotted  them  for 
an  inheritance,  but  did  not  destroy  the 
inhabitants,  contenting  themselves  with 
making  them  tributary,  and  suffering 
them  to  dwell  promiscuously  amongst 
them. 

The  children  of  Dan  were  so  unsuccess- 
ful against  the  Amorites,  that  they  were 
forced  to  quit  the  plains,  and  retire  to  the 
mountainous  parts  of  the  country,  where 
they  were  kept  penned  up  for  some  time. 

But  the  rest  of  the  Israelites,  who  had 
been  successful  against  the  Canaanites 
and  Amorites,  fell  into  a  great  error;  for, 
either  through  lenity  or  covetousness,  not 
making  the  right  use  of  their  victories,  as 
they  were  expressly  commanded  by  God, 
they  not  only  permitted  them  to  live,  but 
encouraged  them  to  trade  and  deal  with 
them. 

This  disobedience  and  neglect  of  the 

divine  precept,  not  only  proved  a  snare 

to  them,  but  likewise  incensed  God  against 

them,  who,  to  make  them  sensible  of  then 

2b 


194* 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


folly,  sent  an  angel  *  to  remind  them  of 
the  many  favours  he  had  bestowed  upon 
them,  in  their  deliverance  out  of  Egypt, 
and  of  their  being  brought  into  that  good 
land,  and  of  his  faithfulness  in  keeping 
his  covenant  with  them,  which  they  had 
so  unfaithfully  violated ;  by  which  ingra- 
titude they  had  provoked  God  to  with- 
draw his  help  and  protection  from  them. 

This  severe  reprimand  so  strongly  im- 
pressed the  people  with  a  sense  of  their  sin 
that  they  fell  into  a  general  weeping,  de- 
plored the  wretchedness  of  their  condition, 
and  offered  sacrifice  to  the  Lord,  to  ap- 
pease his  wrath,  calling  the  name  of  the 
place  where  they  received  this  reproof, 
Bochim,  which  signifies  weepings. 

f  But  scarce  were  their  tears  wiped  off 

*  The  Jews  are  generally  of  opinion,  that  by 
this  angel  we  are  to  understand  a  prophet,  who 
was  sent  by  God  as  a  messenger,  which  the  word 
very  often  imports  ;  and  this  messenger  they  com- 
monly take  to  have  been  Phinehas,  who  was  em- 
ployed upon  this  errand.  We  can  see  no  reason 
however  for  their  departing  from  the  usual  signifi- 
cation of  the  word,  especially  when  there  is  no 
absurdity  in  it,  and  the  sense  of  the  context  seems 
to  require  our  retaining  it.  Nay,  there  is  reason 
to  say,  that  the  person,  who  here  reproves  the 
Israelites,  was  something  more  than  a  created 
angel ;  for  who  but  God  can  speak  in  this  style, 
*  I  made  you  to  go  out  of  Egypt  ?'  No  prophet, 
nor  any  created  angel,  durst  have  been  so  bold  : 
and  therefore,  the  opinion  of  most  Christian  inter- 
preters is,  that  it  was  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  fre- 
quently in  scripture  called  the  'angel  of  the  cove- 
nant.' And  fit  it  was  for  him  to  appear  now,  as 
coming  from  Gilgal,  to  put  them  in  mind  of  his 
illustrious  appearance  near  that  place  once  before, 
of  the  assurance  he  then  gave  them  of  his  presence 
with  them  in  the  conquest  of  the  land,  and  of  the 
solemn-covenant  he  made  with  them,  by  renewing 
of  circumcision.  The  angel's  coming  up  from 
Gilgal  is  therefore  mentioned,  as  a  very  pertinent 
circumstance,  to  upbraid  the  Israelites  with  their 
base  ingratitude  to  God,  and  with  their  sloth  in 
not  endeavouring  to  expel  the  Canaanites. — 
Patrick's  Commentary. 

f  Mention  was  made  in  Josh.  xxiv.  31.  that  the 
people  of  Israel  '  served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of 
Joshua,  and  all  the  days  of  the  elders  that  out-liv- 
ed Joshua,'  who  had  seen  all  the  great  works  of 
the  Lord  that  he  wrought  for  Israel.  But  when 
that  generation  was  dead,  and  there  arose  another 
generation  after  them  which  knew  not  the  Lord, 
nor  yet  the  works  which  he  had  done  for  Israel, 
the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  and  served  Baalim,  that  is,  the  less  or 
tutelar  gods,  so  called,  of  the  several  nations  about 
them. 


at  Bochim,  when  they,  forsaking  the  Lord 
God  of  their  fathers,  fell  into  open  idola- 
try, worshipping  Baal  and  Ashtaroth,:}:  the 


X  Baal  and  Ashtaroth  are  commonly  mentioned 
together;  and  as  it  is  believed  that  Ashtaroth  de- 
notes the  moon,  Calmet  concludes  that  Baal  re- 
presents the  sun.  The  name  Baal  is  used  in  a 
generical  sense,  for  the  superior  god  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians, Chaldeans,  Moabites,  and  other  people, 
and  is  often  compounded  with  the  name  of  some 
other  god  ;  as  Baal-Peor,  Baal-Zebub,  Baal-Gad, 
Baal-Zephon,  Baal-Berith.  Baal  is  the  most 
ancient  god  of  the  Canaanites,  and  perhaps,  of  the 
East ;  and  the  Hebrews  too  often  imitated  the 
idolatry  of  the  Canaanites,  in  adoring  him.  They 
offered  human  sacrifices  to  him,  and  erected  altar3 
to  him  in  groves,  on  high  places,  and  on  the  ter- 
races of  houses.  Baal  had  priests  and  prophets 
consecrated  to  his  service ;  and  many  infamous 
actions  were  committed  in  his  festivals.  Some 
learned  men  have  maintained,  that  the  Baal  of 
Phoenicia  was  the  Saturn  of  Greece  and  Rome ; 
and  certainly  there  was  great  conformity  between 
their  services  and  sacrifices.  Others  are  of  opinion, 
that  Baal  was  the  Phoenician  (or  Tyrian)  Hercules, 
(an  opinion  not  inconsistent  with  the  other,)  but 
it  is  generally  concluded,  that  Baal  was  the  sun  ; 
and  on  this  admission,  all  the  characters  which  he 
assumes  in  Scripture  may  be  easily  explained. 
The  great  luminary  was  adored  over  all  the  East, 
and  is  the  most  ancient  deity  acknowledged  among 
the  heathen. — Ashtaroth,  or  Astarte,  was  a  cele- 
brated Phoenician  goddess.  In  groves,  consecrated 
to  her,  such  obscenities  were  committed,  as  rendered 
her  worship  infamous.  She  was  goddess  of  the 
woods,  the  celestial  goddess,  and  was  also  called 
the  "queen  of  heaven;"  and  sometimes  her  wor- 
ship is  described  by  that  of  the  "  host  of  heaven." 
She  is  almost  always  joined  with  Baal,  and  is  call- 
ed gods  ;  Scripture  having  no  particular  word  for 
expressing  a  goddess.  Temples  of  the  moon 
generally  accompanied  those  of  the  sun  ;  and  while 
bloody  sacrifices,,  or  human  victims,  were  offered 
to  Baal,  bread,  liquors,  and  perfumes  were  pre- 
sented to  Astarte  ;  tables  were  prepared  for  her 
on  the  flat  terrace-roofs  of  houses,  near  gates,  in 
porches,  and  at  cross-ways,  on  the  first  day  of  every 
month,  which  the  Greeks  called  Hecate's  supper. 
Jerome,  in  several  places,  translates  the  name  of 
Astarte  by  Priapus,  as  if  to  denote  the  licentious- 
ness of  her  worship.  The  Eastern  people,  in 
many  places,  worshipped  the  moon  as  a  god,  and 
represented  its  figure  with  a  beard,  and  in  armour. 
The  statue  in  the  temple  of  Heliopolis,  in  Syria, 
Pliny  says,  was  that  of  a  woman  clothed  like  a 
man.  Solomon,  seduced  by  his  foreign  wives,  in- 
troduced the  worship  of  Astarte  into  Israel ;  but 
Jezebel,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  and  wife  of 
Ahab,  principally  established  her  worship.  Austin 
assures  us,  that  the  Africans  (descendants  from  the 
Phoenicians)  maintained  Astarte  to  be  Juno.  But 
Herodian  says,  the  Carthaginians  call  the  heaven- 
ly goddess,  the  moon,  Astroarche.  The  Phoenici- 
ans asserted  confidently,  says  Cicero,  that  their 
Astarte  was  the  Syrian  Venus,  born  at  Tyre,  and 
wife  of  Adonis  ;  very  different  from  the  Venus  of 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

'  idols  of  the  heathens;  which  so  provoked 
the  Lord,  that  he  often  suffered  them  to 
be  taken  and  enslaved  by  their  enemies. 

But  that  which  brought  these  calamities 
upon  them,  was  their  favouring  those  ene- 
mies with  whom  God  had  forbid  all  man- 
ner of  correspondence.  For  besides  that 
it  was  expressly  forbidden  in  the  law, 
Joshua,  but  just  before  his  death,  had 
particularly  warned  them  of  the  danger 
they  would  fall  into,  if  they  should  enter- 
tain any  familiarity  with  those  nations 
that  God  had  doomed  to  destruction. 

And  above  all  things,  he  laid  a  most 
strict  charge  on  them  to  take  care  that 
they  did  not  marry  with  them,  which  he 
knew  would  naturally  lead  them  to  idolatry. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  they  knew  all  this, 
they  so  far  indulged  themselves  in  a  loose 
conversation  with  the  Canaanites,  Hit- 
tites,  Perizzites,  Amorites,  Hivites,  and 
Jebusites,  that,  forgetting  the  obligation 
they  lay  under,  they  made  intermarriages 
with  them;  the  immediate  consequence  of 
which  was,  that  they  served  their  gods. 

Such  aggravated  offences  so  displeased 
the  most  high  God,  the  mighty  deliverer 
of  Israel,  that  he  withheld  his  all-powerful 
assistance,  and  behold  the  consequence: 
for  Cushan-rishathaim,  king  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, invading  them,  made  an  easy  con- 
quest of  them,  and  enslaved  them  for  eight 

Cyprus.  Lucian,  who  wrote  particularly  concern- 
ing the  goddess  of  Syria,  (Astarte,)  says  expressly 
that  she  is  the  moon,  and  no  other  ;  and  it  is  in- 
dubitable that  this  luminary  was  worshipped  un- 
der different  names  in  the  East.  Astarte  was 
probably  the  same  as  the  Isis  of  Egypt,  who  was 
represented  with  the  head  of  an  ox,  or  with  horns 
on  her  head.  But  the  manner  of  representing 
Astarte  on  medals  is  not  always  the  same.  Some- 
times she  is  in  a  long  habit;  at  other  times,  in  a 
short  habit;  sometimes  holding  a  long  stick,  with 
a  cross  on  its  top  ;  sometimes  she  has  a  crown  of 
rays  ;  sometimes  she  is  crowned  with  battlements; 
or  by  a  victory.  In  a  medal  of  Caesarea  Palestina, 
she  is  in  a  short  dress,  crowned  with  battlements, 
with  a  man's  head  in  her  right  hand,  and  a  staff 
in  her  left.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  man's  head 
mentioned  by  Lucian,  which  was  every  year 
brought  from  Egypt  to  Biblos,  a  city  of  Phoenicia. 
Sanchoniathon  says,  she  was  represented  with  a 
cow's  head,  the  horns  describing  royalty,  and  the 
unar  rays. —  Calmet. 


195 

years.  During  which  time  of  servitude 
the  Israelites  coming  to  a  sense  and  ac- 
knowledgment of  their  transgressions, 
and  crying  to  the  Lord  for  help,  he  rais- 
ed up  a  deliverer  for  them.  This  was  the 
brave  Othniel,  who,  in  recompense  of  his 
valour,  had  married  Caleb's  daughter. 
This  hero,  being  divinely  inspired,  *  un- 
dertook the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites, 
defeated  Cushan-rishathaim,  king  of  Me- 
sopotamia; and  by  this  victory  over  the 
Syrians,  procured  to  the  Israelites  a  peace 
of  forty  years;  during  which  time  Othniel 
governed  Israel,  and  was  the  first  of  those 
we  call  judges,  f 

Plenty  and  ease  under  the  administra- 


•  All  virtuous  qualities,  whether  natural  or 
supernatural,  are  in  the  holy  scripture  called  the 
'spirit  of  the  Lord.'  Thus  Bezaleel,  in  Exodus, 
is  said  to  be  *  filled  with  the  spirit  of  God,'  when 
he  was  appointed  to  build  the  tabernacle.  The 
same  is  said  of  Gideon,  Samson,  Saul,  and  others. 

-j*  Their  dignity  was,  in  some  cases,  for  life,  but 
not  always  :  and  their  office  was  not  hereditary, 
neither  was  their  succession  constant.  There  also 
were  anarchies,  or  intervals  of  several  years'  con- 
tinuance, during  which  the  Israelites  groaned  un 
der  the  tyranny  of  their  oppressors,  and  had  no 
governors.  But  though  God  himself  did  regularly 
appoint  the  judges  of  the  Israelites,  the  people 
nevertheless,  on  some  occasions,  elected  him  who 
appeared  to  them  most  proper  to  deliver  them 
from  their  immediate  oppression  ;  thus  Jephthah 
was  chosen  by  the  Israelites  beyond  Jordan.  As, 
however,  it  frequently  happened  that  the  oppres- 
sions which  rendered  the  assistance  of  judges  ne- 
cessary, were  not  felt  equally  over  all  Israel,  so 
the  power  of  those  judges,  who  were  elected  in 
order  to  procure  their  deliverance  from  such  ser- 
vitudes, did  not  extend  over  all  the  people,  but 
only  over  that  district  they  had  delivered.  Thus 
Jephthah  did  not  exercise  his  authority  on  this  side 
Jordan,  neither  did  Barak  exercise  his  judicial 
power  beyond  that  river.  The  authority  of  the 
judges  was  not  inferior  to  that  which  was  after- 
wards exercised  by  the  kings:  it  extended  to  peace 
and  war.  They  decided  causes  without  appeal; 
but  they  had  no  power  to  enact  new  laws,  or  to 
impose  new  burdens  upon  the  people.  They 
were  protectors  of  the  laws,  defenders  of  religion, 
and  avengers  of  crimes,  particularly  of  idolatry', 
which  was  high  treason  against  Jehovah  their 
Sovereign.  Further,  these  judges  were  without 
pomp  or  splendour,  and  destitute  of  guards,  train, 
or  equipage :  unless  indeed  their  own  wealth 
might  enable  them  to  make  an  appearance  suitable 
to  their  dignity.  Their  income  or  revenue  arose 
solely  from  presents.  This  form  of  administration 
subsisted  from  Joshua  to  Saul,  during  a  period  of 
about  339  years. — Home. 


196 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IIL 


tion  of  Othniel,  rendered  the  children  of 
Israel  secure  and  wanton,  who  ungrateful- 
ly forgetting  the  former  favours  and  bene- 
fits God  had  bestowed  upon  them,  lapsed 
into  their  former  sins  of  apostasy  and  cor- 
ruption in  religion;  of  which  the  following 
stories  are  notorious  instances. 

There  was  about  this  time  a  devout  wo- 
man of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  who  through  a  mis- 
taken zeal  had  dedicated  a  sum  of  money 
to  the  Lord,  and  laid  it  by,  intending  her 
son  should  make  with  it  an  idol.  Her 
son,  whose  name  was  Micah,  finding  the 
money,  but  not  knowing  to  what  use  his 
mother  had  devoted  it,  took  it  for  himself. 
She  missing  the  money,  and  not  suspect- 
ing her  son,  did  in  his  presence  curse  the 
sacrilegious  thief;  which  so  frighted  the 
son,  that  he  confessed  the  fact,  and  re- 
stored it  to  her,  being  in  all  eleven  hun- 
dred shekels  of  silver. 

The  mother  having  received  her  money 
again,  took  two  hundred  shekels  of  it,  and 
gave  them  to  a  founder  to  make  an  idol; 
which  being  done,  she  placed  it  in  the 
house  of  her  son's  god;  for  he  had  made 
a  teraphim  and  an   ephod,  *  and  conse- 


*  That  the  divine  service  might  be  performed 
with  a  greater  resemblance  of  what  was  done  at 
the  tabernacle  in  Shiloh,  he  made  priestly  orna- 
ments ;  for  so  some  learned  men  take  the  ephod 
to  comprehend,  not  only  the  breast-plate  adjoining 
to  it,  but  all  the  rest  of  the  vestments  used  by  the 
high-priest.  His  intention  was  to  set  up  an  oracle 
in  his  own  house,  in  imitation  of  the  sanctuary  of 
Moses;  and  therefore,  to  make  the  conformity  the 
greater,  it  is  supposed  that  he  erected  a  kind  of 
ark,  whereon  he  placed  his  two  teraphim,  to  answer 
the  two  cherubim  in  the  tabernacle,  as  he  caused 
the  priest  who  officiated  for  him  to  wear  an  ephod, 
in  the  manner  that  the  high-priest  did,  when  he 
consulted  God.  Mr  Selden  well  observes,  that 
the  worship  of  the  true  God,  and  of  idols,  was 
here  blended  together.  The  ephod  and  the  Levite, 
which  Micah  afterwards  provided,  were  intended, 
no  doubt,  for  the  service  of  the  true  God,  but  the 
graven  image  and  teraphim,  by  which  the  children 
of  Dan  desired  the  Levite  to  inquire  of  God,  be- 
longed unto  demons.  They  neither  trusted  to  the 
ephod  alone,  which  related  to  God,  nor  to  their 
teraphim  alone,  which  was  their  own  invention, 
but  thought  it  necessary  to  join  both  together  in 
divine  worship  :  and  thus  began  idolatry  in  Israel 
by  the  superstition  of  an  old  woman,  who  put  this 
in  her  son's  head.  This  woman  many  of  the  Jews 
suppose  to  be  the  same  with  Delilah,  who,  having 


crated  one  of  his  sons  to  be  his  priest  foi* 
a  while,  till  he  could  procure  a  Levite, 
which  was  not  long  after:  for  a  certain 
young  man,  that  was  a  Levite,  and  had 
dwelt  some  time  at  Bethlehem-Judah, 
travelling  from  thence  to  seek  a  better 
settlement,  came  in  his  way  to  Micah's 
house  in  Mount  Ephraim. 

Micah,  glad  of  this  opportunity,  invited 
the  young  Levite  to  dwell  with  him,  and 
be  to  him  a  fatherf  and  a  priest,  offering 
him  for  his  wages  ten  shekels  of  silver  by 
the  year,  his  diet,  and  two  suits  of  apparel, 
one  for  common  wearing,  and  the  other  to 
officiate  in. 

The  Levite   liking  the   terms,  closed 


got  so  much  money  of  every  one  of  the  lords  of 
the  Philistines,  thought  it  expedient  to  employ 
some  of  it  in  expressing  her  devotion.  But  this 
is  an  idle  conceit,  that  has  no  other  foundation 
than  Delilah's  being  mentioned  in  the  foregoing 
chapter ;  whereas  Micah  was  some  hundred  years 
prior  to  her.  Patrick  and  Jerieu. — What  Micah's 
intention  might  be  in  setting  up  a  teraphim,  and 
other  kind  of  images  in  his  house,  commentators 
are  not  so  well  agreed.  Those  that  are  willing  to 
apologize  for  the  thing,  are  ready  to  say,  that,  as 
he  lived  in  a  time  of  great  trouble  and  confusion, 
wherein  the  public  worship  of  God  was  much  ne- 
glected, if  not  totally  disused,  his  design  was  to 
erect  a  kind  of  domestic  tabernacle,  wherein  he 
might  serve  God  in  private,  since  he  could  not, 
without  much  difficulty,  do  it  in  public  ,  and  that 
the  sacred  habiliments  he  made,  his  ephod,  his 
teraphim,  &c.  were  no  more  than  what  he  had 
seen  at  Shiloh :  but  since  the  laws  of  God  con- 
demn the  making  images  of  any  kind,  as  objects 
of  adoration ;  the  setting  up  any  religious  worship, 
different  from  what  he  had  established  ;  the  offer- 
ing sacrifices,  or  performing  any  public  service  any 
where,  but  in  the  tabernacle;  and  the  employing 
any  priests  in  his  worship  but  such  as  were  of  the 
race  of  Aaron  ;  it  is  certain  that  Micah  was  guilty 
of  a  violation  of  all  these  prohibitions,  and,  in  the 
matter  of  these  graven  and  molten  images,  cannot 
be  excused  from  the  crime  of  idolatry.  And  in- 
deed, unless  he  intended  to  patronize  that,  what 
reason  could  he  have  to  make  any  innovations  in 
religion,  since  (according  as  we  date  this  action) 
either  Phinehas,  or  Eli  were  then  in  the  high  priest's 
office,  at  Shiloh,  where  the  public  worship  was 
preserved  in  all  its  formality,  and  from  wiience 
Micah,  who  lived  in  the  mounta:ns  of  Ephraim, 
was  not  so  very  distant  but  that  he  might  have 
gone  thither  upon  all  solemn  occasions. — Stack- 
house. 

t  The  priest  was  called  a  spiritual  father  to  the 
laity,  as  having  care  of  their  souls,  and  charge  of 
the  holy  things.  Thus  are  preceptors  called  fa- 
thers to  their  pupils,  senators  fathers  to  the  citi- 
zens, princes  fathers  of  their  countries,  &c 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE.  197 

with  Micali,  and  became  one  of  his  family.  '  the  people  lived  very  secure  and  careless, 


On  the  other  hand,  Micah  was  as  much 


without  any  sort  of  discipline  and  govern- 


pleased  in  the  hopes  and  confidence  that    ment,  they  concluded  it  would  be  no  diffi 

cult  matter  to  conquer  them,  and  take  pos- 
session of  the  place.  And  with  this  re- 
port they  returned  to  their  friends,  giving 
them  an  account  that  the  land  abounded 
with  all  necessaries  of  life. 

Availing  themselves  of  the  undisciplined 
state  of  these  people,  the  tribe  of  Dan 
armed  a  party  of  six  hundred  men,  and 
sent  them  to  take  possession  of  the  city  of 
Laish. 

These  marching  through  Mount  Eph- 
raim,  came  in  their  way  to  Micah's  house  ; 
where,  making  a  halt,  the  five  spies,  who 
were  guides  to  this  party,  and  had  been 
there  before,  acquainted  the  rest  that 
there  were  in  that  house  an  ephod  and 
teraphim,  and  a  graven  and  molten  image, 
desiring  them  to  consider  whether  they 
had  best  tarry  there,  to  ask  counsel  of  the 
Lord  concerning  the  success  of  their  en- 
terprise,  or  take  the  ephod  and  images 
with  them,  to  consult  upon  all  occasions? 

The  last  seemed  most  expedient ;  for 
the  five  spies  that  were  the  guides,  leaving 
the  party  at  the  gates,  went  into  the  house. 
Micah  being  from  home,  they  saluted  the 
Levite,  whom  they  sent  to  the  gate  to 
talk  with  the  Danites;  and  whilst  they 
entertained  him  without,  the  guides,  hav- 
ing been  there  before,  and  knowing  the 
rooms  of  the  house,  plundered  it  of  the 
ephod,  the  teraphim,  and  other  images, 
and  brought  them  to  their  brethren  at  the 
gate. 

The  priest  seeing  this,  was  amazed  at 
the  boldness  of  the  attempt;  and  asked 
them  what  they  meant  by  it?  They  bid 
•him  be  silent,  and  consider,  whether  it 
were  better  for  him  to  be  a  priest  to  a 
single  family,  or  a  whole  tribe  in  Israel  ? 

This  advantageous  offer-  soon  gained 
the  young  priest  to  their  side,  who  joined 
with  them,  and  went  off  with  the  plunder. 

Micah,  incensed  and  alarmed  at  the  loss 
of  his  priest  and  gods,  gathered  as  many 
friends  as  he  could,  and  pursued  the  Dan- 


the  Lord  would  prosper  him,  because  he 
had  gotten  a  Levite*  to  be  his  priest. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Danites  send  out  a  detachment  in  quest  of 
an  inheritance. — They  take  possession  of 
Laish. — Are  guilty  of  idolatry. — Judgment 
inflicted  on  the  Levite* s  concubine. — Method 
of  resentment  shown  by  the  Levite  for  the  in- 
hospitable treatment  he  had  received. — He  re- 
presents his  wrongs  in  an  assembly  of  the  peo- 
ple  Their   decree   in    consequence    of    the 

same. —  The  Benjamites  are  examined  con- 
cerning the  outrage. —  Withstand  the  Israel- 
ites some  time,  but  are  at  length  destroyed. 

About  the  same  time,  some  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan  finding  the  lot,  which  fell  to  them 
upon  the  division  of  the  land  in  Joshua's 
time,  (see  Josh.  xix.  47.)  too  little  for 
them,  and  they  not  enjoying  all  that  nei- 
ther (for  the  Amorites,  as  has  been  al- 
ready said,  would  not  suffer  them  to  pos- 
sess the  valley,  which  was  the  best  and 
richest  part,  but  forced  them  up  into  the 
mountains),  they  were  fain  to  seek  out 
more  room  to  enlarge  their  quarters. 
Whereupon,  choosing  out  five  men  of 
courage,  they  sent  them  to  take  a  view 
of  the  country.  These  spies  in  their  tra- 
vels came  to  Micah's  house,  where  they 
were  entertained ;  and  knowing  the  young 
Levite  by  his  voice,  they  asked  him  how 
he  came  thither,  and  what  business  he  had 
there  ? 

He  told  them  what  agreement  Micah 
had  made  with  him,  and  that  he  was 
Micah's  priest 

When  they  heard  this,  they  desired  him 
to  ask  counsel  of  God,  that  they  might 
know  whether  their  journey  would  be 
prosperous  or  no? 

With  this  encouragement  they  went  on 
till  they  came  to  Laish ;  where,  observing 

*  Who  this  young  Levite  was,  is  hard  to  say. 
He  is  called  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Sfershom,  of  the 
tribe  of  Manasseh. 


198 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


ites.  But  they  were  a  long  way  from  his 
house  before  he  could  overtake  them :  at 
length,  coming  within  view  of  them,  some 
of  the  Danite  soldiers  in  the  rear  heard 
them  make  an  outcry ;  and  facing  about, 
asked  Micah  why  he  made  such  an  outcry. 
He  told  them  they  had  robbed  him.  Upon 
which  the  Danites  advised  him  to  be 
silent:  for  if  they  provoked  the  rest  of 
the  party,  it  would  cost  them  their  lives. 
Micah  finding  himself  over-matched,  was 
forced  to  put  up  with  the  wrong,  and  re- 
turned home  without  either  gods  or  priest. 

Having  thus  affrighted  Micah's  party 
from  the  pursuit,  the  Danites  continued 
their  march  unmolested,  and  speedily  ar- 
rived at  Laish,  and  finding  the  people 
quiet  and  secure,  they  set  the  city  on  fire, 
and  surprising  the  inhabitants,  who  were 
busy  in  putting  out  the  fire,  they  put 
them  all  to  the  sword.  Afterwards,  re- 
building the  city,  they  called  it  Dan,  after 
the  name  of  their  father;  and  settling 
there,  they  set  up  Micah's  graven  image 
which  they  had  stolen  from  him  ;*  and 
making  the  young  Levite  Jonathan  their 
priest,  he  and  his  sons  continued  to  offici- 
ate as  priests  to  the  tribe  of  Dan  all  the 
time  that  the  house  of  God  was  in  Shiloh, 
until  the  captivity  of  the  land,  which  is 
reckoned  to  be  till  the  ark  in  Eli's  time 
was  taken  by  the  Philistines,  about  three 
hundred  years  after  this. 

From  this  instance,  it  appears  the  de- 
pravity of  the  Israelites  in  point  of  reli- 
gious principles  was  as  notprious  as  their 
dissoluteness  of  morals;  and  that  their 
morals  were  loose  in  the  extreme,  is  wo- 
fully  evinced  by  the  transaction  which 
follows. 


*  Now  the  wildfire  of  idolatry,  which  was  con- 
fined before  to  the  private  hall  of  Micah,  flew 
fu  riously  through  all  the  tribe  of  Dan,  who,  like  to 
thieves  that  have  carried  away  contagious  clothes, 
have  insensibly  infected  themselves  and  their  pos- 
terity to  death.  Heresy  and  superstition  have 
small  beginnings,  dangerous  proceedings,  pernicious 
conclusions.  This  contagion  Is  like  a  canker:  at 
first  it  is  scarcely  visible,  afterwards  it  eats  away 
the  flesh  and  consumes  the  body. — Bp.  Hall. 


A  Levite  that  dwelt  on  the  side  of 
mount  Ephraim  having  taken  a  wife  out 
of  Bethlehem-Judah,  she  proved  a  lewd 
woman,f  and  either  through  fear  or  shame 
left  her  husband,  and  ran  home  to  her  fa- 
ther at  Bethlehem-Judah,  where  she  tar- 
ried four  months.  In  which  time  her 
husband  having  somewhat  digested  the 
injury,  went  at  the  four  months'  end  to 
her  father's,  with  an  intent  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  her,  and  bring  her  home  with 
him ;  in  order  to  which  he  took  with  him 
a  servant  and  a  couple  of  asses. 

Being  arrived  at  her  father's  house,  he 
was  received  with  great  joy,  and  enter- 
tained for  three  days.  At  the  importunity 
of  the  father,  he  stayed  the  fourth  day, 
and  was  kept  till  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day ;  but  the  Levite  resolving  to  be  gone, 
took  his  leave,  and  set  out  with  his  wife 
and  servant.        N 

By  the  time  they  were  got  as  far  as 
Jebus,  the  day  was  far  spent,  and  the  ser- 
vant, fearing  to  be  benighted,  desired  his 
master  to  put  in  there.  But  the  place 
not  being  fully  possessed  and  inhabited 
by  Israelites,  he  endeavoured  to  reach 
Gibeah,:}:  whither  they  arrived  at  sun-set; 


f  Josephus  relates  this  story  with  a  good  deal  of 
variation  from  the  sacred  history.  He  tells  us, 
that  the  Levite's  wife  was  not  a  lewd  woman,  but 
one  who  did  not  well  agree  with  her  husband,  for 
which  reason  she  left  him  and  went  to  her  father ; 
that  the  young  men  of  Gibeah,  seeing  her  to  be  a 
very  beautiful  woman,  took  notice  of  the  house 
where  she  went  in,  and  came  and  demanded  her, 
and  not  the  Levite  himself  as  the  scripture  has  it ; 
that  the  Levite  did  not  turn  her  out,  but  that  the 
young  men  took  her  by  force,  and  carried  her  to 
their  own  quarters,  where  they  spent  the  whole 
night  in  all  manner  of  bestial  liberties,  and  then 
sent  her  back  again  next  morning  ;  that,  upon  her 
return,  she  fell  into  such  a  confusion  of  thought, 
for  what  had  befallen  her  that  night,  that  (what 
between  shame  and  indignation)  she  sunk  down 
upon  the  ground,  and  expired  ;  that  the  Israelites, 
met  in  convention,  sent  to  the  Benjamites  to  de- 
liver up  the  malefactors  who  had  committed  this 
brutal  violence  upon  the  Levite's  wife,  which  they 
refused  to  do,  as  thinking  it  dishonourable  for  fear 
of  a  war  to  submit  to  rules  of  other  people's  pre- 
scribing, &c. — Josephus,  book  v.  c.  2. 

J  Gibeah  lay  north  of  Jerusalem,  about  twenty 
or  thirty  furlongs  from  it,  and  was  built. upon  a 
hill,  as  its  name  imports'. —  Wells. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


199 


and  sitting  down  in  the  street,  as  the  cus- 
tom of  travellers  then  was,  they  waited  to 
see  who  would  invite  them  to  a  lodging.* 
•  After  long  waiting,  an  old  man  coming 


*  In  the  East,  anciently,  as  well  as  in  modern 
times,  there  were  no  inns,  in  which  the  traveller 
could  meet  with  refreshment.  Shade  from  the 
sun  and  protection  from  the  plunderers  of  the 
night,  is  all  that  the  caravansaries  afford.  Hence 
hospitality  was  deemed  a  sacred  duty  incumbent 
upon  every  one.  The  sacred  writings  exhibit 
several  instances  of  hospitality  exercised  by  the 
patriarchs,  and  the  writings  of  modern  travellers 
show  that  similar  hospitality  still  exists  in  the 
East.  Thus  De  la  Roque  says,  "  We  did  not 
arrive  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  till  after  sunset: 
and  rt  was  almost  night  when  we  entered  the 
plain  ;  but  as  it  was  full  of  villages,  mostly  in- 
habited by  Maronites,  we  entered  into  the  first 
we  came  to,  to  pass  the  night  there.  It  was  the 
priest  of  the  place,  who  wished  to  receive  us ;  he 
gave  us  a  supper  under  the  trees,  before  his  little 
dwelling.  As  we  were  at  table,  there  came  by  a 
stranger,  wearing  a  white  turban,  who,  after  having 
saluted  the  company,  sat  himself  down  to  the 
table,  without  ceremony ;  ate  with  us  during  some 
time,  and  then  went  away,  repeating  several  times 
the  name  of  God.  They  told  us  it  was  some 
traveller  who,  no  doubt,  stood  in  need  of  refresh- 
ment, and  who  had  profited  by  the  opportunity, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  East,  which  is  to 
exercise  hospitality  at  all  times,  and  toward  all 
persons."  There  is  something  very  pleasing  in 
Niebuhr's  description  of  this  custom  :  "  The 
hospitality  of  the  Arabs  has  always  been  the 
subject  of  praise  ;  and  I  believe  that  those  of  the 
present  day  exercise  this  virtue  no  less  than  their 
ancestors  did.  It  is  true  that  in  this  country,  as 
in  Europe,  if  a  stranger  is  not  known,  no  one 
will  entreat  him  to  come  in.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  in  the  villages  of  the  Tehama  houses  which 
are  public  ;  where  travellers  may  lodge  and  be 
entertained  some  days  gratis,  if  they  will  be  con- 
tent with  the  fare:  they  are  very  much  frequented. 
We  ourselves  were  during  two  hours  in  one  of 
these  inns,  in  the  village  of  Menejze,  in  going 
from  Loheia  to  Beit-el-fakih :  my  servants,  my 
camels,  my  asses,  and  all  my  company  received 
shelter.  The  Sheik  of  the  village  to  whom  this 
inn  belonged  was  not  satisfied  with  visiting  us,  and 
offering  us  a  better  fare  than  others;  he  also  en- 
treated us  to  stop  the  night  with  him.  In  another 
journey  from  Beit-el-fakih  to  Takaite,  in  company 
with  a  fakih,  or  man  of  letters,  of  Arabia,  although 
my  fakih  had  no  acquaintance  with  the  Sheik, 
yet  as  a  stranger  he  paid  him  his  respects  ;  hardly 
was  he  returned,  when  the  Sheik  came  himself  to 
invite  us  to  lodge  with  him; — which  we  declining 
— he  sent  us  a  good  supper,  which  came  extremely 
a-propos.  When  the  Arabs  are  at  table,  they 
invite  those  who  happen  to  come,  to  eat  with 
them,  whether  they  be  Christians  or  Mahometans, 
gentle  or  simple.  In  the  caravans  I  have  often 
seen  with  pleasure  a  mule-driver  press  those  who 
passed  to  partake  of  his  repast,  and  though  the 


from  his  work  out  of  the  field,  and  seeing 
strangers  sitting  in  the  street,  went  up 
and  saluted  them,  and  asked  whence  they 
came,  and  whither  they  were  travelling? 
The  Levite  told  him,  and  complained  of 
the  incivility  of  the  people,  none  having 
invited  him  to  a  lodging,  though  he  had 
his  own  provisions  with  him. 

The  hospitable  old  man,  who  was  of 
mount  Ephraim,  though  he  dwelt  at 
Gibeah,  courteously  invited  them  to  lodge 
in  his  house,  where  he  entertained  them 
very  frankly. 

Whilst  they  were  at  supper,  the  men  of 
the  city,  having  observed  where  they  went 
in,  came  to  the  house,  and  knocking  with, 
great  violence  at  the  door,  demanded  the 
master  of  the  house  to  deliver  the  man 
that  came  in  there,  that  they  might  know 
him.f 

The  good  old  man,  to  prevent  danger 
to  his  guests,  ventured  amongst  the  tumul- 
tuous rabble  to  appease  them,  offering 
them  his  only  daughter,  who  was  a  virgin, 
and  the   Levite 's  concubine,^:  to  use  at 


majority  politely  excused  themselves,  he  gave* 
with  an  air  of  satisfaction,  to  those  who  would 
accept  of  them,  a  portion  of  his  little  meal  of 
bread  and  dates  ;  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised 
when  I  saw  in  Turkey,  rich  Turks  withdraw 
themselves  into  corners  to  avoid  inviting  those 
who  might  otherwise  have  sat  at  table  with  them." 
Mr  Buckingham  lias  described  an  interesting  trait 
of  oriental  hospitality  in  an  Arab  Sheik  of  Barak, 
the  chief  of  a  Turcoman  tribe  dwelling  in  the 
vicinity  of  Aleppo,  on  the  plain  of  Barak;  "When 
we  alighted  at  his  tent-door,  our  horses  were  taken 
from  us  by  his  son,  a  young  man  well  dressed  in  a 
scarlet  cloth  benish  and  a  shawl  of  sijk  for  a 
turban.  The  Sheik,  his  fatber,  was  sitting  beneath 
the  aWning  in  front  of  the  tent  itself;  and  when 
we  entered,  rose  up  to  receive  us,  exchanging  the 
salute  of  welcome,  and  not  seating  himself  until 
all  his  guests  were  accommodated." — "  Soon  after- 
wards, warm  cakes  prepared  on  the  hearth,  cream, 
honey,  dried  raisins,  butter,  lebben,  and  wheat 
boiled  in  milk,  were  served  to  the  company. 
Neither  the  Sheik  himself  nor  any  of  his  family 
partook  with  us,  but  stood  around,  to  wait  upon 
their  guests." 

•j*  Just  as  the  Sodomites  offered  to  Lot,  demand- 
ing to  have  the  Levite  delivered  to  them,  that  they 
might  abuse  him  in  that  unnatural  way  called  So- 
domy. , 

\  She  is  sometimes  called  wife,  but  oftener  con- 
cubine. 


200 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


their  pleasure,  provided  they  would  not 
offer  any  violence  to  his  guest. 

This  would  not  do;  whereupon  the 
Levite,  seeing  them  so  outrageous,  to 
save  himself,  turned  his  concubine  out 
amongst  them,  who  abused  her  all  night, 
not  letting  her  go  till  the  break  of  day. 
And  when  she  returned  to  the  house 
where  her  lord  lay,  fell  down  dead  at  the 
door,  her  hands  lying  upon  the  threshold. 

The  Levite  opening  the  door,  and  see- 
ing her  lie  there,  concluded  she  was  asleep, 
and  therefore  bid  her  get  up,  that  they 
might  be  going.  But  when  he  perceived 
she  was  dead,  he  took  her  up ;  and  mak- 
ing no  complaint  there,  laid  her  upon  one 
of  the  asses,  and  hastened  home  as  fast 
as  he  could. 

He  having  now  time  to  meditate  a 
revenge  suitable  to  the  affront,  which  he 
in  this  horrid  manner  expressed ;  he 
divided  the  dead  concubine  into  twelve 
pieces,*  and  sent  to  every  tribe  a  piece, 
through  the  whole  coasts  of  Israel,  with 
an  account  of  the  barbarous  and  inhospi- 
table treatment  he  had  met  with  at  Gibeah; 
that  so  the  whole  family  of  Israel  in  general, 
being  made  sensible  of  the  wrong  done 
him  and  his  concubine,  might  join  in  re- 
venging it. 

This  procedure  of  the  Levite  is  indeed 
shocking  to  humanity,  though  it  tended  to 
show  his  strong  sense  of  the  injury  and 
disgrace  he  had  sustained,  as  well  as  im- 
press deep  convictions  of  their  guilt  upon 
the  Israelites,  who  upon  sight  of  each 
piece  of  the  divided  concubine,  did  unani- 
mously agree,  that  there  never  was  such 


•  The  ancients  had  several  ways  of  uniting 
themselves  together  in  strict  ties,  which  lasted  for 
a  stipulated  time  :  amongst  these  it  was  very  com- 
mon to  sacrifice  a  bullock  or  other  animal,  and  to 
distribute  the  pieces  of  the  body  to  different  per- 
sons ;  who  hereby  entered  into  a  strict  engage- 
ment to  espouse  the  interests  of  the  persons  con- 
cerned. The  conduct  of  the  Levite  on  this  occa- 
sion seems  to  have  had  a  reference  to  this  established 
usage  ;  and  to  have  been  intended  to  bind  the 
several  tribes  by  an  indissoluble  engagement,  to  see 
justice  done  him  for  the  injury  he  had  received. — 
Burdtr 


a  deed  done  or  seen  since  the  day  that  the 
children  of  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt 

And  to  acquit  themselves  of  the  guilt 
of  so  wickecj  a  fact,  the  whole  congrega- 
tion of  Israel  met  at  Mizpeh,f  that  they 
might  there  examine  the  business  before 
the  Lord ;  where  demanding  of  the  Le- 
vite an  account  of  the  whole  matter,  he 
thus  in  short  summed  it  up  to  them  :  '  I 
came  with  my  concubine  to  Gibeah,  which 
belonged  to  Benjamin,  to  lodge :  but  the 
men  of  Gibeah  beset  the  house  where  I 
was,  with  a  design  to  murder  me ;  and 
my  concubine  they  have  forced,  that  she 
is  dead ;  by  which  they  have  committed 
lewdness  and  folly  in  Israel.  Whereupon 
I  took  my  concubine  home,  and  having 
cut  her  into  pieces,  I  sent  her  throughout 
all  the  inheritance  of  Israel.  Now  ye, 
being  sons  of  Israel,  are  concerned  in  this 
abuse  as  well  as  I.  Therefore  consider, 
and  advise  what  is  to  be  done.' 

When  the  people  had  received  this  ac- 
count of  the  matter,  they  were  highly  in- 
censed against  the  men  of  Gibeah,  and  re- 
solved not  to  return  to  their  houses  till 
they  had  brought  the  offenders  to  condign 
punishment.  And  that  they  might  lose 
no  time,  agreed  to  draw  ten  men  out  of 
every  hundred,  an  hundred  out  of  every 
thousand,  and  a  thousand  out  of  every  ten 
thousand,  who  should  be  employed  to  fur- 
nish the  army  with  provisions,  and  other 
necessaries. 

On  cool  deliberation  it  was  resolved  by 
messengers,  to  demand  of  the  Benjamites 
the  delivery  of  the  persons  guilty  of  this 


f  This  city  was  situated  on  the  confines  of  Ju- 
dah  and  Benjamin,  and  is  sometimes  attributed  to 
the  one,  sometimes  to  the  other.  It  seems  that 
there  was  a  place  here  in  which  the  Lord  was  con- 
sulted, as  well  as  at  Shiloh  ;  in  1  Mac.  iii.  46.  we 
read,  *  In  Maspha  was  the  place  where  they  prayed 
aforetime  in  Israel.'  These  two  passages  cast  light 
on  each  other.  Some  think  that  Shiloh  is  meant, 
because  the  ark  was  there  ;  but  the  phrase  '  before 
the  Lord'  may  signify  no  more  than  meeting  in 
the  name  of  God  to  consult  him,  and  make  prayer 
and  supplication.  Wherever  God's  people  are, 
there  is  God  himself ;  and  it  ever  was  true,  thai 
wherever  two  or  three  were  assembled  in  his  name, 
he  was  in  the  midst  of  them. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

breach  of  justice,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  brought  to  condign  punishment. 

But  the  Benjamites,  in  contempt  of  their 
brethren,  the  Israelites,  resolved  to  stand 
by  the  offenders,  and  mustered  up  all  their 
force  to  defend  them. 

The  Israelitish  army  consisted  of  four 
hundred  thousand  able  men  :  that  of  Ben- 
jamin but  six  and  twenty  thousand; — a 
great  disparity,  and  which  showed  the 
latter  desperate. 

The  Israelites,  over-confident  of  their 
strength,  and  despising  the  Benjamites, 
who  were  so  few,  depending  on  the  jus- 
tice of  their  cause,  never  went  to  ask 
counsel  of  God  (as  in  such  emergencies 
they  usually  did)  whether  they  should  go 
to  war  with  their  brethren  or  no;  but 
taking  for  granted  their  right,  to  prevent 
any  difference  that  might  arise  among  the 
tribes  about  precedence  in  this  expedition, 
they  went  up  to  the  house  of  God  only  to 
know  which  tribe  should  lead  the  van,  and 
the  lot  fell  to  Judah.* 


201 


*  The  consulting  of  the  divine  oracle,  especially 
in  matters  of  war,  was  accounted  so  very  necessary, 
in  order  to  obtain  success,  that  some  commenta- 
tors have  esteemed  this  the  only  reason  why  the 
Israelites,  in  so  just  a  cause  as  punishing  the  Ben- 
jamites for  their  unheard-of  wickednesses,  were  in 
two  several  battles  defeated ;  even  because  they 
did  not  previously  apply  to  God,  as  they  should 
have  done.  They  sent  up  indeed  to  the  house  of 
the  Lord,  and  asked  counsel  of  him,  and  said, 
Which  of  us  shall  go  up  first  to  the  battle  against 
the  children  of  Benjamin  ?  that  is,  which  of  their 
tribes  should  have  the  honour  or  hazard  of  mak- 
ing the  first  attack  :  but  it  is  observable,  that  they 
had  come  to  a  full  resolution  of  making  war  against 
the  Benjamites,  and  to  that  purpose  had  made 
draughts  of  the  men  that  were  to  be  employed  in 
it,  without  ever  consulting  God,  whether  an  en- 
terprise of  this  nature,  wherein  there  was  likely  to 
be  such  an  effusion  of  the  blood  of  their  brethren, 
would  be  pleasing  to  him  or  no.  The  truth  is, 
they  never  questioned  his  approbation  of  what 
they  accounted  so  laudable  :  they  presumed  upon 
his  protection  and  assistance ;  and  the  vast  su- 
periority of  their  forces  made  them  confident  of 
success.  But  now,  in  a  matter  of  such  moment 
as  this,  to  overlook  the  divine  oracle,  and  be  de- 
termined by  their  own  counsels  only,  and  to  march 
against  one  of  their  own  tribes,  with  a  full  purpose 
of  destroying  them  utterly,  before  they  knew  any 
thing  whether  God  had  decreed  their  destruction, 
or  no,  was  not  only  an  instance  of  their  rashness 
and  presumption,  but  an  act  likewise  of  rebellion 


Upon  this,  the  Israelitish  army  advanced, 
and  sat  down  before  Gibeah  ;  from  whence 
the  Benjamites  made  a  brisk  sally,  cut 
off  two  and  twenty  thousand  of  them, 
and  retreated  to  the  town  with  very  little 
loss.  This  unexpected  disaster  made  the 
Israelites  sensible  of  their  neglect,  in  not 
inquiring  of  the  Lord  whether  they  ought 
to  have  undertaken  this  war,  or  no.  Where- 
fore, bewailing  their  misfortune  in  the 
last  action,  they  ask  counsel  of  the  Lord, 
(but  in  an  irregular  manner,)  who,  to 
punish  them  for  their  presumption,  bid 
them  go,  but  promised  them  no  success. 

The  heedless  Israelites,  taking  this  for 
an  assurance  of  victory,  drew  up  their 
army  again  before  Gibeah,  offering  the 
Benjamites  battle  :  who  being  flushed  with 
their  former  success  made  another  bold 
sally,  and  cut  off  eighteen  thousand  more 
of  the  Israelites. 

The  second  defeat  brought  the  Israelites 
to  a  sense  of  their  former  presumption  and 
neglect :  wherefore,  going  up  to  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  they  humbled  themselves 
with  weeping  and  fasting  that  day,  and 
offered  burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings 
before  the  Lord. 

And  having  thus  regularly  proceeded 
in  their  humiliation,  they  again  inquired 
of  the  Lord  whether  they  should  attack 
the  Benjamites,  or  forbear;  for  at  this 
time  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  God  was 
in  Shiloh,  and  Phinehas  was  priest. f  And 
now  the  Lord,  having  sufficiently  correct- 
ed the  confidence  of  the  Israelites,  not 
only  gave  them  commission  to  go  against 
the  Benjamites,  but  assured  them  of  vic- 
tory. 

Being  thus  promised  the  assistance  of 
an  Almighty  arm,  and  encouraged  from 
the  divine  assurance  of  success,  the  Israel- 


against  the  Majesty  of  God,  who  was  the  king  of 
Israel,  and  upon  that  account  alone,  had  right  to 
declare,  whether  they  were  to  wage  war  against 
their  brethren  the  Benjamites,  or  no. — Stackkouse. 
t  This  passage  in  Judges  (rejecting  that -rabbin- 
ical  dream,  that  Phinehas  lived  three  hundred 
years)  shows  plainly,  that  this  story  was  transacted 
early  in  the  times  of  the  Judges. 

2c 


202 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


ites  prepared  a  third  time  to  attack  the 
Benjamites;  and  to  make  their  victory 
more  secure,  they  laid  an  ambuscade  in 
the  meadows  behind  Gibeah,  that  when 
the  fight  was  begun,  the  Israelites  by  a 
feigned  flight  drawing  the  Benjamites 
from  the  city,  those  that  lay  in  ambuscade 
should  seize  the  city,  and  set  it  on  fire,  as 
a  signal  to  the  main  body  of  the  Israel- 
itish  army  to  rally  and  renew  the  fight. 

Having  thus  concerted  the  necessary 
military  operations,  ten  thousand  chosen 
troops  of  the  Israelites  appeared  before 
Gibeah;  which  the  Benjamites  seeing, 
sallied  out  of  the  town,  and  falling  brisk- 
ly upon  them,  killed  about  thirty  of  them. 
The  Israelites  then  retiring,  as  if  they 
were  afraid,  pretended  to  fly ;  and  the 
Benjamites,  supposing  the  day  was  their 
own,  eagerly  pursued  them  so  far,  that 
they  were  at  a  distance  from  the  town 
sufficient  to  give  the  ambuscade  an  op- 
portunity to  seize  the  place,  and  set  it  on 
fire.  The  main  body  of  the  Israelitish 
army  seeing  this,  faced  about,  and  charg- 
ed furiously  upon  the  Benjamites,  who 
began  to  think  of  retreating  to  their  city; 
but  when  by  the  smoke  and  flame  they 
saw  themselves  circumvented,  they  took 
to  the  wilderness,  thinking  to  screen  them- 
selves there ;  but  in  vain  :  for  being  in- 
closed by  the  main  army  and  the  ambus- 
cade, they  were  easily  trodden  down. 

In  this  action  and  the  pursuit,  five  and 
twenty  thousand  one  hundred  of  the  Ben- 
jamites were  slain ;  and  a  thousand  more 
having  been  destroyed  in  other  actions, 
there  remained  but  six  hundred  men  of 
the  Benjamites,  who  fled  to  the  rock  Rim- 
mon,  and  hid  themselves  there;  all  the 
rest  of  that  tribe,  together  with  their 
•towns  and  cattle,  suffered  military  execu- 
tion. 

The  heat  of  this  action  being  over,  the 
Israelites  began  to  consider  how  low  a 
condition  they  had  reduced  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin  to  by  this  general  slaughter, 
which  afflicted  them  very  much.  And 
the  rather,  because  upon  the  first  engag- 


ing in  this  quarrel,  they  had  rashly  sworn, 
that  no  Israelite  should  give  his  daughter 
in  marriage  to  a  Benjamite.  * 

Upon  this  they  repaired  to  the  taber- 
nacle where  the  ark  was,  and  mourned  all 
day,  saying,  <  O  Lord,  why  is  this  come 
to  pass,  that  there  should  this  day  be  one 
tribe  wanting  in  Israel?' 

Then  getting  up  early  the  next  morn- 
ing, they  built  an  altar  there,  and  offered 
burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings  unto 
the  Lord.  After  which,  applying  them- 
selves to  find  out  some  expedient  to  elude 
their  rash  oath  and  save  the  sinking  tribe, 
they  recollected  that  they  had  at  first 
bound  themselves  by  oath  to  put  to  death 
all  those  who  should  not  appear  with  them 
at  Mizpeh,  and  join  in  the  common  cause 
against  the  Benjamites. 

Upon  inquiry  they  found,  that  none 
came  from  Jabesh-gilead  to  the  assembly 
of  the  camp.  Therefore  sending  twelve 
thousand  of  their  best  men  to  Jabesh- 
gilead,  they  commanded  them  to  put 
man,  woman,  and  child,  to  the  swordf,  ex- 


*  Whether  this  oath,  against  contracting  any 
affinity  with  the  Benjamites,  was  in  itself  lawful 
and  obligatory,  or  no,  some  interpreters,  without 
any  manner  of  reason,  as  I  think,  have  disputed. 
For  whatever  was  attended  with  such  pernicious 
consequences,  as  to  oblige  their  brethren,  either 
to  live  unmarried,  which  would  prove  the  extinc- 
tion of  their  tribe,  or  to  marry  the  daughters  of 
heathens,  which  was  contrary  to  their  divine  law, 
or  to  take  to  themselves  wives  wherever  they 
could  find  them  by  force  and  violence,  which  was 
contrary  to  the  universal  law  of  nations  :  whatever, 
I  say,  was  attended  with  such  evil  consequences  as 
these,  could  not  be  lawful  in  itself,  nor  of  any  ob- 
ligation to  the  consciences  of  those  that  made  it ; 
and  therefore  it  is  somewhat  wonderful,  how  the 
Israelites,  when  they  found  themselves  involved 
in  such  difficulties,  (as  they  themselves  testify) 
that,  for  the  preservation  of  this  their  oath,  they 
were  forced  to  have  recourse  to  acts  of  the  utmost 
cruelty  and  violence,  did  not  perceive  the  illegality 
of  it,  and  themselves,  consequently,  absolved  from 
its  observation. — Stachhouse. 

f  It  is  no  part  of  our  business  to  apologize  for 
actions  that  in  themselves  are  abominable,  and 
will  admit  of  no  excuse.  The  whole  account  of 
this  transaction  is  dreadful ;  and  none  could  have 
been  guilty  of  all  these  enormities  but  those  who 
were  abandoned  of  God.  The  crime  of  the  men 
of  Gibeah  was  of  the  deepest  dye  ;  the  punishment, 
involving  both  the  guilty  and  the  innocent,  was 
extended  to  th»  most  criminal  excess ;  and  their 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


203 


cept  such  marriageable  young  women  as 
were  virgins,  whom  they  were  to  bring 
with  them  to  the  camp. 

These  troops,  having  done  execution 
on  Jabesh-gilead,  as  they  were  command- 
ed, brought  away  with  them  four  hundred 
virgins  to  the  Israelites ;  who  immediately 
sent  heralds  to  the  rock  Rimmon  to  treat 
with  the  few  remaining  Benjamites,  offer- 
ing them  peace,  and  inviting  them  to  re- 
turn. 

The  poor  Benjamites  gladly  embraced 
the  offer ;  and  coming  to  the  camp,  the 
Israelites  bestowed  on  them  the  Gileadite 
virgins  for  wives.  But  the  Benjamites, 
being  six  hundred  in  number,  there  was 
not  for  every  man  one.  Upon  which'they 
bethought  them  of  another  expedient  to 
supply  this  deficiency. 

Once  a  year  there  was  a  solemn  feast 
held  at  Shiloh,*  to  which  the  young  mai- 

mode  of  redressing  the  evil  which  they  had  oc- 
casioned was  equally  detestable.  The  massacre  of 
the  people  of  Jabesh-gilead,  without  ever  sending 
to  know  the  reason  of  their  absenting  themselves 
from  the  war,  was  a  cruel  expedient  to  extricate 
the  Israelites  from  a  difficulty,  in  which  their  su- 
perstitious observance  of  an  unlawful  oath  had 
involved  them  ;  and  a  sad  instance  it  is  of  the 
iniquity  and  barbarity  of  these  times  ;  for,  how 
severe  soever  the  laws  of  military  discipline  may 
be,  or  with  what  justice  soever  recusants,  as  well  as 
deserters  in  war  may  be  deemed  guilty,  and  the 
Jabeshites  be  called  public  enemies,  because  they 
did  not  obey  the  order  of  the  whole  congregation, 
and  by  refusing  to  join  with  them  against  the 
Benjamites,  made  themselves  partakers  of  their 
crimes  ;  yet,  certainly,  to  slay  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty,  and  to  put  women  and  children  to 
death,  who  were  never  made  to  bear  arms,  was 
the  very  height  of  injustice  and  barbarity. — Stack- 
house. 

*  All  the  three  great  festivals  were  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  place  where  God  settled  his  habita- 
tion, which  was  now  at  Shiloh  ;  and  therefore, 
some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  feast,  here  mention- 
ed, was  one  of  these  ;  particularly,  they  think  it 
was  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  because  this  was  a 
season  of  great  joy  for  having  newly  gathered 
their  vintage,  and  the  only  season  wherein  the 
Jewish  virgins  were  allowed  to  dance.  At  this 
time  they  dwelt  in  booths  too,  behind  which  the 
Benjamites  (as  they  fancy)  might  very  conveniently 
conceal  themselves,  and  so  watch  an  opportunity 
of  carrying  away  the  virgins:  but  what  seems  to 
make  against  this  opinion  is,  that  at  any  of  these 

fmblic  festivals,  the  concourse  of  people  would 
lave  been  too  great  for  a  design  of  this  nature  to 
be  put  in  execution,  since  the  violence,  which  must 


dens  of  Shiloh  used  to  come  and  dance 
there.  The  Israelites  therefore  directed 
the  Benjamites,  that  wanted  wives,  to  lie 
in  wait  in  the  vineyards,  at  the  time  of  the 
feast,  and  when  they  should  see  the  Shi- 
loh damsels  come  to  dance,  they  should 
seize  every  man  one  for  his  wife,  and 
carry  them  away  into  their  own  country  ;f 


of  course  have  been  offered  to  the  young  womeh, 
would  hardly  have  met  with  a  general  connivance. 
It  is  much  more  probable  therefore,  that  this  was 
some  festival  peculiar  to  the  people  of  Shiloh, 
which  the  Benjamites  perhaps  might  know  nothing 
of,  and  were  therefore  put  in  mind  of  it  by  the 
elders  of  the  congregation.  Josephus  tells  us,  that 
it  was  celebrated  thrice  every  year :  and  on  this 
festival  it  might  be  a  custom  for  the  young  women  to 
go  out  into  the  fields,  and  there  dance  by  themselves, 
which  might  give  their  ravishers  the  very  opportu- 
nity they  wanted. — Le  Clerc's  Commentary. 

f  The  public  necessity  is  the  only  good  reason 
that  can  be  given  for  this  act  of  violence  on  the 
virgins  of  Shiloh.  For,  whatever  may  be  said  in 
vindication  of  the  Benjamites,  viz,  that  what  they 
put  in  execution  was  by  order  and  advice  of  their 
superiors,  and  that  their  intent  in  doing  it  was 
just  and  honest,  and  devoid  of  that  brutal  lust, 
which  is  incident  to  common  ravishers  ;  whatever 
may  be  said  in  excuse  of  these,  the  elders  of  Israel, 
who  gave  them  this  counsel  and  authority,  had 
certainly  no  right  to  dispose  of  other  people's 
children  without  their  parents'  consent  and  appro- 
bation. The  rape  of  the  Sabine  virgins  is  usually 
produced  as  a  piece  of  history  parallel  to  this  ;  but 
Romulus,  in  whose  reign  it  happened,  was  one 
of  those  princes  who  accounted  every  point 
that  contributed  to  the  establishment  of  his  do- 
minion, not  only  lawful,  but  glorious,  and  that 
every  thing  ceased  to  be  a  crime  when  once  it 
became  necessary  for  reasons  of  state :  but  the 
rulers  of  Israel  either  had,  or  should  have  had 
different  notions.  They  were  governed  by  God, 
'  whose  throne  is  established  in  righteousness,'. and 
should  therefore,  one  would  think,  have  contrived 
some  other  means  of  re-establishing  a  diminished 
tribe,  than  those  violent  ways  of  rapes  and  forced 
marriages.  But  the  sacred  historian  has  assigned 
a  reason  for  these  unrighteous  proceedings,  when 
(in  four  different  places  in  the  book  of  Judges)  he 
tells  us,  that  '  in  those  days  there  was  no  king  in 
Israel  ;'  and  for  want  of  such  a  supreme  authority, 
every  tribe,  and  every  city,  nay,  which  is  more, 
every  private  man  committed  many  horrid  things, 
which  were  not  publicly  allowed.  This  was  the 
cause  of  Micah's  idolatry,  as  we  noted  before  ;  of 
the  Benjamites'  filthiness  and  abominable  lusts  : 
and  of  all  the  enormous  things  done  by  the  main 
body  of  the  Israelites  ;  their  killing  all  the  Benja- 
mites without  distinction  ;  their  binding  themselves 
by  rash  and  unlawful  oaths  ;  their  killing  all  the 
women  of  Jabesh-gilead,  *ho  were  not  virgins ; 
and  here,  their  permitting,  nay,  their  ordering  this 
rape  for  the  preservation  of  a  rash  and  unjustifiable 
oath  :  and  this  should  teach  us,  to  be  very  thank- 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


promising  them,  that  if  any  of  the  rela- 
tions of  the  Samsels  should  complain,  they 
would  screen  them  from  danger. 

The  Benjamites  pursued  their  instruc- 
tions ;  and  watching  their  opportunity, 
took  every  one  his  damsel,  and  carried 
them  off  to  their  own  inheritance ;  where, 
repairing  their  cities,  they  settled  again, 
and  in  time  recruited  their  tribe. 


ful  for  the  authority  that  is  set  over  us,  in  order 
to  preserve  us  from  the  commissions  of  such  like 
enormities  ;  for  which  end,  the  custom  was,  among 
the  ancient  Persians,  (as  Usher  observes)  to  let  the 
people  loose  to  do  even  what  they  listed,  for  five 
days  after  the  king  died ;  that  by  the  disorders, 
which  were  then  committed,  they  might  see  the 
necessity  of  having  a  king  to  govern  them,  and 
when  one  was  settled  in  the  throne,  the  great  rea- 
son of  being  obedient  to  him. 

The  rape  of  the  Sabine  virgins  to  which  that  of 
the  virgins  of  Shiloh  has  been  compared,  is  thus 
related  by  Dionysius  Halicarnassus  : — "  Romulus, 
perceiving  that  his  new  city  was  surrounded  by 
several  very  powerful  and  warlike  nations,  who 
bore  them  no  good-will,  formed  a  design  to  make 
them  his  friends,  by  contracting  marriages  with 
them :  but  considering  with  himself,  that  these 
neighbouring  nations  would  hardly  enter  into  that 
affinity  with  a  people,  as  yet  famous  neither  for 
their  riches  nor  great  exploits,  without  being  in 
some  measure  compelled  into  it ;  he  was  resolved 
to  put  in  practice  the  stratagem  of  his  uncle  Nu- 
mitor,  and  to  enter  into  this  alliance  with  them  by 
carrying  off  their  daughters.  This  design  he  com- 
municated to  the  senate ;  and  having  obtained 
their  approbation  of  it,  he  proclaimed  a  public 
feast  to  be  celebrated  in  honour  of  Neptune,  and 
invited  all  the  neighbouring  cities  to  the  many 
diversions  and  spectacles  which  he  then  intended 
to  exhibit.  Crowds  of  people,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  flocked  to  the  feast ;  but  on  the  last 
day,  when  it  began  to  draw  to  a  conclusion,  Ro- 
mulus ordered  all  the  young  men,  that  upon  a 
signal  given,  they  should  seize  and  carry  off  every 
one  a  virgin,  keep  them  all  night,  without  offering 
any  rudeness  to  them,  and  bring  them  the  next 
morning  before  him.  The  young  men  took  care 
to  execute  his  orders :  for,  dispersing  themselves 
into  small  companies,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  sign, 
they  seized  on  the  damsels,  who,  upon  this  occa- 
sion, made  a.  hideous  outcry,  as  expecting  much 
worse  usage  than  they  met  with.  The  next  day, 
when  they  were  brought  before  Romulus,  he  spoke 
very  courteously  to  them,  and  told  them,  that  it 
was  to  do  them  no  dishonour,  but  merely  to  pro- 
cure them  husbands,  that  he  ordered  that  rape, 
which  was  an  ancient  custom  derived  from  the 
Greeks,  and  the  most  noble  and  gallant  manner 
of  contracting  marriage.  He  therefore  entreated 
them  to  be  well  affected  towards  those  husbands 
which  fortune  had  given  them  ;  and  so,  distribut- 
ing the  young  women,  which  were  six  hundred 
and  eighty  three,  among  an  equal  number  of  un- 
married men,  he  dismissed  them." — Stachhouse. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Israelites  are  again  punished  for  their  im- 
piety.— Delivered  from  their  enemies  on  their 
repentance  and  submission. — Deborah  and 
Barak  espouse  their  cause. —  Various  instan- 
ces of  the  revolt  of  Israel,  and  their  consequent 
punishment. —  Together  vnlh  the  interposition 
of  providence  in  their  behalf,  on  their  return 
to  the  Lord. 

These  civil  and  intestine  quarrels  among 
the  tribes,  being  thus  reconciled,  the 
Israelites  did  not  long  enjoy  peace ;  for 
continuing  to  provoke  God  by  tneir  pro- 
faneness  and  irregularities,  he  again  chas- 
tised them  by  their  enemies.  The  most 
powerful  of  whom  was  Eglon,  king  of 
Moab.  Him  God  raised  up  to  be 
a  scourge,  who  otherwise  had  neither 
strength  nor  courage  to  attack  Israel. 

But  being  designed  by  the  Almighty 
to  be  the  instrument  of  his  vengeance. 
Eglon  armed  the  Ammonites  and  Amale- 
kites,  and  fell  upon  the  Israelites,  whom 
he  defeated,  and  possessed  himself  of  the 
city  of  Palm-trees.* 

And  as  an  aggravation  of  their  offence, 
in  so  suddenly  transgressing,  after  their 
late  deliverance  from  bondage,  God  en- 
larged their  puuishment,  for  their  servi- 
tude was  now  advanced  from  eight  years 
to  eighteen,  which  was  the  space  oi  time 
they  served  Moab. 

But  when  the  Israelites,  through  a  sense 
of  their  misery,  addressed  themselves  to 
their  God,  he  raised  them  another  deli- 
verer in  the  person  of  Ehud,  the  son  of 
Gera,  a  left-handed  man,  by  reason  of  a 
lameness  in  his  right  hand. 

Ehud  was  a  wise  and  politic  man,  and 
having  observed  the  weakness  of  the  Is« 
raelites  by  their  eighteen  years'  slavery, 
and  the  low  condition  of  the  Benjamites, 
that  they  were  not  able  by  open  war  to 


*  Calmet  supposes  that  the  '  city  of  palm-trees' 
means  Engedi  ;  but  it  seems  rather  to  have  been  a 
city  in  the  vicinity,  or  plain  of  Jericho,  winch  the 
king  of  Moab  had  seized  as  a  frontier  town,  conti- 
guous to  his  own  estates ;  for  Jericho,  before  its 
destruction  by  Joshua,  was  expressly  called  the 
1  city  of  palm-trees.' 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


attempt  any  thing  against  their  oppressors, 
he  contrived  first  to  take  off  Eglon  private- 
ly, knowing  it  would  be  much  easier  to 
deal  with  the  Moabites,  when  they  should 
be  in  confusion  for  want  of  a  leader,  than 
while  they  had  their  king  at  the  head  of 
them. 

To  carry  on  this  the  more  plausibly,  he 
repaired  to  the  Moabitish  court,  where, 
under  pretence  of  delivering  a  present  to 
the  king  from  his  servants  the  children  of 
Israel,  he  was  admitted  into  the  king's 
presence,  who  was  at  that  time  airing 
himself  in  his  summer  parlour.*     When 


*  Besides  the  platforms,  says  Dr  Shaw,  which 
were  upon  the  ancient  houses  of  the  East,  and 
which  are  found  there  to  this  day,  it  is  probable 
that  heretofore,  as  well  as  at  present,  most  of  the 
great  houses  had  a  smaller  one  annexed,  which 
seldom  consisted  of  more  than  one  or  two  rooms 
and  a  terrace.  Others,  built  as  they  frequently 
are  above  the  porch  or  gateway,  have,  if  we  except 
the  ground-floor,  all  the  conveniences  belonging  to 
the  house,  properly  so  called.  There  is  a  door  of 
communication  from  them  into  the  gallery  of  the 
house,  kept  open  or  shut  at  the  discretion  of  the 
master  of  the  house,  besides  another  door  which 
opens  immediately  from  a  privy  stair  down  into  the 
porch  or  street,  without  giving  the  least  disturbance 
to  the  house.  In  these  back  houses  strangers  are 
usually  lodged  and  entertained ;  hither  the  men  are 
wont  to  retire  from  the  hurryand  noise  of  theirfami- 
lies.tobe  more  at  leisure  for  meditation  ordi  versions; 
and  they  are  often  used  for  wardrobes  and  maga- 
zines. These  the  Arabs  call  oleah,  which  exactly 
answers  to  the  Hebrew  word  JT71'  aliyath  found 
in  this  place ;  and  without  doubt  such  was  the 
apartment  in  which  Eglon  received  Ehud,  by  the 
privy  stairs  belonging  to  which  he  escaped,  after 
having  killed  Eglon.  The  doors  of  the  eastern 
buildings  are  large,  and  their  chambers  spacious, 
conveniences  well  adapted  to  those  hotter  climates: 
but  in  the  present  passage  something  more  seems 
to  be  meant ;  at  least  there  are  now  other  con- 
veniences in  the  East  to  give  coolness  to  particular 
rooms,  which  are  very  common.  In  Egypt  the 
cooling  their  rooms  is  effected  by  openings  at  the 
top,  which  let  in  the  fresh  air.  Mods.  Maillet  in- 
forms us  that  their  halls  are  made  very  large  and 
lofty,  with  a  dome  at  the  top,  which  towards  the 
north  has  several  open  windows,  so  constructed  as 
to  throw  the  north  wind  down  into  the  rooms  ; 
and  by  this  means,  though  the  country  is  exces- 
sively hot,  they  can  make  the  coolness  of  those 
apartments  so  great,  as  often  not  to  be  borne  with- 
out being  wrapped  in  furs.  Eglon's  was  a  chamber ; 
and  some  contrivance  to  mitigate  the  heat  of  it 
was  the  more  necessary,  as  he  appears  to  have 
kept  his  court  at  Jericho,  where  the  heat  is  so 
excessive  as  sometimes  to  prove  fatal. — Dr  A. 
Clarke. 


he  had  delivered  the  present,  and  dismiss- 
ed his  servants  that  brought  it,  he,  return- 
ing to  the  king,  told  him  he  had  a  private 
message  to  him. 

The  king  bid  him  be  silent  till  the 
company  were  gone ;  who  being  with- 
drawn, Ehud  approached,  and  told  the 
king  he  had  a  message  to  him  from  God. 

At  that  word  Eglon,  in  reverence  to 
the  name  of  God,  arose  from  his  seat, 
which  Ehud  taking  the  advantage  of,  stab- 
bed him  in  the  belly  with  a  dagger,  which 
he  had  concealed  under  his  clothes,  so 
forcibly,  that  he  thrust  the  dagger,  haft 
and  all,  into  his  belly;  and  the  king  being 
a  very  fat  man,  the  fat  of  his  belly  closed 
over  the  dagger,  so  that  he  could  not 
draw  it  out. 

Ehud  seeing  him  dead  left  him  wallow- 
ing in  his  blood,  and  shutting  the  door 
after  him  made  the  best  of  his  way  home.f 


f  Whether  it  be  lawful,  according  to  the  right 
of  nature  and  nations,  for  subjects  to  rescue  them- 
selves from  tyranny  by  taking  away  the  life  of  the 
tyrant,  and  to  recover  their  country,  which  has 
been  unjustly  taken  from  them,  by  destroying  the 
usurper,  is  a  question  that  has  been  much  debated, 
and  what  at  present  we  need  not  enter  into,  for 
the  vindication  of  Ehud's  fact.  It  is  the  observa- 
tion of  the  learned  Grotius,  that  the  authority  of 
the  king  of  Moab  was  never  legitimized  by  any 
convention  of  the  Israelites,  and,  consequently, 
that  they  were  at  liberty  to  shake  off  his  yoke, 
whenever  they  found  a  convenient  opportunity. 
The  only  difficulty  is,  whether  a  private  man  might 
make  himself  an  instrument  in  effecting  this,  in  the 
manner  that  Ehud  did?  But  to  this  it  is  replied, 
that  Ehud  was  no  private  man,  but  acted  by  a 
warrant  and  authority  from  God :  and  to  this 
purpose  the  history  acquaints  us,  that  *  when 
Ehud  had  made  an  end  of  offering  the  present, 
which  the  Israelites  sent*  to  Eglon,'  he  was  upon 
his  return  home,  and  'had  gone  as  far  as  the  quar- 
ries, which  were  by  Gilgal.'  The  word pesil,  which 
is  here  rendered  quarries,  most  commonly  signifies, 
as  indeed  it  is  in  the  marginal  note,  as  well  as  the 
Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  graven  images,  which  it  is 
not  improbable  the  Moabites  had  set  up  in  this  place, 
rather  than  any  other,  in  pure  contempt  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  who  had  for  so  long  a  time  made 
Gilgal  famous  by  his  presence  in  the  tabernacle, 
while  it  stood  there.  These  images,  when  Ehud 
beheld  them,  his  spirit  was  stirred  with  a  just  indig- 
nation within  him  ;  and  therefore  proceeding  no 
farther  in  his  journey  home,  he  dismissed  his  atten- 
dants, and  went  himself  back,  with  a  resolution  to 
revenge  this  affront  to  God  as  well  as  the  oppres- 
sion of  his  people.  That  this  his  return  was 
directed  by  a  divine  impulse  and  instigation,  is 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


After  the  departure  of  Ehud,  the  serv- 
ants of  Eglon  returned  on  their  duty  to 
the  king,  but  finding  the  door  locked  they 
supposed  he  had  a  mind  to  retire,  and 
therefore  withdrew;  but  after  long  wait- 
ing, and  finding  the  door  still  shut,  they 
took  a  key  and  opened  it,  and  to  their 
great  surprise  found  their  king  dead  upon 
the  ground. 

This  long  delay  of  theirs  gave  Ehud  a 
fair  opportunity  to  escape ;  which  he  im- 
proved by  his  speed ;  and  coming  to 
mount  Ephraim,  he  blew  a  trumpet,  at 
which  signal  the  Israelites  flocked  to  him, 
to  whom  he  related  what  he  had  done,  and 
bid  them  follow  him;  for  God,  said  he, 
hath  delivered  your  enemies  the  Moabites 
into  your  hands. 

They  readily  obeyed  him  as  their 
leader,  and  securing  the  fords  of  Moab 
towards  Jordan,  suffered  not  a  man  to 
pass  over;  but  falling  courageously  upon 
tne  Moabites,  whilst  they  were  in  that 
consternation  for  the  death  of  their  king, 
and  want  of  a  leader,  they  slew  about 
ten  thousand  of  the  chief  of  them,  at  the 
same  time  delivering  Israel  and  subduing 
Moab. 


evident,  I  think,  from  the  hazard  of  the  enterprise 
he  was  going  upon,  and  the  many  favourable 
occasions  that  accompanied  the  execution  of  it. 
For,  how  could  any  man  in  nis  senses  think  that 
a  single  person,  as  he  was,  should  ever  be  able  to 
compass  the  death  of  a  king,  amidst  the  circle  of 
his  guards  and  attendants  ?  How  could  he  expect 
that  an  enemy,  as  he  was,  should  be  admitted  to  a 
private  audience  ?  or  that,  if  he  should  prove  so 
lucky,  the  king  should  be  so  far  infatuated,  as  to 
order  all  the  company  to  quit  the  room  ?  The 
killing  the  king  must  have  been  a  great  difficulty 
under  these  circumstances  ;  but  then  his  making 
his  escape  had  all  the  signs  of  an  impossibility  in  it: 
and  yet,  without  his  escaping,  the  design  of  deliver- 
ing his  country  must  have  been  abortive.  Upon 
the  whole  therefore  it  appears,  that  nothing  but  a 
divine  instinct  could  have  given  him  courage  to 
set  about  the  thing;  and  therefore  it  was  not  all 
fallacy  when  he  told  Eglon  that  '  he  had  a 
message  from  God  unto  him,'  because  God  had 
sent  and  commissioned  him  to  kill  him:  so  that, 
what  he  did  in  this  case,  he  did  not  of  himself,  or 
from  his  own  mere  motion,  but  by  virtue  of  an 
order  which  he  had  received  from  God,  who  had 
destinated  this  oppressor  of  his  people  to  this 
untimely  kind  of  death. — Stachhouse, 


Ehud  deceased,  the  God  of  Israel  rais- 
ed his  chosen  people  another  deliverer,  in 
the  person  of  Shamgar,  the  son  of  Anath, 
a  strong  and  valiant  man;  who,  when  the 
Philistines  in  another  quarter  invaded 
Israel,  with  no  better  weapon  than  an 
ox-goad.*  slew  six  hundred  of  them 
and  delivered  Israel  from  all  dangerous 
neighbours,  that  were  borderers  on  that 
side.  After  which  Israel  enjoyed  a  peacr 
of  eight  years. 

In  which  time  of  liberty  and  ease,  they 
grew  wanton  and  forgetful  of  their  former 
servitude;  which  neglect  and  ingratitude 
of  theirs  provoked  God  to  raise  up  other 
instruments  for  their  correction;  the  chief 
of  which  was  Jabin,  who,  assuming  to 
himself  the  title  of  the  king  of  Canaan, 
reigned  in  Hazor.f 


*  The  goad  of  Palestine  is  of  enormous  size, 
and  well  calculated  for  a  military  offensive  weapon, 
according  to  the  description  of  the  intelligent 
Maundrell,  who  observes  in  his  diary,  "  At  Kane 
Leban,  a  place  about  a  day's  journey  from  Jeru- 
salem, the  country  people  were,  at  the  time  when 
I  was  there,  ploughing  every  where  in  the  fields. 
It  was  observable,  that  in  ploughing  they  used 
goads  of  an  extraordinary  size :  1  found  some  of 
them,  on  measuring,  to  be  eight  feet  long,  and  at 
the  bigger  end  six  inches  in  circumference.  They 
were  armed  at  the  lesser  end  with  a  sharp  prickle 
for  driving  the  oxen  ;  and,  at  the  other  end,  with 
a  small  spade  or  paddle  of  iron,  strong  and  massy, 
for  cleansing  the  plough  from  the  clay  which 
encumbers  it  in  working.  May  we  not  hence 
conjecture,  that  it  was  with  such  a  goad  as  one  of 
these  that  Shamgar  made  that  prodigious  slaugh- 
ter? I  am  confident  that  whoever  should  see  one 
of  these  instruments,  which  are  commonly  used  in 
all  these  parts,  would  judge  it  to  be  a  weapon,  not 
less  fit,  perhaps  fitter,  than  a  sword,  for  s.ich  an 
execution."  It  is  probable  that  the  policy  of 
disarming  the  Israelites,  mentioned  in  Saul's  time, 
1  Sam.  xiii.  19,  was  now  introduced  by  their 
enemies;  and  that  Shamgar,  for  want  of  other 
weapons,  had  recourse  to  an  ox-goad,  which  was 
left  for  purposes  of  agriculture. — Dr  Hales. 

f  It  is  very  certain,  that  Joshua  burnt  the  city 
Hazor,  and  slew  the  king  thereof,  whose  name  in 
'like  manner  was  Jabin,  which  might  possibly  be 
the  common  name  to  all  the  kings  of  the  country, 
as  those  of  Egypt  were  called  Pharaoh:  but  it 
seems  not  improbable,  that  this  Hazor  might  be 
retaken,  and  rebuilt  by  its  ancient  inhabitants,  and 
that  this  king  might  be  a  descendant  of  the  other. 
Some  indeed  interpret  the  words  thus. — That<his 
Jabin  was  king  of  that  part  of  Canaan  which  lay 
in  the  country  where  Hazor  formerly  stoodf  and 
whose  seat  then  was  at  Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles; 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


207 


He  was  a  powerful  prince,  well  stored 
with  all  warlike  ammunition,  having  nijie 
hundred  chariots  armed  with  iron,  and  his 
subjects  a  warlike  people. 

This  king  lorded  it  over  the  oppressed 
Israelites  with  great  severity  for  twenty 
years;  God,  upon  the  repetition  and  ag- 
gravation of  their  transgressions,  increas- 
ing their  punishment.  And  so  cruel  were 
the  people  to  them,  that  they  durst  not 
travel  the  common  roads  upon  their  ordi- 
nary occasions,  but  were  forced  to  seek 
by-ways  to  avoid  their  enemies,  so  that 
their  highways  were  disused:  neither 
could  they  in  safety  dwell  in  their  villa- 
ges, being  attacked  by  their  archers,  if 
they  went  but  out  to  draw  water;*  nay, 
so  servile  was  their  condition,  that  they 
were  not  suffered  to  keep  any  arms. 

Having  been  thus  severely  punished 
for  their  transgressions  by  a  subjection  to 
their  cruel  and  inveterate  foes,  God  was 
pleased  at  last  to  remember  mercy;  and 
seeing  their  sufferings  had  brought  them 
to  a  sense  of  their  sins,  he  found  out  a 
way  to  deliver  them,  beyond  what  they 
could  imagine  or  expect.  For  it  is  very 
much  to  be  suspected,  that  at  this  time 
the  Israelites,  by  the  severity  of  their  ser- 
vitude, were  so  degenerated  and  dispirited, 
that  the  sex,  which  boasts  itself  created  for 
empire,  could  not  at  that  time  furnish 
their  present  exigencies  with  a  man  fit  to 
be  invested  with  sovereign  power.     For 


for  they  understand  this  place  to  be  mentioned  in 
the  text,  as  the  dwelling-place,  not  of  Sisera  but 
of  Jabin  himself,  whose  general  Sisera  was.  But 
tbere  is  no  reason  for  this  inversion  of  the  order  of 
the  words,  since  the  Canaanites  might,  between 
the  time  of  Joshua  and  Deborah,  rind  frequent 
opportunities,  considering  the  corruption  and 
idleness  of  the  Israelites,  to  re-establish  their 
ancient  kingdom  in  these  parts,  to  rebuild  their 
former  capital,  and  to  set  up  one  of  the  old  royal 
line  to  be  their  king ;  who,  according  to  the 
common  usages  of  those  ages,  retained  one  and  the 
same  name  with  his  predecessors. —  Wells's  Geo- 
graphy. 

*  Dr  Shaw  mentions  a  beautiful  rill  of  water  in 
Barbary,  that  runs  into  a  large  bason  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  travellers,  which  bears  a  name 
signifying  '  Drink  and  away,'  from  the  danger 
which  they  incur  of  meeting  with  assassins  there. 


which  reason,  in  all  probability,  Deborah 
the  wife  of  Lapidoth  is  said  to  have 
judged  Israel  at  that  time. 

She  was  a  prophetess,  f  and  the  Israel- 
ites used  to  come  to  her  for  judgment. 
To  this  great  prophetess  the  Lord  com- 
municated his  thoughts  of  delivering  his 
people,  and  by  his  Spirit  directed  her  to 
send  for  Barak,  the  son  of  Abinoam,  a 
brave  young  prince  of  the  tribe  of  Naph- 
tali. 

He  came,  and  she  acquainted  him,  that 
it  was  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  that  he 
should  get  together  ten  thousand  men  of 
the  tribes  of  Naphtali  and  Zebulun,  and 
lead  them  towards  mount  Tabor;!  ar,d>  t0 

f  The  words  prophet,  and  prophetess,  are  of 
very  ambiguous  signification  in  both  Testaments: 
sometimes  they  denote  persons  extraordinarily 
inspired  by  God,  and  endued  with  the  power  of 
working  miracles,  and  foretelling  things  to  come; 
and  sometimes  they  are  used  for  persons  endued 
with  special,  though  not  miraculous  gifts,  or  graces, 
for  the  better  understanding  and  explaining  the 
word  of  God.  As  therefore  we  read  nothing  of 
any  miraculous  action  that  Deborah  did,  she  per- 
haps was  only  a  woman  of  eminent  holiness,  and 
prudence,  and  knowledge  of  the  holy  scripture,  by 
which  she  was  singularly  qualified  to  'judge  the 
people,'  that  is,  to  determine  causes  and  controver- 
sies among  them,  according  to  the  word  of  God. — 
Poole, 

J  Tabor  is  a  very  remarkable  mountain  in 
Galilee,  not  far  from  Kadesh,  in  the  tribe  of 
Zebulun,  and  in  the  confines  of  Issachar  and 
Naphtali.  It  has  its  name  from  its  eminence, 
because  it  rises  up  in  the  midst  of  a  wide  cham- 
paign country,  called  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  or  the 
great  plain.  It  was  a  very  proper  place  for  the 
rendezvous  of  Barak's  forces,  since  it  stood  upon 
the  confinos  of  so  many  different  tribes,  was  not 
accessible  by  the  enemy's  horses  and  chariots,  and 
had  on  the  top  of  it  a  spacious  plain,  where  he 
might  conveniently  marshal  and  discipline  his 
army.  What  travellers  tell  us  of  this  mountain  is 
much  to  the  same  purpose:  "  After  a  very  laborious 
ascent,"  says  Mr  Maundrell,  "we  reached  the  high- 
est part  of  the  mountain,  which  has  a  plain  area 
at  top,  fertile  and  delicious,  and  of  an  oval  figure, 
about  one  furlong  in  breadth,  and  two  in  length. 
This  area  is  inclosed  with  trees  on  all  parts,  ex- 
cept towards  the  south,  and  from  hence  you  have 
a  prospect,  which  (if  nothing  else)  well  rewards  the 
labour  of  ascending  it;  for  it  is  impossible  for 
the  eyes  of  man  to  behold  any  greater  gratification 
of  this  nature.  On  the  north  west  you  discern  at 
a  distance  the  Mediterranean,  and  all  around  you 
have  the  spacious  and  beautiful  plains  of  Esdraelon 
and  Galilee.  Turning  a  little  southward,  you 
have  in  view  the  high  mountains  of  Gilboa,  fatal 
to  Saul  and  his  sons.     Due  east  you  discover  the 


208 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


encourage  him,  she  told  him  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  that  Sisera,  general  of  Ja- 
bin's  army,  with  his  army  and  chariots, 
should  fall  into  his  hands. 

Barak,  considering  the  inequality  of 
their  forces,  and  the  greatness  of  the 
enterprise,  and  thinking  it  necessary  to 
have  the  prophetess  with  him  to  consult 
upon  all  occasions,  as  well  as  to  encou- 
rage his  men,  told  her,  if  she  would  go 
with  him,  he  would  go;  but  not  else. 

The  undaunted  prophetess  consented 
to  accompany  him;  but  pleasantly  told 
him  for  his  diffidence,  that  this  expedition 
should  not  be  for  his  honour;  for  Sisera 
the  general  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
a  woman. 

Departing  together  for  Kadesh,  which 
was  Barak's  residence,  he  soon  listed 
ten  thousand  volunteers  in  Zebulun  and 
Naphtali,  and  led  them  to  mount  Tabor, 
the  prophetess  still  accompanying  him. 

Such  a  number  of  distressed  people 
being  got  together,  it  soon  began  to  be 
rumoured  about  the  country;  and  notice 
being  given  to  Sisera  of  this  insurrection, 
he  mustered  up  all  his  force  to  suppress 
them,  taking  with  him  his  nine  hundred 
chariots  of  iron,  and  down  he  marched  to 
the  river  Kishon :  *  which   the  courage- 


sea  of  Tiberias,  distant  about  one  day's  journey. 
A  few  points  to  the  north  appears  that  which 
they  call  the  mount  of  the  beatitudes.  Not  far 
from  this  little  hill  is  the  city  Saphet:  it  stands 
upon  a  very  eminent  and  conspicuous.mountain, 
and  is  seen  far  and  near.  The  top  of  mount  Ta- 
bor was  anciently  environed  with  walls  and 
trenches,  and  other  fortifications,  of  which  some 
remains  are  still  visible ;  and,  for  many  ages,  it  has 
been  believed,  that  here  it  was  that  our  blessed 
Saviour  was  transfigured." — Poole's  Annotations, 
and  MaundreWs  Journey. 

*  The  Kishon,  which  takes  its  rise  in  mount 
Tabor,  is  only  a  small  stream,  except  when  swell- 
ed by  the  rain  or  melting  snow.  '  That  ancient 
river'  pursues  his  course  down  the  middle  of  the 
plain  of  Esdraelon,  and  then  passing  close  by  the 
side  of  mount  Carmel  falls  into  the  sea  at  a  place 
named  Caypha.  When  Maundrell  crossed  this 
stream,  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  its  waters  were 
low  and  inconsiderable  ;  but  in  passing  along  the 
Bide  of  the  plain,  he  observed  the  tracts  of  many 
tributary  rivulets  falling  down  into  it  from  the 
mountains,  by  which  it  must  be  greatly  swelled  in 
the  rainy  season.     It  was  undoubtedly  at  the  sea- 


ous  Deborah  seeing,  being  divinely  in- 
spired, gave  the  signal  to  the  battle ;  say- 
ing to  Barak,  •  Up,  for  this  is  the  day  in 
which  the  Lord  hath  delivered  Sisera  into 
thine  hand.' 

Barak  upon  this  marched  down  the 
mountain  Tabor,  and  fell  upon  Sisera,  in 
the  valley  by  the  river ;  whose  army  God 
struck  with  such  terror,  by  driving  storms 
of  rain  and  hail  in  their  faces,  that  they 
could  not  stand  before  the  Israelites  :  who 
pursuing  them,  put  them  all  to  the  sword, 
except  the  general  Sisera,  who,  not  daring 
to  trust  to  his  chariot,  took  to  his  heels, 
and  fled,  till  he  came  to  the  tent  of  Jael, 
the  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenit'e,f  who  dwelt 
in  that  country,  which  was  at  peace  with 
king  Jabin. 

Jael  seeing  Sisera  coming,  went  out  to 
meet  him,  and  invited  him  to  come  in. 
He,  glad  of  the  opportunity,  went  in  con- 
fidently, not  suspecting  any  danger  from 
her,  whose  husband  was  his  master's  ally. 

But  his  security  proved  fatal  to  him, 
for  being  extremely  thirsty,  through  the 
heat  and  fatigue  of  the  day,  he  entreated 
Jael  to  give  him  a  little  water  to  drink ; 
instead  of  which,  she  gave  him  as  much 
milk  as  he  cared  for ;  and  having  allayed 
his  thirst,  he  directed  her,  that  if  any 
body  should  come  to  inquire  after  him, 
she  should  not  own  he  was  there.  And 
now  thinking  himself  safe,  he  laid  him 
down  upon  the  floor  to  sleep,  Jael  very 

son  when  the  Kishon,  replenished  by  the  streams 
of  Lebanon,  becomes  a  deep  and  impetuous  tor- 
rent, that  the  bands  of  Sisera  perished  in  its  wa- 
ters. The  Kishon,  like  several  other  streams  in 
Palestine,  does  not  run  with  a  full  current  into 
the  sea,  except  in  the  time  of  the  rains,  but  per- 
colates through  the  sands  which  interpose  between 
it  and  the  Mediterranean. — Paxton. 

f  These  Kenites,  though  they  were  proselytes, 
and  worshipped  the  true  God,  according  to  the 
Mosaic  law,  yet  being  strangers  by  birth,  and  not 
of  the  promised  seed,  and  so  not  pretending  a  right 
or  title  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  they  held  it  best 
policy,  in  those  troublesome  times,  to  observe  a 
neutrality,  and  maintain  peace  as  well  as  they 
could  both  with  the  Israelites  and  Canaanites. 
Upon  this  footing  it  was  that  there  was  a  peace  be- 
tween king  Jabin  and  the  house  of  Heber  the 
Kenite ;  and  that  gave  confidence  to  Sisera  in  his 
distress  to  fly  to  Heber*s  tent  for  protection. 


Chap.  VII  ] 


THE  BIBLE. 


209 


officiously  covering  him  with  a  carpet : 
where  he  had  not  lain  long,  before  he 
fell  fast  asleep. 

When  Jael  perceived  he  was  thus  se- 
cure, she  took  a  hammer,  and  a  long  nail, 
or  tent-pin,  and  pitching  it  to  the  temples 
of  his  head,  she  struck  it  with  such  force, 
that  it  pierced  through  his  head,  and  pin- 
ned him  to  the  ground :  after  which  she 
cut  off  his  head,  and  then  left  him.* 

After  this,  she  went  to  the  door  of  the 
tent,  and  saw  Barak  coming  in  pursuit  of 
Sisera,  whom  she  went  out  to  meet,  and 
inviting  him  in,  told  him,  she  could  show 
him  the  man  he  sought  for ;  which  she 
accordingly  did. 

Thus  did  the  Almighty  exert  his  power 
in  defence  of  his  people  Israel,  and  caused 
them  to  subdue  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan, 
whom  they  never  left  fighting  with  till 
they  had  quite  destroyed  him. 

Upon  this  victory  the  heroine  Deborah, 
and  her  valiant  general  Barak,  sung  a 
triumphant  song.     See  Judg.  ch.  v. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  famine  rages  in  Israel. — Many  depart  into  a 
foreign  land. — Peculiar  circumstance  of  Nao- 
mi and  Ruth. —  The  Israelites  after  the  death 
of  Deborah  and  Barak  revolt  from  God,  bvt 
on  their  return,  Gideon  is  raised  as  a  deliverer. 

Peace  and  quiet  at  length  succeeded 
war  and  tumults.  But  the  Israelites 
growing  supine,  by  an  alteration  of  their 


*  With  regard  to  this  deed  of  Jael,  we  must 
judge  of  it  by  the  feelings  of  those,  among  whom 
the  right  of  avenging  the  blood  of  a  relative  was  so 
itrongly  rooted,  that  even  Moses  could  not  take  it 
away.  Jael  was  an  ally,  by  blood,  of  the  Israelitish 
nation  ;  their  chief  oppressor,  who  had  mightily 
oppressed  them  for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  now 
lay  defenceless  before  her  ;  and  he  was  moreover 
one  of  those  whom  Israel  was  bound  by  divine 
command  to  extirpate.  Perhaps,  too,  she  felt  her- 
self called  to  be  the  instrument  of  God  in  working 
out  for  that  nation  a  great  deliverance,  by  thus 
exterminating  their  heathen  oppressor.  At  least, 
Israel  viewed  it  in  this  light :  and  in  this  view  we 
cannot  reproach  the  heroine  with  that  as  a  crime, 
which  both  she  and  Israel  felt  to  be  a  deed  per- 
formed in  accordance  with  the  mandate  of  heaven. 
'—Home. 


circumstances,  again  provoke  their  God, 
by  falling  into  their  former  transgressions. 
He  took  them  more  immediately  into  his 
own  hands,  and  chastised  their  presump- 
tion and  ingratitude  with  a  severe  famine; 
which  raging  furiously  among  the  Israel- 
ites, many  of  them  were  forced  to  quit 
their  habitations,  and  seek  for  food  in  a 
foreign  land. 

Among  the  rest,  one  Elimelech  of 
Bethlehem-Judah,  a  man  of  condition  and 
family,  removed  with  his  wife  Naomi,  and 
his  two  sons  Mahlon  and  Chilion,  to  the 
country  of  Moab,  where  Elimelech  soon 
quitted  this  life. 

After  his  death,  his  two  sons,  not  strict- 
ly observing  the  law  of  God,  took  each  of 
them  a  wife  of  the  women  of  Moab,  of 
base  condition.  The  name  of  Chi  lion's 
wife  was  Orpah,  and  the  name  of  Mahlon's 
Ruth.  With  these  they  lived  about  ten 
years,  when  Chilion  and  Mahlon  died, 
both  childless. 

The  unhappy  Naomi,  thus  deprived  of 
her  husband  and  children,  and  left  in  a 
strange  country,  could  with  no  satisfaction 
stay  longer  in  a  place  where  she  had  lost 
all  the  external  comforts  of  life.  But 
being  informed  that  the  famine  was  over 
in  Israel,  she  resolved  to  return  to  her 
own  country ;  and  accordingly  set  forward 
for  Judah,  accompanied  with  her  two 
daughters-in-law. 

In  the  course  of  their  journey,  Naomi 
thinking  it  hard  to  deprive  her  daughters 
of  the  society  and  converse  of  their  rela- 
tives, persuaded  them  to  go  back;  and  to 
show  that  her  advice  arose  not  from  any 
disgust,  but  from  mere  pity,  gave  them 
this  affectionate  blessing:  '  The  Lord  deal 
kindly  with  you,  as  you  have  done  to  me 
and  mine ;  and  grant  that  ye  may  marry 
again  to  your  content,  and  enjoy  a  happy 
settlement.' 

Then,  giving  to  each  a  parting  kiss, 
they  in  tears  pressed  her  to  accept  of  their 
company.  She  endeavoured  to  dissuade 
them,  by  urging,  that  if  they  stayed  in 
their  own  country  they  might  marry  again, 
2  D 


210 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


which  they  could  not  propose  if  they  went ) 
with  her. 

At  last  her  importunity  prevailed  with 
Orpah,  who  with  tears  taking  her  leave  of 
her  mother-in-law,  turned  back  to  Moab. 
But  no  persuasion  could  prevail  with 
Ruth,  who  with  the  most  pressing  instances 
urged  Naomi  to  take  her  along  with  her; 
assuring  her,  that  nothing  should  part 
them,  but  that  the  God  she  served  should 
be  her  God. 

Naomi  seeing  the  pious  resolution  of 
her  daughter  Ruth,  pressed  her  no  more 
to  return,  but  they  both  went  on  to  Beth- 
lehem. 

Naomi,  being  arrived  at  Bethlehem, 
where  she  had  lived  in  good  repute,  her 
return  was  generally  taken  notice  of,  and 
her  old  neighbours  came  to  congratulate 
her  upon  her  arrival  in  her  own  country. 

It  was  now  the  beginning  of  barley- 
harvest  (which  usually  was  in  the  first 
month  with  them)  when  Naomi  returned 
to  Bethlehem.  And  Ruth  the  Moabitess 
being  an  industrious  woman,  desired  Nao- 
mi to  give  her  leave  to  go  into  the  field 
to  glean  some  corn.  The  mother  con- 
sented, and  she  happened  to  go  into  a 
field  belonging  to  Boaz,  a  very  wealthy 
person  of  the  family  of  Elimelech,  and 
nearly  related  to  him;  and  there  she 
gleaned  after  the  reapers.  She  had  not 
been  long  there,  before  Boaz  himself  came 
into  the  field  to  look  after  his  workmen ; 
and  having  saluted  them  in  a  very  devout 
manner,  he  took  notice  of  Ruth,  and  asked 
his  steward  who  she  was  ?  He  told  him, 
she  was  a  Moabitish  damsel  that  accom- 
panied Naomi  in  her  return  home  from 
the  country  of  Moab,  and  that  she  had 
asked  leave  to  glean  after  the  reapers. 

Boaz,  having  been  acquainted  with  her 
dutiful  and  affectionate  behaviour  to  her  ( 
mother-in-law,  his  kinswoman,  encouraged  ' 
her  to  glean  in  his  ground,  and  to  keep 
with  his  servants,  and  fare  as  they  did; 
and  charged  them  not  to  molest  her. 
Ruth,  surprised  at  this  unexpected  civility 
of  a  stranger,  returned  her  thanks  in  a 


most  profound  respect  and  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  courtesy. 

Boaz  told  her  he  had  heard  of  her  affec- 
tionate carriage  to  her  mother-in-law,  and 
that  she  was  come  with  her  into  a  strange 
country,  out  of  a  pious  design,  to  be  un- 
der the  care  and  protection  of  the  God  of 
Israel ;  whom  he  solemnly  prayed  to  re- 
compense her  good  actions,  and  give  hei 
a  full  reward.* 

After  this  he  treated  her  at  his  own 
board  very  liberally;  and  when  his  ser- 
vants returned  to  their  work  in  the  field, 
he  charged  them  to  be  civil  to  her,  and  to 
give  her  opportunity  of  gleaning  the  more, 
by  dropping  some  of  the  sheaves.  Thus 
Ruth  continued  gleaning  among  Boaz's 
servants  till  the  barley  and  wheat  harvest 
were  over,  dwelling  still  with  Naomi,  to 
whom  she  returned  every  evening  with 
what  she  had  gleaned,  and  acquainted  her 
with  the  great  humanity  of  Boaz. 

Naomi,  studious  to  recompense  this  ten- 
der affection  of  her  daughter-in-law,  pro- 
jected how  she  might  engage  her  kinsman 
Boaz  to  marry  Ruth,  whose  civility  she 
might  reasonably  imagine  proceeded  from 
some  other  motive  than  that  of  common 
courtesy  or  humanity. 

Therefore  acquainting  Ruth  that  Boaz 
was  her  near  kinsman,  and  informing  her 
what  the  law  of  Moses  required  in  that 
case,  she  advised  her  to  wash  and  anoint, 
and  dress  herself,  and  go  to  Boaz's  barn, 
where  he  was  winnowing  his  barley  ;f  but 

*  Ruth  seems  to  have  been  a  woman  of  a  very 
amiable  mind  :  she  was  modest,  and  she  was  in- 
dustrious, and  most  probably  a  comely  woman  ; 
and  all  these  things  served  to  attract  the  attention 
of  Boaz,  and  to  engage  his  affection.  Her  attach- 
ment also  to  her  mother-in-law  could  not  fail  to 
secure  his  esteem.  All  these  things  worked  to- 
gether in  the  course  of  providence,  to  bring  about 
a  matrimonial  connexion,  which  in  its  issue  was 
intimately  connected  with  the  salvation  of  a  lost 
world  ;  for,  from  this  very  line,  Jesus  Christ,  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh,  sprang ;  and  Ruth  showed 
herself  as  worthy  to  be  one  of  his  progenitors  as 
the  Virgin  Mary  was  to  be  his  mother. —  Clarke. 

f  The  thrashing  floors  or  barns  were  places  of 
great  note  among  the  ancient  Hebrews  ;  they  were 
covered  at  the  top  to  keep  off  the  rain,  but  lay 
open  on  all  sides,  that  the  wind  might  come  in 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


211 


not  to  let  it  be  known  she  was  there,  till 
he  had  supped,  and  was  gone  to  rest, 
giving  her  instructions  what  she  should 
do  farther. 

Ruth,  pursuant  to  the  advice  of  her 
mother,  set  herself  forth  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, went  to  the  barn,  and  placed  her- 
self so  conveniently  that  she  could  see 
what  passed  without  being  noticed. 

When  Boaz  had  refreshed  himself,  he 
lay  down  at  the  end  of  a  heap  of  corn ; 
and  Ruth,  waiting  till  he  was  asleep,  came 
softly,  and  lifting  up  the  clothes  undis- 
covered, laid  herself  down  at  his  feet.* 


freely,  for  the  winnowing  of  the  corn;  which  being 
done,  they  were  shut  up  at  night,  with  doors  fitted 
to  them,  that  if  any  body  lay  there,  he  might  be 
kept  warm,  and  the  corn  be  secured  from  the  dan- 
ger of  robbers :  the  time  of  winnowing,  or  separat- 
ing the  corn  from  the  chaff,  was  in  the  evening, 
when  the  heat  of  the  day  was  over,  and  cool  breezes 
began  to  rise ;  for  this  purpose,  they  had  the  same 
implements  which  are  in  common  use  :  for  Isaiah 
speaks  of  winnowing  with  the  shovel,  and  with  the 
fan.  The  grain,  being  thrashed,  was  thrown  into 
the  middle  of  the  thrashing  floor  ;  it  was  then  ex- 
posed with  a  fork  to  a  gentle  wind  which  separated 
the  broken  straw  and  the  chaff:  so  that  the  ker- 
nels, and  clods  of  earth  with  grain  cleaving  to 
them,  and  the  ears  not  yet  thoroughly  thrashed, 
fell  upon  the  ground.  The  clods  of  earth,  as  is 
customary  in  the  East  at  the  present  day,  were 
collected,  broken  in  pieces,  and  separated  from 
the  grain  by  a  sieve ;  whence  the  operation  of 
sifting  is,  in  prophetic  language,  a  symbol  of  mis- 
fortune and  overthrows.  The  heap  thus  winnow- 
ed, which  still  contained  many  ears  that  were 
broken  but  not  fully  thrashed  out,  was  again  ex- 
posed in  the  thrashing  floor,  and  several  yoke  of 
oxen  were  driven  over  it,  for  the  purpose  of  tread- 
ing out  the  remainder  of  the  grain.  At  length  the 
grain,  mingled  with  the  chaff,  was  again  exposed 
to  the  wind  by  a  fan,  which  bore  off  the  chaff,  so 
that  the  pure  com  fell  upon  the  floor. — Home. 

*  Though  the  action  of  Ruth,  here  set  forth, 
seems  at  first  sight  hardly  consistent  with  decency ; 
yet,  if  we  consider  the  simplicity  of  those  times, 
it  will  appear  very  excusable:  to  which  if  we  add 
the  virtuous  character  of  the  woman,  the  age  of 
Boaz,  the  manner  of  his  addressing  her  when  he 
first  perceived  her,  the  testimony  he  bore  to  her 
prudence  and  good  conduct,  the  public  proceed- 
ings before  the  wedding,  and  the  several  other  cir- 
cumstances of  this  history,  there  is  not  the  least 
ground  to  suspect  the  virtue  of  either  of  them  ; 
and  there  is  nothing  but  the  purest  innocence  in 
the  whole  transaction.  Ostervald. — If  we  con- 
sider the  end,  the  motives,  and  the  circumstances 
of  this  action,  we  shall  not  pass  on  it  an  unfavour- 
able judgment.  Ruth  had  a  right  to  pretend  to 
marriage  with  Boaz,  whom  Naomi  seems  to  have 


Boaz,  waking  about  midnight  in  a 
fright,  asked  who  she  was?  To  which 
she  answered,  *  I  am  Ruth  thy  servant: 
spread  therefore  the  wing  of  thy  garment 
over  me,  f  for  thou  art  a  near  kinsman.' 

Boaz,  though  advanced  in  years,  was  so 
far  from  rejecting  her,  that  he  commended 
her  forwardness;  and  being  a  virtuous 
man,  told  her,  she  had  shown  more  piety 
to  her  dead  husband  than  when  he  was 
alive,  in  raising  up  issue  to  his  name,  by 
marrying  her  kinsman,  and  that  her  virtue 
was  conspicuous  in  not  following  young 
men,  whether  poor  or  rich.  Therefore 
he  assured  her,  he  would  not  fail  to 
answer  her  desire,  and  his  duty;  which 
he  had  the  greater  inducement  to  do,  be- 
cause she  had  the  general  reputation  of  a 
virtuous  wife.  But  at  the  same  time  told 
her,  that  though  he  indeed  was  a  near 
kinsman,  yet  there  was  another  nearer,  to 
whom  he  must  give  the  preference,  be- 
cause it  was  his  right ;  and  that  he  would 
communicate  the  matter  to  him  next  morn- 
ing; and  if  that  kinsman  would  marry  her, 
he  might,  otherwise  he  himself  would  as- 
suredly marry  her. 

To  obviate  any  reflection  that  might  be 
cast  on  her  character  or  religion,  she  arose 
early  in  the  morning  and  departed;  but 


thought  her  nearest  of  kin.  She  endeavours  to 
discover  some  means  of  making  him  acquainted 
with  her  desire  to  take  advantage  of  this  right, 
she  well  knew  the  justice,  the  probity,  the  age  of 
Boaz ;  and  was  resolved  on  her  part,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  God,  which  she  could  best  hope  to  in- 
sure by  dutiful  obedience  to  Naomi,  to  form  no 
connexion  with  him,  except  by  the  ties  of  lawful 
marriage.  Boaz  regarded  her  conduct  as  flowing 
from  a  virtuous  principle,  and  dictated  of  the 
desire  of  becoming  a  good  Israelite,  by  giving  birth 
to  children  who  might  revive  the  name  of  her  de- 
ceased husband  ;  and  spoke  to  her  in  the  terms  of 
commendation  recorded  Ruth  iii.  10.  In  fact, 
she  sufficiently  displayed  the  uprightness  of  her  in- 
tentions, by  not  attaching  herself  to  young  men, 
as  he  there  expresses  it,  but  to  an  old  man,  who 
was  of  an  age  to  be  a  father  to  her. —  Cahnet. 

■j-  This  was  as  if  she  had  said,  take  me  to  wife 
as  the  law  directs ;  for  the  phrase  of  spreading 
the  skirt  or  wing  over  one,  imports  taking  such  a 
one  into  protection.  And  because  it  is  the  part 
of  a  husband  to  protect  and  defend  his  wife  from 
injuries,  therefore  to  spread  the  wing  or  skirt 
over  one,  is  used  for  a  periphrasis  of  marriage. 


212 


HISTORY  OF 


TBook  III 


that  she  might  not  go  home  empty-handed 
to  her  mother,  Boaz  gave  her  six  measures 
of  barley ;  with  which  Ruth  returned  to 
her  mother,  who  received  her  joyfully, 
both  for  the  present  of  Boaz  and  his  kind 
treatment  cf  her  daughter,  whom  she  ad- 
vised to  take  no  notice  to  any  of  what  had 
passed,  but  patiently  to  wait  the  event; 
assuring  her  that  Boaz  was  a  man  of  hon- 
our, and  would  perform  his  promise. 

Boaz,  punctual  in  the  performance  of 
his  word,  appeared  that  morning  at  the 
gate  of  the  city,  which  was  in  those  days 
the  usual  place  of  judicature.*  There  he 
met  with  the  kinsman  he  had  mentioned 
to  Ruth  ;  and  summoning  ten  more  of  the 
chief  of  the  city,  he,  in   their  presence, 


*  We  here  see  the  simple  manner  in  which  ju- 
dicial proceedings  took  place  in  those  times.  The 
judge  sat  in  the  gale,  the  place  of  resort  in  every 
city  where  public  business  was  transacted  ;  no 
writings  were  employed  or  tedious  formalites  ob- 
served, but  the  party  was  merely  summoned  to 
make  his  appearance.  In  this  instance  Boaz  pro- 
bably summoned  the  person  by  name,  although 
the  sacred  writer  has  not  expressed  the  name,  but 
has  merely  used  the  general  words  which  we  trans- 
late '  Ho,  such  a  one !'  From  the  circumstances 
of  the  gates  of  cities  being  the  seat  of  justice,  the 
judges  appear  to  have  been  termed  the  Elders  of 
the  Gate  ;  for,  as  all  the  Israelites  were  husband- 
men, who  went  out  in  the  morning  to  work,  and 
did  not  return  until  night,  the  city  gate  was  the 
place  of  greatest  resort.  By  this  ancient  practice, 
the  judges  were  compelled,  by  a  dread  of  public 
displeasure,  to  be  most  strictly  impartial,  and  most 
carefully  to  investigate  the  merits  of  the  causes 
which  were  brought  before  them.  The  same  prac- 
tice obtained  after  the  captivity.  The  Ottoman 
court,  it  is  well  known,  derived  its  appellation  of 
the  Porte,  from  the  distribution  of  justice  and  the 
despatch  of  public  business  at  its  gates.  During 
the  Arabian  monarchy  in  Spain,  the  same  practice 
obtained  ;  and  the  magnificent  gate  of  entrance  to 
the  Moorish  palace  of  Alhamra  at  Grenada  to  this 
day  retains  the  appellation  of  the  '  Gate  of  Justice' 
or  'of  Judgment.'  To  the  practice  of  dispensing 
justice  at  the  gates  of  cities,  there  are  numerous 
allusions  in  the  sacred  volume.  For  instance,  in 
Job  v.  4.  the  children  of  the  wicked  are  said  to  be 
crushed  in  the  gate  ;  that  is,  they  lose  their  cause, 
and  are  condemned  in  the  court  of  judgment. 
The  Psalmist,  speaking  of  those  whom  God  has 
blessed  with  many  children,  says  that  '  they  shall 
not  be  ashamed,  but  they  shall  speak  with  the  ene- 
mies in  the  gate  ;'  that  is,  those  who  are  thus 
blessed,  shall  courageously  plead  their  cause,  and 
need  not  fear  the  want  of  justice  when  they  meet 
their  adversaries  in  the  court  of  judicature. —  Cal- 
nxtt  and  Home. 


acquainted  him,  that  Naomi,  who  was  come 
back  from  the  country  of  Moab,  had  a 
parcel  of  land  to  dispose  of,  which  belong- 
ed formerly  to  Elimelech,  of  which  he 
gave  him  this  public  notice,  that  he  might 
redeem  it,  -f-  the  right  of  redemption  be- 
longing in  the  first  place  to  him;  and 
therefore  he  desired  to  know  his  mind  in 
this  matter. 

The  kinsman  readily  consented  to  re- 
deem the  land.  But  when  Boaz  told  him, 
that  at  the  same  time  he  must  likewise 
take  Ruth  the  Moabitess  to  wife,  to  raise 
up  the  name  of  her  dead  husband  upon 
his  inheritance,  he  declined  the  business ; 
giving  this  for  a  reason,  that  he  could  not 
do  it  on  those  terms,  without  destroying 
his  own  inheritance ;  and  therefore  he 
willingly  resigned  his  right  of  redemption 
to  Boaz  ;  who,  without  any  scruple,  ac- 
cepted it,  and  his  kinsman,  according  to 
the  custom  of  those  times,  in  token  of  re- 
linquishing or  transferring  his  right,  took 
off  his  shoej  and  delivered  it  to  Boaz. 

Upon  which  Boaz  made  this  declaration 
to  the  elders  and  all  the  people  present: 
'  Ye  are  my  witnesses  this  day,  that   I 


f  The  reason  of  this  seems  to  be  grounded  upon 
the  law,  by  which  the  first-born  of  such  a  marriage 
was  to  bear  the  name  of  the  woman's  former  hus- 
band that  was  dead,  to  keep  up  his  name  in  Israel ; 
so  that  if  that  kinsman  had  married  Ruth,  and 
should  have  had  but  one  son  by  her,  that  son 
being  not  to  bear  his  name,  but  the  name  of  her 
former  husband,  he  himself  should  have  no  son  to 
keep  up  his  name  in  Israel ;  and  so  his  inheritance 
might  have  been  lost  from  his  name,  by  passing 
into  another  name  and  family  :  which  he  was  not 
willing  to  hazard. 

%  This  was  the  manner  of  confirming  bargains, 
sales,  exchanges,  and  alienations  among  the  Israel- 
ites. There  were  two  sorts  of  it:  The  first  was 
penal  ;  as  when  a  man  refused  to  marry  his  bro- 
ther's wife,  to  raise  up  seed  to  the  deceased,  who 
died  childless  ;  for  then  the  law  commanded,  that 
the  woman  should  pluck  off  his  shoe,  and  spit  in 
his  face,  using  these  words  :  '  Thus  shall  it  be  done 
to  the  man  that  refuseth  to  raise  up  issue  to  his 
brother's  family.'  The  second  was  cessionary,  or 
in  token  of  resignation,  and  did  not  reach  to  coin- 
pel  the  kinsman  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
degree  to  marry  the  widow  :  but  he  might  transfer 
his  right  to  any  other  of  the  kindred  ;  and  as  a 
sign  of  his  cession  or  translation  of  his  right,  he 
took  off  his  shoe  and  delivered  it  to  his  kinsman, 
who  would  marry  the  widow,  in  the  presence  of 
the  elders. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


213 


have  bought  all  that  was  EHmelech's,  and 
all  that  was  his  son's,  at  the  hand  of  Nao- 
mi. Ye  see  likewise  I  have  purchased 
Ruth  the  Moabitess  to  be  my  wife,  to 
raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  their 
inheritance,  that  their  name  may  not  be 
lost  among'  their  relations.  Of  this  I  call 
you  to  witness  this  day.' 

To  all  which  the  assembly  gave  their 
acknowledgment;  adding  a  hearty  prayer, 
that  she  might  be  fruitful  as  Rachel  and 
Leah,  who  were  the  original  raisers  of  the 
house  of  Israel. 

Ruth  conceived,  and  in  due  time  was 
delivered  of  a  son,  whom  they  named 
Obed ;  which  Obed  was  the  father  of 
Jesse,  and  grandfather  of  king  David,  of 
whom,  according  to  the  flesh,  came  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.* 

During  the  wise  and  virtuous  adminis- 
tration of  Deborah  and  Barak,  the  Israel- 
ites enjoyed  the  blessing  of  peace  ;  but 
when  their  conductors  died,  they  fell  into 
their  constitutional  sin  of  idolatry,  and 
provoked  their  God  to  deliver  them  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies.  He  permitted 
the  Midianites  to  over-run  their  country, 
who  for  seven  years  kept  them  in  such 
subjection,  that  they  were  forced  to  betake 
themselves  to  dens  in  the  mountains  and 
caves  in  the  earth,  and  to  fortified  places ; 
from  whence,  in  spring-time,  they  stole 
out  to  sow  their  land  ;  but  towards  har- 
vest the  Amalekites  and  Midianites  came 
and  encamped  in  their  country,  and  tarried 
till  they  had  devoured  all  the  provision 
and  forage  they  could  find,  and  then  they 
returned,  leaving  the  Israelites  nothing  to 
support  life. 

The  poor  Israelites  being  served  thus 
year  after  year,  at  last  grew  greatly  im- 
poverished, which  put  them  in  mind  that 
by  their  sins  they  had  drawn  this  punish- 
ment upon  themselves ;  and  that  the  only 

*  Herein  is  described,  how  Jesus  Christ  pro- 
ceeded of  Ktith,  notwithstanding  she  was  a  Moah- 
ite  of  low  condition,  and  a  stranger  from  the  people 
of  God :  which  was  a  type,  that  the  Gentiles 
should  be  sanctified  by  him,  and  joined  with  his 
people. 


remedy  was,  to  have  recourse  to  the  Lord, 
who  had  permitted  these  evils  to  befall 
them. 

Whilst  they  were  supplicating  God  for 
help,  he  sent  a  prophet  f  to  expostulate 
with  them  for  their  ingratitude,  by  which 
he  brought  them  to  a  sense  of  their  folly, 
and  his  justice  in  punishing  them. 

This  judgment  brought  them  humble 
before  the  Lord,  and  prepared  them  for  a 
due  reception  of  the  blessing  he  was  about 
to  confer,  in  sending  them  a  deliverer,  in 
the  person  of  Gideon,  the  son  of  Joash. 

At  this  time  Gideon  was  thrashing 
wheat,:):  that  he  might  hide  it  from  the 
Midianites.  And  whilst  he  was  thus  em- 
ployed in  providing  sustenance  for  his 
family,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to 
him,  and  said,  *  The  Lord  be  with  thee, 
thou  mighty  man  of  valour.' 


+  St  Augustine  supposes  him  to  be  that  angel 
which  soon  after  appeared  to  Gideon  ;  but  others 
generally  suppose  him  to  be  some  person  endued 
with  the  spirit  of  prophecy  by  God,  and  sent  to 
the  Israelites,  as  other  prophets  were. 

J  The  method  of  thrashing  out  the  grain  varied 
according  to  the  species.  Isaiah  mentions  four 
different  instruments,  the  flail,  the  drag,  the  wain, 
and  the  feet  of  the  ox.  The  staff,  or  flail,  was 
used  for  the  smaller  seeds,  which  were  too  tender 
to  be  treated  in  the  other  methods.  The  drag 
consisted  of  a  sort  of  strong  planks,  made  rough 
at  the  bottom  with  hard  stones  or  iron  ;  it  was 
drawn  by  oxen,  or  horses,  over  the  corn  sheaves 
spread  on  the  floor,  the  driver  sitting  upon  it.  The 
wain,  or  cart,  was  much  like  the  former,  but  had 
wheels,  with  iron  teeth  or  edges  like  a  saw.  From 
the  statement  of  different  authors,  it  would  seem 
that  the  axle  was  armed  with  iron  teeth,  or  serrated 
wheels  throughout.  Niebuhr  gives  a  description 
of  such  a  machine,  used  at  present  in  Egypt  for 
the  same  purpose  ;  it  moves  upon  three  rollers, 
armed  with  iron  teeth  or  wheels  to  cut  the  straw. 
In  Syria,  they  make  use  of  the  drag,  constructed 
in  the  very  same  manner  as  before  described. 
This  not  only  forced  out  the  grain,  but  also  cut 
the  straw  in  pieces,  which  is  used  in  this  state  over 
all  the  East  as  fodder  for  the  cattle.  In  the  early 
periods  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  however, 
these  various  methods,  adapted  to  the  different 
kinds  of  grain,  were  unknown  ;  the  husbandman 
employed  the  staff',  or  flail,  in  thrashing  all  his 
crop.  And  thus  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Gideon,  he  found  him  thrashing  wheat 
by  the  wine  press  with  a  staff,  for  So  the  original 
term  signifies  ;  but  the  natural  sagacity  of  the 
human  mind,  directed  by  the  finger  of  God,  at 
last  invented  the  other  more  efficacious  imple- 
ments, to  which  Isaiah  so  frequently  refers  in  the 
course  of  his  writings. — Paxton. 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


Gideon  was  soon  apprized,  by  the  man- 
ner of  this  salutation,  that  it  was  a  message 
extraordinary  ;  and  as  readily  replied,  '  If 
the  Lord  be  with  us,  why  then  is  all  this 
befallen  us  ?  And  where  are  all  his  mir- 
acles, which  our  forefathers  have  told  us 
of,  saying,  Did  not  the  Lord  bring  us  up 
out  of  Egypt  ?  But  now  the  Lord  hath 
forsaken  us,  and  delivered  us  into  the 
hands  of  the  Midianites.' 

The  angel,  looking  steadfastly  on  him, 
said,  '  Be  courageous,  and  thou  shalt  save 
Israel  from  the  hands  of  the  Midianites. 
Is  it  not  I  that  send  thee  ?' 

But  Gideon,  considering  his  own  weak- 
ness, and  the  low  condition  of-  his  own 
family,  more  than  the  presence  of  him  that 
spoke  to  him,  answered,  <  In  what  capacity 
am  I  to  serve  Israel  since  my  family  is 
but  poor  in  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  and 
myself  the  least  among  them?' 

The  angel  to  encourage  him  said,  'Sure- 
ly I  will  be  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
smite  the  Midianites  with  as  much  ease 
as  if  they  were  but  one  man.' 

This  promise  offered  Gideon  a  dawn  of 
hope  ;  but  desirous  of  an  assurance  of  the 
person  who  talked  with  him,  he  said,  '  If 
now  I  have  found  favour  in  thy  sight,  be 
pleased  to  show  me  some  token  whereby 
I  may  know  that  it  is  thou  the  Lord  that 
talkest  with  me.  Wherefore  depart  not 
hence,  I  pray  thee,  till  I  return  with  my 
offering,  and  set  it  before  thee.' 

The  angel  promised  to  tarry;  and 
Gideon  having  prepared  a  kid,  and  some 
unleavened  cakes,*  he  came  and  presented 


*  The  manner  in  which  the  Arabs  entertain 
strangers  will  cast  light  on  this  place.  Dr  Shaw 
observes:  "  Besides  a  bowl  of  milk,  and  a  basket 
of  figs,  raisins,  or  dates,  which  upon  our  arrival 
were  presented  to  us  to  stay  our  appetite,  the 
master  of  the  tent  fetched  us  from  his  flock,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  our  company,  a  kid  or  a  goat, 
a  lamb  or  a  sheep  ;  half  of  which  was  immediately 
seethed  by  his  wife,  and  served  up  with  cucasoe ; 
the  rest  was  made  hab-ab,  that  is,  cut  to  pieces 
and  roasted,  which  we  reserved  for  our  breakfast 
or  dinner  next  day."  May  we  not  suppose,  says 
Mr  llarmer,  that  Gideon,  presenting  some  slight 
refreshment  to  the  supposed  prophet,  according  to 
the  present  Arab  mode,  desired  iiim  to  stay  till  he 


them  before  the  angel ;  by  whose  direc- 
tion, having  laid  them  upon  the  rock,  the 
angel,  with  the  end  of  his  staff,  touched 
the  cakes  and  the  flesh,  upon  which  fire 
came  out  of  the  rock  and  consumed  them; 
and  the  angel  instantly  disappeared. 

Gideon  upon  this  was  sensible  that  it 
was  an  angel  that  had  appeared  to  him, 
and  crying  out  in  despair,  said,  '  Alas,  my 
Lord  God!  because  I  have  seen  an  angel 
face  to  face,  I  shall  die.' 

But  the  angel,  though  Gideon  could 
not  see  him,  to  confirm  and  comfort  him, 
bid  him  not  fear,  for  he  should  not  die. 
Gideon,  in  thankful  remembrance  of  this 
gracious  interview,  and  God's  goodness  to 
him,  built  an  altar  there,  and  called  it 
Jehovah-shalom,  that  is,  'the  Lord  of 
peace.' 

The  same  night  the  Lord  commanded 
Gideon  to  demolish  the  altar  of  Baal, 
which  in  those  corrupt  times  had  been 
erected,  and  to  cut  down  the  groves  there ; 
and  build  an  altar  to  the  Lord  his  God 
upon  the  top  of  the  rock ;  after  which,  to 
sacrifice  his  father's  second  bullock  f  upon 
it,  which  was  seven  years  old,  and  offer  it 
for  a  burnt-sacrifice,  with  the  wood  of  the 
grove,  which  he  was  to  cut  down. 

Gideon  readily  obeyed  God ;  but  con- 
sidering it  would  be  difficult  to  do  this  in 
the  day-time,  he  resolved  to  do  it  by 
night ;  and  taking  ten  of  his  servants  to 
assist  him,  he  did  as  God  had  commanded. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  place  being  in- 
formed what  Gideon  had  done,  demanded 


could  provide  something  more  substantial ;  that 
he  immediately  killed  a  kid,  seethed  part  of  it,  and 
when  ready,  brought  out  the  stewed  meat  in  a  pot, 
with  unleavened  cakes  of  bread  which  he  had 
baked  ;  and  the  other  part,  the  kab-ab,  in  a  bas- 
ket, for  him  to  carry  with  him  for  some  after-re- 
past in  his  journey. 

f  This  bullock  is  thought  by  the  Babbins  and 
others  to  be  called  the  second  from  the  stall  in 
which  it  stood  and  was  fed,  which  was  the  second 
in  order  of  place  ;  and  being  as  many  years  old  as 
their  subjection  to  Million  was,  the  destroying  this 
bullock  might  in  some  measure  prefigure  the 
breaking  off  the  Midianitish  yoke  from  the  neck 
of  Gideon  ;  whose  name  signifies  a  breaker  01 
destroyer. 


HAP.    VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


215 


him  of  his  father,  that  they  might  put 
him  to  death:  but  Joash  would  not  deliver 
his  son,  resolutely  saying,  <If  Baal  is  God, 
let  him  avenge  himself  on  him  that  de- 
stroyed his  altar.'*  From  which  occasion 
Joash  called  his  son  Gideon,  Jerub-baal, 
which  signifies,  'Let  Baal  avenge?'  Thus 
this  tumult  ended. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Gideon  musters  the  tribes. — Receives  an  omen  of 
success. — Is  appointed  a  select  number  of  men. 
— Encouraged  by  a  dream. —  Obtains  a  signal 
victory  over  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and  dies  in 
peace. —  The  Israelites  fall  into  idolatry  and 
ingratitude. — Abimelech  is  made  king,  after 
the  bloody  massacre  of  his  brethren. — Abime- 
lech and  the  Shechemites  are  punished  for 
their  cruelty  and  wickedness. 

It  was  now  about  the  time  when  the 
Midianites  and  Amalekites,  with  other 
eastern  people,  used  to  come  and  plunder 
the  country,  who,  appearing  in  a  vast 
body,  encamped  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel.f 
Then  was  Gideon  inspired  with  a  more 
than  ordinary  courage,  and  by  sound  of 
trumpet  summoned  all  those  of  his  own 
family  to  come  in  quickly  to  him.  He 
also  sent  messengers  through  the  tribes  of 
Manasseh,  Asher,  Zebulun,  and  Naphtali, 


*  It  is  generally  supposed  that  Gideon's  father 
had  been  a  worshipper  if  not  a  priest  of  Baal  ;  and 
therefore  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  had  at  this  time 
been  convinced  by  his  son  that  God  had  given  him 
a  commission  to  recover  his  people,  and  to  begin 
with  this  reformation  ;  and  this  made  him  appear 
so  boldly  in  his  son's  cause,  because  he  knew  it 
was  the  cause  of  God. — Poole's  Annotations,  and 
Patrick's  Commentary. 

f  The  city  of  Jezreel,  which  gave  name  to  the 
valley,  belonged  to  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  on 
the  west  of  Jordan,  and  lay  in  the  confines  of  that 
half  tribe  and  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  as  appears 
from  Josh.  xix.  18.  In  the  history  of  the  kings  of 
Israel,  this  city  is  frequently  made  mention  of, 
where,  by  reason  of  the  pleasantness  of  its  situa- 
tion, some  of  them  had  a  royal  palace,  though  their 
capital  was  Samaria.  The  vale  of  Jezreel,  which 
is  now  called  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  is,  according 
to  Mr  Maundrell,  of  a  vast  extent,  very  fertile, 
but  uncultivated,  and  only  serving  the  Arabs  for 

fmsturage  :  but  some  have  supposed  that  the  val- 
ey  of  Jezreel  here  mentioned  denotes  some  other 
lesser  valley,  lying  between  mount  Hermou  and 
mount  Gilboa. —  Wells's  Geography. 


and  they  came  in  such  numbers,  that  in  a 
short  time  he  could  muster  up  an  army  of 
two  and  thirty  thousand  men,  which  were 
but  few  in  comparison  of  the  enemy's 
army,  which  consisted  of  an  hundred  and 
thirty  five  thousand  men. 

Gideon,  considering  the  vast  odds  the 
enemy  had,  begged  of  God  to  give  him 
some  omen  for  an  assurance  of  success  to 
him  and  his  men.  The  sign  he  proposed 
was,  that  he  laying  a  fleece  of  wool  on  the 
floor,  the  dew  should  be  upon  the  fleece 
only4  and  the  earth  round  it  should  be 
dry.  Which  the  next  morning  was  done ; 
for  the  ground  about  it  was  dry,  but  the 
fleece  was  so  full  of  dew,  that  he  wrung  a 
bowl-full  of  water  out  of  it.  Then  in- 
verting the  former  manner,  he  desired 
that  the  fleece  might  be  dry,  and  the 
ground  dewy ;  which  was  likewise  done.§ 


$  He  supposed  that  the  dew  which  distilled 
from  heaven  was  a  divine  gift,  (as  the  scripture 
often  testifies)  and  therefore  he  desired  that  it 
might  be  directed  by  God,  that,  though  it  com- 
monly falls  every  where,  by  his  extraordinary  pro- 
vidence it  might  now  water  only  his  fleece.  Some 
are  apt  to  think  that  he  chose  a  fleece  for  his 
purpose,  not  only  because  it  was  ready  at  hand, 
but  the  better  to  express  how  the  land  wis  shorn 
by  the  Midianites,  even  as  the  sheep  had  been  by 
him  ;  that  when  he  begged  the  dew,  as  a  sign  of 
the  divine  favour,  might  fall  upon  the  fleece,  it 
was  to  represent  the  kindness  of  God  to  him  ;  and 
when  he  begged  it  might  fall  upon  the  whole 
ground,  to  represent  his  favour  to  all  the  people. 
But  there  is  a  farther  reaoon  why  he  might  desire 
to  have  the  miracle  inverted ;  for,  as  it  is  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  wool  to  draw  moisture  to  it, 
some  might  be  apt  to  think  that  there  was  no 
great  matter  in  this  ;  and  therefore  he  requested 
of  God  a  second  miracle,  which  was  contrary  to 
the  former. — Patrick's  Commentary. 

§  When  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  or  a  person 
much  superior,  as  some  suppose,  appeared  to  him, 
and  brought  him  the  news  of  God's  having  ap- 
pointed him  to  deliver  his  people  from  the  op- 
pression of  the  Midianites,  he  seems  indeed  at  first 
to  be  willing  to  decline  the  office,  as  conscious  of 
his  own  incapacity;  but  desires  withal  to  have 
some  conviction  given  him,  that  the  messenger 
came  from  heaven,  and  was  in  reality  no  impostor  ; 
but  when  once  he  was  satisfied  in  this,  he  never 
pretended  to  dispute  the  divine  command.  He 
knew  very  well,  that,  when  he  pulled  down  the 
altar  and  grove  of  -Baal,  he  must  necessarily  in- 
cense the  whole  country  against  him,  and  run  the 
hazard  of  his  own  life  ;  and  yet,  to  do  it  more 
effectually,  he  took  to  his  aid  ten  of  his  father's 
servants,  and  that  he  might  meet  with  no  molesta- 


216 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


Gideon,  being  fully  convinced  by  this 
double  miracle,  resolved  forthwith  to  at- 
tack the  enemy.  But  God  knowing  the 
folly  and  ingratitude  of  the  Israelites,  and 

lion,  did  it  in  the  night.  He  knew  very  well  that 
when  he  sounded  a  trumpet  in  order  to  form  an 
insurrection  in  the  country,  and  to  raise  some 
forces  to  assert  his  nation's  liberty,  the  Midianites 
would  interpret  this  as  an  open  declaration  of  war, 
and  come  against  him  with  an  army  as  numerous 
as  the  sand  on  the  sea  shore  for  multitude  ;  but 
this  he  mattered  not.  He  knew  that  two  and 
thirty  thousand  men  were  but  a  handful  in  com- 
parison of  the  enemy ;  and  yet  to  see  two  and 
twenty  thousand  of  these  desert  him  all  at  once,  and 
of  the  ten  thousand  that  remained,  no  more  left 
at  last  than  bare  three  hundred  ;  this  was  enough 
to  stagger  any  one's  mind  that  had  not  a  firm  re- 
liance on  the  word  and  promises  of  God.  He 
knew  that  three  hundred  men,  had  they  been  all 
giants,  and  armed  cap-a-pee  with  coats  of  mail, 
would  not  be  able  to  do  any  great  execution 
against  so  numerous  a  foe  ;  but  when  he  found 
that  instead  of  being  armed  he  was  to  attack  the 
enemy  naked,  and,  instead  of  swords  and  spears, 
as  usual,  his  soldiers  were  to  march  in  sucli  a 
plight  as  was  never  seen  before,  with  every  one  a 
light,  a  pitcher,  and  a  trumpet  in  his  hand  ;  and 
when  they  came  up  with  their  enemy,  were  to 
break  their  pitchers,  flourish  their  lights,  sound 
their  trumpets,  and  instead  of  regular  fighting, 
were  only  to  shout  and  roar  like  so  many  men 
either  mad  or  drunk  ;  who  but  a  Gideon  that  had 
his  faith  confirmed  by  so  many  visions  and  mira- 
cles before,  would  have  obeyed  and  put  in  execu- 
tion such  orders,  as  must  have  been  thought  wild, 
and  frantic,  and  absurd,  had  they  proceeded  from 
any  other  mouth  but  God's  ?  Well  therefore 
might  he  be  allowed  to  request  a  repetition,  nay, 
a  multiplication  of  miracles,  who  was  to  have  the 
trial  of  his  faith  and  obedience  carried  to  such  an 
extremity:  but  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  it 
was  not  for  his  own  sake  that  he  made  this  re- 
quest. He  had  been  sufficiently  convinced  by 
the  fire's  breaking  out  of  the  rock  at  the  touch  of 
the  rod  in  the  angel's  hand,  that  nothing  was  im- 
possible to  God,  and  that  the  means  which  he 
directed,  how  incongruous  soever  they  might  ap- 
pear to  men,  would  certainly  not  fail  of  their  ef- 
fect :  but  it  was  for  the  sake  of  his  allies  that  had 
just  now  joined  him  in  this  expedition,  that  he 
sent  up  his  petition  to  God  to  liave  them  likewise 
satisfied  ;  and  therefore  we  may  observe  that  when 
all  the  quotas  were  come  up,  and  encamped  to- 
gether, then  (very  likely  in  the  audience  of  the 
whole  army)  he  requested  of  God,  and  said,  '  If 
thou  wilt  save  Israel  by  my  hand,  as  thou  hast 
•aid,  behold  I  will  put  a  fleec#  of  wool  in  the 
floor,'  &c.  It  was  for  their  sakes,  I  say,  that  the 
miracles  were  wrought,  that  they,  who  were  to 
share  in  so  hazardous  a  war,  and  to  destroy  the 
armies  of  the  aliens  with  so  small  a  force,  nay, 
with  no  force  at  all,  should  have  some  assurance 
given  them  that  the  God  of  Israel,  who  had  so 
often  promised  their  forefathers  that  if  they  would 
continue  in  his  favour,  '  one  of  them  should  chase 


rightly  foreseeing,  that  if  with  this  army 
they  should  conquer  the  Midianites,  they 

}  would  vainly  impute  it  to  their  own  cour- 
age and  numbers,  and  not  to  his  assist- 

|  ance ;  therefore  ordered  Gideon  to  make 
proclamation  in  the  camp,  that  whosoever 
was  afraid,  should  have  liberty  to  return 
home. 

Upon  this,  two  and  twenty  thousand 
quitted  this  expedition,  only  ten  thousand 
remaining  with  Gideon.  This  was  a  very 
inconsiderable  number,  in  comparison  of 
the  numerous  host  of  the  Midianites. 

But  yet,  few  as  the  Israelites  were,  it 
came  within  the  verge  of  possibility  that 
they  might  defeat  their  foes  with  this 
handful  of  men:  and  therefore  God  resolv- 
ing that  the  whole  action  and  victory 
should  appear  to  be  his  doing,  ordered 
Gideon  to  bring  his  soldiers  down  to  the 
water,  where  he  would  give  him  a  sign  to 
direct  him  what  men  to  select  for  this 
business,  which  was  this.  They  that 
took  up  water  in  their  hands  and  lapped 
it,  should  go  with  him  ;  but  they  who  lay 
down   to  drink,   should  not  go.*      Only 


a  thousand,  and  two  of  them  put  ten  thousand  to 
flight,'  was  determined  to  assist  them  in  this  en- 
terprise.— Stachhouse. 

*  Interpreters  are  sadly  puzzled  to  conceive 
for  what  possible  reason  God  made  a  distinction 
between  the  soldiers  who  lapped  water  in  their 
hands  and  those  that  laid  themselves  down  to 
drink.  Some  of  the  Jewish  doctors  are  of  opinion, 
that  all,  except  the  three  hundred,  who  lapped, 
had  been  accustomed  to  the  worship  of  Baal,  which 
they  unwarily  discovered  by  their  kneeling  to 
drink:  but  this  is  a  groundless,  and  far-fetched 
conceit.  The  notion  of  those  who  impute  these 
three  hundred  men's  lapping  some  to  their  sloth 
and  laziness,  and  others  to  their  timorousness,  and 
the  great  fear  they  were  in  of  being  surprised  by 
the  enemy,  is  of  no  more  validity :  for  though 
God,  if  he  thought  fit,  might  have  employed  the 
most  dastardly  among  them  upon  this  expedi- 
tion, that  the  glory  of  the  victory  might  entirely 
redound  to  himself;  yet  since,  as  we  are  told,  all 
the  fearful  persons  were  dismissed  before,  and 
since  it  but  badly  befits  the  character  of  the 
courageous  to  be  lazy;  this  action  of  Japping  is 
rather  to  be  accounted  a  token  of  their  temper- 
ance, and  of  the  nobleness  of  their  spirit,  which 
made  them  so  desirous  to  engage  the  enemy  that 
they  would  not  stay  to  drink,  but,  though  they 
were  very  thirsty,  contented  themselves  to  moisten 
their  mouths,  as  we  say,  with  a  little  water;  where- 


Chap.  VIII.]  THE  fl*BLE. 

three  hundred  of  them  drank  out  of  their 
hands,  whom  God  commanded  him  to 
keep  with  him,  and  dismiss  the  rest. 

But  lest  Gideon,  upon  God's  reducing 
his  army  to  so  small  a  number  as  three 
hundred  men,  should  grow  diffident  of  the 
promised  success,  he  was  commanded  to 
take  his  servant  Phurah,  and  late  at  night 
go  to  the  enemy's  camp,  and  listen,  where 
he  should  hear  that  which  would  encour- 
age him :  which  he  accordingly  did :  and 
there  he  heard  a  soldier  expounding  a 
dream  to  another,  which  was  so  in  favour 
of  the  Israelites,  that  he  heard  his  own 
name  mentioned  with  this  advantage,  that 
God  would  deliver  the  Midianitish  army 
into  the  hands  of  Gideon. 

Thus  encouraged,  Gideon,  in  humble 
adoration,  worshipped  the  God  of  his 
mercies;  and  getting  back  undiscovered, 
put  his  men  in  order,  dividing  them  into 
three  companies,  an  hundred  in  each.  He 
gave  to  every  man  a  trumpet,  and  a 
pitcher,  with  a  burning  lamp  in  it,  charg- 
ing them  to  observe  his  motions,  and  do 
just  as  they  should  see  him  do. 

Gideon  having  thus  disposed  this  little 
body  of  men,  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
one  of  them;  and  giving  the  signal,  by 
breaking  the  pitchers,  and  sounding  their 
trumpets,  the  rest  did  the  like,  and  with  a 
terrible  shout,  they  cried  out,  •  The  sword 
of  the  Lord,  and  of  Gideon ! '  This 
alarm  affected  their  eyes  and  their  ears 
with  unusual  objects,  and,  increased  by  the 
horror  of  the  night,*   so  added  to  their 


as  the  rest  indulged  themselves  so  far  as  to  drink 
their  belly-full.  But  after  all,  the  true  reason  and 
design  of  this  method  seems  to  be  this.  That  God 
was  minded  to  reduce  Gideon's  army  to  a  very 
small  number,  which  might  very  likely  be  done  by 
this  means.  For,  as  the  season  of  the  year  was 
hot,  and  the  generality  of  the  soldiers  weary, 
thirsty,  and  faiut,  it  was  most  probable,  that  they 
would  lie  down,  as  indeed  they  did,  and  refresh 
themselves  plentifully,  and  scarce  to  be  expected 
that  any  great  number  would  deny  themselves  in 
this  matter. — Patrick  and  Saurin. 

*  It  is  said,  trliat  this  action  began  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  middle  watch:  which,  dividing  the 
night  from  six  to  six  into  four  watches,  as  most 
do,  should  answer  to  ten  at  night  with  us. 


217 

confusion,  that,  mistaking  their  own  party, 
they  fell  on  each  other's  swords, — God 
having  before  disposed  the  Midianites  for 
destruction ;  so  that  Gideon  and  his  army 
gained  an  easy  victory,  having  nothing  to 
do  but  to  pursue  a  flying  and  timorous 
enemy.f 

In  this  they  were  assisted  by  those  that 
on  proclamation  had  deserted  the  common 
cause,  who,  though  they  were  afraid  to 
fight,  yet  had  courage  to  pursue. 

Gideon,  to  make  sure  work,  and  to 
prevent  the  Midianites,  for  some  time,  to 
give  Israel  any  disturbance,  sent  to  the 
Ephraimites  to  possess  themselves  of  the 
passes  on  the  Jordan,  that  so  few  or  none 
of  them  might  escape. 

This  they  accordingly  performed,  taking 
Oreb  and  Zeeb4  two  Midianitish  princes, 


f  A  modern  piece  of  Arab  history  greatly  illus- 
trates the  defeat  of  the  Midianites  by  the  admirab'e 
contrivance  of  Gideon.  Achmed,  an  Arabian 
prince,  contested  with  Bel  Arab  the  imamship  of 
Oman  ;  but  finding  himself  too  weak  at  first  to 
risk  the  issue  of  a  battle,  he  threw  himself,  with  a 
few  soldiers,  into  a  little  fortress,  built  in  a  moun- 
tain, where  he  had  deposited  his  treasures.  His 
rival,  at  the  head  of  four  or  five  thousand  men, 
invested  the  place,  and  would  have  forced  the  new 
imam  to  surrender,  had  he  not  quitted  the  fortress 
with  two  of  his  domestics  ;  all  three  disguised  like 
poor  Arabs,  who  were  in  search  of  grass  for  their 
camels.  Achmed  withdrew  to  a  town,  a  good  day's 
journey  from  the  besieged  fortress,  where  he  was 
much  beloved;  he  found  no  difficulty  in  collecting 
some  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants,  rtith  whom  he 
marched  against  his  enemy.  Bel  Arab  had  placed 
his  camp  between  some  high  mountains  near  the 
fortress.  Achmed  having  ordered  a  coloured  string 
to  be  tied  round  the  heads  of  his  soldiers,  that 
they  might  be  distinguished  from  their  enemies, 
sent  several  small  detachments  to  seize  the  passes 
of  those  mountains.  He  gave  each  detachment  an 
Arab  trumpet,  to  sound  an  alarm  on  all  sides,  as 
soon  as  the  principal  party  should  give  the  signal; 
measures  being  thus  taken,  the  imam's  son  gave 
the  signal  at  day-break,  and  the  trumpets  sounded 
on  every  side.  The  whole  army  of  Bel  Arab 
being  thrown  into  a  panic  at  finding  all  the  passes 
guarded,  and  judging  the  number  of  the  army  to 
be  proportionate  to  the  noise  they  made,  was  put 
to  the  rout.  Bel  Arab  himself  marched  with  a 
party  to  the  place  where  the  son  of  the  new  imam 
was  keeping  guard  ;  he  knew  Bel  Arab,  fell  upon 
him,  killed  him,  and,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  Arabs,  cut  oft' his  head,  which  he  carried  to  his 
father. — Paxton. 

%  Oreb,  in  the  Hebrew,  signifies  a  crow,  and 
Zeeb  ft  wolf;  and  these  are  no  improper  word* 
2  £ 


218 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


whom  they  slew,  and  then  followed  the 
pursuit ;  which  Gideon  and  his  party  con- 
tinued very  closely  till  they  came  to  Suc- 
coth,  where  being  faint  and  weary  they 
halted,  and  Gideon  desired  of  the  inhabi- 
tants some  refreshment  for  his  men.  The 
princes  of  Succoth,  knowing  that  Gideon 
with  his  small  party  was  in  chase  of  Ze- 
bah  and  Zalmunna,  two  of  the  kings  of 
Midian,  who  with  fifteen  thousand  men 
were  fled  to  Karkor,  instead  of  giving 
Gideon  and  his  soldiers  any  refreshment, 
ridiculed  him  on  the  account  of  his  little 
army,  and  in  derision  asked  him  whether 
he  was  so  secure  of  victory  over  the 
princes  he  pursued,  as  to  demand  relief  of 
them?  This  unmannerly  and  inhospitable 
treatment  so  incensed  Gideon,  that  he 
told  them,  if  the  Lord  gave  him  success 
against  Zeba  and  Zalmunna,  he  would 
make  them  repent  their  incivility.  The 
same  he  threatened  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Penuel,  for  the  like  rudeness;  and  with 
his  fatigued  party  continued  the  pursuit 
till  he  came  to  Karkor,  where  the  two 
Midianitish  princes  with  their  rallied 
forces  lay  thoughtless  of  danger.  But 
Gideon  taking  the  advantage  of  this 
security,  surprised  and  defeated  them, 
taking  the  two  kings  prisoners,  whom  he 
1  brought  in  triumph  with  him  to  Succoth : 
and  called  the  chiefs  of  the  place,  seventy- 
seven  in  number,  who  had  before  upbraid- 
ed him,  to  a  severe  account,  chastising 
them  with  thorns  and  briars,*  as  he  had 


to  represent  the  sagaciousness  and  fierceness  which 
should  be  in  two  such  great  commanders.  Nor 
was  it  an  uncommon  thing  for  great  families,  in 
ancient  times,  to  derive  their  names  from  such 
like  creatures:  hence  the  Corvini,  crows;  Cracchi, 
jack-daws ;  Aquilini,  eagles;  &c,  among  the 
Romans,  either  as  omens,  or  monuments  of  their 
undaunted  courage,  and  dexterity  in  military 
achievements.  But  after  all,  it  seems  every  whit  as 
probable  that  these  were  only  nicknames,  which 
the  Israelites  gave  these  two  princes  of  Midian,  to 
denote  their  fierceness  and  rapaciousness  of  prey. 
— Bedford  and  Le  Clerc. 

*  What  kind  of  punishment  this  was,  commen- 
tators are  not  well  agreed.  The  word  in  the 
Hebrew  signifies  thrashing,  and  thence  itis^?n- 
erally  inferred  that  Gideon  caused  the  principal 
men  of  Succoth,  who  had  denied  his  soldiers  pro- 


before  threatened  them.  Nor  was  he 
less  sparing  to  Penuel,  whose  fortifica- 
tions he  demolished  and  slew  the  gover- 
nors. 

The  captive  princes  had  mercilessly 
destroyed  all  before  them  in  their  march, 
nor  did  Gideon's  family  escape  the  gen- 
eral massacre  at  Tabor.  Gideon,  intending 
to  show  mercy  to  the  two  kings,  if  they 
had  shown  any  to  his  house,  demanded 
what  manner  of  men  they  were  whom 
they  had  slain  at  Tabor;  who  answered 
somewhat  flatteringly,  that  they  were  like 
him,  having  the  majestic  appearance  of 
royal  children.  Gideon,  from  their  de- 
scription concluding  they  were  his  breth- 
ren, whom  they  had  slain,  declared,  if 
they  had  spared  them,  he  would  have 
saved  their  lives;  but  since  they  had  kill- 
ed his  brethren,  they  must  expect  no 
mercy.  Then  commanding  his  son  Jether 
to  fall  upon  them,  he  being  but  a  youth, 
and  somewhat  timorous,  Gideon  despatch- 
ed them  with  his  own  hand;  ordering 
them  to  be  stripped  of  their  royal  orna- 
ments, and  their  camels  of  their  rich  trap- 
pings and  furniture. 

The  Ephraimites,  who  had  behaved 
most  valiantly,  brought  the  heads  of  Oreb 
and  Zeeb,  whom  they  had  slain,  to 
Gideon,  as  tokens  of  their  signal  service; 
and  beginning  to  quarrel  with  Gideon  for 
not  calling  upon  them  at  the  first,  he 
wisely  pacified  them,  by  magnifying  their 
service  and  success  in  the  pursuit.  And 
now  the  strength  of  Midian  being  thus 
broke  by  the  slaughter  of  their  whole 
army,  Israel  enjoyed  a  peace  of  forty 
years. 

The  Israelites,  fond  of  Gideon's  courage 
and  conduct,  in  this  great  deliverance,  re- 
solved to  crown  his  merit  with  the  settle- 
ment of  the  government  on  him  and  his 


vision  in  their  distress,  to  be  stripped  naked,  laid 
flat  on  the  ground,  and  a  good  quantity  of  thorns 
and  briars  heaped  on  them  ;  that  so,  by  cart-wheels, 
or  other  heavy  carriages  passing  over  them,  their 
flesh  might  be  pierced  and  torn,  and  themselves 
tortured,  if  not  quite  crushed  to  death. — Stack- 
house. 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


219 


family.  But  Gideon,  well  knowing  the 
honour  of  this  victory  was  not  due  to 
him,  but  God  alone,  modestly  and  gener- 
ously declined  their  offer,  saying,  '  I  will 
not  rule  over  you,  neither  shall  my  son, 
but  the  Lord  shall  rule  over  you.  Yet 
to  let  you  see  I  do  not  slight  your  kind- 
ness, I  will  request  one  thing  of  you;  and 
that  is,  that  you  will  give  me  the  ear- 
rings of  your  plunder.' 

To  this  they  all  readily  consented;  and 
spreading  a  garment  on  the  ground,  they 
threw  in  the  ear-rings  which  bv  weight 
amounted  to  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
shekels  of  gold;  besides  the  rich  orna- 
ments and  robes  of  the'  kings,  with  the 
chains  *  that  were  upon  the  camels' 
necks. 

Of  this  gold  Gideon  made  an  ephod,f 

*  The  word  which  we  render  'chains,'  is  in  the 
original,  '  little  moons,'  which  the  Midianites  might 
wear  strung  together  about  their  camels'  necks, 
either  by  way  of  ornament  or  superstition,  be- 
cause they,  as  well  as  all  other  people  of  Arabia, 
were  very  zealous  worshippers  of  the  moon. — Le 
Clerc's  Commentary. 

f  An  ephod  is  a  common  vestment  belonging 
to  priests  in  general  ;  but  that  of  the  high-priest 
was  of  very  great  value.  This  vestment,  however, 
was  not  so  peculiar  to  the  priests  but  that  some- 
times we  find  the  laity  (as  in  the  case  of  David 
bringing  home  the  ark  of  God)  allowed  to  wear  it; 
and  therefore  some  have  imagined,  that  the  ephod, 
which  Gideon  made,  was  only  a  rich  and  costly 
robe  of  state,  which,  on  certain  occasions,  he 
might  wear  to  denote  the  station  he  held  in  the 
Jewish  republic.  But  if  his  intent  was  only  to 
distinguish  himself  from  others  by  such  a  particular 
vestment,  how  this  could  give  occasion  to  the 
people's  falling  into  idolatry,  or  any  way  become 
a  snare  to  Gideon  and  his  house,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive. Others  therefore  suppose,  that  the  word 
ephod  is  a  short  expression  to  denote  the  high- 
priest's  breast-plate,  together  with  the  urim  and 
thummim  ;  and  hence,  by  an  easy  figure,  they  are 
led  to  think,  that  to  make  an  ephod  is  to  estab- 
lish a  priesthood  ;  and  thereupon  conclude,  that 
Gideon's  crime,  in  making  this  ephod,  was  not  to 
establish  idolatry,  but  only  to  institute  another 
priesthood,  besides  that  which  God  had  appointed 
in  Aaron  and  his  posterity  :  and  to  this  purpose 
they  suppose,  that  he  erected  a  private  tabernacle, 
an  altar,  a  mercy-seat,  with  cherubim,  &c.  that, 
being  now  made  the  supreme  governor,  he  might 
consult  God  at  his  own  house,  in  such  difficult 
points  as  occurred  in  his  administration.  But, 
besides  that  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine,  that  a  man, 
familiar  with  God,  and  chosen  by  him,  as  Gideon 
was,  should  after  so  signal  a  victory  as  he  had 
obtained,  immediately  apostatize,  as  he  must  have 


and  placed  it  in  his  own  city  Ophrah, 
where  he  dwelt,  as  a  monument  of  this 
victory;  which  in  time,  by  a  wrong  use, 
and  contrary  to  the  will  of  Gideon,  prov- 
ed a  snare  to  his  family,  and  indeed  to 
the  whole  house  of  Israel. 

Gideon  survived  this  signal  victory  for- 
ty years,  during  which,  Israel  enjoyed  a 
profound  peace;  but  at  his  death,  they 
fell,  as  usual,  into  idolatry  and  ingratitude, 
not  only  to  God,  but  to  the  memory  of 
Gideon  their  deliverer. 

Gideon,  by  several  wives,  had  seventy 
sons;  and  by  a  concubine  he  had  one  son, 
whom  he  named  Abimelech.  And  though 
Gideon  had  refused  the  government  of 
Israel,  both  for  himself  and  his  sons,  yet 
as  soon  as  he  was  dead  his  son  Abimelech, 
an  aspiring  youth,  suggesting  to  his  mo- 
ther's family  at  Shechem,  that  his  seventy 
brethren  would  usurp  the  government 
over  them,  advised  them  to  consider, 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  for  them 
to  be  governed  by  one,  than  by  seventy 


done,  had  he  set  up  an  oracle  in  his  own  house, 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  manner  of  necessity 
for  it,  because  Shiloh  (where  the  tabernacle  stood) 
was  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  which  adjoined  to 
that  of  Manasseh,  whereunto  Gideon  belonged. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that  this  ephod  was 
set  up  in  Ophrah,  which  place  Gideon  quitted  as 
soon  as  he  had  resigned  his  public  employ,  and, 
retiring  to  a  country-house  of  his  own,  in  all  pro- 
bability left  this  ephod  behind  him:  there  is  reason 
therefore  to  believe,  that  the  design  of  setting  it 
up  was  merely  to  be  a  monument  of  his  remark- 
able victory  over  the  Midianites,  in  like  manner 
as  other  conquerors  had  done  before  him ;  only,  as 
the  common  custom  was,  to  erect  a  pillar,  or 
hang  up  trophies  upon  the  like  occasion,  he  chose 
rather  to  make  an  ephod,  or  priest's  habit,  (per- 
haps all  of  solid  gold,)  as  a  token  that  he  ascribed 
this  victory  only  to  God,  and  triumphed  in  no- 
thing so  much,  as  in  the  reformation  of  the  true 
religion  by  that  means.  This  was  an  action  of  no 
bad  intent  in  Gideon,  though,  in  after  times,  when 
the  people  began  to  return  to  idolatry,  and  had 
this  fancy,  among  others,  that  God  would  answei 
them  at  Ophrah,  where  this  ephod  was,  as  well  as 
at  his  tabernacle  in  Shiloh,  it  was  perverted  to  a 
bad  purpose.  But,  as  this  abuse  arose  from  the 
mad  caprice  of  the  people,  and  not  from  any  ill 
intent  in  Gideon,  he  is  no  more  chargeable  there- 
with than  Moses  was  with  the  idolatrous  worship 
which  the  Israelites,  in  future  ages,  paid  to  the 
brazen-serpent,  which  he,  for  very  beneticial  pur* 
poses  at  first  set  up.-—>Stackhouse. 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III 


persons;  at  the  same  time  putting  them 
in  mind  that  he  was  of  their  family  and 
kindred. 

His  relations  upon  this  suggestion  pro- 
posed advancement  to  themselves,  which 
they  insinuated  to  the  Shechemites,  who, 
closing  with  the  project,  contrived  how  to 
advance  Abimelech  to  the  government; 
and  that  money  might  not  be  wanting  to 
forward  the  design,  they  took  some  out  of 
the  treasury  of  their  god  Baal-berith,  * 
and  gave  it  to  Abimelech,  who  with  it 
hired  a  company  of  dissolute  fellows  to  j 
attend  him. 

With  these  ruffians  he  repaired  to  his 
deceased  father's  house  at  Ophrah,  where  ! 
he  seized  sixty-nine  of  his  brethren,  and 
slew  them  upon  one  stone  ;f  the  youngest, 
named   Jotham,    having    timely    notice, 

escaped.     Soon  after  this  bloody  and  un-  ' 

i 

*  The  learned  Bochart  is  of  opinion,  that  the 
Baal  here  mentioned  was  the  same  with  Beroe, 
the  daughter  of  Venus  and   Adonis,  desired   in 
marriage  by  Neptune,  hut  given  to  Bacchus  ;  and  ; 
that  she  gave  her  name  to  Berith  in   Phoenicia,  ' 
where  she  was  much  worshipped,  and  thence  trans-  ' 
lated  a  goddess  in  other  parts.     But,  though  the  ' 
word  Baal  (as  he  maintains)  be  frequently  used 
in  a  feminine  sense,  yet  it  can  hardly  be  imagined  j 
but  that  the  sacred  historian,  if  he  had  been  mind- 
ed  to  express  a  goddess,  might  have  found   out  ; 
some  way  of  distinguishing  her  ;  might  have  called  | 
tier  (for   instance)   Bahalah-berith,   the  lady,  or 
goddess  of  Berith,  without  making  botli  the  words 
of  a  masculine  termination.     And  therefore  the 
most  simple  and  natural  manner  of  explaining  the 
name  is,  to  take  it  in   general  for  the  god  who 
presides  over  covenants  and  contracts,  to  whom  it 
belongs  to  maintain  them,  and  to  punish  all  those 
that  violate  them.     For  it  is  to  be  observed,  that 
the  most  barbarous  as  well  as  the  most  intelligent, 
the  most  religious  as  well  as  the  most  superstitious 
nations,  have  always  looked  upon  God  as  the  wit- 
ness as  well  as  the  vindicatorof  oaths  and  covenants ; 
that  the  Greeks  had  their  Zens  Horkios,  as  well  as 
the  Latins  their  Jupiter  Pistius,  or  Deus  Fidius, 
whom  they  looked  upon  as  a  god  of  honesty  and 
uprightness,  always  superintending  in  treaties  and 
alliances.     And  for  this  reason   not   improbably, 
the  house  of  their  god  Berith  was  the  citadel,  the 
arsenal,  and  the  treasury  of  the  Shechemites,  even 
as    Plutarch    informs  us,   that  in   the  temple  of 
Saturn,  the  Romans  reposited  both  their  archives 
and  public  wealth. — Buchart,  Poole,  and  Calmet. 

f  Some  will  have  this  stone  to  be  an  altar,  dedi- 
cated by  Abimelech  to  the  idol  Baal,  and  erected 
in  the  same  place  where  his  father  Gideon  had  be- 
fore destroyed  the  altar  of  Baal,  to  recompense  the 
disgrace  done  by  him  to  the  idol. 


natural  execution,  the  Shechemites,  hav- 
ing nothing  to  fear  from  Gideon's  house, 
assembled  together  at  Millo,:}:  and  chose 
Abimelech  king.§ 

When  this  inhuman  procedure  reached 
the  ears  of  Jotham,  he  went  to  the  top  of 
mount  Gerizim,  where,  in  a  parabolical 
oration  he  represented  to  the  Shechemites 
how  his  father  Jerub-baal  had  refused  to 
have  the  government  of  Israel  settled  up- 
on him  and  his  family ;  and  that  they  had 


J  The  sentiments  of  commentators  are  divided 
respecting  what  is  meant  by  the  *  house  of  Millo.' 
The  following  appears  the  most  entitled  to  regard. 
The  'house  of  Millo'  in  Shechem  had  a  great 
number  of  persons  connected  with  it,  whom  the 
sacred  writer  distinguishes  from  the  men  of  the 
city.  And  since  both  were  concerned  in  making 
Abimelech  king,  it  is  natural  to  conclude  that  the 
men  of  the  city  were  the  inferior  inhabitants,  and 
the  house  of  Millo  the  governors  of  the  place ; 
both  of  whom  met  in  the  senate-house  to  set  the 
crown  upon  the  head  of  their  favourite.  By  com- 
paring the  account  given  here  with  that  given  af- 
terwards of  the  house  of  Millo  built  by  Solomon 
on  the  east  side  of  mount  Zion,  we  shall  probably 
arrive  at  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  The  Millo 
on  mount  Zion  appears  to  have  been  of  great 
strength,  and  essentially  connected  with  the  de- 
fence of  Jerusalem  ;  for  when  Hezekiah  discover- 
ed that  Sennacherib  meditated  the  reduction  of  his 
capital,  'he  strengthened  himself,  and  built  up  all 
the  wall  that  was  broken,  and  raised  it  up  to  the 
towers,  and  another  wall  without,  and  repaired 
Millo  in  the  city  of  David,  and  made  darts  and 
shields  in  abundance.'  From  the  intimate  con- 
nection between  the  repairing  of  Millo  and  the 
making  of  darts  and  other  implements  of  war,  it 
has  been  conjectured  by  some  writers  that  one  part 
of  that  public  edifice  was  occupied  as  an  armoury, 
in  which  there  is  nothing  improbable.  That  it 
was  a  public  building,  in  one  of  whose  apartments 
the  council  of  state  met  to  deliberate  upon  public 
affairs,  is  rendered  almost  certain  by  one  of  the 
kings  of  Judah  losing  his  life  there  by  the  hands 
of  his  princes ;  for  we  are  told  that  *the  servants  of 
king  Joash  arose  and  made  a  conspiracy,  and  slew 
him  in  the  house  of  Millo.'  whither  he  had  pro- 
bably come  to  consult  with  his  princes  and  other 
principal  persons  upon  some  affairs  of  state.  It 
is  therefore  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  Millo 
in  Shechem  and  that  in  Jerusalem  were  erected 
for  similar  purposes, — one  part  of  the  building 
being  employed  as  an  armoury,  and  another,  as  a 
sort  of  town-hall,  where  the  rulers  of  the  city 
held  their  public  meetings. — See  Script.  Must. 

§  In  this  choice  there  were  neither  the  call  of 
God,  nor  the  consent  of  the  people ;  for  Abimelech 
was  not  appointed  king  by  the  body  of  the  Israel- 
ites, but  by  a  few  disorderly  seditious  Shechemitet, 
without  the  knowledge  of  Judah  or  the  other 
tribes,  and  reigned  only  in  Shechem. 


Chap.  VIII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

now  disposed  of  it  to  one,  as  much  inferior 
in  virtue  and  honour  to  Gideon  and  his 
lawful  sons,  as  the  bramble  is  to  the  olive 
fig-tree  or  vine :  he  then  expostulated 
with  them  on  the  injury  done  to  his  family, 
and  thus  reproaehed  them  with  their  in- 
gratitude :  '  If  ye  have  done  truly  and 
sincerely  in  making  Abimelech  king;  and 
if  you  have  dealt  well  with  Jerub-baal, 
and  his  house,  who  merited  so  well  of 
you ;  (for  my  father  fought  for  you,  and 
delivered  you  from  the  oppression  of 
Midian,  and  yet  you  have  risen  up 
against  my  father's  house  this  day,  and 
slain  his  sons,  and  made  Abimelech,  the 
son  of  his  concubine,  king,  because  he  is 
your  brother;)  if  you  have  done  well  in 
this,  then  rejoice  in  Abimelech,  and  let 
him  rejoice  in  you.  But  if  not,  let  fire 
come  out  from  Abimelech,  and  devour  the 
men  of  Shechem,  and  the  house  of  Millo, 
and  let  them  devour  him.'* 

Jotham  having  thus  delivered  himself 
to  the  Shechemites,  made  his  escape  to 
Beer,  f  where  he  lived  secure  from  Abi- 
melech's  rage. 

Within  three  years  afterwards  his  curse 
was  verified,  both  upon  Abimelech  and 
the  Shechemites ;  for  they  conspired 
against  Abimelech,  attempting  to  seize 
or  kill  him.  But  being  disappointed  of 
their  purpose,  they  joined  another  profli- 
gate wretch  and  his  company,  one  that 
lived  by  the  spoil  of  others,  as  the  She- 
chemites did.  His  name  was  Gaal,  the 
son  of  Ebed,  and  an  impudent  boaster, 
but  a  very  great  coward. 

Gaal  being  set  at  the  head  of  this  dis- 
solute gang,  ravaged  the  country  uncon- 
troled  for  some  time,  spoiling  the  vine- 
yards   of    the    Shechemites    who    made 


•  That  is,  let  Abimelech  be  a  scourge  to  the 
Shechemites,  and  they  to  him,  in  expiation  of 
their  injustice  and  ingratitude  to  the  house  of 
Gideon. 

f  This  was  a  city,  that  stood  on  the  northern 
frontiers  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  did  not  ac- 
knowledge Abimelech  for  king,  and  therefore 
Jotham  knew  that  he  might  have  sure  refuge  and 
protection  there. 


221 

Abimelech  king;  and  in  their  mirth  and 
jollity  they  despised  Abimelech;  but  none 
spoke  with  more  contempt  of  him  than 
Gaal. 

The  wild  carriage  of  the  abandoned 
Gaal  soon  reached  the  ear  of  Zebul,  who 
was  Abimelech's  viceroy  in  Shechem  ;  but 
he  not  being  strong  enough  to  chastise 
him  for  his  insolence,  sent  privately  to 
Abimelech,  to  acquaint  him,  that  Gaal 
and  his  mad  crew  were  come  to  Shechem, 
and  had  fortified  the  city  against  him,  ad- 
vising him  to  come  by  night,  and  lie  in 
ambuscade  till  the  next  morning,  that  so 
he  might  surprise  them. 

Abimelech  approved  of  the  stratagem, 
and  forthwith  put  it  in  execution;  which 
succeeded  so  well  that  Gaal,  and  those 
that  followed  him  were  defeated  and  slain; 
and  the  next  day  he  stormed  the  place  and 
took  it;  and  to  express  his  resentment 
more  furiously,  after  he  had  demolished 
the  city,  he  sowed  it  with  salt4  But 
during  these  transactions,  some  that  es- 
caped the  fury  of  the  conqueror's  sword, 
and  had  fled  to  the  tower,  seeing  the 
houses  of  the  city  thrown  down,  not  sup- 
posing themselves  safe  in  the  tower,  took 
sanctuary  in  a  fort  belonging  to  the  tem- 
ple of  their  god  Berith  :  which  Abimelech 
hearing,  he  took  an  axe  in  his  hand,  and 
commanding  his  army  to  do  the  same,  he 
marched  up  to  the  mount  Zalmon,  where 
grew  a  grove  of  trees,  and  cutting  down  a 
bough,  he  laid  it  on  his  shoulder,  and 
brought  it  to  the  fort.  The  rest  did  the 
same  :  and  when  they  had  laid  the  boughs 
together,  Abimelech  set  them  on  fire ;  by 
which  about  a  thousand  men  and  women 
were  destroyed. 


$  This  was  an  old  custom  of  punishing  cities 
for  treachery.  Not  that  the  strowing  of  salt  signi- 
fied drying  up,  or  rendering  of  the  soil  barren 
(for  there  was  no  occasion  for  that  in  an  inhabited 
town);  but  to  show  the  detestation  of  their  rebellion, 
and  that  hereafter  none  should  rebuild  or  re-peopla 
it.  In  this  action  part  of  Jotham's  curse  was  ac- 
complished ;  for  Abimelech,  though  not  a  lawful 
king,  yet  served  the  Shechemites  justly,  who,  after 
thev  had  made  him  their  king,  revolted  from  him. 


222 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book.  III. 


This  success  encouraged  Abimelech  to 
attack  the  city  of  Thebez,*  which  he  took 
by  storm.  But  there  being  a  strong  tower 
in  the  citj'-,  the  inhabitants  fled  thither, 
and  maintained  it  for  some  time  against 
all  the  force  of  Abimelech,  which  so  irri- 
tated the  impatient  conqueror,  that,  pur- 
suing his  fate,  he  came  near  the  tower  to 
encourage  his  men,  and  facilitate  the  tak- 
ing of  it  by  his  presence  ;  but  pressing  too 
near  the  door,  with  a  design  to  have  set 
it  on  fire,  a  woman  from  above  cast  down 
a  piece  of  millstone  upon  his  head,  which 
broke  his  skull,  f 

Abimelech,  finding  himself  mortally 
wounded,  called  hastily  to  his  armour- 
bearer,  and  commanded  him  to  despatch 
him,  that  it  might  not  be  said  he  died  by 
the  hand  of  a  woman.  His  servants  obey- 
ed him,  and  the  report  of  his  death  was  no 
sooner  rumoured  among  the  troops,  but 
they  dispersed. 

Thus  were  Abimelech  and  the  Shechem- 
ites  scourges  to  each  other,  and  Jotham's 
curse  completed  in  the  fate  of  both.:}: 


*  Eusebius  says  there  was  a  village  called  The- 
bez, thirteen  miles  from  Shechem,  near  Scythopo- 
lis. 

■f-  Thus  Plutarch  relates,  that  Pyrrhus,  at  the 
siege  of  Thebes,  was  killed  by  a  woman's  throwing 
a  tile  upon  his  head ;  but  there  is  something  more 
remarkable  in  Abimelech's  death  by  a  stone,  be- 
cause, as  he  slew  all  his  brethren  upon  one  stone, 
for  him  to  die  by  no  other  instrument  carried  some 
stamp  of  his  sin  upon  it.  The  manner  of  his 
death,  however,  puts  us  in  mind  of  what  the  same 
author  records  of  the  Spartan  general,  Lysander, 
who  fell  ingloriously  under  the  walls  of  Haliartus. 
"  Thus  he  died,"  says  he,  "  but  not  like  Cleombro- 
tus,  who  was  slain  while  he  was  gloriously  making 
head  against  an  impetuous  enemy  at  Leuctra  ;  not 
like  Cyrus,  or  Epaminondas,  who  received  a  mor- 
tal wound,  while  he  was  rallying  his  men,  and  se- 
curing to  them  the  victory.  These  great  men  died 
in  their  callings.  They  died  the  death  of  kings 
and  commanders :  whereas  he,  like  some  common 
soldier,  or  one  of  the  forlorn  hope,  cast  away  his 
life  ingloriously  :  giving  this  testimony  to  the  an- 
cient Spartans,  that  they  did  well  to  avoid  storm- 
ing of  walls  ;  in  which  the  stoutest  man  may 
chance  to  fall  by  the  hand,  not  only  of  an  abject 
fellow,  but  by  that  of  a  boy,  or  a  woman,  as  they 
say  Achilles  was  slain,  in  the  gates  of  Troy,  by  the 
hands  of  the  effeminate  Paris." — Patrick  and 
Plutarch. 

f  Here  is  the  concluding  lesson  of  the  preced- 
ing story :  that  thus  Providence  returned  upon  the 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Tola  succeeds  Abimelech  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Israelites. —  They  are  again  punished  for  their 
transgressions;  and  on  their  submission,  fa- 
voured with  tokens  of  divine  regard. — Jeph- 
thah  first  despised  is  afterwards  vested  with 
the  command  of  the  Israelitish  army  against 
their  enemies. — He  behaves  bravely  ;  makes 
an  extraordinary  vow,  which  he  executes  with 
a  most  rigid  punctuality. — Jephthah  dies. — 
Israel  enjoys  a  peace  during  the  reigns  oj 
three  leaders- — Particular  circumstances  which 
attend  the  birth  of  Samson. 

Tola,  the  son  of  Puah,  uncle  by  the  fa- 
ther's side  to  Abimelech,  of  the  tribe  of 
Issachar,  was  appointed  ruler  or  judge  of 
Israel  in  his  stead ;  of  which  nothing  is 
recorded,  but  that  he  governed  Israel  three 
and  twenty  years. 

To  him  succeeded  Jair  of  Gilead  who 
reigned  two  and  twenty  years. 

After  this,  God  being  provoked  by  the 
idolatry  of  the  Israelites,  he  permitted  the 
Philistines,  Amorites,  and  Ammonites  to 
overrun  their  country  as  they  pleased  for 
eighteen  years ;  and  in  the  last  year, 
the  Ammonites  bent  their  whole  force 
against  the  tribes  of  Judah,  Benjamin,  and 
Ephraim. 

The  Israelites,  finding  themselves  not 
able  to  deal  with  the  vast  numbers  of  their 
enemies,  became  sensible  of  their  follies, 
by  which  they  had  provoked  God  to  pun- 
ish them  thus;  and  therefore  acknow- 
ledging their  sin  of  idolatry,  they  begged 
of  God  to  assist  them  once  more. 


head  of  this  man  the  proper  reward  of  his  insatia- 
ble ambition  and  cruelty  towards  the  house  of  his 
own  father  ;  causing  him,  and  the  ungrateful  and 
vain  people  which  set  him  up,  to  become  in  a  short 
space  of  time  the  instruments  of  each  other's  ruin 
and  destruction.  Pyle. — How  sure  and  just  are 
the  retaliations  of  God  !  Gideon's  ephod  is  punish- 
ed with  the  blood  of  his  sons  ;  the  blood  of  his 
sons  is  shed  by  the  procurement  of  the  Shechem- 
ites  ;  the  blood  of  the  Shechemites  is  shed  by 
Abimelech  ;  the  blood  of  Abimelech  is  shed  by  a 
woman.  The  tyrant  now  has  his  payment ;  and 
that  time,  which  he  should  have  bestowed  in  call- 
ing for  mercy  on  God,  and  in  washing  his  soul 
with  the  last  tears  of  contrition,  he  vainly  spends 
in  deprecating  an  idle  reproach,  "  Slay  me,  that 
men  say  not  of  me,  A  woman  slew  him  ;" — a  fit 
conclusion  for  such  a  life. — Bishop  Hall. 


Chap.  IX.]  THE  BIBLE. 

But  God  upbraided  them  with  ingrati- 
tude, and  to  increase  the  pungency  of 
their  sorrow,  bid*  them  cry  to  the  gods 
which  they  had  chosen,  and  try  if  they 
would  deliver  them  in  the  time  of  their 
distress.  This  was  a  cutting  reproof  to 
the  Israelites. 

However,  to  recover  God's  favour  and 
protection,  they  reformed;  for  they  put 
away  their  idols,  and  served  the  Lord. 

The  God  of  Israel  after  his  wonted 
goodness  to  that  ungrateful  people,  having 
brought  them  to  a  sense  of  their  crimes 
by  the  rigour  of  his  punishment,  again 
returned  to  them  in  much  mercy,  and 
pointed  out  to  them  the  certain  means  of 
deliverance. 

There  was  at  that  time  in  the  half  tribe 
of  Manasseh,  which  settled  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan,  a  man  of  note  among  his 
people,  whose  name  was  Gilead,  of  the 
family  of  that  Gilead,  the  son  of  Machir, 
to  whom  Moses  gave  the  city  of  Gilead, 
from  whence  the  family  was  called  Gilead- 
ites. 

This  Gilead  had  several  sons  by  his 
wife ;  and  he  had  one  son  by  a  harlot,* 
whom  he  named  Jephthah. 

When  Gilead's  lawful  sons  were  grown 
up,  they  thrust  out  Jephthah,  telling  him, 
that  being  not  born  in  lawful  matrimony, 
he  should  have  no  inheritance  among 
them. 

Jephthah  upon  this,  expecting  worse 
usage,  hastened  from  them,  and  took  up 


*  Several  Jewish  doctors  are  of  opinion,  that 
the  word  Zonah  may  signify,  either  one  of  another 
tribe,  or  one  of  another  nation  ;  and  so,  Josephus 
calls  Jephthah,  '  a  stranger  by  the  mother's  side.1 
It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  among  the  Jews, 
if  such  persons  as  were  deemed  strangers  embraced 
the  law,  their  children  were  capable  to  inherit 
among  the  rest  of  their  brethren.  Jephthah  in- 
deed, complains  of  the  hard  usage  he  met  with, 
but  it  was  upon  this  occasion,  when  his  country  lie 
found  stood  in  need  of  him  ;  for  had  lie  been  un- 
justly dispossessed  of  his  right  of  inheritance  before, 
we  can  hardly  suppose  that  a  man  of  his  courage 
and  martial  spirit  would  have  sat  down  contented 
with  his  exclusion.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  there- 
fore, but  thitf  he  '  was  the  son  of  an  harlot,'  pro- 
perly so  called. — Howell. 


his  station  in  the  land  of  Tob,f  which 
place  being  very  subject  to  the  depreda- 
tions and  military  expeditions  of  the  ene- 
my, Jephthah  the  rather  chose  for  his 
residence,  being  himself  naturally  brave 
and  daring.  In  their  excursions  against 
the  enemy,  he  always  distinguished  him- 
self; so  at  last  he  was  courted  to  accept  a 
command  of  a  number  of  young  fellows, 
with  whom  he  went  a  foraging. 

In  this  time  of  general  prowess,  the 
Gileadites,  thinking  themselves  aggrieved 
by  the  Ammonites,  resolved  upon  war, 
but  wanted  a  general.  Whereupon  at  a 
grand  meeting  of  their  chiefs,  it  was 
agreed,  that  he  who  should  first  attack  the 
Ammonites  should  be  their  general. 

Then  bethinking  themselves  of  Jeph- 
thah, whom  they  knew  to  be  a  man  of 
courage  and  conduct,  they  addressed  them- 
selves to  him,  and  offered  him  the  com- 
mand of  their  army. 

Jephthah,  surprised  at  this  sudden 
change,  asked  them,  how  they  who  had  ex- 
pelled him  his  father's  house,  could  expect 
any  succour  from  him  in  their  distress  ? 

They  acknowledged  their  present  dis- 
tress was  the  only  motive  of  their  coming, 
and  repeated  their  importunities  to  him  to 
go  with  them. 

Jephthah,  mindful  of  the  ill  treatment 
he  had  received  from  the  people,  who  now 
offered  him  a  post  of  honour,  determined 
not  to  engage  with  them  but  upon  sure 
terms.  For,  says  he,  '  If  I  go  along  with 
you,  and  succeed  against  the  Ammonites, 
shall  I  be  your  ruler  afterwards  ?' 

Their  necessity  was  so  pressing  at  this 
time,  that  they  readily  consented,  solemn- 
ly engaging  that  it  should  be  so.  Upon 
this,  Jephthah  went  with  them,  and  the 


t  We  read  no  where  else  of  this  country,  which, 
very  probably,  was  not  far  from  Gilead,  upon  the 
borders  of  the  Ammonites,  in  the  entrance  of 
Arabia  Deserta ;  or  perhaps  it  is  the  same  with 
what  is  called  Ish-tob,  (2  Sam.  viii.  6,  8.)  which 
was  in  Syria,  and  so  near  the  Ammonites,  that 
they  hired  forces  from  thence,  as  well  as  from 
other  nations,  to  fight  against  David. — Patrick's 
Commentary. 


224 


HISTORY  OF 


[.Book  III 


people  made  him  captain  over  them  ;  and 
Jephthah  repeated  the  covenant,  or  agree- 
ment, between  them  and  him  before  the 
Lord  in  Mizpeh. 

Jephthah,  having  thus  secured  to  him- 
self the  conduct  of  the  Israelites,  in  case 
of  success,  was  greatly  animated,  and  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  king  of  Amnion  to  de- 
mand the  reason  of  his  invading  the  Israel- 
ites- ? 

The  Ammonitish  king  replied,  that 
the  land  was  his,  and  that  the  Israelites, 
upon  their  coming  out  of  Egypt,  took  it 
from  the  Ammonites,  which  now  he  de- 
manded, or  would  make  them  restore  it. 

Jephthah,  by  other  ambassadors,  told 
him  the  case  from  the  beginning;  that 
the  Israelites,  in  their  passage  from  Egypt, 
being  denied  to  pass  through  the  countries 
of  Edom  and  Moab,  were  forced  to  fetch 
a  great  compass  until  they  came  unto  the 
land  of  the  Amorites,  where  they  were  not 
only  refused  a  passage,  but  attacked  in  a 
hostile  manner,  by  the  Amoiitish  king, 
whom  the  Israelites  defeated  in  a  pitched 
battle,  fairly  conquering,  not  only  the 
kingdom  of  the  Amorites,  but  whatsoever 
else  belonged  to  Sihon  the  Amoritish  king; 
who  having  before  taken  from  the  king  of 
Moab  the  land  now  in  dispute,  it  fell  with 
the  rest  by  conquest  from  the  Amorite 
to  Israel.  Besides,  he  confirmed  Israel's 
title  by  a  long  possession  of  many  years' 
peaceable  enjoyment. 

But  these  reasons  would  not  do  with 
the  king  of  Ammon,  who  marched  direct- 
ly against  the  Israelites,  and  was  by  them 
us  warmly  received. 

But  before  the  action,  Jephthah,  the 
more  readily  to  secure  himself  of  victory, 
made  this  vow*  to  the  Lord  :  '  If,'  said  he, 


*  To  make  a  vow,  was  an  act  of  religious  wor- 
ship, and  in  itself  no  way  culpable  :  nay,  not  only 
the  Jews,  but  other  nations,  looked  upon  it  in  tins 
view  :  and  therefore  we  find  Livy  so  frequently 
telling  us  that  the  Roman  generals  were  wont  to 
vow  to  Jupiter,  or  Apollo,  or  some  other  god, 
that  if,  by  their  help,  they  should  prove  successful, 
they  would  devote  some  part  of  the  spoil  they 
should  take  in  the  war  to  their   use,  or  build 


*  thou  wilt  give  me  success  against  the 
Ammonites  this  day,  whatsoever  cometh 
forth  of  mine  house  to  meet  me,  when  I 
return,  I  will  surely  consecrate  to  the 
Lord,  or  I  will  offer  it  up  for  a  burnt- 
offering.'f 

To  this  victory  of  Jephthah's  a  civil 
war  succeeded,  between  the  tribe  of  Eph- 
raim  and  the  tribe  of  Gilead. 

The  Ephraimites  were  an  ambitious 
quarrelsome  people,  and  this  was  not  the 
first  instance  of  their  temper,  which  for- 
merly went  no  further   than  words;   but 


temples  and  dedicate  them  to  their  honour. — Pa- 
trick's Commentary. 

f  This  passage  has  occasioned  no  small  contro- 
versy among  commentators.  The  doubt  is,  whe- 
ther Jephthah  offered  up  his  daughter  for  a  burnt- 
offering,  or  consecrated  her  to  the  public  service 
of  God.  It  appears  that  Jephthah's  daughter  was 
not  sacrificed,  but  devoted  to  the  Lord.  It  is  plain 
that  in  many  cases  his  vow  could  not  have  been 
executed  :  for  suppose  on  his  return,  that  a  dog, 
or  any  other  unclean  animal,  had  first  met  him,  he 
could  not  have  offered  it  for  a  burnt-offering,  the 
law  of  Moses  having  strictly  forbidden  such  sacri- 
fices ;  besides,  if  Jephthah  was  under  a  necessity 
of  offering  his  daughter,  who  was  to  be  employed 
in  that  revolting  task?  The  priests  were  com- 
manded to  do  all  in  their  power  to  deter  the  peo- 
ple from  the  commission  of  so  abominable  a  prac- 
tice ;  the  magistrates  well  knew,  that  such  sacri- 
fices were  strictly  forbidden  by  God  himself,  and 
certainly  no  person  can  conceive  Jephthah  capa- 
ble of  committing  such  an  inhuman  office.  Upon 
the  whole,  therefore,  I  think  it  appears,  that  she 
was  not  sacrificed,  but  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God.  It  is  said  in  Judg.  xi.  39.  that  '  she  knew 
no  man.*  This,  it  is  thought,  is  a  sufficient  proof 
that  she  was  not  sacrificed  ;  for  otherwise,  it  would 
have  been  superfluous  to  say,  that  after  the  vow 
was  performed,  she  knew  no  man.  In  ver.  40,  we 
are  told  that  'the  daughters  of  Israel  went  yearly 
to  lament  her.'  The  original  word,  which  we  ren- 
der lament,  is  capable  of  different  significations; 
by  some  it  is  translated,  '  to  talk  with  ;'  by  others, 
'to  praise:'  if  we  adopt  the  first,  it  is  a  demon- 
strative proof  that  she  was  alive,  and  therefore 
they  went  at  certain  seasons  to  comfort  and  con- 
sole her.  If  the  latter,  the  sense  will  be,  that 
they  went  to  praise  her  virtue,  who,  in  the  midst 
of  her  father's  afflictions  for  the  miserable  condi- 
tion to  which  his  rash  vow  had  subjected  her,  did 
all  in  her  power  to  assuage  his  grief,  by  assuring 
him,  that  she  submitted  to  the  will  of  God  with 
the  utmost  resignation,  and  that  though  a  state  of 
perpetual  virginity  was  the  greatest  punishment 
which  could  befall  an  Israelitish  woman,  who 
generally  placed  bet  greatest  happiness  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  Messiah's  springing  from  her  seed, 
yet  even  tins  she  would  cheerfully  undergo,  rathei 
than  he  should  falsify  the  oath  he  had  made. 


Chap.  IX.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


225 


now  the  mutinous  Ephraimites  carried  it 
further,  and  with  as  little  reason ;  for,  as- 
sembling their  forces  together,  they  came 
upon  Jephthah,  and  demanded  why  he 
fought  the  Ammonites  without  them  ? 
Jephthah  very  justly  remonstrated  with 
them  on  the  impropriety  of  their  demand, 
and  showed  that  the  cause  of  their  dissat- 
isfaction was  owing  to  themselves,  who 
refused  to  come  to  his  assistance  when  the 
Ammonites  attacked  him.  The  unrea- 
sonable Ephraimites  were  so  enraged  at 
this  just  reproach,  that,  having  nothing  to 
urge  in  vindication  of  themselves,  and  de- 
pending on  their  numbers,  threatened  to 
burn  his  house  over  his  head. 

Jephthah,  rinding  it  to  no  purpose  to 
reason  longer  with  them,  mustered  what 
force  he  could  in  so  short  a  time,  and  be- 
ing flushed  with  the  late  success,  resolved 
to  fight  the  Ephraimites  who  had  no  rea- 
son to  despise  him  and  his,  or  call  them 
fugitives  of  Ephraim;  for  the  Gileadites 
needed  no  reproach  to  rouse  or  whet  their 
courage,  especially  under  the  conduct  of 
their  valiant  general  Jephthah.  The 
armies  joined,  and  after  a  short  but  sharp 
dispute,  the  fortune  of  the  battle  declared 
for  Gilead,  Ephraim  being  forced  to  fly. 

Jephthah,  resolving  to  make  sure  work, 
and  prevent  the  Ephraimites  from  disturb- 
ing him,  quickly  secured  all  the  passes  on 
the  Jordan,  which  those  Ephraimites  that 
escaped  in  the  fight  must  of  necessity 
pass  to  get  home ;  so  that  as  fast  as  any 
of  them  came  thither,  if  upon  examination 
they  owned  themselves  Ephraimites,  they 
were  put  to  the  sword:  if  any  denied, 
they  gave  them  the  test,  which  was  to 
pronounce  the   word   Shibboleth,*  which 


•  Nothing  is  more  notorious  than  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  same  nation,  who  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage, differ  very  much  in  their  pronunciation  of 
it  in  several  parts  of  the  country.  In  Palestine 
the  people  in  Galilee,  and  those  that  lived  at  Jer- 
usalem, spake  the  same  tongue,  and  yet  in  the  time 
of  Christ,  the  latter  could  tell  St  Peter,  that  his 
'speech  bewrayed  him.'  In  Greece  all  spake  Greek, 
and  yet  the  Ionian?,  Attics,  Dorians,  and  jEolians 
pronounced  very  differently.     And  here,  though 


they  could  not  do,  calling  it  Sibboleth; 
which  small  variation  cost  them  their 
lives.  In  this  action  and  pursuit  there 
were  slain  two  and  forty  thousand  of  the 
Ephraimites. 

Jephthah,  having  thus  through  the  di- 
vine assistance  signalized  his  valour  in  a 
series  of  successes,  both  against  foreign 
and  domestic  enemies,  spent  the  rest  of 
his  life  in  peace,  which  lasted  not  long, 
for  the  whole  time  of  his  administration 
was  but  of  six  years'  continuance. 

Jepthath  was  succeeded  by  Ibzan  of  Beth- 
lehem, of  whom  there  is  nothing  more  re- 
corded than  that  he  had  thirty  sons  and 
thirty  daughters,  and  that  he  reigned 
seven  years. 

Elim,  a  Zebulunite,  succeeded  lbzan, 
who  governed  Israel  ten  years;  and  after 
him  Abdon  ruled  eight:  all  that  was  said 
of  this  last  is,  that  he  had  forty  sons  and 
thirty  grandsons. 

In  these  three  reigns,  Israel  enjoyed  a 
peace  of  three  and  twenty  years;  in  which 
time,  growing  wanton,  they  lapsed  into 
their  former  sins;  by  which  they  provoked 
God  to  punish  them,  which  he  did,  in 
delivering  them  into  the  hands  of  the 
Philistines. 

Samson,  of  whose  exploits  much  is  re- 
corded in  sacred  writ,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  born  about  the  time  of  Jephthah's 
victory,  f  His  birth  being  attended  with 
unusual  events  and  circumstances,  we 
shall  relate  the  particulars. 

Samson  was  the  son  of  Manoah  a  Danite, % 


the  Gileadites  and  Ephraimites  were  all  of  one 
nation,  yet  the  latter,  we  find,  could  not  pronounce 
the  letter  schin.  There  were  doubtless,  therefore, 
many  other  words  which  they  could  not  frame 
their  mouths  to  speak,  as  the  Gileadites  did,  but 
this  one  was  chosen  because  it  was  fit  for  their 
purpose.  For  as  shibboleth  signifies  '  floods  of 
water,'  the  Gileadites,  when  they  saw  any  Ephraim- 
ite  appear,  might  put  this  test  to  him,  and  bid  him 
say,  '  Let  me  pass  over  the  water.' — Le  Clerc  and 
Patrick. 

-f-  Allowing  Samson  to  have  been  born  at  this  - 
time,  he  must  have  been  at  least  thirty  years  old 
at  the  death  of  Abdon,  his  immediate  predecessor, , 
when  he  took  upon  him  the  administration. 

\  The  tribe  of  Dan  bordering  upon  the  Philis- 
2  F 


226 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I1L 


whose  wife  having  been  long  barren,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  her,  when 
alone,  and  told  her,  she  should  conceive, 
and  bear  a  son,  directing  her  how  to 
manage  and  order  herself  whilst  she  was 
with  child,  by  forbearing  wine  or  strong 
drink,  and  all  unclean  meats.  And  that 
after  she  was  delivered  of  him,  she  should 
not  shave  his  head;*  for  he  should  be  a 
Nazarite  f  unto  God  from  his  birth,  and 
should  begin  to  deliver  Israel  from  the 
oppressions  of  the  Philistines. 

The  woman  informed  her  husband  of 
this  extraordinary  interview  with  the 
angel,  and  the  injunctions  she  had  receiv- 


tines  was  most  exposed  to  their  incursions  and  in- 
vasions, and  therefore  God  out  of  that  tribe  chose 
Samson  for  a  judge  and  revenger ;  which  is  very 
agreeable  to  the  prophecy  of  Jacob  when  he  bless- 
ed his  sons  a  little  before  his  death  :  '  Dan  shall  be 
a  serpent  by  the  way,  an  adder  by  the  path,  biting 
the  heels  of  the  horse,  so  that  his  rider  shall  fall 
backwards.' 

*  Long  hair  was  much  esteemed  among  the 
Jews,  and  here  Samson's  mother  was  forbid  to  cut 
his  hair,  because  he  was  to  be  a  Nazarite  unto  the 
Lord,  that  is,  dedicated  to  him.  As  to  the  cutting 
off  his  hair  after  by  Delilah,  it  was  done  in  a 
fradulent  manner,  not  only  to  deprive  him  of  his 
hair,  but  of  his  strength,  that  so  they  might  destroy 
him. 

f  A  Nazarite  was  one,  who,  under  the  Levitical 
law,  either  to  attain  the  favour,  or  avert  the  judg- 
ments, or  acknowledge  the  mercies  of  Almighty 
God,  vowed  a  vow  of  particular  purity,  and  separ- 
ated himself — for  so  the  word  signifies — in  an  ex- 
traordinary manner  to  the  service  of  God.     The 
time  of  this  vow  lasted   usually  for  eight  days, 
sometimes  for  a  month,  and,  in  some  cases,  for  the 
person's  whole  life.      During  this  time,  the  per- 
sons (for  women,  as  well  as  men,  might  enter  into 
this   engagement)   bound   themselves   to   abstain 
from  wine,   and  all  strong  liquors  ;  not  to  cut  the 
hair  of  their  heads  ;   not  to  come  near  a  dead 
corpse,  nor  assist  at  a  funeral ;  nay,  the  matter  j 
was  carried  so  high,  that  if  any  happened  to  die  i 
suddenly  in  their  presence,  the  whole  ceremony  of ' 
this  separation   was  to   begin  anew.      After  the  j 
time  that  their  separation  was  ended,  they  were  ' 
to  offer  such  sacrifices  as  the  law  appointed,  and  i 
then,  being  absolved  from  their  vow  by  the  priest,  I 
they  might  drink  wine,  and  use  the  same  freedom 
that  other  people  did.     Samson's  Nazaritism — to 
which  he  was  consecrated  by  his  parents — was  to 
last  the  whole  term  of  his  life;  but  his  frequent 
intercourse  with   the   Philistines,   and  the   great 
havoc  and  slaughter  that  he  so  often  made  among 
them,  would  induce  one  to  think  that  he  had  a 
particular  dispensation   exempting  him   from   the 

observation  of  some  of  the  foregoing  rules See 

Patrick  and  Le  Clerc. 


ed  from  him ;  Manoah  was  not  so  mucli 
surprised  as  overjoyed  at  the  hopes  of 
having  a  son,  but  had  an  earnest  desire  to 
see  this  divine  messenger  himself,  his  pre- 
tence for  it  being  to  be  further  instructed 
in  the  management  of  the  child  when  he 
should  be  born. 

God  graciously  answered  his  request ; 
and  the  angel  again  appeared,  repeating 
to  the  expecting  couple  the  former  in- 
structions. The  angel  appearing  in  hu- 
man shape,  Manoah  took  him  to  be  a  man 
of  God,  and  pressed  him  to  accept  of  an 
entertainment. 

The  angel  told  him  he  would  not ;  but 
advised  him  to  express  his  gratitude  in  a 
burnt-offering  to  the  Lord. 

Manoah  accordingly  prepared  a  kid 
and  a  meat-offering,  which  he  offered  as  a 
sacrifice  unto  God ;  and  then  the  angel  in 
a  wonderful  manner  discovered  himself, 
which  before  he  refused  to  do  at  Manoah's 
importunity ;  for  when  the  flame  ascended 
from  the  altar,  the  angel  ascended  in  it 
and  disappeared. 

Now  poor  Manoah  began  too  late,  he 
feared,  to  repent  his  curiosity,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  prostrated  themselves  on 
the  ground.  But  he,  looking  upon  him- 
self and  wife  as  lost,  cried  out,  '  We  shall 
surelv  die,  because  we  have  dared  to  see 
God.' 

But  the  woman,  armed  with  more  rea- 
son and  courage,  argued  with  her  timorous 
and  desponding  husband,  and  told  him, 
that  if  the  Lord  had  intended  to  destroy 
them,  he  would  not  have  accepted  an  offer- 
ing from  them,  nor  condescended  to  com- 
municate such  a  blessing  to  them  as  he 
had  promised.;}: 

}  This  is  excellent  reasoning,  and  may  be  of 
great  use  to  every  truly  religious  mind,  in  cloudy 
and  dark  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence.  It 
is  not  likely  that  God,  who  has  preserved  thee  so 
long,  borne  with  thee  so  long, and  fed  and  support- 
ed thee  all  thy  life  long,  girding  thee  when  thou 
knewest  him  not,  is  less  willing  to  save  and  pro- 
vide for  thee  and  thine  now  than  he  was  when, 
probably,  thou  trustedst  less  in  him.  He  who 
freely  gave  his  Son  to  redeem  thee,  can  never  b* 
indifferent  to   thy  welfare  ;  and   if  he  gave  thee 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


227 


According  to  the  appointed  time  the 
woman  was  delivered  of  a  son,  whom, 
from  the  angel's  appearing  a  second  time 
to  her,  she  called  Samson. 

By  the  consequence,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  Samson's  parents  observed 
the  directions  given  by  the  angel  for  his 
nursing  and  erudition ;  for  whilst  a  child 
the  Lord  blessed  him,  so  that  he  grew  to 
a  wonderful  strength.  And  while  he  was 
but  a  youth,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  began 
to  move  him*  at  certain  times  to  exert 
himself  in  actions  of  strength  and  activity, 
in  the  old  camp  of  Dan,f  between  Zorah 
and  Eshtaol. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Samson's  extraordinary  exploits  from  various 
interesting  causes. — Extraordinary  conquest 
over  the  Philistines. — His  remarkable  strength^ 
— He  is  overcome  by  Delilah. — Birth  of  Sam. 
uel. —  God's  extraordinary  revelation  to  him. 

Samson,  being  grown  to  man's  estate, 
had  a  mind  to  travel,  and  see  the  country; 

power  to  pray  to  and  trust  in  him,  is  it  at  all  like- 
ly that  he  is  now  seeking  an  occasion  against  thee, 
in  order  to  destroy  thee  ?  Add  to  this  the  very 
light  that  shows  thee  thy  wretchedness,  ingratitude, 
and  disobedience,  is  in  itself  a  proof  that  he  is 
waiting  to  be  gracious  to  thee  ;  and  the  peniten- 
tial pangs  thou  feelest,  and  thy  bitter  regret  for 
thy  unfaithfulness,  argue  that  the  light  and  tire  are 
of  God's  own  kindling,  and  are  sent  to  direct  and 
refine,  not  to  drive  thee  out  of  the  way  and  de- 
stroy thee.  Nor  would  he  have  told  thee  such 
things  of  his  love,  mercy,  and  kindness,  and  un- 
willingness to  destroy  sinners,  as  he  has  told  thee  in 
his  sacred  word,  if  he  had  been  determined  not  to 
extend  his  mercy  to  thee. 

*  This  is  a  Hebrew  phrase,  and  it  is  often  used 
upon  particular  occasions.  Hence  St  Ambrose 
observes  on  Luke  i.  17.  '  He  shall  go  before  him 
in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias  ;'  these  two,  the 
spirit  and  power  (which  is  fortitude)  are  always 
joined  together  ;  for  all  fortitude,  whether  in  at- 
tempting or  suffering,  is  from  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  inspires  us. 

f  This  camp  of  Dan  was  probably  that  place 
where  the  Danites  pitched  their  camp  in  their  ex- 
pedition and  enterprise  against  Laish  ;  for  it  is  not 
likely  that  the  Philistines,  who  had  the  Israelites 
at  that  time  under  entire  subjection,  should  suffer 
them  to  have  any  standing  camp.  And  if  the 
reader  looks  back  a  little,  this  is  another  argument, 
that  the  story  of  Micah,  and  of  the  Danites'  ex- 
pedition, was  transacted  before  Samson's  time, 
though  by  the  compilers  of  the  bible  they  are  re- 
lated after. 


and  coming  to  Timnath,;};  a  city  belonging 
to  the  Philistines;  he  happened  to  east 
his  eyes  on  a  beautiful  Philistine,  who  so 
captivated  the  young  hero,  that  he  could 
not  live  without  her.  But  in  duty  to  his 
father  and  mother,  he  would  not  marry 
without  their  consent. 

The  fond  parents  expostulated  with 
their  son,  on  the  unreasonableness  of  the 
match,  in  offering  to  marry  into  an  uncir- 
cumcised  family.  But  the  amorous  youth 
consulting  his  passion  more  than  religion, 
was  so  pressing  in  his  request  to  his  pa- 
rents, that  their  indulgence  was  not  proof 
against  it.  But  to  gratify  him,  they  went 
with  him  to  Timnath,  to  see  this  beauty, 
and  treat  with  her  parents  about  the  mar- 
riage. 

During  the  course  of  their  journey,  it 
happened  that  Samson  was  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  company,  when  a  young 
lion  came  in  a  mighty  rage  out  of  the  vine- 
yard of  Timnath  and  attacked  him. 

Upon  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came 
mightily  upon  him,  so  that  he  slew  the 
lion  with  as  much  ease  as  if  it  had  been 
a  kid. 

After  this  action  he  went  on  and  over- 
took his  parents,  but  acquainted  them  not 
with  this  adventure  of  the  lion. 

Being  arrived  at  Timnath,  the  match 
was  soon  concluded.  And  not  long  after, 
Samson,  and  his  parents,  taking  another 
journey  to  solemnize  their  nuptials ;  and 
in  their  way  to  Timnath,  Samson  remem- 
bering this  place  where  he  had  encounter- 
ed with  the  lion,  his  curiosity  led  him  to 
see  what  was  become  of  the  carcase ; 
when,  to  his  great  surprise,  he  found  a 
swarm    of  bees,§    with    some    honey,    of 

J  It  is  not  improbably  thought,  that  the  place 
which  is  called  Timnah,  Josh.  xv.  10.  and  Timna- 
tha,  Josh.  xix.  43.,  were  the  same  place.  It  was 
assigned  at  first  to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  but  after- 
wards to  the  tribe  of  Dan,  and  was,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, the  place  whither  Judah,  the  patriarch  of 
the  tribe  that  was  called  after  him,  went  up  to  his 
sheep-shearers,  Gen.  xxxviii.  12. —  Wells's  Geo- 
graphy. 

$  It  is  an  opinion  commonly  received  among 
the  ancients,  that  bees  were  propagated  in  two 


228 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


which,  taking  some  in  his  hands,  he  went  I  To  these  young  men,  Samson,  during  the 


on  eating ;  and  when  he  overtook  his  pa- 
rents, he  gave  them  some  of  it,  but  did 
not  inform  them  from  whence  he  had  it. 

Being  arrived  at  Timnath,  Samson  en- 
tertained the  relations,  on  both  sides,  for 
seven  days;  and  to  grace  the  nuptials  the 
more,  his  wife's  kindred  brought  thirty  of 
their  prime  youth  to  bear  him  company.* 


ways,  either  by  those  of  their  own  species,  or  in 
the  cavities  of  a  dead  carcase.  Their  opinion  is 
beautifully  stated  by  Virgil,  thus  translated  by 
Dryden  : — 

"  Behold  a  prodigy  1  for,  from  within 
The  broken  bowels,  and  the  bloated  skin, 
A  buzzing  noise  of  bees  his  ears  alarms, 
Straight  issuing  thru'  the  sides  assembling  swarms  1 
Dark  as  a  cloud  they  make  a  wheeling  flight, 
Then  on  a  neighbouring  tree  descending  light, 
Like  a  large  cluster  of  black  grapes  they  show, 
And  make  a  large  dependance  from  the  bough." 
This  opinion,  however,  is  directly  contradicted  by 
another,  which  was  held  by  some  writers  of  the 
greatest  reputation  in  ancient  times.  Aristotle 
taught,  that  the  bee  will  not  light  upon  a  dead 
carcase,  nor  taste  the  flesh.  Varro  asserts,  that 
she  never  sits  down  in  an  unclean  place  or  upon 
any  thing  which  emits  an  unpleasant  smell.  They 
are  never  seen,  like  flies,  feeding  on  blood  or  flesh ; 
while  wasps  and  hornets  all  delight  in  such  food, 
the  bee  never  touches  a  dead  body.  So  much 
they  dislike  an  impure  smell,  that  when  one  of 
them  dies,  the  survivors  immediately  carry  out  the 
carcase  from  the  hive,  that  they  may  not  be  an- 
noyed by  the  effluvia.  The  discovery  which  Sam- 
son made,  when  he  went  down  to  Timnath,  may 
seem  to  contradict  the  latter,  and  confirm  the  for- 
mer opinion  :  but  it  is  not  said  the  swarm  was 
generated  in  the  carcase  of  the  lion  ;  but  only  that 
Samson  found  them  there  ;  nor  is  it  said  that  the 
lion  had  been  recently  killed,  and  that  the  carcase 
was  in  a  state  of  putrefaction  :  the  contrary  seems 
to  be  intimated  by  the  phrase  'after  a  time,'  liter- 
ally, '  after  days,'  one  of  the  most  common  expres- 
sions in  scripture  for  a  year.  Hence  the  lion  was 
killed  a  whole  year  before  this  visit  to  Timnath, 
when  he  discovered  the  swarm  in  the  carcase. 
But  the  flesh  of  the  carcase,  which  Samson  left  in 
the  open  field  a  whole  year,  the  prey  of  wild  beasts 
and  ravenous  birds,  must  have  been  entirely  con- 
sumed long  before  his  return,  or  so  completely 
dried  by  the  violent  heat  of  the  sun,  that  nothing 
but  the  skeleton,  or  exsiccated  frame  remained. 
Within  the  bare,  or  withered  enclosure  of  the 
bones,  which  had  exhaled  their  last  putrid  effluvia, 
the  swarm,  in  perfect  consistency  with  their  usual 
delicacy,  might  construct  their  cells  and  deposit 
their  honey  This  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  the 
testimony  of  Herodotus,  who  declares  that  bees 
have  swarmed  in  dry  bones. — Paxton's  Must. 

*  During  the  time  of  the  marriage-feast,  which, 
for  a  virgin,  lasted  seven,  but  for  a  widow,  only 
three  days,  it  was  customary  among  the  Jews  to 


wedding-feast,  proposed  a  riddle,  which 
was  this,  '  Out  of  the  eater  came  forth 
meat,  and  out  of  the  strong  came  forth 
sweetness.'f 

He  gave  them  seven  days  to  expound 
the  riddle  in,  upon  condition  that  if  they 
expounded  it,  he  would  give  them  thirty 
garments,   and  as   many  shirts  ;:f   but    if 


have  a  chosen  set  of  young  men,  whom  the  Greeks 
called  paranymphs,  to  keep  the  bridegroom  com- 
pany ;  as  also  a  certain  number  of  young  women 
were  about  the  bride  all  this  time.  These  young 
men  were  generally  of  the  bridegroom's  relations 
and  acquaintance  ;  but,  at  Samson's  marriage, 
they  belonged  to  his  wife's  family,  and  were  sent, 
as  some  of  the  Jews  think,  not  so  much  to  do  him 
honour  at  the  time  of  his  nuptials,  as  to  be  a  guard 
over  him,  lest  he  should  make  any  disturbance,  of 
which  the  Philistines  were  afraid,  when  they  un- 
derstood that  he  was  a  man  of  so  much  strength 
and  might. — Lamy's  Introduction. 

f  This  was  scarcely  a  fair  riddle  ;  for  unless  the 
fact  to  which  it  refers  were  known,  there  is  no  rule 
of  interpretation  by  which  it  can  be  found  out. 
We  learn  from  the  Scholiast,  on  Aristophanes, 
that  it  was  a  custom  among  the  ancient  Greeks  to 
propose  at  their  festivals,  riddles,  enigmas,  or  very 
obscure  sayings,  both  curious  and  difficult ;  and  to 
give  a  recompense  to  those  who  found  them  out, 
which  generally  consisted  in  either  a  festive  crown, 
or  a  goblet  full  of  wine.  Those  who  failed  to  solve 
them  were  condemned  to  drink  a  large  portion  of 
fresh  water,  or  of  wine  mingled  with  sea-water, 
which  they  were  compelled  to  take  down  at  one 
draught,  without  drawing  their  breath,  their  hands 
being  tied  behind  their  backs.  Sometimes  they 
gave  the  crown  to  the  deity  in  honour  of  whom 
the  festival  was  made  :  and  if  none  could  solve  the 
riddle,  the  reward  was  given  to  him  who  proposed 
it. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 

%  Many  of  the  Arabian  inhabitants  of  Palestine 
and  Barbary  wear  no  shirts,  but  go  almost  entirely 
naked,  or  with  only  a  cloth  cast  about  their  bodies, 
or  a  kind  of  mantle.  It  is  not  improbable,  that 
the  poorer  inhabitants  of  Judea  were  clothed  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  the  Arabs  of  those 
countries  in  modern  times,  having  no  shirts,  but 
only  a  sort  of  mantle  to  cover  their  naked  bodies. 
If  this  be  just,  it  greatly  illustrates  the  promise  of 
Samson  to  give  his  companions  thirty  sheets,  or  as 
it  is  more  properly  rendered,  thirty  shirts,  if  they 
could  discover  the  meaning  of  his  riddle.  It  can- 
not be  imagined  they  were  what  we  call  sheets, 
for  Samson  might  have  slain  thirty  Philistines  near 
Ashkelon,  and  not  have  found  one  sheet ;  or  if  he 
slew  them  who  were  carrying  their  beds  with  them 
on  their  travels,  as  they  often  do  in  present  times, 
the  slaughter  of  fifteen  had  been  sufficient,  for  in 
the  East,  as  in  other  countries,  every  bed  is  pro- 
vided with  two  sheets  ;  but  he  slew  just  thirty  ;  in 
order  to  obtain  thirty  sedinim  or  shirts.  If  this 
meaning  of  the  term  be  admitted,  the  deed  of  Sam- 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


229 


they  did  not,  they  should  give  him  the 
same  number. 

The  young1  men,  not  knowing  how  to 
expound  the  riddle,  applied  themselves  to 
his  wife,  and  persuaded  her  to  discover 
the  meaning  of  it.  After  much  impor- 
tunity she  prevailed  upon  her  husband, 
who  was  so  weak  as  to  trust  her  with  it, 
and  she  immediately  told  it  to  those  young 
men,  who  came  to  Samson  at  the  end  of 
the  seven  days,  and  said,  '  What  is  sweet- 
er than  honey,  and  what  is  stronger  than 
a  lion  ?' 

Samson  was  satisfied  his  wife  had  dis- 
covered the  secret;  for  he  knew  he  told 
it  nobody  else  ;  and  therefore  to  let  them 
know  he  was  sensible  of  foul  play  in  the 
matter,  he  with  indignation  replied,  '  If 
you  had  not  plowed  with  my  heifer,  you 
could  not  have  expounded  my  riddle.' 

Then  yielding  his  wager  lost,  he  pre- 
pared to  pay  it ;  and  going  to  Ashkelon,* 
a  city  of  the  Philistines,  he  slew  thirty 
men,  whose  garments  he  gave  to  those 
that  had  expounded  the  riddle. 

Being  incensed  against  the  Philistines 
for  this  unfair  dealing  about  the  riddle,  he 
left  Timnath,  and  returned  to  his  father's 
house.     But  though  he  had  entertained  a 


son  must  have  been  very  provoking  to  the  Philis- 
tines ;  for  since  only  people  of  more  easy  circum- 
stances wore  shirts,  they  were  not  thirty  of  the 
common  people  that  he  slew,  but  thirty  persons  of 
figure  and  consequence.  The  same  word  is  used 
by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in  his  description  of  the 
splendid  and  costly  dress  in  which  people  of  rank 
and  fashion  then  delighted,  rendered  in  our  trans- 
lation tine  linen  ;  which  seems  to  place  it  beyond 
a  doubt  that  they  were  persons  of  rank  that  fell  by 
the  hand  of  Samson  on  that  occasion. — Paxton. 

*  It  is  a  city  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines  sit- 
uated between  Azoth  and  Gaza,  upon  the  coast  of 
the  Mediterranean  sea,  about  live  hundred  and 
twenty  furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem.  It  is  said 
to  have  been  of  great  note  among  the  Gentiles, 
for  a  temple  dedicated  to  Dirceto.  the  mother  of 
Semiramis,  \\ere  worshipped  in  the  form  of  a  mer- 
maid ;  and  for  another  temple  of  Apollo,  where 
Herod,  the  father  of  Antipater,  and  grandfather  of 
Herod  the  Great,  served  as  priest.  The  place 
subsists  to  this  day,  but  is  now  very  inconsiderable. 
Some  mention  there  is  made  of  the  wine  of  Ashke- 
lon, and  the  cypress-tree,  (a  shrub  that  was  an- 
ciently in  great  esteem,  and  very  common  in  this 
place,)  but  modem  travellers  say  no  such  thing  of 
»t  now. —  Calmet  and  Wells 


just  resentment  against  the  Philistines, 
yet  he  retained  a  fondness  for  his  wife,  to 
whose  weakness  he  did  not  so  much  im- 
pute the  discovery  of  the  riddle,  as  to  the 
fraud  of  her  countrymen. 

Some  time  after,  he  returned  to  Tim- 
nath to  visit  his  wife,  and  as  a  token  of 
his  affection,  he  brought  a  kid  with  him 
for  a  present ;  and  preparing  to  go  to  bed 
to  her,  her  father  would  not  permit  him, 
urging  for  excuse,  that  he  thought  he 
slighted  her,  and  therefore  had  given  her 
in  marriage  to  one  of  his  companions.f 
But  if  he  pleased,  her  youngest  sister,  who 
was  more  beautiful,  was  at  his  service. 

Such  a  circumstance  could  not  fail  of 
exasperating  Samson  to  a  great  degree, 
and  he  therefore  determined  on  a  severe 
revenge,  which  he  took  care  to  execute. 

Having  found  means  to  catch  three 
hundred  foxes,:}:  which   he   tied  two  and 


T  I  suppose  to  one  of  the  thirty  that  they  had 
provided  to  bear  him  company  at  the  wedding  -, 
and,  it  is  very  probable,  as  a  reward  of  the  treach- 
ery in  discovering  the  secret  of  the  riddle. 

J  This  narrative  has  frequently  been  made  the 
butt  of  ridicule  by  the  unbeliever  in  divine  revela- 
tion, who  has  asked  with  an  air  of  triumph,  how 
could  Samson  catch  so  many  foxes  in  so  short  a 
time;  and  when  caught,  how  could  he  make  them 
the  instruments  of  his  revenge  on  the  Philistines 
in  the  manner  which  the  story  represents?  To 
these  questions  we  think  several  satisfactory  replies 
have  been  given  ;  but  as  they  are  still  pertinaciously 
urged,  it  becomes  our  business  again  to  show,  that 
they  possess  no  weight,  as  militating  against  the 
claims  which  the  history  presents  to  our  belief. 
That  the  species  of  fox  called  Jackal  is  very 
numerous  in  the  East,  is  attested  by  the  most 
respectable  travellers.  Volney,  whose  impartiality 
as  a  witness  in  favour  of  scripture  facts  will  not  be 
disputed,  says,  "  The  wolf  and  the  real  fox  are 
very  rare  ;  but  there  is  a  prodigious  quantity  of 
the  middle  species  named  shacal,  which  in  Syria 
is  called  wanwee,  from  its  howl  ;  they  go  in 
droves."  And  again  :  "  Jackals  are  concealed  by 
hundreds  in  the  gardens,  and  among  ruins  and 
tombs."  Bellonius  likewise  asserts  that  they  may 
be  seen  iu  troops  of  two  or  three  hundred,  prowl- 
ing about  in  quest  of  their  prey :  and  Morizen, 
who  travelled  in  Palestine,  says  that  foxes  swarm 
in  that  country,  and  that  very  great  numbers  of 
them  lurk  in  hedges  and  ruinous  buildings.  We 
ask,  then,  where  was  the  difficulty  for  Samson  to 
procure  three  hundred  of  these  animals,  especially 
as  the  time  during  which  he  had  to  provide  them 
for  his  purpose  is  not  limited  to  a  week,  or  a 
month  ?  Besides  this,  it  should  be  recollected, 
that  Samson  at  this  time  sustained  the  highest 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


two  together,  by  the  tails,  with  lighted 
torches  to  them,  and  drove  them  into  the 
standing  corn,  by  which  means  he  burnt 
not  only  the  corn  but  the  vineyards  and 
olive-trees. 


office   in   the   commonwealth,   and   consequently 
could  be  at  no  loss  for  persons  to  assist  him  in  this 
singular  enterprise.      Having  secured  the  instru- 
ments by  which  he  designed  to  ruin  the  property 
of  the  oppressors  of  his  country,  the  pext  thing  for 
consideration  is  the  method  by  which  he  effected 
his  purpose.     Here  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of  the 
aid  of  the  late  ingenious  editor  of  Calmet.     In 
considering  the  circumstances  of  this  narrative,  Mr 
Taylor  suggests,  that  there  is  some  attention  due 
to  the  nature  and  uses  of  the  torches,  or  flambeaux, 
or  lamps,  employed  by  Samson  in  this  procedure  ; 
and,  perhaps,  could  we  identify  the  nature  or  form 
of  these,  the  story,  he  adds,  might  be  relieved  from 
some  of  its  uncouthness.     Now,  these  lamps,  or 
burners,  were  placed  between  two  jackals,  whose 
tails  were  tied  together,  or  at  least,  there  was  a 
connection   formed    between    them    by   a   cord ; 
possibly,  then,  this  cord  was  of  a  moderate  length, 
and  this  burner  being  tied  in  the  middle  of  it,  it 
had  something  of  the  effect  which  we  have  seen 
among  ourselves,  when  wanton  malice  has  tied  to 
the  tail  of  a  dog  crackers,  squibs,  &c.  which  being 
fired,  have  worried  the  poor  animal  to  his  den, 
where,  supposing  them  still  to  burn,  they  might  set 
all  around  them  on  fire.     We  know  it  is  the  nature 
of  the  jackal  to"  roam  about  dwellings  and  out- 
houses ;  this  would  lead  them  to  where  the  corn 
of  the  Philistines  was  stored  ;  which  being  ignited, 
would   communicate   the   conflagration    in    every 
direction  besides  this,  the  fire  giving  them  pain, 
they  would  naturally  fight  each  one  his  associate, 
to  which   he  was  tied.     This  would  keep  them 
among  the  corn  longer  than  usual  :  and  few  pairs 
thus  coupled  would  agree  to  return  to  the  same  , 
den,  as  they  had  formerly  occupied  in  the  moun- 
tains ;  so  that  nothing  could  be  better  adapted  to 
produce  a  general  conflagration  than  this  expedi- 
ent of  combustion-communicating  jackals.      The 
Vulpinaria,  or,  '  Feast  of  the  Foxes,'  celebrated 
by  the  Romans,  was  derived  on  all  probability  from 
this  event :  an  account  of  which  is  thus  given  by  ,' 
Dr  Adam  Clarke. — "  It  was  a  custom  in  Rome,  ; 
celebrated  in  the  month  of  April,  to  let  loose  a  j 
number  of  foxes  in  the  circus,  with  lighted  flam- 
beaux ou   their  backs  ;   and   the   Roman   people  j 
took  pleasure  in  seeing  these  animals  run  about 
till  roasted  to  death  by  the  flames  with  which  they  ; 
were  enveloped.     Ovid  wishes  to  know  what  the  j 
origin  of  this  custom  was,  and  is  thus  informed  by 
an  old  man  of  the  city  of  Carseoli :  '  A  frolicksome 
young  lad,  about  ten  years  of  age,  found,  near  a 
thicket,  a  fox  that  had  stolen  away  many  fowls 
from  the  neighbouring  roosts.     Having  enveloped 
his  body  with  hay  and  straw,  he  set  it  on  tire,  and 
let  the  fox  loose.     The  animal,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  flames,  took  to  the  standing  corn  which  was 
then  ready  for  the  sickle  ;  and  the  wind,  driving 
the  flames  with  double  violence,  the  crops  were 
everywhere  consumed.     Though  this  transaction 


The  Philistines  understanding  it  was 
Samson,  son-in-law  to  the  Timnite,  that 
had  done  this  mischief,  because  his  father- 
in-law  had  taken  away  his  wife,  came  in 
revenge  to  Timnath,  and  burnt  Samson's 
wife  and  her  father. 

This  gave  Samson  fresh  occasion  of 
quarrelling  with  the  Philistines,  and  he 
was  so  far  from  concealing  his  resentment, 
or  using  any  stratagem  to  be  revenged  on 
them,  that  he  openly  declared  that  he 
would  have  satisfaction,  which  he  forth- 
with did  in  a  great  slaughter  of  them. 

Samson,  persuaded  that  so  rigorous  a 
procedure  must  inflame  the  already  in- 
censed Philistines,  in  order  to  secure 
himself  from  their  resentment,  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  top  of  the  rock 
Etam ;  *  which  when  the  Philistines  un- 


is  long  since  gone  by,  the  commemoration  of  it 
still  remains  ;  for  by  a  law  of  this  city,  every  fox 
that  is  taken  is  burnt  to  death.  Thus  the  nation 
awards  to  the  foxes  the  punishment  of  being  burnt 
alive,  for  the  destruction  of  the  ripe  corn  formerly 
occasioned  by  one  of  these  animals.'  Both  Serra- 
rius  and  Bochart  reject  this  origin  of  the  custom 
given  by  Ovid ;  and  insist  that  the  custom  took  its 
rise  from  the  burning  of  the  Philistines'  corn  by 
Samson's  foxes.  The  origin  ascribed  to  the  custom 
by  the  Carseolian  they  consider  as  too  frivolous 
and  unimportant  to  be  commemorated  by  a 
national  festival.  The  time  of  the  observation 
does  not  accord  with  the  time  of  harvest  about 
Rome  and  in  Italy,  but  it  perfectly  accords  with 
the  time  of  harvest  in  Palestine,  which  was  at  least 
as  early  as  April.  Nor  does  the  circumstance  of 
the  fox  wrapped  in  hay  and  let  loose,  the  hay 
being  set  on  fire,  bear  any  proper  resemblance  to 
the  foxes  let  loose  in  the  circus  with  burning 
brands  on  their  backs.  These  learned  men  there- 
fore conclude  that  it  is  much  more  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Romans  derived  the  custom  from 
Judea,  where  probably  the  burning  of  the  Philis- 
tines' corn  might,  for  some  time,  have  been  an- 
nually commemorated.  The  whole  account  is 
certainly  very  singular,  and  has  not  a  very  satisfac- 
tory solution  in  the  old  man's  tale,  as  related  by 
the  Roman  poet.  All  public  institutions  have 
had  their  origin  in  facts;  and  if,  through  the  lapse 
of  time  or  loss  of  records,  the  original  facts  be  lost, 
we  may  legitimately  look  for  them  in  cases  where 
there  is  so  near  a  resemblance  as  in  that  above." — 
See  Carpenter  and  Clarke. 

*  Palestine,  being  a  mountainous  country,  had 
many  rocks,  which  were  part  of  the  strength  of  the 
country  ;  for  in  times  of  danger  the  people  retired 
to  them,  and  found  refuge  against  sudden  irrup- 
tions of  their  enemies.  When  the  Benjamites 
were  overcome  and  almost  exterminated  by  the 


Ch»p.  X.]  THE  BIBLE. 

derstood,  they  marched  into  Judah,  and 
encamped  there,  demanding  Samson  of 
the  inhabitants,  that  they  might  have 
satisfaction  of  him  for  the  wrong  he  had 
done  them. 

The  men  of  Judah,  dreading  the  conse- 
quence of  this  invasion,  immediately  de- 
tached three  thousand  men  of  their  tribe, 
to  go  and  take  Samson,  and  say  to  him, 
*  Didst  thou  not  know  that  we  are  subject 


231 


other  tribes  they  secured  themselves  in  the  rock 
Rimmon  ;  and  during  the  oppression  of  Israel  by 
the  Midiankes,  they  were  forced  to  hide  them- 
selves in  cavities  of  the  rocks.  Samson,  we  are  here 
told,  took  his  station  in  the  rock  Etam,  whence  he 
suffered  himself  to  be  dislodged  by  the  persuasion 
of  his  brethren,  not  by  the  force  of  his  enemies  ; 
and  David,  it  is  said,  repeatedly  hid  himself  in  the 
caves  of  rocks.  It  appears  that  rocks  are  still 
resorted  to,  in  the  East,  as  places  of  security,  and 
some  of  them  are  even  capable  of  sustaining  a 
siege,  at  least  equal  to  any  the  Philistine  army 
could  have  laid  to  the  residence  of  Samson.  So 
we  read  in  De  la  Roque,  p.  205.  "  The  Grand 
Seignior,  wishing  to  seize  the  person  of  the  emir, 
gave  orders  to  the  pacha  to  take  him  prisoner  :  he 
accordingly  came  in  search  of  him,  with  a  new 
army,  in  the  district  of  Choui ;  which  is  a  part  of 
mount  Lebanon,  wherein  is  the  village  of  Gezan, 
and  close  to  it  the  rock  which  served  for  retreat  to 
the  emir.  It  is  named  in  Arabic  Magara  Gezan, 
i.  e.  '  the  cavern  of  Gezan,'  by  which  name  it  is 
famous.  The  pacha  pressed  the  emir  so  closely, 
that  this  unfortunate  prince  was  obliged  to  shut 
himself  up  in  the  cleft  of  a  great  rock,  with  a  small 
number  of  his  officers.  The  pacha  besieged  him 
here  several  months;  and  was  going  to  blow  up 
the  rock  by  a  mine,  when  the  emir  capitulated." 
Observe,  too,  that  this  cleft  in  the  rock  is  called  a 
cavern  ;  so  that  we  are  not  obliged  always  to  suppose, 
that  what  the  scripture  calls  caves  or  caverns  were 
underground;  though  such  is  the  idea  conveyed 
by  our  English  word.  We  may  remark  also,  that 
before  the  invention  of  gunpowder,  fastnesses  of 
this  kind  were,  in  a  manner,  absolutely  impregna- 
ble ;  and,  indeed,  we  have  in  Bruce  accounts  of 
very  long  sieges  sustained  by  individuals  and  their 
families,  or  adherents,  upon  rocks  ;  and  which  at 
last  terminated  by  capitulation.  The  number  of 
caves  and  dwelling  places  in  rocks,  which  late 
travellers  have  discovered,  as  well  in  parts  of 
Judea  as  iu  Egypt,  greatly  exceeds  what  had  for- 
merly been  supposed.  Many  of  these  are  still 
occupied  as  retreats  by  the  inhabitants;  and 
Denon  gives  an  account  of  skirmishes  and  com- 
bats, fought  in  the  grottoes  or  caverns  of  Egypt, 
by  the  Arab  residents,  agaiust  their  invaders  under 
Bonaparte.  On  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  as  Seet- 
zen  reports,  entire  families,  with  their  cattle  and 
flocks,  take  possession  of  caves  ^and  caverns  in 
rocks  and  secluded  places,  where  they  are  not 
easily  discovered,  and  whence  they  could  not  easily 
be  dislodged — Calmet. 


to  the  Philistines?  Why  then  hast  thou 
provoked  them  so  much?1  adding,  'that 
they  were  come  to  seize,  and  deliver  him 
to  the  Philistines.' 

Samson  knew  his  own  strength,  but 
would  not  use  it  against  his  countrymen  ; 
only  obliging  them  by  oath  not  to  side 
with  the  Philistines  against  him,  he  gave 
them  leave  to  bind  him;  upon  which  they 
brought  him  to  the  place  where  the  Phil- 
istines lay  encamped;  who,  seeing  him 
brought  bound,  thought  they  had  him 
secure,  and  went  out  shouting  for  joy  to 
receive  him. 

But  before  they  could  lay  hands  on 
him,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
him  so  powerfully,  that  he  broke  the  cords 
of  his  arms  with  as  much  ease  as  if  they 
had  been  burnt  flax  ;  and  looking  about 
him  for  a  weapon,  he  could  find  no  better 
than  a  jaw-bone   of  an  ass :  *   however 


*  Though  asses  in  Syria  are  both  stronger  and 
larger  than  what  we  have  with  us,  and  their  bones 
consequently  better  fitted  for  such  hard  service  as 
this,  yet  it  must  be  owned,  that  it  was  by  the 
wonderful  strength  that  God  infused  into  him, 
and  not  any  aptitude  of  the  instrument  he  made 
use  of,  that  he  was  enabled  to  do  all  this  execution, 
which  is  only  incredible  to  those  that  do  not  con- 
sider the  power  of  God,  who  can  raise  our  natural 
strength  to  what  degree  he  pleases,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  enfeeble  the  spirits  of  those,  who 
oppose  his  designs,  in  such  a  manner,  that  they 
shall  have  no  power  to  help  themselves.  It  must 
be  owned,  however,  that  there  are  some  circum- 
stances in  this  transaction,  which  might  possibly 
intimidate  the  Philistines,  and  thereby  contribute 
to  facilitate  the  slaughter  which  Samson  made 
among  them.  The  people,  of  Judah  had  now 
prevailed  with  him  to  suffer  himself  to  be  bound, 
and  conducted  to  the  Philistines'  camp :  the 
Philistines,  as  soon  as  they  saw  him  coming,  ran 
out  with  joy  to  receive  him,  and  very  likely  forgot 
to  take  their  arms  with  them,  as  knowing  for 
certainty  that  he  was  safe  enough  now,  and 
bound,'  as  we  say,  to  his  good  behaviour.  But 
when,  contrary  to  their  expectation,  they  saw  him 
first  break  the  cords  so  easily  and  suddenly,  and 
then  coming  upon  them  with  such  fury  and 
vengeance,  it  is  not  unlikely,  that  this  might  put 
them  in  no  small  confusion,  and,  as  they  straggled 
about  in  their  flight,  give  him  the  opportunity  or 
slaying  them  one  by  one,  as  he  came  up  with  them. 
This,  we  must  allow,  is  the  highest  instance  of 
personal  prowess  that  we  any  where  read  of;  and 
yet  profane  historians  inform  us  of  other  men, 
who,  by  their  mere  natural  courage,  unassisted  by 
any  divine  power,  have  made  great  havoc  among 
their  enemies:  for  Flavius  Vopiscus  reports,  that 


232 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


being  divinely  inspired,  he  despatched  a 
thousand  of  the  Philistines. 

The  heat  of  this  action  made  him  so 
excessive  thirsty,  that  he  was  ready  to 
faint,  and  being  in  a  place  where  there 
was  no  water  to  be  had,  he  addressed  him- 
self to  the  Lord  thus :  '  Thou  hast  given 
this  great  deliverance  into  the  hand  of  thy 
servant;  and  shall  I  die  with  thirst,  and 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  uncircumcised?' 

God  heard  his  complaint,  and  that  this 
miraculous  victory,  gained  by  the  hand  of 
one  man,  and  so  poorly  armed,  as  with 
nothing  but  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  might 
not  be  untainted,  he  as  miraculously  gra- 
tified the  champion's  thirst,  by  a  supply 
of  water  from  a  rock,  which  never  before 
produced  any  moisture;  he  clave  a  hollow 
rock  called  Mactes,  which  was  at  Lehi,* 
and  water  plentifully  flowed  from  it,  of 
fchich  Samson  having  drank,  his  spirit 
came,  and  he  revived. 

The  next  evidence  of  the  amazing 
power  of  Samson  was  at  Gaza,f  another 


in  the  Sarmatic  war,  Aurelian  slew  forty-eight 
men  in  one  day,  and  in  several  days  nine  hundred 
and  fifty,  which  diminishes  the  wonder  of  this 
achievement  of  Samson's  not  a  little  ;  especially 
considering  that  the  Philistines,  in  their  surprise, 
might  think  that  this  was  all  a  trick  and  manage- 
ment of  his  conductors  to  get  so  many  unarmed 
men  into  their  power,  and  that  they  too  were 
ready  to  fall  upon  them,  and  assist  him,  in  case 
they  should  make  any  opposition  against  their 
champion. — Stackhouse. 

*  This  place  had  doubtless  its  appellation,  Lehi, 
from  this  adventure  <of  Samson's  with  the  jaw- 
bone, and  from  this  place  God  caused  a  spring  to 
arise,  that  he  might  allay  his  hero's  thirst.  For  it 
is  incongruous  to  think  that  the  jaw  of  an  ass,  or 
any  other  creature,  could  have  subsisted  to  the 
time  when  the  author  of  this  book  of  Judges  lived; 
or,  that  God  should,  out  of  the  socket  of  one  ofits 
teeth,  cause  a  stream  of  water  to  flowbyoneconti- 
ual  useless  miracle.  It  must  then  be  a  mistake  in 
our  version,  to  render  the  words,  '  God  clave  an 
hollow  place,  which  was  in  the  jaw,'  when  they 
should  be  translated,  '  which  was  in  Lehi.'  For 
the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  though  this  jaw  be 
long  extinct  and  gone,  yet  those  who  have  travel- 
led through  this  part  of  Palestine,  inform  us,  that 
in  the  suburbs  of  Elentheropolis,  where  Lehi  very 
likely  stood,  the  fountain,  which  arose  upon  this 
occasion,  is  still  remaining,  and  called  'the  foun- 
tain of  the  jaw,'  to  this  day. 

f  This  city  was  by  Joshua  made  part  of  the 
tribe  of  Judali,  but,  after  him,  it  fell  into  the  hands 


city  of  the  Philistines,  where  he  took  up 
his  lodging  in  a  house  of  public  entertain- 
ment. 

He  was  not  long  concealed  here;  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  place  having  notice 
of  him,  beset  the  house;  and  watching  for 


of  the  Philistines,  and  was  one  of  their  five  princi- 
palities, situated  between  Raphia  and  Ashkelon, 
towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the  promised 
land.  The  advantageous  situation  of  this  place 
was  the  cause  of  the  many  revolutions  to  which  it 
became  subject.  First  of  all  it  belonged  to  the 
Philistines,  but,  in  Joshua's  time,  was  conquered 
by  the  Hebrews.  In  the  reigns  of  Jotham  and 
Ahaz,  it  recovered  its  liberty,  but  was  conquered 
by  Hezekiah.  It  was  made  subject  to  the  Chal- 
deans, when  they  reduced  Syria  and  Phoenicia; 
and  afterwards  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians. 
They  were  masters  of  it  when  Alexander  besieged, 
took,  and  demolished  it.  It  afterwards  rose  again 
(but  not  near  of  the  same  magnitude)  under  the 
name  of  tylajuma,  which  underwent  as  many  vicis- 
situdes as  the  former.  The  kings  of  Egypt  had  it 
for  some  time  in  possession ;  Antiochus  the  Great 
took,  and  sacked  it;  the  Asmoneans,  or  Maccabees, 
took  it  several  times  from  the  Syrians;  Alexander 
Jannaeus,  king  of  the  Hebrews,  destroyed  it  ; 
Gabinius  repaired  it ;  Augustus  gave  it  to  Herod 
the  Great  ;  Constantine  gave  it  the  name  of  Con- 
stantia,  with  many  independent  privileges,  in 
honour  of  his  son  ;  but  the  Emperor  Julian  de- 
stroyed, and  deprived  it  of  all.  Dr  Wittman  gives 
the  following  description  of  the  modern  town : 
"  Gaza  is  situated  on  an  eminence,  and  is  rendered 
picturesque  by  the  number  of  fine  minarets  which 
rise  majestically  above  the  buildings,  and  by  the 
beautiful  date  trees  interspersed.  A  very  fine 
plain  commences  about  three  miles  from  the  town, 
on  the  other  side,  in  which  are  several  groves  of 
olive  trees.  Advancing  toward  Gaza,  the  view 
becomes  still  more  interesting  ;  the  groves  of  olive 
trees  extending  to  the  town,  in  front  of  which  is  a 
fine  avenue  of  these  trees.  About  a  mile  distant 
from  the  town  is  a  commanding  height.  The  soil 
is  of  a  superior  quality.  Much  pasturage.  On 
the  east  side  of  the  town  is  a  small  gateway,  near 
to  which,  it  is  said,  Samson  performed  his  exploit 
of  carrying  away  the  gate  of  the  city;  and  where 
he  threw  down  the  building  which  killed  him  and 
his  adversaries.  The  suburbs  of  Gaza  are  com- 
posed of  wretched  mud  huts  ;  but  the  interior  of 
the  town  contains  buildings  superior  in  appearance 
to  those  generally  met  with  in  Syria.  The  streets 
are  of  a  moderate  breadth  :  many  fragments  ot 
statues,  columns,  &c.  of  marble,  are  seen  in  the 
town  walls  and  other  buildings.  Ophthalmia  and 
blindness  are  very  prevalent.  The  suburbs  and 
environs  of  Gaza  are  rendered  extremely  agreeable 
by  a  number  of  large  gardens,  cultivated  with  great 
care,  on  the  north,  south,  and  west  of  the  town. 
Plantations  of  date  trees,  also,  are  numerous. 
The  landing  plijpe  of  Gaza  is  an  open  beach,  high- 
ly dangerous  to  boats,  especially  if  laden,  a  heavy 
surf  constantly  beating  on  the  shore.  Quails  are 
very  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood." — Calmtt. 


Chap.  X.]  THE  BIBLE. 

him  all  night  at  the  gate  of  the  city,  con- 
cluded they  should  have  him  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  then  they  would  despatch  him. 

Samson,  being  informed  of  their  design 
upon  him,  lay  still  till  midnight;  and  then 
rising,  took  the  gates  of  the  city,  with  the 
two  posts  and  bars,  and  laying  them  on 
his  shoulders,  carried  them  to  the  top  of  a 
hill,  which  looked  toward  Hebron,*  and 
so  escaped  the  danger  that  threatened 
him. 

But  a  more  fatal  danger  than  this  soon 
after  befell  him ;  for,  falling  in  love  with 
a  beautiful  woman  that  lived  in  the  vale 
of  Sorek,  whose  name  was  Delilah,f  he 
was  so  captivated  with  her  charms,  that 
he  had  little  regard  to  his  own  safety. 

The  princes  of  the  Philistines  observing 
Samson's  fondness,  took  advantage  of  it ; 
and  addressing  themselves  to  Delilah, 
promised  to  give  her  from  each  of  them 
eleven  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  if  she 
would  entice  him  to  discover  to  her 
wherein  his  great  strength    lay,   that 


233 


so 


*  The  words  in  the  text  are,  that  •  he  carried 
them  up  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  that  is  before  Hebron,' 
Judg.  xvi.  3,  but  the  word,  which  we  render  before 
does  equally  signify  in  the  sight  of  Hebron ;  and 
therefore,  since  the  distance  between  Gaza  and 
Hebron  is  no  less  than  twenty  miles,  it  is  more 
probable  that  the  hill  where  Samson  left  these 
gates,  lay  between  the  two  cities,  and  in  view  of 
both,  that  the  inhabitants  of  one  city  might  behold 
them  to  their  confusion,  and  they  of  the  other  to 
their  encouragement  to  hope  for  a  future  deliver- 
ance.— Patrick's  Commentary. 

f  Sorek  was  a  place  in  the  land  of  Judea,  famous 
for  choice  wines,  arid  lay  not  above  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  Eshcol,  from  whence  the  spies  brought  a 
bunch  of  grapes  for  a  sample  of  the  fruitfulness  of 
the  country  ;  but  whether  Delilah,  who  is  said  to 
live  here,  was  a  woman  of  Israel,  or  one  of  the 
daughters  of  the  Philistines,  or  whether  she  was 
his  wife,  or  a  harlot  only,  is  not  expressed  in  her 
story.  St  Chrysostom  and  others  are  of  opinion 
that  he  was  married  to  her ;  but  if  so,  some  men- 
tion, one  would  think,  should  have  been  made  of  the 
marriage-ceremonies  in  this  as  well  as  in  his  for- 
mer wife's  case:  nor  can  we  think  that  the  Philis- 
tines would  have  been  so  bold,  as  attempt  to  draw 
her  into  their  party,  and  to  bribe  her  to  betray  him 
into  their  hands,  had  she  been  his  lawful  wife.  It 
appears  indeed,  by  her  whole  behaviour,  that  she 
was  a  mercenary  woman,  who  would  do  any  thing 
to  get  money,  and  accordingly  Josephtis  calls  her 
a  common  prostitute  of  the  Philistines. — Patrick's 
Commentary  and  Poole's  Annotations. 


they  might  bind  and  punish  him  for  the 
great  mischief  he  had  done  them. 

So  great  a  bribe  easily  prevailed  with 
the  woman  to  betray  her  lover,  who,  after 
much  solicitation,  told  her,  that  he  had 
been  a  Nazarite  to  God  from  his  birth, 
and  that  no  razor  ever  yet  came  upon  his 
head;  but  if  he  should  be  shaven,  his 
strength  would  be  no  more  than  that  of  a 
common  man. 

Delilah  having  thus  extorted  the  gTeat 
secret  from  him,:}:  sent  for  the  princes  of 
the  Philistines  to  come  to  her,  assuring 
them  that  he  had  discovered  the  whole 
secret  of  his  strength  to  her.  They  ac- 
cordingly came  and  brought  the  money 
they  had  promised  her ;  and  she  having 
lulled  him  to  sleep,  as  his  head  lay  on  her 
lap,  a  man  whom  she  had  provided,  shaved 
off  the  seven  locks  of  his  head ;  they 
rousing  him,  she  said,  'The  Philistines  be 
upon  thee,  Samson !' 

He,  not  knowing  what  was  done,  thought 
to  stretch  himself,  as  he  used  to  do,  (for 
as  yet  he  knew  not  that  the  Lord  had  de- 
parted from  him,)  but  he  too  soon  disco- 
vered it  by  the  loss  of  his  strength.  * 

The  Philistines,  seeing  him  now  really 
disabled,  seized  him  immediately ;  and  to 
make  sure  of  him,  they  put  out  his  eyes, 
and  bringing  him  to  Gaza,  they  fettered 
him,  and  made  him  work  in  the  prison. 

The  Philistines  having  apparently  van- 
quished so  formidable  a  foe,  used  their 


\  There  is  a  good  deal  of  probability  in  Jose- 
phus's  manner  of  telling  this  story,  viz.  that  while 
they  were  eating  and  drinking  together,  and  he 
was  caressing  her,  she  fell  into  an  admiration  of 
his  wonderful  deeds  ;  and,  having  highly  extolled 
them,  desired  him  to  tell  her,  how  he  came  so  much 
to  excel  all  other  men  in  strength.  For  we  cannot 
suppose,  that  she  came  bluntly  upon  him  all  at 
once,  and  desired  to  know,  as  it  is  in  the  text, 
'  wherewith  he  might  he  bound  and  afflicted. 
This  had  been  discovering  her  wicked  design 
against 'him  at  once,  and  defeating  herself  of  an 
opportunity  of  betraying  him  ;  and  therefore  we 
must  conclude,  that  the  sacred  history  in  this  place, 
as  it  frequently  does  elsewhere,  gives  us  only  the 
sum  and  substance  of  what  Delilah  said  to  her 
paramour,  without  taking  notice  of  all  the  cunning 
and  artful  speeches  wherewith  she  dressed  it  up. — 
Le  Clerc's  Commentary. 

fa 


234 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


common  method  of  festivity,  and  vainly 
offered  oblations  at  the  shrine  of  their  god 
Dagon.* 

When  they  had  feasted  awhile,  and 
were  grown  merry,  they  called  for  Sam- 
son to  make  sport:  upon  which  he  was 
brought  from  the  prison,  and  being  placed 
between  the  two  pillars  that  supported  the 
roof,  they  made  themselves  sport  with 
him. 

Besides  the  great  conflux  of  people 
that  were  in  the  house  of  Dagon  at  this 
solemnity,  there  were  about  three  thou- 
sand on   the  roof,  that  came  to  be  spec- 


*  The  word  Dagon  is  taken  from  the  Phoenician 
toot  Dag,  which  signifies  a  fish  ;  and  accordingly 
the  idol  is  usually  represented  (as  the  heathens  do 
Tritons  and  Syrens)  in  the  shape  of  a  woman,  with 
the  lower  parts  of  a  fish.  For  this  reason,  learned 
men  have  imagined  that  Dagon  was  the  same  with 
Derceto,  which  the  people  of  Ashkelon  worshipped, 
and  near  which  place  there  was  a  pond  full  of  fish 
consecrated  to  this  goddess,  from  which  the  inhab- 
itants superstitiously  abstained,  out  of  a  fond  be- 
lief that  Venus,  having  heretofore  cast  herself  .nto 
this  pond,  was  metamorphosed  into  a  fish.  The 
learned  Jurieu  is  of  another  opinion,  viz.  that 
Dagon,  whose  termination  is  masculine  both  in 
sacred  and  profane  writings,  is  always  represented 
as  a  male  deity,  and  may  therefore  very  properly 
be  thought  to  be  the  Neptune  of  the  ancients. 
The  Phoenicians  in  particular,  from  whom  both 
the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  borrowed  their  gods, 
living  upon  the  sea  coast,  and  by  their  navigation 
and  commerce  gaining  great  advantages  from  that 
element,  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  want  a  deity 
to  preside  over  it.  Saturn  and  his  three  sons, 
Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Pluto,  were  their  principal 
idols:  and,  as  Saturn  was  their  Moloch,  Jupiter 
their  Baal,  and  Pluto  their  Baal-zebub,  so  have 
we  reason  to  presume  that  Neptune  was  their 
Dagon.  This,  however,  will  not  hinder  us  from 
supposing  that  there  might  be  two  deities,  a  male 
and  a  female,  worshipped  in  the  same  country,  and 
under  the  same  figure  or  form  ;  and  that  as  the 
Pagan  theology  gives  Jupiter  a  Juno  to  be  his 
consort  in  heaven  ;  and  Pluto  a  Proserpine  to 
keep  him  company  in  hell  ;  so  Neptune  had  his 
Amphitrite  to  be  the  partner  of  his  liquid  empire 
in  the  sea.  According  to  this  supposition  the 
Dagon  of  Gaza  or  Ashdod  must  be  Neptune,  and 
the  Derceto  of  Ashkelon,  a  few  leagues  distant, 
Amphitrite,  the  daughter  of  Doris  and  Oceanus. 
Nor  tan  it  be  thought  incongruous  to  suppose  far- 
ther, that  the  universal  god  of  the  sea  might,  in 
one  place,  be  represented  as  a  male,  as  at  Ashdod  ; 
and  in  another,  as  at  Ashkelon,  as  a  female,  to  sig- 
nify the  fecundity  of  that  element,  which  produces 
and  nourishi  sso  many  living  creatures. — Le  Clerc's 
Commentary,  Ca/met's  Dictionary,  and  Jurieu, 
Histoire  des  Duynus  et  Cultes. 


tutors  of  Samson's  misery.  By  this  time 
his  hair  was  somewhat  grown  ;  and  it  is 
probable  his  strength  began  to  return. 

However,  it  is  very  likely  these  indig- 
nities offered  him  by  the  Philistines  pro- 
voked him  to  the  highest  degree.  Where- 
fore persuading  the  lad  that  guided  him 
to  set  him  so  that  he  might  feel  both  the 
pillars  on  which  the  house  stood,  on  pre- 
tence of  leaning  on  them  to  rest  himself, 
he,  with  great  earnestness,  prayed  to  God 
to  strengthen  him  but  this  one  time,  that 
he  might  be  revenged  of  the  Philistines 
for  the  loss  of  his  eyes. 

God  heard  his  prayers,  and  gave  him 
such  a  wonderful  accession  of  strength, 
that,  taking  hold  on  the  two  pillars  with 
both  his  hands,  he  bowed  himself  with  all 
his  might,  at  the  same  time  saying,  '  Let 
me  die  with  the  Philistines  ! ' 

He  exerted  his  strength  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that,  forcing  the  pillars  from  their 
bases,  the  house  fell  down  upon  all  that 
were  in  it.f     So  that  Samson  had  a  full 

-}-  It  is  made  a  question  whether  the  house,  as 
it  is  called  in  scripture,  which  he  pulled  down, 
was  the  temple  of  Dagon,  for  whose  honour  this 
festival  was  appointed,  or  some  other  edifice. 
That  it  was  not  a  common  house  is  evident  from 
the  multitude  of  the  people  which  it  contained ; 
and  though  the  temples  of  the  Philistines  are  sup- 
posed by  some  to  have  been  of  the  same  figure  and 
make  with  those  in  Egypt,  i.  e.  a  kind  of  a  rotunda, 
flat  roofed,  with  a  large  portico  without,  and  pil- 
lars within  to  sustain  the  building;  yet  this  seems 
to  be  no  more  than  a  fiction,  devoid  of  all  author- 
ity, and  accommodated  to  the  purpose  of  solving 
this  difficulty.  It  is  not  certain  that  the  Egyptian 
temples  were  built  in  this  manner,  and  much  more 
probable  it  is,  that  this  house  of  their  famous  god 
Dagon  was  made  of  stone ;  and  though  it  wanted 
no  proper  supports,  yet  it  is  scarce  supposeable 
that  in  a  structure  of  this  kind  its  whole  weight 
should  be  supported  by  two  pillars  only,  and  these 
so  very  contiguous  that  Samson  could  lay  hold  on 
them  both  at  one  time.  The  most  general  opinion 
therefore  is,  that  this  was  a  structure  which  the 
Philistines  made  use  of,  upon  such  occasions  as 
this,  built  all  of  wood,  and  supported  by  wooden 
pillars,  in  the  form  of  the  theatres,  which  in  after 
times  were  in  great  request  among  the  Romans. 
Towards  the  middle  of  this  building,  we  may  sup- 
pose that  there  were  two  large  beams,  upon  which 
the  weight  of  the  whole  structure  lay  ;  and  that 
these  beams  were  supported  by  two  pillars,  which 
stood  in  a  manner  contiguous  to  eacli  other.  So 
that  as  soon  as  Samson  had  moved  and  unsettled 
these,  down  must  the  principals,  and  with  them 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


revenge  on  his  enemies,  and  put  an  end 
to  his  miserable  condition,  slaying  more 
at  his  death  than  in  the  height  of  his 
strength. 


the  whole  building  come.  The  only  remaining 
difficulty  is,  how  a  building  made  of  wood,  and 
supported  by  two  pillars  only,  should  be  able  to 
contain  such  a  multitude  of  men  and  women. 
But  whoever  reads  Pliny's  Natural  History,  will 
therein  find  a  description  of  two  theatres,  built  by 
Curio,  capable  of  containing  a  much  greater  num- 
ber of  people  than  the  Philistines  are  here  said  to 
be,  and  yet — what  was  a  wonder  much  greater 
than  the  two  pillars  here — whenever  they  were 
turned  round,  as  they  frequently  were,  to  meet 
and  make  one  amphitheatre,  they  both  rested 
upon  one  hinge  only,  which,  had  it  happened  to 
slip,  must  have  occasioned  (as  our  author  tells  us) 
a  much  greater  slaughter  than  what  was  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Cannae  ;  as  by  the  actual  fall  of  an  amphi- 
theatre built  by  Atilius,  no  fewer  than  fifty  thou- 
sand persons  (as  Tacitus  relates  the  story)  were 
killed,  wounded,  and  maimed. — Stackhouse. 

If  any  one  should  question  the  possibility  of 
3000  people  being  upon  the  roof  of  the  temple  in 
question,  he  may  be  referred  to  the  accounts  of 
the  temples  at  Thebes  in  Upper  Egypt,  which 
have  been  given  by  all  recent  travellers  ;  accounts, 
which,  while  they  come  to  us  authenticated  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  admit  of  no  doubt  in  regard  to  their 
verity  and  correctness,  at  the  same  time  present 
things  apparently  incredible,  and  contrary  to  all 
the  philosophising  of  most  speculative  and  theo- 
retical historians.  The  ruins  of  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome,  so  far  as  vastness  and  extent  are  con- 
cerned, dwindle  into  insignificance  when  compared 
with  the  astonishing  remains  of  early  architecture 
at  Thebes.  What  is  most  confounding  of  all  to 
that  philosophising,  in  which  historians  of  a  scep- 
tical cast  are  prone  to  indulge,  is,  that  these  mighty 
ruins  are,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  relics  of  archi- 
tecture designed  and  executed  in  ages,  when  (as 
some  popular  writers  admonish  us  to  believe)  men 
were  not  yet  weaned  from  contending  with  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  for  their  lairs  and  for  their 
acorns,  nor  but  very  little  elevated  above  them.  The 
ruins  at  Thebes  present  evidences  of  control  over 
physical,  mechanical  power;  of  skill  in  architec- 
ture on  a  scale  of  surprising  magnitude  ;  and  of 
art  in  mixing  and  laying  on  colours,  that  are  fresh 
as  if  painted  but  yesterday,  after  having  been  laid 
on  for  more  than  thirty  centuries  ;  which  confound 
and  put  to  shame  all  that  the  arts  and  sciences,  and 
the  experience  of  three  thousand  years,  have  since 
been  able  to  accomplish.  So  much  for  the  rude- 
ness, and  barbarity,  and  ignorance  of  the  primitive 
ages.  The  Philistines,  the  near  neighbours  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  their  hearty  coadjutors  in  poly- 
theism, might  well  have,  and  doubtless  had,  large 
temples  as  well  as  they  ;  large  enough  to  afford 
room  for  three  thousand,  and  some  of  them  not 
improbably  for  many  more,  to  stand  upon  the  roof. 
As  to  the  strength  of  Samson,  in  tearing  away 
pillars  on  which  such  enormous  weight  rested  j — 
those  who  disbelieve  any  thing  which  is  miracul- 


Thus  died  Samson,  who  is  said  to  have 
judged  Israel  twenty  years;  and  was  ra- 
ther a  scourge  to  the  Philistines  than  a 
deliverer  of  the  Israelites.  Yet  he  may 
be  said  to  have  begun  to  deliver  Israel  in 
this  last  action,  though  it  cost  him  his 
life. 

When  his  relations  heard  of  his  death, 
they  came  and  brought  him  to  his  father's 
sepulchre,  between  Zorah  and  Ashdod, 
where  they  buried  him. 

From  sacred  history,  the  conduct  of  the 
Israelites,  on  the  demise  of  Samson,  seems 
to  have  devolved  upon  Eli,  who  was  then 
high  priest. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  Samuel 
the  prophet  was  born,  the  son  of  Elkanah, 
a  Levite,  descended  from  Korah.  He 
lived  in  the  city  of  Ramah,*  which  be- 


ous,  will  of  course  regard  the  whole  as  a  mythos 
(or  fable) ;  those  who  admit  the  reality  of  miracles, 
will  doubtless  be  ready  to  believe,  that  there  was 
some  supernatural  aid  afforded  him  in  the  case 
under  consideration.  A  heavy  blow  was  inflicted 
upon  polytheism  by  the  event  in  question,  and  on 
its  votaries,  who  were  the  enemies  of  God's  chosen 
people. — Stuart's  Ilebr.  Chrystomathy. 

*  Ramah  signifies  an  eminence,  or  high  situa- 
tion, and  is  therefore  an  appellation  given  to  sev- 
eral places  that  are  built  in  this  manner.  This  is 
said  to  have  stood  upon  mount  Ephraim,  thereby 
to  distinguish  it  from  other  towns,  in  different 
tribes,  of  the  same  denomination  ;  and  the  reason 
why  it  is  here  called  Hamathaim,  in  the  dual  num- 
ber, is,  as  some  imagine,  because  it  was  built  upon 
two  hills,  which  made  it  appear  as  a  double  city, 
and  because  it  was  situated  on  high,  and  had  a 
watch-tower  built  in  it,  it  therefore  had  the  title 
of  Zophim  added  to  it.  It  stood  upon  the  road 
that  led  from  Samaria  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  for  this 
reason  as  well  as  its  advantageous  situation,  Baasha, 
king  of  Israel,  caused  it  to  be  fortified  that  there 
might  be  no  passage  out  of  the  land  of  Judah  into 
that  of  Israel,  but  in  St  Jerome's  days  it  was  no 
more  than  a  small  village.  Here  it  was  that  Sam- 
uel passed  a  great  part  of  his  time  ;  for  his  mo- 
ther's dedication  of  him  to  the  service  of  God  did 
not  confine  him  to  Shiloh,  after  that  God  had 
called  him  out  to  a  public  employ,  and  appointed 
him  his  residence  in  a  place  more  convenient  for 
the  execution  of  it. — Oriental  geographers  speak 
of  this  place  as  having  formerly  been  the  metro- 
polis of  Palestine  ;  and  Mr  Buckingham  informs 
us,  that  every  appearance  of  its  ruins  even  now 
confirms  the  opinion  of  its  having  been  once  a  con- 
siderable city.  "  Its  situation,  as  lying  immediate- 
ly in  the  high  road  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  made 
it  necessarily  a  place  of  great  resort ;  and  from  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  country  around  it,  .it  must  have 


236 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


longed  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  with  his 
two  wives,  Hannah  and  Peninnah; — the  lat- 
ter of  whom  had  children,  but  the  first  none. 

Elkanah,  according  to  custom,  once  a 
year,  went  up  to  Shiloh,  to  worship  and 
sacrifice  to  the  Lord,  taking  his  two  wives 
and  his  children  with  him ;  where,  after 
he  had  made  his  offerings,  he  gave  pre- 
sents to  both  his  wives,  but  to  Hannah, 
being  his  best  beloved,  he  gave  a  double 
share  of  his  favour. 

This  caused  a  jealousy  between  the  two 
wives,  and  Peninnah,  priding  herself  in  her 
children,  reproached  Hannah  for  her  ster- 
ility.* Her  husband  endeavoured  to  com- 
fort her ;  but  Hannah  sought  for  it  from 
a  more  powerful  hand,  addressing  herself 
earnestly  in  prayer  to  the  Lord,  and  vow- 


been  equally  important  as  a  military  station  or  a 
depot  for  supplies,  and  as  a  magazine  for  the  col- 
lection of  such  articles  of  commerce  as  were  ex- 
ported from  the  coast.  In  its  present  state,  the 
town  of  Ramah  is  about  the  size  of  Jaffa,  in  the 
extent  actually  occupied.  The  dwellings  of  this 
last,  however,  are  crowded  together  around  the 
sides  of  a  hill,  while  those  of  Ramah  are  scattered 
widely  over  the  face  of  the  level  plain  on  which  it 
stands.  The  style  of  building  here  is  that  of  high 
square  houses,  with  flattened  domes  covering  them  : 
and  some  of  the  old  terraced  roofs  are  fenced 
around  with  raised  walls,  in  which  are  seen  pyra- 
mids of  hollow  earthenware  pipes,  as  if  to  give  air 
and  light,  without  destroying  the  strength  of  the 
wall  itself.  The  inhabitants  are  estimated  at  little 
more  than  five  thousand  persons,  of  whom  about 
one-third  are  Christians  of  the  Greek  and  Catholic 
communion,  and  the  remaining  two-thirds  Mo- 
hammedans, chiefly  Arabs  ;  the  men  of  power  and 
the  military  being  Turks,  and  no  Jews  residing 
there.  The  principal  occupation  of  the  people  is 
husbandry,  for  which  the  surrounding  country  is 
highly  favourable  ;  and  the  staple  commodities 
produced  by  them  are  corn,  olives,  oil,  and  cotton, 
with  some  soap  and  coarse  cloth  made  in  the  town. 
There  are  still  remains  of  some  noble  subterranean 
cisterns  at  Ramah,  not  inferior  either  in  extent  or 
execution  to  many  of  those  in  Alexandria  :  they 
were  intended  for  the  same  purpose,  namely,  to 
serve  in  time  of  war  as  reservoirs  of  water." — 
Patrick,  Le  Clerc,  and  Buckingham. 

*  Sterility  was  looked  upon  among  the  Jews  as 
one  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  that  could  befall 
any  woman  ;  insomuch  that  to  have  a  child,  though 
the  mother  immediately  died  thereupon,  was  ac- 
counted a  less  affliction  than  to  have  none  at  all. 
And  to  this  purpose  we  may  observe,  that  the 
midwife  comforts  Rachel  in  her  labour,  even 
though  she  knew  her  to  lie  at  the  point  of  death, 
in  these  terms,  *  Fear  not,  for  thou  shalt  have  this 
ton  also,'  Gen.  xxxv.  17. — Saurin. 


ing  at  the  same  time,  that  if  he  would 
bless  her  with  a  son,  she  would  dedicate 
him  to  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life, 
and  that  no  razor  should  come  upon  his 
head. 

Eli  the  priest,  seeing  her  lips  move, 
but  not  hearing  her  speak,  supposed  she 
was  intoxicated  with  wine,  and  chid  her 
for  it;  but  finding  himself  mistaken,  he 
turned  his  reproof  into  a  blessing,  praying 
to  God  to  hear  her  petition. 

Being  returned  to  Ramah,  she  conceiv- 
ed, and  was  in  due  time  delivered  of  a 
son,  whom  she  named  Samuel,  because 
she  had  '  asked  him  of  God,'  which  his 
name  implied. 

Hannah,  having  weaned  her  little  son, 
according  to  her  promise  brought  him  to 
the  house  of  the  Lord  at  Shiloh,  with  an 
offering,  and  acquainted  Eli  that  she  was 
the  woman  that  some  time  since  had  prayed 
to  the  Lord  for  a  child,  and  that  she  came 
to  perform  her  vow,  which  was  to  dedicate 
him  to  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

On  this  occasion  Eli  gave  thanks  unto 
the  Lord,  for  having  heard  and  answered 
Hannah's  prayer;  and  Hannah,  in  a  holy 
rhapsody,  did  the  same. 

Elkanah  and  Hannah  having  performed 
their  vow,  prepared  to  return;  and  Eli, 
pronouncing  a  blessing  upon  them,  said, 
'  The  Lord  give  thee  seed  of  the  woman 
for  the  loan  which  is  lent  to  the  Lord,' 
meaning  Samuel,  whom  they  left  behind 
with  Eli,  who  put  on  him  a  linen  ephod,f 
and  he  served  in  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
as  Eli  had  directed  him. 

After  this,  once  a  year,  till  he  grew  up, 
his  mother,  when  she  came  to  offer  the 
yearly  sacrifice,  made  him  a  little  coat, 
and  brought  it  to  him. 


t  The  ephod  which  the  high  priest  wore  was  a 
very  rich  habit  indeed,  Exod.  xxviii.  6.  but  there 
were  other  kinds  of  ephods,  which  not  only  priests 
and  Levites,  but  even  laymen,  upon  some  occasions, 
wore,  as  we  find  in  the  instance  of  David,  2  Sam. 
vi.  14.  which  was  not  a  sacred,  but  an  honorary 
garment,  (as  we  may  call  it,)  and  such  as  the  high 
priest  might  order  Samuel  to  wear,  to  distinguish 
him  from  some  other  inferior  officers  belonging  to 
the  tabernacle. — Patrick's  Commentary. 


Chap.  X.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


237 


Eli  the  priest  had  two  sons,  but  very 
wicked;  for,  valuing  themselves  upon  the 
authority  and  dignity  of  the  priesthood, 
they  domineered  over  the  men,  and  de- 
bauched the  women.  And  to  such  a 
height  had  their  insolence  grown,  that 
not  content  with  the  portion  of  the  flesh 
of  the  sacrifice  which  God  had  assigned 
them,  they  would  seize  what  they  liked 
best,  and  at  what  time  they  pleased.  By 
this  means  the  service  of  God  grew  con- 
temptible in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  who 
grew  indifferent  whether  they  offered  or 
not.  But  however  heinous  the  sins  of 
the  priests  might  be,  they  did  not  excuse 
the  people  from  guilt,  in  neglecting  the 
service  of  the  Lord. 

The  good  old  prophet  had  often  heard 
of  the  conduct  of  his  impious  sons,  yet 
did  not  restrain  or  punish  them,  as  he 
that  was  both  father  and  magistrate  ought 
to  have  done,  giving  them  only  a  slight 
reproof,  which  was  so  far  from  dissuading 
that  they  still  persisted  in  their  wicked 
practices. 

At  last  a  man  of  God  came  to  Eli  with 
a  message,  that  threatened  him  and  his 
household  with  ruin,  for  his  careless  and 
mild  administration.  First  upbraiding 
him  with  ingratitude,  for  slighting  the 
honour  done  his  family,  in  investing  the 
priesthood  in  it,  threatening  his  sons 
Hophni  and  Phinehas,  with  death,  which 
he  foretold  should  happen  at  one  and  the 
same  time. 

And  to  show  Eli  the  wretched  poverty 
that  his  posterity  should  fall  into,  he  added, 
that  every  one  that  should  be  left  in  his 
house,  should  cqme  and  crouch  to  a  more 
faithful  priest  (whom  the  Lord  would  set 
up)  for  a  piece  of  silver,  and  a  morsel  of 
bread ;  and  shall  say,  *  Put  me,  I  pray 
thee,  in  one  of  the  priest's  offices,  that  I 
may  have  a  piece  of  bread  to  eat.' 

Soon  after  this,  it  pleased  God  to  give 
his  old  servant  an  awful  denunciation  of 
his  judgment  by  a  younger  hand. 

Samuel,  being  lodged  in  the  further 
part  of  the  tabernacle,  among  the  Levites, 


the  Lord  in  the  night  called  him  by  his 
name,  who,  as  the  manner  was,  answered, 
'Here  am  I;'  and  starting  up,  ran  to  Eli's 
apartment,  supposing  he  had  called.  But 
when  Eli  told  him  he  had  not  called  him, 
he  went  and  lay  down  again.  This  was 
repeated  three  times;  and  Samuel  began 
at  last  to  be  positive  with  Eli,  that  he 
really  did  call  him. 

This  roused  Eli,  and  made  him  think 
there  was  something  extraordinary  in 
it;  which  thought  he  communicated  to 
Samuel,  bidding  him  go  to  bed  again; 
and  directing  him,  that  if  the  Lord  should 
call  him  again,  he  should  say,  «  Speak, 
Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth.' 

As  Eli  suspected,  so  it  happened ;  and 
Samuel  did  as  he  directed  him. 

Then  said  the  Lord  to  Samuel.  •  All 
that  I  have  spoken  concerning  Eli  and  his 
house  I  will  perform ;  for  I  have  told  him, 
that  I  will  judge  his  house  for  ever,  for 
the  iniquity  to  which  he  is  privy.  Be- 
cause his  sons  made  themselves  vile,  and 
he  did  not  restrain  them ;  therefore  I 
have  sworn  unto  the  house  of  Eli,  that 
the  iniqwity  of  Eli's  house  shall  not  be 
purged  with  sacrifice,  nor  offering  for 
ever.' 

This  sentence  was  so  terrible,  even  to 
Samuel,  though  be  had  no  share  in  it,  that 
he  was  afraid  to  tell  it  to  Eli;  but  Eli, 
now  thoroughly  awakened  by  the  message 
he  had  received  before,  and  the  apprehen- 
sion he  now  had  that  the  Lord  had  reveal- 
ed something  like  it  to  Samuel,  obliged 
him  to  tell  what  the  Lord  had  repeated  to 
him. 

Samuel  obeyed,  and  informed  him  of 
the  whole  truth.  To  which  poor  Eli  hum- 
bly submitted,  saying,  '  It  is  the  Lord,  let 
him  do  what  he  pleaseth.' 

And  now  to  the  great  comfort  of  Israel, 
God  was  pleased  to  appear  again  in  Shi- 
lob,  and  there  revealed  himself  to  Samuel. 
For  as  he  grew  up,  both  in  stature  as  a 
man,  and  in  grace  as  a  man  of  God,  the 
Lord  was  with  him,  and  accomplished 
whatever  he  spoke  by  him  j  so  that  all 


?38 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


Israel  knew,  from  one  end  of  the  land  to 
the  other,  that  Samuel  was  a  faithful  pro- 
phet of  the  Lord. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Israelites  are  conquered  by  the  Philistines. 
— Eli's   so7is    are  punished;    he    breaks   his 

neck Dag  on  falls  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord. 

—  On  the  repentance  of  the  people,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Samuel,  they  conquer  the  Philis- 
tines.— Samuel  entertaineth  Saul. — Anoints 
him  prince  over  the  Lord's  inheritance. — Saul 
is  chosen  by  lot. 

The  Israelites  being  again  blessed  with  a 
prophet,  proposed  to  themselves  great 
things,  concluding  that  all  they  now  un- 
dertook would  succeed ;  and  therefore 
being  animated  with  this  thought,  they 
had  a  mind  to  try  if  they  could  not  shake 
off  the  Philistine  yoke.  Wherefore,  in- 
tending to  fight  them,  they  encamped  in 
a  place  which  was  afterwards,  upon  better 
success,  called  Eben-ezer.* 

The  Philistines  sat  down  by  Aphek,  a 
jity  of  Judah,  and  in  a  short  time  the  ar- 
mies joined ;  but  the  Israelites,  instead  of 
victory,  found  the  judgments  of  God  de- 
nounced against  priest  and  people,  ready 
to  fall  on  them  ;  for  in  the  action  they 
lost  four  thousand  of  their  men.  The 
rest  making  an  orderly  retreat  to  their 
camp,  the  elders  began  to  consider  what 
might  be  the  cause  of  this  defeat ;  and 
fondly  supposing  it  to  be  for  want  of  hav- 
ing the  ark  with  them,  they  resolved  for 
the  future  to  carry  it  with  them  in  all 
their  other  expeditions. 

Then  they  sent  messengers  to  Shiloh, 
for  Hophni  and  Phinehas,  the  priests,  to 
bring  the  ark  into  the  camp ;  which  they 
forthwith  did.     And  when  the  Israelites 


*  This  place  had  not  this  name  till  about  twenty 
years  after,  I  Sam.  iv.  1.,  when  Samuel  fought 
with  the  Philistines,  and  gave  them  a  total  over- 
throw, and  set  up  a  monument  of  his  victory — for 
the  proper  name  signifies  '  the  Stone  of  Help' — in 
the  held  of  battle,  which  lay  on  the  north  border 
of  Judah,  not  far  from  Mizpeh  ;  and  Aphek,  where 
the  Philistines  encamped,  must  not  be  far  distant 
from  it. —  Wells's  Geography. 


saw  the  ark  brought  into  the  camp,  they 
gave  such  a  shout  as  made  the  earth  ring, 
which  so  disheartened  the  Philistines  that 
they  were  at  the  brink  of  despair,  especial- 
ly when  they  heard  the  true  cause  of  this 
rejoicing. 

The  Israelites  on  the  other  hand  were 
as  fool-hardy  as  the  Philistines  were  de- 
jected. For,  concluding  themselves  se- 
cure, under  the  protection  of  the  ark,  and 
not  in  the  least  doubting  their  success, 
they  again  offered  the  Philistines  battle  ; 
who,  in  this  engagement,  slew  thirty 
thousand  of  their  foot,  among  which  were 
Hophni  and  Phinehas,  put  the  rest  to 
flight,  and,  which  was  the  terriblest  blow 
of  all,  took  the  ark  of  God. 

One  of  the  soldiers  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin, seeing  the  day  lost,  made  his  escape 
from  the  field  of  battle,  and  came  running 
to  Shiloh  with  his  clothes  rent  and  earth 
upon  his  head  ;  which  in  those  countries 
were  emblems  of  extreme  sorrow  for  the 
greatest  losses  and  misfortunes. 

Notwithstanding  old  Eli's  default,  in 
his  administrations,  which  provoked  God, 
he  had  a  most  zealous  regard  for  the  wel- 
fare of  Israel  and  especially  the  ark  of  the 
Lord.  Upon  this  account  therefore  he 
went  and  sat  at  the  gate  to  hear  (for  he 
could  not  see)  how  affairs  went :  whilst 
he  was  sitting  here,  the  foresaid  Benjamite 
that  escaped  in  the  fight,  having  told  the 
citizens  how  things  went,  there  was  a 
mighty  outcry  among  them.  Whereupon, 
Eli  asking  what  was  the  meaning  of  that 
tumult,  the  Benjamite  soldier  was  brought 
to  him,  who  told  him  the  Israelites  were 
routed,  his  sons  in  the  number  of  the  slain, 
and  the  ark  of  the  Lord  taken. 

Eli  kept  his  seat  till  the  last  piece  of 
news  was  told  him,  but  then  his  spirits 
failing,  he  fell  from  his  seat  backwards; 
and  being  heavy  as  well  as  old,  his  neck 
broke  with  the  fall,  and  he  died,  having 
judged  Israel  forty  years. 

His  son  Phinehas  had  a  wife  at  this 
time,  who  being  big  with  child,  and  near 
her  time,  hearing  of  the  death  of  her  fa- 


Chap.  XI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


239 


ther  and  her  husband,  and  the  loss  of  the 
ark,  fell  in  labour ;  and  being  delivered  of 
a  son,  with  her  dying  breath  she  named 
him  Ichabod ;  which  signifies,  '  no  glory,' 
adding,  as  a  reason  of  giving  the  child 
this  name,  «  That  the  glory  is  departed 
from  Israel,'  which  she  meant  by  the  tak- 
ing of  the  ark  of  God. 

The  Philistines  having  cleared  the  field, 
and  carried  off  the  plunder,  brought  the 
ark  to  one  of  their  principal  cities,  named 
Ashdod,*  and  placed  it  in  the  temple  of 
Dagon  near  to  the  idol ;  whom  the  next 
morning  they  found  fallen  down  upon  his 
face  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord.  They 
set  him  in  his  place,  and  next  day  came 
in  again,  and  not  only  found  him  fallen  to 


•  The  Philistines  were  descendants  from  Miz- 
raim,  the  father  of  the  Egyptians,  and  so,  in  all 
probability,  having  their  first  settlement  in  Egypt, 
or  the  parts  adjoining,  lay  to  the  south-west  of 
the  land  of  Canaan.  In  process  of  time,  however, 
they  made  inroads  upon  Canaan,  and  in  Abra- 
ham's days,  had  got  possession  of  a  good  part  of  the 
territories,  which  lay  along  the  western  coasts  of 
the  Mediterranean  sea.  This  tract  of  ground  was 
divided  into  five  principalities,  or  little  kingdoms, 
namely,  Gaza,  Askelon,  Ashdod,  Gath,  and  Ekron ; 
which,  for  the  better  understanding  of  some  par- 
ticulars related  of  the  ark,  during  its  stay  in  this 
country,  it  will  not  be  improper  to  describe  all  to- 
gether. The  city  of  Gaza  (from  which  the  terri- 
tory took  its  name)  stood,  as  it  were,  on  the  very 
south-west  angle,  or  corner  of  the  land  of  Canaan  ; 
but  of  this  place  we  have  spoken  before.  To  the 
north  of  Gaza  lay  next  the  city  of  Askelon,  called 
by  the  Greeks,  Ascalon,  and  of  great  note  among 
the  Gentiles  for  a  temple  dedicated  to  Derceto, 
the  mother  of  Semiramis,  who  was  here  worshipped 
in  the  form  of  a  mermaid.  To  the  north  of  Asca- 
lon lay  Ashdod,  called  by  the  Greeks,  Azotus,  and 
famous  for  the  temple  of  the  god  Dagon,  whereof 
we  have  taken  notice  before.  Still  more  to  the 
north  lay  Gath,  memorable  for  being  the  birth- 
place of  the  giant  Goliath,  whom  David  slew,  and 
of  several  others  of  the  same  gigantic  race.  It  was 
dismantled  by  Ozias,  king  of  Judah,  and  finally 
laid  waste  by  Hazael,  king  of  Syria  ;  however  it 
recovered  itself,  and  retained  its  old  name,  in  the 
days  of  Eusebius  and  St  Jerome,  who  place  it  about 
four  miles  from  Eleutheropolis,  in  the  way  to 
Lidda.  The  most  northern  of  these  cities,  still 
upon  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  sea,  was  Ek- 
ron, called  by  the  Greeks,  Accaron,  a  place  of 
great  wealth  and  power,  and  famous  for  the  idola- 
trous worship  of  Beelzebub,  who  had  here  a  cele- 
brated temple  and  oracle.  But  of  this  idol  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  say  more,  when  we  come  to 
the  reign  of  Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah,  who  sent  in 
iiis  illness  to  consult  him. —  Wells's  Geography. 


the  ground,  but  his  head  and  palms  of 
his  hands  broken  off,  and  lying  on  the 
threshold,  only  his  lower  part  was  left 
entire.  Whence  a  superstitious  custom 
arose  among  the  Philistines,  that  neither 
priests  nor  people  would  tread  upon  the 
threshold.f 

In  order  to  convince  the  idolatrous 
Israelites  that  the  cause  was  no  longei 
between  the  Philistines  and  the  Israelites, 
but  between  God  and  Dagon,  the  Lord 
laid  his  heavy  judgments  on  Ashdod,  and 
all  the  coast  towns  thereabouts,  afflicting 
the  people  with  the  piles,  and  destroying 
at  the  same  time  the  country  with  mice. 
The  people  of  Ashdod  were  sensible  this 
was  a  judgment  from  the  God  of  Israel 
for  taking  and  detaining  the  ark ;  there- 
fore consulting  what  to  do,  the  princes  ot 
the  Philistines,  partly  to  redress  the  com- 
plaints of  the  Ashdodites,  but  chiefly  to 
carry  the  ark  about  in  triumph,  sent  it  to 
Gath,  where  the  same  judgments  pursued 
the  detainers  of  it.  Whereupon  they  re- 
moved it  to  Ekron,  but  the  inhabitants  no 
sooner  saw  it,  than  they  cried  out,  '  They 
have  brought  about  the  ark  of  the  God  of 
Israel  to  slay  us  and  our  people.' 

Whilst  the  ark  was  here,  not  only  the 
piles,  but  a  deadly  plague  attended  the 
people  ;  wherefore  calling  the  priests,  they 
resolved  not  to  send  the  ark  away  empty, 


f  It  is  somewhat  strange,  that  when  the  Philis- 
tines saw  their  Dagon  cast  down  before  the  ark  of 
God,  with  his  head  and  hands  broken  off",  they 
should  not  thence  infer  that  he  was  no  more  than 
a  vain  idol  :  but  instead  of  that,  we  find  them 
honouring  the  thresholds,  whereby  he  received  these 
maims,  as  if  they  had  been  consecrated,  or  some 
divinity  infused  into  them,  from  the  mere  touch  of 
this  idol.  This  is  a  sore  instance  of  blindness  and 
infatuation  ;  but  it  is  no  more  than  what  other 
heathen  nations  fell  into.  For,  whether  the  cus- 
tom took  its  first  rise  from  this  practice  of  the 
Philistines,  or  not,  it  is  certain,  that  among  the 
Romans  the  threshold  was  consecrated  to  the  god- 
dess Vesta,  and  those  which  belonged  to  temple3 
were  always  held  in  the  highest  veneration.  Nay, 
at  this  very  day,  there  are  some  mosques  in  Per- 
sia, whose  thresholds  are  covered  over  with  plates 
of  silver,  and  which  the  people  are  not  allowed  to 
tread  on  ;  for  that  is  a  crime  which  cannot  be  ex- 
piated without  undergoing  very  severe  pains  and 
penalties. —  Calmefs  Commentary. 


240 


HISTORY  Oh 


[Book  III. 


but  to  prepare  a  trespass-offering  for  the  1 
atonement  of  their  sacrilege,  which  was  to 
consist  of  five  golden  emerods,  *  and  five 
golden  mice,f  according  to  the  number  of 


*  It  was  a  prevailing  opinion  among  the  hea- 
thens, that  the  only  way  to  appease  their  gods, 
when  offended  at  them,  was  to  offer  them  presents  ; 
and  therefore  no  wonder  that  the  Philistine  priests 
hit  upon  this  thought  :  and  why  they  sent,  along 
with  the  ark,  the  images  of  the  parts  which  were 
afflicted  with  this  sore  disease,  might  proceed  from 
a  common  custom  likewise  among  the  heathens,  of 
consecrating  to  their  gods  such  monuments  of  their 
deliverance,  as  represented  the  evils  from  whence 
they  had  escaped,  or  the  members  which  had  been 
disordered.  Thus  the  people  of  Athens,  having 
been  afflicted  with  a  shameful  disease  for  not  re- 
ceiving the  mysteries  of  Bacchus  with  a  proper 
reverence,  and  consulting  the  oracle  what  they 
were  to  do,  in  order  to  have  it  removed,  were  di- 
rected to  make  figures  of  the  part  affected,  and 
present  them  to  the  god,  which  gave  them  this 
counsel  :  and  accordingly  the  Philistines,  hoping 
shortly  to  be  delivered  from  the  emerods  and  mice, 
wherewith  they  were  sorely  infested,  took  the  same 
method  to  get  quit  of  them.  It  is  still  a  practice 
among  the  heathens — as  Tavernier  relates  in  his 
travels,  page  92 — when  any  pilgrim  goes  to  a  pa- 
god  for  the  cure  of  any  disease,  for  him  to  bring 
the  figure  of  the  member  afflicted,  either  in  gold, 
silver,  or  copper,  according  to  his  quality,  and  to 
offer  it  to  the  idol  in  a  most  submissive  manner. — 
Calmet's  and  Patrick's  Commentaries. 

t  This  animal  is  so  very  diminutive,  that  the 
Jewish  naturalist  places  it  among  the  reptiles,  re- 
fusing it  the  honour  of  appearing  among  the  quad- 
rupeds. But,  small  and  apparently  insignificant  as 
it  is,  in  the  oriental  regions  it  often  produces  great- 
er calamities  than  are  experienced  from  all  the 
beasts  of  prey  with  which  they  are  infested.  For- 
midable by  its  activity,  its  voraciousness,  and  its 
countless  numbers,  it  lays  wast?  the  fields  of  Pales- 
tine and  Syria,  devours  their  harvests,  and  spreads 
famine  and  wretchedness  among  the  helpless  in- 
habitants. The  extent  and  severity  of  the  distress 
in  which  its  ravages  frequently  involve  the  people 
of  those  countries,  are  sufficiently  attested  by  the 
offering  of  five  golden  mice,  from  the  lords  of  the 
Philistines,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  God,  and  avert 
the  plague  under  which  they  had  so  greatly  suffer- 
ed. The  account  of  this  transaction  is  recorded  in 
the  first  book  of  Samuel,  and  runs  in  these  terms  : 
*  Then  said  they,  what  shall  be  the  trespass  offer- 
ing which  we  shall  return  to  him  ?  They  answer- 
ed, Five  golden  emerods,  and  five  golden  mice, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  lords  of  the  Philis- 
tines :  for  one  plague  was  on  you  all,  and  on  your 
lords.  Wherefore  ye  shall  make  images  of  your 
emerods,  and  images  of  your  mice,  which  mar  the  j 
land  ;  and  ye  shall  give  glory  unto  the  God  of 
Israel :  peradventure  he  will  lighten  his  hand  from 
off' you,  and  from  off  your  gods,  and  from  off  your 
lands.'  These  words  undoubtedly  intimate,  that  i 
Palestine  was  very  often  visited  by  this  scourge,  j 
and  that  the  sufferings  of  its  inhabitants  were  very  j 
severe.     The  devastations  of  this  little  destructive  | 


the  princes  of  the  Philistines;  hoping, 
that  by  thus  acknowledging  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  of  Israel,  he  would  rid  them  of 
the  plagues  he  had  inflicted  on  them :  for 
why,  said  the  priests,  should  you  be  ob- 
stinate, as  the  Egyptians  were,  to  your 
own  destruction?  Then  directing  them 
to  provide  a  new  cart,  and  two  milch  kine, 
that  never  had  been  yoked,  and  fasten 
them  to  the  cart,  without  their  calves, 
they  bid  them  lay  the  ark  on  the  cart,  and 
put  the  golden  emerods  and  mice  in  a 
coffijr  by  the  side  of  the  ark,  and  send 
them  away;  but  cautioned  them  strictly 
to  observe  which  way  the  cart  went;  for  if 
it  went  by  the  way  of  Bethshemesh,:}:  they 
might  conclude   that  it  was  the  God   of 


creature  were  so  frequent,  so  extensive,  and  follow- 
ed by  consequences  so  dreadful,  that  even  the  un- 
lightened  Philistines  considered  them  as  an  im- 
mediate judgment  from  God  himself.  But  this 
terrible  scourge  was  not  peculiar  to  Palestine : 
Strabo  mentions  that  so  vast  a  multitude  of  mice 
sometimes  invaded  Spain,  as  to  produce  a  destruc- 
tive pestilence  ;  and  in  Cantabria,  the  Romans,  by 
setting  a  price  on  a  certain  measure  of  these  ani- 
mals, escaped  with  difficulty  from  the  same  calami- 
ty. In  other  parts  of  Italy  the  number  of  field 
mice  was  so  great,  that  some  of  the  inhabitants 
were  forced  to  leave  the  country.  In  Thrace,  the 
frogs  and  mice  sometimes  united  their  hordes  and 
compelled  the  inhabitants  to  seek  new  settlements. 
In  modern  times,  instances  of  the  same  calamity 
are  not  wanting.  About  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  century,  innumerable  swarms  of  locusts  and 
mice,  during  four  successive  years,  so  completely 
ravaged  that  country,  as  to  produce  almost  a  total 
failure  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  So  great  and 
general  was  the  distress  of  the  people,  that  a  kind 
of  penitential  council  was  held  at  Naplouse,  in 
the  year  1 120,  for  the  reformation  of  manners,  and 
to  invoke  the  mercy  of  the  Almighty,  who  had 
been  provoked  by  their  sins  to  inflict  upon  them 
such  terrible  judgments. — Script.  Tllust. 

J  Bethshemesh  was  a  city  belonging  to  the 
priests  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  10.)  after- 
wards given  to  the  Levites,  xix.  22.  1  Sam.  vi.  12. 
In  Eusebius  it  is  placed  ten  miles  from  Eleuther- 
opolis,  east,  in  the  way  to  Nicopolis  or  Emaiis  ; 
that  is,  about  30  miles  north-west  of  Jerusalem. 
Reland  thinks  we  should  not  distinguish  Hirshe- 
mesh  in  Dan,  from  Bethshemesh  in  Judah  ;  but 
the  passages  he  produces  (Josh.  xx.  41.  compared 
with  1  Kings  iv.  7.  where  Irshemesh  is  placed  as 
parallel  to  Bethshemesh)  convince  us  that  they 
are  not  the  same  city.  Hirshemesh  signifies  the 
'  City  of  the  sun,'  and  Bethshemesh  signifies  the 
*  House  of  the  sun.'  As  the  tribes  of  Dan  and 
Judah  were  adjacent,  the  same  city  is  reckoned 
sometimes  to  one  tribe,  sometimes  to  the  other. 


Chap.  XL] 


THE  BIBLE. 


241 


Israel  that  had  plagued  them;  but  if  it 
went  not  that  way,  they  should  look  upon  all 
these  judgments  only  as  common  accidents. 

The  Philistines  sending  the  ark  away 
in  this  manner,  the  kine  that  drew  it  went 
on  lowing  directly  to  Bethshemesh.  The 
five  princes  of  the  Philistines  followed  at 
a  distance  to  see  what  would  become  of  it, 
who,  when  they  saw  it  arrive  safely  at 
Bethshemesh,  returned  to  Ekron.  The 
Bethshemites,  who  were  reaping  in  the 
valley,  seeing  the  ark,  were  overjoyed. 

The  kine  having  drawn  the  cart  into 
the  field  of  Joshua  the  Bethshemite,  stood 
still  there  by  a  great  stone,  called  the 
Stone  of  Abel,  which  the  Levites  seeing, 
they  took  down  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  coffer  that  was  in  it,  and  laid  them 
upon  the  great  stone.  Then  cleaving  the 
wood  of  the  cart  to  make  a  fire  with,  they 
offered  the  kine  for  a  burnt-offering  unto 
the  Lord. 

But  some  of  the  Bethshemites,  whether 
moved  by  joy  or  curiosity,  took  the  liberty 
of  looking  into  the  ark,  contrary  to  the 
law ;  for  which  the  Lord  smote  fifty 
thousand,  and  threescore,  and  ten  of  them,* 


*  It  was  a  particular  prohibition,  that  not  only 
the  common  people,  but  even  the  Levites  them- 
selves should  not  dare  to  look  into  the  ark,  or  any 
other  of  the  holy  utensils  belonging  to  the  service 
of  God,  upon  pain  of  death  ;  and"  the  severity  of 
this  law  will  not  seem  so  unreasonable,  when  it  is 
considered,  that  in  every  nation  it  was  always  ac- 
counted a  great  profaneness,  and  frequently  at- 
tended with  exemplary  punishments,  for  such  as 
were  not  initiated,  to  obtrude  into  the  mysteries  of 
religion  ;  and  that,  if  the  Philistines,  for  their  irre- 
verence to  the  ark,  were  treated  with  less  rigour 
than  the  Bethshemites,  it  was  because  the  former 
were  not  instructed  in  the  laws  of  God,  nor  obliged 
to  observe  them.  It  must  be  acknowledged,  in- 
deed, that  there  is  a  mistake  in  our  translation,  as 
well  as  in  several  others.  Bethshemesh  is  a  place 
of  no  great  note  in  sacred  history,  and  by  Josephus 
it  is  called  no  more  than  a  village ;  and  therefore 
it  is  hardly  conceivable  how  it  could  contain  such 
a  number  as  '  fifty  thousand  and  threescore  and  ten' 
inhabitants,  or  why  God,  who  is  goodness  itself, 
should  make  such  a  slaughter  among  those  who 
received  his  ark  with  so  much  joy,  and  testified 
their  gladness  by  their  oblation  of  sacrifices.  To 
solve  this  difficulty  therefore,  some  have  observed, 
that  the  words  in  the  original,  and  according  to 
their  natural  construction,  stand  thus: — He  smote 
of  the  people  '  threescore  and  ten  men,  fifty  thou- 


which  so  terrified  the  rest,  that  they  cried 
out, '  Who  is  able  to  stand  before  the  holy 
Lord  God?  And  to  whom  shall  he  go 
from  us?' 

This  made  them  desirous  of  removing 
the  ark.  So  they  sent  to  Kirjath-jearim, 
to  acquaint  them  that  the  Philistines  had 
sent  back  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  and  desired 
them  to  come  and  fetch  it. 

Accordingly  they  came,  and  conveyed 
the  ark  to  the  house  of  Abinadab  on  the 
hill,  whose  son  Eleazer  was  consecrated 
to  keep  it,  where  it  abode  twenty  years. 

Samuel,  upon  the  death  of  old  Eli, 
and  the  loss  of  the  ark  of  God,  at  this 
critical  juncture,  took  upon  him  the  con- 
duct of  the  idolatrous  Israelites. 

At  tlif  end  of  twenty  years,  finding  in 
the  people  a  good  disposition  to  repent, 
and  return  to  the  Lord,  he  exhorted  them 
to  put  away  the  strange  gods,  Baal  and 
Ashtaroth,  and  only  to  serve  the  Lord, 
promising,  that  if  they  would  do  so,  they 
should  be  delivered  from  the  Philistines. 

Then  ordering  all  Israel  to  meet  him  at 
Mizpeh,  they  came  to  him  there.    Whilst 


sand  men  ;'  where  there  is  plainly  wanting  some 
particle  or  other,  to  make  the  sense  complete. 
They  observe  further,  that  if  this  is  to  be  taken 
for  a  total  sum,  the  order  of  the  words  is  plainly 
inverted,  and  that  the  thousands  should  go  before 
the  inferior  numbers,  as  is  usual  in  all  languages  ; 
and  therefore,  since  there  is  a  manifest  defect  in  the 
copy,  they  think  it  n<*t  amiss  to  supply  it  with  the 
particle  D  out  of,  which,  in  many  other  instances 
is  known  to  be  omitted,  and  here  makes  the  sense 
complete  ;  namely,  that  of  the  people  of  Bethshe- 
mesh, for  their  irreverence  to  the  ark,  he  smote 
•seventy  men  out  of  fifty  thousand.'  For,  though 
fifty  thousand  men  can  hardly  be  supposed  in  so 
small  a  place  ;  yet,  upon  hearing  of  the  arrival  of 
the  ark,  the  country  might  flock  in  from  other 
parts,  and  in  a  few  days,  make  up  that  number; 
and  though,  possibly,  most  of  them  might  be  guilty 
of  the  same  profane  rudeness,  yet  God,  in  his 
great  clemency,  might  punish  no  more  than  seventy 
of  them,  and  that  on  purpose  to  deter  others  from 
the  like  irreverence.  For  it  is  not  unlikely,  that 
these  people  might  hold  the  ark  in  more  contempt, 
since  the  time  that  it  had  been  conquered,  as  it 
were,  and  led  captive  by  their  enemies  ;  and  for 
this  reason,  God  might  the  rather  exert  his  vin- 
dictive arm,  on  purpose  to  teach  them,  that  this 
symbol  of  his  presence  had  lost  none  of  its  mira« 
culous  power  by  the  ill  usage  it  had  met  with  in 
its  absence. — Stackhouse. 


2h 


TETR 


'JUIUVERSIT 


oar 


«6  V  •   /? 


242 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  II 


they  humbled  themselves  with  prayer  and 
fasting,  and  offered  libations,*  the  Phili- 
stines having  notice  of  this  general  meet- 
ing, came  in  arms,  and  put  them  into  a 
great  consternation. 

The  Israelites  thus  frighted,  begged  of 
Samuel  to  intercede  for  them  to  the  Lord. 
Samuel  thereupon  took  a  suckling  lamb, 
offered  it  whole  for  a  burnt-offering,  and 
prayed  to  the  Lord  for  Israel,  whose  pray- 
er was  so  effectual,  that  as  the  Philistines 
came  to  attack  Israel,  at  that  instant  the 
Lord  sent  down  such  a  peal  of  thunder  on 
the  Philistines,  just  as  they  were  ready  to 
engage,  as  threw  them  into  confusion.f 


*  The  words  in  our  translation  run  thus  : — '  And 
they  gathered  to  Mizpeh,  and  drew  water,  and 
poured  it  out  before  the  Lord,'  1  Sam.  vii.  6  ;  but 
what  we  are  to  understand  by  this  water,  the  con- 
jectures of  commentators  have  been  very  various. 
Some  take  these  words  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  to 
denote  those  tears  of  contrition  which  were  drawn, 
as  it  were,  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  and  fell 
from  their  eyes  before  the  Lord.  Others  think, 
that  with  this  water  they  washed  their  bodies,  (as 
they  are  supposed  to  have  done  upon  another  oc- 
casion, Exod.  xix.  10.)  to  signify  the  purification 
of  their  souls  from  the  pollution  of  sin.  Others, 
that  they  made  use  of  it  to  cleanse  the  ground 
where  Samuel  was  to  erect  an  altar,  that  it  might 
not  stand  upon  an  impure  place.  Some  suppose 
that  it  was  employed  as  an  emblem  of  humiliation, 
of  prayer,  of  expiation,  of  execration,  and  1  know 
not  what  besides.  But  the  most  probable  opinion 
is,  that  this  water  was,  upon  this  occasion,  poured 
out,  by  way  of  libation,  before  God:  and,  for  the 
support  of  this,  it  is  commonly  alleged,  that  liba- 
tions of  this  kind  were  very  customary  in  ancient 
times  ;  that  Theophrastus,  as  he  is  cited  by  Por- 
phyry, tells  us,  that  the  earliest  libations  were  of 
water,  though  afterwards  honey  and  wine  came 
into  request ;  that  Virgil  mentions  the  practice  of 
sprinkling  the  water  of  the  lake  Avernus  ;  and 
that  Homer  remarks,  that,  for  want  of  wine,  the 
companions  of  Ulysses  poured  out  water  in  a  sac- 
rifice which  they  offered  to  the  gods.  It  is  cer- 
tain, that  David  poured  out  unto  the  Lord  the 
water  which  the  three  gallant  men  in  his  army 
brought  him  from  the  well  of  Bethlehem,  at  the 
hazard  of  their  lives,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  19 ;  there- 
fore, though  the  law  does  not  enjoin  any  such 
libations  of  water;  yet,  since  there  is  no  positive 
prohibition  of  them,  why  may  we  not  suppose, 
that,  upon  this  extraordinary  occasion,  something 
singular  and  extraordinary  might  have  been  done? 
— Patrick's  and  Calmefs  Commentaries. 

f  Josephus  gives  us  this  account  of  the  whole 
transaction  : — "  In  some  places  God  shook  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  under  the  feet  of  the 
Philistines,  so  that  they  could  not  stand  without 
staggering;  in  others,  it  opened,  and  swallowed 


The  Israelites,  taking  advantage  oi 
their  disorder,  gained  a  mighty  victory: 
and  pursued  them  from  Mizpeh  beyond 
Beth-shan.  From  which  time  the  Phili- 
stines came  not  into  the  country  of  the 
Israelites,  who  recovered  the  towns  those 
people  had  taken  from  them  from  Ekron 
to  Gath. 

Samuel,  in  memory  of  this  great  deli- 
verance, set  up  a  monumental  stone,  be- 
tween Mizpeh  and  Shen,  calling  it  Eben- 
ezer,  that  is,  •  the  stone  of  help.' 

After  this,  Samuel,  for  the  better  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  took  a  circuit 
through  Bethel,  Gilgal,  and  Mizpeh,  re- 
turning every  year  to  Ramah.  But 
growing  in  years,  and  unable  to  travel, 
he  constituted  his  two  sons,  Joel  and 
Abiah,  judges  over  Israel;  who,  dege- 
nerating from  their  good  father,  were  cor- 
rupted with  bribes,  and  acted  unjustly. 

Upon  this,  the  elders  of  Israel  assem- 
bling, went  in  a  body  to  Ramah,  and  com- 
plained to  Samuel.  Their  cause  of  com- 
plaint was  just;  but  when  they  took  upon 
them  to  go  farther,  and  to  dictate  to 
Samuel  how  to  redress  it,  they  forfeited 
his  love  and  God's  care. 

They  wanted,  not  only  their  grievances 
redressed,  but  to  have  the  form  of  their 
government  altered,  insisting  upon  Samu- 
el's inability  to  govern  them,  by  reason  ot 
his  great  age,  as  much  as  upon  the  injus- 
tice of  his  sons.  And  seeing  other  nations 
were  governed  by  kings,  nothing  would 
please  them,  but  they  must  have  a  king. 

This  insolent  demand  was  unplcasing  to 
Samuel,  who,  finding  he  could  not  dis- 
suade them,  consulted  the  Lord ;  who  or- 
dered him  to  give  them  a  king,  as  they 
desired,  but  reproached  them  for  their  in- 
gratitude both  to  him  and  Samuel.  And 
to  warn  them  of  the   dangerous  conse- 


them  up  alive,  before  they  knew  where  they  were, 
while  the  claps  of  thunder,  and  flashes  of  fire  were 
so  violent,  that  their  very  eyes  and  limbs  were 
scorched  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  could  neither 
see  their  way  before  them,  nor  handle  their  arms/ 
— Jewish  Antiq. 


Chap.  XL]  THE  BIBLE. 

quences  of  rejecting  him  and  Samuel  for 
a  king,  he  gave  him  instructions  to  lay 
before  them  what  they  were  to  expect 
from  this  wanton,  fickle  temper:  that  he 
should  enslave  them  and  their  children,* 
by  making  them  subject  to  all  vile  offices; 
that  they  should  be  always  in  arms  and 
tumults,  liable  to  the  inconveniences  of  a 
constant  war,  and  attended  with  heavy 
taxes;  and  that  then  they  should  cry  to 
the  Lord,  but  he  would  not  hear  them. 

Though  Samuel  gave  them  this  solemn 
warning  they  persisted  in  their  resolution, 
positively  saying,  '  We  will  have  a  king 
over  us,  that  we  may  be  like  other  na- 
tions,-]- and  that  our  king  may  judge  us, 
and  go  out  before  us,  and  fight  our  bat- 
tles.' 

Samuel,  seeing  them  so  resolute,  again 
consulted  the  Lord  about  it,  who  bid  him 
answer  their  desire,  and  make  them  a 
king.  Upon  this  Samuel  dismissed  the 
elders  of  Israel  to  their  cities;  and  since 
the  setting  up  of  a  king  at  that  time  was 
but  to  gratify  the  humour  of  a  fickle  peo- 
ple, God  fitted  them  with  a  man  extraor- 
dinary in  his  person,  being  taller  by  the 
head  and  shoulders  than  any  of  the  peo- 
ple. This  was  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  handsome  youth. 

Kish's  asses  being  gone  astray,  he  sent 
his  son  Saul  with  a  servant  to  seek  them:;}: 


24S 


*  This  prediction  was  verified  under  the  admin- 
istration of  Saul,  who,  though  on  his  first  promotion 
to  the  government  of  Israel  he  gave  omens  of  a 
mild  and  gentle  reign,  in  the  latter  part,  when 
under  the  influence  of  jealousy,  and  a  total  dis- 
traction of  mind,  grievously  oppressed  his  subjects, 
and  glutted  his  full  resentment  with  the  innocent 
blood  of  thousands. 

-f-  It  seems  plain,  their  motives  for  asking  a  king 
were  vanity  and  ambition ;  they  thought  themselves 
inferior  to  other  nations,  because  they  were  desti- 
tute of  the  pageantry  of  state.  Their  sensual 
desires  could  not  be  satisfied,  unless  they  saw  a 

f>rince  set  over  them,  shining  in  gold  and  jewels, 
iving  in  a  sumptuous  palace,  attended  with  guards 
richly  habited,  and  appearing  in  great  state;  in 
which  they  supposed  the  chief  glory  of  a  land  to 
consist. 

J  He  was  probably  employed  in  looking  after 
his  father's  cattle;  an  employment  which  was 
exercised  by  the  greatest  personages,  in  the  early 
ages  :  and  in  Judea  asses  were  a  considerable  part 
of  their  substance. 


who  after  much  wandering  about,  came  to 
the  town  of  Ramah-zophim,  Samuel's 
residence,  without  hearing  any  news  of 
what  they  sought  for.  Here  Saul's  ser- 
vant said  to  him,  ■  There  is  a  seer  in  this 
town,  who  may  tell  us  where  the  asses 
are.'  Saul  approved  of  what  his  servant 
proposed,  and  went  into  the  town  inquir- 
ing for  the  seer.  God  had  the  day  before 
given  Samuel  notice  of  Saul's  coming, 
and  declared  to  him  he  was  the  person 
whom  he  had  chosen  to  be  king. 

Saul  meeting  there  with  Samuel,  who 
was  going  up  to  a  high  place,  §  to  offer 
sacrifice,  asked  him  where  was  the  house 
of  the  seer?  Samuel,  understanding 
again  that  he  was  the  person  God  had 
appointed  to  be  king,  answered,  '  I  am 
the  seer:  go  up  with  me  to  this  high 
place;  you  shall  dine  with  me  to-day,  and 
I  will  dismiss  you  to-morrow.  As  for  the 
asses  that  were  lost  three  days  ago,  be  not 
in  pain  for  them,  they  are  found  again.' 
Then  he  assured  him  that  all  the  best 
things  in  Israel  should  be  his;  and  bring- 
ing him  home  with  him,  he  invited  thirty 
persons  to  bear  him  company,  seating 
Saul  above  all  the  other  guests,  and  also 
distinguishing  him  by  setting  before  him 
the  best  of  the  meat. 

Having  entertained  Saul,  Samuel  took 
him  to  a  convenient  place  of  retirement, 
and  had  further  communication  with  him 
there  that  evening ;  and  early  in  the 
morning  calling  him  up,  that  he  might 
dismiss  him,  they  went  out  together;  and 
as  they  were  going  down  towards  the  end 
of  the  city,  Samuel  bid  Saul  order  his 
servant  to  go  before,  ||   but  stand  still  him 

$  In  several  places  of  scripture,  the  Canaanites 
are  said  to  have  had  their  high-places,  whereon 
they  worshipped  their  idols,  but  this  is  the  first 
instance  of  any  belonging  to  the  people  of  God  ; 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  some  learned  men,  that 
this  appointment  of  a  private  or  inferior  place  of 
worship  (even  while  the  ark  and  tabernacle  were 
in  being)  by  so  great  an  authority  as  that  of 
Samuel,  gave  rise  to  tiie  institution  of  synagogues, 
and  proseuchas  in  so  many  places  of  the  kingdom 
afterwards. — Patrick's  Commentary. 

|J  This  was  with  design  to  let  Saul  understand, 
that  what  Samuel  was  about  to  do  was  by  diviu* 


244 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  III. 


self  for  a  while,  that  he  might  show  him 
what  God  had  said  concerning  him. 

The  servant  being  gone  out  of  sight, 
Samuel,  taking  a  vial  of  oil,*  poured  it 
upon  the  head  of  Saul,  and  kissed  him;f 
adding,  that  he  did  this  because  the  Lord 
had  appointed  him  a  prince  over  his  in- 
heritance. 

Then  as  a  token  that  what  he  had  told 
him  was  true,  he  foretold  several  particu- 
lars which  should  happen  to  him  in  his 
return.      That   near    Rachel's   tomb,  he 


appointment ;  and  that  when  they  should  come  to 
cast  lots  among  all  the  tribes,  as  they  after  did, 
Saul  might  not  think  he  was  chosen  king  by  the 
chance  of  a  lot.  Besides,  there  may  be  another 
reason  for  Samuel's  bidding  Saul  to  send  away  his 
servant,  viz.  lest  the  people,  suspecting  Samuel  to 
do  this  by  his  own  will  more  than  the  appointment 
of  God,  should  mutiny.  Therefore  it  was  necessary 
that  this  should  not  be  published  til!  Saul  was 
convinced  that  he  was  chosen  by  God  himself. 

*  We  read  of  no  express  command  for  the 
anointing  of  kings,  and  yet  it  is  plain,  from  the 
parable  of  Jotham,  Judg.  ix.  8.  that  this  was  a 
custom  two  hundred  years  before  this  time.  Why 
oil,  rather  than  any  other  liquid,  was  the  symbol 
of  conveying  a  regal  authority,  we  are  no  where 
informed.  It  is  true,  that  God  directed  Moses  to 
consecrate  Aaron  to  the  high-priest's  office  by 
anointing  his  head  with  oil,  Exod.  xxix.  7.  but 
the  anointing  of  kings,  we  may  presume,  was  of  a 
prior  date.  Unction,  indeed,  in  the  days  of  Jacob, 
was  the  common  method  of  setting  apart  from 
common  use  even  things  inanimate,  Gen.  xxviii. 
18.  and  therefore  it  may  well  be  supposed,  that 
persons  of  such  designation  as  kings  were,  were 
all  along  admitted  by  the  same  ceremony,  which 
might  be  of  divine  appointment,  perhaps  at  the 
first  institution  of  government,  in  the  antediluvian 
world,  and  thence  handed  down,  by  a  long  tradi- 
tion, to  future  generations.  This  rite  of  unction, 
in  short,  was  so  much  the  divine  care,  that  we  rind 
God  giving  Moses  a  prescription  how  to  make  the 
consecrating  oil,  Exod.  xxx.  23.  But  though 
Solomon  was  anointed  with  oil  taken  from  the 
tabernacle,  yet  since  Samuel  was  no  priest,  and 
could  not  therefore  have  access  to  the  tabernacle, 
which  at  this  time  was  at  some  distance  from  him, 
it  is  more  reasonable  to  think — though  some 
Jewish  doctors  will  have  it  otherwise — that  what 
he  made  use  of,  upon  this  occasion,  was  no  more 
than  common  oil. — Patrick's  Commentary, 

f  This  signified  a  communication  of  grace,  and 
a  mutual  concord  between  the  regal  and  sacerdotal 
offices,  a  kiss  being  an  emblem  of  friendship  and 
peace.  Mariana  will  have  it  to  be  a  token  of  sub- 
jection and  homage  ;  but  in  this  case  (however  it 
may  be  in  others)  it  could  not  be  so  in  Samuel 
towards  Saul ;  for  Samuel  was  prince  and  prophet ; 
and  this  act  rather  seems  to  make  Saul  his  equal 
than  his  superior. 


would  meet  two  men,  who  should  inform 
him  that  his  father's  asses  were  found 
again:  that,  departing  thence,  he  should 
meet  three  men  going  to  Bethel,  one  of 
them  carrying  three  kids,  the  second  three 
cakes  of  bread,  and  the  third  a  bottle  of 
wine,  and  that  they  should  give  him  two 
parts  thereof.  And  lastly,  that  when  he 
came  to  the  mountain  of  God,  where  was 
a  garrison  of  the  Philistines,  he  should 
meet  a  company  of  prophets,  going  into 
the  city,  where  the  Spirit  of  God  should 
fall  upon  him,  and  he  should  prophecy 
amongst  them.:}: 

After  this  he  ordered  Saul  to  go  to 
Gilgal,  where  in  seven  days  he  might 
expect  to  see  him,  because  there  Samuel 
intended  to  offer  a  peace-offering.  All 
which  signs  that  Samuel  had  foretold, 
Saul  found  to  happen  exactly. 

And  now,  though  Samuel  had  thus  pri- 
vately anointed  Saul,  which  no  one  knew 
but  themselves,  yet  for  the  general  satis- 
faction of  the  people,  and  that  the  choice 
and  inauguration  of  the  king  might  be 
more  public  and  solemn,  Samuel  called 
them  before  the  Lord  at  Mizpeh,  to  which 
place  the  ark  of  the  Lord  was  brought, 
that  the  choice  might  be  openly  made, 
and  declared  by  casting  lots  among  alJ 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  to  know  from  which 
of  them  the  kinjr  was  to  be  chosen. 

The  lot  fell  on  the  tribe  of  Benjamin; 
and  casting  the  lot  again  among  the 
families  of  Benjamin,  the  lot  fell  upon 
the  family  of  Matri,  and  at  last  on  Saul, 
the  son  of  Kish.  Saul  being  before  as- 
sured that  the  choice  would  fall  on  him, 
was  not  present  at  the  casting  of  the  lot ; 
but  the  people  inquiring  of  the  Lord, 
whether  they  should  fetch  him  or  not,  he 


\  The  accomplishment  of  this  prediction  could 
not  fail  of  convincing  Saul,  that  what  the  prophet 
had  done  was  by  the  immediate  appointment  of 
God  ;  atid  that  the  same  divine  power,  who  had 
exalted  him  to  the  supreme  power  of  Israel,  would 
certainly  endow  him  with  all  those  qualifications 
necessary  to  the  due  execution  and  discharge  of  so 
important  a  trust  ;  and  so  it  really  was,  for  we  are 
told,  '  God  gave  him  another  heart,'  1  Sam.  x.  9 


Chap.  XL] 


THE  BIBLE. 


245 


not  only  consented,  but  expressly  directed 
them  where  to  find  him. 

Accordingly  they  went  for  him;  and 
having  brought  him,  they  set  him  among 
them,  where  he  appeared  taller  than  all 
the  people  from  the  shoulders  upwards; 
which  Samuel  observing,  said  to  them, 
'Behold  him  whom  the  Lord  hath  chosen; 
there  is  none  like  him  among  all  the  peo- 
ple!' At  which  words  the  people  gave 
a  general  shout,  saying,  •  God  save  the 
king.' 

Then  Samuel  told  them  the  duty  of  a 
king,  and  the  manner  of  governing  the 
kingdom,  writing  it  in  a  book,  and  laid  it 
before  the  Lord;  which  done,  he  dis- 
missed the  people,  and  Saul  went  home 
to  Gibeah,  attended  with  a  particular 
company  of  men,  whom  God  had  inclined 
to  wait  on  him.     But  there  were  some* 


*  These  are  called  sons  of  Belial,  that  is,  men 
of  a  rebellious,  proud,  disobedient  spirit,  who, 
though  they  had  desired  a  king,  yet  now  refuse 


that  were  not  pleased  with  the  choice, 
though  they  had  desired  a  king,  but  de- 
spised Saul,  and  would  not  make  any 
presents  to  him;f  which  Saul  observed, 
but  very  prudently  at  that  time  connived 
at  it.'J 


him  ;  desiring  what  they  had  not,  and  despising 
what  they  had.  They  do  not  express  their  con- 
tempt of  him  by  name,  but  do  it  worse,  in  a  more 
general  way,  by  saying,  '  Shall  he  save  us  ?' 

f  Presenting  the  King  with  gifts  was  one  way  of 
recognising  him.  The  Chaldee  paraphrase  says, 
'  They  came  not  to  salute  him,'  which  is  the  same 
thing;  for  the  first  salutation  offered  to  a  king  was 
always  attended  with  presents,  and  carried  with  it 
a  sign  of  peace  and  friendship,  of  congratulation 
and  joy,  and  of  subjection  and  obedience.  It  was 
a  general  custom,  and  still  continues  among  the 
eastern  potentates,  to  bring  presents,  and  not  ap- 
proach the  throne  without  them. 

J  The  Hebrews  say  he  was  deaf,  that  is,  seemed 
or  pretended  not  to  hear.  In  which  he  was  very 
politic,  being  unwilling  to  begin  his  reign  with  any 
tumult,  which  his  just  resentment  of  such  an 
affront  might  have  occasioned:  if  he  had  taken 
any  notice  of  the  affront  and  not  revenged  it,  he 
had  shown  himself  mean-spirited  ;  and  if  he  had 
resented  it,  the  people  might  have  been  apt  to 
charge  him  with  severity  and  cruelty. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    IV. 


FROM  SAUL'S  CONQUEST  OF  THE  AMMONITES  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ABSALOM. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

No  government  can  be  imagined  more 
happy,  more  safe,  more  free,  more  hon- 
ourable, than  that  wherein  the  fountain 
of  all  wisdom  and  power,  of  all  justice 
and  goodness,  presides;  and  therefore  the 
least  that  we  can  say  of  the  Israelites,  in 
desiring  to  change  this  form  for  such  a  one 
as  was  in  use  in  the  nations  round  about 
them,  namely,  for  an  absolute  and  des- 
potic government,  where  the  princes  were 
tyrants,  and  the  subjects  all  slaves,  argues 
at  least  a  great  pitch  of  folly  and  indiscre- 
tion, a  baseness  of  mind,  an  ingratitude  of 
temper,  a  spirit  of  rebellion,  and  a  secret 
attachment  to  the  idolatrous  practices  of 
those  people  whose  kings  they  were  so 
eager  to  imitate.  For,  '  Make  us  a  king 
to  judge  us,'  was  equivalent  in  their 
mouths  to  what  their  forefathers  demand- 
ed of  Aaron,  'Make  us  gods,  that  they 
may  go  before  us;'  because  in  this  man- 
ner, he,  who  best  knew  the  secrets  of  their 
hearts,  in  his  answer  to  Samuel,  has  ex- 
pounded their  meaning:  'They  have  not 
rejected  thee,  but  they  have  rejected  me, 
that  I  should  not  reign  over  them;  accord- 
ing to  all  the  works  which  they  have  done 
since  the  day  that  I  brought  them  up  out 
of  Egypt,  even  unto  this  day,  they  have 
forsaken  me  and  served  other  gods.'     The 


manner  in  which  they  demanded  a  king 
was  no  less  culpable  than  the  ends  they 
proposed  by  it;  for,  instead  of  consulting 
God  upon  an  affair  of  this  consequence, 
they  went  hastily  to  Samuel,  and  when, 
by  fair  remonstrances,  he  is  attempting 
to  dissuade  them  from  so  dangerous  an 
enterprise,  they  turn  impetuously  upon 
him,  and  say,  '  Nay,  but  we  will  have  a 
king;'  and  this  maybe  the  reason,  per- 
haps, why  '  God  gave  them  one  in  his 
anger,'  descended  of  the  meanest  tribe  in 
Israel,  and  of  the  meanest  family  in  that 
tribe,  to  show  them  that  he  himself  was 
not  satisfied  with  their  proceedings,  nor 
could  be  pleased  with  any  thing  that  was 
extorted  from  him  by  undutiful  impor- 
tunities.* 

The  regal  government,  however,  though 
originating  in  the  perverse  impiety  and 
folly  of  the  Israelites,  was  so  regulated 
and  guarded  by  the  divine  law  as  to  pro- 
mise the  greatest  public  benefits.  The 
kings  of  Israel  were  merely  the  viceroys 
of  Jehovah,  who  was  the  sole  legislator; 
and  therefore,  as  they  could  on  no  occa- 
sion either  enact  a  new  law  or  alter  or 
repeal  an  old  one,  the  government  contin- 
ued to  be  a  theocracy,  as  well  under  their 
permanent  administration  as  it  was  under 

*  Stackhouse. 


Chap.  I.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


247 


the  occasional  administration  of  the  judges. 
The  only  difference  that  can  be  discover- 
ed between  the  two  species  of  government 
is,  that  the  conduct  of  the  judges  was 
generally  directed  by  Urim;  and  that  of 
the  kings  either  by  the  inspiration  of  God 
vouchsafed  to  themselves,  or  by  prophets 
raised  up  from  time  to  time  to  reclaim 
them  when  deviating  from  their  duty  as 
laid  down  by  the  law. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Saul's  first  exploit. — SamueVs  address  to  the 
people. — Saul  conquers  the  Philistines. — Is 
reproved  by  Samuel  for  sacrificing  in  his 
absence. — Effects  of  his  imprudent  conduct  in 
divers  instances. —  God  makes  known  his  de- 
sign towards  David  to  Samuel. — David  is 
•  enabled  by  the  divine  strength  to  perform 
miraculous  feats  of  valour. — He  excites  the 
jealousy  of  Saul,  who  seeks  his  life. — Is  pre- 
served by  Jonathan. 

The  first  remarkable  action  of  Said,  after 
his  promotion  to  the  government  of  Israel, 
was,  his  conquest  over  Nahash,  king  of 
the  Ammonites,  who  had  besieged  Jabesh- 
Gilead,*  and  so  distressed  the  inhabitants, 
that  in  consequence  of  the  cruel  terms 
which  he  had  proposed  for  showing  them 
quarter,  which  were,  that  every  man 
should  have  his  right  eye  put  <>ut,f  they 
applied  to  the  king  of  Israel  to  relieve 
them  from  so  tyrannical  an  oppressor. 

The  people  of  Jabesh  had  no  more  than 
seven  days  X  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  Isra- 


*  This  town  lay  on  the  east  side  of  Jordan,  and 
not  far  from  the  Ammonites  who  besieged  it. 
Eusebius  and  St  Jerome  tell  us  that  it  existed  in 
their  time,  and  was  sitnated  on  a  hill  about  six 
miles  distant  from  Pella.  It  is  sometimes  in  scrip- 
ture simply  called  Jabesh. 

f  As  the  manner  of  fighting  in  those  days  was 
chiefly  with  bow  and  arrow,  sword  and  shield,  the 
loss  of  the  right  eye  rendered  them  incapable  of 
either.  He  did  not  think  proper  to  put  out  both 
their  eyes,  because  they  would  then  have  been 
utterly  incapable  of  rendering  him  any  service,  or 
paying  him  tribute. 

j;  He  had  so  mean  an  opinion  of  the  people, 
that  he  made  no  difficulty  of  complying  with  their 
request.  Saul,  indeed,  had  been  appointed  king  ; 
but  so  small  a  space  of  time  before,  that  Nahash 
was  persuaded  be  could  not  levy  an  army  in  so  short 


elites,  who,  in  obedience  to  the  king's 
proclamation,  mustered  an  army  of  three 
hundred  thousand,  which,  together  with 
the  thirty  thousand  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
formed  a  very  powerful  body. 

Saul,  having  disposed  his  forces  in  three 
parties,  surprised  the  unprepared  Ammon- 
ites, at  the  earliest  dawn,  and  charged 
them  with  such  fury,  that  victory  soon 
declared  itself  in  his  favour. 

This  important  conquest  over  so  for- 
midable and  cruel  an  enemy  greatly 
enhanced  the  reputation  of  Saul,  and 
induced  some  of  his  favourites  to  request, 
that  he  would  exert  the  power  he  had 
now  obtained  in  the  punishment  of  those 
who  had  treated  him  with  indignity  at  his 
election ;  but  the  king  nobly  waved  such 
mean  revenge,  nor  would  sully  the  glory 
of  a  memorable  exploit,  by  the  death  of 
any  one  Israelite,  for  whom  among  the 
rest,  the  Lord  had  that  day  wrought  so 
great  salvation. 

Saul's  signal  success  afforded  Samuel 
a  very  good  opportunity  of  reconciling  a 
late  difference  among  the  people,  by  pro- 
posing to  them  a  general  agreement  con- 
cerning the  validity  of  his  title  to  the 
government,  as  well  as  confirmation  of  his 
election,  by  an  avowed  recognisance  of 
his  power.  To  effect  this  important  de- 
sign, he  summoned  a  general  assembly  at 
Gilgal,  and  in  a  very  pathetic  address, 
first  appealed  to  them  all,  as  to  the  integ- 
rity of  his  conduct,  during  the  time  of  his 
administration ;  then  charged  them  with 
their  own  ingratitude,  and  that  of  their 
ancestors;  and  lastly,  assured  them  of  the 
divine  resentment  that  would  inevitably 
follow  the  transgression  of  the  divine 
command,  which  could  be  in  no  instance 
more  flagrant  than  in  rejecting  the  gov- 
ernment of  God,  and  him  under  Got!, 
and   desiring   a   king,§    when    the    Lord 


a  space  as  seven  days,  and,  consequently,  that  there 
was  no  danger  in  granting  them  the  respite  they 
desired. 

$  The  divine  historian,  having  informed  us  how 
God  consented  to  give  his  people  a  king;  to  show 


248 


HISTORY  OF 


TBook  IV. 


Omnipotent    had    undertaken    to    direct 
them. 

To  strike  them  more  deeply  with  a 
sense  of  their  atrocious  crime,  Samuel 
called  down  the  present  vengeance  of 
their  offended  God  in  a  storm  of  thunder 
and  rain,  at  the  time  of  wheat-harvest.* 
This  extraordinary  event  terrified  them 
in  general,  and  deeply  sensible  of  their 
transgression,  they  entreated  Samuel  to 
implore  the  divine  mercy,  and  intercede 


us  that  he  had  not  cast  off  the  government,  but 
only  transferred  the  immediate  administration  to 
a  deputy,  and  consequently  that  their  king  was  his 
viceroy,  tells  us  here  how  God  was  pleased  to 
bring  them  to  repentance  in  an  extraordinary  way; 
the  gracious  method  b/*  commonly  employed,  when 
he  intended  to  pardon. 

*  The  wheat-harvest  began  in  Judea  about  the 
end  of  June,  or  beginning  of  July;  in  which  season 
thunder  and  rain  were  seldom  known,  but  only  in 
the  spring  and  autumn,  one  called  the  former,  and 
the  other  the  latter  rain.  Though  the  summer  in 
Syria  is  commonly  dry,  the  heavens  are  sometimes 
overcast,  and  a  smart  thunder  shower  suddenly 
rushes  down  to  refresh  the  parched  soil.  One  of 
these  fell  at  Aleppo  in  the  night  between  the  first 
and  second  of  July  1743;  but  it  was  regarded  as  a 
very  uncommon  occurrence  at  that  season.  It  is 
probably  still  more  extraordinary  at  Jerusalem  ; 
for  Jerome,  who  lived  long  in  Palestine,  denies,  in 
his  commentary  on  Amos,  that  he  had  ever  seen 
rain  in  those  provinces,  and  especially  in  Judea,  in 
the  end  of  June,  or  in  the  month  of  July.  It  may, 
however,  Occasionally  fall,  though  Jerome  had 
never  seen  it,  as  it  did  at  Aleppo,  while  Dr  Russel 
resided  in  that  city.  But  such  an  occurrence,  by 
no  means  invalidates  the  proof  which  the  prophet 
Samuel  gave  of  his  divine  mission,  when  he  called 
for  thunder  and  rain  from  heaven  in  the  time  of 
wheat-harvest ;  since  a  very  rare  and  unusual 
event  immediately  happening  without  any  preced- 
ing appearance  of  it,  upon  the  prediction  of  a 
person  professing  himself  to  be  a  prophet  of  the 
Lord,  and  giving  it  as  an  attestation  of  his  sustain- 
ing that  character,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  his 
affirmation  is  true,  although  a  similar  event  has 
sometimes  happened  without  any  such  declared 
interposition  of  God,  and  therefore  universally 
understood  to  be  casual  and  without  design.  Nor 
should  it  be  forgotten,  that  this  thunder  storm  in 
the  book  of  Samuel,  seems  to  have  happened  in 
the  day  time,  while  the  people  of  Israel  were 
celebrating  the  accession  of  Saul  to  the  throne;  a 
circumstance  which,  from  its  singularity,  added 
considerable  energy  to  this  event,  and,  perhaps, 
was  to  them  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  miraculous 
interference  of  Jehovah.  Dr  Russel  informs  us, 
that  the  rains  in  those  countries  usually  fall  in  the 
night,  as  did  those  extraordinary  thunder  storms 
already  mentioned,  which  happened  in  the  month 
of  July.— Paxton. 


with  God  to  avert  the  judgments  they  so 
justly  deserved. 

Rejoiced  at  the  effect  of  this  miraculous 
display  of  Almighty  power,  he  not  only 
promised  compliance  with  their  request, 
but  assured  them  that  he  was  sincerely 
disposed  to  instruct  them  in  their  duty, 
the  neglect  of  which  would  involve  both 
them  and  their  king  in  inevitable  de- 
struction. 

Saul,  having  obtained  a  complete  vic- 
tory over  the  Ammonites,  dismissed  his 
forces,  reserving  only  three  thousand,  two 
of  which  he  retained  at  Michmash  as  his 
own  bodyguard,  and  appointed  the  other  for 
the  protection  of  his  son  Jonathan  at  Gibeah. 

Jonathan,  being  a  valiant  young  prince, 
attacked  and  cut  off  a  garrison  of  the 
Philistines  in  a  neighbouring  city;  and 
this  being  deemed  an  act  of  hostility, 
proved  the  cause  of  an  open  rupture  be- 
tween that  people  and  the  Israelites. 

In  order  therefore  to  avenge  themselves 
of  the  injury  they  had  sustained  from  the 
king's  son,  the  Philistines  raised  a  vast 
army,  which,  besides  an  almost  innumer- 
able body  of  foot,  consisted  of  three 
thousand  chariots,  f  and  six  thousand  horse, 


f  The  words  in  the  original,  and  in  our  transla- 
tion, are  'thirty  thousand;'  but  the  Syriac  and 
Arabic  versions  (which  we  have  thought  proper  to 
follow)  make  them  no  more  than  three  thousand  i 
and  indeed  whoever  considers,  that  Pharaoh,  king 
of  Egypt,  when  he  had  mustered  all  his  forces  to- 
gether, could  bring  no  more  than  six  hundred  ot 
these  chariots  into  the  field,  and  all  the  other 
princes,  whose  equipages  are  related  in  scripture, 
much  fewer,  must  needs  think  it  a  thing  incredible 
that  the  Philistines,  out  of  their  small  territories, 
which  extended  no  farther  than  the  two  tribes  of 
Simeon  and  Dan,  along  the  coasts  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea,  could  ever  be  able  to  raise  so  vast  an 
armament  ;  no,  nor  all  the  nations  that  they  could 
possibly  call  in  to  their  assistance.  For,  besides 
that,  in  the  account  of  all  armies,  the  cavalry  is 
always  more  numerous  than  the  chariots  of  war, 
(which  is  different  here)  the  largest  armies  that 
we  ever  read  of,  were  able  to  compass  a  very  few 
of  these  chariots,  in  comparison  of  the  number 
here  specified.  Mithridates,  in  his  vast  army,  had 
but  a  hundred  ;  Darius  but  two ;  and  Antiochus 
Epiplianes  (2  Mac.  xiii.  2.)  but  three.  So  that 
we  must  either  say,  that  the  transcribers  made  a 
mistake  in  the  Hebrew  copy,  or  (with  some  other 
commentators)  suppose,  that  this  thirty  thousand 
chariots   were  not  chariot*   of  war,  but  moit  of 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  D1BLE. 


249 


with  which  they  proceeded  and  encamped 
at  Michmash.* 

Saul  therefore  by  sound  of  trumpet 
mustered  his  forces,  and  with  them  en- 
camped at  Gilgal,  impatiently  waiting  the 
arrival  of  Samuel ;  but  as  the  prophet 
tarried  longer  than  was  expected,  the  peo- 
ple were  so  disheartened  by  his  delay, 
that  they  hid  themselves  in  rocks  and 
caves;  and  not  thinking  themselves  se- 
cure even  in  those  retirements,  passed  the 
river  Jordan. 

Saul,  fearing  an  attack  from  the  enemy 
before  he  had  sent  up  his  prayer  to  God, 
from  whom  alone  he  could  expect  success, 
ordered  sacrifices  immediately  to  be  made, 
and  the  burnt-offering  was  just  finished 
the  moment  Samuel  arrived. 

As  the  prophet  had  previously  assured 
him  that  he  would  be  with  him  at  Gilgal 
v/ithin  the  space  of  seven  days,  and  the 
conduct  of  the  king  argued  both  distrust 
and  ingratitude ;  the  prophet  severely 
censured  his  behaviour  as  a  heinous  breach 
of  God's  command,  by  which  he  would 
incur  the  loss  of  his  kingdom,  which  should 
be  transferred  to  a  more  pious  person. 

Having  thus  reprimanded  the  disobe- 
dience of  Saul,  Samuel  left  Gilgal,  and 
repaired  to  Gibeah,  where  he  was  follow- 
ed by  the  king  and  his  son,  with  a  small 
army  of  about  six  thousand  men,  and  those 
so  badly  furnished  with  military  accoutre- 


them  carriages  only,  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
baggage  belonging  to  such  a  vast  multitude  of 
men,  or  for  the  deportation  of  the  plunder  they 
hoped  to  be  masters  of  by  having  conquered  the 
country. — Le  Clerc's  Commentary,  and  Univer- 
sal History. 

*  Eusebius  and  St  Jerome  inform  us,  that  in 
their  time  there  was  a  large  town  of  this  name 
lying  about  nine  miles  from  Jerusalem,  near  Ra- 
mah  ;  and  the  text  tells  us  that  it  was  eastward 
from  Bethaven.  Now  Bethaven,  which  signifies 
the  house  of  iniquity,  is  supposed  to  be  the  same 
with  Bethel,  and  was  so  called,  after  that  Jerobo- 
am, the  son  of  Nebat,  had  set  up  his  golden  calves 
to  be  worshipped  here:  but,  as  Bethel  lay  to  the 
east  of  Michmash,  and  not  Michmash  to  the  east 
of  Bethel,  as  the  text  seems  to  say,  the  translation 
should  be,  that  they  encamped  at  Michmash,  hav- 
ing Bethaven  on  the  east,  that  is,  they  seized  on 
that  post,  which  Saul  had  before  in  Michmash,  on 
mount  Bethel. —  CalmeVs  Commentary. 


ments,  that  they  were  reduced  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  using  their  implements  of  agri- 
culture, because  the  Philistines  had  cau- 
tiously prevented  a  single  smith  from  re- 
siding among  them.f 

During  the  encampment  of  the  Philis- 
tines at  Michmash,  detachments  were  sent 
out  from  amongst  them  to  plunder  the 
country  ;  and  they  continued  their  depre- 
dations some  time  unopposed ;  till  Jona- 
than, happily  inspired  with  a  religious 
confidence  and  genuine  patriotism,  pri- 
vately withdrew  from  the  camp,  attended 
by  his  armour-bearer  only,  to  whom  he 
had  imparted  his  design,  and  found  means 
to  ascend  a  steep  and  craggy  rock,  which 


f  The  precaution  which  the  Philistines  took  to 
hinder  the  Israelites  from  providing  themselves 
with  weapons,  is  no  more  than  what  other  con- 
querors have  done  to  the  nations  they  have  van- 
quished. Porsenna,  when  he  made  peace  with 
the  Romans,  restrained  them  from  the  use  of  all 
iron,  but  what  was  necessary  in  the  tillage  of  their 
ground.  Cyrus,  when  he  subdued  the  Lydians, 
for  fear  of  a  revolt,  took  from  them  the  use  of 
arms,  and  instead  of  a  laborious  life  spent  in  war, 
suffered  them  to  sink  into  softness  and  luxury,  so 
that  they  soon  lost  their  ancient  valour  :  and  (to 
instance  in  one  prince  more)  Nebuchadnezzar, 
when  he  had  made  himself  master  of  Judea,  took 
along  with  him  into  Babylon  '  all  the  craftsmen 
and  smiths,'  that  the  poorest  of  the  people,  which 
he  left,  behind,  might  be  in  no  condition  to  rebel, 
2  Kings  xxiv.  14.  The  only  w&nder  is,  why  the 
Israelites,  after  they  had  regained  their  liberty 
under  the  government  of  Samuel,  and  given  the 
Philistines  so  total  an  overthrow  at  Ebenezer,  did 
not  restore  these  artificers,  and  so  provide  them- 
selves with  proper  arms  against  the  next  occasion. 
But,  besides  the  extreme  sloth  and  negligence, 
which  appears  in  the  Israelites'  whole  conduct 
during  this  period,  it  was  not  so  easy  a  matter,  in 
so  short  a  time,  to  recover  a  trade  that  was  lost;, 
especially  among  a  people  that  had  no  iron  mines, 
and  were  so  wholly  addicted  to  the  feeding  of. 
cattle  that  they  made  no  account  of  any  mechani- 
cal arts.  In  the  famous  victory  which  they  gain- 
ed over  Sisera,  we  are  told,  that  '  there  was  not  a 
shield  or  spear  seen  among  fifty  thousand  men  of 
Israel,'  Judg.  v.  8.;  but,  notwithstanding  this,  they 
had  bows,  and  arrows,  and  slings,  which  the  men- 
of  Gibeah  could  manage  to  a  wonderful  advantage, 
Judg.  xx.  16.  And  besides  these,  the  Israelites,, 
upon  this  occasion,  might  convert  their  instruments 
of  husbandry,  their  hatchets,  their  spades,  their 
forks,  their  mattocks, &c,  into  instruments  of  war; 
a  much  better  shift  than  what  we  read  of  some, 
who,  in  ancient  times,  had  no  other  arms  than 
clubs,  and  sharpened  stakes  hardened  in  the  fire. 
— Stackhouse. 

Si 


250 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


as  soon  as  tliey  had  surmounted,  they  fell 
most  furiously  on  the  Philistines,  who 
had  not  the  least  apprehension  of  an  in- 
vasion, and  through  their  great  surprise, 
slew  twenty  of  their  inveterate  foes.* 
This  intrepid  attack  from  only  two  men 
put  the  Philistines,  in  such  consternation, 
that,  not  distinguishing  friends  from  ene- 
mies, they  fell  upon  each  other's  swords, 
and  thus  became  the  instruments  of  their 
own  destruction. 

As  soon  as  Saul  received  intelligence  of 
this  confusion  in  the  enemy's  camp,  he 
immediately  availed  himself  of  the  favour- 
able opportunity,  and  fell  upon  the  dis- 
ordered Philistines  with  such  fury,  that  he 
put  them  to  a  total  defeat.  But  he  was 
unhappily  guilty  of  another  flagrant  breach 
of  piety  and  prudence  after  this  auspicious 
event ;  for,  determined  on  a  vigorous  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  he  prohibited  his  peo- 
ple, on  the  severe  penalty  of  death,  from 
taking  any  refreshment  before  night,  lest 
they  might  be  prevented  from  massacring 
their  vanquished  foes.  This  rash  deter- 
mination deprived  him  of  every  advantage 
that  would  otherwise  have  resulted  from 
the  victory;  for  his  people,  enfeebled  by 
want  of  sustenance,  were  obliged  to  desist 
from  the  pursuit,  and  thereby  afforded  the 
enemy  an  opportunity  of  escaping  to  their 
own  country. 

To  aggravate    the   ills  consequent  on 


*  How  Jonathan  and  his  armour-bearer  only 
could  put  the  whole  army  of  the  Philistines  into 
so  universal  a  consternation,  appears,  at  first  sight, 
very  extraordinary ;  but  when  we  consider  that 
they  climbed  up  a  way  never  before  attempted, — 
that  they  surprised  the  enemy  unawares,  and  per- 
haps when  the  greatest  part  of  them  were  asleep, 
— that  this  army,  being  composed  of  different  na- 
tions, might  entertain  jealousies  and  suspicions  of 
■each  other, — and  that  the  darkness  of  the  night 
•might  make  them  apprehend  the  whole  body  of 
the  Israelites  was  come  upon  them  alone,  the  fright 
of  the  Philistines  is  not  so  very  surprising :  and 
when  we  add  to  all  this,  what  is  not  indeed  im- 
probable, that  God  might  at  this  instant  infuse  a 
panic  fear  into  the  whole  host,  our  wonder  will  be 
turned  into  praise  and  adoration  of  that  powerful 
Being,  who,  when  he  sees  fit,  can  make  the  greatest 
heroes  tremble,  and  put  to  flight  the  most  formid- 
able armies. 


this  misguided  prohibition,  the  pious  and 
valiant  Jonathan  had  well  nigh  fallen  a 
victim  to  his  father's  rash  vow ;  for  being 
absent  from  the  camp  at  the  time  of  the 
proclamation,  and  therefore  ignorant  of  it, 
he  eat  a  little  honeyf  when  almost  fam- 
ished, and  would  have  undergone  the 
cruel  sentence,  had  not  the  people  pleaded 
in  his  behalf  the  important  share  he  had 
in  acquiring  the  honours  of  the  day. 

Saul  elated  with  his  success  wantonly 
resolved  to  pursue  the  enemy  by  night; 
but  Samuel  advised  him  to  seek  direction 
of  God  before  the  execution  of  his  pro- 
posal; so  that  this  scheme  was  entirely 
given  up. 

Notwithstanding  many  improprieties  in 
point  of  government,  he  still  maintained 
his  regal  authority,  and  the  Lord  had  ap- 
pointed him  to  an  expedition,  which,  if 
executed  according  to  his  directions,  would 
in  some  measure  have  atoned  for  past  mis- 
carriages. The  Lord  had  many  years 
before  determined  to  execute  his  judg- 
ment on  the  Amalekites  for  opposing  the 
Israelites  in  their  passage  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

Samuel  was  therefore  sent  by  God,  with 
a  commission  to  Saul  in  the  most  per- 
emptory   terms,    to   extirpate    the   whole 


■f-  This  was  wild  honey,  which  is  now  to  be 
found  in  great  abundance  in  the  deserts  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Apparently,  it  could  not  be  palm-honey 
which  Jonathan  found  ;  for  it  was  a  honey-comb, 
and  so  far  out  of  his  reach  that  it  required  the  put- 
ting forth  the  end  of  the  rod  that  was  in  his  hand, 
to  be  able  to  dip  it  into  the  refreshing  delicacy. 
There  is,  however,  a  vegetable  honey  that  is  very 
plentiful  in  the  East.  Burckhardt,  speaking  of 
the  productions  of  the  Ghor,  or  valley  of  the  Jor- 
dan, says,  "  One  of  the  most  interesting  productions 
of  this  place  is  the  Beyrouk  honey,  or  as  the  Arabs 
call  it,  Assal  Beyrouk."  It  was  described  to  him 
as  a  juice  dropping  from  the  leaves  and  twigs  of  a 
tree  called  gharrab,  of  the  size  of  an  olive  tree, 
with  leaves  like  those  of  the  poplar,  but  somewhat 
broader.  The  honey  collects  upon  the  leaves  like 
dew,  and  is  gathered  from  them,  or  from  the 
ground  under  the  tree,  which  is  often  Jound  com- 
pletely covered  with  it.  It  is  very  sweet  when 
fresh,  but  turns  sour  after  being  kept  for  two  days. 
The  Arabs  eat  it  with  butter ;  they  also  put  it 
into  their  gruel,  and  use  it  in  rubbing  their  water- 
skins,  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the  air. —  CaU 
met. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


251 


race  of  the  Amalekites,  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  with  them  every  living  crea- 
ture, that  could  minister  to  use  or  susten- 
ance :*  but  instead  of  punctually  comply- 
ing with  the  divine  command,  Saul,  with 
his  usual  impiety,  partially  saved  Agag, 
king  of  that  people,  together  with  the  best 
of  his  cattle,  and  many  valuable  commo- 
dities; and  when  Samuel  remonstrated 
with  him  on  the  iniquity  of  his  conduct, 
to  exculpate  himself,  pretended  that  he 
had  spared  them  from  the  pious  motive  of 
offering  them  as  sacrifices  to  the  Lord. 

But  the  prophet,  assured  that  this  re- 
serve proceeded  from  a  principle  of  avarice 
rather  than  piety,  would  not  admit  of  so 
vain  a  pretence;  first  set  before  his  view 
the  heinous  nature  of  his  transgression, 
and  then  declared  to  him  God's  awful  de- 
termination of  transferring  the  kingdom 
from  his  family  to  a  more  worthy  race, 
which  should  punctually  obey  every  com- 
mand of  the  King  of  kings. 

Impressed  by  this  declaration,  the  guilty 
king  confessed  his  crime,  earnestly  begged 
the  pious  prophet  to  deprecate  in  his  be- 
half the  divine  vengeance,  and  make  in- 
tercession for  him  ;f  and  also  to  enhance 


*  The  extirpation  of  the  Amalekites  had  been 
determined  by  God  above  four  hundred  years  be- 
fore this  transaction.  Balaam  in  his  vision  con- 
firms this  doom.  The  order  to  cut  them  entirely 
off  was  renewed  by  God  several  years  afterwards, 
and  agreeable  to  this  order,  Saul  set  out  on  this 
expedition.  It  may  be  observed  also,  that  they 
continued  inveterate  enemies  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
joined  with  their  adversaries,  whenever  they  could, 
to  enslave  and  destroy  them  ;  particularly  with  the 
Midianites,  Judg.  vi.  2,  3,  33.  Nay,  this  very 
order  to  Saul,  utterly  to  destroy  them,  seems  to 
have  been  given  because  they  had,  together  with 
Moab,  Edom,  the  kings  of  Zobah,  and  the  Philis- 
tines, invaded  and  spoiled  them  ;  chap.  xiv.  48. 
The  Israelites,  therefore,  had  a  right  to  revenge 
themselves  on  them,  as  they  were  aggressors  by  the 
law  of  nature  and  nations,  and  utterly  to  extirpate 
them  too,  if  that  was  necessary  for  their  own  pre- 
servation ;  and  were  obliged  to  do  it,  if  God  com- 
manded them.  God  did  command  it.  And  will 
any  man  dispute  the  right  of  God  to  destroy  an 
incorrigible  nation,  by  pestilence,  earthquake, 
Storm,  or  famine  ?  As  no  sensible  person  can 
deny  this,  how  then  can  he  deny  the  right  of  God 
to  destroy  them  by  the  sword  ? 

f  The  Vulgate  renders,  *  Bear  my  sin  ;'  the  Sep- 
tuagint  and  Arabic,  '  Take  away  my  siu.'     By  sin 


his  reputation  among  the  people  (who 
were  ripe  for  rebellion)  to  join  with  him 
in  the  solemn  worship  of  God. 

Samuel  would  not  join  in  worship  with 
one  who  had  rejected  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  and  therefore  prepared  to  depart, 
when  Saul  caught  hold  of  the  skirt  of  his 
mantle,  and  rent  it;  whereupon  Samuel 
prophesied,  that  the  Lord  in  like  manner 
had  rent  the  kingdom  from  him. 

At  length,  however,  Samuel  was  in- 
duced, by  his  hearty  contrition,  to  comply 
with  his  request :  but  before  he  departed, 
he  insisted  that  Agag  (who  began  to  en- 
tertain hopes  of  being  spared)  should  be 
brought  to  him ;  which  being  done,  he 
fell  upon  him ;  and  with  his  own  hand 
hewed  him  in  pieces  before  the  Lord4 

After  this  transaction  Samuel  departed 
to  his  own  habitation  at  Ramah ;  Saul  re- 
paired to  his  residence  at  Gibeah,  and 
this  proved  the  last  interview  between  the 
king  and  the  prophet. 


is  meant  the  punishment  due  to  his  sin  ;  and  his 
request  to  Samuel  is,  to  pray  to  the  Deity  for  him 
that  he  might  escape  that  punishment. 

J  This  punishment  seems  to  have  been  extreme- 
ly common  in  Abyssinia  when  Mr  Bruce  was 
there,  and  was  probably  handed  down  from  the 
founders  of  that  kingdom  :  "  Coming  across  the 
market  place,"  says  the  traveller,  "  I  had  seen  Za 
Mariam,  the  Ras's  door-keeper,  with  three  men 
bound,  one  of  whom  he  fell  a  hacking  to  pieces  in 
my  presence  ;  and  upon  seeing  me  running  across 
the  place,  stopping  my  nose,  he  called  me  to  stay 
till  he  should  despatch  the  other  two,  for  he  want- 
ed to  speak  with  me,  as  if  he  had  been  engaged 
about  ordinary  business  ;  that  the  soldiers,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  haste,  immediately  fell  upon  the 
other  two,  whose  cries  were  still  remaining  in  my 
eare  ;  that  the  hyaenas  at  night  would  scarcely  let 
me  pass  in  the  streets,  when  I  returned  from  the 
palace  ;  and  the  dogs  fled  into  my  house,  to  eat 
pieces  of  human  carcases  at  their  leisure."  This 
account  elucidates  the  mode  of  execution  adopted 
by  the  prophet  Samuel,  in  relation  to  Agag,  the 
king  of  Amalek :  *  And  Samuel  said,  as,  (or,  in 
the  same  identical  mode)  thy  sword  hath  made 
women  childless,  so  shall  thy  mother  be  childless 
among  women.  And  Samuel  hewed  Agag  in 
pieces  before  the  Lord  in  Gilgal.'  This  was  not 
a  sudden  and  passionate  act  of  vengeance,  but  a 
deliberate  act  of  retributive  justice.  That  savage 
chieftain  had  hewed  many  prisoners  to  death ;  and 
therefore,  by  the  command  of  Jehovah,  the  judge 
of  all  the  earth,  he  is  visited  with  the  same  punish- 
ment which  he  had  cruelly  used  towards  others.— 
Paxton. 


252 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


Such  was  the  regard  of  pious  Samu*u 
for  the  unhappy  Saul,  that  though  he 
visited  him  no  more,  he  did  not  fail  to 
lament  the  deplorable  state  into  which  he 
had  fallen.* 

But  during  his  melancholy  reflection, 
the  Lord  was  pleased  to  reprove  him  for 
mourning  over  one  whom  he  had  rejected 
for  his  disobedience,  and  ordered  him  to 
repair  to  Bethlehem,  under  pretence  of 
sacrificing  there,  to  invite  Jesse  and  his 
sons  to  the  feast  of  the  sacrifice,  and  do  as 
he  should  there  direct  him. 

Samuel  instantly  obeyed  the  divine 
command,  and  being  demanded,  on  his 
approach  to  Bethlehem,  whether  he  came 
with  good  intent,  he  answered,  that  he 
came  in  order  to  hold  a  feast  of  sacrifice 
unto  the  Lord. 

Having  made  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions, he  particularly  invited  Jesse  and 
his  sons ;  after  which,  repairing  to  his 
house,  and  observing  Eliab  the  eldest  to 
be  a  goodly  person,  he  supposed  him,  at 
first  sight,  to  be  the  person  appointed  by 
God  to  succeed  Saul  in  the  government 
of  Israel. 

But  being  instructed  otherwise  by  God, 
and  finding  that  Jesse  had  another  son, 
who  was  watching  the  sheep  in  the  field, 
he  desired  he  might  be  immediately  sent 
for,  being  determined  not  to  institute  the 
feast  before  his  arrival. 

When  the  youth  came,  Samuel  perceiv- 
ed by  his  comely,  yet  innocent  look,  that 
he  was  the  very  person  appointed  by  God 
to  that  high  office,  and  therefore,  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  instruction,  he  singled 
him  out  from  the  rest  of  his  brethren, 
poured  oil  on  his  head,  and  anointed  him.f 


*  He  had  a  sincere  value  for  his  country,  and 
therefore  could  not  help  lamenting  the  sad  condi- 
tion of  its  king. 

+  He  singled  him  out  from  the  rest,  and  private- 
ly anointed  him  ;  for  it  is  plain,  from  what  is  said 
before,  that  Samuel  was  afraid  to  have  it  known, 
and  therefore  did  not  anoint  him  publicly  in  the 
midst  of  his.  brethren.  And  by  Eliab's  treatment 
of  David  after  this,  I  Sam.  xvii.  28,  it  is  evident 
that  he  did  not  know  him  to  be  anointed  king  over 


From  that  very  instant,  David  was  en- 
dowed with  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  with 
prudence,  courage,  and  every  ornament  of 
body  and  mind,  necessary  to  compose  a 
great  prince. 

As  David  daily  grew  in  the  favour  of 
the  Lord,  Saul  declined  more  and  more, 
the  .Spirit  of  God  departed  from  him,  and 
his  mind  was  agitated  by  the  most  per- 
plexing reflections  on  his  dire  circum- 
stances, which  frequently  deprived  him 
of  his  reason,  and  threw  him  into  an  ab- 
solute frenzy. 

To  alleviate  his  grief,  some  of  his  at- 


Israel.  David  himself  might  be  as  ignorant  of  the 
precise  intention  of  Samuel  in  this  ceremony  as 
his  brethren,  because  it  was  customary  to  anoint 
a  person  for  the  prophetic  office  as  well  as  the 
regal.  Samuel's  not  revealing  this  secret  to  David, 
showed  his  prudence,  because,  if  it  had  got  wind 
before  the  proper  crisis,  it  would  have  endangered 
both  their  lives. — Where  the  kingdom  was  here- 
ditary, as  that  of  Judah  was,  every  king  was  not 
anointed,  but  only  the  first  of  the  family  ;  who 
being  anointed  for  himself  and  all  his  successors 
of  the  same  family,  they  required  no  other  unction. 
If,  however,  any  difficulty  arose  concerning  the 
succession,  then  the  person  who  obtained  the 
throne,  though  of  the  same  family,  was  anointed 
in  order  to  terminate  the  dispute  ;  after  which  the 
title  was  not  to  be  questioned.  This  was  the  case 
with  Solomon,  Joash,  Jehoahaz,  and  others.  The 
kingdom  was  not  made  hereditary  in  the  family  of 
Saul ;  and,  therefore,  Ishbosheth's  seizing  on  the 
crown  was  only  an  usurpation.  The  power  of 
nominating  a  successor  to  Saul  was  reserved  by 
God  to  himself,  by  whom  David  (who  was  no  re- 
lation to  Saul  by  blood,  I  Sam.  xvi.  12.)  was  ap- 
pointed king.  David,  therefore,  had  no  other 
title  but  by  divine  appointment,  first  signified  by 
the  prophet  Samuel's  anointing  him,  and  after- 
wards by  the  voluntary  ratification  of  this  appoint- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  people :  so  that  the  anoint- 
ing of  David  was  necessary  for  the  confirmation  of 
his  title.  But  the  kingdom  being  made  hereditary 
in  David's  family,  his  being  anointed  served  for 
him  and  all  his  successors,  except  when  the  right 
to  the  throne  was  disputed.  Thus,  when  Solo- 
mon's right  to  the  throne  was  contested  by  his 
elder  brother  Adonijah,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  be  crowned,  in  order  to  quash  that  claim. 
In  like  manner,  Joash,  the  seventh  king  of  Judah, 
was  anointed  because  Athaliah  had  usurped  and 
possessed  the  throne  for  six  years,  2  Kings  xi. 
12.  So,  Jehoahaz,  the  younger  son  of  Josiah,  was 
anointed  king  (2  Kings  xxiii.  30.)  and  reigned  three 
months:  after  which,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  elder 
brother  Jehoiakim,  who  ought  first  to  have  ascend- 
ed the  throne  of  Judah.  Thus  it  appears,  that  in 
all  cases  of  disputed  succession,  anointing  was 
deemed  to  give  a  preference. 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

tendants  advised  him  to  have  recourse  to 
music,  to  which,  when  he  consented,  one 
of  them  recommended  David  to  him,  as- 
suring him,  he  was  not  only  an  excellent 
musician,  but  possessed  of  every  qualifica- 
tion of  body  and  mind  that  could  engage 
his  favour;  and  above  all,  that  the  Lord 
was  with  him. 

In  consequence  of  the  advice  of  his  at- 
tendants, the  youth  was  brought  into  the 
presence  of  Saul,  and  Jesse,  knowing  the 
custom  of  the  court,  had  provided  him 
witli  a  handsome  present,  with  which  on 
delivery  the  king  was  much  pleased ;  but 
charmed  with  his  skill  on  the  harp,  which 
for  the  present  diverted  his  melancholy 
thoughts.* 


253 


*  Some  commentators  have  been  so  far  carried 
away  with  the  manner  of  the  scripture  expression, 
namely,  that  an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled 
Saul,  as  to  think,  that  he  was  really  possessed  with 
a  devil,  which  at  certain  times  came  strongly  upon 
him,  and  threw  him  into  all  the  mad  fits  whereof 
we  read  :  but  it  should  be  considered,  that  the 
word  spirit,  in  the  sacred  language,  is  of  a  very 
extensive  signification,  and  denotes  frequently,  not 
only  the  dispositions  of  the  mind,  but  those  of  the 
body  likewise;  that  the  custom  of  the  Jews  was 
to  imagine,  that  every  affliction,  whose  cause  they 
were  ignorant  of,  proceeded  immediately  from 
God  ;  and  that  it  is  a  very  common  thing  to  rind 
the  scripture  phrase  accommodating  itself  to  this 
vulgar  prejudice.  Now  in  our  interpretation  of 
scripture,  this,  I  think,  should  be  a  rule, — that 
when  a  passage  is  capable  of  two  senses,  whereof 
the  one  supposes  a  miracle,  and  the  other  a  natural 
event  only,  the  latter  should  take  place,  especially 
when  there  are  no  circumstances  to  determine  us 
to  the  contrary.  But  now,  in  the  case  before  us, 
the  frequent  access  of  Saul's  malady,  the  symptoms 
that  attended  it,  and  the  remedy  made  use  of  to 
assuage  it,  do  sufficiently  denote,  that  it  proceeded 
from  a  deep  melancholy,  or  black  bile  inflamed ; 
and  that  the  man  was  hypochondriac,  rather  than 
possessed.  Agreeable  to  this  bad  complexion  of 
body  was  the  natural  temper  of  his  mind,  which, 
through  his  whole  conduct,  was  suspicious,  diffi- 
dent, cruel,  passionate,  and  vindictive.  Add  to 
this,  that  the  remorses  of  his  conscience,  the  mena- 
ces of  Samuel,  God's  rejection  of  him,  and  his 
continual  apprehensions  of  being  either  dethroned 
or  put  to  death  by  his  competitor,  confirmed  still 
more  and  more  the  evil  dispositions  which  his  dis- 
temper engendered,  and  carried  them  by  tits  into 
downright  madness:  and  as  madness  is  occasioned 
by  an  atrabilous  humour  highly  inflamed,  and 
diffused  through  the  blood,  and  from  melancholic 
vapours,  which  ascend  to  the  brain,  and  make  an 
alteration  in  its  temperature,  it  is  no  hard  matter 
to  conceive,  that  the  agreeable  sound  of  a  musical 
instrument,  wbicli  occasions  joy  and  seM-compla- 


Saul  at  length  conceived  such  esteem 
for  David,  that  having  obtained  his  father's 
consent  to  his  continuing  with  him,  in  or- 
der to  attach  him  to  his  service,  he  made 
him  his  armour-bearer. 

The  Philistines,  who  had  lately  sus- 
tained a  total  defeat  from  the  army  of 
Saul,  having  now  collected  their  scattered 
forces,  appeared  again  in  a  disposition  that 
portended  their  design  of  avenging  the 
late  hostilities  of  the  Israelites,  being  en- 
camped between  Shochoh  and  Azekah,f 

cency,  should  dissipate  these  bad  humours,  and 
make  the  blood  and  spirits  return  to  their  equal 
and  natural  motion.  What  the  power  of  music  is, 
to  sweeten  the  temper  and  allay  and  compose  the 
passions  of  the  mind,  we  have  some  examples 
from  sacred  history,  but  many  more  from  the  pro- 
fane As  this  same  Saul  was  returning  from  Sam- 
uel, he  met,  at  the  place  which  is  called  the  Hill 
of  God,  a  company  of  prophets,  playing  on  several 
instruments;  and  such  was  the  effect  of  their 
melody,  '  that  the  Spirit,'  as  the  scripture  expresses 
it, ♦came  upon  him,  and  he  was  turned  into  an- 
other man.'  When  Elisha  was  desired  by  Jeho- 
shaphat,  to  tell  him  what  his  success  against  the 
king  of  Moab  would  be,  the  prophet  required  a 
minstrel  to  be  brought  unto  him,  'and  when  the 
minstrel  played,'  it  is  said  '  that  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  came  upon  him  :'  not  that  we  are  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  gift  of  prophecy  was  the  natural 
effect  of  music,  but  the  meaning  is,  that  music  dis- 
posed the  organs,  the  humours,  the  blood,  and  in 
short,  the  whole  mind  and  spirit  of  the  prophet, 
to  receive  the  supernatural  impression.  The  truth 
is,  common  experience,  as  well  as  the  testimony  of 
the  gravest  authors,  proves,  that  there  is  in  music 
a  certain  charm  to  revive  the  spirits,  mellow  the 
humours,  allay  the  passions,  and  consequently,  to 
dissipate  that  rage,  or  melancholy,  which  either 
fumes  up  into  the  brain  in  vapours,  or  overspreads 
the  heart  with  grief  and  dejection.  We  need  less 
wonder  therefore,  that  we  rind  the  Pythagoreans, 
whenever  they  perceived,  either  in  themselves  or 
others,  any  violent  passion  beginning  to  arise,  im- 
mediately betaking  themselves  either  to  their  flute 
or  their  guitar  ;  that  we  find  Theophrastus  de- 
claring, that  music  is  an  excellent  remedy  against 
several  distempers,  both  of  the  mind  and  body  ; 
others,  that  Asclepiades,  a  renowned  physician 
among  the  ancients,  was  used  to  cure  madness  by 
the  power  of  symphony  ;  and  others  again,  that 
the  most  violent  poison,  that  of  the  sting  of  the 
Tarantula,  has  been  expelled  very  frequently  by 
this  means. — Stackhouse. 

t  Shochoh  and  Azekah  lay  to  the  south  of 
Jerusalem,  and  east  of  Bethlehem,  about  four 
leagues  from  the  former,  and  five  from  the  latter. — 
Three  miles  from  Bethlehem,  on  the  road  to  Jaffa, 
lies  the  celebrated  valley  of  Elah,  which  is  not 
above  half  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  memorable  for 
the  victory  gained  by  the  youthful  David  over  the 
uncircumcised  champion  of  the  Philistines.  "  It  is," 


254 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  JV. 


while  Saul  with  his  forces  pitched  their 
tents  upon  an  eminence  above  the  valley 
of  Elah,  which  separated  the  two  armies. 

While  the  Israelites  and  the  Philistines 
lay  encamped  opposite  each  other,  a  cham- 
pion of  stupendous  bulk  and  stature,  called 
Goliath,  came  out  of  the  Philistines'  camp, 
for  forty  days  successively,  and  challenged 
any  one  of  the  whole  army  of  the  Israel- 
ites to  single  combat,*  which  should  abso- 
lutely decide  the  fate  of  either  army. 

This  Philistine  Colossus  was  near  ten 
feet  high,  and  his  limbs  extremely  muscu- 
lar and  nervous,  insomuch  that  he  struck 
every  beholder  with  terror,  as  well  as  as- 
tonishment, and  none  durst  accept  his 
challenge,  which  he  presumptuously  offer- 
ed for  so  long  a  succession  of  time. 

At  length,  however,  the  provident  de- 


says  Dr  Clarke,  "a  pretty  and  interesting  looking 
spot ;  the  bottom  covered  with  olive  trees.  Its 
present  appearance  answers  exactly  to  the  descrip- 
tion given  in  scripture:  for  nothing  has  ever  oc- 
curred to  alter  the  appearance  of  the  country. 
The  two  hills,  on  which  the  armies  of  the  Israel- 
ites and  Philistines  stood,  entirely  confine  it  on 
the  right  and  left.  The  very  brook,  whence  Da- 
vid chose  him  five  smooth  stones,  (which  has  been 
noticed  by  many  a  thirsty  pilgrim,  journeying  from 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,)  still  flows  through  the  vale, 
which  is  varied  with  banks  and  undulations.  The 
ruins  of  goodly  edifices  attest  the  religious  venera- 
tion entertained  in  later  periods  for  the  hallowed 
spot :  but  even  these  are  now  become  so  insignifi- 
cant, that  they  are  scarcely  discernible;  and  no- 
thing can  he  said  to  interrupt  the  native  dignity  of 
this  memorable  scene." 

*  Antiquity  furnishes  us  with  examples  of  sev- 
eral such  like  combats  as  Goliath  here  proposes, 
but  with  none  more  rema*rkable  than  that  between 
the  Horatii  and  Curiatii,  related  by  Livy,  lib.  i.  c. 
23.  "  In  which  case,"  as  Grotius  expresses  himself, 
"  though  the  champions  perhaps  cannot,  with  all  the 
innocence  imaginable,  engage  in  the  combat,  yet 
their  respective  states  may,  at  least,  allow  of  it,  as 
a  less  evil  ;  as  an  expedient,  whereby  a  decision  is 
made  (without  the  effusion  of  much  blood,  or  any 
considerable  loss  on  either  side)  which  of  the  two 
nations  shall  have  the  dominion  over  the  other. 
Strabo,  (says  he)  makes  mention  of  this,  as  an 
ancient  custom  among  the  Greeks  ;  and  ^Eneas 
appeals  to  the  Latins,  whether  it  is  not  highly  just 
and  equitable,  that  he  and  Turnus  should  deter- 
mine the  controversy  between  them  in  this  man- 
ner." But  whether  ever  there  was  any  combat, 
stipulated  to  be  decisive  of  the  quarrel  between 
two  contending  nations,  it  is  certain  that  this 
speech  of  Goliath's  was  a  mere  bravado,  proceeding 
from  a  high  opinion  he  had  of  his  own  matchless 


fender  of  Israel  raised  his  own  people  a 
deliverer,  in  the  person  of  young  David, 
who  happened  at  that  time  to  come  to  the 
camp  with  provision  for  his  elder  brethren, 
who  were  then  in  the  service. 

David  observing  this  gigantic  Philis- 
tine insolently  taunt  the  whole  army  of 
Israel,  and  hearing  the  prodigious  reward 
the  king  had  promised  to  any  one  who 
should  slay  him,  namely,  that  he  was  to 
give  him  his  own  daughter  in  marriage, 
and  ennoble  his  family,  by  conferring  on 
them  the  freedom  of  Israel,  was  disposed 
as  it  were  by  a  divine  impulse,  to  encoun- 
ter this  daring,  formidable  hero. 

His  elder  brother  Eliab,  thinking  the 
very  pretence  an  instance  of  the  highest 
presumption,  took  occasion  to  reprimand 
him  for  his  rashness.  But  David  waved 
his  brother's  choler,  by  addressing  himself 
to  another  man,  and  expressing  a  steady 
zeal  and  unshaken  intrepidity  for  the  cause 
of  God,  as  well  as  utter  contempt  of  the 
insolent  boastings  of  the  haughty  Goliath. 

The  resolution  of  this  favourite  youth 
at  length  reached  the  ears  of  the  king, 
who  sent  for  him,  and  from  a  motive  of 
real  concern  set  before  him  the  danger  he 
must  inevitably  incur  by  encountering 
with  a  man  of  Goliath's  prodigious  skill, 
and  long  military  experience. 

But  David,  to  obviate  the  king's  sus- 
picion, informed  him  that  he  had  perform- 
ed exploits  full  as  daring  as  that  of  en- 
gaging with  the  present  Philistine;  that 
he  had  slain  a  lion  and  a  bear  with  his 
own  hand,  and  now  relied  on  the  same 
Almighty  arm  to  enable  him  to  vanquish 
the  insolent  foe,  who  had  set  at  defiance 
the  armies  of  God. 


strength,  as  if  he  had  been  the  whole  support  of 
the  nation,  which  was  to  stand  or  fall  together 
with  him.  For,  that  he  had  no  authority  from  the 
princes  of  the  Philistines  to  make  any  such  de- 
claration, is  evident  from  the  event ;  since,  so  far 
were  the  Philistines  from  yielding  themselves  slaves 
to  the  Hebrews  upon  the  death  of  this  champion, 
that  they  made  the  best  of  their  way  into  their 
own  country,  and  there  defended  themselves,  and 
fought  many  battles  with  them  afterwards. — Sau* 
tin,  Patrick,  and  Le  Clerc. 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

The  king,  greatly  applauding  the  pious 
and  brave  resolution  of  David,  ordered 
him  to  be  arrayed  in  his  own  armour;  but 
finding  that  upon  trial  unfit  for  him,  it 
was  put  off ;  and  he  took  his  staff  in  his 
band,  and  chose  five  smooth  stones,  which, 
together  with  his  sling,  composed  his 
offensive  weapons. 

Thus  prepared,  he  boldly  advanced  to- 
wards his  powerful  antagonist,  who,  think- 
ing from  his  youth  and  diminutive  stature 
be  was  opposed  to  him  from  mere  con- 
tempt and  derision,  could  not  refrain  from 
cursing  him,  and  threatened  at  once  to 
despatch  him. 

But  David  proceeded  not  in  that  self- 
sufficient  manner;  for,  on  the  contrary,  he 
assured  the  Philistine,  that  he  undertook 
not  to  encounter  him  in  his  own  strength, 
but  that  of  the  mighty  God  of  Israel, 
whose  name  he  had  blasphemed,  and 
whose  armies  he  had  impiously  defied;  and 
farther,  as  a  proof  of  his  confidence  in  the 
divine  aid  and  direction,  he  told  him,  that 
he  should  deprive  him  of  his  head,  and 
give  his  body  for  food  to  the  fowls  of  the 
air,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field;  and  that 
he  should  be  enabled  to  perform  that 
exploit,  in  order  to  demonstrate  to  an 
infidel  world  the  existence  and  power  of 
an  almighty  Jehovah,  even  the  God  of 
Israel. 

Nor  did  he  rely  on  the  strength  of  his 
God  in  vain;  for,  standing  at  a  convenient 
distance  from  the  Philistine,  he  discharged 
from  his  sling  a  stone,  which  struck  Goliath 
on  his  forehead,  pierced  his  brain,  *  and 


255 


*  If  it  should  be  asked,  how  this  could  possibly 
be,  when  Goliath  was  armed  so  completely,  and, 
in  particular,  is  said  to  have  had  an  '  helmet  of 
brass  upon  his  head  V  it  is  but  supposing,  that 
this  arrogant  champion,  in  disdain  of  his  inferior 
combatant,  might  come  negligently  towards  him, 
with  his  helmet  turned  back,  and  his  forehead 
bare.  It  is  highly  probable,  that  when  he  made 
his  menacing  speech  to  David,  he  might  turn  back 
his  helmet,  both  to  speak,  and  be  heard  more  dis- 
tinctly ;  and  there  was  no  such  terror  in  David's 
appearance,  as  might  induce  him  to  cover  his  fore- 
head again.  But,  admitting  he  did,  it  is  but  sup- 
posing that  David  levelled  his  stone  so  right,  as 
to  hit  the  place  which  was  left  open  for  his  adver- 


there  remained,  so  that  he  fell  upon  his 
face;  and  David,  who  had  no  sword,  ran 
up,  caught  hold  of  the  giant,  and  imme- 
diately severed  his  head  from  his  body, 
to  the  general  joy  of  the  Israelites  and 
their  allies,  and  the  utter  confusion  of  the 
Philistines,  who  fled  before  the  former, 
by  whom  they  were  pursued  unto  the 
gates  of  Ekron  with  great  slaughter. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Saul  first  promotes  David,  and  afterwards, 
through  jealousy,  seeks  his  life. —  The  strictest 
friendship  is  formed  between  David  and 
Jonathan,  who  concert  divers  measures  to 
preserve  him  from  the  fury  of  his  father. —  J 
The  scheme  he  had  laid  to  trepan  him  it 
defeated  by  the  stratagem  of  Michal. — Sam 
endeavours  to  slay  his  son. — David  seeks  pro- 
tection from  the  king  of  Achish. — InstancX 
of  Saul's  cruel  resentment. — David's  succest 
against  his  enemies — Death  of  the  prophJt 
Samuel. 

Saul,  astonished  at  the  mighty  feat  per- 
formed by  this  young  hero,  inquired) of 
Abner,  one  of  his  generals,  whose  son. he 
was?  But  Abner,  not  being  able  to 
resolve  him,  introduced  David  to  the 
king,  with  the  champion  Goliath's  head 
in  his  hand. 

The  king  bestowed  the  highest  praises 
on  his  valour,  and  desired  to  know  whose 
son  he  was?  He  modestly  replied,  'I  am 
the  son  of  thy  servant  Jesse  the  Bethle- 
hemite.' 

The  late  glorious  action  excited  the 
general  esteem  of  the  Israelites,  and  their 

sary's  eyes,  or  threw  it  with  such  a  violent  force 
as  would  penetrate  both  helmet  and  head  together. 
To  make  these  suppositions  more  probable,  we 
need  only  remember  what  we  read  in  Judges,  ch. 
xx.  16.  of  no  less  than  seven  hundred  men  in  one 
place,  who  were  so  expert  with  their  left  hands, 
that  every  one  could  sling  stones  to  an  hair's 
breadth,  and  not  miss ;  or  what  we  read  in  Diodorus 
Siculus,  lib.  5.  of  some  slingers,  who  threw  stones 
with  such  a  violence,  that  nothing  could  resist 
their  impression  ;  and  that,  when  they  made  use 
of  lead  instead  of  stone,  the  very  lead  would  melt 
the  air,  as  it  flew,  by  reason  of  the  rapidity  of  the 
motion  which  they  gave  it. — Patrick  and  Calmed 
Commentaries. 


256 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


allies ;  but  none  evinced  such  sanguine 
approbation  as  Jonathan,  who,  being  a 
prince  of  innate  valour,  and  intrepid  for- 
titude, was  so  charmed  with  his  prowess 
in  the  important  execution,  that  he  enter- 
tained the  sincerest  friendship  for  him, 
which  being  mutually  cemented  by  the 
most  endearing  ties,  ratified  by  covenant, 
and  Jonathan's  present  of  his  robe,  sword, 
belt,  and  bow,*  to  David,  remained  as 
long  as  they  lived  together. 

David  for  a  short  time  after  this  ex- 
ploit, received  a  peculiar  token  of  Saul's 
favour,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  his  men  of  war,  which  he  filled  with 
honour,  prudence,  and  reputation. 

But  Saul's  respect  for  David  continued 
not  long ;  for  a  circumstance  soon  fell  out 
that  excited  in  his  suspicious  mind  the 
raost  burning  jealousy. 

As  David  was  returning  from  the 
slaughter  among  the  vast  concourse  assem- 
bled to  behold  the  entry  of  their  triumph- 
am  countrymen,  was  a  company  of  women, 
who  accompanied  musical  instruments  with 
a  song,  the  chief  burden  of  which  was, 
*  Saul  has  slain  his  thousands,  and  David 
his  ten  thousands.' 

This  suggested  to  Saul's  remembrance, 
what  the  prophet  Samuel  had  told  him, 
and  excited  his  fears  that  David  aspired 
after  his  throne;  on  which  account  he 
banished  from  his  mind  every  sentiment 
of  good  will,  and  in  its  room  conceived 
the  most  miserable  revenge  against  the 
pious,  brave,  and  innocent  youth. 


*  He  did  this,  that  his  singular  affection  to 
David  might  be  known  to  all,  and  that  they  might 
appear  the  more  closely  united  into  one.  This 
was  a  customary  method  of  testifying  affection. 
We  read  in  Tavernier  of  a  Nazar,  whose  virtue 
and  behaviour  so  pleased  a  king  of  Persia,  after 
being  put  to  the  test,  that  he  caused  himself  to  be 
disapparelled,  and  gave  his  habit  to  the  Nazar ; 
which  is  the  greatest  honour  that  a  king  of  Persia 
can  bestow  on  a  subject.  The  giving  a  girdle,  in 
particular,  was  deemed  a  token  of  the  greatest 
confidence  and  affection  :  in  some  cases  it  was 
considered  an  act  of  adoption.  In  regnrd  to  the 
sword  and  the  bow,  it  has  been  customary  in  all 
countries  to  make  such  military  presents  ds  these 
to  brave  adventurers:  of  which  instances  occur  in 
Greek  and  Roman  writers. — Frag,  to  Calmet. 


From  this  very  instance,  Saul  resolved 
on  his  destruction,  which  he  endeavoured 
the  next  day  to  effect  with  his  own  hand. 
His  mind  being  greatly  perplexed,  David 
as  usual  came  to  divert  his  melancholy; 
and  while  he  was  playing  the  harp  before 
him,  not  suspecting  the  least  danger,  the 
frantic  king  darted  a  javelin  at  him  with 
all  his  might ;  but,  as  David  was  reserved 
by  Providence  for  wise  purposes,  the 
king  missed  his  aim,  and  David  imme- 
diately withdrew. 

After  this  remarkable  event,  David  was 
removed  from  his  immediate  attendance 
on  the  king's  person,  and  degraded  to  an 
inferior  post  in  the  army,  which  he  filled 
as  much  to  his  own  honour,  and  the  ap- 
probation of  his  people,  as  he  had  done 
the  first  offices  of  state. 

David's  conduct  in  an  inferior  station, 
and  the  reputation  which  he  thence  ac- 
quired, inflamed  the  jealousy  of  Saul,  and 
prompted  him  studiously  to  endeavour  at 
his  destruction. 

By  virtue  of  the  king's  solemn  promise, 
previous  to  the  encounter  with  the  Phi- 
listine giant,  David  had  an  undoubted 
claim  to  one  of  his  daughters  in  marriage; 
but  meek  in  temper,  he  rested  content 
with  the  honours  already  conferred  upon 
him ;  nor  had  Saul  conceived  any  inten- 
tion of  fulfilling  that  part  of  his  promise, 
till  he  thought  it  might  prove  the  most 
effectual  method  of  sating  his  implacable 
revenge. 

Accordingly,  sending  for  David,  he  in- 
formed him  of  his  design  to  bestow  his 
daughter  upon  him,  as  a  condition  of  his 
executing  a  commission  that  was  attended 
with  the  utmost  hazard  of  his  life. 

David  modestly  evaded  the  proposed 
honour,  alleging  the  meanness  of  his 
family.  Saul  therefore  embraced  this 
opportunity  of  avoiding  compliance  with 
his  promise,  and  gave  his  elder  daughter 
Merab  in  marriage  to  Adriel,  the  son  of 
Barzillai. 

Michal,  Saul's  second  daughter,  had 
conceived  a  real  affection  for  David,  of 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


257 


which  the  king  being  conscious,  and  in 
order  to  prosecute  his  former  malicious 
scheme,  he  promised  her  in  marriage  to 
him,  desiring  no  other  compensation  than 
that  he  should  slay  an  hundred  Philistines, 
and  produce  their  foreskins  in  court  be- 
fore him.* 

David,  imagining  that  the  king  was 
desirous  of  putting  his  valour  to  the  test 
once  more,  without  the  least  suspicion  of 
'.he  latent  malice  of  the  terms,  readily 
acquiesced,  and  selecting  some  of  the  best 
men  in  the  Israelitish  army,  marched  at 
their  head,  attacked  the  Philistines,  slew 
ilouble  the  number  f  stipulated  by  the 
king,  within  the  time  he  had  prescribed, 
and,  as  an  undeniable  testimony  of  his 
having  fulfilled  the  terms,  presented  their 
foreskins  at  court;  so  that  having  thus 
gallantly  accomplished  all  things,  the 
king  could  not  refuse  him  his  daughter, 
who  rewarded  his  merit  with  the  purest 
affection. 

Various  circumstances  combining  to 
inflame  the  jealousy  and  resentment  of 
Saul,  he  cast  off  all  disguise,  engaged  his 
whole  family  in  executing  his  malicious 
design,  and  commanded  Jonathan  his  son, 
and  all  his  attendants  by  any  means  to 
despatch  the  detested  David. 

Jonathan,  whose  soul  disdained  such 
ingratitude  and  inhumanity  to  any  deserv- 


*  This  condition  was  imposed  by  Saul  with  an 
insidious  design  ;  but  the  custom  hath  prevailed 
in  many  countries,  to  give  their  daughters  in 
marriage  to  the  most  valiant  men,  or  to  those 
who  might  bring  so  many  heads  of  their  ene- 
mies. Particularly,  it  was  the  custom  among  a 
people  in  Carmania,  that,  if  any  were  desirous  of 
marrying,  it  was  necessary  he  should  first  bring  to 
the  king  the  head  of  an  enemy.  Saul  seems  to 
have  mentioned  the  foreskins,  and  not  the  heads 
of  the  Philistines,  by  way  of  reproach  upon  them, 
as  an  uncircumcised  and  infidel  people.  Or 
rather,  to  prevent  any  cheat  or  collusion  in  the 
matter,  and  to  enable  him  to  be  sure  that  they 
were  Philistines  only  whom  he  killed ;  for  the 
Philistines  were  the  only  neighbouring  people 
who  were  uncircumcised. — Pyle  and  Calmet. 

-(•  Josephus  makes  Saul's  demand,  and  the  num- 
ber which  David  brought,  to  be  six  hundred.  The 
Septuagint,  instead  of  two  hundred,  read  one 
hundred,  in  order  to  make  it  correspond  with  the 
number  which  Saul  demanded. 


ing  person,  much  more  towards  his  avow- 
ed friend,  took  care  to  give  him  timely 
notice  of  the  threatening  storm,  advising 
him  to  retire  to  some  secure  place  till  the 
morning,  when  he  would  take  an  oppor- 
tunity of  expostulating  with  his  father, 
and  transmit  to  him  a  particular  account 
of  his  success.  Jonathan,  according  to  his 
proposal,  set  before  his  father  both  the 
unreasonableness  and  impiety  of  his  de- 
sign upon  innocent  David,  who  merited 
every  good  office  at  his  hands ;  that  Saul 
according  to  outward  appearance  was  re- 
conciled to  David,  and  Jonathan,  next  day, 
introduced  him  into  his  presence,  in  the 
same  respectable  light  as  before. 

But  as  the  renown  of  David's  exploits 
in  divers  conquests  over  the  Philistines 
spread  daily,  and  consequently  added  fuel 
to  the  resentment  still  latent  in  the  breast 
of  Saul,  a  short  time  proved  this  recon- 
ciliation to  be  mere  pretence.  Of  this  he 
gave  evident  demonstration ;  for,  being 
seized  with  another  fit  of  melancholy, 
David  was  sent  for  to  play  to  him,  and  as 
before,  while  he  was  innocently  endeav- 
ouring to  amuse  him,  he  again  darted  a 
javelin  at  him,  which  David  avoided  by 
nimbly  changing  his  situation,  and  afterr- 
wards  made  his  escape ;  but  to  the  ran- 
cour of  his  design  it  is  recorded  that  he 
smote  the  javelin  in  the  wall. 

Enraged  at  these  repeated  disappoint- 
ments, he  commanded  a  detachment  of  his 
guards  to  beset  his  house  at  day-break 
and  slay  him.  But  Michal,  his  wife,  acr 
quainted  him  with  the  design,  and  pro- 
posed to  let  him  down  from  a  window; 
which  being  done,  by  favour  of  the  night, 
he  once  more  escaped  the  malicious  de- 
sign of  Saul ;  and  to  prevent  the  suspicion 
of  the  guards,  Michal  told  them  he  was 
sick  in  bed,  having  artfully  substituted  in 
his  room  an  image,  with  which  the  king 
was  much  incensed ;  but  his  daughter 
pleaded  the  most  justifiable  excuses  for  her 
conduct. 

David  hastened,  as  much  as  the  nio-ht 
would  permit  him,  to  his-  friend  and  coun- 
2  K 


258 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


sellor,  Samuel  at  Ramah,  to  whom  he 
communicatee!  the  particulars  of  what  had 
passed  between  him  and  Saul,  hoping  that 
God  by  this  means  might  direct  him  how 
to  proceed  in  his  intricate  situation. 

At  the  advice  of  the  prophet,  for  his 
better  security,  he  repaired  together  with 
him  to  Naioth,  which  was  a  school  or  col- 
lege of  the  prophets,*  where  they  both 
lived  some  time. 

But  the  emissaries  of  the  enraged  king 
no  sooner  informed  him  of  the  place  to 
which  David  had  repaired  for  security, 
than,  notwithstanding  the  sanctity  of  the 
place,  he  sent  a  party  to  apprehend  him. 
But  when  they  arrived  at  the  sacred  place, 
and  heard  Samuel  instructing  the  other 
prophets,  they  were  seized  with  a  prophetic 
spirit,  and  returned  not. 

After  these  other  messengers  were  des- 
patched; but  they  no  sooner  approached 


*  When  these  schools  of  the  prophets  were  at 
first  instituted  is  no  where  indicated  in  scripture: 
but,  as  the  first  mention  we  find  of  them  is  in 
Samuel's  time,  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  they 
were  much  superior  to  it.  It  may  be  presumed, 
therefore,  that  the  sad  degeneracy  of  the  priesthood 
at  first  occasioned  the  institution  of  these  places, 
for  the  better  education  of  those  that  were  to  suc- 
ceed in  the  sacred  ministry,  whether  as  prophets, 
or  priests.  According  to  the  places  that  are  speci- 
fied in  scripture,  (1  Sam.  x.  5,  10.  and  xix.  20. 
2  Kings  ii.  5.  iv.  38.  and  xxii.  14.)  they  were  first 
erected  in  the  cities  of  the  Levites,  which,  for  the 
more  convenient  instruction  of  the  people,  were 
dispersed  up  and  down  in  the  several  tribes  of 
Israel.  In  these  places  the  prophets  had  conve- 
nient colleges  built  (whereof  Naioth  seems  to  be 
one)  for  their  abode ;  and  living  in  communities, 
had  some  one  of  distinguished  note  (very  probably 
by  divine  election)  set  over  them  to  be  their  head 
or  president.  Here  it  was  that  they  studied  the  law, 
and  learned  to  expound  the  several  precepts  of  it. 
Here  it  was  that,  by  previous  exercise,  they  quali- 
fied themselves  for  the  reception  of  the  spirit  of 
prophecy,  whenever  it  should  please  God  to  send 
k  upon  them.  Here  it  was  that  they  were  in- 
structed in  the  sacred  art  of  psalmody,  or  (as  the 
scripture  calls  it,  1  Chron.  xx-v.  I,  7.)  in  •  prophe- 
sying with  harps,  with  psalteries,  and  cymbals  :' 
and  hence  it  was,  that,  when  any  blessings  were  to 
be  promised,  judgments  denounced,  or  extraordi- 
nary events  predicted,  the  messengers  were  gener- 
ally chosen  :  so  that  these  colleges  were  seminaries 
of  divine  knowledge,  and  nurseries  of  that,  race  (if 
prophets  which  succeeded  from  Samuel  to  the 
time  of  Malachi. — StillingfleeVs  Orig.  Sacra, 
Wheatly  on  the  Schools  of  the  Prophets,  and 
Jacob  Abting,  de  liepub.  He.b. 


the  venerable  spot,  than  they  were  affect- 
ed in  the  same  manner  as  the  former. 

Having  proceeded  in  this  manner  three 
times  successively,  and  received  no  satis- 
factory intimation,  he  at  length  went  down 
himself:  but  when  he  drew  near  Naioth, 
he  was  influenced  by  the  same  divine 
power,  and  continued  to  prophecyf  till 
he  reached  the  place  where  Samuel  and 
David  had  retired,  when,  stripping  off  his 
upper  garment,:}:  he  humbly  lay  on  the 
ground  that  day  and  the  ensuing  night. 

David  availed  himself  of  this  oppor- 
tunity of  leaving  Saul  at  the  school  of  the 


f  This  is  a  word  of  an  extensive  signification, 
and  may  denote  sometimes  such  actions,  motions, 
and  distortions,  as  prophets,  in  their  inspirations 
are  wont  to  express.  But  the  generality  of  inter- 
preters in  this  place,  take  prophesying  to  signify 
Saul's  singing  of  psalms,  or  hymns  of  thanksgiving 
and  praise,  which  even  against  his  will  he  was  com- 
pelled to  do,  to  teach  him  the  vanity  of  his  designs 
again9t  David,  and  that  in  them  he  fought  against 
God  himself. —  Calmet's  Commentary,  and  Poole's 
Annotations. 

J  The  words  in  our  translation  are,  '  And  he 
stripped  off  his  clothes  also,  and  lay  down  naked 
all  that  day,  and  all  that  night,'  1  Sam.  xix.  24. 
In  which  words,  and  some  other  portions  of  the 
like  import,  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  the  per- 
sons there  spoken  of  were  entirely  naked,  but  only 
that  they  were  divested  of  some  external  habit  or 
other,  which,  upon  certain  occasions,  they  might 
lay  aside.  For  whereas  it  is  said  of  some  prophets, 
Isa.  xx.  2.  and  Mic.  i.  8.,  that  they  went  about 
naked,  we  can  hardly  think  that  they  could  be 
guilty  of  so  much  indecency,  and  especially  by  the 
express  order  of  God,  who  had  always  testified  his 
abhorrence  of  nudity,  and  enjoined  his  priests  the 
use  of  several  garments  to  cover  the  body,  that 
thus  they  might  be  distinguished  from  the  Pagan 
priests  who  were  not  ashamed  to  appear  naked. 
The  words  in  the  original,  therefore,  which  we 
render  naked,  or  to  be  naked,  signify  no  more  than 
either  to  have  part  of  the  body  uncovered,  or  to 
be  without  a  gown,  or  upper  garment,  which  the 
Romans  called  Toga,  and  (according  to  the  custom 
of  the  eastern  people)  was  wont  to  be  put  on  when 
they  went  abroad,  or  made  any  public  appearance. 
And  therefore  it  was  some  such  vestment  as  this, 
or  perhaps  his  military  accoutrements,  which  Saul 
upon  this  occasion  put  off;  and  that  this  was 
enough  to  denominate  him  naked  is  manifest  from 
what  Anrelius  Victor,  speaking  of  those  who  were 
sent  to  Lucius  Quintus  Cincinnatus,  to  bring  him 
to  the  senate  to  be  made  dictator,  says,  that  they 
found  him  naked  ploughing  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Tiber ;  whereas  Livy,  who  relates  the  same 
story,  observes,  that  he  called  to  his  wife  Rucca 
for  his  gown,  or  toga,  that  he  might  appear  fit  to 
keep  them  company. — Essay  towards  a  new 
Translation. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


259 


prophets,  escaping  to  his  friend  Jonathan, 
and  consulting  with  him  how  to  avert  the 
resentment  of  his  father,  who  thus  inde- 
fatigably  sought  his  life. 

Jonathan  not  only  assured  him  of  his 
best  services,  but  that  he  would  take  every 
possible  measure  to  discover  the  intention 
of  his  father,  and  immediately  acquaint 
him  therewith:  but  to  strengthen  his 
confidence  in  him,  he  solemnly  renewed 
the  covenant  of  friendship  that  was  be- 
tween  them ;  and  having  directed  him  to 
conceal  himself  in  a  certain  place  for  a 
few  days,  till  he  could  judge  whether  he 
should  still  lie  hid,  or  might  with  safety 
again  appear  in  public,  which  he  was  to 
signify  by  shooting  an  arrow;  they  cor- 
dially embraced,  and  then  parted. 

As  the  season  approached  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  feast  of  the  new  moon,* 
Saul,  according  to  custom,  came  from 
Naioth  to  attend  that  solemnity;  and 
after  he  was  seated,  taking  a  view  of  the 
company,  he  observed  that  David's  place 
was  vacant  for  two  days  successively. 
This  occasioned  him  to  inquire  the  cause, 
wherefore  the  son  of  Jesse — a  title  of  con- 
tempt— absented  himself  from  the  feast. 

Jonathan  answered  his  father  in  excuse 
for  his  friend,  that  he  had  obtained  from 


*  The  Israelites  performed  solemn  sacrifices 
every  new  moon,  and  after  the  sacrifices  feasted 
together  :  and  David,  being  one  of  the  king's  fam- 
ily, by  marrying  his  daughter,  used  to  eat  with  him 
on  these  occasions  ;  and  he  thought  that  Saul,  by 
being  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  Naioth, 
might  possibly  have  forgot  his  anger,  and  make  a 
favourable  inquiry  after  him.  The  Jewish  months 
were  lunar,  and  never  began  before  the  moon  ap- 
peared above  the  horizon ;  for  which  purpose 
there  were  certain  persons  placed  upon  the  moun- 
tains some  time  before  the  moon  was  expected,  to 
give  notice  by  the  sound  of  a  horn  when  it  first 
appeared,  that  so  the  news  thereof  might  imme- 
diately be  carried  to  Jerusalem.  But  lest  there 
should  be  any  mistake  in  this  method  of  making 
their  observation,  from  this  example  of  Saul's  it 
is  supposed  that  they  celebrated  this  festival  for 
two  days  together.  Whether  the  heathens  had 
this  rite  from  the  Jews  or  not,  it  is  certain  that 
other  nations  had  feasts  at  the  beginning  of  every 
month,  and  that  with  the  Romans,  the  calends  in 
particular  were  festival  days  consecrated  to  Juno, 
to  whom  sacrifices  at  this  time  were  offered. — 
Calmet's  Commentary. 


him  leave  of  absence,  in  order  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  anniversary  feast,  held  by  his 
own  family  at  Bethlehem. 

Saul,  well  knowing  the  inviolable 
friendship  that  subsisted  between  David 
and  his  son,  and  suspecting  that  what  he 
urged  in  his  excuse  was  mere  pretence, 
most  rancorously  upbraided  him  with  tak 
ing  into  his  bosom,  one  who  endeavoured 
to  supplant  him  and  his  family  in  that 
which  they  held  most  dear,  namely,  the 
throne  of  Israel;  insisting,  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  should  bring  him  before  his 
presence,  as  he  was  resolutely  determined 
on  his  death. 

So  noble,  so  generous  was  the  friend- 
ship of  Jonathan,  that,  notwithstanding 
this  flagrant  instance  of  his  father's  in- 
veterate hatred  against  the  object  of  it, 
he  still  interposed  in  his  behalf,  inquiring 
of  him  what  David  had  done  to  deserve 
death  ? 

This  behaviour  in  Jonathan  so  incensed 
his  father,  that,  forgetting  the  ties  of  natur- 
al affection,  in  the  vehemence  of  his  fren- 
zy he  threw  a  javelin  f  at  his  son,  cruelly 


f  Saul  had  always  a  javelin  or  spear  at  hand  to 
execute  his  evil  purposes,  because  spears  were  the 
sceptres  of  those  ages,  which  kings  always  carried 
in  their  hands.  It  has  been  suggested,  that  the 
words  of  the  text  do  not  mean,  that  Saul  cast  a 
javelin  at  Jonathan  ;  but  only  that  'he  had  cast  a 
javelin'  at  David,  which  Jonathan  at  this  crisis  re- 
collected. It  must,  however,  be  admitted,  that 
this  is  by  no  means  an  obvious  construction  of  the 
original.  Nor  can  it  »be  readily  thought,  that 
merely  a  recollection  of  a  fact  which  formerly  had 
taken  place,  could  induce  Jonathan  to  leave  his 
place  '  in  fierce  anger  ;'  when  he  had,  at  this  time, 
borne  the  most  provoking  language  of  his  father 
without  expressing  any  indignant  perturbation  ; 
and  had  also,  subsequent  to  some  of  Saul's  at- 
tempts on  David's  life,  calmly  expostulated  with 
Saul,  and  induced  him  to  engage,  by  a  solemn  oath, 
that  he  would  not  slay  David.  But  the  atrocity  of 
such  an  attempt  on  the  life  of  his  own  son,  seems 
to  some  persons  totally  incredible.  Yet  Saul's 
stern  and  rigorous  conduct,  respecting  Jonathan, 
after  he  had  miraculously  prevailed  to  rescue  him 
and  Israel  from  the  greatest  straits  and  disgrace, 
shows  that  the  self-will  and  severity  of  his  mind 
had  overcome,  even  at  that  favourable  crisis,  his 
natural  affection.  And  the  transient  attempt  of 
his  furious  rage,  in  attempting  to  murder  his  son, 
on  the  occasion  recorded  in  the  text,  bears  no 
proportion  to  his  subsequent  deliberate,  impious, 
and  most  barbarous  murder  of  the  priests,  and 


260 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  111 


desirous  of  avenging  on  him  the  frequent 
disappointments  of  his  designs  upon  David. 

But  Jonathan  avoided  the  stroke,  and 
persuaded  from  his  conduct,  and  even 
confession,  of  the  continuance  of  his  re- 
solution upon  the  life  of  David,  he  went 
next  morning  with  his  bow  into  the  field, 
gave  the  signal  for  his  friend  to  appear, 
and  having  communicated  to  him  what 
had  passed  between  him  and  his  father,  as 
well  as  warned  him,  at  all  events,  to  escape 
for  his  life,  they  renewed  their  protesta- 
tions of  eternal  friendship,  embraced,*  and 
departed. 

David,  thus  warned  by  his  friend 
Jonathan,  betook  himself  to  Nob,f  a  city 
belonging  to  the  priests,  where  stood  the 
tabernacle  at  that  time,  in  order  to  in- 
quire of  the  Lord,  by  means  of  Abimelech 
the  priest,  what  course  he  should  take  in 
his  present  wandering. 

Abimelech,  who  knew  the  dignity  of 
his  rank,  but  was  ignorant  that  he  was 
out  of  favour  with  the  king,  expressed 
his  surprise  at  his  arriving  thus  unattend- 
ed :  David  concealed  the  true  cause,  and 
pretended  to  the  high  priest  that  he  was 
despatched  by  the  king  on  a  secret  expe- 
dition in  such  haste,  that  he  had  neither 


their  wives,  and  children  ;  because  they  were  sup- 
posed to  favour  David.  Nor  can  any  thing  be 
deemed  too  atrocious  for  a  man  to  commit,  whom 
God  had  given  up,  and  left,  in  a  kind  of  desperate 
madness,  under  the  power  of  Satan,  «md  of  his 
own  passions,  till  he  plunged  himself  imo  destruc- 
tion with  his  own  hands. — Scott. 

*  This  adieu  is  the  most  pathetic  and  tender 
that  ever  was  described.  There  was  reason  for 
David  to  exceed  in  sorrow,  as  he  was  now  to 
become  an  exile  from  his  friends,  from  his  wife, 
from  his  parents,  from  his  kindred,  from  the  peo- 
ple of  God,,  and  from  all  sacred  solemnities. 

f  There  is  mention  made  of  two  cities  of  this 
name,  one  on  the  east,  or  further  side,  and  the 
other  on  the  west,  or  hither  side  of  Jordan.  The 
generality  of  interpreters  will  have  the  city  here 
specified,  to  be  that  which  stood  on  the  west  side, 
and  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  Though  it  is  not 
reckoned  among  the  number  of  the  cities  that 
were  at  first  assigned  to  the  priests,  yet  it  after- 
wards became  one  of  the  sacerdotal  towns,  and 
especially,  as  we  may  imagine,  when  the  tabernacle 
came  to  be  moved  thither,  is  evident  from  1  Sam. 
xxii.  19.  and  Neheiu.  xi.  3*2.  and  some  suppose  it 
•tood  about  four  leagues  from  Gibealu—  Calmet's 
Commentary  and  Wells's  Geography. 


time  to  furnish  himself  witn  arms  nor  pro- 
vision, desiring  at  the  same  time  he 
would  spare  him  some  of  whatever  food 
was  at  hand.  Abimelech  informed  David, 
that  at  present  he  had  no  common  bread, 
but  as  the  case  was  urgent  he  gave  him 
some  consecrated  bread.  Having  thus 
appeased  his  hunger,  David  inquired  if 
he  had  any' arms  in  his  possession;  upon 
which  he  offered  him  Goliath's  sword,:): 
the  most  acceptable  weapon  with  which 
he  could  have  presented  him,  as  he  him- 
self acknowledged  there  was  none  like  it. 
David  having  thus  found  means  to  pro- 
cure some  necessaries  from  Abimelech, 
departed  from  Nob,  having  received  in- 
telligence that  Doeg,  the  king's  huntsman, 
was  there ;  who  would  certainly  disclose 
the  interview  to  Saul.  Diffident  of  his 
security  in  any  part  of  Saul's  dominions, 
he  proceeded  to  Gath,  but  remained  not 
long  there  before  he  was  discovered  and 
pointed  at  as  the  mighty  warrior  of  Israel, 
who  had  so  frequently  signalized  himself 
against  the  Philistines;  so  that  to  prevent 
information,  he  feigned  insanity,  and  sus- 
tained the  part  of  a  lunatic,  which  he  as- 
sumed with  such  skill  and  address,  as 
evaded  the  suspicion  of  the  king,  and  gave 
him  an  opportunity  of  flying  to  Adullam,§ 
where  he  was  visited  by  all  his  relations, 
and  applied  to  by  about  four  hundred 
men,  malecontents  and  desperadoes,  to 
take  the  lead  of  them,  who  would  resol- 
utely follow  his  fortune,  whithersoever  he 
went.  Pious  David,  after  his  family  had 
thus  joined  him,  fearing  that  the  resent- 
ment of  Saul  would  fall  upon  his  aged 
parents,  from  a  filial  concern  for  their 
safety,  put  both  himself  and  them  under 


\  Though  the  sword  of  Goliath  was  deposited 
in  the  sacred  place,  it  is  much  to  be  questioned 
whether  it  was  placed  here  as  a  trophy,  because 
trophies  were  generally  hung  up  in  some  conspicu- 
ous place,  which  this  was  not  ;  and  if  it  was  not 
dedicated  to  God  as  a  sacred  trophy,  David's  tak- 
ing it  away  could  not  be  said  to  be  a  profanation. 

§  Adullam  was  a  town  in  the  tribe  of  Judali,  of 
considerable  note  :  and  near  it  was  a  rock  of  the 
same  name,  in  which  was  a  cave  naturally  strong 
and  fortified,  and  into  this  cave  David  retreated. 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

the  protection  of  the  king  of  Achish,  who 
was  tlien  at  enmity  with  Saul. 

With  this  prince  they  dwelt  until  the 
prophet  Gad,  who  attended  David,  ad- 
vised him  to  quit  Moab,  and  return  to  the 
land  of  Judah,  where  he  departed  and  took 
up  his  station  in  the  forest  of  Hareth. 

It  appeared  at  this  time  that  Saul  was 
at  Ramah,  and  having  received  intelli- 
gence of  the  people  who  had  enlisted 
under  the  banner  of  David,  he  upbraided 
his  attendants  with  want  of  loyalty,  in  that 
none  of  them  would  assert  his  cause 
against  the  son  of  Jesse,  who,  together 
with  his  son,  had  conspired  against  his 
person  and  government. 

The  people  to  whom  he  addressed  him- 
self, conscious  of  their  innocence,  made 
no  reply;  but  Doeg,  who  had  seen  David 
with  Abimelech,  the  high-priest,  gave 
Saul  information  of  every  particular  cir- 
cumstance that  had  passed  between  them.* 

Saul,  willing  to  embrace  any  pretence 
in  order  to  avenge  himself  on  David,  or 
any  that  were  attached  to  his  cause,  sum- 
moned Abimelech,  and  all  the  priests 
who  were  in  Nob,  to  appear  before  him. 
The  priests,  not  suspecting  the  king's 
cruel  design,  obeyed  the  royal  mandate, 
and  as  soon  as  they  came  into  his  presence, 
he  addressed  himself  more  particularly  to 
Abimelech,  demanding  of  him  the  cause 
wherefore  he  assisted  the  son  of  Jesse 
with  provision,  and  advice,  and  thereby 
enabled  him  to  prosecute  his  design  of 
supplanting  him  in  his  regal  authority? 

Abimelech,  conscious  of  his  innocence, 
alleged  the  great  merit  of  David,f  both  as 


*  It  does  not  appear  likely  from  what  precedes 
that  Abimelech  or  the  priests  knew  any  thing  of 
Saul's  displeasure  against  David,  and  his  deter- 
mined purpose  to  destroy  him  ;  and  therefore  as 
he  was  the  king's  son-in-law,  and  Abimelech 
thought  he  was  sent  on  some  hasty  errand  by  the 
king,  die  giving  him  bread  and  a  sword  was  what 
he  owed  in  duty  to  Saul,  instead  of  its  being  an 
act  of  treason. 

j-  The  speech,  which  Josephus  draws  up  for  the 
high-priest,  upon  this  occasion,  is  directed  to  Saul, 
and  conceived  in  these  words  :  "  I  did  not  receive 
David  as  your  majesty's  enemy,  but  as  the  most 


261 

related  to  the  king  and  as  a  mighty  warrior 
in  Isiael,  which  were  indispensable  mo- 
tives with  him  for  compliance  with  his 
request;  and  added,  that  he  was  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  king's  conceiving  any 
displeasure  against  him  at  that  time. 

Though  the  plea  of  the  high-priest  was 
so  just  and  equitable,  Saul  determined  to 
sate  his  revenge  on  the  innocent  priest 
and  his  whole  brotherhood,  and  therefore 
ordered  some  of  his  attendants  to  slay 
them,  because  they  had  not  given  him  in- 
formation of  the  place  to  which  David  had 
fled. 

The  guards  having  heard  Abimelech's 
defence,  declined  the  execution  of  so  bar- 
barous a  commission  :  Doe«:  therefore  be- 
ing  present,  undertook  the  bloody  office, 
and  with  a  sacrilegious  hand,  slew  no  less 
than  fourscore  and  five  of  the  priests  of 
the  Lord.  Nor  did  this  cruel  scene  sate 
the  blood-thirsty  Saul ;  for,  sending  a 
party  to  Nob,  he  commanded  them  to 
put  every  living  soul,  together  with  all 
the  cattle  of  the  field,  to  the  destructive 
sword.J 


faithful  of  your  friends  and  officers,  and,  what  is 
more,  in  the  quality  of  your  son  too,  and  a  relation 
in  so  tender  a  degree  of  affinity  and  alliance. 
For  how  should  any  body  imagine  that  man  to  be 
your  enemy,  upon  whom  you  have  conferred  so 
many  honours  ?  Or  why  should  not  I  rather 
presume  such  a  person,  without  any  further  in- 
quiry, to  be  your  singular  friend? — He  told  me, 
ttiat  he  was  sent  in  haste  by  yourself,  upon  earnest 
business;  and  if  I  had  not  supplied  him  with  what 
he  wanted,  it  would  have  reflected  an  indignity 
upon  yourself,  rather  than  upon  him.  Wherefore, 
i  hope,  that  the  blame  will  not  fall  upon  me,  even 
though  David  should  be  found  as  culpable  as  you 
suspect  him  ;  unless  an  act  of  pure  compassion 
and  humanity,  abstracted  from  the  least  thought, 
knowledge,  or  imagination  of  any  evil  intention, 
shall  be  understood  to  make  me  privy  to  a  con- 
spiracy :  for  the  service  1  did  him  was  matter  of 
respect  to  the  king's  son-in-law  and  the  king's 
military  officer,  not  to  the  person  or  interest  of 
David." — Jewish  Antiq. 

•  J  This  party,  as  Josephus  informs  us,  was  com- 
manded by  Doeg,  the  vile  informer  and  murderer, 
who  taking  some  men,  as  wicked  as  himself,  to  his 
assistance,  slew  in  all  three  hundred  and  eighty-five 
persons,  and,  in  addition  to  these,  it  is  thought  by 
some,  that  the  Gibeonites,  upon  whose  account 
there  was  so  sore  a  famine  in  the  days  of  David, 
who  might  now  be  at  Nob,  in  attendance  upon  the 


262 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


One  of  the  sons  of  Abimelech,  named 
Abiathar,  escaped  this  horrid  massacre,  and 
flying  to  David  related  to  him  the  dread- 
ful tidings,  which,  though  he  deplored 
more  bitterly  because  he  looked  on  him- 
self as  the  innocent  cause,  afforded  him 
not  much  surprise,  as  he  had  seen  Doeg 
there,  knew  he  was  acquainted  with  all 
that  had  passed  relative  to  him,  and  that 
he  would  inform  the  king,  whose  frantic 
rage  might  lead  him  to  the  commission  of 
the  most  enormous  actions.  However,  he 
assured  Abiathar  of  his  favour  and  pro- 
tection, that  he  should  share  his  fortune, 
and  that  he  would  hold  his  interest  equally 
dear  with  his  own. 

While  Saul  was  cruelly  employed  in  the 
massacre  of  his  guiltless  subjects,  David 
was  exerting  himself  in  the  just  and  ne- 
cessary defence  of  the  rights  of  his  country; 
for,  having  received  intelligence  that  the 
Philistines  had  made  a  descent  upon  Kei- 
lah,#  a  city  of  Judah,  and  consulted  the 
divine  direction  by  the  prophet  Gad,  he 
marched  to  its  relief,  and  repulsed  the 
enemy  with  great  loss  of  men  and  cattle. 

Saul  having  received  intelligence  of 
David's  success  against  the  Philistines, 
and  concluding  that  he  would  fortify  him- 
self in  the  city  he  had  relieved,  sent  an 
army  to  invest  it.  But  David,  who  never 
entered  on  any  enterprise  without  seeking 
that  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  caused 
young  Abiathar  to  lay  the  cause  before 
the  Lord,  who  warned  them  of  the  perfidy 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  gave  them  to  un- 
derstand, that  if  they   continued   there, 


priests,  were  at  this  time  slain.  It  is  certain,  Saul 
was  now  become  a  mere  tyrant,  and  against  those 
poor  people  acted  more  cruelly  than  he  did 
against  the  Amalekites,  some  of  whom  lie  spared, 
even  contrary  to  God's  command ;  but  in  this  case 
he  let  none  escape,  on  purpose  to  deter  others 
from  giving  the  least  shelter  or  assistance  to  David, 
and  to  incite  them  the  rather  to  come,  and  give 
him  information,  wherever  his  haunts  or  lurking- 
places  were. — Josephus's  Antiq. 

*  Keilah  is  stated  by  Eusebitis  to  be  seventeen 
miles  from  Eleutheropolis,  on  the  side  of  Hebron. 
Jerome  makes  it  only  eight  miles  from  Hebron. 
It  is  said  that  the  prophet  Habakkuk's  tomb  was 
shown  there. 


they  would  be  delivered  into  the  hand  of 
Saul. 

David  therefore,  pursuant  to  the  divine 
direction,  left  that  place,  and  retired  into 
a  wood  in  the  desert  of  Ziph,f  where  he 
was  preserved  from  the  vengeance  of  Saul, 
who  could  not  learn  the  place  of  his  re- 
tirement. 

But  his  good  friend  Jonathan  having 
private  notice  of  his  situation,  visited  him, 
and  encouraged  him  with  an  assurance 
that  the  Lord  would  not  suffer  him  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  his  enraged  father,  see- 
ing he  had  reserved  him  for  the  govern- 
ment of  Israel,  and  the  protection  of  his 
chosen  people.  Then  renewing  their 
covenant  of  friendship,  they  embraced, 
Jonathan  returned  home,  and  David  con- 
tinued in  the  wood. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  place,  near  which. 
David  had  retired,  very  officiously  sent 
Saul  intelligence  where  he  was,  assuring 
him  if  he  would  send  a  sufficient  party  to 
defend  them,  they  would  deliver  David 
into  his  hands.  Saul  acknowledged  their 
proffered  service,  but  desired  that  they 
would  most  carefully  explore  his  haunts, 
as  he  knew  him  to  be  very  subtle  in  all 
his  proceedings,  and  having  done  this,  re- 
turn and  inform  him  of  the  particulars. 
But  David,  apprized  of  the  base  design  of 
the  Ziphites,  shifted  his  quarters,  and  re- 
tired farther  into  the  desert  of  Maon, 
whither  he  was  so  closely  pursued  by 
Saul,  that  nothing  but  a  valley  separated 
the  two  armies;  Saul  therefore  relying  on 
the  superiority  of  his  number,  determined 
to  encompass  the  mountain  where  David 
encamped,  in  order  to  take  or  slay  his 
whole  party ;  however,  he  was  diverted 
from  the  execution  of  this  plan,  by  the 


\  In  the  story  of  David,  we  rind  Carmel  and 
Maon  mentioned  as  adjoining  to  Zip!)  ;  so  that,  it 
is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  by  the  Ziph  in  the 
wilderness,  where  David  now  concealed  himself, 
we  are  to  understand  the  Ziph  which  was  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Carmel  and  Maon,  in  the  sou- 
thern part  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and,  according  to 
St  Jerome,  about  eight  miles  eastward  from  He- 
bron.—  Wells's  Geography. 


Chap.  IL] 


THE  BIBLE. 


263 


arrival  of  a  messenger,  who  brought  word 
that  the  Philistines  had  invaded  the  land, 
and  that  his  assistance  was  immediately 
required.  Thus  was  Saul  at  this  critical 
juncture  compelled  r<>  drop  his  private  re- 
sentment for  the  public  weal,  and  by  di- 
verting his  arms  to  repel  the  invader,  he 
afforded  David  an  opportunity  of  retiring 
into  the  strong  holds  at  Engedi.* 


*  Engedi,  (now  called  Anguedi)  in  the  days  of 
St  Jerome,  was  a  large  village,  situate  in  the  deserts 
which  lay  upon  the  western  coasts  of  the  Salt  or 
Dead  sea,  not  very  far  from  the  plains  of  Jericho  : 
and,  as  the  country  thereabouts  abounded  with 
mountains  arid  these  mountains  had  plenty  of  vast 
caves  in  them,  it  was  a  very  commodious  place  for 
David  to  retire  to,  and  conceal  himself  in.  Euse- 
bius  makes  it  famous  for  excellent  balm  ;  and 
Solomon  in  his  song,  for  vineyards,  which,  in  all 
probability,  were  planted  by  his  father,  during  his 
retirement  in  this  place,  and  therefore  so  peculiarly 
celebrated  by  the  son.  Some  of  these  caves  were 
very  capacious  :  that  of  Engedi  was  so  large,  that 
David  and  six  hundred  men  concealed  themselves 
in  its  sides  ;  and  Saul  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  without  perceiving  that  any  one  was  there. 
"  At  first,  "  says  Mr  Cairne,"  it  appears  neither 
lofty  nor  spacious,  but  a  low  passage  on  the  left 
leads  into  apartments,  where  a  party  could  easily 
remain  concealed  from  those  without.  The  face 
of  the  hill  around  it  corresponds  to  the  description, 
— he  came  to  the  rocks  of  the  wild  goats."  Bish- 
op Pococke  has  described  a  cave,  which  he  thinks 
may  be  this  of  Engedi ;  concerning  which  there  is 
a  tradition,  that  thirty  thoQsand  people  retired  into 
it  to  avoid  a  bad  air.  Josephus  has  taken  par- 
ticular notice  of  similar  caverns,  which  in  his  time 
were  the  abode  of  robbers.  Maundrell  has  de- 
scribed a  large  cavern  under  a  high  rocky  moun- 
tain in  the  vicinity  of  Sidon,  containing  two  hun- 
dred smaller  caverns,  which  are  supposed  to  have 
been  the  residence  of  the  original  inhabitants. 
Numerous  caves  were  noticed  by  Mr  Buckingham 
in  the  rock  to  the  south  of  Nazareth  ;  several  of 
which  now,  as  anciently,  serve  as  dwellings  to  the 
Nazarenes.  Mr  Hartley  has  described  a  similar 
cavern,  capable  of  holding  one  thousand  men  by 
actual  enumeration,  whither  the  Greeks  fled,  and 
found  a  secure  asylum  from  their  Mohammedan 
enemies.  It  was  probably  in  some  such  cave  that 
Lot  and  his  two  daughters  dwelt  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom  (Gen.  xix.  30.);  and  in  similar  ca- 
verns, excavated  by  primeval  shepherds  as  a  shelter 
from  the  scorching  beams  of  the  sun,  Dr  Clarke 
and  his  ft  llow-travellers  found  a  grateful  protection 
from  the  intense  heat  of  the  solar  rays  ;  as  Cap- 
tains Irby  and  Mangles  subsequently  did,  from  a 
violent  storm.  These  caves  were  sometimes  the 
haunts  or  strongholds  of  robbers  (as  the  excava- 
tions in  the  rocks  near  Bethlehem  are  to  this  day), 
and  to  them  our  Lord  probably  alludes  in  Matt, 
xxi.  13.,  where  he  reproaches  the  Jews  with  having 
profaned  the  temple  of  God,  and  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves.     Captain  Lyon  has  described  similar  resi- 


Saul  soon  repulsed  the  Philistines  and 
then  renewed  his  pursuit  of  David,  with 
three  thousand  chosen  men,  amongst  the 
most  mountainous  and  craggy  places  of 
the  country.  As  Saul  was  on  his  march, 
he  happened  to  turn  into  a  cave  to  ease 
nature,  little  suspecting  he  was  so  near 
David,  who  with  a  few  select  men  had  re- 
tired thither  for  safety. 

When  David's  men  saw  the  king  enter 
the  cave  alone,  thinking  that  Providence 
had  ordained  this  circumstance  for  their 
rescue,  they  were  for  despatching  him  im- 
mediately ;  but  David  was  influenced  by 
other  motives,  and  declared  his  abhorrence 
of  the  very  attempt  to  execute  their  pro- 
posal, saying,  *  God  forbid  that  I  should 
stretch  forth  my  hand  against  the  Lord's 
anointed.' 

However,  to  convince  Saul  that  his  life 


dences  occupied  by  a  tribe  of  Troglodytes  in  Nor- 
thern Africa.  "As  the  natives  live  under  ground," 
he  says,  "  a  person  unacquainted  with  the  circum- 
stance might  cross  the  mountain  without  once  sus- 
pecting that  it  was  inhabited.  All  the  dwelling- 
places  being  formed  in  the  same  manner,  a  de- 
scription of  the  Sheik's  may  suffice  for  the  rest. 
The  upper  soil  is  sandy  earth  of  about  four  feet  in 
depth  ;  under  this  sand,  and  in  some  places  lime- 
stone, a  large  whole  is  dug  to  the  depth  of  twenty, 
five  or  thirty  feet,  and  its  breadth  in  every  direction 
is  about  the  same,  being  as  nearly  as  can  be  made, 
a  perfect  square.  The  rock  is  then  smoothed,  so 
as  to  form  perpendicular  sides  to  this  space,  in 
which  doors  are  cut  through,  and  arched  chambers 
excavated,  so  as  to  receive  their  light  from  the 
doors  :  these  rooms  are  sometimes  three  or  four  of 
a  side,  in  others,  a  whole  side  composes  one:  the 
arrangements  depending  on  the  number  of  die  in- 
habitants. In  the  open  court  is  generally  a  well, 
water  being  found  at  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  be- 
low the  base  of  the  square.  The  entrance  to  the 
house  is  about  thirty-six  yards  from  the  pit,  and 
opens  above  ground.  It  is  arched  over  head,  is 
generally  cut  in  a  winding  direction,  and  is  per- 
fectly dark.  Some  of  these  passages  are  sufficient- 
ly large  to  admit  a  loaded  camel.  The  entrance 
has  a  strong  wall  built  over  it,  something  resem- 
bling an  ice-house.  This  is  covered  over-head, 
and  has  a  very  strong  heavy  door,  which  is  shut  at 
night,  or  in  cases  of  danger.  At  about  ten  yards 
from  the  bottom  is  another  door  equally  strong,  so 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  enter  these  houses, 
should  the  inhabitants  determine  to  resist.  Few 
Arab  attacks  last  long  enough  to  end  in  a  sie^e. 
All  their  sheep  and  poultry  being  confined  in  the 
house  at  night,  the  bashaw's  army,  when  here,  had 
recourse  to  suffocating  the  inmates,  being  unable 
to  starve  them  out." — Home. 


264 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


had  been  in  his  hand,  he  privately  cut  off 
the  skirt  of  his  robe. 

This  action,  though  in  itself  inoffensive, 
gave  David  much  concern  on  reflection, 
because  he  thought  he  had  offered  an  in- 
dignity  to  the  majesty  of  his  king.  As 
soon  as  Saul  left  the  cave,  David  likewise 
came  out,  and  calling  to  him  at  a  distance, 
reverently  bowed  before  his  lord  and  king, 
showed  him  the  skirt  of  his  robe,  and  de- 
clared his  innocence  in  such  submissive, 
yet  generous  terms,  as  impressed  the  ob- 
durate heart  of  Saul,  who,  bursting  into 
tears,  with  the  utmost  compunction,  ac- 
knowledged his  guilt  and  David's  justice. 
Then,  as  if  convinced  from  the  great  de- 
liverance God  had  wrought  for  David,  it 
was  his  will  he  should  succeed  to  the 
throne  of  Israel,  he  conjured  him  by  the 
most  sacred  ties  not  to  avenge  on  him  or 
his  family  the  wrongs  he  had  done  him, 
when  he  should  have  it  in  his  power. 

To  obviate  all  fear  on  the  part  of  Saul, 
David  swore  unto  him  he  would  do 
according  to  his  desire,  upon  which  Saul 
returned  home;  but  David,  not  judging  it 
safe  to  rely  on  his  specious  behaviour, 
retired  again  with  his  people  to  their 
strong  holds. 

About  this  time  died  the  prophet 
Samuel,  a  person  in  great  reputation 
among  the  Hebrews,  for  his  probity  and 
virtue;  and  the  people  gave  an  eminent 
proof  of  the  esteem  they  had  for  him  in 
the  magnificence  and  expense  of  his 
funeral. 

They  buried  him  at  Ramah,  in  his  own 
country,  and  mourned  for  him  afterward 
a  long  time,  not  with  the  ceremony  of  a 
formal  public  sorrow,  but  every  individual 
had  a  distinct  and  a  particular  share  in 
the  loss;  for  he  was  a  man  of  a  natural 
benignity  and  justice,  and  most  remark- 
ably in  Gods  favour  for  his  virtues. 

After  the  death  of  Eli,  he  governed 
twelve  years  alone;  and  then  in  the  reign 
of  Saul,  eighteen  years  more.* 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  Jews  are  of  opinion  that  Samuel  died  only 


David's  extraordinary  adventure  with  Nabal, 
after  whose  decease  he  marries  his  wife  Abi- 
gail.— Repeated  instance  of  duty  in  David 
towards  Saul. —  David  repairs  to  Gath. — 
Saul  destroys  the  witches,  afterwards  seeks  to 
one — Samuel  is  raised  and  foretells  the  ruin 
of  Saul — David  meets  with  a  distressful  cir- 
cumstance.—  Overcomes  his  enemies. — Death 
of  Saul  and  Jonathan. 

There  lived  at  that  time  near  the  place 
where  David  frequented,  a  certain  man  of 
the  city  of  Maon,  who  was  very  wealthy 

four  months  before  Saul ;  but,  by  the  generality  of 
Christian  Chronologers,  he  is  supposed  to  have 
died  about  two  years  before  the  death  of  that 
prince,  and  in  the  ninety-eighth  year  of  his  age  ; 
twenty  years  of  which  had  been  spent  in  the 
government  of  Israel,  before  Saul's  inauguration, 
after  which  lie  lived  about  eighteen.  He  was 
while  he  lived  an  excellent  governor,  and,  through 
his  whole  administration,  superior  to  vanity,  cor- 
ruption, or  any  private  views.  Those  that  attend 
to  his  life  may  observe,  that  he  was  modest  with- 
out meanness,  mild  without  weakness,  firm  without 
obstinacy,  and  severe  without  harshness;  the  author 
of  Ecclesiasticus  has  consecrated  this  eulogy  to  his 
memory  : — '  Samuel,  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  be- 
loved of  the  Lord,  established  a  kingdom,  and 
anointed  princes  over  his  people.  By  the  law  of 
the  Lord  he  judged  the  congregation,  and  the  Lord 
had  respect  unto  Jacob.  By  his  faithfulness  he 
was  found  a  true  prophet,  and  by  his  word  he  was 
known  to  be  faithful  in  vision.  He  called  upon 
the  mighty  God,  when  his  enemies  pressed  upon 
him  on  every  side,  when  he  offered  the  sucking 
lamb  :  and  the  Lord  thundered  from  heaven,  and 
with  a  great  noise  made  his  voice  to  be  heard. 
He  destroyed  the  rulers  of  the  Syrians,  and  all  the 
princes  of  the  Philistines.  Before  his  long  sleep, 
he  made  protestations  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  and 
his  anointed,  and  after  his  death  he  prophesied, 
and  showed  the  king  his  end,'  Eccles.  xlvi.  13.  &c. 
But,  besides  the  things  that  are  recorded  of  this 
prophet  in  the  first  book  of  Samuel,  there  are 
some  other  passages  concerning  him  in  the  first 
book  of  Chronicles ;  as,  that  he  enriched  the 
tabernacle  with  several  spoils,  which  he  took  from 
the  enemies  of  Israel  during  his  administration, 
that  he  assisted  in  regulating  the  distribution  of  the 
Levites,  which  David  afterwards  prescribed  for 
the  service  of  the  temple ;  and  lastly,  that  he  wrote 
the  history  of  David,  in  conjunction  with  the 
prophets  Nathan  and  Gad :  but,  as  he  died  before 
David  came  to  the  throne,  this  can  only  be  meant 
of  the  beginning  of  that  history,  which  by  the 
other  two  prophets  might  be  continued.  There  i$ 
great  probability  that  he  composed  the  twenty- 
four  first  chapters  of  the  first  book  of  Samuel, 
which  contains  several  historical  facts  wherein  he 
himself  had  a  large  share  — Stackhouse. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


265 


in  herds  and  possessions,  who  had  in  his 
ground  three  thousand  sheep,  and  a  thou- 
sand goats. 

David  was  so  much  his  friend,  that  he 
set  his  own  people  to  assist  in  looking  after 
his  flocks  ;  forbidding  them  on  their  peril, 
either  for  hunger  or  on  any  other  pretence 
whatever,  to  touch  so  much  as  one  hair  of 
them ;  no,  though  they  were  absolutely 
sure  of  not  being  detected  ;  continually  in- 
culcating on  them  the  duty  and  obligation 
they  lay  under  of  living  according  to  the 
rules  of  justice,  and  in  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God,  who  was  never  pleased  with 
any  man  that  coveted,  or  laid  violent  hands 
on  the  goods  of  his  neighbour. 

By  this  discipline,  David  restrained 
those  about  him  from  violence,  and  kept 
them  within  bounds ;  imagining  all  this 
while,  that  the  kindness  he  had  shown, 
and  the  good  and  generous  offices  he  had 
done,  were  conferred  on  a  person  of  worth 
and  honesty,  who  would  be  sure  to  make 
him  grateful  acknowledgments,  and  a  suit- 
able return. 

But  Nabal  (for  that  was  the  man's 
name)  was  a  brutal,  ill-natured  wretch; 
yet  the  husband  of  a  notable,  discreet, 
prudent,  and  agreeable  woman.  As  he 
was  one  day  shearing  his  sheep,  David 
sent  ten  of  his  people  to  Nabal  with  the 
compliment  of  a  thousand  good  wishes  to 
him,  and  desiring  only  some  moderate 
supply  of  provisions  out  of  his  abundance; 
for  his  shepherds  could  inform  him,  that 
all  the  while  they  had  been  together  in 
the  desert,  they  had  been  so  far  from 
doing  him  any  injury,  that  they  had  rather 
kept  and  preserved  his  sheep  for  him ; 
closing  the  discourse  with  an  assurance, 
that  what  friendship  soever  he  should  do 
for  David  upon  this  occasion,  should  be 
abundantly  acknowledged. 

The  answer  that  Nabal  returned  them 
was  rude  and  churlish,  like  himself.  'Da- 
vid !'  says  Nabal,  '  why,  who  is  that  same 
David,  I  wonder  ?'  They  told  him  he 
was  one  of  the  sons  of  Jesse.  '  Yes,  yes,' 
says  Nabal,  '  your  runaway-servants  look 


upon  themselves  to  be  brave  fellows,  I 
warrant  ye.' 

This  contemptuous  affront  enraged  Da- 
vid to  that  degree  that  he  immediately 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  four  hundred 
men,  leaving  two  hundred  more  behind 
with  the  baggage  (his  number  being  now 
increased  to  six  hundred),  with  a  vow  and 
determination,  that  very  night  to  cut  off 
Nabal,  with  his  house  and  family. 

Now  David's  indignation  against  him 
was  not  so  much  for  his  barbarity  and  in- 
gratitude, where  he  had  been  so  frankly 
obliged,  but  for  the  virulence  of  so  inso- 
lent an  outrage  against  a  man  that  never 
did  him  an  injury. 

While  matters  were  in  this  posture,  one 
of  Nabal's  shepherds  and  servants  carried 
the  story  of  this  encounter  to  the  mistress: 
telling  her,  how  David  being  distressed 
for  provisions,  and  having  sent  to  her  hus- 
band to  desire  some  small  relief  of  him, 
was  not  only  refused  by  him,  but  answer- 
ed with  insufferable  and  opprobrious  revil- 
ings :  though  David  had  ever  dealt  hon- 
ourably and  respectfully  by  him  in  guard- 
ing and  securing  his  flocks  from  injuries 
and  violence;  telling  her  further,  what 
apprehensions  they  had  of  the  mischief, 
that  the  sense  of  this  indignity  might 
bring  upon  herself  and  her  husband. 

So  soon  as  Abigail  (for  that  was  her 
name)  the  wife  of  Nabal,  had  heard  their 
story,  she  presently  called  for  the  asses 
out;  caused  them  to  be  laden  with  pre- 
sents, and,  unknown  to  her  husband,  (who 
was  at  that  time  inebriated  and  senseless, ) 
she  put  herself  upon  the  way  to  find  out 
David,  whom  she  met  coming  down  the 
straits  of  the  mountain,  and  four  hundred 
men  following  him,  with  an  intent  to  take 
vengeance  upon  Nabal. 

Abigail  no  sooner  saw  him  approach, 
but  leaping  from  her  ass,  she  threw  her- 
self prostrate  upon  the  ground,  and  '  hum- 
bly besought  David  to  pass  over  the  words 
of  her  husband,  as  one  whose  name  was 
suited  to  his  nature :'  Nabal  in  Hebrew 
signifying  a  fool  and  a  madman.  '  She 
2l 


266 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


pleaded  for  herself,  that  she  saw  none  of 
the  messengers  that  were  sent  to  her  hus- 
band ;  begged  pardon,  and  desired  David 
to  give  God  thanks  for  sending  her  as  the 
instrument  to  keep  his  hands  from  blood: 
'And  Sir,'  says  she,  'may  you  still  preserve 
yourself  clear  of  that  pollution,  that  God 
may  turn  the  vengeance  that  threatens 
Nabal  upon  the  heads  of  your  enemies. 
Be  pleased,  I  beseech  you,  to  accept  of 
the  good-will  of  your  poor  servant,  with 
these  small  presents,  and  upon  my  hum- 
ble request  to  pass  over  the  offence  of  my 
husband,  who  has  so  justly  incurred  your 
displeasure;  for  there  is  nothing  so  be- 
coming the  character  of  the  person,  that 
Providence  designs  for  a  crown,  as  cle- 
mency and  compassion.'  David  was  pleas- 
ed to  receive  the  present,  telling  her,  that 
she  had  reason  to  bless  God  that  put  it 
into  her  heart  to  meet  him ;  otherwise, 
says  he,  '  you  should  never  have  lived  to 
have  seen  another  day ;  for  I  have  sworn 
to  myself  to  lay  your  house  in  ruins  this 
very  night,  and  not  to  leave  one  soul  alive 
in  the  family  of  that  ungrateful  man,  who 
had  cast  so  many  indignities  upon  me,  and 
those  that  belong  to  me.  You  are  now 
come  in  a  blessed  hour  to  allay  my  rage, 
and  put  a  stop  to  my  resolution ;  but  yet, 
after  all,  though  I  am  content  for  your 
sake  to  forgive  Nabal's  fault  against  me, 
there  is  a  judgment  still  behind  that  at- 
tends him  ;  and  his  ill-manners  will  be  his 
^uin  some  other  way.' 

With  these  words  David  discharged 
Abigail,  who  went  directly  home,  and 
found  her  husband  carousing  among  his 
com  nions,  and  so  sottishly  drunk  with 
winfo,  that  there  was  no  speaking  to  him 
that  night ;  but  the  next  morning,  when 
he  became  sober,  she  told  him  the  whole 
story  from  beginning  to  end ;  which  struck 
him  with  such  astonishment,  that  he  was 
seized  with  a  dead  palsy  upon  it,  and  died 
in  ten  days. 

David,  upon  the  news  of  his  death,  was 
heard  to  say,  that  the  judgment  was  right- 
eous, and  that  God  had  avenged  his  cause, 


while  he  that  received  the  injury  came  off 
with  clean  hands.* 

After  the  decease  of  the  husband  Da- 
vid sent  a  message  and  an  invitation  to 
Abigail,  desiring  her  to  come  over  to  him; 
for  he  would  take  her  for  his  lawful  wife.f 
Her  answer  was,  that  she  was  not  worthy 
so  much  as  to  wash  the  feet  of  David  ; 
but  she  went  to  him,  however,  with  all 
her  equipage,  and  became  his  wife  ;  an 
honour  that  she  was  indebted  to  for  the 
graces  both  of  her  mind  and  person  ;  for 
it  was  her  prudence,  modesty,  and  beauty, 
that  recommended  her  to  this  preferment. 

David  had  also  a  former  wife,  Ahinoam; 
but  as  for  his  late  wife  Michal,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Saul,  her  father  gave  her  away  to 
Phalti,  the  son  of  Laish  of  Gallim. 

It  was  not  long  after  this,  when  the 
men  of  Ziph  brought  a  fresh  account  to 
Saul,    that   David  was   come   into   their 


*  The  world  may  gather  from  this  example, 
that  there  is  no  avoiding  the  stroke  of  Divine  jus- 
tice ;  and  that  it  is  Providence  that  governs  the 
world,  not  passion  or  chance  ;  but  that  both  good 
and  wicked  men  are  either  rewarded  or  punished 
in  their  own  kind. 

f  Marriage-contracts  seem  to  have  been  made 
in  the  primitive  ages  with  little  ceremony.  The 
suitor  himself,  or  his  father,  sent  a  messenger  to 
the  father  of  the  woman,  to  ask  her  in  marriage. 
The  kings  and  nobles  of  Israel  were  not  more  cere- 
monious on  these  occasions.  When  David,  as 
narrated  in  the  text,  heard  that  Nabal  was  dead, 
he  sent  messengers  to  Abigail  to  solicit  her  hand 
in  marriage  :  *  And  they  spake  unto  her,  saying, 
David  sent  us  unto  thee  to  take  thee  to  him  to 
wife.  And  she  arose  and  bowed  herself  on  her 
face  to  the  earth,  and  said,  Behold,  let  thine  hand- 
maid be  a  servant  to  wash  the  feet  of  the  servants 
of  my  lord.'  After  the  death  of  Urijah,  the  same 
prince  sent  and  fetched  Bathsheba  to  his  house, 
and  she  became  his  wife.  This  entirely  corres- 
ponds with  the  mode  in  which  the  oriental  princes 
generally  form  their  matrimonial  alliances.  The 
king  of  Abyssinia,  says  Bruce,  "sends  an  officer  to 
the  house  where  the  lady  lives,  who  announces  to 
her  that  it  is  the  king's  pleasure  she  should  remove 
instantly  to  the  palace.  She  then  dresses  herself  in 
the  best  manner,  and  immediately  obeys.  Thence- 
forward he  assigns  her  an  apartment  in  the  palace, 
and  gives  her  an  house  elsewhere,  in  any  part  she 
chooses.  The  nearest  resemblance  to  marriage  is 
when  he  makes  her  iteghe,  or  queen  ;  for  whether 
in  the  court  or  in  the  camp,  he  orders  one  of  the 
judges  to  pronounce  in  his  presence,  that  he,  the 
king,  has  chosen  his  handmaid,  naming  her,  tor  his 
queen  ;  upon  which  the  crown  is  put  upon  her 
head,  but  she  is  not  anointed." — Puxton. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


267 


quarters  again,  and  that  with  a  little  help 
he  might  be  easily  taken.  Upon  this 
intelligence,  Saul  immediately  marched 
thither  with  three  thousand  men;  and  the 
night  coming  on  he  pitched  his  tents  at  a 
place  called  Hachilah. 

When  David  came  to  understand  that 
Saul  was  moving  that  way,  he  sent  out 
scouts  for  a  particular  information  where 
the  enemy  lay;  and  word  being  brought 
that  they  had  posted  themselves  near 
Hachilah,  David  got  up  in  the  night,  and 
with  only  Abishai,  the  son  of  his  sister 
Zeruiah,  and  Abimelech  the  Hittite,  went 
directly  without  the  privity  of  any  other 
person  into  the  camp  of  the  enemy;  where 
they  found  the  king  in  his  tent,  with  his 
general  Abner,  and  his  guards  about  him, 
all  fast  asleep.* 

Abishai,  seeing  the  king  in  his  bed,  and 
his  lance  by  him,  would  needs  have  nailed 
him  immediately  to  the  ground  ;f  but 
David  held  his  hands,  and  said,  •  Abishai, 
Saul  is  God's  king,  and  his  person  sacred, 
let  the  man  be  never  so  wicked;  he  is  only 
accountable  for  the  ill  management  of  his 
power  to  him  who  gave  him  the  power 
itself.     But  for  a  proof,  however,  that  I 


*  Homer,  speaking  of  Diomede's  followers,  says, 
"  They  found  him  without  before  the  tent,  with 
his  arms,  and  his  followers  sleeping  around  him  ; 
their  shields  were  placed  under  their  heads,  and 
their  spears  were  fixed  upright  in  the  ground  upon 
their  brazen  points.  The  hero  himself  reposed  in 
profound  sleep  upon  the  skin  of  a  wild  bull."  An 
Arab  camp  is  always  circular,  when  the  dispositions 
of  the  ground  will  permit,  the  chieftain  being  in 
the  middle,  and  the  troops  at  a  respectful  distance 
around  him.  Their  lances  are  fixed  near  them  in 
the  ground,  all  the  day  long,  ready  for  action. 
This  was  precisely  the  form  and  arrangement  of 
Saul's  camp,  as  described  by  the  sacred  historian. 
As  it  is  an  universal  custom  in  the  East  to  make 
the  great  meal  at  night,  and  consequently  to  fall 
into  a  deep  sleep  immediately  after  it,  a  handful  of 
resolute  men  might  easily  beat  up  a  camp  of  many 
thousands. — Paxton. 

\  When  we  consider  the  just  foundations  of 
David's  resentment  against  Saul,  and  the  argu- 
ments and  instigations  of  Abishai,  we  cannot  help 
thinking  that  God  put  these  opportunities  in  the 
power  of  David,  on  purpose  to  make  trial  of  his 
virtue  and  clemency:  nor  can  we,  at  the  same 
time,  fail  to  admire  the  glorious  conquest  which 
he  made  over  these  passions,  which  to  many  others 
would  probably  have  proved  irresistible. 


have  him  at  mercy,  though  I  will  not 
make  a  bad  use  of  the  advantage,  I  will 
now  take  away  his  lance  and  pitcher  of 
water  from  his  bed's  side.' 

David,  leaving  the  camp  as  silently  and 
unperceived  as  he  came  into  it,  and  be- 
twixt the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  the 
strength  of  his  own  resolution,  without 
any  apprehension  of  danger,  passed  the 
river;  and  then  getting  up  to  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  within  hearing  of  the  camp,  he 
called  out  from  thence  to  Abner  and  the 
guards,  to  wake  them.  Abner  started 
upon  this  clamour,  and  hearing  himself 
called  by  name,  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
to  know  who  it  was  that  would  speak  with 
him.  Answer  was  made,  it  was  David,  the 
son  of  Jesse,  one  of  your  fugitives.  '  Are 
you  a  fit  man,'  replied  David,  'to  be  a 
prince's  favourite,  a  general  of  his  army, 
and  to  take  upon  you  the  guard  of  his  royal 
person,  and  under  all  these  honourable  ob- 
ligations to  lie  sleeping  at  your  ease  when 
your  master's  life  is  in  danger?  Can  you 
tell  me  what  is  become  of  the  king's  lance 
and  the  pitcher  of  water  that  were  this 
night  taken  by  the  enemy  out  of  his  tent; 
and  even  from  his  very  bed's  side?  and 
you  and  your  guards  fast  asleep,  without 
knowing  any  thing  of  the  matter?  Now 
whether  this  were  neglect  or  treachery,  it 
is  equally  the  same,  you  certainly  deserve 
to  lose  your  head  for  it.' 

When  Saul  found  it  was  David's  voice, 
and  himself  now  a  second  time  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  the  very  person  whose 
life  he  himself  was  seeking,  mistaking  the 
best  friend  he  had  for  the  most  mortal  of 
his  enemies  ;  Saul,  I  say,  was  so  sensible 
of  David's  goodness,  under  the  greatest 
of  provocations,  that  he  gave  him  public 
thanks  for  his  life ;  bidding  him  not  to 
fear  for  the  time  to  come,  but  to  return  to 
his  habitation:  for  he  found  by  experience, 
that  his  life  was  not  dearer  to  himself  than 
it  was  to  David;  whom  now  he  should 
look  upon  as  his  preserver,  and  a  person 
of  so  tried  and  unchangeable  affection  to 
him,  that  notwithstanding  all  banishments, 


268 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


hazards,  ill  usage,  loss  of  friends,  and 
many  attempts  upon  his  life,  lie  returned 
him  nothing  but  benefits  for  injuries. 

David  desired  him  to  send  for  the  lance 
and  the  pitcher,  appealing  to  the  righteous 
God  to  judge  between  them,  and  to  bear 
him  witness,  that  when  he  took  away 
Saul's  lance  and  pitcher,  he  could  with  as 
much  ease  have  taken  away  his  life. 

After  this  deliverance,  Saul  returned 
safe  to  his  palace.  But  David,  not  choos- 
ing to  venture  himself  any  longer  in  a 
place  where  he  thought  himself  still  in 
danger  of  being  taken,  removed  with  his 
six  hundred  men  into  the  land  of  the 
Philistines,  to  dwell  there,  with  the  con- 
sent of  his  people. 

Being  now  come  to  Achish,  the  king  of 
Gath,  one  of  the  five  principal  cities  be- 
longing to  the  Philistines,  the  king  enter- 
tained David,  and  his  two  wives,  Abinoam 
and  Abigail. 

Saul  all  this  while  had  taken  notice  of 
David's  motions;  but  after  two  disappoint- 
ments already,  and  falling  into  the  very 
snare  himself  that  he  had  set  for  David, 
he  left  his  adversary  to  take  his  fortune, 
and  desisted  from  the  pursuit. 

David  found  himself  uneasy  in  the  city 
of  Gath,  and  so  took  the  freedom  to  desire 
of  the  king  this  addition  to  his  former 
bounties,  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  as- 
sign him  some  place  or  portion  of  ground 
in  his  dominions,  for  himself  and  those 
that  belonged  to  him  to  live  upon ;  for  it 
gave  him  some  uneasiness  to  continue 
still  in  a  place  where  he  must  appear  bur- 
densome to  the  people.  So  the  king  gave 
him  Ziklag  *  to  himself  and  his  heirs  for 


*  Ziklag  was  situate  in  the  extreme  parts  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  southwards,  not  far  from  Hormah, 
where  the  Israelites  received  a  defeat,  while  they 
sojourned  in  the  wilderness.  In  the  division  of 
the  land  of  Canaan  it  was  first  given  to  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  31.  and  afterwards  to  that  of 
Simeon,  Josh.  xix.  5.  but  the  Philistines  seem  all 
along  to  have  kept  possession,  so  that  it  never 
came  into  the  hands  of  either  tribe,  until,  by  the 
gift  of  Achish,  it  became  the  peculiar  inheritance 
of  David  and  his  successors.  Why  David  desired 
of  Achish  the  liberty  to  retire  to  this  place,  was  to 


ever ;  and  David  retained  so  gTeat  a  kind- 
ness for  the  place,  even  after  he  came  to 
be  king,  as  to  reserve  it  for  a  private 
possession  for  himself  and  posterity  ever 
afterwards. 

David's  stay  in  Ziklag  was  four  months 
and  twenty  days,  whence  he  made  several 
inroads  upon  their  neighbours,  theGe.Jiur- 
ites,  the  Gezerites,  and  Amalekites,  carry- 
ing away  vast  booties  of  mules  and  camels; 
but  taking  no  prisoners,  for  fear  they 
should  discover  the  whole  mystery  to 
Achish.  He  made  the  king  presents 
however  out  of  the  spoil,  who  would  ask 
him  now  and  then  where  he  met  with  all 
that  pillage.  His  answer  was,  that  he 
had  made  incursions  into  the  southerly 
parts  of  Judea,  and  there  he  found  it. 
There  was  no  great  difficulty  to  make 
Achish  believe  a  story  that  his  heart  was 
so  desirous  to  have  true;  for  it  was 
reasonable  to  think,  that  after  all  this 
havock  and  outrage  committed  by  David 
upon  his  countrymen,  he  would  nevei 
dare  to  look  homeward  again ;  and  by 
that  means  have  nothing  left  to  trust  to 
but  the  service  of  king  Achish. 

The  Philistines  were  about  this  time 
preparing  for  a  war  against  the  Israelites, 
and  a  general  rendezvous  appointed  upon 
such  a  day,  in  Shunem,  where  Achish  was 
to  draw  them  into  a  body,  and  thence  to 
lead  them  out  against  the  enemy.  The 
king  spoke  to  David  also  to  join  him, 
with  his  six  hundred  men  over  and  above 
his  own  troops;  who  not  only  promised  it 
with  great  readiness,  but  told  Achish  fur- 
ther that  the  time  was  now  at  hand  that 
would  put  it  into  his  power  to  make  him 
an  honourable  return  for  all  his  bounties. 

The  king,  on  the  other  hand,  passing 
his  royal  v/ord  to    David,    the   more   to 


avoid  the  envy  which  the  number  of  his  attend- 
ants might  possibly  occasion;  to  secure  his  people 
from  the  infection  of  idolatry  ;  to  enjoy  the  free 
exercise  of  his  own  religion  ;  and  to  gain  an 
opportunity  of  enterprising  something  against  the 
enemies  of  (iod,  without  the  knowledge  or  obser- 
vation of  the  Philistines. —  Calmet'a  Commentary 
and  Poole's  Annotations. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


269 


oblige  him,  that  if  he  succeeded  in  this 
battle,  he  would  invest  him  with  great 
honours,  and  in  particular  give  him  the 
command  of  his  guards. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  Saul  had  ban- 
ished all  diviners,  soothsayers,  fortune- 
tellers, and  all  other  people  whatsoever,  of 
such  vain  pretensions,  out  of  his  dominions; 
but  the  prophets  he  still  retained. 

News  being  brought  to  Saul,  that  the 
Philistines  were  advanced  as  far  as  Shu- 
nem,*  and  encamped  upon  the  plain  there, 
he  went  out  to  meet  them,  and  drew  up 
near  the  mountain  of  Gilboa,  directly 
opposite  the  camp  of  the  enemy. 

The  armies  being  now  in  sight  of  each 
other,  Saul  found  the  Philistines  so  much 
superior  to   the  Israelites,  that  his  heart 
misgave    him ;    and   this    terror    put  him 
upon   consulting  the  prophets  about  the 
event  of  this  battle.     The  question  being 
put,  but  no  answer  returned,  the  silence 
of  the  oracle  was  worse  to  Saul  than  all 
the  rest;  for  he  looked  upon  it  as  a  fore- 
boding presage  of  an  evil  fate  at  hand, 
that  he  fell  into  a  downright  despondency 
upon  it ;  and  yet  such  was  the  hardness  j 
of  his  heart,  that  though  God  had  with- 
drawn  his  favour  from  him  in  such  a  sig-  ] 
nal  manner,  and  he  himself  conscious  of  i 
it,  he  had  still  recourse,  after  all  this,  to  | 
conjurors  and  wizards,  to  learn  the  event 
of  things,  and  set  people  at  work  to  find 
him  out  some  cunning  woman,  who  could  ! 
foretell  things  to  come ;  for  there  were  a 
sort  of  people  that  took  upon  them  to  call 
upon  the  ghosts  of  the  dead,  and  thereby  I 
to  resolve  such  questions  about  future  con-  ' 
tingencies  as  the  querists  should  please  to 
ask  them. 

While  he  was  upon  this  inquiry,  one  of  I 


*  Slnincm  was  a  city  in  the  borders  of  the  tribe 
of  Issachni,  about  rive  miles  to  the  south  of  mount 
Hermon,  according  to  St  Jerome  and  Eusebius  ; 
who  tell  us  likewise,  that  Gilboa  was  a  ridge  of 
mountains,  six  miles  distant  from  Scythopolis, 
anciently  called  Bethshan  ;  and  that  Endor  was  a 
town  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Gilboa. —  Wells's  Geography  and  Le  Clerc's 
Commentary. 


his  family  informprt  him  that  he  had  heard 
of  such  a  woman  at  Endor.  Upon  this 
information  Saul  disguised  himself,  and 
taking  two  confidents  along  with  him, 
went  directly  to  the  woman  of  Endor, 
without  acquainting  any  other  person. 

The  first  thing  he  asked  of  her  was,  as 
a  trial  of  her  skill,  in  calling  up  the  ghost 
of  such  a  person  as  he  should  name.  The 
woman  excused  herself,  out  of  a  reverence 
to  the  king's  edict,  which  had  forbidden 
this  way  of  divination  upon  pain  of  ban- 
ishment ;  wherefore  she  besought  him  not 
to  betray  her  into  a  snare,  for  if  she  should 
pretend  to  give  a  resolution,  and  be  de- 
tected, the  practice  would  infallibly  be  her 
ruin. 

But  this  refusal  would  not  satisfy  Saul> 
who,  pressing  her  still  more  and  more,  with 
bitter  imprecations  upon  himself,  that  no 
mortal  should  ever  know  of  one  syllable 
that  passed  between  them,  either  question 
or  answer,  she  was  prevailed  upon  at  last 
to  venture  herself  upon  the  credit  of  such 
assurances,  that  she  was  safe  in  his  hands. 

Immediately  upon  her  consenting  to  his 
request,  Saul  bade  her  call  up  the  ghost 
of  Samuel.  And  upon  her  calling  him 
up,   the    ghost  appeared.f     The  woman 


■f  It  is  much  disputed  who  it  was  that  appear- 
ed on  this  occasion  ;  for  the  whole  narrative  mani- 
fests that  it  was  no  human  imposture.  Many 
expositors,  ancient  and  modern,  have  maintained, 
that  it  was  Satan  personating  Samuel  ;  though  the 
text  does  not  give  the  least  intimation  of  it.  It 
is,  however,  by  no  means  advisable  to  give  those 
men  any  countenance,  who,  to  support  a  favourite 
system,  put  a  forced  construction  upon  ttie  words 
of  holy  writ,  very  different  from  their  obvious 
meaning:  and  scarcely  any  of  their  interpretations 
can  sound  harsher,  than  the  insertion  in  every 
place,  where  Samuel  is  mentioned,  'that  it  was 
Satan  personating  Samuel.' — It  is  indeed  argued, 
that  the  woman's  incantations  could  have  'no 
power  over  a  glorified  saint  :'  but  to  this  it  may 
fairly  be  answered,  that  neither  could  an  evil  spirit 
appear  at  her  call,  without  the  Lord's  permission. 
Though  the  woman  was  not  the  cause  of  Samuel's 
being  sent,  Saul's  inquiry  might  be  the  occasion  ot 
it.  The  word  disquieted  seems  to  be  used  merely 
in  accommodation  to  the  general  notions  of  man- 
kind on  that  subject  :  and  the  woman's  surprise 
and  terror  proved„that  it  was  an  unusual  and  un- 
expected appearance,  and  not  the  ordinary  effect 
of  her  art.     It  is,  however,  further  urged,  that 


270 


HISTORY  OP 


[Book  IV. 


was  under  an  astonishment  at  the  sight  of 
so  divine  a  figure,  and  turning  toward 
Saul,  asked  him,  ■  If  he  were  not  Saul  the 
king?'     Saul  made  answer,  that  he  was 


the  apparition's  discourse  tended  to  drive  Saul  to 
despair,  which  is  one  of  Satan's  temptations  ;  and 
that  it  contained  no  exhortations  to  repentance, 
which  were  usual  with  the  prophets.  But  to  this 
it  may  be  replied,  that  Elijah's  message  to  Aha- 
ziah,  Daniel's  address  to  Belshazzar,  and  even 
Christ's  discourse  in  the  presence  of  Judas,  were 
equally  calculated  to  drive  each  of  them  to  de- 
spair ;  and  equally  void  of  exhortations  to  repent, 
and  proposals  of  mercy.  Saul  had  despised  Sam- 
uel's solemn  warnings  in  his  life-time;  yet  now 
he  hoped,  as  it  were,  in  defiance  of  (rod,  to  obtain 
some  counsel  and  encouragement  from  him  :  and 
why  might  not  God  permit  the  soul  of  his  depart- 
ed prophet  to  appear  and  confirm  his  former  sen- 
tence, and  denounce  Saul's  irrevocable  doom  ? 
It  was  not  beyond  the  power  of  God,  nor,  that  I 
can  see,  at  all  unworthy  of  him  ;  but  rather  a  de- 
claration of  his  immutable  and  irreversible  truth 
and  justice.  Satan  could  not  have  predicted  the 
several  events,  which  came  to  pass  accordingly,  as 
far  as  we  know,  without  being  inspired  by  God  to 
do  so  :  and  it  would  give  far  more  countenance  to 
consulting  witches,  to  suppose  that  he  inspired 
Satan  to  prophesy  by  them,  than  to  conclude  that 
Samuel  was  sent  with  this  tremendous  message 
from  God,  when  Saul  consulted  one  of  them.  In- 
deed this  would  most  powerfully  discourage  such 
attempts ;  as  the  request  of  the  rich  man  in  hell 
to  Abraham,  being  entirely  vain,  is  calculated  to 
discourage  praying  to  departed  saints.  The  local 
situation  of  departed  spirits  is  so  concealed  from 
us,  that  the  circumstance  of  the  spirit  apparently 
'arising  out  of  the  earth,'  forms  no  real  objection 
against  its  being  the  soul  of  Samuel :  and  the  ex- 
pression, '  shall  thou  and  thy  sons  be  with  me,' 
means  no  more,  than  that  they  should  be  in  the 
eternal  world.  The  transaction  was  suited  to  im- 
press the  idea  of  a  future  state  on  the  mind  of  all 
who  should  ever  hear  or  read  of  it  ;  and  it  deter- 
mined nothing  about  the  different  conditions  of 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  Upon  the  whole, 
there  appears  much  solemnity  in  God's  for  once 
permitting  the  soul  of  a  departed  prophet  to  make 
his  appearance,  as  a  witness  from  heaven,  and  in 
sending  him  to  confirm  the  word  which  he  spoke 
on  earth,  (evincing  that  the  words  of  the  prophets 
would  surely  take  effect  ;)  and  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  a  proud  enemy  of  God,  who  foolishly  sought 
encouragement  in  his  impenitency,  by  the  most 
atrocious  crimes.  This  interpretation  is  certainly 
obvious,  and  suited  to  the  apprehensions  of  the 
unlearned  reader,  and  according  to  the  general 
simplicity  of  the  scriptures :  and  nothing  short  of 
unanswerable  arguments  and  objections,  should 
constrain  us  to  suppose,  that  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
said  Samuel,  he  meant  Satan,  not  speaking  by 
Samuel,  as  he  did  by  the  serpent  and  by  the  de- 
moniacs ;  but  actually  counterfeiting  his  shape, 
and  speaking  with  his  voice,  though  Samuel  him- 
self was  in  every  sense  absent  from  the  place. 
The   venerable  appearance  of  Samuel,  or  sorne- 


the  man ;  and  observing  her  to  be  trem- 
bling, and  in  disorder,  desired  to  know 
what  might  be  the  cause  of  that  confusion 
She  answered,  she  saw  the  resemblance 
of  an  ancient  man,  with  a  radiant  glory 
about  him,  ascending  from  the  earth. 
Saul  demanded  of  her  what  kind  of  figure, 
of  what  years,  and  in  what  habit  he  seem- 
ed to  be  ?  she  said,  •  A  man  in  years,  of 
a  venerable  aspect,  and  in  a  sacerdotal 
vest.'  By  this  description  Saul  concluded 
it  to  be  the  figure  of  Samuel,  and  fell 
down  upon  his  face  and  worshipped.  The 
spectre  demanded  what  he  gave  him  this 
trouble  for,  to  take  him  from  his  place  of 
rest  ?  Saul  replied,  that  it  was  absolute 
necessity;  for  he  was  threatened  with  a 
mighty  army,  and  wanted  advice  what  to 
do ;  for  God  had  forsaken  him,  and  he 
had  neither  prophets,  dreams,  nor  visions 
to  fly  to  for  direction.  For  these  reasons, 
he  had  now  recourse,  as  he  said,  to  Sam- 
uel, as  his  last  refuge,  and  a  person  that 
he  had  ever  found  favourable  to  himself 
and  his  affairs.  Samuel,  foreseeing  that 
Saul  had  but  one  day  more  to  live,  told 
him,  '  How  vain  a  thing  it  was  for  him 
who  knew  himself  forsaken  of  God,  to 
launch  out  into  unseasonable  curiosities, 


thing  which  he  spoke,  convinced  the  woman  that 
it  was  Saul  who  consulted  her.  '  She  perceived, 
by  the  reverence  the  spectre  paid  him,  who  he 
was:'  for  so  Abarbinel  interprets  it,  'he  bowed 
with  his  face  to  the  ground,  in  honour  of  Saul, 
whereby  the  woman  concluded  that  it  was  the 
king.'  Thus  then,  if  the  devil  personated  Samuel, 
he  worshipped  Saul,  not  Saul  him  !  A  likely  thing, 
truly,  that  either  Samuel,  or  Satan  personating 
him,  should  thus  reverence  Saul!  It  shows  to 
what  difficulties  the  supporters  of  the  latter  opi- 
nion are  reduced.  Saul's  bowing  down  before 
Samuel,  was  not  indeed  an  act  of  religious  wor- 
ship, any  more  than  Abigail's  bowing  down  be- 
fore David.  The  answer  of  Samuel  was  in  every 
respect  suitable  to  his  character,  and  to  the  occa- 
sion. It  was  entirely  in  vain  for  Saul  to  consult 
the  servant,  when  the  Lord  was  become  his  ene- 
my ;  the  Lord  was  only  doing  to  him  as  he  de- 
clared he  would  ;  and  as  Samuel  knew  him  to  be 
finally  given  up,  he  neither  gave  him  counsel  nor 
comfort.  The  woman  first  saw  the  appearance  ; 
but  afterwards  Saul  seems  to  have  seen  it,  as  well 
as  to  have  heard  the  words  spoken.  Some  think 
that  neither  Said's  servants  nor  the  woman  heard 
what  passed. — Scot* 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIRLE. 


^71 


about  what  should  hereafter  become  of 
him.  'But,'  says  the  ghost,  'since  no- 
thing else  will  serve  your  turn,  I  am  to 
tell  you,  that  the  Almighty  God  1ms  de- 
termined that  David  shall  be  put  into 
possession  of  the  government,  and  bring 
the  present  war  to  a  happy  conclusion, 
while  you  yourself  are  to  lose  your  crown 
and  your  life  together,  for  your  disobe- 
dience to  God  in  the  business  of  the 
Amalekites,  and  for  the  contempt  of  his 
commands,  which  from  my  lips  you  re- 
ceived by  his  order,  while  I  was  living. 
Know  further,  that  you  are  to  be  with  me 
to-morrow  ;*  your  army  shall  be  over- 
thrown, and  yourself  and  your  sons  fall  in 
the  battle.' 

These  awful  words  struck  Saul  speech- 
less, and  fainting,  he  fell  to  the  ground; 
whether  this  proceeded  from  so  dreadful 
a  sentence,  or  from  weakness  of  body, 
may  be  a  question,  though  most  probably 
the  latter,  for  he  had  eat  nothing  for 
twenty-four  hours.  But  at  last,  coming  a 
little  to  himself,  the  woman  very-  earnest- 
ly pressed  him  to  take  some  refreshment 
to  support  nature ;  desiring  no  other  con- 
sideration for  the  dangerous  office  she  had 
performed  him,  than  to  put  him  in  a  con- 
dition of  strength  and  ability  to  return  to 
his  army. 

She  was  thoroughly  sensible  of  the  haz- 
ard she  had  run  in  the  exercise  of  a  for- 
bidden profession ;  and  especially  in  the 
violation  of  a  decree  at  the  desire  (though 
inadvertently)  of  him  that  made  it. 

After  a  great  many  importunities,  in 

*  In  this  passage,  the  word  to-morrow,  (as  some 
interpreters  imagine)  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  strict 
sense,  because  (as  they  conceive)  this  battle  was 
not  fought  till  some  time  after  ;  but  there  seems 
to  be  no  reason  why  to-morroio  should  not  be 
taken  literally  :  for,  as  Endor  was  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  the  Israelites'  camp,  Saul  might  go  that 
night,  consult  the  witch,  stay,  and  eat  with  her, 
and  get  back  to  the  camp  before  it  was  light.  The 
next  day  the  battle  begins  ;  Saul  is  vanquished ; 
and  seeing  his  army  routed,  despairs,  and  stabs 
himself.  All  this  might  very  well  be  done  in  the 
space  of  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  ;  and  therefore 
1  see  no  occasion  why  we  should  depart  from  tne 
plain  signification  of  the  words. —  Caimet's  Com- 
mentary. 


the  depth  of  his  despondence  Saul  was 
prevailed  on  to  take  some  nourishment. 
Accordingly,  the  woman,  though  poor, 
killed  her  only  calf,  dressed  it,  and  set  it 
before  Saul  and  his  servants,  with  her 
whole  fortune  in  that  treat;  who  took  his 
repast,  and  returned  that  night  to  the 
army.f 

The  Philistines  having  drawn  then 
troops  together  from  all  quarters,  accord- 
ing to  their  distribution  into  tribes,  king- 
doms, and  governments,  Achish,  the  king 
of  Gath,  with  his  men  after  the  rest,  and 
David  with  his  band  of  six  hundred  after 
Achish;  several  of  the  Philistine  com- 
manders taking  notice  of  a  mixture  of 
Israelites  among  them,  inquired  from 
whence  they  came?  who  sent  for  them  ? 
and  what  they  did  there?  Achish  made 
answer,  '  That  the  young  man  (pointing 
to  David)  was  a  servant  of  Saul's  who  was 
fallen  under  his  displeasure,  and  forced  to 
fly  for  his  life.  He  came  to  me,'  savs 
Achish,  'with  the  people  he  has  about 
him,  for  sanctuary ;  so  I  received  him, 
and  provided  for  him ;  and  now  upon  this 
occasion  he  has  promised  me  his  utmost 
assistance  against  Saul,  in  requital  for  his 
protection,  and  to  gratify  his  revenge.' 

t  We  must  not  pass  over  the  candour,  the  good- 
nature, and  the  greatness  of  the  woman's  mind, 
without  some  note  of  admiration.  The  king  had 
forbidden  her  the  practice  of  an  art  that  was  the 
only  maintenance  of  herself  and  family.  Here 
comes  a  guest  and  a  stranger  to  her,  that  f  he  had 
never  seen  before  ;  but  a  person  in  misery,  and 
one  that  had  need  of  her  advice  in  the  way  that 
he  himself  had  forbidden  ;  for  it  proved  to  be  the 
king.  She  received  nim,  treated  him,  and  relieved 
him  ;  and  all  this  she  did  willingly  and  cheerfully ; 
nay,  and  so  frankly  too,  that  she  gave  him  all  she 
had,  and  without  any  prospect  or  contemplation 
of  a  reward,  by  gaining  the  king's  favour  ;  for  she 
knew  he  was  doomed  to  die  ;  besides  that,  over 
and  above  the  piety  of  these  offices,  she  did  all 
this  for  the  very  man  whose  prohibition  had  been 
the  ruin  of  her.  This  proceeding  was  quite  con- 
trary to  the  custom  of  the  world,  that  makes  char- 
ity an  interest,  and  gives  or  relieves  only  to  get  by 
the  bargain,  putting  out  virtue,  as  they  do  money, 
to  interest.  We  may  reckon  that  we  have  recom- 
mended to  us  in  the  great  example  of  this  gener- 
ous woman  the  honour  and  humanity  of  doing 
good  offices  to  all  people  in  necessity  ;  besides, 
that  a  sincere  and  unaffected  charity  is  a  virtue  of 
all  others  the  most  acceptable  in  God's  sight. 


272 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


The  Philistines  were  one  and  all  against 
trusting  a  professed  enemy,  and  were 
rather  for  sending  him  back,  for  they  did 
not  know,  they  said,  what  mischief  the 
treachery  of  such  a  party  might  do  upon 
such  an  occasion.  And  for  the  difference 
betwixt  him  and  his  master,  the  service 
he  might  do  him  upon  this  opportunity, 
would  compound  for  forty  such  breaches; 
wherefore  Achish  should  do  well,  they 
said,  to  consider  what  he  was  doing,  and 
without  more  words  to  send  him  back  to 
the  habitation  he  had  assigned  him ;  for 
this  was  the  David,  they  said,  that  the 
virgins  cried  up  so  in  their  songs,  for  kill- 
ing so  many  thousands  of  the  Philistines. 
Achish  could  not  oppose  the  force  and 
reason  of  the  objection ;  and  therefore  he 
thought  fit  to  take  David  aside,  and  con- 
verse with  him  upon  that  subject,  saying, 

"  Young  man,  upon  the  certain  proof 
and  experience  that  I  have  received  of  your 
fidelity  and  courage,  I  have  now  enter- 
tained you  as  my  ally  and  associate  in  this 
expedition,  wherefore  withdraw  yourself 
immediately  to  the  place  I  have  allotted 
you,  and  have  a  particular  care  there  of 
the  peace  of  my  people,  and  the  country 
near  you,  for  fear  my  enemies  should  take 
advantage  of  my  absence  and  press  me 
with  troubles  at  home.  You  will  do  me 
the  office  of  a  kind  ally,  every  jot  as 
effectually  in  that  government  as  if  you 
were  my  second  in  the  army ;  and  in  the 
mean  time,  I  am  as  much  your  friend  as 
ever." 

Upon  this  declaration  of  Achish,  they 
parted,  and  David,  according  to  his  order, 
went  his  way  to  Ziklag. 

But  while  David  was  following  the 
camp  of  the  Philistines,  the  Amalekites 
fell  upon  Ziklag,  took  it,  and  laid  it  in 
ashes ;  making  dreadful  havoc  in  the 
country  thereabouts:  they  pillaged  all 
wherever  they  came,  and  at  last  went 
home  again  with  what  booty  they  could 
carry  along  with  them. 

David,  at  his  return,  finding  the  place 
of  his  habitation  destroyed  and  desolate, 


his  own  wives,  and  the  wives  and  children 
of  his  fellow-soldiers  hurried  away  prison- 
ers, with  all  that  belonged  unto  them,  he 
broke  out  into  so  passionate  an  extrava- 
gance of  lamentation  and  outrage,  that  he 
rent  his  clothes,  and  wept  himself  dry, 
even  for  want  of  matter  to  supply  more 
tears.  His  followers  were  ready  to  stone 
him  too,  for  the  loss  of  their  wives  and 
children ;  for,  they  said,  he  was  the  cause 
of  all,  and  the  whole  miscarriage  was  laid 
at  his  door. 

When  David  had  wearied  himself  wi 
weeping,  he  came  to  the  resolution  o 
applying  to  Heaven  for  comfort ;  and  de- 
sired Abiathar  the  high-priest  to  put  on 
his  pontifical  robes,  and  consult  God  in 
form,  and  then  report  of  the  oracle.  The 
question  was,  •  whether  or  not,  in  case  of 
overtaking  the  Amalekites  upon  the  pur- 
suit, the  Israelites  might  be  allowed  to  re- 
ceive their  wives  and  children  again,  that 
had  been  taken  from  them  before,  and  re- 
venge themselves  upon  the  enemy  ?' 

The  high-priest  bade  David  follow 
them,  and  prosper.  Upon  which  en- 
couragement he  took  his  six  hundred  men, 
and  pursued  them  to  the  brook  Besor  ;* 
where  they  found  an  Egyptian  that  had 
lost  his  way,  and  was  ready  to  perish 
with  hunger,  having  been  three  days  in 
the  desert  without  eating.  They  took 
pity  upon  him,  and  after  giving  him  a  little 
refreshment,  they  asked  him  who  he  was  ? 
and  to  whom  he  belonged  ?  He  told 
them  he  was  an  Egyptian  born,  and  a  ser- 
vant to  a  person  who  was  at  the  sacking 
and  burning  of  Ziklag,  and  the  country 
thereabouts;  who  left  him  upon  the  way 
in  his  passage  home  again,  because  he 
was  so  faint  that  he  could  not  keep  up 
with  the  troops. 

David  made  use  of  this  Egyptian  for 
his  guide,  upon  the  trace  of  the  Amalek- 


*  This  brook  had  its  source  in  the  mountain  of 
Idumea,  and  fell  into  the  Mediterranean  sea  be- 
yond Gaza.  Some  suppose  it  to  have  been  the 
same  with  the  river  of  the  wilderness,  or  the  river 
of  Egypt. 


Chap  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

ites,  whom,  at  last,  he  overtook,  and 
found  some  feasting,  and  some  dancing 
with  much  pride  and  vanity,  in  the  con- 
templation of  their  late  booty.  In  short, 
while  they  were  drowned  in  drink  and 
sleep,  and  wholly  set  upon  their  ease  and 
pleasure,  and  unarmed,  David  fell  upon 
them  in  this  disorder  and  confusion, 
mingling  their  blood  with  their  wine,  so 
that  there  escaped,  out  of  their  whole 
number,  not  above  four  hundred  persons, 
who  were  carried  of  by  the  swiftness  of 
their  camels.*  The  pursuit  continued 
from  noon  until  night;  and  in  the  close 
of  the  action  they  recovered  their  wives, 
children,  and  booty. 

David  had  but  four  hundred  men  with 
him,  the  other  two  hundred  being  left 
behind  for  a  guard  to  the  baggage. 

Upon  his  return  from  the  spoil,  the 
four  hundred  that  were  upon  the  action, 
would  not  allow  the  two  hundred,  that 
were  upon  easier  service,  to  have  any  part 
in  the  booty,  excepting  their  wives  and 
children. 

David  looked  upon  this  as  an  unreason- 
able proposition;  'For,'  said  he,  'the  vic- 
tory was  given  by  God,  and  being  a  bless- 
ing upon  the  common  cause,  it  is  but  rea- 
sonable that  the  whole  body  should  partake 
of  the  benefit,  especially  where  the  one 
part  was  upon  duty,  as  well  as  the  other, 
and  at  the  same  time  preserved  the  bag- 
gage.' 

This  decision  passed  into  a  law,  that  is 
to  say,  the  spoil  to  be  equally  divided  be- 
tween them  that  guarded  the  baggage, 
and  those  that  should  fight  the  battle. 

David,  after  his  return  to  Ziklag,  sent 


*  It  appears  from  Diodorus,  that  the  Arabians 
universally  employed  camels  in  war,  setting  two 
warriors  upon  each,  back  to  back,  of  whom  one 
opposed  the  advancing  enemy,  the  other  repelled 
the  charge  of  the  pursuer.  All  the  Arabians  in 
the  army  of  Xerxes  were  mounted  on  camels  that 
equalled  in  speed  the  swiftest  horses.  The  Bac- 
tnans  also  fought  on  camels  ;  and  the  Parthians, 
in  their  wars  with  the  Romans,  annoyed  with 
unceasing  showers  of  arrows,  from  their  horses  and 
camels,  the  legions  of  their  restless  and  terrible 
foe. — Script.  Must. 


273 

up  and  down  to  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ance,' in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  presents  out 
of  the  spoil.f 

We  shall  pass  now  from  the  destruction 
of  Ziklag,  and  the  total  overthrow  of  the 
Amalekites,  to  a  bloody  victory  obtained 
by  the  Philistines  over  trie  Israelites. 

The  armies  being  joined,  the  encounter 
was  very  sharp.  Said  and  his  sons  did 
all  that  was  possible  for  brave  men  to  do; 
but  finding  themselves  oppressed  with 
numbers  (for  the  whole  stress  lay  upon 
them)  they  had  no  more  to  do  than  to 
die  honourably,  that  the  enemy  should 
have  little  reason  to  boast  of  their  pur- 
chase. 

In  fine,  they  were  so  continually  sur- 
rounded by  fresh  numbers,  that  they  were 
forced  to  submit  to  the  necessity  of  an  in- 
superable fate. 

Upon  the  fall  of  Saul's  sons,  viz.  Jona- 
than, Aminadab,  and  Malchishua,  that 
were  slain  in  the  heat  of  the  battle,  the 
whole  army  fell  into  confusion,  and  fled 
in  a  direct  rout;  the  Philistines,  pressing 
upon  the  rear,  made  a  prodigious  slaugh- 
ter. 

Saul  shifted  for  himself  a-while,  with  a 
small  body  of  his  own,  but  they  were  soon 
broken  by  the  darts  and  arrows  \  of  the 


f  This  was  a  very  popular  and  judicious  step  in 
David,  as  he  hereby  not  only  discharged  himself  of 
the  obligations  of  gratitude,  but  endeavoured  to 
secure  their  interest  and  favour,  in  case  there 
should  happen  a  vacancy  in  the  throne. 

J  There  is  no  mention  of  archers  in  any  of  the 
Philistine  armies  or  battles  before  this  ;  in  which 
they  are  said  to  have  pressed  hard  upon  Saul,  as 
doubtless  they  were  of  great  advantage  to  the 
Philistines  in  making  their  attack,  1st,  Because 
an  assault  with  this  kind  of  weapon  was  new  and 
surprising,  and  therefore  generally  successful;  and 
2dly,  Because  the  arrows,  destroying  the  Israelites 
at  a  distance,  before  they  came  to  close  right, 
threw  them  naturally  into  terror  and  confusion. 
And  for  this  reason  some  think,  that,  when  Davist 
came  to  the  throne,  he  taught  the  Israelites  tlw 
use  of  the  bow,  (as  we  read  2  Sam.  i.  18.)  thut 
they  might  not  be  inferior  to  the  Philistines,  »r>r 
fall  into  the  like  disaster  that  Saul  had  done;  arid 
for  this  reason  it  certainly  was,  that,  when  he  had 
made  a  peace  with  the  Philistines,  he  took  some 
of  their  archers  (who,  in  the  following  books,  are 
frequently  mentioned  under  the  name  of  Chereth- 
ites)  to  be  his  body  guard. — Bishop  Patrick. . 
2  M 


274 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


Philistines;  and  finding  himself  so  weak- 
ened with  wounds  and  loss  of  blood,  that 
he  was  not  able  to  do  execution  upon 
himself,  therefore,  in  this  extremity,  he 
called  to  his  armour-bearer  to  assist  him 
in  it,  that  he  miydit  not  fall  alive  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  But  the  servant 
excused  himself,  out  of  the  veneration  he 
had  for  his  majesty,  and  upon  that  refusal 
Saul  cast  himself  upon  the  point  of  a 
sword;  *  but  not  being  able  to  finish  what 
he  had  begun,  he  took  notice  of  a  young  J 
man,  an  Amalekite,  near  at  hand,  and 
desired  him  to  take  the  sword,  and  des-  i 
patch  him.f     He  did  it  immediately,  and 


*  The  learned  and  ingenious  author  of  '  The 
Historical  Account  of  the  Life  of  King  David,' 
seems  to  make  it  evident,  that  Saul  and  his  armour- 
bearer  died  by  the  same  sword,  viz.  that  which 
belonged  to  the  armour-bearer.  "  Now  it  is  an 
established  tradition  of  the  Jewish  church,"  says 
he,  "that  this  armour-bearer  was  Doeg  the  Edom- 
ite,  who,  by  Saul's  command,  slew  such  a  number 
of  priests  in  one  day,  1  Sam.  xxii.  19.  and  if  so, 
then  Saul  and  his  executioner  fell  both  by  the 
same  weapon  wherewith  they  had  before  massacred 
the  servants  of  the  Lord :  even  as  Brutus  and 
Cassius  killed  themselves  with  the  same  sword 
with  which  they  treacherously  murdered  Caesar;  I 
say  treacherously  murdered,  because  they  lay  in 
his  bosom  at  the  same  time  that  they  meditated 
his  death." 

f  The  Jews  give  us  a  high  commendation  of 
Saul,  and  seem  to  prefer  him  before  David  himself 
in  regard  to  the  magnanimity  of  his  death.  But  it 
is  much  to  be  questioned  whether  self-murder, 
which  was  certainly  Saul's  case,  be  an  act  of  mag- 
nanimity or  not.  For  besides  that  the  laws  of  all 
nations  have  condemned  it,  as  abhorrent  to  the 
dictates  of  nature  and  reason,  of  self-love  and  self- 
preservation,  the  wisest  of  the  heathen  world 
ever  looked  upon  it  as  an  instance  of  madness  and 
brutality,  and,  with  great  wisdom,  have  concluded, 
that  such  an  action  is  so  far  from  savouring  of  true 
courage  and  generosity,  that  it  is  the  sure  effect  of 
a  weak  and  pusillanimous  temper  of  mind  ;  since 
true  greatness  of  soul,  as  they  justly  argue,  consists 
in  supporting  the  evils  of  adversity,  and  not  in 
shifting  them  off,  which  is  a  mark  of  a  poor  impa- 
tient spirit,  sinking  under  the  common  calamities 
of  life,  and  not  knowing  how  to  bear  the  blows  of 
bad  fortune.  '  Draw  thy  sword,  and  thrust  me 
through  therewith,  lest  the  uncircumcised  come 
and  mock,  or  abuse  me,'  was  the  request  which 
Saul  made  to  his  armour-bearer,  and  shows  that  it 
was  not  bravery  and  courage,  but  the  fear  of  in- 
sults, and  a  conscious  inability  to  bear  them  with 
a  becoming  superiority  of  mind,  that  made  him 
shun  the  storm  when  he  saw  it  approaching,  by 
withdrawing  from  the  stage  of  life. — Saul's  case 
indeed  was  very  dolorous,  but  he  had  not  there- 


made  a  prize  of  Saul's  golden  bracelets, 
and  went  off  with  them.  When  the 
armour-bearer  saw  that  Saul  was  dead,  he 
laid  violent  hands  upon  himself  also ;  and 
there  was  not  one  of  the  king's  guard  who 
outlived  his  master.  This  battle  was 
fought  near  the  mountain  of  Gilboa. 

No  sooner  had  the  Israelites  of  tlit 
valley  beyond  Jordan,  and  the  cities  of 
the  plains,  intelligence  of  the  death  of 
Saul  and  his  sons,  and  of  the  entire  de- 
struction of  his  army,  but  they  withdrew 
themselves  out  of  their  open  towns  into 
more  secure  and  strong  holds;  while  the 
Philistines,  took  possession,  and  without 
any  difficulty  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  places  the  others  had  quitted. 

On  the  next  day  after  the  battle,  the 
Philistines,  coming  into  the  field  to  view 
the  dead,  found  the  bodies  of  Saul  and 
his  sons  among  the  rest.  They  stripped 
them,  cut  off  their  heads,  and  sent  ex- 
presses every  way  up  and  down  with  the 


fore  any  authority  to  destroy  himself.  His  life 
was  a  sacred  despositum  of  God's,  and  not  to  be 
taken  away  without  invading  his  right,  and  violat- 
ing his  laws  at  the  same  time.  For  whatever  some 
may  think  of  tiie  silence  of  the  scripture  concern- 
ing self-murder,  there  is  no  question  to  he  made 
but  that  it  is  included  in  the  sixth  commandment, 
under  which  Saul  then  lived.  The  commandment 
forbids  murder  in  general;  and  it  is  certainly  as 
much  murder  to  kill  ourselves  as  to  kill  another 
man  :  and  the  reason,  which  the  scripture  gives, 
why  we  are  not  allowed  to  do  it,  in  both  cases  is 
the  same,  because  '  in  the  image  of  God  made  he 
man.'  For  if  1  must  not  shed  the  blood  of  an- 
other, because  '  he  is  made  in  the  image  of  God  ;' 
I  must  not  shed  the  blood  of  mine  own  self,  be- 
cause I  also  am  a  man,  and  'made  in  the  image  of 
God,'  as  well  as  he.  The  reason  therefore  why 
we  have  not  more  frequent  prohibitions  against 
this  sin  is  plainly  this,  that  whatever  sins  or  offen- 
ces God,  as  a  lawgiver,  prohibits,  he  prohibits  with 
a  penalty,  that  is,  he  affixes  such  a  punishment  to 
such  a  crime,  and  he  who  commits  the  crime  is 
to  undergo  the  punishment  in  this  world,  whether 
it  be  restitution,  loss  of  limb,  or  loss  of  life  itself. 
But  now  this  can  never  happen  in  the  case  of  self- 
murder,  because  self-murder  prevents  all  punish* 
merit,  the  man  being  dead,  before  any  cognizance 
can  be  taken  of  his  offence,  and  therefore  pre- 
vents all  laws  concerning  it;  and  can  consequent- 
ly only  be  included  under  general  commands, 
and  forbidden  as  a  sin,  whereof  God  alone  can 
take  cognizance  in  the  world  to  come. — Stack- 
house. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


275 


news  of  this  defeat.  Their  arms  they  de- 
posited in  the  temple  of  Ashtaroth,  and 
their  bodies  they  exposed  upon  gibbets 
under  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Bethshan,* 
known  at  this  day  by  the  name  of  Scytho- 
polis. 

This  barbarous  outrage  upon  the  bodies 
of  Saul  and  his  sons  coming  to  the  ears  of 
the  men  of  Jabesh-gilead,  raised  in  them 
such  an  indignation  at  the  inhumanity  of 
refusing  them  the  last  rites  of  burial, 
that  some  of  the  most  daring  and  enter- 
prising among  them  made  up  a  party,  and 
travelling  all  night,  took  down  the  bodies 
of  Saul  and  his  sons  from  the  walls  of 
Bethshan,  and  carried  them  away  to 
Jabesh,   and   burnt    them   there ;+    not  a 


*  Bethshan,  more  generally  known  by  the 
name  of  Scythopolis,  was  a  town  of  Manasseh, 
but  situated  in  Issachar,  Josh.  xvii.  11,  16.  Judg. 
i.  27.  1  Kings  iv.  12.  In  2  Mac.  xii.  29.  it  is 
reckoned  to  be  600  furlongs,  or  75  miles,  from 
Jerusalem.  Josephus  says  it  was  120  furlongs 
from  Tiberias  ;  so  that  it  cannot  be  so  near  the 
lake  of  Tiberias  as  some  geographers  have  suppos- 
ed. It  was  on  the  west  of  Jordan,  at  the  extremity 
of  the  great  plain.  The  name  of  Scythopolis,  or 
the  city  of  the  Scythians,  came,  according  to 
George  Syncellus,  from  the  Scythians,  who  invad- 
ed Palestine  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  son  of  Amos, 
king  of  Judah.  Stephens  the  geographer,  and 
Pliny,  call  it  Nysa  ;  the  Hebrews  name  it  Beth- 
shan ;  file  LXX,  'Bethshan, otherwise  Scythopolis.' 
The  fruits  of  Bethshan  were  the  sweetest  in  the 
land  of  Israel;  and  fine  linen  garments  were  made 
here.  Before  the  Babylonish  captivity  it  was  in- 
cluded within  the  land  of  Israel  ;  but  after  that 
period  it  was  reckoned  without  the  land ;  and 
none  of  its  productions  were  tithed.  Probably  the 
posterity  of  the  Scythians  retained  their  property 
in  it,  and  its  demesnes.  Bethshan  is  now  called 
Bysan,  and  is  described  by  Burckhardt  as  situat- 
ed on  rising  ground,  on  the  west  of  the  river 
Jordan.  The  present  village  contains  70  or  80 
houses,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  in  a  miserable 
condition,  owing  to  the  depredations  of  the  Bedou- 
ins. The  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  are  of  consider- 
able extent,  along  the  banks  of  the  rivulet  which 
ran  by  it,  and  the  valley  formed  by  its  branches ; 
and  bespeak  it  to  have  been  nearly  three  miles  in 
circuit. —  Calmet. 

t  The  burning  of  dead  bodies  in  funeral  piles,  it 
is  well  known,  was  a  custom  prevalent  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  upon  which  occasion  they 
threw  frankincense,  myrrh,  cassia,  and  other  fragrant 
articles  into  the  fire:  and  this  in  such  abundance, 
that  Pliny  represents  it  as  a  piece  of  profaneness, 
to  bestow  such  heaps  of  frankincense  upon  a  dead 
body,  when  they  offered  it  so  sparingly  to  their 
gods.     And  though  the  Jews  might  possibly  learn 


creature  daring  to  open  his  mouth  against 
them. 

Their  deaths  were  lamented  by  the 
whole  people  of  the  place,  who  gave  their 
bodies  a  public  and  an  honourable  inter- 
ment in  the  chief  part  of  their  province. 
They  spent  seven  days  in  so  strict  a  so- 
lemnity of  fasting  and  mourning,  that 
men,  women,  and  children,  were  all  bound 
indispensably  to  observe  it 

This  was  the  end  of  Saul,  according  to 
the  prediction  of  Samuel,  for  his  not  pro- 
secuting the  war  against  the  Amalekites, 
according  to  his  order,  and  for  the  mas- 
sacre of  Abimelech  and  his  family,  with 
the  devastation  even  of  the  sacerdotal  city 
itself. 

He  ruled  in  the  days  of  Samuel,  eigh- 
teen years,  and  twenty-two  more  after  his 
decease,  coming  to  this  unhappy  end  in 
the  same  manner  as  it  is  here  set  forth. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

David  avenges  the  death  of  Saul  on  the  Amalek- 
ites.— His  elegy  on  the  death  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan. — Is  proclaimed  king  of  Judah. — 
David's  success  against  the  king  of  the  other 
tribes. — Abner  revolts  to  David. — Is  slain  by 
Joab. — David  revenges  the  death  of  Abner. 


from  them  the  custom  of  burning  the  bowels, 
armour,  and  other  things  belonging  to  their  kings, 
in  piles  of  odoriferous  spices,  yet  they  very  rarely, 
and  only  for  particular  reasons,  burnt  the  dead 
bodies  themselves.  We  are  told,  indeed,  that  the 
people  of  Jabesh-gilead  '  took  the  bodies  of  Saul 
and  his  sons  (from  the  place  where  the  Philistines 
had  hung  them  up),  and  came  to  Jabesh,  and 
burnt  them  there  ;'  but  by  this  time  their  bodies 
must  have  been  in  such  a  state  that  they  were 
not  fit  to  be  embalmed ;  or,  perhaps,  they  were 
apprehensive  that  if  they  should  embalm  them, 
and  so  bury  them,  the  people  of  Bethshan  might 
at  some  future  time  dig  them  up,  and  fix  them  a 
second  time  against  their  walls  ;  and  therefore, 
the  people  of  Jabesh  might  think  it  more  advis- 
able to  recede  from  their  common  practice,  and 
for  greater  security  to  imitate  the  heathen  in  this 
particular.  Amos  also  speaks  of  the  burning  of 
bodies  (vi.  10.) ;  but  it  is  evident  from  the  words 
themselves,  and  from  the  context,  that  this  was  in 
the  time  of  a  great  pestilence,  not  only  when  there 
were  few  to  bury  the  dead,  but  when  it  was  un- 
safe to  go  abroad  and  perform  the  funeral  rites  by 
interment,  in  which  case  the  burning  was  certainly 
the  best  expedient. — Home. 


276 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


—  The  tribes  unite  under  David,  who  rules  \ 
with  prudence  and  piety,  and  is  crowned  with 
a  scries  of  success. 

Soon  after  David's  arrival  at  Ziklag  from 
the  conquests  of  the  Amalekites,  he  re- 
ceived the  news  of  the  death  of  Saul, 
from  the  very  man  who  had  slain  him  in 
battle. 

When  he  approached  David  with  every 
token  of  grief  and  humility,  and  was  in- 
quiring concerning  the  cause  of  his  ar- 
rival, as  well  as  his  person,  he  thus  re- 
lated the  fatal  case:  'I  am  an  Amalek- 
ite,  and  come  from  the  late  engagement 
of  the  Israelites,  in  which  fell  king  Saul, 
and  three  of  his  sons  together,  with  many 
thousands  of  his  inferior  ranks.  I  shall 
speak  no  more  than  what  1  saw ;  it  was 
my  fortune  to  be  near  the  king  when  he 
was  in  his  extremity.  He  cast  himself 
upon  the  point  of  his  own  sword;  but 
being  faint  with  his  wounds,  he  could  not 
execute  what  he  had  begun ;  so  that  upon 
his  earnest  desire,  I  was  forced  to  do  the 
office  for  him,  to  keep  him  from  falling 
alive  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies.' 

He  showed  David  at  the  same  time  the 
bracelet,  and  the  crown  that  he  took  from 
the  dead  body,  (to  confirm  the  truth  of  his 
story,)  which  he  reserved  for  a  present  to 
David.* 

*  By  the  account  which  we  have  of  king  Saul's 
death,  namely,  that  he  '  fell  upon  a  sword,'  and  ex- 
pired, 1  Sam.  xxxi.  4.  it  seems  very  evident  that 
the  whole  story  of  this  Amalekite  was  a  fiction  of 
his  own  inventing,  on  purpose  to  ingratiate  him- 
self with  David,  the  presumptive  successor  to  the 
throne  :  hut  then  the  question  is,  how  he  came  by 
Saul's  crown  and  bracelet,  since  it  is  incongruous 
to  think  that  he  would  wear  them  in  the  time  of 
action,  and  thereby  expose  himself  as  a  public 
mark.  As  therefore  it  is  presumed  that  they 
were  carried  into  the  field  of  battle  by  some  of  his 
attendants,  in  order  to  be  put  on  in  case  he  had 
obtained  the  victory,  and  returned  in  triumph  ;  so 
the  Jews  have  a  conceit  that  Doeg,  the  infamous 
murderer  of  the  priests  at  Nob,  1  Sam.  xxii.  18. 
who,  at  this  time  was  his  armour-bearer,  had  them 
in  his  possession,  and  before  he  killed  himself  gave 
them  to  his  son,  (this  young  Amalekite)  and  or- 
dered him  to  carry  them  to  David,  but  to  his  cost 
found  that  David's  reception  was  quite  different 
to  what  he  expected.  For,  being  shortly  to  ascend 
the  throne  himself,  he  was  willing  to  have  it  be- 
lieved that  to  slay  the  Lord's  anointed  upon  any 


Upon  this  melancholy  news,  he  rent 
his  clothes,  and  spent  the  whole  day  with 
his  friends  in  tears  and  lamentations. 
But  the  most  sensible  part  of  his  affliction 
was,  the  loss  of  Jonathan,  his  ever  dear 
and  faithful  friend,  and  more  than  once  the 
very  preserver  of  his  life. 

So  transcendent  was  the  virtue  of  David, 
and  his  generosity  toward  Saul,  that  not- 
withstanding so  many  repeated  practices 
upon  his  life,  he  did  not  only  deplore  his 
misfortune,  but  ordered  the  criminal  to 
be  delivered  up  to  justice;  not  only  upon 
his  own  confession,  but  the  more  certain 
evidence  of  his  guilt,  in  the  crown  and 
the  bracelet,  that  he  took  from  Saul,  after 
he  was  dead ;  and  proving  himself  to  be 
truly  an  Amalekite,  owning  the  very  prin- 
ciple of  a  regicide. 

David,  upon  the  melancholy  occasion, 
composed  several  elegies,  one  of  which, 
cited  by  the  sacred  historian,  is  justly 
deemed  an  eminent  specimen  of  piety  and 
rhetoric. 

When  David  had  paid  his  last  duties 
to  the  memory  of  Saul  and  his  sons,  and 
the  term  of  mourning  was  expired,  he 
consulted  God  by  the  prophet  which  of 
the  cities  of  Judah  should  be  allotted  him 
for  his  habitation :  and  it  was  answered 
Hebron.f     Wherefore  he  left  Ziklag  im- 


account  whatever,  was  in  itself  an  execrable  crime, 
and  therefore  to  clear  himself  from  the  imputation 
of  being  any  ways  accessory  to  so  foul  a  fact,  (as 
his  enemies  would  have  been  apt  to  imagine,  had 
he  given  countenance  to  this  pretended  king- 
killer,)  he  ordered  him  immediately  to  be  put  to 
death,  and  therein  at  least  acted  the  part  of  a  good 
politician,  if  not  of  a  righteous  judge. — Le  Clerc's 
and  Patrick's  Commentary. 

•j-  Hebron  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of 
Canaan,  being  built  seven  years  before  Tanis, 
the  capital  of  Lower  Egypt,  Numb.  xiii.  22.  It 
is  thought  to  have  been  founded  by  Arba,  an  an- 
cient giant  of  Palestine,  and  hence  to  have  been 
called  Kirjath-arba,  Arba's  city,  which  name  was 
afterwards  changed  into  Hebron.  Hebron  was 
situated  on  an  eminence,  twenty  miles  south  of 
Jerusalem,  and  about  the  same  distance  north  of 
Beersheba.  It  is  now  called  El  Ilhalil,  and  con- 
tains a  population  of  about  400  Arabs.  "  They 
are  so  mutinous,"  says  D'Arvieux,  "that  they 
rarely  pay  the  duties  without  force,  and  common- 
ly a  reinforcement  from  Jerusalem   is  necessary 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


277 


mediately,  and  repaired  thither,  with   his  I 
two  wives,  and  the  guards  of  his  person 
that  he  had  about  him  ;   whither  the  whole 
tribe  came  soon  after,  and  a  full  convention  ' 
with  one  voice  proclaimed  him  king. 

David  had  heard  by  this  time  of  the  ■ 
generous  and  respectful  behaviour  of  the 
men  of  Jabesh  toward  Saul  and  his  sons, 
and  how  bravely  they  rescued  their  bodies 
from  infamy,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy, 
and  gave  them  an  honourable  burial;  so 
that  he  sent  them  particular  acknowledg- 
ments, in  his  own  name,  for  what  they 
had  done  in  honour  of  those  princes,  as 
an  obligation  that  should  for  ever  be  re- 
membered  to  their  advantage.  The  same 
messenger  gave  them  to  understand,  that 
the  tribe  of  Judah  had  declared  David 
their  king. 

In  this  juncture,  Abner,  the  son  of 
Ner,  and  Saul's  general,  a  man  of  great 
courage  and  resolution,  having  heard  of 
the  death  of  Saul,  Jonathan,  and  two 
other  of  his  sons,  in  the  late  battle,  posted 
to  the  camp  to  look  after  Ishbosheth,  at 
that  time  the  only  survivor  of  Saul's  male 
issue. 

When  he  found  him,  to  secure  him  from 
danger  he  crossed  the  river  Jordan  with 
him,  and  got  him  declared  king  of  all  Israel, 


The  people  are  brave,  and  when  in  revolt  extend 
their  incursions  as  far  as  Bethlehem,  and  make 
amends  by  their  pillage  for  what  is  exacted  from 
them.  They  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  wind- 
ings of  the  mountains,  and  know  so  well  how  to  post 
themselves  to  advantage,  that  they  close  all  the 
passages  and  exclude  every  assistance  from  reach- 
ing the  Soubachi.  .  .The  Turks  dare  not  dwell 
here,  believing  that  they  could  not  live  a  week 
if  they  attempted  it.  The  Greeks  have  a  church 
in  the  village."  The  mutinous  character  of  this 
people,  one  would  think,  was  but  a  continuation 
of  their  ancient  disposition  ;  which  might  render 
them  fit  instruments  for  serving  David  against  Saul, 
and  Absalom  against  David.  Ths  advantage  they 
possessed  in  their  knowledge  of  the  passes  may 
account  also  for  the  protracted  resistance  which 
David  made  to  Saul,  and  the  necessity  of  the  lat- 
ter employing  a  considerable  force  in  order  to  dis- 
lodge his  adversary.  David  was  so  well  aware  of 
this  advantage  of  station,  that  when  Absalom  had 
possessed  himself  of  Hebron,  he  did  not  think  of 
attacking  him  there,  but  fled  in  all  haste  from  Jer- 
usalem, northward. —  Calmel 


the  tribe  of  Judah  excepted,  appointing 
Mahanaim*  for  his  residence  as  much  as 
the  camp. 

Abner  was  so  incensed  against  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  for  the  choice  of  their  king, 
that  he  resolved  to  make  war  upon  them 
for  it,  and  detached  a  body  of  chosen  men 
for  the  encounter. 

Joab,  the  son  of  Zeruiah,  had  the  com- 
mand of  David's  army,  taking  his  two 
brothers,  Abishai  and  Asahel,  along  with 
him.  When  they  were  advanced  to  a  cer- 
tain fountain  of  Gibeon,  the  two  armies 
being  in  sight  of  each  other,  drew  up; 
but  as  they  stood  in  order,  and  ready  to 
engage,  Abner  proposed  a  trial  before- 
hand between  an  equal  number  of  each 
side,  to  see  which  were  the  braver  men  of 
the  two.  So  that  by  consent  they  sent 
out  twelve  and  twelve  to  dispute  the  point, 
and  in  sight  of  the  two  armies. 

Thev  began  the  combat  with  their  darts, 
and  then  fell  in  with  their  swords,  every 
man  taking  his  adversary  by  the  hair,  and 
stabbing  one  another,  till  they  all  fell 
dead  upon  the  spot.  The  armies  joined 
them,  and  for  some  time  fought  furiously 
on  both  sides ;  but  in  the  end,  Abner  was 
totally  routed.  Joab,  and  his  two  bro- 
thers, closely  pursuing  them,  encouraged 
their  men,  both  to  the  chase  and  execu- 
tion. But  no  man  stuck  so  close  to  him 
as  Asahel,  who  was  very  nimble  and  swift 
of  foot,f   and    having   singled  him    out, 


*  This  was  a  place  in  the  tribe  of  Gad,  which 
had  its  name  from  the  appearance  of  an  host  of 
angels  to  Jacob,  and  the  reasons  for  Abner's  re- 
treating hither,  in  the  beginning  of  the  new  king's 
reign,  were,  that  he  might  secure  the  people  on 
that  side  of  the  Jordan,  and  especially  the  gallant 
inhabitants  of  Jabesh-gilead,  who  were  great  lovers 
of  Saul,  and  attached  to  his  family  ;  that  lie  might 
prevent  the  Philistines  from  falling  upon  the  king, 
whom  he  had  under  his  protection,  in  the  infancy 
of  his  reign  ;  and  chiefly,  that  he  might  be  at  a 
great  distance  from  David,  have  the  new  king 
more  absolutely  under  his  command,  and  a  better 
opportunity  of  raising  recruits  among  a  people, 
not  only  brave  and  courageous,  but  verv  well 
affected  to  the  cause  which  he  had  espoused. — 
Calmet's  Commentary  and  Poole's  Annotations. 

f  Swiftness  of  foot  was  highly  valued,  as  it  gave 
the  warrior  a  great  advantage  over  his  slower  and 


278 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


pressed  close  after  him,  without  turning 
either  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left. 

When  Abner  found  himself  so  resolute- 
ly pursued,  he  offered  him  a  suit  of  arms 
to  desist ;  but  seeing  he  could  not  prevail, 
he  fairly  advised  him  not  to  put  him  to 
the  necessity  of  doing  him  a  mischief  for 
the  saving  of  his  own  life :  after  which  he 
could  never  think  of  looking  his  brother 
in  the  face. 

Abner,  perceiving  by  this  time  that 
Asahel  was  not  to  be  wrought  upon,  turn- 
ed his  lance  in  his  flight,  and  struck  his 
pursuer  dead  upon  the  spot.  This  acci- 
dent retarded  the  pursuit ;  for  the  people 
gave  over  the  chase  to  stand  gazing  at  the 
slain  Asahel.  But  Joab  and  his  brother 
Abishai  were  now  past  the  dead  body, 
and  so  exasperated  against  Abner  for  the 
death  of  their  brother,  that  with  incredible 
speed  and  vigour  they  followed  the  pur- 
suit till  towards  sunset. 

Upon  the  hill  of  Ammah,  Abner,  with 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  took  the  advantage 
of  a  rising  ground  to  observe  the  enemy, 
and  from  thence  to  reason  the  case  with 
Joab,  representing  to  him,  •  That  this  out- 
rageous animosity  was  already  gone  too  far 
among  the  people  of  the  same  blood  and 
profession ;  and  that  he  had  entreated 
Asahel  to  desist  from  the  pursuit;  but  he 
being  obstinately  resolute,  still  continued, 
and  thereby  forced  him  for  self-preserva- 


more  unwieldy  antagonist.  It  is  accordingly  men- 
tioned to  the  honour  of  Asahel,  that  he  was  swifter 
of  foot  than  a  wild  roe ; — a  mode  of  expression 
perfectly  synonymous  with  the  epithet  of  'the 
swift-footed  Achilles,'  which  is  given  by  Homer  to 
his  hero,  not  fewer  than  thirty  times  in  the  course 
of  the  Iliad;  and  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  in  his 
poetical  lamentation  over  those  two  great  captains, 
Saul  and  Jonathan,  takes  particular  notice  of  this 
warlike  quality  :  '  They  were  swifter  than  eagles, 
stronger  than  lions.'  Nor  were  the  ancient  Greeks 
ess  attentive  to  a  qualification  which  the  state  of 
the  military  art  in  those  days  rendered  so  valuable. 
The  foot  races  in  the  Olympic  games  were  insti- 
tuted by  warlike  chieftains,  for  the  very  purpose 
of  inuring  their  subjects  to  the  fatigues  of  war, 
and  particularly  ol  increasing  their  speed,  which 
was  regarded  as  an  excellent  qualification  in  a 
warrior,  both  because  it  served  for  a  sudden  attack 
and  a  nimble  retreat. — Paxton. 


tion,  to  slay  him  at  his  feet.     Joab  could 

not  oppose  the  reasonableness  of  Abner's 

plea,  and  therefore  caused  a  retreat  to  be 

sounded,   and  encamped   upon  the   same 

place   that  night.     But  Abner  continued 

his  march  over  the  river  Jordan,   to  the 

palace   of   Ishbosheth,   the    son    of   Saul. 

,  The  day  following  he  took  a  view  of  the 

t  dead    (which    he    caused    to    be    buried) 

;  computing  that  Abner  lost  three  hundred 

and  sixty  men,  and  David  nineteen;  with- 

i  out  reckoning  Asahel,    whose   body  was 

carried  by  Joab  and  Abishai  to  Bethlehem, 

j  and  there  laid  in  the  sepulchre  of  their 

fathers ;    from  whence   they   returned  to 

king  David  at  Hebron. 

This  dispute  between  the  adherents  of 
David  and  those  of  Saul  was  the  cause 
of  a  seditious  and  bloody  war  amongst  the 
Israelites.  But  David's  army  waxed 
gradually  stronger  than  that  of  Saul,  and 
gained  many  advantages  over  their  oppo- 
nents. 

David  in  the  mean  time  had  six  sons 
by  as  many  wives :  Amnon,  the  son  of 
Ahinoam ;  Chileab,  the  son  of  Abigail ; 
Absalom,  the  son  of  Maacah ;  Adonijah, 
the  son  of  Haggith;  Shephatiah,  the  son 
of  Abital ;  and  Ithream,  the  son  of  Eglah. 
In  the  prosecution  of  this  civil  war,  it 
was  the  prudence,  the  interest,  and  the 
popularity  of  Abner,  that  supported  the 
pretensions  of  Saul's  family,  and  kept  the 
people  in  their  obedience  to  Ishbosheth. 
But  this  prince  being  informed  that  Ab- 
ner lived  in  a  scandalous  familiarity  with 
Rizpah,  one  of  his  father's  late  concu- 
bines,* reprimanded  him  so  severely  for  it, 


*  To  have  any  commerce  with  the  relicts  01 
princes,  of  what  denomination  soever  they  were, 
was  in  those  days  looked  upon  as  an  indignity 
offered  to  the  royal  family,  and  an  affectation  of 
the  kingdom  ;  and  what  notion  the  world  then 
had  of  marrying  any  royal  relict,  is  evident  from 
the  case  of  Adonijah,  whom  Solomon  put  to  death 
for  desiring  but  to  ask  for  Abishag,  one  of  David's 
concubines,  though  he  had  employed  Bathsheba, 
the  king's  mother,  to  be  his  intercessor,  and  was 
himself  his  brother,  1  Kings  ii.  17.  It  may  be 
said,  perhaps,  that  Adonijah  was  at  this  time  as- 
piring at  the  throne,  which  Solomon  perceiving. 


Chap.  IV.J  THE  BIBLE. 

that  it  highly  incensed  him,  as  he  had 
ever  been  a  zealous  adherent  to  the  cause 
and  interest  of  king  Saul  and  his  family. 

Upon  this  provocation  Abner  meditated 
revenge,  determining  to  transfer  the  crown 
from  Ishbosheth  to  David,  and  thereby 
make  it  generally  known  that  Ishbosheth 
was  not  advanced  to  the  government  for 
any  virtue  or  ability  of  his  own,  but 
wholly  by  the  advice,  arms,  interest,  re- 
commendation, and  tried  fidelity  to  him- 
self. 

He  sent  a  commission  to  Hebron,  with 
full  power  to  make  a  league  with  David 
in  his  name,  upon  this  condition,  that 
from  and  after  the  time  of  Abner's  draw- 
ing off  all  the  tribes  from  Ishbosheth  to 
David  and  advancing  him  to  the  throne 
by  the  universal  consent  of  the  people, 
Abner  should  be  received  as  David's  first 
minister  and  favourite. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  welcome 
to  David  than  this  proposal,  and  it  was 
accordingly  accepted.  The  first  thing  he 
desired,  as  the  earnest  of  a  future  alliance, 
was  the  restoring  Michal,*  whom  he  had 
purchased  with  very  great  labour  and 
hazard,  in  obtaining  the  heads  of  two  hun- 
dred Philistines,  a  bargain  for  her  of  Saul. 


279 


took  occasion  from  this  his  request  to  fall  out  with 
him,  and  prevent  it.  But,  however  this  may  be,  a 
general  rule  it  was,  not  among  the  Jews  only,  but 
among  other  nations,  that  no  private  person  should 

f>resume  to  marry  the  king's  widow  ;  for  this  made 
am  appear  as  a  rival  and  competitor  for  the 
crown. —  Calmefs  Commentary. 

*  If  David  had  divorced  Michal,  and  she  had  in 
consequence  been  married  to  another,  he  must  not 
have  received  her  again  :  but  the  separation  was 
violent  on  both  sides.  It  is  probable  that  her 
marriage  to  Phaltiel  was  a  force  upon  her  inclina- 
tions :  and  Phaltiel  was  very  criminal  in  taking 
another  man's  wife,  whatever  affection  he  had  for 
her.  David  required  Michal  to  be  restored,  per- 
haps out  of  affection  for  her  ;  or  to  strengthen 
his  interest  by  asserting  his  affinity  with  the  house 
of  Saul,  and  showing  the  value  that  he  put  upon, 
it;  or  to  show  his  regard  for  the  law  of  God,  and 
to  rebuke  a  man  who  openly  violated  it.  As  Ab- 
ner did  not  deem  it  politic,  at  that  juncture,  di- 
rectly to  take  Michal  from  Phaltiel,  David  address- 
ed himself  to  Ishbosheth,  whose  sister  she  was, 
who  complied  with  his  demand ;  perhaps  being 
willing  to  be  upon  amicable  terms  with  him,  as  he 
could  not  overcome  him  by  arms. — ScotL 


Abner  therefore  took  Michal  out  of  the 
arms  of  Phaltiel,  upon  whom  she  was  be- 
stowed, and  then  called  the  principals  of 
the  people,  both  military  and  civil,  to- 
gether, and  addressed  thein  to  this  purpose: 

"There  was  a  time  when  you  would 
have  gone  over  from  Ishbosheth  to  David, 
and  I  was  against  it ;  but  you  are  now  at 
liberty  to  do  what  you  please ;  for  the  pro- 
phet Samuel  hath  most  infallibly  assured 
us,  from  the  voice  of  God  himself,  that 
David  is  the  man  whom  divine  Providence 
hath  designed  as  king  and  governor  of  the 
Israelites ;  and  that  it  is  he,  and  only  he, 
that  is  to  avenge  us  upon  the  Philistines 
and  to  bring  them  under  our  yoke." 

These  words  were  so  clear  a  discovery 
of  Abner's  design,  that  the  heads  of  the 
people  and  of  the  army  fell  in  unanimous- 
ly with  his  opinion;  and  from  that  time 
forward  declared  and  acted  openly  in  fa- 
vour of  David.  When  they  had  proceed- 
ed thus  far,  Abner  called  for  the  Benja- 
mites,  on  whom  alone  the  protection  of 
Ishbosheth  depended,  and  delivered  him- 
self to  them  in  the  same  manner,  and  with 
the  same  effect  as  he  had  done  the  other 
tribes,  for  they  all  declared  themselves  as 
one  man  for  David. 

When  Abner  had  thus  advanced  to- 
ward the  performance  of  his  conditions,  he 
took  about  twenty  chosen  men  with  him 
to  David,  in  order,  partly  to  ratify  the 
treaty,  and  partly  for  common  satisfaction, 
as  people  rather  prefer  being  present  at 
treaties  in  which  they  are  concerned,  than 
having  them  transacted  by  proxy,  that  the 
proceedings  on  both  sides  might  be  the 
more  impartially  transmitted  from  the  one 
to  the  other,  and  an  exact  report  made  of 
what  passed  between  himself  and  the  heads 
of  the  tribes,  and  how  he  had  now  brought 
over  the  Benjamites  to  David's  party. 

Abner  and  his  company  were  treated 
by  David  with  freedom  and  magnificence, 
for  the  time  they  staid ;  but  after  some 
few  days,  he  desired,  for  the  present,  to 
be  dismissed,  that  he  might  conduct  the 
army  and  the  people  to  him;  and  upon 


280 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


delivering  tip  the  government  into  his 
hands,  by  the  consent  of  the  whole  nation, 
fulfil  his  design. 

Abner  was  presently  despatched  ac- 
cording to  his  desire,  and  hardly  got  out 
of  one  of  the  gates  of  Hebron,  before 
Joab,  David's  general,  who  had  been 
somewhere  abroad,  came  in  at  another; 
being  given  to  understand  that  Abner  lad 
been  in  private  with  David,  upon  certain 
proposals  to  settle  him  in  the  government, 
the  conditions  offered  and  accepted,  and 
that  a  league  had  been  solemnly  ratified 
betwixt  them;  strong  prepossessions  en- 
tered into  Joab's  head,  that  this  intrigue 
of  Abner's  would  be  his  ruin,  and  supplant 
him  not  only  in  his  master's  favour,  but 
in  the  most  honourable  of  his  commissions; 
especially  considering  that  Abner  was  a 
man  of  policy  and  address,  and  one  who 
well  knew  how  to  improve  a  critical  junc- 
ture to  his  own  advantage. 

To  vent  his  spleen  against  Abner,  Joab 
endeavoured  to  persuade  the  king,  by  art- 
ful insinuations,  that  he  should  do  well  to 
beware  how  he  trusted  Abner ;  for  his 
main  intent  was  to  establish  the  family  of 
Saul  in  the  government. 

When  Joab  found  that  he  could  not  work 
upon  David  by  calumny  and  slander,  to  the 
prejudice  of  Abner,  he  bethought  himself 
of  a  surer  and  shorter  way,  therefore,  to 
sate  his  revenge,  which  was  by  taking 
away  his  life;  he  despatched  messengers 
after  him  in  David's  name,  to  call  him 
back  again  with  all  imaginable  expedition, 
under  a  pretext  of  somewhat  forgotten 
in  his  instructions  that  was  very  consider- 
able. 

The  messengers  overtook  him  upon 
the  way  at  a  place  called  Sirah,  about 
three  miles  from  Hebron;  and  upon  their 
delivering  their  message,  Abner  very  in- 
nocently went  back  with  them  to  the  city, 
little  thinking  of  the  malicious  intention 
of  taking  away  his  life.  Upon  his  coming 
up  to  the  walls  of  the  town,  Joab  stood  in 
the  gate  with  a  specious  appearance  of 
kindness  and  humanity,  ready  to  receive 


him;  and,  taking  him  aside  as  upon  pri- 
vate business,  surprised  him,  and  plunged 
his  sword  into  his  bowels. 

Thus  was  this  brave  man  taken  off  by 
the  perfidious  malice  and  treachery  of  Joab, 
in  revenge  (as  he  pretended)  for  the  death 
of  his  brother  Asahel,  who  was  slain  in 
the  battle  of  Hebron,  upon  the  violent 
pursuit  of  Abner;  but  in  truth,  to  gratify 
his  jealousy  and  revenge,  for  fear  of  being 
supplanted  in  his  court-preferments.* 

David  was  so  excessively  affected  with 
the  news  of  Abner's  death,  that,  stretching 
forth  his  right  hand  toward  heaven,  in  an 
appeal  and  protestation  that  he  was  neither 
privy  nor  consenting  to  the  fact,  cursing 
most  bitterly  the  assassin,  whoever  he 
was,  his  family,  and  all  his  accomplices: 
and  this  he  did  not  only  in  detestation  of 
so  base  a  practice,  but  as  a  proof  that  he 
had  acted  on  the  strictest  niceties  of  faith 
and  honour  to  Abner. 

He  appointed  by  proclamation  a  public 
mourning  for  him,  with  all  the  solemnities 
of  tearing  garments,  and  putting  on  sack- 
cloth, he  himself  with  his  great  ministers 
and  officers  assisting  at  the  funeral,  and 
giving  sufficient  demonstration,  by  wring- 
ing of  hands,  beating  their  breasts,  and 
other  expressions  of  sorrow,  both  of  the 
veneration  they  had  for  Abner's  memory, 
and  their  sense  of  so  inestimable  a  loss; 
and  this  conduct  fully  convinced  the  peo- 
ple, that  David  was  far  from  approving  or 
consenting  to  so  execrable  an  act. 


*  This  instance  is  sufficient  to  convince  us,  that 
men  abandoned  to  the  lusts  of  avarice  upd  ambi- 
tion will  stick  at  nothing,  for  they  are  never  at 
ease.  So  long  as  they  are  in  the  pursuit  of  what 
they  eagerly  desire,  they  press  their  ends,  without 
ever  examining  or  considering  the  means  'there 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  scruple  of  honour  or  con- 
science in  the  case;  and  they  are  still  bolder 
in  the  defence  and  maintenance  of  a  thing  ill 
gotten,  than  they  were  in  the  acquiring  of  it;  for 
they  can  better  bear  a  miscarriage  in  missing  what 
they  would  have  been  at,  than  the  shame  of  bavin" 
any  thing  forced  away  from  them  that  they  have 
acquired.  They  will,  in  short,  struggle  harder  to 
keep  what  they  have,  especially  when  they  have 
tasted  the  sweet  of  it,  than  to  get  what  they  had 
not.  But  here  is  enough  in  a  word  upon  this 
point. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


281 


He  caused  the  body  to  be  interred  at 
Hebron  with  great  state  and  magnificence, 
and  composed  an  epitaph  himself  to  the 
honour  of  the  deceased.  He  was  the 
chief  mourner,  and  a  president  to  all  the 
rest,  who  acted  in  conformity  to  his  exam- 
ple. The  death  of  Abner,  in  short,  afflict- 
ed him  to  such  a  degree,  that  his  friends 
could  not  prevail  upon  him  to  touch  either 
meat  or  drink  that  whole  day.*  This  re- 
ligious strictness  gained  exceedingly  upon 
the  affections  of  the  people,  and  particu- 
larly upon  the  friends  of  Abner,  to  whom 
nothing  could  be  more  acceptable  than  this 
last  testimony  of  David's  veneration  and 
esteem  for  his  person  and  memory,  being 
eye-witnesses  that  he  did  not  treat  him, 
in  a  slight  and  ignominious  way,  as  an 
enemy,  but  with  all  the  tokens  of  gener- 
osity, justice,  and  friendship.     Besides,  it 


*  The  funeral  obsequies  of  an  oriental  were 
concluded  by  a  feast,  according  with  the  rank  and 
wealth  of  surviving  relations.  Chardin  was  present 
at  many  of  those  funeral  banquets  among  the  Ar- 
menian Christians  in  Persia.  To  this  custom  the 
prophet  Jeremiah  refers  in  ch.  vi.  7.  8:  "  Neither 
shall  men  tear  themselves  for  them  in  mourning, 
to  comfort  them,  for  the  dead  ;  neither  shall  men 
give  them  the  cup  of  consolation  to  drink,  for 
their  sister  or  for  their  mother.  Thou  shalt  not 
also  go  into  the  house  of  feasting  to  sit  with  them 
to  eat  and  to  drink."  In  the  seventli  verse  the 
prophet  speaks  of  provisions  which  relations  and 
acquaintances  usually  sent  to  the  house  of  their 
departed  friend ;  and  of  those  healths  which  were 
drunk  to  the  survivors  of  the  family.  In  Barbary, 
when  a  person  dies,  the  neighbours,  relations,  and 
friends  sent  bread  to  the  house  of  mourning,  which 
the  prophet  Ezekiel  calls  "the  bread  of  men."  It 
was  supposed  the  family  were  so  depressed  by  the 
loss  of  their  relation,  as  to  be  unable  to  think  of 
their  necessary  food.  Those  who  sent  the  provi- 
sions made  a  visit  to  their  sorrowful  and  bereaved 
friends  after  the  funeral,  to  comfort  them  and 
assist  at  the  entertainment,  which  was  given  in 
honour  of  the  dead.  In  allusion  to  this  custom, 
the  prophet  Jeremiah  received  this  charge:  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  enter  not  into  the  house  of  mourn- 
ing, neither  go  to  lament,  nor  bemoan  them ;  for  I 
have  taken  away  my  peace  from  this  people,  saith 
the  Lord,"  When  all  the  people,  therefore,  came 
to  cause  David  to  eat  meat  while  it  was  yet  day, 
after  the  funeral  of  Abner,  it  was  in  strict  compli- 
ance with  the  general  custom  of  the  country. 
The  same  observation  applies  to  the  circumstance 
mentioned  in  the  gospel  of  John,  that  "  many  of 
the  Jews  came  to  Martha  and  Mary  to  comfort 
them." — Script.  Illust. 


heightened  the  character  of  David's  piety 
and  benevolence,  in  giving  men  to  under- 
stand what  they  might  expect  from  him 
themselves,  if  Abner's  case  should  ever  be 
theirs.  David  likewise,  in  this  proceed- 
ing, consulted  his  interest  as  well  as  his 
reputation  and  virtue;  for  afterwards  he 
was  never  suspected  of  the  least  want  of 
good-will  towards  Abner. 

When  the  assembly  were  on  the  point 
of  breaking  up,  David  addressed  them  in 
a  manner  which  did  honour  to  the  memory 
of  the  deceased  general,  representing  to 
them  first  his  own  particular  unhappiness, 
in  being  deprived  of  so  valuable  a  friend ; 
and  then  how  much  the  whole  nation 
suffered  in  the  loss  of  so  brave  and  so  wise 
a  man  ;  and,  in  short,  a  person  so  necessary 
both  for  war  and  counsel. 

He  then  assured  them  that  God,  who 
judged  rightly,  would  not  let  this  murder 
pass  unrevenged  ;  adding  this  solemn  de- 
claration :  "  He  is  my  witness,  that  I  am 
not  in  condition  to  call  Joab  and  Abishai  to 
an  account;  for  they  have  a  greater  inter- 
est in  the  army  perhaps  than  I  myself; 
but  this  I  dare  pronounce,  that  sooner  or 
later,  Divine  justice  will  find  them  out." 

The  extraordinary  fate  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Abner  greatly  affected  Ishbosheth, 
who  had  thereby  sustained  the  loss  of  a 
most  intimate  friend,  able  counsellor,  ex- 
pert general,  in  short,  one  who  had  been 
principally  accessary  to  his  advancement 
to  the  throne,  and  continuance  on  it.  He 
did  not  indeed  long  survive  him,  for  he 
was  treacherously  murdered  soon  afterward 
by  Baanah  and  Rechabjf  the  sons  of 
Rimmon. 


-f-  These  regicides  are  called  the  children  of  Ben 
jamin,  and  captains  of  bands  ;  and  therefore,  as 
they  were  not  only  of  Saul's  tribe,  but  officers  in 
his  son's  army,  they  had  the  greater  obligation  to 
be  honest  and  faithful  to  the  family  of  Saul  ;  for 
there  is  great  reason  to  imagine,  that  Saul,  who 
lived  in  the  borders  of  Benjamin,  conferred  more 
favours  on  that  tribe,  than  on  any  of  the  rest,  and 
might  therefore  expect  a  greater  fidelity  and  esteem 
from  them  than  the  others.  The  distinguishing 
these  men,  therefore,  by  their  tribe,  as  well  as  by 
their  names,  was  highly  proper  and  necessary,  to 

2n 


282 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


These  two  brothers  were  Benjamites, 
of  the  first  rank ;  who,  thinking  that  if 
Lshbosheth  were  but  taken  out  of  the  way, 
David  would  be  clear  of  all  competitors, 
concerted  the  matter  betwixt  them  how 
they  might  effect  this  purpose;  making 
no  manner  of  doubt  but  honours  and  com- 
mands in  abundance  would  be  conferred 
upon  them  as  rewards  for  the  performance 
of  so  good  an  office. 

At  a  time,  therefore,  when  he  was  alone 
in  his  bed-chamber,  taking  his  afternoon's 
repose,  no  guards  at  hand,  and  the  very 
servant  that  commonly  kept  the  door 
wearied  and  fast  asleep,  they  took  their 
opportunity  to  steal  into  the  chamber, 
(and  having  killed  him  in  his  sleep,)  where 
they  found  him,  cut  off  his  head,  and 
posted  away  with  it  all  night  toward  He- 
bron,* in  order  to  avoid  the  public  resent- 
ment of  the  people,  and  to  bring  the  pre- 
sent so  much  the  fresher  to  him  whom 
they  pretended  to  oblige. 

When  they  came  to  their  journey's  end, 
they  presented  it  to  David,  not  a  little 
valuing  themselves  upon  the  merit  of  hav- 

show  what  vile  ungrateful  villains  they  were,  and 
how  justly  they  deserved  the  severe  and  exemplary 
punishment  which  David  inflicted  upon  them. 

•  The  sacred  historian  informs  us,  that  *  the 
sons  of  Rimmon  the  Beerothite,  Rechab  and  Ba- 
anah,  went  and  came  about  the  heat  of  the  day  to 
the  house  of  lshbosheth,  who  lay  on  a  bed  at  noon  ; 
and  they  came  thither  into  the  midst  of  the  house, 
as  though  they  would  have  fetched  wheat,  and 
they  smote  him  under  the  fifth  rib  ;  and  Rechab 
and  Baanah  his  brother  escaped.'  It  is  still  a 
custom  in  the  East,  according  to  Dr  Perry,  to  allow 
their  soldiers  a  certain  quantity  of  corn,  with  other 
articles  of  provisions,  together  with  some  pay  : 
and  as  it  was  the  custom  also  to  carry  their  corn  to 
the  mill  at  break  of  day,  these  two  captains  very 
naturally  went  to  the  palace  the  day  before,  to 
fetch  wheat,  in  order  to  distribute  it  to  the  soldiers, 
that  it  might  be  sent  to  the  mill  at  the  accustomed 
hour  in  the  morning.  The  princes  of  the  East,  in 
those  days,  as  the  history  of  David  shows,  lounged 
in  their  divan,  or  reposed  on  their  couch,  till  the 
cool  of  the  evening  began  to  advance.  Rechab 
and  Baanah  therefore,  came  in  the  heat  of  the  day, 
when  they  knew  that  lshbosheth  their  master 
would  be  resting  on  his  bed  ;  and  as  it  was  neces- 
sary, for  the  reason  just  given,  to  have  the  corn 
the  day  before  it  was  needed,  their  coming  at  that 
time,  though  it  might  be  a  little  earlier  than  usual, 
created  no  suspicion,  and  attracted  no  notice. —  j 
Paxton.  | 


ing  destroyed  his  competitor  for  the  em- 
pire; but  that  they  were  disappointed  in 
their  towering  hopes  and  expectations, 
the  following  noble  and  spirited  declaration 
of  David  will  sufficiently  show  : 

"  Wicked  wretches  that  you  are  !  pre- 
pare yourselves  immediately  to  receive  the 
just  reward  of  your  villany.  Do  not  you 
know  that  I  punished  the  murderer  ot 
Saul  according  to  his  demerit ;  who,  when 
he  had  taken  away  that  sacred  life,  had 
the  confidence  to  bring  me  his  golden 
crown  for  an  ostentation  of  the  service  he 
had  done  me  in  it  ?  Nay,  though  it  was 
at  the  instance  too  of  Saul  himself  that 
he  did  it,  to  prevent  the  indignity  of  being 
taken  alive  by  his  enemies.  Am  not  I 
the  same  man,  do  you  think,  at  this  day, 
that  I  was  then  ?  or  am  I  turned  so  aban- 
doned a  wretch  since  as  to  countenance 
the  most  profligate  of  men  and  of  actions, 
and  to  reckon  myself  under  an  obligation 
to  you  for  dipping  your  hands  (upon  my 
account,  as  you  would  have  it  thought,) 
in  the  blood  of  your  lord  ?  The  slaying 
in  his  bed  too,  a  person  so  just,  and  so 
generous  a  patron  and  benefactor  to  you, 
that  all  the  advantages  you  can  pretend 
to  in  this  world,  are  but  what  you  stand 
indebted  for  to  his  bounty  and  goodness; 
wherefore  you  shall  pay  for  your  breach 
of  faith  to  your  master,  and  for  the  scan- 
dal you  would  have  cast  upon  me;  foi 
what  greater  wound  could  any  man  give 
me  in  my  reputation,  than  to  suppose  me 
a  person  that  could  take  pleasure  in  the 
tidings,  or  give  countenance  to  the  com- 
mitting of  so  barbarous  and  inhuman  a 
murder?" 

Having  thus  remonstrated  and  repri- 
manded them  for  the  commission  of  so 
horrid  a  crime,  in  order  to  impress  the 
minds  of  others  with  a  due  sense  of  the 
same,  and  prevent  it  for  the  future,  David 
commanded  some  of  his  guards  to  slay 
the  two  guilty  persons,  and  afterwards  he 
caused  the  head  of  lshbosheth  to  be  laid 
in  the  monument  of  Abner,  with  due  form 
and  solemnity. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


283 


When  David's  orders  were  executed, 
all  the  elders  and  chief  officers  of  state 
approach  him,  in  order  to  recognise  his 
regal  authority,  and  lay  their  lives  and 
fortunes  at  his  feet,  assuring  him  of  the 
zeal  and  devotion  they  ever  had  for  him, 
even  in  the  life  of  Saul,  and  when  they 
had  the  honour  to  serve  under  his  com- 
mand ;  and  farther  observing  how  the  pro- 
phet Samuel,  according  to  God's  order  and 
appointment,  had  declared  him  king,  and 
that  the  government  would  descend  to  his 
sons  after  him  ;  foretelling  that  the  great 
work  of  subduing  the  Philistines  was  re- 
served for  him  alone,  and  consequently 
the  settling  of  Israel  in  the  possession  of  a 
lasting  peace  and  safety. 

David  highly  commended  them  for  their 
good-will  and  disposition,  encouraging 
them  to  go  on  as  they  had  begun,  with  an 
assurance,  that  he,  for  his  part,  would 
never  give  them  cause  to  repent  it.  Da- 
vid accompanied  this  declaration  with  a 
splendid  treat ;  and  when  he  had  enter- 
tained them  with  all  humanity  and  free- 
aom,  he  sent  them  away  with  a  summons 
to  the  whole  body  of  the  people  to  meet 
at  his  palace. 

Pursuant  to  this  general  summons  there 
assembled  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  six  thou- 
sand and  eight  hundred  men,  armed  with 
shields  and  lances.  These  had  been 
hitherto  of  the  party  of  Saul,  over  and 
above  those  of  the  same  tribe,  who  had 
made  David  king  by  themselves.  Of  the 
tribe  of  Simeon,  seven  thousand  and  one 
hundred,  and  upwards.  Of  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  four  thousand  seven  hundred,  with 
their  leader  Jehoida,  and  with  these  was 
the  high-priest  Zadok,  with  two  and 
twenty  eminent  men  of  his  relations.  Of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  three  thousand 
armed  men  ;  though  this  tribe  was  alto- 
gether of  opinion  that  some  of  Saul's 
family  would  succeed  to  the  government. 
Of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  twenty  thousand 
and  eight  hundred,  strong  men,  and  of 
great  courage.  Of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh, 
eighteen  thousand.     Of  the  tribe  of  Issa- 


char,  two  hundred  cunning  men,  who 
could  foretell  things  to  come,  beside  twen- 
ty thousand  in  arms.  Of  the  tribe  of 
Zebulun,  fifty  thousand  choice  men,  and 
well  armed :  this  tribe  came  over  to  Da- 
vid in  general.  All  these  used  the  same 
armour  as  the  tribe  of  Gad.  Of  Naph ta- 
li, a  thousand  eminent  commanders,  armed 
with  shield  and  spear,  with  almost  an  in- 
numerable multitude  of  their  followers. 
Of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  twenty-eight  thou- 
sand choice  men.  Of  the  tribe  of  Asher, 
forty  thousand;  and  of  the  two  tribes  be- 
yond Jordan,  and  the  other  half  of  the 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  that  were  armed  with 
shield,  spear,  sword  and  helmet,  an  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand. 

This  is  the  muster-roll  of  those  who 
came  up  to  David  at  Hebron,  and  brought 
corn,  wine,  and  other  necessary  provisions 
with  them  in  abundance,  and  with  one 
voice  proclaimed  him  their  king. 

When  they  had  spent  three  days  there 
in  feasting,  David  marched  out  at  the  head 
of  this  army  to  Jerusalem. 

The  Jebusites,  a  people  of  the  race  of 
the  Canaanites,  were  at  that  time  in  pos- 
session of  the  city;  and  upon  David's 
advance  toward  them,  they  shut  their 
gates,  and  in  a  way  of  defiance  to  David 
and  his  troops,  brought  out  their  lame  and 
their  blind  *  to  the  walls  for  the  defence 
of  the  town. 


"  The  blind  and  the  lame,  says  Luther  upon 
this  place,  were  the  idols  of  the  Jebusites,  which, 
to  irritate  David  they  set  upon  their  walls,  as  their 
patrons  and  protectors  ;  and  these  they  call  blind 
and  lame  sarcastically,  and  with  respect  to  David's 
opinion  ;  as  if  they  had  said,  "  These  gods  of  ours, 
whom  ye  Israelites  reproach  as  blind  and  lame, 
and  so  unable  to  direct  or  defend  us,  will  secure 
us  against  you,  and,  to  your  cost,  make  you  find, 
that  they  are  neither  blind  nor  lame,  but  have  eyes 
to  watch  for  us,  and  hands  to  fight  against  you,  so 
that  you  must  conquer  and  subdue  them,  before 
you  take  this  place."  But  this  interpreiation 
seems  to  be  a  little  too  metaphorical  and  forced, 
for  which  reason  we  have  rather  chosen  the  con- 
struction which  Josephus,  lib.  vii.  c.  2.  puts  upon 
this  passage,  viz.  that  they  imagined  their  fortress 
to  be  so  impregnable,  that  by  way  of  contempt, 
they  told  David,  that  their  very  blind  and  lame 
would  be  able  to  defend  it  against  him  and  all  his 
forces:  and  this  is  a  sense  so  extremely  plain  and 


284 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


David  was  so  incensed  at  this  contemp- 
tuous mockery,  that  he  resolved  imme- 
diately to  attack  the  city ;  reasonably 
judging,  that  if  he  made  an  example  of 
the  people  of  this  place,  it  would  strike  a 
terror  into  all  others  for  the  future.  Ac- 
cordingly he  advanced  with  the  flower  of 
his  army,  and,  upon  a  general  assault, 
entered  the  lower  town :  but  the  castle 
still  made  an  obstinate  resistance.  David 
finding  it  to  be  a  strong  place,  the  attempt 
hazardous,  and  his  honour  at  stake  upon 
the  carrying  of  it,  bethought  himself  of  a 
means  to  inflame  the  courage  of  his  men 
by  some  extraordinary  proposal  of  honour 
and  reward ;  and  by  that  incentive  to 
kindle  an  emulation  among  them. 

To  effect  this,  he  passed  his  royal  word, 
that  he  who  first  mounted  the  wall,  and 
made  good  his  station,  should  have  the 
command  of  the  army.  Stimulated  by 
the  mighty  promise  the  Israelites  joined 
in  a  fierce  attack,  and  a  generous  conten- 
tion arose  who  should  merit  that  honour. 

At  length  Joab  mounted  the  wall  and 
carried  the  prize ;  so  that  he  called  upon 
the  king  from  the  top  of  the  battlement  to 
fulfil  his  promise. 

Having  expelled  the  enemy  from  the 
castle,  and  repaired  the  town,  the  king 
gave  to  Jerusalem  the  name  of  the  city  of 
David,  and  made  it  his  place  of  residence 
during  his  reign.* 

obvious,  that  the  renowned  Bochart  wonders,  why 
any  man  of  learning  should  seek  for  any  other. 
The  only  exception  to  it  is,  that  these  blind  and 
lame,  which  were  rather  objects  of  compassion,  are 
said  to  have  been  extremely  hated  by  David.  But 
we  may  observe,  that  David  here  retorts  the  sar- 
casm upon  them  ;  'the  lame  and  blind,'  i.e.  those 
who  are  set  to  defend  the  place,  and  who,  as  they 
pretended,  were  to  be  only  the  lame  and  the  blind. 
And  these  were  hateful  to  David,  because  they 
had  wickedly  and  insolently  defied  the  armies  of 
the  living  God. — Poole  s  Annotations,  Patrick's 
and  Le  Clercs  Commentaries. 

*  During  the  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon, 
Jerusalem  was  the  metropolis  of  the  land  of  Israel  ; 
but,  after  the  defection  of  the  ten  tribes  under 
Jeroboam,  it  was  the  capital  of  the  kings  of  Jndah, 
during  whose  government  it  underwent  various 
revolutions.  It  was  captured  four  times  without 
being  demolished,  viz.  by  Shishak,  sovereign  of 
Egypt,  from  whose  ravages  it  never  recovered  its 


This  memorable  transaction  happened 
after  he  had  ruled  seven  years  and  six 
months  over  the  tribe  of  Judah  in  Hebron. 

Upon  the  establishment  of  his  court  at 


former  splendour  ;  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who 
treated    the    Jews    with    singular    barbarity ;    by 
Pompey  the  Great,  who  rendered  the  Jews  tribu- 
tary to  Rome  ;  and  by  Herod,  with  the  assistance 
of  a    Homan    force    under   Sosius.      It  was   first 
entirely  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  again 
by  the  emperor  Titus,  the  repeated  insurrections 
of  the  turbulent  Jews  having  filled  up  the  measure 
of  their  iniquities,  and  drawn  down  upon  them  the 
implacable  vengeance  of  the  Romans.     Titus  in- 
effectually endeavoured  to  save  the  temple;  it  was 
involved  in  the  same  ruin  with  the  rest  of  the  city, 
and,  after  it  bad  been  reduced  to  ashes,  the  founda- 
tions of  that  sacred  edifice  were  ploughed  up  by 
the  Roman  soldiers.     Thus  literally  was  fulfilled 
the  prediction  of  our   Lord,  that  not  one  stone 
should  be  left  upon   another  that  should  not  be 
thrown  down.     On  his  return  to  Rome,  Titus  was 
honoured  with  a  triumph,  and  to  commemorate  his 
conquest  of  Judea,  a  triumphal  arch  was  erected, 
which  is  still  in  existence.     Numerous  medals  of 
Judea  vanquished  were  struck  in  honour  of  the 
same  event.     The  emperor  Adrian  erected  a  city 
on  part  of  the  former  site  of  Jerusalem,  which  he 
called  MWa.  Capitol ina:  it  was  afterwards  greatly 
enlarged  and  beautified  by  Constantine  the  Great, 
who  restored  its  ancient  name.     During  that  em- 
peror's  reign   the   Jews    made  various    efforts   to 
rebuild  their  temple;  which,  however,  were  always 
frustrated :    nor   did    better    success    attend    the 
attempt  made  A.  d.  363,  by  the  apostate  emperor 
Julian.     An  earthquake,  a  whirlwind,  and  a  fiery 
eruption,  compelled  the  workmen  to  abandon  their 
design.     From  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Romans  to  the  present  time,  that  city  has  remain- 
ed, for  the  most  part,  in  a  state  of  ruin  and  desola- 
tion ;  and  has  never  been  under  the  government 
of  the  Jews  themselves,  but  oppressed  and  broken 
down    by  a   succession   of  foreign    masters, — the 
Romans,  the  Saracens,  the  Franks,  the  Mamelukes, 
and  last  by  the  Turks,  to  whom  it  is  still  subject. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  only  in  the  history  of  Josephus, 
and  in  other  ancient  writers,  that  we  are  to  look 
for  the  accomplishment  of  our  Lord's  predictions: 
— we  see  them  verified  at  this  moment  before  our 
eyes,  in  the  desolate  state  of  the  once  celebrated 
city  and  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  Jewish  people,  not  collected  to- 
gether into  any  one  country,   into  one  political 
society,  and  under  one  form  of  government,  but 
dispersed  over  every  region  of  the  globe,  and  every 
where  treated  with  contumely  and  scorn.      The 
modern  city  of  Jerusalem  contains  within  its  walls 
several  of  the  hills  on  which  the  ancient  city  is 
supposed  to  have  stood  ;  but  these  are  only  per- 
ceptible by  the  ascent  and  descent  of  the  streets. 
When  seen  from  the  mount  of  Olives,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  it  presents  an 
inclined  plane,  descending  from  west  to  east.     An 
embattled  wall,  fortified  with  towers  and  a  Gothic- 
castle,  encompasses  the  city  all  round,  excluding 
however,  part  of  mount  Sion,  which  it  formerly 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE.  285 

Jerusalem,  success  attended  his  affairs  j  Hiram  king  of  Tyre,  awed  by  the  great 
every  day  more  and  more;  for  God  in  his  success  of  David,  sent  an  embassy,  upon  a 
providence  designing  it  for  a  seat  of  glory,  treaty  of  friendship  and  alliance,  with  pre- 
had  a  peculiar  kindness  for  the  place.  sents  likewise  of  cedar  wood,  builders,  and 


enclosed.  Notwithstanding  its  seemingly  strong 
position,  it  is  incapable  of  sustaining  a  severe 
assault ;  because,  on  account  of  the  topography  of 
the  land,  it  has  no  means  of  preventing  the 
approaches  of  an  enemy  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  commanded,  at  the  distance  of  a  gun-shot,  by 
the  Djebel  Tor,  or  the  mount  of  Olives,  from  which 
it  is  seen  to  the  best  advantage.  Imposing,  however, 
as  the  appearance  of  Jerusalem  is,  when  viewed 
from  that  mountain, — and  exhibiting  a  compact- 
ness of  structure  like  that  alluded  to  by  the  Psalmist, 
(cxxii.  3.)  the  illusion  vanishes  on  entering  the  town. 
No  '  streets  of  palaces  and  walks  of  state,' — no  high- 
raised  arches  of  triumph — no  fountains  to  cool  the 
air,  or  porticoes — not  a  single  vestige  meets  the 
traveller,  to  announce  its  former  military  greatness 
or  commercial  opulence:  but  in  the  place  of  these, 
he  finds  himself  encompassed  by  walls  of  rude 
masonry,  the  dull  uniformity  of  which  is  only 
broken  by  the  occasional  protrusion  of  a  small 
grated  window.  All  the  streets  are  wretchedness, 
and  the  houses  of  the  Jews,  more  especially,  areas 
dunghills.  '  From  the  daughter  of  Zion  all  her 
beauty  is  departed.'  The  finest  section  of  the  city 
is  that  inhabited  by  the  Armenians  ;  in  the  other 
quarters,  the  streets  are  much  narrower,  being 
scarcely  wide  enough  to  admit  three  camels  to 
stand  abreast.  In  the  western  quarter  and  in  the 
centre  of  Jerusalem,  towards  Calvary,  the  low  and 
ill-built  houses,  which  have  flat  terraces  or  domes 
on  the  top,  but  no  chimneys  or  windows,  stand 
very  close  together;  but  in  the  eastern  part,  along 
the  brook  Kedron,  the  eye  perceives  vacant  spaces, 
and  amongst  the  rest  that  which  surrounds  the 
mosque  erected  by  the  Khalif  Omar,  a.  d.  637,  on 
the  site  of  the  temple,  and  the  nearly  deserted 
spot  where  once  stood  the  tower  of  Antonia  and 
the  second  palace  of  Herod. — Home. 

Dr  Richardson's  account  of  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  is  as  follows  : — 
"  Many  of  the  Jews  are  rich  and  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  possess  a  good  deal  of  property 
in  Jerusalem ;  but  they  are  careful  to  conceal  their 
wealth,  and  even  their  comfort,  from  the  jealous 
eye  of  their  rulers,  lest,  by  awaking  their  cupidity, 
some  vile,  indefensible  plot  should  be  devised  to 
their  prejudice.  In  going  to  visit  a  respectable 
Jew  in  the  holy  city,  it  is  a  common  thing  to  pass 
to  his  house  over  a  ruined  foreground  and  up  an 
awkward  outside  stair,  constructed  of  rough  un- 
polished stones,  that  totter  under  the  foot ;  but  it 
improves  as  you  ascend,  and  at  the  top  has  a  res- 
pectable appearance,  as  it  ends  in  an  agreeable 
platform  in  front  of  the  house.  On  entering  the 
house  itself  it  is  found  to  be  clean  and  well  fur- 
nished ;  the  sofas  are  covered  with  Persian  car- 
pets, and  the  people  seem  happy  to  receive  you. 
The  visitor  is  entertained  with  coffee  and  tobacco, 
as  is  the  custom  in  the  houses  of  the  Turks  and 
Christians.  The  ladies  presented  themselves  with 
an  ease  and  address  that  surprised  me,  and  recalled 
to  my  memory  the  pleasing  society  of  Europe. 


This  difference  of  manner  arises  from  many  of  the 
Jewish   families  in    Jerusalem    having  resided   in 
Spain   or    Portugal,    when    the   females    had   rid 
themselves  of  the  cruel  domestic  fetters  of  the 
East,  and,  on  returning  to  their  beloved  land,  had 
very   properly   maintained    their   justly   acquired 
freedom   and   rank   in  society.     'Ihey  almost  all 
speak  a  broken  Italian,  so  that  conversation  goes 
on  without  the  clumsy  aid  of  an  interpreter.     It 
was  the  feast  of  the  passover,  and  they  were  all 
eating  unleavened  bread,  some  of  which  was  pre- 
sented to  me  as  a  curiosity,  and  I  partook  of  it 
merely  that  I  might  have  the  gratification  of  eat- 
ing unleavened  bread  with   the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  Jacob  in  Jerusalem  ;  it  is  very  insipid  fare, 
and  no  one  would  eat  it  from  choice.     For  the 
same  reason  I  went  to  the  synagogue,  of  which 
there  are  two  in  Jerusalem,  although  I  visited  only 
one.     The  form  of  worship  is  the  same  as  in  this 
country,  and,  1   believe,   in   every  country  which 
j  the  Jews  inhabit.     The  females  have  a  separate 
!  part  of  the  synagogue  assigned  to  them,  as  in  the 
|  synagogues    in    Europe,    and    in    the    Christian 
!  churches  all   over   the    Levant.      They  are  not, 
|  however,  expected  to  be  frequent  or  regular  in 
:  their  attendance  on  public  worship.     The  ladies 
j  generally  make  a  point  of  going  on  the  Sunday, 
'  that  is,  the   Friday   night   or   Saturday  morning, 
after  they  are  married  ;  and  being  thus  introduced 
',  in  their  new  capacity,  once  a  year  is  considered  as 
sufficient   compliance,    on    their   part,   with    the 
:  ancient  injunction  to  assemble  themselves  together 
\  in  the  house   of  prayer.      Like   the  votaries  of 
some  Christian  establishments,  the  Jewesses  trust 
|  more  to  the  prayers  of  their  priests  than  to  their 
[  own.      The   synagogues   in   Jerusalem   are   both 
poor  and  small,  not  owing  to  the  poverty  of  their 
possessors,  but  to  the  prudential  motives  above- 
mentioned.     The  Jewesses  in  Jerusalem  speak  in 
a  decided   and   firm    tone,   unlike  the  hesitating 
and  timid  voice  of  the  Arab  and  Turkish  females  ; 
and   claim    the    European    privilege   of   differing 
from  their  husbands,  and  maintaining  their  own 
opinions.     They  are  fair  and  good-looking:   red 
and   auburn   hair   are   by  no    means   uncommon 
in  either  of  the  sexes.     I  never  saw  any  of  them 
with  veils;  and  was  informed  that  it  is  the  general 
practice  of  the  Jewesses  in  Jerusalem  to  go  with 
their  faces  uncovered ;  they  are  the  only  females 
there   who  do   so.     Generally  speaking,    I  think 
they  are  disposed  to  be  rather  of  a  plethoric  habit ; 
and  the  admirers  of  size  and  softness  in  the  fair 
sex,  will  find  as  regularly  well-built  fatties,  with 
double  mouldings  in  the  neck  and  chin,  among  the 
fair  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  as  among  the  fairer 
daughters  of  England.  Theyseem  particularly  liable 
to  eruptive  diseases ;  and  the  want  of  children  is  as 
great  a  heart-break  to  them  now  as  it  was  in  the 
days  of  Sarah.     In  passing  up  to  the  synagogue,  I 
was  particularly  struck  with  the  mean  and  wretch- 
ed appearance  of  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the 
streets,  as  well  as  with  the  poverty  of  their  inhabi- 


286 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


master-workmen  toward  the  erecting  of  a 
palace  for  him  at  Jerusalem. 

David  fortified  the  upper  town,  and  laid 
tliat  and  the  citadel  both  in  one,  with  a 
wall  about  them,  and  gave  the  command 
of  it  to  Joab.  He  was  the  first  who 
changed  the  name  of  it,  and  it  was  after 
the  casting  out  of  the  Jebusites:  for  in 
the  days  of  Abraham,  it  was  called  Salem; 
and  some  will  have  it  that  Homer  pointed 
at  this  city,  when  he  speaks  of  the  people 
of  Solyma;  for  the  word  Hieron,  or  temple, 
in  the  Hebrew  signifies  security  or  a  for- 
tress. 

Now  the  whole  time  of  the  war  with 
the  Philistines,  from  the  Israelites  divid- 
ing: their  lands,  under  the  command  of 
Joshua,  to  the  day  here  spoken  of,  was 
reckoned  to  be  five  hundred  and  fifteen 
years;  but  the  barbarians  kept  the  posses- 
sion of  Jerusalem  all  along,  till  they  were 
driven  out  by  David. 

Now  there  was  among  the  Jebusites  a 
very  rich  man,  one  Oman,  who  had  done 
many  good  offices  for  the  Israelites,  and 


tants.  Some  of  the  old  men  and  old  women  had 
more  withered  and  hungry  aspects  than  any  of  our 
race  I  ever  saw,  with  the  exception  of  the  caverned 
dames  at  Gornou  in  Egyptian  Thebes,  who  might 
havesat  in  a  stony  field  as  a  picture  of  famine  the  year 
after  the  flood.  The  sight  of  a  poor  Jew  in  Jeru- 
salem has  in  it  something  peculiarly  affecting.  The 
heart  of  this  wonderful  people,  in  whatever  clime 
they  roam,  still  turns  to  it  as  the  city  of  their  pro- 
mised rest.  They  take  pleasure  in  her  ruins,  and 
would  lick  the  very  dust  for  her  sake.  Jerusalem 
is  the  centre  around  which  the  exiled  sons  of  Judah 
build,  in  airy  dreams,  the  mansions  of  their  future 
greatness.  In  whatever  part  of  the  world  he  may 
live,  the  heart's  desire  of  a  Jew,  when  gathered  to 
his  fathers,  is  to  be  buried  in  Jerusalem.  Thither 
they  return  from  Spain  and  Portugal,  from  Egypt 
and  Barbary,  and  other  countries  among  which 
they  have  been  scattered ;  and  when,  after  all  their 
longings,  and  all  their  struggles  up  the  steeps  of 
life,  we  see  them  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked,  in 
the  streets  of  their  once  happy  Ziori,  lie  must  have 
a  cold  heart  that  can  remain  untouched  by  their 
sufferings,  without  uttering  a  prayer  that  the  light 
of  a  reconciled  countenance  would  shine  on  the 
darkness  of  Judah,  and  the  day-star  of  Bethlehem 
arise  in  their  hearts.  The  Jews  are  the  best 
cicerones  in  Jerusalem,  because  they  generally  give 
the  ancient  names  of  places,  which  the  guides  and 
interpreters  belonging  to  the  different  convents  do 
not.  They  are  not  forward  in  presenting  them- 
selves, and  must  generally  be  sought  for." 


deserved  singularly  well  from  David  him- 
self.    This  man,  therefore,  upon  the  sack- 
ing of  the   town,   was  preserved  by  the 
king  from  the  heat  and  fury  of  the  sol 
diers,  after  his  settlement  at  Jerusalem. 

David  took  several  wives,  besides  con- 
cubines, more  than  he  had  done  before; 
by  whom  he  had  eleven  children,  Sham- 
muah,  Shobab,  Nathan,  Solomon,  Ibhar, 
Elishua,  Nepheg,  Japhia,  Elishama,  Eli- 
ada,  Eliphalet,  and  a  daughter  named 
Thamar,  who  was  the  sister  of  Absalom. 
Nine  of  the  sons  were  lawfully  begotten, 
but  the  two  last  by  concubines. 

The  Philistines,  ever  avowed  enemies 
to  the  Israelites,  no  sooner  heard  that 
David  was  acknowledged  as  king  by  the 
tribes  in  general,  than  they  mustered  their 
forces,  and  encamped  in  a  place  called  the 
Valley  of  the  Giants,*  not  far  from  Jerusa- 
lem. 

Upon  this  occasion,  David,  who  would 
do  nothing  without  counsel  and  direction 
from  above,  appointed  the  high-priest  to 
inform  himself  in  the  way  that  God  hart 
prescribed,  what  might  be  the  event  of 
this  battle. 

Having  received  an  encouraging  an- 
swer, he  immediately  advanced  against 
the  foe,  and  fell  upon  them  in  surprise, 
and  charged  them  with  such  vehemence, 
that  a  total  defeat  soon  ensued,  with  great 
slaughter  on  the  side  of  the  Philistines. 

This  was  a  signal  victory  obtained  with- 
out much  opposition,  but  it  must  not  there- 
fore be  inferred  that  the  army  of  the  Phil- 
istines was  inconsiderable  in  point  of  num- 
bers, or  the  valour  of  their  men,  for  Syria 
and  Phoenicia,  and  several  other  warlike 
nations,  were  all  engaged  in  the  confeder- 


*  The  valley  of  the  Rephaim  (or  the  Giants' 
Valley)  was  so  called  from  its  gigantic  inhabitants: 
it  was  situated  on  the  confines  of  the  territories 
allotted  to  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin.  It 
was  memorable,  as  oftentimes  being  the  field  f 
battle  between  the  Philistines  and  the  Jews  under 
David  and  his  successors.  This  valley  also  appears 
to  have  been  distinguished  for  its  abundant  har- 
vests. Like  all  the  country  about  Jerusalem,  it 
is  now  stony,  and  scantily  furnished  with  patches 
of  light  red  soil. — Home- 


Chap.  IV.  J 


THE  BIBLE. 


287 


acy.  It  had  been  otherwise,  if  after  so 
many  defeats,  and  the  loss  of  so  many 
thousands,  they  could  never  have  brought 
an  army  into  the  field  again;  and  we  find, 
that  immediately  after  this  defeat,  they 
invaded  the  Israelites  with  thrice  the 
number  they  had  before,  and  had  the  con- 
fidence to  post  themselves  in  the  very 
same  place  again. 

The  king,  after  his  constant  custom, 
consulted  the  oracle  as  formerly,  and  re- 
c  ived  orders  to  lie  still  with  his  army  in 
a  certain  wood,  called  the  Grove  of  Mourn- 
i  ig.  or  the  mulberry-trees,*  not  far  from 
tow  enemy:  and  not  to  move  from  thence, 
or  make  any  attempt  upon  any  occasion 
whatsoever,  till  he  found  the  branches  of 
the  trees  in  an  agitation,  as  of  their  own 
accord,  and  without  a  breath  of  air  stirring 
to  cause  that  motion. 

David  punctually  obeyed  the  Divine 
command;  and  as  soon  as  the  providential 
sign  was  given  him,  he  advanced,  as  to  a 
certain  and  predetermined  victory.  The 
Philistines  gave  way  on  the  very  first  at- 
tack, but  when  they  came  to  close  fight, 
they  ran  with  the  Israelites  at  their  backs, 
and  their  swords  in  their  reins. 

They  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter 
to  Gazer,  a  town  situated  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  either  party.  They  then  pillaged 
the  camp,  where  they  made  themselves 
masters  of  a  prodigious  booty,  with  little 
trouble  or  hazard,  seizing  their  idols  among 
other  things,  and  breaking  them  to  pieces. 

This  war  being  speedily  and  happily 
finished,  the  king  was  pleased,  by  the  ad- 
vice and  assent  of  his  great  council,  to 
draw  together  the  whole  force  he  could 


*  God  indeed  is  left  to  his  own  pleasure  what 
s-igns  he  shall  think  fit  to  give  his  people,  upon 
any  occasion  for  their  good  ;  but  the  more  arbitra- 
ry and  uncommon  any  sign  is,  the  more  it  seems 
to  have  proceeded  from  God.  Though,  therefore, 
the  sound  of  people's  going  upon  the  tops  of  trees, 
be  a  thing  not  so  congruous  to  our  conceptions, 
yet  it  does  not  from  hence  follow  that  it  was  not 
the  real  sign  which  God  gave  David,  because  the 
stranger  the  phenomenon  was,  the  greater  assur- 
ance is  conveyed  of  the  divine  interposition  in  his 
fevour. 


raise  out  of  all  the  tribes  under  his  juris- 
diction,! together  with  the  priests  and 
Levites ;  and  to  march  with  this  great 
body  directly  to  Kirjath-jearim,  and  bring 
the  ark  of  God  from  thence  to  Jerusalem, 
that  being  the  place  designed  for  holy 
worship,  and  for  the  celebration  of  all 
sacrifices,  ceremonies,  and  religious  rites 
for  the  time  to  come. 

The  tribes  being  met  according  to  ap- 
pointment, and  all  things  in  readiness  for 
the  removal  of  the  ark  (David  himself  also 
assisting  at  the  solemnity)  the  priests  took 
it  out  of  the  house  of  Abinadab,  and  lay- 
ing it  upon  a  new  waggon,  with  oxen  to 
draw  it,  left  the  ark  in  charge  with  their 
children  and  relations.  The  king  himself 
went  foremost;  and  was  followed  by  a 
multitude  of  people,  glorifying  God  in 
sacred  hymns  and  psalms. 

And  thus  was  the  ark  conducted  towards 
Jerusalem,  after  the  fashion  of  the  country; 
dancing  as  they  went  to  the  sound  of 
harps,  cymbals,  and  other  musical-instru- 
ments.:}: 


f  It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  this  bringing 
back  of  the  ark  was  appointed  to  be  on  one  of  the 
three  great  festivals  ;  and  the  reason,  why  David 
might  summon  so  many  of  his  principal  ministers 
and  officers  to  accompany  him  in  the  expedition, 
might  be,  to  possess  the  young  people,  who  per- 
haps had  heard  little  or  nothing  of  the  ark,  by 
reason  of  its  having  been  absent  so  long,  with  a 
mighty  veneration  for  it,  when  they  saw  the  king, 
and  so  many  of  the  chief  nobility  waiting  on  it, 
with  such  a  variety  of  music,  and  such  public  decla- 
rations of  joy. — Millar's  History  of  the  Church. 

X  Strabo  tells  us,  that  it  was  customary  among 
the  Greeks,  as  well  as  other  nations,  to  use  music 
and  dancing  in  religious  processions;  and  Lucian 
expressly  says,  that  among  the  ancients,  no  cere- 
monial of  religion,  no  expiation,  no  atonement 
was  accounted  rightly  accomplished  without  danc- 
ing. So  that  David  was  far  from  being  singular 
in  his  behaviour  upon  this  occasion  ;  nor  was  his 
behaviour  in  this  particular  any  disparagement  to 
his  regal  dignity.  His  dancing,  that  is,  his  moving 
in  certain  serious  and  solemn  measures,  suited  to 
music  of  the  same  character  and  tendency,  was  an 
exercise  highly  conducive  to  the  purpose  of  pieiv, 
and  his  mixing  with  the  public  festivities  of  his 
people,  was  a  condescension  (as  Tacitus  relates  of 
Augustus  the  Roman  emperor)  not  unbecoming 
the  greatest  monarch.  Policy  taught  Augustus  to 
put  himself  upon  a  level  with  his  subjects,  in  their 
public  rejoicings  ;  piety  taught  David,  that  all 
men  are  upon  a  level  in  the  solemnities  of  religion 


288 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


As  they  were  upon  the  way,  at  a  cer- 
tain place  called  the  thrashing-floor  of 
Nachon,  the  oxen  staggering  with  the  ark, 
Uzzah  put  forth  his  hand  to  keep  it  from 
overturning,  and  was  immediately  struck 
dead  by  divine  vengeance  for  presuming 
to  touch  it,  as  he  was  not  in  holy  orders.* 

This  exemplary  death  of  Uzzah  was  a 
great  affliction  to  David  himself,  and  to 
all  the  people ;  and  they  called  the  place 
Perez-uzzah,  or  '  The  breach  of  Uzzah  ;' 
which  name  it  bore  many  hundred  years. 
David  was  so  affected  with  the  awful  judg- 
ment inflicted  on  Uzzah,  that,  lest  it  might 
peradventure  be  his  case,  if  he  should  re- 
ceive the  ark  into  the  city,  (his  fault  be- 
ing only  the  temerity  of  touching  it,)  he 
suspended  the  carrying  of  it  to  Jerusalem, 
and  turned  off  with  it  upon  the  way,  into 
the  house  of  a  certain  good  man  and  a 
Levite,  whose  name  was  Obed-edom, 
and  there  it  lay  deposited  for  three  whole 


So  that  David  was  not  singular  in  his  behaviour 
upon  this  occasion. — Patrick's  Commentary,  and 
The  History  of  the  Life  of  King  David. 

*  What  shall  we  say  to  the  fate  of  Uzzah  ?  or 
what  probable  cause  can  be  assigned  for  his  sudden 
and  untimely  end  ?  are  questions  which  naturally 
arise  on  reading  this  passage  ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  been  guilty  of  a  treble  transgression  of  the 
divine  will.  The  ark,  as  some  say,  was  by  his  di- 
rection placed  in  a  cart,  though  it  ought  to  have 
been  carried  by  staves  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
Levites  ;  he,  without  any  proper  designation,  ad- 
ventures to  attend  it,  for  there  is  no  proof  in 
scripture  that  he  was  a  Levite  ;  and  when  he 
thought  it  in  danger  of  falling,  officiously  put  forth 
his  hand  and  laid  hold  on  it,  which  was  forbidden 
on  pain  of  death.  And  when  we  consider  further, 
that  the  ark  had  continued  so  long  in  obscurity, 
that  the  people  had  in  a  manner  lost  all  sense  of  a 
divine  power  residing  in  it,  we  have  no  less  reason 
to  wonder,  that  God,  being  disposed  to  retrieve 
the  ancient  honour  of  that  sacred  vessel  and  to 
curb  the  heinous  profanations  of  it  for  the  future, 
should  single  out  one,  the  most  culpable  of  many  ; 
one,  who  in  three  instances  was  then  violating  I  lis 
commands,  to  be  a  monument  of  his  displeasure 
against  a  wilful  ignorance,  or  a  rude  contempt  of 
his  precept ;  that  by  such  an  example  he  might 
inspire  both  priests  and  people  with  a  sacred 
dread  of  his  majesty,  and  a  profound  veneration 
for  his  mysteries.  Happy  were  it  for  us,  however, 
if  we  could  account  for  the  operations  of  God  with 
the  same  facility  that  we  can  for  the  actions  of  his 
saints  ;  but  his  '  counsels  are  a  great  deep,  and  his 
judgments,'  though  always  just, « are  past  finding 
ouL' 


months,  in  which  time  it  was  observed 
that  every  thing  prospered  in  the  family, 
and  that  the  master  of  it  grew  rich  to  ad- 
miration. 

It  was  generally  observed,  how  amaz- 
ingly Obed-edom  was  improved  in  his 
fortune  since  he  had  the  ark  under  his 
roof,  and  that  of  a  very  poor  man,  he  be- 
came on  a  sudden  considerable  for  wealth, 
and  in  so  good  a  condition,  that  he  was 
the  wonder  as  well  as  the  envy  of  his 
neighbours. 

The  rumour  of  Obed-edom's  success 
reaching  the  king's  ear,  greatly  encour- 
aged him,  insomuch  that,  fearless  of  dan- 
ger, he  resumed  his  former  purpose  of 
transporting  it  to  Jerusalem,  which  was 
done  after  this  manner. 

The  priests  had  the  charge  of  carrying 
it,  and  seven  choirs  of  singing  men,  ac- 
cording to  the  king's  appointment,  march- 
ing before  it,  David  himself  bearing  his 
part  in  the  concert,  with  dancing  and 
singing  to  his  harp :  this  his  wife  Michal 
— the  daughter  of  the  late  king  Saul — 
utterly  disliked,  as  an  action  of  too  much 
levity,  and  below  the  dignity  of  David's 
character. 

The  ark  being  brought  to  the  city,  it 
was  disposed  of  in  the  tabernacle,f  which 


-f-  The  future  history  of  this  sacred  ark  is  this : 
after  the  building  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
Solomon  had  it  removed  from  Sion  into  a  proper 
place  that  was  consecrated  for  it,  where  it  remain- 
ed with  all  suitable  respect  till  the  times  of  the 
latter  kings  of  Judah,  who  gave  themselves  up  to 
idolatry,  and  were  not  afraid  to  put  the  images  of 
their  gods  in  the  holy  place  itself.  Hereupon  the 
priests,  being  unable  to  endure  this  profanation, 
took  the  ark,  and  carried  it  from  place  to  place, 
that  by  this  means  it  might  escape  the  fury  of 
these  impious  princes  :  but  Josiah,  who  was  a 
good  man,  and  restored  the  true  worship  of  God, 
commanded  them  to  bring  it  back  to  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  forbade  them  to  carry  it  into  the  coun- 
try, as  they  had  done.  The  Talmudists,  however, 
have  a  tradition  that  Solomon,  having  learned  by 
revelation  that  the  Assyrians  would  one  day  burn 
the  temple  which  he  had  lately  built,  and  carry 
away  all  the  rich  materials  which  he  had  placed 
there,  took  care  to  have  a  private  hole  made  under 
ground,  where,  in  case  of  necessity,  he  might  con- 
ceal the  most  valuable  things  belonging  to  it  from 
the  knowledge  of  any  enemies  ;  and  that  Josiah, 
having  a  foresight  of  the  calamities  which  were 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

i 

David  had  made  on  purpose  for  it.  Upon 
the  occasion  of  this  festival,  there  were 
sacrifices  and  peace-offerings  in  abun- 
dance, and  sufficient  for  the  whole  multi- 
tude :  for  there  was  not  a  man,  woman, 
or  child  there,  who  had  not  a  cake,  and  a 
part  of  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  given 
them ;  and  when  they  had  eaten  plenti- 
fully, David  returned  to  his  palace. 

He  was  met  on  the  way  by  his  wife 
Michal,  who  uttered  many  sincere  wishes 
for  his  success  ;  but  still  reproved  him  for 
dancing,  as  unlike  a  king,  and  also  for  un- 
covering himself  in  the  eyes  of  his  hand- 
maids and  servants.* 

David  told  her  that  he  was  not  ashamed 
of  doing  any  thing  that  he  knew  was  ac- 
ceptable to  that  God  who  advanced  him  to 
the  throne  of  Israel,  in  preference  to  her 


289 


coming  upon  the  Jewish  nation,  here  hid  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  together  with  Aaron's  rod,  the 
pot  of  manna,  the  high  priest's  pectoral,  and  the 
holy  oil ;  but  that,  during  the  Babylonish  captiv- 
ity, the  priests  having  lost  all  knowledge  of  the 
place  where  these  things  were  concealed,  they 
were  never  seen  more,  and  were  not  in  the  second 
temple. —  Calmet. 

*  The  words  of  Michal,  wherein  she  upbraids 
David,  are  these  : — '  How  glorious  was  the  king  of 
Israel  to-day,  who  uncovered  himself  to-day  in  the 
eyes  of  the  handmaids  of  his  servants,  as  one  of 
the  vain  fellows  shamelessly  uncovereth  himself!' 
2  Sam.  vi.  20.  At  first  reading,  they  seem  to  in- 
timate, that  David,  in  his  dancing,  had  exposed  his 
naked  body,  and  acted,  some  way  or  other,  immo- 
destly :  but  these  words,  we  are  to  consider,  were 
spoken  in  a  fit  of  passion,  and  when  Michal  was 
minded  to  aggravate  matters  ;  for  it  is  not  to  be 
doubted,  but  that  David  kept  himself  within  the 
bounds  of  modesty,  how  joyous  soever  he  might  be. 
It  was  a  command  which  God  gave  the  Israelites, 
that  they  should  rejoice  in  their  feasts,  Deut.  xii.  7. 
but  then,  their  joy  was  not  to  be  lascivious  or  petu- 
lant, but  pious  and  moderate.  In  the  case  before 
us,  David  was  in  the  more  immediate  presence  of 
God,  and  about  a  very  sacred  business  ;  and  there- 
fore it  is  incongruous  to  think  that  he  would  com- 
mit any  thing  immodest  ;  and  that  he  could  not 
expose  his  nakedness  (as  his  wife  would  insinuate) 
is  evident  from  his  having,  not  only  an  ephod  on, 
but  being  clothed  with  a  robe  of  fine  linen,  be- 
sides his  usual  under-garments,  1  Chron.  xv.  27. 
and  therefore,  though  his  putting  off  his  regal 
robes  might  give  some  occasion  to  Michal's  ex- 
pression of  his  uncovering  himself,  yet  it  must  be 
owned,  that  this  opprobrious  term  proceeded  from 
nothing  but  the  overflowing  spleen  of  a  proud 
passionate  woman. —  CalmeVs  and  Patrick's  Com- 
mentaries. 


father,  and  all  other  pretenders ;  and  that 
he  would  sing  and  dance  again  and  again, 
without  regarding  at  all  how  either  she  or 
her  handmaids  took  it.  Michal  had  no 
children  by  David;  but  by  her  other  hus- 
band, to  whom  Saul  had  given  her  in 
marriage,  upon  taking  her  away  from  Da- 
vid, she  had  five  sons.f 

David,  encouraged  by  the  frequent  suc- 
cess with  which  God  crowned  all  his  un- 
dertakings, was  so  sensible  of  God's  good- 
ness towards  him  upon  the  daily  success 
of  whatever  he  took  in  hand,  that  he  be- 
gan to  make  it  matter  of  conscience  to 
live  in  a  palace  of  cedar  himself,  that  was 
as  stately  as  art  and  ornament  could  make 
it,  and  at  the  same  time  to  lodge  the  ark 
in  the  tabernacle ;  so  that  he  resolved  to 
erect  and  dedicate  a  temple  to  God's  hon- 
our and  worship ;  and  according  to  the 
prediction  of  Moses,  he  communicated  the 
design  to  the  prophet  Nathan ;  who,  upon 
counsel  and  advice,  encouraged  him  to 
proceed  upon  the  work ;  for  he  might  bo 
sure  of  God's  special  favour  and  provi- 
dence along  with  him.  These  words 
served  more  and  more  to  animate  and  con- 
firm David  in  his  purpose  and  design. 

In  the  night  following,  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  Nathan,  saying,  "  Go, 
and  tell  David,  that  I  accept  of  his  good- 
will in  being  the  first  proposer  of  erecting 
a  temple  unto  my  service ;  yet  as  the 
necessity  of  his  wars  hath  made  him  a 
man  of  blood,  I  cannot  permit  the  doing 
of  this  work  in  his  days ;  but  let  him  know, 
that  after  a  long  and  happy  life,  he  shall 


-j-  Michal  is  put  in  the  text  indeed,  2  Sam.  xxi. 
8.  but  not  by  mistake,  as  some  will  have  it  ;  for 
though  Michal  had  no  children  of  her  own,  yet 
those  children  which  Merab  her  sister  had  by  Adriel, 
Michal  brought  up  ;  and  the  Jews  observe,  upon 
this  occasion,  that  whoever  brings  up  a  pupil  in 
his  house,  is  in  scripture  said  to  have  begotten 
him.  Nor  is  it  in  scripture  only  that  this  form  of 
expression  takes  place,  but  in  heathen  authors 
likewise.  For  Agamemnon  and  Menelaus  are 
called  sons  of  Atreus,  because  Plisthenes  (who  was 
their  father)  being  dead,  he  took  care  to  bring 
them  up. — Howell's  History,  in  the  notes,  and' 
Patricks  Commentary. 

2o 


290 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 

• 

ites,  destroyed  two-thirds  of  their  army, 

and  took  the  rest,  and  made  them  tribu- 
taries^ 

After  which  he  overthrew  Hadadezer, 
the  son  of  Rehob,  king  of  Zobah,J  whom 
he  encountered  not  far  from  the  Euphra- 
tes, and  killed  twenty  thousand  foot,  and 
five  thousand  horse ;  taking  also  a  thou- 
sand chariots,  of  which  he  reserved  only 
an  hundred  for  his  own  use,  and  burnt  the 
rest. 


CHAPTER  V. 

David's  success  against  the  Syrians. — He  shows 
peculiar  tokens  of  favour  towards  Mephibo- 
sheth,  the  son  of  Jonathan,  for  his  father's 
sake. —  Wages  war  with  the  Ammonites. — 
Joab's  victory  over  them. —  The  king  of  Syria's 


commit  the  care  of  the  undertaking  to  his 
son  and  successor  Solomon ;  whom  I  shall 
be  as  tender  of  as  a  father  can  be  of  his 
own  child,  and  continue  the  government 
in  the  line  of  his  family  for  ever;*  or  in 
case  of  his  committing  iniquity,  I  will  only 
punish  the  transgression  with  bodily  sick- 
ness or  famine,  not  with  a  total  rejection, 
as  I  did  Saul." 

The  prophet,  without  any  delay,  ac- 
quitted himself  of  his  commission  ;  and  it 
was  so  welcome  a  message  to  David,  to  be 
assured  that  the  succession  was  secured  to 
his  posterity,  and  the  honour  of  his  family 
so  graciously  provided  for,  that  he  betook 
himself  immediately  to  the  ark  of  God, 
fell  down  upon  his  face,  and  offered  this 
prayer  and  thanksgiving :  « Lord,  thy 
holy  name  be  praised  for  all  thy  benefits 
and  mercies !  Thou  that  hast  taken  thy 
servant  from  the  sheepfold,  and  advanced 
him  to  this  height  of  dignity  and  power! 
Lord,  I  bless  thee  for  all  this;  for  thy 
continued  providences  to  myself,  and  the 
promises  to  my  posterity :  and  for  thy 
multiplied  deliverances  and  protections  to 
thine  own  people.' 

David's  late  series  of  success  induced 
him  again  to  meditate  hostilities  against 
the  Philistines,  to  which  he  was  not  a  little 
encouraged  by  a  prediction  that  he  should 
overcome  all  his  enemies,  and  leave  his 
kingdom  in  peace  to  his  successor. 

In  order  to  prosecute  this  war,  he  ap- 
pointed a  day  and  place  for  a  rendezvous, 
summoned  his  troops  together;  and  when 
he  was  in  a  condition  to  march,  made  an 
incursion  into  the  enemy's  country,  over- 
came them  in  a  pitched  battle,  took  pos- 
session of  a  good  part  of  their  lands,  and  of  the  army.-Xe  Clerc's  and  Calmet's  Commen- 
annexed  them  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Israelites.     He  made  war  with  the  Moab- 


•f-  There  is  no  small  obscurity  in  the  words  of 
the  text,  which  are  these  :  '  He  smote  Moab,  and 
measured  them  with  a  line,  casting  them  down  to 
the  ground  ;  even  in  two  lines  measured  he  to  put 
to  death,  and  with  one  line  to  keep  alive  :'  whic-i 
words  seem  to  allude  to  a  custom  among  the  king* 
of  the  East,  when  they  were  thoroughly  incensed 
against  any  nation,  namely,  to  make  the  captives 
all  come  together  to  one  place,  and  prostrate 
themselves  upon  the  ground  ;  that  being  divided 
into  two  parts,  as  it  were  with  a  line,  their  con- 
queror might  appoint  which  part  he  pleased, 
either  for  death  or  life,  which  was  sometimes  de- 
termined by  casting  of  lots.  Some  are  of  opinion 
that  David  made  three  lots,  or  parts  of  these 
Moabites,  two  of  which  lie  ordered  to  be  slain, 
and  one  part  only  to  be  kept  alive.  The  reason 
of  this  his  severity  against  these  miserable  people, 
the  Rabbins  assure  us,  was,  because  they  had 
slain  his  parents  and  brethren,  whom  he  had  com- 
mitted to  the  custody  of  the  king  of  Moab  during 
his  exile.  But  of  the  reality  of  this  motive,  there 
is  no  manner  of  appearance  ;  and  since  this  execu- 
tion, which  David  inflicted,  may  relate  either  to 
the  whole  nation,  or  the  army  only,  to  clear  David 
from  the  imputation  of  too  much  cruelty,  we  should 
rather  conceive  it  of  the  third,  or  half  part  at  most 


*  Though  the  words  '  for  ever'  in  their  primary 
signification  plainly  relate  to  the  continuance  of 


taries. 

J  Zobah  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  Syria,  to 
the  north-east  of  Canaan,  to  the  south  of  Damas- 
cus, and  reaching  to  the  river  Euphrates.  It  is 
probable  that  Hadadezer  was  jealous  of  David's 
growing  greatness,  and  came  to  assist  the  Moabites, 
in  order  to  secure  his  own  dominions  ;  and  that 


David's  family  upon  the  throne  of  Israel,  yet  in  a  this  gave  David  a  fair  opportunity  of  extending 
more  extensive  sense  they  are  no  obscure  prophecy  his  conquests  to  the  Euphrates.  Some  think, 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  ;  as  the  expression  however,  that  David  went  to  establish  his  do- 
•  for  ever,'  can  only  be  applied  to  him  who  is  the  minion  over  all  the  countries  as  far  as  that  river 
eternal  Son  of  God,  and  of  whose  dominion  there  '  according  to  the  grant  made  to  Israel ;  and  that 
shall  be  no  end.  I  he  was  opposed  by  Hadadezer. — Scott. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

total  defeat. —  Case  of  David  and  Balhsheba. 
—  Tamar  ravished  by  Amnon. — Absalom  her 
brother  takes  away  his  life,  in  revenge  for  the 
injury  done  to  his  family. 

The  king  of  Syria  and  Damascus*  no 
sooner  heard  that  David  had  proclaimed 
war  against  his  friend  and  ally,  the  king 
of  Zobah,  than  he  despatched  a  very  con- 
siderable body  of  forces  in  order  to  suc- 
cour him,  and  remove,  if  possible,  the  seat 
of  the  war. 

After  several  skirmishes,  he  came  to  a 
battle  with  David  near  Euphrates,  f  where 


291 


*  Aram-damasek,  which  we  translate  '  Syria  of 
Damascus,'  was  that  part  of  Syria  which  lay  be- 
tween Libanus  and  Antilibanus,  whose  chief  city 
was  Damascus,  situate  in  a  valley,  called  by  several 
names  in  scripture,  and  watered  by  five  rivers,  the 
two  principal  of  which,  namely,  Abana  and  Phar- 
par  (mentioned  in  2  Kings  v.  12.)  descended  from 
mount  Hermon  ;  whereof  the  latter  washed  the 
walls  of  Damascus,  and  the  other  ran  through  it, 
and  divided  the  city  into  two  parts. — Patrick's 
Commentary. 

-f-  It  has  its  source  in  the  north-east  mountains 
of  Armenia.  For  a  long  way  it  directs  its  course 
to  the  west- ward;  after  which  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Taurus,  it  bends  its  course  south-ward,  and  having 
received  the  Melas,  which  flows  into  it  from  almost 
the  north-west  corner  of  Lesser  Asia,  it  runs  along 
the  east  side  of  Syria,  and  Arabia  the  Desert.  It 
seems,  that  anciently  a  branch  of  the  Euphrates 
turning  eastward,  fell  into  the  Hiddekel  or  Tigris, 
at  Seleucia.  Between  these  branches,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar dug  a  large  canal,  called  Nahar-malcah,  or 
the  royal  river.  At  present,  after  having  watered 
the  provinces  of  Irak,  or  ancient  Chaldea,  and  the 
province  of  Auxa,  it  runs  with  a  gentle  flow,  to- 
wards the  city  of  Ario,  where  the  violent  reflux  of 
the  Persian  gulf  obstructs  its  waters.  About  30 
miles  farther  south,  it  joins  the  Tigris,  just  above 
where  the  ancient  paradise  is  supposed  to  have 
stood  :  about  60  miles  farther  south  they  discharge 
themselves  into  the  Persian  gulf,  but  whether  by 
one  or  more  streams,  is  not  certainly  known. 
This  river  is  generally  slow  in  its  course,  and  yet 
it  is  not  so  navigable,  even  for  small  craft,  as  one 
might  expect;  but  this  is  owing  to  the  sloth  of  the 
people,  who  live  near  it,  in  not  clearing  the  channel 
of  stones,  and  suffering  it  in  the  flat  country  to 
part  into  so  many  streams,  that  sailors  are  often  at 
a  loss  which  to  take.  Its  course  is  for  the  most 
part  very  pleasant,  running  through  delightful 
plains,  where  its  banks  are  decked  with  the  con- 
stant verdure  of  willows,  palm-trees,  and  rich  pas- 
tures. The  water  is  generally  foul  and  muddy; 
but  when  settled  or  strained,  is  very  wholesome, 
and  by  the  Arabs  reckoned  a  universal  medicine. 
In  passing  through  some  deserts,  it  contracts  a 
yellowish  colour,  and  disagreeable  taste;  the  first 
of  which  distinguishes  it,  after  it  has  run  some 
miles  into  the  Persian  gulf.     This  river  is  neither 


he  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  twen- 
ty thousand  being  cut  off,  the  rest  saved 
themselves  by  flight. 

Nicolaus  mentions  this  same  Adad,  in 
the  fourth  book  of  his  history,  as  fol- 
lows: "  A  long  time  after,  one  Adad,  a 
valiant  man,  and  a  native  of  the  place, 
had  the  command  of  Damascus  and  Syria, 
Phoenicia  only  excepted.  There  happen- 
ed to  be  a  war  betwixt  this  same  Adad 
and  David,  the  king  of  the  Jews,  and 
several  battles  fought  between  them;  but 
in  the  end,  Adad  was  overcome  at  the 
Euphrates,  behaving  himself  with  the  re- 
solution of  a  brave  prince,  and  a  great 
captain."  And  the  same  author,  treating 
further  of  his  posterity,  says,  "  That  the 
government  was  handed  down  from  father 
to  son,  to  the  tenth  generation;  the  suc- 
cessor still  received  the  father's  name  with 
the  empire,  as  the  Ptolemies  among  the 
Egyptians.  The  third  in  order  from 
this  Adad,  and  the  greatest  man  of  the 
family,  out  of  a  generous  zeal  to  repair 


deep  nor  wide,  except  when  swelled  by  the  annual 
melting  of  the  Armenian  snows.  The  Arabs  divide 
this  river  into  the  greater  and  lesser :  the  greater, 
they  say,  falls  into  the  Tigris,  near  the  cities  of 
Ambar  and  Felujah  ;  and  the  lesser,  which  is  often 
the  largest  stream,  after  forming  the  Nabathean 
fens,  on  the  east  of  Arabia  Deserta,  discharges 
itself  into  the  Tigris  at  Karnah.  To  prevent  the 
yearly  overflow  of  the  adjacent  country  by  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  it  has  been  often  attempted 
to  divide  their  streams  into  a  variety  of  lesser 
ones  ;  but  these  attempts  have  not  hitherto  much 
answered  the  end.  There  are  many  towns  on  its 
banks,  which  are  in  general  rather  level  than 
mountainous.  The  river  does  not  appear  to  be  of 
any  very  great  breadth.  Otter  says,  "  when  we 
passed  the  Euphrates,  the  12th  of  March,  this 
river  had  only  200  common  paces  in  width ;  in  its 
height,  it  extends  500  or  600  paces  into  the  plains 
on  the  right."  Thevenot  observes,  that  near  to 
Bir,  the  Euphrates  (July  3)  seemed  no  larger  than 
the  Seine  at  Paris  ;  but  it  was  said  to  be  very 
broad  in  winter.  Near  Hellah,  which  marks  the 
situation  of  the  ancient  Babylon,  it  was  about  four 
hundred  feet  wide.  Mr  Rich,  in  his  memoir  on 
Babylon,  says,  the  current  was,  at  Hellah,  at  a 
medium,  about  two  knots  (miles  J  per  hour.  The 
Euphrates  now  overflows  the  site  of  Babylon, 
where,  says  Sir  R.  K.  Porter,  "  its  banks  were 
hoary  with  reeds,  and  the  grey  osier  willows  were 
yet  there,  on  which  the  captives  of  Israel  hung  up 
their  harps,  and  while  Jerusalem  was  not,  refused 
to  be  comforted." — Brown  and  Calmet. 


292 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  I 


the  honour  that  his  grandfather  lost  by 
this  defeat,  poured  an  army  upon  the 
Jews,  and  laid  waste  Samaria." 

The  historian  was  not  mistaken  in  this 
part  of  his  relation;  for  this  is  the  Adad 
who  invaded  Samaria  in  the  reign  of 
Ahab  king  of  Israel. 

With  this  victorious  army  David  over- 
ran Damascus  and  the  rest  of  Syria;  left 
garrisons  behind  him  where  he  saw  con- 
venient; laid  the  country  under  contribu- 
tion, and  so  returned  home  again;  carry- 
ing with  him  to  Jerusalem  the  golden 
quivers,  and  other  rich  equipage  that 
were  taken  from  Adad's  guards;  and  dedi- 
cating the  spoil  and  trophies  to  God,  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  victory  he  had 
obtained  through  his  favour  and  protec- 
tion. 

All  these  valuable  spoils  and  much 
more  were  afterwards  taken  by  Shishak, 
the  king  of  Egypt,  upon  the  sacking  of 
Jerusalem,  in  his  war  with  Rehoboam, 
David's  grandson. 

During  David's  extraordinary  success, 
through  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty 
God  upon  his  arms,  he  invaded  Betah 
and  Berothai,  the  two  most  considerable 
cities  in  the  whole  dominions  of  Hadad- 
ezer;  both  which  he  took  by  assault; 
with  gold  and  silver,  to  an  inestimable 
value;  beside  a  great  quantity  of  a  sort  of 
brass,  esteemed  of  a  greater  value  than 
even  gold  itself. 

This  was  the  metal  that  Solomon  after- 
ward made  use  of  for  his  beautiful  basons, 
and  a  huge  vessel,  called  the  sea,  upon 
the  finishing  and  adorning  of  the  temple. 

Toi,  king  of  Hamath,  alarmed  and 
terrified  at  David's  victory  over  the  king 
of  Syria,  and  thinking  it  most  prudent  to 
secure  the  interest  and  favour  of  so  power- 
ful and  successful  a  prince,  despatched  his 
son  Joram  to  him,  with  a  compliment  of 
congratulation  for  the  victory  gained  over 
their  common  enemy  (for  so  was  Hadade- 
zer  reputed)  with  instructions  to  solicit  a 
league  of  amity  and  fair  understanding 
belw  ixt  them ;  not  forgetting  several  mag- 


nificent presents  of  gold,  silver,  and  brass, 
antique  and  curious,  to  the  highest  degree 
oi  excellency  and  perfection.  David  ac- 
cepted both  of  the  proposals  and  the  pres- 
ents, receiving  and  dismissing  the  ambas- 
sador, to  the  honour  and  satisfaction  of 
both  parties :  but  still  dedicated  to  God 
all  the  spoils  of  gold  and  silver,  and  preci- 
ous things,  that  were  taken  from  the  ene- 
my, as  to  the  cause  of  the  victory.  Nor 
was  David  successful  only  in  his  own  per- 
sonal adventures  and  undertakings,  but 
God  prospered  him  in  all  his  commissions 
also,  executed  by  deputies  and  lieutenants; 
as  in  the  case  of  Abishai,  Joab's  brother, 
who  engaged  a  great  body  of  Edomites  in 
the  Valley  of  Salt;*  and  by  God's  assistance 
not  only  subdued  them,  but,  after  eighteen 
thousand  of  them  were  killed  upon  the 
spot,  kept  them  in  awe  with  garrisons,  as 
a  check  upon  them ;  charged  the  land 
with  a  contribution,  and  taxed  the  people 
by  the  head. 

David,  during  the  course  of  his  regal 
administration,  attended  most  punctually 
to  the  strictest  laws  of  equity,  and  piously 
resolved  to  establish  his  throne  in  truth 
and  righteousness.  He  made  Joab,  the 
son  of  Zeruiah,  his  general,  and  Jehosha- 
phat,  the  son  of  Ahilud,  the  keeper  of  his 
records. 

He  chose  out  of  the  house  of  Phinehas, 
Abiathar  and  Zadok,  who  were  his  friends, 
to  be  his  priests,  and  Seraiah  for  secretary. 
Benaiah  the  son  of  Jehoiada  commanded 


*  The  Valley  of  Salt  here  is  thought  by  many  to 
be  the  places  adjoining  to  the  Dead  sea  ;  but  as 
the  country  of  the  Edomites,  whom  David  sub- 
dued in  his  return  from  his  expedition  into  Syria, 
must  necessarily  lie  towards  the  east  of  Canaan, 
we  must  look  for  some  other  Valley  of  Salt  in  the 
confines  of  that  country.  Now  about  a  league 
southward  from  the  city  of  Palmyra,  or  Tadmor, 
in  the  road  to  Edom,  we  find  a  large  plain,  abound- 
ing with  salt-pits,  whence  a  great  part  of  Syria  h 
furnished  with  that  commodity  ;  and  therefore  it 
is  very  probable,  that  the  battle  between  David's 
generals  and  the  Edomites  was  fought  in  this 
plain  ;  which  is  about  two  days'  journey  from  Boz- 
rah,  the  capital  city  of  the  eastern  Edom,  whence 
the  people  might  march  out  to  meet  David's  forces, 
and  oppose  them  in  their  return  home. —  Calmed 
Commentary. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

his  body-guards,*  and  the  king's  elder 
sons  were  still  incorporated  into  that  body. 
Having  made  the  necessary  regulations 
in  his  domestic  concerns,  and  settled  the 
officers  of  his  state,  David  turned  his  at- 
tention upon  his  old  and  dear  friend  and 
associate  Jonathan,  and  upon  the  solemn 
league  of  mutual  amity  that  had  passed 
betwixt    them :    for    he    had    this    virtue 


293 


*  These  guards  are  called  in  the  text  the  Chere- 
thites  and  the  Pelethites,  but  who  they  were,  is 
variously  conjectured.  That  they  were  soldiers, 
is  evident,  from  their  being  mentioned  as  present 
at  the  proclamation  of  king  Solomon  against  Adon- 
ijah,  which  could  not  conveniently  have  been  done 
without  some  armed  force,  to  protect  the  persons 
that  proclaimed  him:  and  that  they  were  not  com- 
mon soldiers,  but  the  constant  guards  of  David's 
person,  is  manifest  from  the  title  of  '  keepers  of 
the  body,'  which  Josephus  gives  them.  Tlieir 
arms,  it  is  supposed,  were  bows,  arrows,  and  slings. 
The  number  of  them  may  be  conjectured  from  the 
targets  and  shields  of  gold  which  Solomon  made, 
which  were  500,  and  for  the  use  of  his  guard. 
Some  are  of  opinion,  that  they  were  men  of  a 
gigantic  stature  ;  but  we  find  no  ground  for  that, 
though  they  were  doubtless  proper  and  robust 
men,  (as  we  speak)  and  of  known  fidelity  to  their 
prince,  2  Sam.  xv.  18.  and  xx.  7.  Others  again 
think,  that  they  were  Philistines;  but  it  is  hardly 
supposeable  that  David  would  have  any  of  these 
hated,  uncircumcised  people  to  he  his  body-guard  ; 
neither  can  we  believe  that  the  Israelitish  soldiers 
would  have  taken  it  patiently,  to  see  foreigners  of 
that  nation  put  in  such  places  of  honour  and  trust. 
Cherethite,  however,  is  certainly  but  another  name 
for  Philistine,  as  appears  from  Zephaniah  ii.  5. 
and  therefore  the  question  is,  how  came  any  of 
David's  subjects  to  be  called  after  that  name  ? 
And  the  answer  to  this  is  obvious  : — they  were 
so  called,  because  they  went  at  first  with  him  into 
Philistia,  and  continued  there  with  him  all  the 
time  that  he  was  under  the  protection  of  Achish. 
These  were  the  persons  who  accompanied  him 
from  the  beginning,  iti  his  utmost  distress,  and 
clave  to  bim  in  all  calamities;  and  therefore  it  is 
no  wonder,  if  men  of  such  approved  fidelity  were 
made  choice  of  for  his  body-guard  ;  nor  is  it  any 
uncommon  thing  in  history,  for  legions,  or  hands 
of  soldiers,  to  take  their  names,  not  from  the  place 
of  their  nativity,  but  their  residence,  and  very  fre- 
quently from  the  name  of  their  captain,  or  com- 
mander. Since  therefore,  in  1  Chron.  xii.  3.  we 
find  mention  made  of  one  Pelet,  the  son  of  Azma- 
veth,  who  resorted  to  David,  while  he  was  at  Zik- 
lag,  but  still  under  the  protection  of  Achish,  it  is 
hut  supposing  him  to  be  their  captain,  and  then 
we  come  to  the  reason,  why  they  were  called 
Pelethites,  unless  we  suppose  them  rather  de- 
nominated from  Peleth,  son  of  Jonathan,  who 
was  of  the  king's  own  trihe. — Patrick's  Commen- 
tary, Poole's  Annotations,  and  the  History  of 
the  Life  of  King  David. 


among  many  others,  tlvat  he  never  forgot 
an  obligation  to  a  friend ;  but  looked  upon 
a  return  for  past  benefits  as  the  most  sa- 
cred of  all  debts. 

Upon  this  consideration,  he  made  dili- 
gent inquiry  what  sons,  friends,  or  rela- 
tions, Jonathan  had  left  behind  him,  that 
he  might  find  matter  for  his  gratitude  to 
work  upon.  In  pursuance  of  this  inquiry, 
there  was  brought  to  him  one  Ziba,  for- 
merly a  servant  and  a  freeman  of  Saul's, 
as  the  most  likely  person  to  give  him  in- 
formation. 

The  king  asked  him  if  he  knew  of  any 
of  Jonathan's  family  yet  living,  and  where 
to  find  them ;  for  he  lay  under  an  obliga- 
tion to  them,  which  he  would  gladly  re- 
pay? Ziba  made  answer,  that  he  had  a 
son  yet  alive,  whose  name  was  Mephibo- 
sheth ;  who  by  a  mischance  happened  to 
be  lame  of  one  leg;  for  that  upon  the 
news  of  that  bloody  battle  wherein  his 
grandfather  and  his  father  were  slain,  the 
nurse  took  him  up  in  a  fright  to  run  away 
with  him,  and  stumbling,  let  him  fall  out 
of  her  arms,  and  hurt  him. 

Upon  farther  examination  the  king  had 
notice  that  he  was  brought  up  with  one 
Machir,  in  the  city  of  Lo-debar,  and  there 
he  was  at  present. 

Mephibosheth  was  accordingly  sent  for; 
who,  when  he  approached  the  royal  pre- 
sence, prostrated  himself  at  the  king's 
feet,  and  did  him  reverence.  The  king 
bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  hope  for 
better  days;  assuring  him  of  all  the  com- 
fort he  could  wish  for  from  the  favour  of 
his  prince.  Accordingly  he  appointed, 
him  immediately  to  be  put  in  possession 
of  his  father's  and  grandfather's  estate, 
gave  Ziba  charge  to  look  after  it,  and  take 
care  of  the  grounds,  and  from  time  to 
time  to  receive  the  profits,  and  bring  them 
to  Jerusalem.  Mephibosheth,  after  this, 
lived  in  the  king's  house,  sat  constantly 
at  the  same  table  with  him,  and  David 
gave  him  Ziba,  and  fifteen  sons  that  he 
had,  with  twenty  others  belonging  to  him, 
for  his  servants. 


294 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


Ziba,  having  received  his  commission, 
did  his  duty,  and  went  his  way ;  promis- 
ing to  govern  himself  in  all  things  accord- 
ing to  his  order  and  instructions.  But 
the  son  of  Jonathan  continued  still  at  Jer- 
usalem with  David,  and  was  treated  in  all 
respects  as  a  child  of  the  family,  so  great 
a  tenderness  had  David  for  any  thing  that 
had  a  relation  to  Jonathan.  Thus  it  was 
with  Mephibosheth,  to  whom  was  born  a 
son  whose  name  was  Micha. 

About  this  time  died  Nahash,  the  king 
of  the  Ammonites,  a  friend  and  ally  of 
David's;*  and  Hanun  his  son  succeeded 
him.  David,  upon  this  revolution,  sent 
ambassadors  to  him  to  condole  his  loss, 
comfort  him  in  his  affliction,  and  assure 
him  of  the  same  friendship  and  respect  to 
himself  that  had  been  formerly  paid  to  his 
father. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Ammonites,  esteem- 
ing: the  ingenuous  conduct  of  David  as 
proceeding  from  a  malicious  and  hostile 
design,  endeavoured  by  all  means  to  irri- 
tate their  king  with  calumnies  against 
David;  and  to  put  jealousies  in  his  head, 
that  his  servants  were  not  in  truth  ambas- 
sadors, but  spies,  who,  under  pretext  of  a 
compliment  of  state,  were  sent  to  explore 
the  strength  and  condition  of  the  country; 
and  that,  therefore,  without  giving  any 
heed  to  fair  words,  he  should  do  well  to 
be  cautious  and  circumspect  betimes,  be- 
fore things  were  gone  beyond  recovery. 
Hanun,  over-ruled  by  this  counsel,  repug- 
nant as  it  was  both  to  truth  and  reason, 
sent  the  ambassadors  back  again  with  all 


1  the  indignities  of  scorn  and  vile  usage 
imaginable.  They  cut  off  one  half  of 
their  beards,  f  one  half  of  their  vests,  and 
so  dismissed  them  in  that  dress,  with  the 
most  reproachful  behaviour,  not  deigning 
them  an  answer.^     David  was  justly  pro- 


*  What  the  particular  benefits  which  David 
had  received  from  Nahash  were,  we  are  no  where 
told  in  scripture  ;  but  some  of  the  Jews  say,  that 
he  fled  to  him  when  he  durst  stay  no  longer  with 
Achish  king  of  the  Philistines,  and  that  he  receiv- 
ed him  very  kindly  ;  others,  that  he  entertained 
his  relations,  when  the  king  of  Moab,  to  whom  he 
had  committed  them,  slew  some  of  them  :  but  the 
most  likely  opinion  is,  that  as  lie  was  a  bitter  ene- 
my to  Saul,  who  had  given  him  a  great  overthrow, 
he,  for  that  very  reason,  became  a  friend  to  David, 
when  he  perceived  how  Saul  persecuted  him,  and 
thereupon  might  send  him  relief  and  assistance, 
and  perhaps  offer  him  protection  in  his  kingdom. 
—Patrick's  Commentary. 


■j-  In  a  country  where  the  hair  was  looked  upon 
as  so  great  an  ornament,  that  many  would  rather 
die  than  part  with  it,  the  cutting  it  off  was  certain- 
ly one  of  the  greatest  indignities  that  human  malice 
could  invent  ;  and  the  shaving  only  one  half  of 
their  beards,  which  must  make  them  look  still 
more  ridiculous  ;  and  cutting  their  garments  even 
to  the  middle,  and  thereby  exposing  their  naked- 
ness, was  an  insult  of  so  heinous  and  public  a  na- 
ture, that  it  would  ill  have  become  a  man  of  Da- 
vid's martial  spirit,  and  just  sentiments  of  honour, 
to  let  it  pass  without  punishment.  How  great  a 
disgrace  the  loss  of  the  hair  was  accounted  in  an- 
cient times,  is  evident  from  the  account  of  Damas- 
cenus,  who  says,  that  among  the  Indians,  the  king 
commanded  the  greatest  offenders  to  be  shaven,  as 
the  heaviest  punishment  that  could  be  inflicted 
upon  them  ;  and  Plutarch  to  like  purpose  tells  us, 
that  whenever  a  soldier  among  the  Lacedemonians 
was  convicted  of  cowardice,  he  was  obliged  to  go 
with  one  part  of  his  upper  lip  shaved,  and  the 
other  not  ;  nay,  even  at  this  day,  no  greater  indig- 
nity can  be  offered  to  a  Persian,  than  to  cause  his 
beard  to  be  shaved ;  and  Tavernier  tells  us,  that 
when  the  Sophi  caused  an  ambassador  of  Aureng- 
zebe's  to  be  used  in  this  manner,  telling  him  that 
he  was  not  worthy  to  wear  a  beard,  the  emperor 
(in  the  manner  as  David  here  did)  most  highly  re- 
sented the  affront  that  was  given  to  him  in  the 
person  of  his  ambassador.  Among  the  Arabs  and 
Turks,  the  beard  is  even  now  reckoned  the  great- 
est ornament  of  a  man,  and  is  not  trimmed  or  sha- 
ven, except  in  cases  of  extreme  grief:  the  hand  is 
almost  constantly  employed  in  smoothing  the  beard 
and  keeping  it  in  order,  and  it  is  often  perfumed 
as  if  it  were  sacred.  A  shaven  beard  is  reputed 
to  be  more  unsightly  than  the  loss  of  a  nose  ;  and 
a  man  who  possesses  a  reverend  heard  is,  in  their 
opinion,  incapable  of  acting  dishonestly.  If  they 
wish  to  affirm  any  thing  with  peculiar  solemnity, 
they  swear  by  their  beard  ;  and  when  they  express 
their  good  wishes  for  any  one,  they  make  use  of 
the  ensuing  formula — '  God  preserve  thy  blessed 
beard  !'  From  these  instances,  we  may  readily  un- 
derstand the  full  extent  of  the  disgrace  wantonly 
inflicted  by  the  Ammonitish  king,  in  cutting  off 
half  the  beards  of  David's  ambassadors.  Niebuhr 
relates,  that  if  any  one  cut  off  his  beard,  after  hav- 
ing recited  afatha,  or  prayer,  which  is  considered 
in  ^lie  nature  of  a  vow  never  to  cut  it  off,  he  is 
liable  to  be  severely  punished,  and  also  to  become 
the  laughing-stock  of  those  who  profess  his  faith. — 
Patrick,  Calmet,  and  Home. 

%  Ambassadors  were  usually  persons  of  great 
worth  or  eminent  station,  who,  by  their  quality 
and  deportment,  might  command  respect  and  at- 
tention from  their  very  enemies.  They  were  ac- 
cordingly held  sacred  among  all  people,  even  when 
at  war  ;  and  what  injuries  and  affronts  soever  had 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


295 


voked  at  the  indignity  offered  to  his  em- 
bassy, that  he  immediately  declared  his 
resolution  publicly  to  right  himself  upon 
the  Ammonites  by  an  open  war,  and  to 
call  their  king  to  an  account  for  what  he 
had  done.  The  principals  and  allies  of 
the  Ammonites  were  so  conscious  to  them- 
selves that  their  perfidy  ami  breach  of 
faith,  together  with  the  scandalous  manner 
of  it,  were  wholly  unpardonable ;  that 
upon  the  first  news  of  David's  determina- 
tion to  vindicate  himself  by  arms,  they 
found  themselves  necessitated,  in  their 
own  defence,  to  encounter  force  with 
force,  and  so  prepared  for  a  war. 

They  sent  their  ambassadors  to  Syrus, 
the  king  of  Mesopotamia,  with  a  thousand 
silver  talents  to  bring  him  into  the  alliance; 
which  he  accepted  of,  and  engaged  also 
the  king  of  Zoba.  These  two  kings  had 
betwixt  them  about  twenty  thousand  foot. 
They  likewise  purchased  the  assistance 
of  the  king  of  Maacah,  and  of  Ishtob, 
who  had  two  and  twenty  thousand  men  in 
arms. 


been  committed,  heaven  and  earth  were  thought 
to  be  concerned  to  prosecute  the  injuries  done  to 
them,  with  the  utmost  vengeance.  So  deep  is  this 
impression  engraved  on  the  human  mind,  that  the 
Lacedaemonians,  who  had  inhumanly  murdered 
the  Persian  ambassadors,  firmly  believed  their  gods 
would  accept  none  of  their  oblations  and  sacrifi- 
ces, which  were  all  found  polluted  with  direful 
omens,  till  two  noblemen  of  Sparta  were  sent  as 
an  expiatory  sacrifice  to  Xerxes,  to  atone  for  the 
death  of  his  ambassadors  by  their  own.  That 
emperor,  indeed,  gave  them  leave  to  return  in 
safety,  without  any  other  ignominy  than  what  they 
suffered  by  a  severe  reflection  on  the  Spartan  na- 
tion, whose  barbarous  cruelty  he  professed  he 
would  not  imitate,  though  he  had  been  so  greatly 
provoked.  The  Divine  vengeance,  however,  suffer- 
ed them  not  to  go  unpunished,  but  inflicted  what 
those  men  had  assumed  to  themselves,  on  their 
sons,  who  being  sent  on  an  embassy  into  Asia, 
were  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  Athenians, 
who  put  them  to  death  ;  which  Herodotus,  who 
relates  the  story,  considered  as  a  just  revenge  from 
heaven,  for  the  cruelty  of  the  Lacedaemonians. 
The  character  of  ambassadors  has  been  invested 
with  such  inviolable  sanctity,  by  the  mutual  hopes 
and  fears  of  nations  ;  for,  if  persons  of  that  char- 
acter might  be  treated  injuriously,  the  friendly  re- 
lations between  different  states  could  not  be  main- 
tained ;  and  all  hopes  of  peace  and  reconciliation 
amongst  enemies  must  be  banished  for  ever  out  of 
the  world — Script.  Must. 


Notwithstanding  the  mighty  preparation 
of  the  Ammonites  in  conjunction  with 
many  potent  allies,  David's  heart  failed 
him  not,  he  knew  he  had  a  gracious  God 
to  trust  to ;  his  cause  was  good,  and  the 
injury  he  had  received  intolerable  ;  where- 
fore he  was  resolved  to  cast  himself  upon 
God's  providence,  and  the  justice  of  his 
arms  for  satisfaction  ;  so  that,  committing 
the  management  of  the  war  to  Joab,  he 
sent  him  away  with  the  choicest  of  his 
troops  against  the  enemy. 

He  marched  directly  towards  their  capi- 
tal city  Ilabbah,  and  encamped  before  it. 
The  enemy  marched  forth  out  of  the  town, 
and  divided  into  two  bodies ;  the  one  con- 
sisting of  auxiliaries,  which  they  drew  up 
in  the  open  field  ;  the  other,  being  com- 
posed only  of  Ammonites,  ranged  them- 
selves before  the  gates  that  looked  toward 
the  Israelites. 

Joab,  considering  this  disposition  of  the 
enemy's  army,  disposed  of  his  troops  like- 
wise in  the  same  order;  and  at  the  head 
of  the  best  men  he  had,  he  himself  pre- 
pared to  charge  Syrus,  and  the  confederate 
kings,  with  one  division,  whilst  he  gave 
his  brother  Abishai  the  command  of  the 
other,  with  orders  to  attack  the  Ammon- 
ites ;  having  agreed  upon  it  before  hand 
that  in  case  Syrus  should  get  the  better 
of  Joab,  Abishai  should  come  in  to  his  re- 
lief, and  Joab  to  send  aid  to  Abishai  if  he 
should  be  pressed  by  the  Ammonites. 

Joab  hereupon  dismissed  his  brother, 
encouraging  him  to  behave  himself  valiant- 
ly, and  to  make  good  the  reputation  both 
of  the  cause  and  of  the  action.  Joab  made 
the  onset  upon  Syrus,  who  stood  very 
bravely  at  first;  but  numbers  of  his  men 
falling,  the  rest  fled,  and  the  Ammonites 
upon  the  very  sight  of  their  disorder,  be- 
took themselves  likewise  to  flight,  after 
the  example  of  their  fellows,  without  stay- 
ing for  the  coming  up  of  Abishai,  and  re- 
treated as  fast  as  they  could  into  the  town; 
so  that  Joab,  after  a  dreadful  havoc  of  the 
enemy,  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  his 
victorious  army. 


296 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


Though  the  Ammonites  received  so 
great  a  shock  from  the  army  of  Israel, 
which  had  so  frequently  shown  their  vast 
superiority  over  them,  they  still  maintain- 
ed their  enmity,  and  determined  upon 
being  revenged.  Accordingly  they  sent 
to  Hadadezer,  king  of  the  Syrians,  be- 
yond Euphrates,  and  agreed  with  him  for 
an  auxiliary  army  upon  certain  terms: 
Shobach  was  his  lieutenant-general,  over 
an  army  of  eighty  thousand  foot,  and  ten 
thousand  horse. 

David,  receiving  intelligence  of  the 
mighty  strength  of  the  Ammonites,  judg- 
ed it  improper  to  make  war  any  longer 
by  his  deputies,  so  that  he  himself  passed 
the  river  Jordan  with  the  whole  army, 
and  joined  battle  with  the  enemy,  killed 
forty  thousand  foot,  and  seven  thousand 
horse,  and  came  off  a  conqueror;  Shobach, 
die  general  of  Hadadezer,  received  a 
wound  in  this  battle  which  proved  mortal. 

The  people  of  Mesopotamia,  upon  this 
unfortunate  overthrow,  sent  ambassadors 
with  presents  and  addresses  to  David,  and 
delivered  themselves  up;  and  the  action 
being  over,  and  the  winter  drawing  on, 
he  returned  again  safely  to  Jerusalem. 

The  king  of  Israel  determining,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  on  the  conquest  and  sub- 
jection of  all  his  enemies,  the  beginning 
of  the  following  spring,*  despatched  Joab 


*  The  most  usual  time  of  commencing  military 
operations  was  at  the  return  of  the  spring;  the 
hardships  of  a  winter  campaign  were  then  un- 
known. In  the  beginning  of  spring,  says  Jose- 
phus,  David  sent  forth  his  commander-in-chief 
Joab,  to  make  war  with  the  Ammonites.  In  an- 
other part  of  his  works,  he  says,  that  as  soon  as 
spring  was  begun,  Adad  levied  and  led  forth  his 
army  against  the  Hebrews.  Antiochus  also  pre- 
pared to  invade  Jndea  at  the  first  appearance  of 
spring  :  and  Vespasian,  earnest  to  put  an  end  to 
the  war  in  Judea,  marched  with  his  whole  army 
to  Antipatris,  at  the  commencement  of  the  same 
season.  The  sacred  historian  seems  to  suppose, 
that  there  waa  one  particular  time  of  the  year  to 
which  the  operations  of  war  were  commonly  limit- 
ed :  '  \nd  it  came  to  pass,  after  the  year  was  ex- 
rircd.  at  the  time  kings  go  fortli  to' battle,  that 
)avid  sent  to  Joab  and  his  servants  and  all  Israel, 
and  they  destroyed  the  children  of  Ammon  and 
hfftjtfftd  Rabbali.'  The  kings  and  armies  of  the 
Fufct,  says  Chardin,  do  not  march  but  when  there 


his  general,  with  a  full  commission  to  pro- 
secute the  war  against  the  Ammonites. 

This  commission  he  executed  with  oreat 
success  and  punctuality;  for  he  not  only 
laid  waste  the  country,  but  having  driven 
them  into  Rabbah,  their  metropolis,  for 
safety,  he  laid  close  siege  to  the  place 
with  a  very  powerful  army. 

David  was  undoubtedly  a  just  and  pious 
man,  and  a  strict  observer  of  the  laws  of 
his  country;  but  yet,  as  the  best  of  men 
are  liable  to  temptations,  and  the  influence 
of  their  passions,  at  this  time  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  fall  into  a  grievous  sin;  the 
occasion  of  which  was  as  follows. 

As  he  was  walking  for  his  diversion  one 
day,  toward  the  cool  of  the  evening,  up- 
on his  terrace,f  he  happened  to  descry  a 
woman  bathing  herself  in  her  own  house,J 
who  was  a  person  of  most  exquisite  shape 
and  beauty,  by  name  Bathsheba. 

He  fell  in  love  with  her  immediately, 
and  under  the  influence  of  a  passionate  ap- 
petite, had  her  brought  to  his  bed. 


is  grass,  and  when  they  can  encamp,  which  time  is 
April.  But  in  modern  times,  this  rule  is  disre- 
garded, and  the  history  of  the  crusades  records 
expeditions  and  battles  in  every  month  of  the 
year. — Script.  Illust. 

-j-  The  manner  of  building  in  all  eastern  coun- 
tries, was  to  have  their  houses  flat-roofed,  with  a 
terrace  and  parapet  wall,  for  the  convenience  of 
walking  in  the  cool  air.;  and  as  David's  palace 
was  built  on  one  of  the  highest  places  of  mount 
Sion,  he  might  easily  look  down  upon  the  lower 
parts  of  the  town,  and  take  a  view  of  all  the  gar- 
dens that  were  within  a  due  distance. — Le  Cterc's 
Commentary. 

|  Whether  it  was  in  her  garden,  or  court-yard, 
overlooked  by  the  palace,  or  in  some  apartment 
in  her  house  whose  windows  opened  that  way,  that 
this  woman  bathed  herself,  is  not  so  certain.  Tra- 
dition points  out  the  place  of  a  fountain  still  called 
after  her  name,  which  would  make  it  probable  that 
she  bathed  in  a  garden,  did  not  Josephus  expressly 
declare  that  it  was  in  her  own  house,  as  indeed 
the  natural  modesty  and  decency  of  her  sex,  as 
well  as  the  circumstance  of  the  time — for  then  it 
was  evening — make  his  account  more  probable  ; 
nor  can  it  be  doubted  but  that  the  declining  rays 
of  the  sun,  shooting  into  the  inmost  recesses  of 
her  chamber,  and  throwing  a  great  lustre  around 
her,  might  discover  her  very  clearly  to  very  distant 
eyes,  without  the  least  suspicion  on  her  part  of 
any  (jossibility  of  being  seen,  and,  consequently, 
with  all  the  reserve  of  modesty  proper  to  her  sex. 
— Life  of  King  David. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


297 


Soon  after  this,  she  found  herself  with 
child,  and  desired  the  king  to  consider  of 
some  method  for  the  concealment  of  it ; 
as  otherwise  she  must  suffer  death  by  the 
laws  of  the  country. 

Uriah,  Bathsheba's  husband,  and  ar- 
mour-bearer to  Joab,  was  sent  for  by  the 
king,  who  inquired  of  him  concerning  the 
state  of  the  army,  and  the  success  of  the 
siege.  Having  informed  the  king,  that 
there  was  every  reasonable  prospect  of 
happily  terminating  the  campaign,  he  en- 
tertained him,  and  then  dismissing  him, 
bade  him  go  home  to  his  wife ;  but  find- 
ing afterwards  that  he  passed  away  that 
night  in  the  porch  of  the  king's  palace,* 
and  among  his  guards,  he  asked  him, 
"  How  it  came  to  pass  that  having  been 
so  long  away  from  his  wife,  he  had  not 
rather  chosen  to  go  home,  than  spend  his 
time  elsewhere,  so  contrary  to  the  practice 
of  all  other  men  under  his  circumstances  ?" 

"  Sir,"  replied  he,  "  I  did  not  think  it 
fair  and  honourable  to  indulge  myself  in 
the  arms  of  my  wife,  at  the  same  time 
when  my  general  and  fellow-soldiers  lie 
in  an  enemy's  country  upon  the  ground." 
The  king  then  told  him,  "  He  should  now 
stay  there  one  night  more,  and  the  next 
day  he  would  send  him  back  again  to  the 
army." 

When  the  king  went  to  supper,  he 
caused  Uriah  to  sup  with  him,  and  made 
him  drink  so  freely,  that  although  he  be- 
came thereby  almost  drunk,  yet  he  never 
thought  of  going  to  his  wife  all  this  while, 
but  spent  that  night  again  in  the  court,  as 
he  had  done  the  former. 

This  highly  incensed  David ;  insomuch 
that  he  wrote  to  Joab,  that  he  was  much 
dissatisfied  with  Uriah,  and  would  have 
him  punished  according  to  his  desert;  and 
then  proposed  to  him  a  method  to  bring 
it  about,  without  giving  any  suspicion  that 


*  In  Bengal,  servants  and  others  generally  sleep 
in  tlie  verandah  or  porch,  in  front  of  their  master's 
house.  The  Arab  servants  in  Egypt  do  the  same. 
In  this  way  '  Uriah  slept  at  the  door  of  the  king's 
house,  with  all  the  servants  of  his  lord.' 


it  was  done  by  his  order;  the  contrivance 
was  this :  David  appointed  Joab  to  com- 
mand him  upon  the  first  dangerous  attack, 
where  his  companions  might  desert  him 
and  leave  him  to  certain  destruction  from 
the  enemy. 

This  letter  he  gave  to  Uriah,f  under 
his  own  hand  and  seal,  to  be  delivered  to 
Joab;  who,  upon  the  receipt,  followed 
the  king's  direction,  and  put  Uriah  upon 
a  desperate  attack,  where  he  knew  the 
enemies  to  be  strongest,  with  several 
brave  men  to  back  him,  for  the  counten- 
ance of  the  design ;  Joab  promising  to 
second  him  with  the  whole  army,  upon 
the  least  breach  or  possibility  of  entrance 
into  the  town.  To  enforce  the  iniquitous 
purpose,  Joab  reminded  him  of  the  great 
reputation  he  had  already  acquired  by  his 
military  conduct,  and  urged  the  present 
opportunity  of  adding  to  his  fame,  and 


f  This  was  the  sum  of  treachery  and  villany. 
He  made  this  most  noble  man  the  carrier  of  letters 
which  prescribed  the  mode  in  which  he  was  to  be 
murdered.  This  case  some  have  likened  to  that 
of  Bellerophon,  son  of  Glancus,  king  of  Ephyra, 
who  being  in  the  court  of  Prcetus,  king  of  the 
Argives,  his  queen  Antia,  or  as  others  Sthenoboea, 
fell  violently  in  love  with  him ;  but  he,  refusing  to 
gratify  her  criminal  passion,  was  in  revenge  accused 
by  her  to  Proetus  her  husband,  as  having  attempt- 
ed to  corrupt  her.  Proetus,  not  willing  to  violate 
the  laws  of  hospitality  by  slaying  him  in  his  own 
house,  wrote  letters  to  Jobates,  king  of  Lycia,  the 
father  of  Sthenoboea,  and  sent  them  by  the  hand 
of  Bellerophon,  stating  his  crime,  and  desiring 
Jobates  to  put  him  to  death.  To  meet  the  wishes 
of  his  son-in-law,  and  keep  his  own  hands  innocent 
of  blood,  he  sent  him  with  a  small  force  against  a 
very  warlike  people  called  the  Solymi  ;  but  con- 
trary to  all  expectation,  he  not  only  escaped  with 
his  life,  but  gained  a  complete  victory  over  them. 
He  was  afterwards  sent  upon  several  equally  dan- 
gerous and  hopeless  expeditions,  but  still  came  off 
with  success  ;  and  to  reward  him  Jobates  gave 
him  one  of  his  daughters  to  wife,  and  a  part  of  his 
kingdom.  Sthenoboea,  hearing  this,  through  rage 
and  despair  killed  herself.  I  have  given  this  his- 
tory at  large,  bpcause  many  have  thought  it,  not 
only  to  be  parallel  to  that  of  Uriah,  but  to  be  a 
fabulous  formation  from  the  scripture  fact :  for 
my  own  part,  I  scarcely  see  in  them  any  corres- 
pondence, but  in  the  simple  circumstance  that 
both  carried  those  letters  which  contained  their 
own  condemnation.  From  the  fable  of  Bellero- 
phon came  the  proverb,  Bellerophontis  literas 
portare,  '  to  carry  one's  own  condemnation.' — /)»• 
A.  Clarke. 

2p 


298 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


enhancing  his  esteem  with  his  king  and 
master. 

Uriah,  with  great  cheerfulness  and  as- 
surance, undertook  the  post,  while  Joab 
gave  his  companions  private  orders  to 
withdraw,  and  leave  him  as  soon  as  they 
found  themselves  in  any  danger.  The 
Israelites  pressing  hard  upon  the  wall, 
put  the  Ammonites  into  a  dreadful  appre- 
hension that  they  would  force  the  town ; 
whereupon  they  threw  open  their  gates, 
and  made  a  desperate  sally.  This  served 
as  a  kind  of  signal  to  Uriah's  companions, 
who,  according  to  Joab's  order,  basely 
abandoned  their  leader  at  the  instant  of 
imminent  danger,  and  left  that  valiant 
man  to  fall  a  victim  to  confederate  fraud 
and  ingratitude. 

He  did  all  the  execution  that  was  pos- 
sible to  be  done  by  a  single  man  against 
numbers;  and  after  several  wounds  receiv- 
ed, fell  like  a  man  of  honour,  with  his 
face  to  the  enemy. 

Some  few  of  his  friends,  who  also  were 
ashamed  to  fly,  not  being  made  privy  to 
the  plot,  fell  with  him  at  the  same  time. 

David's  design  being  thus  executed, 
Joab  sent  him  an  express,  giving  an  ac- 
count that  to  make  short  work  of  a  siege, 
that  was  otherwise  likely  to  be  tedious, 
he  had  given  an  assault  to  the  town,  lost 
men  in  the  attempt,  and  was  at  last  beaten 
off,  and  forced  back  again  to  the  camp. 
Now,  said  Joab  to  the  messenger,  "if  you 
find  the  king  displeased  at  the  news  you 
carry  him,  tell  him  withal,  that  Uriah  fell 
in  the  attack." 

David,  upon  the  hearing  of  this  story, 
was  greatly  incensed,  and  thus  bespoke 
the  messenger:  "What!  for  men  with 
their  naked  bodies  to  think  of  storming 
stone  walls?  Why  did  they  not  rather 
make  use  of  mines  or  engines?  One 
would  think  they  would  have  taken  the 
example  of  Abimelech,  the  son  of  Gideon, 
for  a  warning,  that  was  slain  at  Thebes, 
by  a  piece  of  millstone  thrown  down  upon 
his  head  by  an  old  woman  from  the  bat- 
tlements.    The  man  was  otherwise  very 


brave;  but  his  temerity  brought  him  to  a 
shameful  end;  for  in  all  these  cases,  cau- 
tion is  as  necessary  as  courage,  and  the 
safest  counsels  are  the  best.  All  people 
in  the  business  of  war,  should  do  well  to 
consult  history  and  experience,  what  has 
generally  succeeded  well,  and  what  other- 
wise, and  to  consider  upon  what  point  the 
stress  lies,  either  of  the  one,  or  of  the 
other,  and  thus  act  accordingly." 

While  the  king  was  thus  expressing 
his  resentment  and  displeasure  at  the  ill 
management  of  the  action,  the  messenger 
took  an  occasion  privately  to  tell  him  of 
the  death  of  Uriah. 

"  Well,"  said  David,  "these  are  common 
accidents;  the  chance  of  war  is  various, 
and  soldiers  must  content  themselves  to 
take  the  best  and  worst  by  turns.  Do 
you  tell  Joab  what  I  say;  but  tell  him 
moreover,  that  for  the  future  I  would 
rather  have  him  do  the  business  by  casting 
up  mounts,  or  by  machines,  than  by  open 
force.  But  let  him  know  upon  the  whole 
that  I  would  have  the  city  razed  and 
levelled  with  the  ground,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants all  put  to  the  sword,  without  spar- 
ing so  much  as  one  individual  person." 

With  these  instructions  the  messenger 
went  presently  away  to  Joab. 

Upon  the  news  of  Uriah's  death,  Bath- 
sheba  mourned  several  days  for  her  hus- 
band, but  as  soon  as  her  days  of  mourning 
were  over,  David  took  her  to  wife,  and 
had  by  her  a  male  child  soon  after. 

This  match  was  so  far  from  being  ac- 
ceptable and  well-pleasing  to  God,  that 
he  was  highly  offended  at  it,  and  gave 
the  prophet  Nathan  to  understand  his 
displeasure  in  a  dream;  blaming  David 
exceedingly  for  what  he  had  done. 

Nathan  being  a  man  of  great  discern- 
ment, and  considering  how  little  regard 
princes  commonly  have  in  the  career  of 
their  passions  to  the  rules  of  justice,  chose 
rather  to  communicate  his  message  to 
David  in  mild  terms,  by  way  of  allusion, 
than  abruptly  accost  him  by  a  direct  de- 
nunciation of  the  displeasure  and  threat- 


Chap.  V.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


299 


ening  of  the  Almighty;  addressing  him 
thus  •. 

M  There  were  two  men,  who  lived  in 
the  same  city;  the  one  had  abundance  of 
flocks  and  herds  of  all  sorts,  such  as  oxen, 
sheep,  and  the  like ;  and  was,  in  fine,  a 
very  rich  man ;  the  other  was  master  of  no 
more  than  one  ewe-lamb,*  which  he 
brought  up,  and  fed  with  his  own  children, 
and  loved  it  as  his  daughter.  The  rich 
man  had  a  stranger  come  to  his  house, 
whom  he  was  bound  in  hospitality  and  in 
honour  to  entertain  ;  but  rather  than  treat 
him  out  of  his  own  store,  he  sent  and 
forced  away  the  poor  man's  only  lamb  for 
the  stranger's  supper." 

"  A  villain,"  says  the  king,  in  a  passion, 
"  to  do  a  thing  so  base  and  so  unjust !  I 
would  have  him  make  fourfold  satisfaction, 
and  die  for  it  besides."f 


*  The  poignancy  of  the  parable  began  now  to 
appear,  '  the  rich  man,'  we  are  told,  '  had  exceed- 
ing many  flocks  and  herds,'  but  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  the  other  was  comprised  in  one  little 
ewe-lamb.  A  simile  this,  which  is  most  beautiful- 
ly descriptive,  and  truly  poetical  ;  a  lamb  is  gen- 
erally used  as  the  emblem  of  innocence,  designedly 
thrown  in  to  awaken  the  king's  tenderness  and 
pity,  from  a  consideration  of  the  weak  and  de- 
fenceless condition  of  a  female.  Nathan,  in  his 
resemblance,  cannot  be  said  to  have  surpassed  the 
truth,  considering  how  fond  many  persons  were 
anciently,  not  only  of  lambs,  but  of  several  other 
creatures,  which  they  suffered  to  eat  with  them  at 
their  tables,  and  lie  with  them  in  their  beds  ;  and 
that  even  at  this  day  it  is  a  custom  in  Arabia, 
(which  is  contiguous  to  Judea)  to  have  one  of  the 
finest  lambs  in  the  flock  brought  up  in  the  house, 
and  fed  with  the  children.  Most  commentators 
take  notice,  that  Nathan  did  not  go  so  far  in  the 
parable  as  to  say  any  thing  of  the  rich  man's  kill- 
ing the  poor  man.  This  certainly  would  have 
made  the  resemblance  more  complete,  but  it  is 
therefore  omitted,  that  David  might  not  so  readily 
apprehend  Nathan's  meaning,  and  so  be  induced 
unawares  to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  condemna- 
tion upon  himself;  whereupon  the  prophet  had  a 
fair  opportunity  to  show  him,  that  if  the  rich  man, 
who  took  away  the  poor  man's  lamb,  deserved 
death,  according  to  his  own  judgment,  how  much 
more  did  he  deserve  it,  who  had  not  only  taken 
another  man's  wife,  but  caused  him  to  be  slain 
likewise  by  the  enemies  of  Israel. 

+  The  admirably  devised  parable  of  Nathan  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  genuine 
pathetic  style  that  can  be  found  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  and  David's  eager  condemnation  of  the  un- 
suspected offender  at  the  same  time  displays  a 
striking  instance  of  the  delusion  of  sin  and  the 


"Why  then,"  replied  Nathan:}:  imme- 
diately, "  thou  art  the  man,  who  deserves 
such  punishment,  and  out  of  thy  own 
mouth  hast  pronounced  judgment  upon 
thyself." 

The  prophet  then  gave  him  an  account 
of  his  vision,  and  of  God's  high  displeasure 
against  him,  reminding  him  of  his  ingra- 
titude to  that  providence  that  had  consti- 
tuted him  king  of  Israel,  given  him  the 
command  of  all  the  neighbouring  nations 
thereabouts,  and  delivered  him  several 
times  out  of  Saul's  hands,  &c. ; — and  repre- 
senting to  him  the  iniquity  of  his  conduct, 


blindness  of  self-love.  "  He,  who  had  lived  a 
whole  year  in  the  unrepented  commission  of  one 
of  the  blackest  crimes  in  the  decalogue — and  who, 
to  secure  to  himself  the  object  for  which  he  had 
committed  it,  perpetrated  another  almost  more 
heinous,  and  that  with  an  hypocrisy  suited  to  his 
character — he  could  in  an  instant  denounce  death 
on  the  imaginary  offender  for  a  fault  comparatively 
trifling." — '  Seeing,  he  saw  not,  and  hearing,  he 
heard  not  ;'  he  immediately  saw  the  iniquity  and 
barbarity  of  the  rich  man's  proceedings  :  his  heart 
was  in  a  moment  fired  with  indignation  at  the 
thought  of  it  ;  "  the  vehemence  of  his  resentment 
even  over-stepped  the  limits  of  his  natural  justice, 
in  decreeing  a  punishment  disproportioned  to  the 
crime,  while  he  remained  dead  to  his  own  delin- 
quency. A  pointed  parable  instantly  surprised 
him  into  the  most  bitter  self-reproach.  A  direct 
accusation  might  have  inflamed  him  before  he  was 
thus  prepared  ;  and  in  the  one  case  he  might  have 
punished  the  accuser,  by  whom,  in  the  other,  he 
was  brought  into  the  deepest  self-abasement.  The 
prudent  prophet  did  not  rashly  reproach  the  king 
with  the  crime  which  he  wished  him  to  condemn  ; 
but  placed  the  fault  at  such  a  distance,  and  in  such 
a  point  of  view,  that  he  first  procured  his  impartial 
judgment,  and  afterwards  his  self-condemnation  : 
— an  important  lesson,  not  only  to  the  offender, 
but  also  to  the  reprover." — Hannah  More. 

J  We  learn  little  more  of  this  great  man  in  the 
sacred  writings,  but  that  he  was  David's  prophet,  in- 
timate counseller,  and  historiographer.  Josephus 
says  of  him,  that  he  was  a  polite  and  a  prudent  man, 
one  who  knew  how  to  temper  the  severity  of  wis- 
dom with  sweetness  of  manners.  And  Grotius 
compares  him  to  Manius  Lepidus,  of  whom  Tacitus 
says,  that  he  had  a  talent  of  turning  away  Tiberj- 
us's  mind  from  those  cruel  purposes,  to  which  the 
vile  flattery  of  others  inclined  him,  and  was,  at  the 
same  time,  in  equal  favour  and  authority  with  him. 
Nathan  certainly  knew  the  art  of  reproving  kings 
with  authority,  and  yet  without  giving  offence. 
So  far  from  that,  he  grew  in  his  prince's  favour 
and  estimation  as  long  as  he  lived  ;  insomuch, 
that  David — as  tradition  tells  us — called  one  son 
after  his  name,  and  committed  another  (even  his 
beloved  Solomon),  to  his  care  and  tuition. —  The 
History  of  the  Life  of  King  David. 


300 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


that  he  who  had  so  many  lawful  wives 
allowed  him,  should  take  away,  and  marry 
another  man's  wife,  in  defiance  of  God 
and  man,  and  betray  her  husband  to  the 
enemy,  and  to  death.  The  prophet  then 
predicted  to  him,  that  he  should  live  to 
see  his  women  ravished  by  one  of  his  own 
sons,  and  that  son  enter  into  a  design 
upon  the  life  of  his  father;  and  in  a  word, 
that  for  this  secret  sin  of  his  he  should  be 
brought  to  open  shame  and  punishment; 
concluding  with  this  presage,  that  the  son 
of  his  unlawful  love  should  be  very  short- 
lived. 

This  denunciation  of  the  prophet  struck 
David  with  terror  and  confusion,  and  drew 
from  him  a  penitential  confession  with 
tears,  that  he  had  sinned  against  God.* 

David  being  a  righteous  man,  and  (this 


*  The  fall  of  David  is  one  of  the  most  instruc- 
tive and  alarming  recorded  in  that  most  faithful 
and  impartial  of  all  histories,  the  Holy  Bihle. 
The  transgression  of  one  idle  and  unguarded  mo- 
ment pierced  him  through  with  many  sorrows,  and 
embittered  the  remainder  of  his  life,  giving  occa- 
sion to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to  blaspheme  on 
account  of  this  crying  offence  of  the  man  after 
God's  own  heart.  When  he  only  cut  off  the  skirt 
of  Saul's  robe,  his  heart  smote  him  for  the  indigni- 
ty thus  offered  to  his  master  ;  but  when  he  treach- 
erously murdered  a  faithful  and  gallant  soldier, 
who  was  righting  his  battles,  after  having  defiled 
his  bed,  his  heart  smote  him  not  :  we  read  at  least 
of  no  compunction  or  remorse  of  conscience,  till 
Nathan  was  sent  to  reprove  him,  Then  indeed 
his  sorrow  was  extreme,  and  the  psalms  which  he 
composed  on  this  occasion,  express  in  the  most 
pathetic  strains  the  anguish  of  a  wounded  spirit, 
and  the  bitterness  of  his  repentance.  Still,  the 
rising  again  of  David  holds  forth  no  encourage- 
ment to  sinners  who  may  wisli  to  shelter  them- 
selves under  his  example,  or  flatter  themselves 
with  the  hope  of  obtaining  similar  forgiveness  ; 
for,  though  his  life  was  spared,  yet  God  inflicted 
those  temporal  judgments,  which  the  prophet  de- 
nounced, that  his  soul  might  be  saved  in  the  day 
of  the  Lord,  and  that  others,  admonished  by  his 
example,  might  be  more  afraid  to  offend.  The 
remainder  of  his  days  was  as  disastrous  as  the  be- 
ginning had  been  prosperous.  Rape,  incest,  mur- 
der, and  rebellion,  raged  among  his  children :  he 
was  deserted  by  his  friends,  reviled  by  his  enemies, 
banished  from  his  capital,  plunged  into  the  deepest 
affliction  by  the  ingratitude  and  death  of  his  favour- 
ite and  rebellious  son  Absalom  ;  and,  to  till  up 
the  measure  of  his  calamities,  had  a  dreadful  plague 
brought  upon  his  subjects  by  his  last  offence  ;  so 
that  he  died,  exhausted  at  seventy  years  of  age,  still 
older  in  constitution  than  in  years. — Dr  Hales.^ 


one  thing  excepted)  one  who  before  had 
never  been  guilty  of  the  commission  of 
any  unjust  action,  God  was  pleased  to  ac- 
cept of  his  true  repentance,  took  him  into 
his  favour  again,  and  promised  to  secure 
him  in  the  enjoyment  both  of  his  kingdom 
and  of  his  life. 

The  prophet  having  thus  executed  the 
Divine  command,  returned  to  his  own 
habitation ;  but  soon  after  his  departure, 
the  Lord  struck  the  child,  that  Uriah's 
wife  bare  unto  David,  with  a  grievous 
sickness,  which  was  so  sensible  an  affliction 
to  the  father,  that  he  took  his  chamber 
upon  it,  and  for  seven  days  together  pro- 
strated himself  upon  the  ground  in  sack- 
cloth and  mourning;  nor  could  he  be  per- 
suaded by  his  servants  to  receive  any 
sustenance;  beseeching  Almighty  God  to 
spare  the  child,  having  the  greatest  tender- 
ness imaginable  for  the  mother.  But  his 
prayers  proved  ineffectual;  for  upon  the 
seventh  day  the  child  died.f 

None  of  the  family  durst  speak  a  word 
of  it  to  the  king;  for  he,  they  thought, 
that  was  so  given  up  to  sorrow,  as  to  deny 
himself  the  most  necessary  comforts  and 
refreshments  of  life,  when  the  child  was 


+  It  has  been  asked,  why  the  death  of  this  child 
should  be  deprecated  by  David  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  and  as  the  greatest  punishment,  when, 
had  it  lived,  it  would  have  been  a  lasting  monu- 
ment of  the  guilt  and  infamy  of  its  parents  ?  But 
the  best  way  to  account  for  this,  is  to  ascribe  it  to 
David's  excessive  fondness  for  Bathsheba,  which 
so  strongly  attached  him  to  every  offspring  of  her's, 
and  made  him  forget  every  thing  in  this  child,  but 
that  motive  of  endearment.  Besides,  it  must  be 
allowed  that  there  is  something  in  human  nature, 
which  prompts  us  to  rate  things  after  a  very  un- 
accountable manner,  by  estimating  them,  not  ac- 
cording to  their  real  worth,  but  according  to  the 
trouble  and  expense,  or  even  distress  they  cost  us. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgot,  that  David's  excessive 
mourning  proceeded  not  so  much  from  the  fear  of 
losing  the  child,  as  from  a  deep  sense  of  his  sin, 
and  of  the  Divine  displeasure  manifested  in  the 
child's  sickness  ;  and  probably  also,  from  a  just 
apprehension  of  the  great  injury  he  had  done  to 
the  infant  by  his  sin,  and  which  he  thought  him- 
self bound  in  justice,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  to 
repair  by  incessant  prayer  and  intercession,  ac- 
companied with  tokens  of  the  most  sincere  and 
unaffected  sorrow  and  humiliation  for  his  past 
offences. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

only  sick,  would  afflict  himself  with  a  more 
intense  and  severe  abstinence,  if  he  should 
know  it  to  be  dead. 

David  observed  such  a  disorder  in  the 
countenances  of  his  family,  that  he  took  it 
for  certain  there  was  something  extraor- 
dinary in  the  case,  that  they  durst  not 
acquaint  him  with,  which  he  concluded 
could  be  nothing  else  but  the  death  of  the 
child  :  and,  upon  examining  one  of  his 
servants  about  it,  he  found  it  so  to  be. 
The  child  being  dead,  and  all  mourning 
and  prayer  therefore  unnecessary,  David 
arose,  washed  himself,  changed  his  clothes, 
and  went  directly  to  the  tabernacle  to 
worship;  commanding  his  servants,  after 
this,  to  set  his  supper  upon  the  table. 

His  kindred  and  domestics  were  all  in 
admiration  and  astonishment  at  a  change 
so  unexpected ;  for  while  the  child  was 
but  dangerously  ill,  there  was  nothing  but 
passion  and  extravagance;  and  now  it  was 
dead,  the  father  came  to  himself  again. 
This  was  their  opinion  of  the  case ;  but 
they  had  yet  a  curiosity  to  know  what 
might  be  the  true  reason  of  it;  wherein 
David  was  very  free  with  them  upon  a 
decent  intimation  of  the  desire  they  had 
to  be  better  informed. 

"  While  the  child  was  living,"  said  he, 
"  and  not  quite  out  of  hope  of  recovery,  I 
omitted  no  opportunity  of  application  to 
God  for  its  life ;  but  when  I  saw  it  was 
dead,  it  would  have  been  a  foolish  thing 
to  torment  myself  any  further  to  no  man- 
ner of  purpose." 

The  prudence  of  this  resolution  was 
highly  commended  by  all  that  had  heard 
him. 

Bathsheba,  after  this,  in  her  due  time, 
according  to  the  course  of  nature,  brought 
David  a  son;  who,  by  the  direction  of  the 
prophet  Nathan,  gave  him  the  name  of 
Solomon.* 


301 


*  The  word  Solomon  is  properly  derived  from 
Schatom,  which  signifies  peace,  intimating  that 
his  reign  should  be  peaceable  ;  but  by  God's  ap- 
pointment the  prophet  Nathan  gave  him  the  name 
of  Jedidiah,  that  is,  '  the  beloved  of  God.'     The 


David's  general,  Joab,  had  by  this  time 
so  distressed  the  Ammonites,  by  cutting 
them  off  from  all  manner  of  provisions, 
that  they  were  almost  reduced  to  the  last 
extremity  of  hunger  and  thirst ;  for  they 
had  only  one  little  spring  left  them,  which 
they  were  obliged  to  draw  by  short  allow- 
ances, for  fear  of  exhausting,  or  losing 
that  too. 

Joab  therefore  sent  David  a  particular 
account  of  the  state  of  the  siege,  desiring 
the  honour  of  his  presence  there,  to  put 
the  last  hand  himself  to  the  destruction  of 
the  city,  as  an  action  worthy  to  be  found 
upon  record  in  the  history  of  his  other 
heroical  exploits. 

David  was  so  fully  satisfied  with  the 
wisdom,  faith,  and  zeal  of  his  general,  that 
he  put  himself  presently  at  the  head  of 
his  army,  and  marching  to  the  assault  of 
Rabbuh,  took  it  by  storm,  and  gave  the 
pillage  of  it  to  the  soldiers,  taking  only 
for  himself  a  golden  crown  of  the  king's, 
of  a  talent  weightf  and  a  rich  sardonyx 

scripture  however  never  calls  him  by  any  other 
name  than  that  of  Solomon  :  for  what  reason  in- 
deed, is  quite  uncertain,  unless  we  may  hazard  a 
conjecture,  that  the  people,  being  long  harassed  in 
war  during  his  father's  reign,  might  perhaps  be 
pleased  with  this  name  rather  than  the  other,  to 
intimate  their  hopes  and  longing  desires  of  peace, 
f  The  weight  of  this  crown  seems  not  a  little 
monstrous.  The  weight  of  a  talent,  which,  upon 
the  lowest  computation,  amounts  to  no  less  than 
123  pounds,  is  allowed  to  be  too  much  for  one 
neck  to  sustain ;  but  then  we  should  consider,  that 
besides  the  crown  that  was  usually  worn,  it  was 
customary,  in  some  nations,  for  kings  to  have  very 
large  ones,  even  to  a  size  equal  to  this,  either 
hung,  or  supported  over  the  throne,  where,  at  their 
coronation,  or  upon  other  solemn  occasions,  they 
were  wont  to  sit.  The  Jewish  doctors  indeed  have 
a  very  odd  conceit,  viz.  that  David,  when  he  took 
this  crown  from  the  king  of  Ammon,  hung  it  up 
on  high  by  a  certain  loadstone,  that  he  had  ;  as  if 
the  power  of  the  magnet  were  to  attract  gold  as 
well  as  iron.  But  let  that  be  as  it  will,  it  is  hut 
to  suppose  that  the  crown,  here  under  debate,  was 
of  this  larger  kind,  and  that,  by  some  means  or 
other,  it  was  supported  over  the  king's  head,  while 
he  was  sitting  on  his  throne,  and  then  there  will 
be  an  apparent  reason  for  taking  the  crown  from 
off,  or,  as  the  Hebrew  words  will  bear  it,  from 
over  the  king's  head,  and  placing  it,  in  like  manner, 
over  David's  head,  even  to  indicate  the  translation 
of  his  kingdom  to  David.  It  is  a  common  tiling 
however  in  Hebrew,  as  well  as  other  learned  lan- 
guages, to  liave  the  same  word  signify  both  the 


302 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


upon  it,  which  he  wore  constantly  upon 
his  head  afterward  for  an  ornament :  not 
to  mention  an  infinite  variety  of  other  rich 
booty  that  was  found  in  the  city. 

The  inhabitants  which  remained  in  the 
city  were  subjected  to  the  most  acute  as 
well  as  abject  punishment,*  as  were  all 


weight  and  value  of  any  thing.  And  that  the 
price  or  worth  of  the  crown  is  here  the  meaning 
of  the  phrase,  we  have  the  more  reason  to  think, 
because  mention  is  made  of  an  addition  of  precious 
stones,  which  are  never  estimated  by  the  weight  of 
gold.  Josephus  tells  us  of  one  stone  of  great  value 
in  the  middle  of  the  crown,  which  he  calls  a  sar- 
donyx ;  and  as  we  may  suppose  that  there  were 
other  jewels  of  several  kinds,  placed  at  their  pro- 
per distances,  these,  in  proportion  as  they  height- 
ened the  value,  must  lessen  the  weight  of  the 
crown,  and  verify  what  the  same  historian  tells  us 
of  it,  viz.  that  David  wore  it  constantly  on  his 
head  afterward  for  an  ornament. — Stackhouse. 

*  Some  of  them  he  sawed  asunder  ;  others  he 
tore  in  pieces  with  harrows  armed  with  great  iron 
teeth  ;  or  lacerated  their  bodies  with  sharp  sickles 
or  sharp  stones  ;  or  rather,  he  dragged  them 
through  the  place  where  bricks  were  made,  and 
grated  their  flesh  upon  the  ragged  sherds.  Had 
David  been  the  inventor  of  such  frightful  punish- 
ments, we  might  have  justly  reckoned  him  a  man 
of  the  same  cruel  and  brutal  spirit  as  was  Cali- 
gula, who,  in  after-ages,  as  Suetonius  tells  us,  was 
wont  to  take  a  great  delight  in  inflicting  them  : 
but,  the  truth  is,  that  these  were  the  punishments 
which  the  Ammonites  inflicted  upon  the  Jews 
whenever  they  took  them  prisoners ;  and  therefore 
David,  when  he  conquered  their  country,  and  re- 
duced their  capital  city,  used  them  with  the  like 
cruelty :  not  every  one  of  them  indiscriminately, 
but  such  only  as  appeared  in  arms  against  him, 
and  had  either  advised,  or  approved  the  advice  of 
putting  such  a  disgrace  upon  his  messengers.  The 
Ammonites,  it  is  certain,  were  early  initiated  into 
all  the  cruelties  of  the  people  of  Canaan  :  when 
they  invested  Jabesh-gilead  and  the  besieged  made 
an  offer  to  surrender,  the  easiest  condition  that 
they  would  grant  them,  was,  that  they  might  thrust 
out  all  their  right  eyes,  and  lay  it  as  a  reproach 
upon  Israel  for  ever  ;  which  one  instance,  as  I 
take  it,  is  in  the  room  of  ten  thousand  proofs,  to 
demonstrate,  that  these  Ammonites  were  monsters 
of  barbarity  ;  and  that  therefore  king  David  was 
no  more  culpable  for  retaliating  upon  them  the 
same  cruelties  that  they  used  to  inflict  on  others, 
than  the  people  of  Agrigentum  were,  for  burning 
Phalaris  in  his  own  bull,  or  Theseus  the  hero,  for 
stretching  Procrastes  beyond  the  dimensions  of  his 
own  bed.  For  even  heathen  casuists  have  de- 
termined, that  no  law  can  be  more  just  and  equit- 
able, than  that  which  decreed  artists  of  cruelty  to 
perish  by  their  own  arts.  The  particular  punish- 
ment of  passing  through  the  brick-kilns,  an  ingeni- 
ous author  seems  fairly  to  account  for,  by  making 
this  conjecture  i — "  It  is  very  well  known,"  says  he, 
"  that  the  Jews  were  slaves  in  Egypt,  and  particu- 
larly employed  in  brick-making.     Now  it  is  natural 


the  other  places  belonging  to  the  Ammon- 
ites, which  did  not  acknowledge  the  king 
of  Israel  as  sovereign. 

But  the  glories  of  this  conquest  were 
soon  sullied  by  a  melancholy  circumstance, 
that  fell  out  in  David's  family. 

The  king  had  a  daughter,  as  yet  a  vir- 
gin, and  highly  celebrated  for  the  endow- 
ments of  her  mind,  as  well  as  the  beauty 
of  her  person.  Her  name  was  Tamar, 
and  she  and  Absalom  had  one  mother. 

Amnon,  the  eldest  son  of  David,  fell 
desperately  in  love  with  herif  and  find- 
ing, that  betwixt  her  own  modesty,  and 
the  watch  she  had  upon  her,  there  was  no 
hope  of  succeeding,  he  pined  away  into  a 
kind  of  languishing  consumption. 


for  all  people  at  enmity  to  reproach  one  another 
with  the  meanness  and  baseness  of  their  original. 
As  therefore  the  Ammonites  were  a  cruel  and  in- 
solent enemy,  and  nothing  could  be  more  natural 
for  men  of  their  temper,  when  they  got  any  Jews 
in  their  power,  than  to  cry  out,  'Send  the  slaves  to 
the  brick-kilns,  and  so  torture  them  to  death  ; '  so 
nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  for  the  Jews, 
when  they  got  an  advantage  over  them,  to  return 
them  the  same  treatment."  However  this  be,  it  is 
certain  that  the  siege  of  Rabbah  began  before 
David  had  any  criminal  commerce  with  Bathsheba, 
and  if  the  town  was  not  taken  till  after  Solomon's 
birth,  as  the  sequel  of  his  history  seems  to  imply, 
the  siege  must  last  for  about  two  years  ;  in  which 
time,  upon  the  supposition  that  David  continued 
in  an  obdurate  state  of  sin  and  impenitence,  and 
was  therefore  deprived  of  that  mild  and  merciful 
spirit  for  which  he  had  formerly  been  so  remark- 
able, there  is  no  wonder,  if,  being  now  become 
cruel  and  hard-hearted,  as  well  as  exasperated  with 
the  length  of  the  siege,  he  treated  the  Ammonites 
in  the  same  outrageous  manner  that  they  were 
accustomed  to  treat  his  subjects,  not  only  to  re- 
taliate the  thing  upon  them,  but  to  deter  all  future 
ages  likewise  from  violating  the  right  of  nations, 
by  treating  the  persons  of  public  ambassadors  with 
contempt. — Stackhouse. 

•j-  Virgins  of  the  blood-royal  were  kept  secluded 
in  apartments  separate  from  the  commerce  of 
men,  into  which  not  only  strangers,  but  even  their 
own  fathers,  were  not  permitted  to  enter.  Amnon 
however,  at  some  time  or  other  had  seen  the  beau- 
tiful Tamar,  or  otherwise  he  could  not  have  con- 
ceived so  strong  a  passion  for  her.  Upon  some 
certain  ceremonial  occasions,  indeed,  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  the  young  women  to  walk  out  and 
show  themselves  ;  but,  considering  their  close  con- 
finement at  other  times,  it  was  hardly  possible  for 
Amnon  to  find  an  opportunity  of  declaring  his 
passion,  much  more  of  gratifying  it ;  and  there- 
fore out  of  pure  despair,  lie  pined  himself  into  a 
consumption. —  Calmet's  Commentary. 


•v.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


300 


Jonadab,  his  friend  and  kinsman,  and  a 
person  of  good  sense  and  judgment,  tak- 
ing notice  of  this  change  in  Amnon,  and 
rliat  he  grew  every  day  worse  and  worse, 
went  to  him,  and  asked  him,  what  he 
;iled?  and  in  short,  if  he  was  not  in  love? 
for  he  had  a  suspicion  of  it. 

Amnon,  without  any  difficulty,  owned 
himself  to  have  a  violent  passion  for  his 
own  sister.  Upon  this,  the  other  imme- 
diately suggested  to  him  a  method  how  he 
might  accomplish  his  end. 

Jonadab's  fatal  advice  was,  for  Amnon 
to  pretend  sickness,  and  the  first  time  his 
father  came  to  visit  him,  to  request  that 
he  would  send  his  sister  to  him :  this  was 
granted,  and  Amnon  desired  to  have  some 
cakes  of  his  sister's  making,  for  he  could 
not  eat  any  thing  else.  Therefore  she 
took  the  flour,  kneaded  it,  raised  and 
baked  it,  all  in  her  brother's  sight:  and  in 
conclusion,  offered  him  some  to  eat,  which 
he  would  not  so  much  as  taste,  but  called 
out  to  his  servants  immediately  to  with- 
draw, and  let  nobody  come  in  to  trouble 
him,  for  he  would  lay  himself  to  rest. 

As  soon  as  the  room  was  cleared  of  the 
attendants,  he  desired  his  sister  to  carry 
what  she  had  prepared  for  him,  into  an 
inner  chamber  there,  which  she  did,  and 
her  brother  taking  advantage  of  that  pri- 
vacy, laid  hold  of  her ;  and  by  the  utmost 
importunity  of  a  violent  passion,  pressed 
and  courted  her  to  the  gratifying  of  his 
brutal  appetite. 

Tamar,  employing  the  most  earnest  en- 
treaties and  expostulation::,*  urged  him  to 


*  There  is  something  so  moving,  and  the  argu- 
ments are  so  strong,  in  Tamar's  speech  to  Amnon, 
that  one  would  almost  wonder  why  it  did  not  pre- 
vail with  him  to  desist.  '  Nay,  my  hrother,  do  not 
force  me.'  Here  she  reminds  him  of  his  relation 
to  her,  for  which  she  hoped  he  would  have  such  a 
reverence  as  not  to  meddle  with  her,  though  she 
herself  were  willing,  much  less  to  offer  violence  to 
her,  which  it  was  abominable  to  do  even  to  a 
stranger,  much  more  to  one  of  the  same  blood. 
'  For  no  such  thing  ought  to  be  done  in  Israel.' 
Whatever  other  nations  did  who  had  not  the 
knowledge  of  God's  laws,  she  begs  him  to  con- 
sider that  they  both  belonged  to  a  nation  which 
was  God's   peculiar  people,  had  been  instructed 


desist,  and  thus  hoped  for  the  present  to 
amuse  him  with  some  distant  promise  of 
compliance;  but  all  her  endeavours  were 
vain,  for  strength,  enforced  by  a  raging 
passion,  overcame  every  obstacle,  and  her 
virtue  fell  a  victim  to  her  brother's  inor- 
dinate lust. 

No  sooner  had  he  committed  the  vil- 
lany,  and  quenched  his  criminal  flame, 
than  his  extravagant  love  degenerated 
into  the  contrary  extreme,  of  implacable 
hatred ;  insomuch  that  he  urged  her  with 
reproaches  and  ill  language  to  depart  his 
chamber,  and  be  gone.f 

better,  and  therefore  should  act  otherwise.  *  Do 
not  thou  this  folly.'  She  prays  him,  besides  the 
scandal  it  would  give,  to  recollect  with  himself  on 
the  heinousness  of  the  crime,  and  how  highly  of- 
fensive it  would  be  to  the  Divine  Majesty.  '  And 
I,  whither  shall  1  cause  my  shame  to  go  V  She 
beseeches  him — besides  the  sin  against  God — to 
consider  the  disgrace  it  would  be  to  her,  who, 
after  such  a  foul  act,  must  be  ashamed  to  look  any 
one  in  the  face.  '  And  as  for  thee,  thou  shall  be 
as  one  of  the  fools  in  Israel.'  Lastly,  she  puts 
him  in  mind  of  his  own  reputation,  which  so  vile 
an  action  would  tarnish  forever,  and  make  him  be 
looked  upon  as  a  man  void  of  all  sense,  religion, 
honour,  and  humanity.  '  Now  therefore,  I  pray 
thee,  speak  to  the  king  ;  for  he  will  not  withhold 
me  from  thee.'  It  is  a  common  opinion  among 
the  Jewish  doctors,  that  in  the  war  which  king 
David  had  with  the  king  of  Geshur,  he  took 
Maacah,  his  daughter  captive,  and  (as  they  fancy 
their  law  allows,  Deut.  xxi.  11.)  lay  with  her  for 
once  only,  and  then  begat  this  daughter  ;  but  that 
upon  her  becoming  a  proselyte  to  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion, he  married  her,  and  afterwards  had  Absalom. 
Tamar  therefore  being  born  while  her  mother  was 
a  Gentile,  they  suppose  that  she  was  not  David's 
legal  child,  and  that  Amnon  consequently  might 
marry  her:  but  all  this  is  mere  talk,  without  any 
shadow  of  proof.  The  most  probable  opinion  is, 
that  she  was  neither  ignorant  of  the  law,  (Lev. 
xviii.  11.)  which  prohibited  such  incestuous  mar- 
riages, nor  thought  her  father's  power  so  great,  as 
that  he  might  dispense  with  the  law  upon  this 
occasion,  but  merely  that  she  said  any  thing 
which  she  thought  would  please  him,  to  stop  his 
solicitations,  and  rude  attempts,  and  to  escape  for 
the  present  out  of  his  hands. — Patrick's  Com- 
mentary, and  Jewish  Antiquities. 

t  Interpreters  seem  to  be  a  great  loss  to  find 
out  the  reason  why  Amnon's  love  to  his  sister 
should  so  soon  be  converted  into  such  a  hatred  as 
to  make  him  act  so  rudely,  so  brutally  towards 
her  ;  but  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  men  of 
violent  and  irregular  passions  to  pass  from  one 
extreme  to  another.  The  shame  which  accom- 
panies every  base  action,  the  remorse,  and  repent- 
ance, and  many  bad  consequences  that  immedi- 
ately pursue  it,  make  a  recoil  in  every  man's  tern- 


304 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


"  What,"  said  she,  "  now  ye  have  de- 
bauched me,  am  I  to  be  exposed  too  ? 
and  sent  away  by  day-light  with  all  this 
confusion  and  horror  upon  me,  to  tell  the 
world  how  barbarously  you  have  used  me? 
Nay,  this  treatment  in  cold  blood  is  yet 
worse,  if  worse  can  be,  even  than  the  ac- 
cursed act  itself,  under  the  impotency  of 
an  ungovernable  passion  to  alleviate  the 

crime." 

But  all  remonstrance  availed  not,  for 
Amnon,  determined  on  her  departure, 
commanded  his  servants  to  turn  her  out 
of  the  house. 

Thus  compelled,  she  went  into  the 
street,  with  ashes  on  her  head,*  and  her 
vest  (such  as  was  then  in  fashion  for  per- 
sons of  her  quality)  disordered  and  torn, 
and  proceeded  through  the  city  crying 
out,  and  complaining  how  she  had  been 
abused  and  ravished. 

Her  brother  Absalom  had  the  fortune 
to  meet  her  in  this  distraction  and  dress; 
and  asking  her  what  was  the  matter,  she 


per;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder,  that  an  intem- 
perate young  man,  who  would  not  spare  so  much 
as  his  own  sister,  should,  when  the  ardour  of  his 
lust  was  satisfied,  be  seized  with  a  contrary  passion, 
and  hate  the  object  he  loved  so  much  before,  when 
he  came  coolly  to  compare  the  pleasure  and  the 
sin  together,  the  shortness  of  the  one,  and  the 
heinousness  of  the  other.  He  hated  his  sister, 
when  he  should  have  hated  himself;  and  as  this 
outrageous  treatment  of  her  made  it  impossible 
for  his  guilt  to  be  concealed,  so  God  seems  to  have 
abandoned  him  to  the  tumult  of  his  intemperate 
mind,  on  purpose  to  make  this  punishment  of 
David's  adultery  more  flagrant,  and  the  prophet's 
prediction  of  'raising  up  evil  to  him  out  of  his 
own  house,'  2  Sam.  xii.  11.  more  conspicuous. — 
Calmefs  and  Le  Clercs  Commentaries,  and  the 
History  of  the  Life  of  King  David. 

*  That  this  was  the  ancient  manner  of  express- 
ing grief  and  concern  for  any  loss  or  calamity,  is 
evident  from  that  passage  of  the  prophet  concern- 
ing the  people  of  Tyre  :  '  They  shall  cry  bitterly, 
cast  dirt  upon  their  heads,  and  wallow  themselves 
in  the  ashes,'  Ezek.  xxvii.  30  ;  from  the  beha- 
viour of  Achilles,  upon  the  death  of  Patroclus, 
as  we  have  it  in  Homer: 

Then  sordid  dust  upon  his  head  he  cast, 

And  with  his  hands  his  manly  locks  disgrac'd  ; 

and  from  what  Mezentius  did  upon  the  death  of 
Lausus,  according  to  Virgil : 

With  sordid  dust  defiles  his  silver  hairs, 
And  to  the  skies  his  helpless  hands  he  rears. 


told  him  the  whole  story  of  her  brother, 
and  the  brutal  indignity  that  he  offered 
her. 

Absalom  informed  her,  in  order  to 
pacify  her,  that  the  dishonour  was  how- 
ever not  so  great,  considering  it  was  the 
act  of  her  own  brother,  which  for  the 
present  subdued  her  clamour.  After 
which,  she  lived  for  some  time  single  in 
the  house  of  her  brother  Absalom. 

When  the  news  was  carried  to  king 
David,  he  was  infinitely  troubled  at  it; 
but  Amnon  being  his  eldest,  and  his  be- 
loved son,  he  was  yet  loath  to  put  him  to 
extremities.f  Absalom,  however,  bore 
him  a  mortal  grudge,  and  waited  only  a 
fair  opportunity  for  revenge.^: 

f  The  true  reason  as  we  suppose,  why  his  father 
did  not  proceed  with  severity  against  him,  was, 
because  the  case  (as  it  then  stood)  was  intricate 
and  perplexed,  and  such  as  the  law  had  made  no 
provision  for.  The  law  concerning  rapes  is  word- 
ed thus; — *  If  a  damsel,  that  is  a  virgin,  be  be- 
trothed unto  a  husband,  and  a  man  find  her  in  the 
city,  and  lie  witli  her;  then  ye  shall  bring  them 
both  out  unto  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  ye  shall 
stone  them  with  stones  that  they  die:  the  damsel, 
because  she  cried  not,  being  in  the  city;  and  the 
man,  because  he  hath  humbled  his  neighbour's 
wife:'  and  again,  '  If  a  man  find  a  damsel,  that  is 
a  virgin,  which  is  not  betrothed,  and  lay  hold  on 
her,  and  lie  with  her,  and  they  be  found  ;  then  the 
man  that  lay  with  her  shall  give  unto  the  damsel's 
father  fifty  shekels  of  silver,  and  she  shall  be  his 
wife,  because  he  hath  humbled  her;  he  may  not 
put  her  away  all  his  days.'  These  are  the  two  prin- 
cipal laws  concerning  this  matter,  but  neither  come 
up  to  the  case  now  before  us.  For,  had  David 
punished  Amnon's  crime  with  death,  as  the  former 
law  requires,  Tamar,  in  like  manner,  must  have 
suffered  too,  (even  though  she  was  innocent)  be- 
cause 'she  cried  not  out;'  and  though  she  was  not 
a  betrothed  damsel,  (as  the  case  is  put  in  the 
latter  law)  yet  TJavid  could  not  compel  Amnon  to 
marry  her,  because  such  a  marriage  would  have 
been  incestuous;  and  therefore  we  may  suppose, 
that  though  David  might  reprimand  his  son  very 
severely  for  having  wrought  folly  in  Israel,  yet  he 
could  not  bring  him  before  a  public  judicature, 
because  the  law  did  not  properly  extend  to  his 
case,  or  if  he  had  made  it  extend,  the  innocent 
must  have  suffered  with  the  guilty;  and  a  rule  of 
equity  I  think  it  is,  rather  to  let  the  guilty  escape, 
than  that  the  innocent  and  injured  should  be  de- 
stroyed . — Sta  ckh  ouse. 

X  As  Absalom  neither  threatened,  nor  expostu- 
lated, nor  even  took  the  least  notice  of  what  had 
passed,  Amnon  lulled  himself  into  a  belief  that 
Absalom  would  not  trouble  him  ;  whereas  he  had 
greater  reason  to  apprehend  that  he  was  meditat- 
ing some  terrible  revenge. 


Chap.  VI.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Two  years  after  the  rape  of  Tamar, 
Absalom  having  appointed  a  sheep-shear- 
ing* at  Baal-hazor,  a  city  in  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim,  invited  his  father  and  his  bro- 
thers to  the  meeting.  His  father  excused 
himself,  offering  as  a  plea,  the  inconve- 
nience and  expense  that  attended  his  re- 
moval from  place  to  place,  so  that  Absalom 
desired  leave  only  for  his  brothers,  which 
being  obtained,  he  gave  his  domestics  this 
order,  that  upon  giving  them  the  sign, 
when  Amnon  should  be  in  his  cups,  they 
should  fall  upon  him  and  kill  him. 

Absalom's  stewards  accordingly  executed 
most  punctually  their  master's  command; 
for  as  soon  as  they  observed  Amnon  wax- 
ed merry,  and  therefore  not  on  his  guard, 
they  fell  upon  him,  and  slew  him  on  the 
spot. 


305 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Absalom  flies  after  the  murder  of  his  brother. — 
JoaWs  invention  to  restore  him  to  his  favour. 
— Absalom  obtains  leave  to  go  to  Hebron  on  a 

perfidious  design David  quits  his  residence 

at  Jerusalem. — Divers  stratagems  concerted 
to  deprive  him  of  his  crown  and  dignity. — 


*  Sheep-shearing  is  an  operation  to  which  allu- 
sion is  frequently  made  in  the  sacred  volume. 
The  wool  in  very  remote  times  was  not  shorn  with 
an  iron  instrument,  but  plucked  off  with  the  hand. 
From  the  concurrent  testimony  of  several  writers, 
the  time  when  it  is  performed  in  Palestine,  falls 
in  the  month  of  March.  This  time  seems  to  have 
been  spent  by  the  eastern  swains  in  more  than 
usual  hilarity.  And  it  may  be  inferred  from 
several  hints  in  the  scriptures,  that  the  wealthier 
proprietors  invited  their  friends  and  dependents  to 
sumptuous  entertainments.  Nabal,  on  that  joyous 
occasion,  which  the  servants  of  David  called  a 
good,  or  festive  day,  although  a  churlish  and  nig- 
gardly man,  '  held  a  feast  in  his  house,  like  the 
feast  of  a  king;'  and  on  this  occasion,  Absalom 
treated  his  friends  and  relations  in  the  same  mag- 
nificent style.  The  modern  Arabs  are  more  frugal 
and  parsimonious;  yet  their  hearts,  so  little  accus- 
tomed to  expand  with  joyous  feelings,  acknowledge 
the  powerful  influence  of  increasing  wealth,  and 
dispose  them  to  indulge  in  greater  jollity  than 
usual.  On  these  occasions,  they  perhaps  kill  a 
lamb,  or  a  goat,  and  treat  their  relations  and 
friends ;  and  at  once  to  testify  their  respect  for 
their  guests,  and  add  to  the  luxury  of  the  feast, 
crown  the  festive  board  with  new  cheese  and  milk, 
dates  and  honey. — Paxton. 


Absalom  particularly  seeks  to  obtain  by  fraud 
his  father  s  kingdom ;  is  assisted  in  his  im- 
pious proceeding  by  several  false  courtiers. — 
David  receives  news  of  his  son's  disobedience 
and  rebellion — Engageth  with  him. —  Totally 
defeats  him. — He  flies,  and  being  found  hang- 
ing by  the  hair  to  a  bough,  is  slain  by  Joab. 

The  fate  of  Amnon  so  terrified  all  the 
brothers,  that  they  rode  precipitately  to 
acquaint  their  father,  assured  that  he  had 
likewise  a  design  upon  all  their  lives. 

In  the  interim,  comes  a  forerunner  to 
David,  with  news  that  Absalom  had  put 
all  his  brothers  to  death.  It  was  so  terri- 
ble a  surprise  to  David,  to  hear  of  the 
loss  of  so  many  of  his  sons,  and  by  the 
hand  of  their  own  brother,  that  he  aban- 
doned himself  to  an  inconsolable  despera- 
tion; and  without  any  further  inquiry,  or 
waiting  for  a  confirmation  of  the  report, 
though  a  wickedness  almost  incredible,  he 
gave  himself  up  to  an  insupportable  an- 
guish of  thought;  tearing  his  garments, 
and  casting  himself  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  lamenting  not  only  the  murdered, 
but  the  murderer  himself. 

But  Jonadab,  the  son  of  Shimeah, 
David's  brother,  desired  him  to  ruminate 
upon  the  matter  with  temper  and  modera- 
tion, assuring  him  that  he  could  not  be- 
lieve the  report  till  further  confirmation, 
though  it  was  reasonable  to  expect  that 
he  might  avenge  himself  of  Amnon. 

While  they  were  in  discourse  they  heard 
the  trampling  of  the  mules,  and  the  hurry 
of  people  as  approaching;  and  these  were 
the  king's  sons,  who  had  made  their  es- 
cape from  the  feast  at  the  house  of  their 
brother. 

The  greeting  of  the  father  and  his 
sons  was  not  without  tears  on  both  sides; 
the  father  surprised  at  the  sight  of  them 
living,  whom  he  took  to  be  dead:  the  sons 
lamenting  the  loss  of  their  brother,  and 
the  father  deploring  the  barbarous  murder 
of  a  son.  So  there  was  sufficient  cause 
for  grief  and  lamentation. 

Absalom,  in  the  mean  time  retired  to 
Geshur,  where  he  corrtinued  three  years- 


306 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


in  the  house  of  his  mother's  father,  a  per- 
son of  eminence  in  that  country.* 

David  had  by  this  time  a  great  desire 
to  recall  Absalom,  not  to  punish  him,  but 
to  have  him  home  again;  for  the  severity 
of  his  displeasure  was  now  well  nigh  over; 
and  these  charitable  inclinations  were  dex- 
terously enough  managed  to  Absalom's 
advantage,  by  the  friendship  of  Joab,  who 
enjoyed  the  king's  confidence.  In  order 
to  this  end,  he  dealt  with  an  artful  woman 
of  Tekoah,f  who  was  to  put  herself  in 
mourning,  as  a  person  in  great  distress, 
and  as  an  humble  suppliant,  to  present 
the  king  with  her  case  to  this  effect: 

'  That  two  of  her  sons  in  the  country 
had  had  an  unhappy  quarrel,  which  grew 
to  such  animosity,  that  they  fought  upon 
it,  and  one  of  them  was  killed.  Some  of 
the  friends  of  him  who  was  slain,  demand- 
ed justice  upon  him  that  had  killed  him. 


*  The  sacred  historian  has  taken  care  to  clear 
David  from  any  base  connivance  at  Absalom's 
wickedness  in  murdering  his  brother  Amnon,  by 
telling  us,  that  as  soon  as  he  had  done  it,  he  fled 
and  went  to  Talmai,  his  grandfather  by  his 
mothers  side,  who  was  then  king  of  Geshnr. 
Geshur  was  a  city  in  Syria,  which  lay  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan ;  and  Absalom,  who  meditated  the 
murder  of  his  brother,  and  could  not  but  foresee 
that  it  would  be  an  act  of  high  displeasure  to  his 
father,  invited  the  princes  of  the  blood  to  his 
country-seat,  which  was  near  the  city  Ephraim, 
not  far  from  the  river  Jordan,  that  he  might  have 
a  better  opportunity,  not  only  for  putting  in  exe- 
cution his  wicked  design,  but  of  making  his  escape 
likewise :  so  that  David  (had  he  been  ever  so  much 
minded)  could  not  possibly  have  apprehended  him, 
before  he  had  got  to  a  safe  retreat ;  and  where,  it 
is  easy  to  imagine,  he  would  tell  his  tale  so  well, 
as  to  gain  his  grandfather's  protection,  if  not  ap- 
probation of  the  fact,  which,  with  a  small  share  of 
eloquence,  might  be  so  set  off  as  to  appear  a  ne- 
cessary vindication  of  the  honour  of  their  family, 
which  had  been  so  grossly  violated. — Stachhouse. 

t  Tekoah  was  a  city  in  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
which  lay  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  about  twelve 
miles  distant  from  it.  And  herein  does  Joab's 
cunning  appear  not  a  little,  that  he  made  choice 
of  a  woman  rather  than  a  man,  because  women 
can  more  easily  express  their  passions,  and  sooner 
gain  pity  in  their  miseries;  a  widow,  which  was  a 
condition  of  life  proper  to  move  compassion ;  a 
1  grave  woman,' — as  Josephus  calls  her — which 
made  her  better  fitted  for  addressing  the  king ; 
qnd  a  woman,  '  not  known  at  Jerusalem,'  but 
living  at  some  distance  in  the  country,  that  the 
ease  which  she  was  to  represent  might  not  too 
readily  be  inquired  into.— Poole's  Annotations. 


So  she  was  to  beg  of  his  majesty  the  life 
of  her  son,  as  the  only  hope  and  stay  of 
her  old  age.  She  had  no  prospect  of  re- 
lief, but  in  his  majesty's  clemency  ;  for 
lier  son's  enemies  were  so  malicious,  that 
nothing  else  could  satisfy  them  than  the 
interposition  of  the  king's  authority.' 

She  performed  her  part,  and  the  king 
granted  her  request;  whereupon,  with  a 
dutiful  acknowledgment  of  the  king's 
grace  and  favour  to  a  widow  woman,  and 
the  mother  of  one  only  child,  entreated 
another  grant  from  his  royal  bounty. 

Her  suit  was,  '  That  the  king  would  in 
the  first  place  be  pleased  to  pardon  his 
own  son  Absalom  ;  for  in  beginning  with 
a  compassion  to  him,  it  would  be  effectual- 
ly the  ratifying  of  her  own  son's  case,  in 
his  own  family.  Adding,  it  would  be  very 
hard  for  a  father  to  lose  one  son  by  mis- 
adventure, and  to  kill  another  himself.' 

The  king  presently  surmised  that  this 
was  a  contrivance  of  Joab's;  and  upon 
discoursing  with  the  woman,  found  his 
conjecture  to  be  true.  Upon  this  dis- 
covery David  called  for  Joab,  and  told 
him  that  he  had  gained  his  point,  and  was 
now  at  liberty  to  bring  Absalom  back 
again  when  he  thought  fit,  for  his  anger 
had  subsided,  and  he  had  freely  forgiven 
him. 

Joab  was  very  glad  to  hear  it,  did  re- 
verence to  the  king,  hastened  away  to 
Geshur,  and  brought  Absalom  back  with 
him  to  Jerusalem.  The  king  being  told 
of  his  coming,  sent  him  word  that  matters 
were  not  as  yet  in  so  good  a  disposition 
as  that  it  would  be  proper  for  him  to  ap- 
pear in  his  presence ;  so  that  Absalom 
kept  himself  out  of  the  king's  sight,  with- 
in his  own  walls,  and  with  his  private 
family.  He  had  gone  through  much 
care  and  trouble ;  and  his  entertainment 
of  late  had  been  rather  coarse  than  delicate; 
in  short,  he  had  lived  in  a  manner  not 
suitable  to  the  dignity  of  a  prince  of  the 
blood.  But  he  still  retained  the  beauty 
and  gracefulness  of  his  person  to  the  high- 
est degree  of  perfection.     He  cut  his  hair 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


307 


every  twelve  months :  in  the  compass  of 
which  time,  it  grew  up  to  the  weight  of 
two  hundred  Babylonish  shekels;  that  is, 
about  thirty-three  ounces.* 

In  this  obscure  state  and  condition  he 
lived  about  two  years  in  Jerusalem,  and 
had  children, — three  sons,  and  one  daugh- 
ter who  proved  to  be  a  miracle  of  beauty. 
She  was  married  afterward  to  Rehoboam 
the  son  of  Solomon  ;  and  had  a  son  by 
him  whose  name  was  Abia. 

Absalom,  finding  himself  uneasy  under 
his  present  circumstances,  sent  to  Joab  to 
use  his  interest  with   his  father  towards 
regaining  him   admission    into   his  royal 
presence ;  and,  in  short,  towards  procur- 
ing him  a  thorough  and  absolute  recon- 
ciliation.    He  waited  a  while  for  an  an-  I 
swer;  but  receiving  no  satisfaction  upon  I 
his  message,  sent  some  of  his  people  to  a 
neighbouring  field  of  Joab's,  to  burn  his  J 
corn  as  it  stood  there  upon  the  ground.       [ 

Joab  came  to  him,  and  expostulating 
the  matter  with  him,  asked  him  what  he  ! 
had  ever  done  to  deserve  such  unkind  I 
treatment  at  his  hands  ?  "  Why,"  Absa- 
lom replied,  "  I  had  no  way  of  getting 
you  to  me  but  that.  I  wrote  to  you  about 
interceding  for  me  to  my  father,  and  you 
have  done  nothing  in  it  I  perceive  :  pray, 
will  you  try  if  you  can  pacify  him ;  for  at 
this  rate,  if  he  goes  on  still  to  be  inexora- 


*  Mr  Harmer  is  incorrect  in  supposing  that  the 
inspired  historian  mentions  the  length  and  weight 
of  Absalom's  hair  with  commendation ;  he  de- 
scribes it,  on.  the  contrary,  as  the  instrument  of  his 
pride  and  vanity  ;  as  an  object  of  general  admira- 
tion among  the  courtiers  and  people  of  fashion  ; 
and  perhaps  as  one  of  the  means  by  which  he  stole 
the  hearts  of  the  thoughtless  and  the  gay,  who, 
less  favoured  by  nature,  might  be  proud  to  pur- 
chase it  for  the  purpose  of  interweaving  it  with 
their  own.  So  proud  was  that  worthless  person 
of  his  golden  locks,  that  he  wore  them  as  long  as 
he  could  endure  their  weight  ;  and  when  he  did 
poll  them,  at  certain  times,  his  vanity  prompted 
him  to  have  them  weighed,  that  it  might  be  seen 
how  much  they  excelled  those  of  other  men  ;  and 
the  more  to  expose  his  puerile  extravagance,  the 
weight  is  noted  in  the  scriptures  of  truth,  as 
amounting  to  "  two  hundred  shekels,"  which  is 
equal  to  a  little  more  than  two  Paris  pounds. — 
Paxton. 


ble,  I  am  in  a  worse  condition  at  home 
than  I  was  in  my  banishment." 

Joab  took  pity  of  him  upon  this  dis- 
course, and  plied  the  king  so  artfully  and 
so  effectually  on  his  behalf,  that  his  heart 
relented,  and  Absalom  was  immediately 
sent  for  to  attend  his  father.  He  cast 
himself  at  the  king's  feet  upon  his  first 
entrance  into  the  room,  and  begged  par- 
don for  all  his  misdoings ;  whereupon  Da- 
vid with  his  right  hand  took  him  up  again, 
with  the  assurance  of  a  solemn  promise, 
that  all  old  offences  should  be  for  ever 
buried  in  oblivion. 

Absalom  being  re-established  in  the 
good  opinion  and  esteem  of  his  father,  in 
a  short  time  furnished  himself  with  a  splen- 
did equipage,  with  chariots  and  horses ;  a 
numerous  train  and  retinue  of  servants, 
and  no  less  than  fifty  men  to  attend  him 
as  his  body-guard.f  He  was  the  first 
man  still  at  the  king's  levee ;  not  forget- 
ting, on  the  other  hand,  to  take  all  occa- 
sions also  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the 
multitude,  and  to  keep  fair  report  with  the 
people.  If  any  man  had  a  cause  to  be 
heard,  and  came  for  justice,  he  would  ad- 
dress him  in  these  familiar  terms,  "  Friend, 
what  is  thy  name  ?  What  countryman  ? 
What  business  ?  Can  I  do  thee  any  good?" 
and  the  like. 

When  he  found  people  out  of  humour, 
and  dissatisfied  with  a  cross  verdict,  or  a 
hard  judgment,  (as  they  pretended;) 
"  Why,  this  it  is,"  he  would  say,  "  the 
king  has  evil  counsellors  about  him.  Nay, 
and  God  help  him,  mistakes  the  point 
himself  sometimes,    as    well   as   another. 


•f-  When  he  was  recalled,  and  re-instated  in  the 
king's  favour,  it  is  no  wonder  that  a  young  prince, 
of  his  gay  temper,  should  multiply  his  attendants, 
and  set  up  a  rich  equipage,  to  attract  the  eyes  and 
admiration  of  mankind  ;  or  that  his  father,  whose 
riches  so  well  enabled  him  to  bear  the  expense  of 
this  magnificence,  and  whose  heart  rejoiced  per- 
haps to  see  his  son  the  favourite  of  the  people, 
did  not  restrain  him  in  it ;  because  a  man  of  an 
open  spirit  himself  loves  to  see  his  children  make 
a  figure  in  life,  which,  in  all  eastern  countries, 
was  a  thing  customary,  and  might  here  more  es- 
pecially be  expected  in  the  eldest,  and  heir  pre* 
sumptive  to  the  crown. 


308 


HISTORY  01 


[Book  IV. 


Well !  and  so  God  speed  ye,  my  friends ; 
if  I  had  been  in  somebody's  place,  things 
should  never  have  gone  at  this  rate." 
This  was  his  method  of  stealing  the  af- 
fections of  the  people,  and  moulding  them 
for  his  design ;  and  the  policy  proved  too 
effectual. 

Having  thus  worked  himself  into  the 
favour  of  the  people,  and  gained  over  to 
his  interest  a  very  numerous  and  powerful 
party  of  zealous  adherents,  he  began  am- 
bitiously to  aspire  after  his  father's  crown, 
and,  to  promote  his  impious  designs,  soli- 
cited of  David  permission  to  go  to  Hebron, 
in  order  to  perform  a  solemn  vow  that  he 
had  made  during  the  course  of  his  exile. 
Having  obtained  his  request,  he  took  a 
prodigious  multitude ;  some  whom  he  in- 
vited, and  others  that  came  voluntarily 
with  him.  Among  the  rest  was  Ahitho- 
phel  the  Gilonite,  David's  prime  minister, 
with  two  hundred  men  of  Jerusalem,  who 
came  thither  to  sacrifice,  without  the  least 
imagination  of  a  conspiracy.  At  length, 
however,  the  plot  took,  and  Absalom,  by 
the  common  voice  of  the  people,  was  pro- 
claimed king.* 


*  It  would  really  make  one  wonder,  how  any 
people  could  so  easily  abandon  a  prince,  so  brave, 
so  happy,  and  successful  as  David  had  been  ;  how 
they  could  forget  his  excellent  qualities,  or  be  un- 
mindful of  the  services  he  had  done  the  nation  ; 
but.  for  this  there  may  be  some  reasons  assigned. 
In  every  nation  there  are  always  some  turbulent 
and  discontented  spirits,  who  are  uneasy  with  the 
present  state  of  tilings,  and  promise  themselves 
some  benefit  from  a  change.  Saul's  party  was  not 
as  yet  entirely  extinct,  and  Joab,  who  was  David's 
general,  behaved  with  an  insufferable  pride  and 
insolence.  His  crimes,  which  were  very  black,  and 
which  the  king  durst  not  punish,  redounded 
upon  him  ;  and  the  king  himself  had  given  his 
enemies  umbrage  enough  against  him,  in  living 
with  Bathsheba,  after  he  had  murdered  her  hus- 
band :  but,  what  gave  the  fairest  pretence  of  all, 
was  the  obstruction  of  justice  in  the  civil  adminis- 
tration ;  for  had  there  not  been  something  of  this, 
Absalom  could  have  had  no  grounds  for  making  so 
loud  complaints.  These  were  some  of  the  causes  of 
so  general  a  revolt  in  the  people :  and  yet,  after  all, 
there  might  be  something  in  what  Abarbinel  ima- 
gines, namely,  that  neither  Absalom,  nor  the  elders 
of  Israel,  nor  the  rest  of  the  people,  who  were  mis- 
led by  them,  had  any  intention  to  divest  David  of  his 
crown  and  dignity,  much  less  to  take  away  his  life  ; 
but  only  to  substitute  Absalom,  as  coadjutor  to  him, 
for  the  execution  of  the  royal  authority,  during  his 


The  news  of  such  ungrateful  behaviour 
in  his  son,  struck  the  king  with  sur- 
prise and  consternation  ;  he  was  astonish- 
ed to  think  of  a  rebellious  usurpation, 
from  a  wretch  that  could  so  soon  forget 
his  own  late  guilt,  and  his  father's  mercy, 
as  to  revolt  into  a  second  apostasy,  so 
much  more  flagitious  than  the  former;  for 
he  was  first  to  lay  violent  hands  upon  his 
father's  kingdom,  though  he  himself  knew 
it  to  be  the  special  gift  of  God ;  and  after 
that,  to  practise  upon  his  very  life  too. 

David  being  in  this  strait,  bethought 
himself  of  passing  the  river  Jordan  into 
some  place  more  secure ;  and  therefore, 
with  the  advice  of  some  of  his  intimate 
friends  what  course  to  take  in  this  sedi- 
tious juncture,  he  resolved  to  leave  the 
care  of  his  palace  to  ten  of  his  concubines, 
quit  Jerusalem,  and  commit  the  issue  to 
God.  He  accordingly  departed  with  great 
multitudes  of  people  that  carefully  ad- 
hered to  him,  and  joined  themselves  in 
his  train,  especially  his  own  six  hundred 
friends,  that  kept  so  close  to  him  when  he 
was  hunted  up  and  down  by  Saul,  from 
one  hiding-place  to  another. 

The  high  priests,  Abiathar  and  Zadok, 
and  all  the  Levites  there,  were  for  going 
with  him,  and  taking  the  ark  along  with 
them  ;  but  upon  very  good  reasons  he 
prevailed  with  them  to  stay,  telling  them, 
that  God's  providence  was  sufficient  for 
his  preservation,  without  any  necessity  of 
the  holy  ark  being  upon  the  place,  f 


life-time,  and  to  be  his  successor  after  his  death. 
For,  as  it  would  have  been  monstrously  wicked  in 
Absalom  to  have  designed  the  destruction  of  so 
kind  a  father  ;  so  it  is  hard  to  conceive,  how  he 
could  have  gained  to  his  party  such  a  multitude  of 
abettors  in  so  villanous  an  enterprise.  This  how- 
ever we  may  observe,  that  David  looked  upon 
their  proceedings  as  an  attempt  upon  his  life  ;  and 
that,  whatever  their  first  intentions  were,  they 
came  at  last  to  a  resolution  to  have  him  killed,  to 
make  way  for  their  own  better  security ; — which 
may  be  a  sufficient  warning  to  all  men,  never  to 
begin  any  tiling  that  is  wrong,  for  fear  that  it 
should  lead  them  to  the  commission  of  that  which 
they  at  first  abhorred,  when  they  find  they  cannot 
be  safe  in  one  wickedness,  without  perpetrating  a 
greater. —  Calmefs  and  Patricks  Commentaries. 
f   Either   David  might  think  it  not  decent  to 


Chap.  VI.]  THE  BIBLE. 

His  last  charge  to  them  was,  to  secure 
some  private  method  of  conveyance,  where- 
by to  send  him  speedy  intelligence  of 
whatever  might  occur  during  his  absence, 
that  related  to  his  most  important  concern  ; 
and  they  acquitted  themselves  of  that 
commission  with  great  industry,  by  em- 
ploying Ahimaaz,  the  son  of  Zadok,  and 
Jonathan,  the  son  of  Abiathar  :  and  Ittai, 
the  Gittite,  had  so  great  a  zeal  for  his  own 
personal  duty,  and  the  service  of  his  mas- 
ter, that  he  forced  himself  along  with  him, 
though  he  pressed  him  earnestly  against  it. 

While  the  kino;  and  his  adherents  were 
ascending  mount  Olivet*  .  barefooted,  and 


'  309 

with  every  token  of  humiliation,  tears 
filled  the  general's  eye.  He  received  in- 
formation that  Ahithophel  had  deserted 
his  cause,  and  revolted  to  Absalom.     This 


have  the  ark  wander  about  witli  him  he  knew  not 
whither,  and  so  expose  it  to  all  the  hazards  and 
inconveniencies  which  he  himself  was  like  to  un- 
dergo ;  or  he  might  suppose,  that  this  would  be  a 
means  to  expose  the  priests  to  the  violence  of 
Absalom's  rage,  (as  he  had  before  exposed  them 
to  Saul  s  fury  upon  another  occasion)  if  God,  in 
his  judgment,  should  permit  him  to  prevail  ;  or 
this  might  look  as  a  distrust  of  the  Divine  good- 
ness, and  that  he  placed  more  confidence  in  the 
token  of  God's  presence,  than  he  did  in  God  him- 
self, who  had  preserved  him  in  the  long  persecu- 
tion of  Saul,  when  he  had  no  ark  with  him.  But 
what  seems  the  chief  reason,  at  that  time,  for  his 
sending  back  the  ark,  was, — that  the  priests  and 
Levites,  (of  whose  fidelity  he  was  sufficiently  sa- 
tisfied,) by  giving  him  intelligence  of  the  enemy's 
motions,  might  do  him  more  service  in  Jerusalem 
than  they  could  do  in  his  camp. — Poole's  Anno- 
tations. 

*  The  mount  of  Olives,  or  Olivet,  is  situate 
east  of  Jerusalem,  and  separated  from  the  city  by 
the  brook  Kidrou,  and  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat. 
On  this  mount  Solomon  built  temples  to  the  gods 
of  the  Ammonites  and  Moahites,  out  of  complai- 
sance to  his  wives,  iience  the  mount  of  Olives  is 
called  the  mountain  of  Corruption,  2  Kings  xxiii. 
13.  Josephus  says,  it  is  five  stadia  (or  furlongs) 
from  Jerusalem.  Luke  says,  a  sabbath  day's 
journey  ;  that  is,  about  eight  lurlongs.  '1  he  mount 
of  Olives  has  three  summits,  ranging  from  north 
to  south  ;  from  the  middle  summit  our  Saviour 
ascended  into  heaven  ;  on  the  south  summit  Solo- 
mon built  temples  to  his  idols  ;  the  north  summit 
is  distant  two  furlongs  from  the  middlemost.  This 
Ms  the  highest,  and  is  commonly  called  Oalilee,  or 
Viri  Gahlaii,  from  the  expression  used  by  the 
angels,  'ye  men  of  Galilee.'  In  the  time  ot  king 
Uzziah,  the  mou.  t  of  Olives  was  so  shattered  by 
an  earthquake,  that  half  the  earth  on  the  western 
side  fell,  and  rolled  four  furlongs,  or  live  hundred 
paces,  toward  the  opposite  mountain  on  the  east  ; 
so  that  the  earth  blocked  up  the  highways,  ariid 
covered  the  king's  gardens.  Though  this  mount 
was  named  from  its  olive-trees,  yet  it  abounded  in 
other  trees  also.  It  was  a  station  tor  signals, 
which  were  communicated  from  hence  by  lights 


and  flames,  on  various  occasions.  They  were 
made,  of  long  staves  of  cedar,  canes,  pinewood, 
with  coarse  flax,  which,  while  on  fire,  were  shaken 
about  till  they  were  answered  from  other  signals. 
The  names  of  the  various  districts  of  this  mount 
deserve  attention,  as,  (1.)  Geth-semane,  the  place 
of  oil-presses  ;  (2.)  Bethany,  the  house  of  dates  ; 
(3.)  Bethphage,  the  house  of  green  figs,  and  pro- 
bably, other  names  in  different  places.  The  Tal- 
mudists  say,  that  on  mount  Olivet  were  shops, 
kept  by  the  children  of  Canaan,  of  which  shops 
some  were  in  Bethany  ;  and  that  under  two  large 
cedars  which  stood  there,  were  four  shops,  where 
things  necessary  for  purification  were  constantly 
on  sale,  such  as  doves  or  pigeons  for  the  women, 
&c.  Probably,  these  shops  were  supplied  by 
country  persons,  who  hereby  avoided  paying  rent 
for  their  sittings  in  the  temple.  The  mention  of 
these  residences  implies  that  this  mount  had  va- 
rious dwellings  upon  it.  There  was  also  a  collec- 
tion of  water  at  Bethany,  on  this  mount ;  which 
was  by  some  used  as  a  place  of  purification.  The 
small  building,  erected  over  the  place  of  ascension, 
is  contiguous  to  a  Turkish  mosque,  and  is  in  pos- 
session of  the  Turks,  who  show  it  for  profit  ;  and 
subject  the  Christians  to  an  annual  contribution 
for  permission  to  officiate  within  it  on  ascension 
day.  From  the  mosque  is  a  fine  and  commanding 
view  of  Jerusalem,  mount  Sion,  and  the  Dead  sea. 
Dr  Clarke  found  on  the  top  of  the  mount  of  Olives 
a  vast  and  very  ancient  crypt,  in  "  the  shape  of  a 
cone,  of  immense  size ;  the  vertex  alone  appear- 
ing level  with  the  soil,  and  exhibiting  by  its  sec- 
tion at  the  top  a  small  circular  aperture  ;  the  sides 
extending  below  to  a  great  depth,  lined  with  a 
hard  red  stucco."  tie  thinks  it  to  have  been  an 
idolatrous  construction,  perhaps  as  old  as  Solomon, 
and  profaned  by  Josiah,  2  Kings  xxiii.  13.  The 
number  of  crypts  about  Jerusalem  is  well  deserv- 
ing attention.  If  Solomon  built  this  crypt,  he 
might,  as  the  Jews  say  he  did,  construct  one  of 
the  same  kind  for  the  reception  of  the  ark,  &c.  in 
case  of  danger  :  but  this  must  continue  undecided, 
till  the  'times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled.'  "  So 
commanding  is  the  view  of  Jerusalem  afforded  in 
this  situation,  (says  Dr  Clarke,)  that  the  eye  roams 
over  all  the  streets,  and  around  the  walls,  as  if  in 
the  survey  of  a  plan  or  model  of  the  city.  The 
most  conspicuous  object  is  the  mosque,  erected 
upon  the  site  and  foundations  of  the  temple  of 
Solomon."  Hence  the  observation  of  the  evange- 
list, (Luke  xix.  37.)  that  Jesus  '  beheld  the  city, 
and  wept  over  it,'  acquires  additional  force.  "  To- 
wards the  south  appears  the  lake  Asphaltites,  a 
noble  expanse  of  water,  seeming  to  be  within  a 
short  ride  from  the  city  ;  but  the  real  distance  is 
much  greater.  Lofty  mountains  inclose  it  with 
piodigious  grandeur.  To  the  north  are  seen  the 
verdant  and  fertile  pastures  of  the  plain  of  Jericho, 
watered  by  the  Jordan,  whose  course  may  be  dis- 
tinctly discerned." —  Calrnet. 


310 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


proving  to  David  one  of  the  most  affect- 
ing circumstances  that  had  befallen  him, 
he  prayed  to  God  to  infatuate  him,  and 
to  turn  his  wisdom  into  foolishness.  He 
was  a  clear-sighted  man,  and  of  great 
penetration,  and  there  was  nothing  David 
so  much  dreaded  as  the  policy  of  his 
counsels. 

When  he  had  gained  the  mountain  top, 
he  looked  back  upon  the  city,  shedding 
tears,  and  uttering  ejaculations,  as  one 
that  was  now  taking  his  last  leave  of  his 
government. 

In  this  state  of  perplexity,  he  casually 
met  his  tried  friend  and  faithful  subject 
Hushai,  with  his  garments  torn,  and  aslies 
upon  his  head,  lamenting  the  transitory 
state  of  all  things  below  the  sun.  David 
bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  bear  the 
present  calamity  with  resignation  and  pa- 
tience ;  and  urged  him  finally,  with  great 
earnestness,  to  go  back  again  to  Jerusa- 
lem, where  he  might  behave  himself  like 
one  of  Absalom's  party ;  pry  into  his 
counsels  and  designs,  and  by  thwarting 
Ahithophel's  measures,  do  his  master  in- 
finitely better  service,  than  by  staying 
with  him. 

Hushai  yielded  to  his  persuasions;  and 
so  taking  his  leave  of  David,  returned  to 
Jerusalem,  Absalom  himself  coming  thi- 
ther not  long  after. 

David  in  the  mean  while  going  for- 
ward, met  with  Ziba,  the  servant  of  Me- 
phibosheth,  to  whom  he  had  committed  the 
management  of  the  estate  he  had  bestow- 
ed upon  the  son  of  his  dear  friend  Jona- 
than. He  was  driving  two  asses  before 
him,  and  offered  David  and  his  men  to 
take  what  they  pleased  of  what  he  had,  if 
there  was  any  thing  they  liked. 

The  question  was  put  to  Ziba  upon  this 
occasion,  '  What  was  become  of  his  mas- 
ter?' he  answered,  '  He  left  him  at  Jeru- 
salem, in  hopes  that  upon  the  present 
distracted  state  of  affairs,  the  people,  in 
honour  to  the  memory  of  his  father  Saul, 
might  be  prevailed  upon  to  choose  him 
king.'    David,  j  ustly  incensed  at  so  flagrant 


an  instance  of  ingratitude,  resumed  his 
grant  of  the  lands  made  to  Mephibosheth, 
and  bestowed  them  on  Ziba,  as  the  more 
deserving  person  of  the  two.  This  was  a 
token  of  favour  and  bounty  very  accept- 
able to  Ziba. 

As  the  king  proceeded  in  his  march, 
and  approached  Bahurim,  there  came  out 
of  that  place  a  kinsman  of  Saul's  whose 
name  was  Shimei,*  the  son  of  Gera,  and 
assaulted  him  with  curses  and  with  stones, 
and   threw   dust  at   him,f  and   the  more 


*  Whether  this  man  had  been  a  personal  sufferer 
in  the  fall  of  Saul's  family,  or  what  else  had  exas- 
perated him  against  David,  it  no  where  appears  ; 
but  it  seems  as  if  he  had  conceived  some  very 
heinous  offence  against  him,  when  neither  the 
presence  of  a  king,  nor  the  terror  of  his  guards, 
could  restrain  him  from  throwing  stones,  and  utter- 
ing bitter  speeches  against  him:  and  it  looks  as  if 
the  king  were  fallen  into  the  utmost  contempt,  when 
one  private  man  could  think  of  venting  his  malice 
at  him,  in  so  gross  a  manner,  with  impunity. — 
Howell's  History. 

f  In  almost  every  part  of  Asia,  those  who  de- 
mand justice  against  a  criminal  throw  dust  upon 
him,  signifying  that  he  deserves  to  lose  his  life,  and 
be  cast  into  the  grave  ;  and  that  this  is  the  true 
interpretation  of  the  action,  is  evident  from  an  im- 
precation in  common  use  among  the  Turks  and 
Persians,  Be  covered  with  earth  ;  Earth  be  upon 
thy  head.  We  have  two  remarkable  instances  of 
casting  dust  mentioned  in  scripture ;  the  first  is  that 
here  recorded  of  Shimei,  who  gave  vent  to  his 
secret  hostility  to  David,  when  he  fled  before  his 
rebellious  son,  by  throwing  stones  at  him,  and 
casting  dust.  It  was  an  ancient  custom,  in  those 
warm  and  arid  countries,  to  lay  the  dust  before  a 
person  of  distinction,  and  particularly  before  kings 
and  princes,  by  sprinkling  the  ground  with  water. 
To  throw  dust  into  the  air  while  a  person  was 
passing,  was  therefore  an  act  of  great  disrespect  ; 
to  do  so  before  a  sovereign  prince,  an  indecent 
outrage.  But  it  is  clear  from  the  explanation  ot 
the  custom,  that  Shimei  meant  more  than  disre- 
spect and  outrage  to  an  afflicted  king,  whose  sub- 
ject he  was ;  he  intended  to  signify  by  that  action, 
that  David  was  unfit  to  live,  and  that  the  time  was 
at  last  arrived  to  offer  him  a  sacrifice  to  the  ambi- 
tion and  vengeance  of  the  house  of  Saul.  This 
view  of  his  conduct  is  confirmed  by  the  behaviour 
of  the  Jews  to  the  apostle  Paul,  when  they  seized 
him  in  the  temple,  and  had  nearly  succeeded  in 
putting  him  to  death  ;  they  cried  out  "  Away  with 
such  a  fellow  from  the  earth,  for  it  is  not  fit  that 
he  should  live  ;  and  as  they  cried  out  and  cast  off 
their  clothes,  and  threw  dust  into  the  air,  the  chief 
captain  commanded  him  to  be  brought  into  the 
castle."  A  great  similarity  appears  between  the 
conduct  of  the  Jews  on  this  occasion  and  the  be- 
haviour of  the  peasants  in  Persia,  when  they  go  to 
court  to  complain  of  the  governors,  whose  opprcs- 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


311 


David's  friends  took  his  part  on  the  one 
side,  the  more  foul  and  scandalous  were 
the  reproaches  of  Shimei  on  the  other. 
He  reviled  David  with  being  a  delighter 
in  blood,  and  the  cause  of  all  their  miseries, 
and  bade  him  depart  out  of  the  country, 
like  an  iusolent,  execrable  wretch;  giving 
God  thanks  for  that  retaliation  upon  him, 
by  his  son,  for  the  indignities  that  he  had 
formerly  put  upon  his  lord  and  father. 

These  rude  and  barbarous  outrages 
provoked  the  indignation  of  all  that  heard 
them ;  and  Abishai  had  certainly  killed 
him  for  it,  if  David  had  not  interposed, 
and  prevented  it,  by  thus  addressing  him  : 
"  Pray,  hold  your  hand,  and  do  not  add 
mischief  to  mischief.  Things  are  bad 
enough  already,  and  do  not  make  them 
worse.  I  look  upon  the  clamours  of  this 
clown,  as  I  do  upon  the  bawling  of  a  mad 
dog,  that  God  had  let  loose  upon  me;  and 
his  holy  will  be  done.  Why  should  you 
wonder  at  the  unmannerly  revilings  of  a 
scoundrel,  when  at  the  same  time  I  am 
worse  treated  by  my  own  ungracious  son  ? 
But  there  is  a  merciful  God  above,  who 
in  the  end  will  deliver  the  innocent  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  oppressors,  and  give 
us  victory  over  all  our  enemies;  where- 
fore in  the  name,  and  under  the  protection 
of  that  God,  let  us  proceed  forward  on 
jur  journey." 

As  David  advanced  coolly,  on  one  side 
of  the  mountain,  Shimei  ran  railing  and 
cursing  over-against  him  on  the  other. 

After  a  long  and  wearisome  march, 
they  arrived  at  length  at  the  bank  of  the 


sions  they  can  no  longer  endure.  They  carry 
their  complaints  against  their  governors  by  com- 
panies, consisting  of  several  hundreds,  and  some- 
times of  a  thousand  ;  they  repair  to  that  gate  of 
the  palace  nearest  to  which  their  prince  is  most 
likely  to  be,  where  they  set  themselves  to  make 
the  most  horrid  cries,  tearing  their  garments,  and 
throwing  dust  into  the  air,  at  the  same  time  de- 
manding justice.  The  king,  upon  hearing  these 
cries,  sends  to  know  the  occasion  of  them  :  the 
people  deliver  their  complaints  in  writing,  upon 
which  he  lets  them  know  that  he  will  commit  the 
cognisance  of  the  affair  to  such  an  one  as  he 
names  ;  in  consequence  of  this,  justice  is  usually 
obtained. — Paxton's  Script,  lllust. 


river  Jordan,  where  David  mustered  and 
refreshed  his  troops. 

Absalom,  and  his  great  counsellor  Ahi- 
thophel,  were  by  this  time  come  to  Jerusa- 
lem, where  they  were  received  with  shouts 
and  acclamations  by  a  vast  concourse  or 
people;  and  among  the  rest,  by  David's 
friend  Hushai,  who,  together  with  the 
people,  exclaimed,  '  God  save  the  king,' 
wishing  him  a  long  and  happy  reign. 

Absalom,  upon  this  encounter,  asked 
Hushai,  how  it  came  to  pass,  that  he  who 
was  esteemed  so  eminent  and  faithful  a 
servant  to  his  father,  should  now  desert 
his  former  master,  and  come  over  to  him. 

Hushai  answered  him  discreetly,  thus: 
"  There  is  no  contending  with  the  will  of 
God,  and  the  consent  of  the  people;  and 
so  long  as  you  have  them  on  your  side, 
you  may  be  sure  of  my  fidelity.  It  is 
from  God  that  you  have  received  your 
kingdom;  and  if  you  can  think  me  worthy 
of  a  place  in  the  number  of  those  you  will 
vouchsafe  to  own,  you  shall  find  me  as 
true  to  you  as  ever  I  was  to  your  father. 
No  man  is  to  account  the  present  state  of 
things  grievous,  so  long  as  the  govern- 
ment continues  in  the  same  line,  and  a 
son  of  the  same  family  succeeds  to  the 
throne."  These  words  of  Hushai  to  Ab- 
salom put  an  end  to  all  jealousies. 

The  most  material  business 'now  to  be 
pursued  was,  to  determine  on  the  next 
step,  and  Ahithophel  was  called  in  to  ad- 
vise about  it.  The  counsel  he  gave  was, 
for  Absalom  to  go  in  and  lie  with  his 
father's  concubines;  enforcing  his  advice 
by  observing,  "This  would  fix  the  people, 
and  make  them  so  much  the  bolder  and 
firmer  to  the  present  state,  when  they 
should  see  the  breach  advanced  beyond 
all  possibility  of  reconciliation;  for  as 
matters  now  stand,  people  would  be  apt 
to  say,  Why,  the  father  and  the  son  may 
come  to  an  agreement  for  ought  we  know; 
and  if  they  should  chance  to  adjust  differ- 
ences in  the  conclusion,  where  are  we? 
so  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  declare 
under  such  uncertainty." 


312 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV. 


Absalom,  in  short,  took  Ahithophel's 
counsel,  and  commanded  his  servants  to 
erect  him  a  tent  in  the  palace,  where  he 
lay  with  his  father's  concubines  in  the 
sight  of  the  people.  This  was  according 
to  what  the  prophet  Nathan  foretold 
would  befall  David. 

Having  proceeded  agreeably  to  Ahi- 
thophel's  plan,  the  next  point  under  con- 
sideration was,  how  they  should  proceed 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  war?  His  an- 
swer was  this,  "  That  if  they  would  but 
put  him  at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand 
chosen  men,  he  would  undertake  there- 
with to  destroy  David,  and  secure  the 
public  peace  to  the  people,  and  the  go- 
vernment to  Absalom  both  at  one  stroke." 

Absalom  was  much  of  Ahithophel's  opin- 
ion; but  willing  however  to  have  Hushai's 
also,  he  demanded  his  advice  upon  the 
case. 

Hushai,  who  was  David's  true  friend,  and 
ever  so  reputed,  finding  the  advice  to  be 
shrewd  and  dangerous,  did  what  he  could 
to  divert  Absalom  from  it,  by  giving  his 
judgment  another  way,  after  this  manner: 

"  Sir,  I  need  not  tell  you  that  your 
father  is  a  valiant  man,  and  that  he  hath 
a  great  many  brave  men  about  him,  with 
whom,  in  all  encounters  he  hath  ever 
come  off  victorious.  You  know  him  to 
be  a  soldier  too,  and  a  man  of  stratagem, 
as  well  as  of  courage.  He  will  most  in- 
fallibly have  advice  of  our  approach;  and 
in  some  valley,  wood,  or  behind  some 
rock,  perhaps,  lie  ready  to  betray  us  into 
an  ambush.  Or  suppose  we  should  at- 
tempt to  engage  them,  they  will  order 
the  matter  so  as  to  manage  their  retreat 
by  little  and  little,  till  they  have  drawn 
us  into  the  snare,  when  David's  whole 
body  will  fall  upon  us  before  we  know 
where  we  are.*     Now  I  submit  myself  to 

•  There  is  something  very  plausible,  and  elegant 
too,  in  the  advice,  which  Hushai  gives  Absalom, 
not  immediately  to  pursue,  and  fall  upon  David. 
The  text  reads  thus : « Thou  knowest  thy  father  and 
his  men,  that  they  be  mighty  men,  and  they  be  chaf- 
ed in  their  minds,  as  a  bear  robbed  of  her  whelps,' 
2  Sam.  xvii.  8.     Every  one  knows,  that  a  bear  is 


your  judgment,  betwixt  the  consternation 
it  will  cause  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
encouragement  it  will  give  on  the  other, 
what  a  confusion  this  way  of  proceeding 
will  create  among  us.  And  now  you 
have  heard  both  opinions,  you  may  follow 
either  Ahithophel's  or  mine,  which  ap- 
pears most  reasonable." 

Having  given  thus  far  what  was  not  to 
be  done,  he  craved  leave  to  observe  what 
he  thought  advisable  under  these  circum- 
stances to  be  done. 

"  Let  the  whole  nation  of  the  Israel- 
ites," he  said,  "  be  summoned  to  appear, 
with  all  their  troops,  at  some  certain  time 
and  place,  to  make  war  against  David. 
And  when  they  are  met,  do  you  yourself," 
addressing  himself  to  Absalom,  "take  the 
command  of  the  whole  into  your  own  hand, 
without  trusting  to  deputies.  When  this 
is  done,  David  must  either  expose  himself 
in  the  plain  field,  or  fly  to  some  strong 


a  very  fierce  creature  ;  but  she-bears  (as  Aristotle 
tells  us)  are  more  fierce  than  the  male,  particularly 
when  they  have  young  ones,  but  most  of  all  when 
these  young  ones  are  taken  from  them.  When 
she  returns  to  her  den,  and  misses  the  objects  of 
her  love  and  care,  she  becomes  almost  frantic  with 
rage.  Disregarding  every  consideration  of  danger 
to  herself,  she  attacks,  with  intense  ferocity,  every 
animal  that  comes  in  her  way,  and  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  her  heart,  will  dare  to  attack  even  a  band 
of  armed  men.  The  Russians  of  Kamtchatka 
never  venture  to  fire  on  a  young  bear  when  the 
mother  is  near ;  for,  if  the  cub  drop,  she  becomes 
enraged  to  a  degree  little  short  of  madness;  and  if 
she  get  sight  of  the  enemy,  will  only  quit  her 
revenge  with  her  life.  A  more  desperate  attempt, 
therefore,  can  scarcely  be  performed,  than  to  carry 
off  her  young  in  her  absence.  The  moment  she 
returns,  and  misses  them,  her  passions  are  inflam- 
ed ;  her  scent  enables  her  to  track  the  plunderer  ; 
and  unless  he  has  reached  some  place  of  safety 
before  the  infuriated  animal  overtake  him,  his 
only  safety  is  in  dropping  one  of  the  cubs,  and 
continuing  to  flee  ;  for  the  mother,  attentive  to  its 
safety,  carries  it  home  to  her  den  before  she  re- 
news the  pursuit.  For  this  reason  the  scripture 
makes  frequent  use  of  this  similitude:  'I  will  be 
unto  them  as  a  lion,'  says  God,  in  relation  to  the 
people  of  Israel,  '  and  as  a  leopard  by  the  way  ;  I 
will  meet  them  as  a  bear  that  is  bereaved  of  her 
whelps,  and  will  rend  the  caul  of  their  hearts.' 
£o  that  the  purport  of  Hushai's  advice  is  founded 
on  this  maxim,  that  we  should  not  drive  an  enemy 
to  despair,  nor  attack  I  hose  who  are  resolved  tc 
J  sell  their  lives  at  as  dear  a  rate  as  possible." — Cal- 
mefs  commentary,  §*c. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


313 


holds,  or  walled  towns.  If  he  keeps  the 
plain,  his  forces  are  so  few  and  inconsid- 
erable, compared  to  the  many  thousands 
in  Israel,  wholly  devoted  to  your  interest, 
who  will  value  themselves  upon  an  oppor- 
tunity being  offered  them  to  exert  their 
zeal  in  serving  their  prince  and  country, 
that  your  power  and  strength  being  here- 
by so  much  superior  to  his,  you  are  sure 
of  obtaining  an  easy  conquest  over  him. 
Or  if  he  shall  go  the  other  way  to  work, 
of  hiding  and  skulking  up  and  down,  to 
keep  upon  the  defensive,  there  are  twenty 
ways,  by  mining,  battering,  starving,  and 
the  like,  that  will  certainly  reduce  him." 

This  advice  was  generally  applauded, 
insomuch  that  Absalom  preferred  it  to  the 
counsel  of  Ahithophel,  and  the  event 
proved  that  the  interposing  hand  of  an 
all-wise  Providence  had  great  concern 
in  it. 

Hushai  having  brought  matters  to  this 
issue,  hastened  with  all  possible  speed  to 
the  high-priests  Zadok  and  Abiathar; 
with  an  account  of  what  had  passed  at  the 
council  betwixt  Ahithophel  and  himself, 
and  how  things  were  carried;  desiring 
them  to  despatch  an  express  immediately 
to  David,  with  a  caution  by  all  means  to 
pass  the  river  Jordan  that  very  night,  for 
if  his  son  should  either  get  intelligence 
where  he  was,  or  change  his  mind,  he 
might  fall  in  upon  him  before  he  could 
get  over. 

The  high-priests  had  lodged  their  sons, 
for  the  sake  of  convenience,  out  of  the 
town,  as  well  as  provided  a  trusty  maid- 
servant, to  carry  them  the  intelligence, 
which  they  were  to  transmit  forthwith  to 
David.  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  informa- 
tion they  made  what  haste  they  could 
with  it,  as  became  dutiful  and  faithful  ser- 
vants. But  by  the  time  they  were  ad- 
vanced about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  upon 
their  way,  they  were  discovered  by  cer- 
tain horsemen ;  and  Absalom  having  notice 
of  it,  gave  order  immediately  for  the  tak- 
ing of  them  up. 

The  messengers  were  quickly  aware  of 


their  danger,  and  so  turned  out  of  the  way 
towards  Bahurim,  a  small  village  near 
Jerusalem,  where  they  met  with  a  woman 
who  was  so  charitable  as  to  conceal  them, 
by  letting  them  down  into  a  well,  and 
throwing  some  skins  of  beasts  over  the 
mouth  of  it. 

Although  they  were  concealed  with 
much  art  and  expedition,  the  pursuers 
came  up  to  the  house,  and  examined  the 
woman  very  strictly  whether  she  had 
seen  any  such  men  or  not.  She  acknow- 
ledged that  two  such  men  drank  at  the 
gate  just  before  and  then  went  their  way, 
assuring  them  moreover,  that  if  they  made 
haste  after  them  they  might  easily  be 
overtaken. 

When  they  had  searched  up  and  down 
a  long  time  after  them  to  no  purpose,  they 
returned  to  their  quarters  with  their  labour 
for  their  pains. 

As  soon  as  the  woman  saw  that  all  was 
safe,  and  the  coast  clear,  she  drew  the 
young  men  out  of  the  well,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded on  their  journey  time  enough  to 
give  David  a  seasonable  account  of  Ab- 
salom's design.  It  was  late  before  they 
got  thither,  but  David  however  got  his 
people  over  the  river  the  same  night. 

Ahithophel  was  much  piqued  that  Ab- 
salom should  reject  his  counsel,  and  at 
the  same  time  embrace  Hushai's ;  so  that 
he  mounted  his  ass,  and  went  home  to 
Galmon,  where  he  called  his  family  toge- 
ther, and  told  them  the  advice  he  had 
given  Absalom,  but  that  he  would  not 
follow  it;  and  that  in  a  short  time  that 
refusal  would  be  his  ruin ;  for  David 
would  certainly  get  the  better  of  him, 
and  soon  after  recover  his  kingdom. 

This  conduct  was  followed  by  this  de 
claration,  "  Now,  it  is  more  honourable 
for  me  to  die  with  resolution  like  a  man 
of  honour,  than  to  wait  sneaking  till  David 
returns,  and  then  to  be  put  to  death  at 
last  for  the  services  I  have  done  the  son 
against  the  father." 

Having  thus  spoken,  he  withdrew  into 
a  private  apartment  in  his  house,  agitated 
2  R 


814 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IV 


with  grief,  and  hanged  himself,* — con- 
scious of  his  unjust  and  wicked  behaviour 
in  espousing  the  impious  claim  of  a  re- 
bellious son  against  the  equitable  govern- 
ment of  a  pious  and  indulgent  father. 

David  having  now  passed  the  river  Jor- 
dan, came  to  Mahanaim,  the  fairest  and 
strongest  city  in  that  tract  of  land;  where 
he  was  treated  by  the  principal  persons  of 
the  whole  country  with  the  highest  in- 
stances of  generosity  and  good-will,  partly 
out  of  humanity,  with  regard  to  the  neces- 
sities of  his  present  condition,  and  partly 
out  of  reverence,  in  the  memory  of  his 
former  state. 

There  was  Shobi,  a  prince  of  Ammon  ; 
Barzillai  and  Machir,  two  principal  men 
of  Gilead,  &c,  these  generous  persons 
took  such  care  of  David  and  his  people, 
and  provided  for  them  all  that  could  possi- 
bly minister  to  their  comfort  and  refresh- 
ment, after  an  anxious  state  of  mind  and 
toilsome  adventure. 

Absalom  in  the  mean  time  had  passed 
the  river  with  a  mighty  army  against  his 
father,  and  encamped  not  far  from  Ma- 
hanaim, a  town  of  Gilead,  having  made 
his  kinsman,  Amasa,  general,  in  the  place 
of  Joab,  Amasa  being  the  son  of  Ithra 
by  Abigail.  Now  Abigail,  and  Zeruiah, 
the  mother  of  Joab,  were  sisters. 

King  David  having  reviewed  his  forces, 
found  he   mustered   no   more    than  four 


*  It  has  been  asked,  what  motive  could  induce 
a  privy  counsellor  of  David,  who  was  held  in  such 
high  consideration,  to  enter  into  Absalom's  con- 
spiracy ?  The  pride  of  overturning  a  throne,  of 
which  he  was  the  support,  and  the  hope  of  reign- 
ing himself  under  the  name  of  Absalom,  will,  per- 
haps, account  for  the  conspiracy,  but  not  for  the 
incest  which  he  advised  Absalom  to  commit.  Ahi- 
thophel  was  the  father  of  Eliam  the  father  of  Bath- 
sheba,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  think  that  he 
wished  to  revenge  his  grand-daughter ;  particularly 
when  we  consider  the  infamous  advice  which  he 
gave,  his  eagerness  for  pursuing  David,  and  the 
desire  he  expressed  to  smite  the  king  himself. 
His  suicide  was  as  deliberate  as  his  hatred  :  he 
was  one  of  those  men  who  are  as  useful  friends  as 
they  are  dangerous  enemies,  equally  able  in  good 
and  evil,  who  employ  their  talents  in  the  service 
of  their  passions,  do  nothing  by  halves,  and  are 
models  ot  guilt  or  of  virtue. — Home. 


thousand  strong;  but,  notwithstanding  the 
smallness  of  his  number,  he  determined,  by 
the  strength  and  favour  of  the  Almighty, 
to  attack  his  insolent  and  impious  son, 
esteeming  such  resolution  preferable  to  a 
lame  inactivity,  that  might  furnish  him 
with  an  opportunity  of  making  an  assault. 

Thus  resolved,  he  appointed  his  officers 
their  respective  departments,  and  divided 
the  little  body  of  his  army  into  three  parts. 
Joab  had  the  first  division ;  Abishai  the 
second;  and  his  old  friend  Ittai  the  Git- 
tite  f  the  third. 

David  would  have  gone  himself  in  per- 
son; but  his  friends,  for  very  good  reasons, 
opposed  it :  for,  said  they,  "  should  we 
be  beaten,  and  you  yourself  in  the  field, 
the  whole  cause  would  be  lost  without  any 
resource.  But  otherwise,  if  one  division 
should  have  the  ill-hap  to  be  worsted,  the 
rest  might  repair  to  himself,  and  be  em- 
powered thereby  to  reinforce  themselves 
to  make  another  sally  on  the  enemy. 
Beside,  the  king's  not  being  upon  the 
spot,  would  possess  the  enemy  with  an 
apprehension  that  he  had  another  body 
of  troops  in  reserve." 

This  motion  was  carried,  and  the  king 
was  prevailed  upon  to  stay  at  Mahanaim. 
David  then  abjured  his  friends  by  all  the 
rites  of  honour,  gratitude,  and  conscience, 
to  acquit  themselves  in  their  duty ;  and 
in  case  God  should  give  them  a  victory, 


f  In  2  Sam.  xv.  18.  we  read,  that  'all  the  Git- 
tites,  six  hundred  men,  which  came  after  him,'  viz. 
David,  'from  Gath,  passed  on  before  the  king;' 
but  who  those  Gittites  were  it  is  hard  to  deter- 
mine, because  we  have  no  mention  made  of  them 
in  any  other  part  of  scripture.  Some  imagine 
that  they  were  natives  of  Gath,  who,  taken  with 
the  fame  of  David's  piety  and  happy  successes, 
came  along  with  Ittai,  whom  the  Jews  suppose  to 
have  been  the  son  of  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  and 
being  proselyted  to  the  Jewish  religion,  became 
part  or  David's  guard,  and  attended  him  in  his 
wars.  But  others  rather  think,  that  they  were 
men  of  Jewish  extraction,  but  had  this  additional 
name,  from  their  fleeing  unto  David,  probably 
under  the  conduct  of  Ittai,  while  he  was  at  Gath, 
and  accompanying  him  ever  after,  not  only  in  the 
time  of  Saul's  persecution  of  him,  but  even  after 
his  accession  to  the  united  kingdoms  of  Judah  and 
Israel. — Patrick's  Commentary. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


315 


to  spare  the  life  of  the  young  man;  for 
he  durst  not  trust  himself  with  his  own 
life  after  the  death  of  Absalom.  David's 
address  was  followed  with  a  thousand 
blessings  and  good  wishes ;  and  then  he 
despatched  them  to  the  army. 

When  Absalom  saw  that  Joab  had 
drawn  up  his  division  upon  a  plain,  with 
the  wood  of  Ephraim  *  at  his  back,  he 
disposed  of  his  own  troops  likewise  into 
the  same  form  over  against  the  other. 
The  engagement  soon  commenced,  and 
there  was  great  bravery  on  both  sides. 
One  part  contending  for  the  recovery  of 
what  David  had  lost,  and  the  other  for  the 
defence  and  maintenance  of  what  Absalom 
had  got,  they  appeared  to  fight  with  equal 
courage  and  resolution,  being  equally 
intent  on  carrying  their  point.  Absalom's 
men  fought  some  time  upon  a  point  of 
honour  and  to  avoid  the  infamy  of  being 
worsted  by  so  inconsiderable  a  party ; 
David's  men,  on  the  other  hand,  for  the 
glory  of  routing  so  many  thousands  of  the 
enemy  upon  such  a  disproportion. 

In  the  conclusion  David's  veterans  be- 
haved bravely,  and  like  themselves;  for 
they  broke  the  enemy's  order  and  put 
them  to  a  total  rout,  getting  the  chase  of 
them  over  woods,  mountains,  and  crags, 
whithersoever  they  fled:  some  they  killed; 
some  they  took;  and  more  were  lost  in 
the  pursuit  than  in  the  battle.  Near 
twenty  thousand  men  were  reputed  to  be 
slain  in  that  days  action.* 


*  So  called  here,  because,  as  some  think,  the 
Ephraimites  drove  their  cattle  over  Jordan,  to  feed 
them  in  the  wood.  But  it  most  probably  had  this 
name  from  the  great  slaughter  of  the  Ephraimites 
by  Jephthah. 

+  The  sacred  historian  informs  us  that  '  The 
wood  devoured  more  people  that  day  than  the 
sword  devoured,'  which  some  think  was  occasioned 
by  their  falling  into  pits,  pressing  one  another  to 
death  in  strait  places,  creeping  into  lurking  holes, 
and  there  being  starved  to  death,  or  otherwise  de- 
voured by  wild  beasts,  which  met  them  in  their 
flight :  but  the  most  easy  and  simple  meaning  of 
the  passage  is,  that  there  were  more  slain  in  ihe 
wood  than  in  the  field  of  battle.  The  field  of 
battle,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  was  a  plain,  with  a 
wood  contiguous  to  it;  and  therefore,  when  Ab- 
■alom's  army  was  put   tc   the  rout,  and  betook 


Now  Absalom  was  so  remarkable  both 
for  his  beauty  and  his  stature,  that  he  was 
every  body's  mark;  so  that  for  fear  of 
being  taken  alive,  he  mounted  the  fleetest 
mule  he  could  procure,  and  fled  away  as 
fast  as  possible.  By  the  celerity  of  the 
mule's  course,  the  force  of  the  wind  blew 
up  his  hair,  so  that  it  caught  hold  on  the 
rugged  bough  of  a  tree ;%  and  the  mule 


themselves  to  the  wood  for  refuge,  their  pursuers 
made  a  greater  slaughter  of  them  there  than  they 
otherwise  would  have  done,  because  they  could 
not  run  away  so  fast  in  the  wood,  as  they  might 
have  done  in  the  open  field.  Paxton  supposes 
the  wood  of  Ephraim  to  have  been  a  morass 
covered  with  trees  and  bushes,  like  the  haunts  of 
the  wild  boar  near  the  banks  of  Jordan  ;  and  adds: 
"  It  is  certain  that  such  a  place  has  more  than 
once  proved  fatal  to  contending  armies,  partly  by 
suffocating  those  who  in  the  hurry  of  flight  inad- 
vertently venture  over  places  incapable  of  support- 
ing them,  and  partly  by  retarding  them  till  their 
pursuers  come  up  and  cut  them  to  pieces.  In 
this  manner  a  greater  number  of  men  than  fell  in 
the  heat  of  battle  may  be  destroyed.  The  arch- 
bishop of  Tyre  informs  us,  that  one  of  the  Chris- 
tian kings  of  Jerusalem  lost  some  of  his  troops  in 
a  marshy  vale  of  this  country,  from  their  ignorance 
of  the  paths  which  lead  through  it,  although  he 
had  no  enemy  to  molest  his  march.  The  number 
of  those  who  died  was  small  ;  but  in  what  num- 
bers would  they  have  perished,  may  we  suppose, 
had  they  been  forced  to  flee,  like  the  men  of  Ab- 
salom, before  a  victorious  and  exasperated  enemy? 
Lewis  II.,  king  of  Hungary,  lost  his  life  in  a  bog 
in  his  own  kingdom,  in  the  sixteenth  century  : 
and  according  to  Zozimus,  Decius  the  Roman  em- 
peror perished  in  a  fen,  with  his  whole  army.  It 
may  therefore  be  justly  concluded,  that  Absalom's 
army  perished  neither  by  the  trees  of  the  wood, 
like  their  guilty  leader,  nor  by  the  wild  beasts 
which  occupied  its  recesses  ;  but  by  the  deceitful 
quagmires  with  which  it  abounded." — See  Pa- 
trick's Commentary  and  Paxton's  Script.  Illust. 
J  The  words  in  the  text,  indeed,  make  no  men- 
tion of  Absalom's  hair  in  this  place  :  they  only  in- 
form us,  that  '  Absalom  rode  upon  a  mule,  and  that 
mule  went  under  the  thick  boughs  of  a  great  oak, 
and  his  head  caught  hold  of  the  oak,  and  he  was 
taken  up  between  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and 
the  mule  that  was  under  him  went  away.'  From 
whence  some  infer,  that  the  meaning  of  the  histo- 
rian is,  not  that  Absalom  hung  by  his  hair,  but 
that  his  neck  was  so  wedged  between  the  boughs, 
by  the  swift  motion  of  the  mule,  that  he  was  not 
able  to  disengage  himself.  For  it  is  hardly  to  be 
questioned,  say  they,  but  that,  when  he  went  to 
battle,  he  had  an  helmet  on  ;  and  an  helmet, 
which  covered  his  head,  would  have  hindered  his 
hair  from  being  entangled  in  the  boughs:  but  it  is 
only  supposing,  either  that  his  helmet  was  such 
as  left  a  great  deal  of  his  hair  visible  and  uncover- 
ed, or  that,  if  it  was  large  enough  to  inclose  the 
whole,  he  might,  upon  this  occasion,  throw  it  oil, 


816 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


[Book  IV 


running  forward  from  under  him,  left  liim 
suspended  in  the  air,  and  continued  her 
speed,  as  if  she  had  her  rider  still  upon  her 
back.  One  of  David's  soldiers  saw  this, 
and  carried  the  tidings  thereof  to  Joab, 
who  bade  him  go  quickly  and  despatch 
him,  and  he  should  have  ten  shekels  of 
silver,  and  a  girdle,*  for  his  pains.  But 
the  soldier  bravely  replied,  "  I  would  not 
do  such  a  thing  to  the  son  of  my  lord 
and  master  for  a  thousand  shekels  ;  espe- 
cially considering  the  charge  the  king 
gave  in  your  hearing,  not  to  touch  the 
life  of  the  young  man." 

Joab  hereupon  commanded  him  to  con- 
duct him  to  the  place  where  he  saw  him 
hanging;  whither  when  he  came  he  pierced 
him  through  the  heart  with  his  javelin.f 

His  armour-bearers  that  were  then  pre- 


(as  well  as  his  other  heavy  armour)  to  make  him- 
self lighter,  and  expedite  his  flight  ;  and  then 
there  will  be  no  incongruity  in  the  common,  and 
received  opinion,  to  which  the  authority  of  Jose- 
phus  adds  some  confirmation,  namely,  "  that,  as 
Absalom  was  making  his  escape,  upon  the  whif- 
fling of  the  air,  a  snagged  bough  of  a  tree  took  hold 
of  his  hair,  and  the  mule,  running  forward  from 
under  him,  left  him  dangling  in  the  air." — Jewish 
Antiq.  b.  vii.  c.  9. 

*  A  girdle  curiously  and  richly  wrought  was 
among  the  ancient  Hebrews  a  mark  of  honour, 
and  sometimes  bestowed  as  a  reward  of  merit  ;  for 
this  was  the  recompense  which  Joab  here  declared 
he  meant  to  bestow  on  the  man  who  put  Absalom 
to  death.  The  reward  was  certainly  meant  to  cor- 
respond with  the  importance  of  the  service  which 
he  expected  him  to  perform,  and  the  dignity  of 
his  own  station  as  commander  in  chief :  we  may, 
therefore,  suppose  it  was  not  a  common  one  of 
leather,  or  plain  worsted,  but  of  costly  materials 
and  richly  adorned  ;  for  people  of  rank  and  fashion 
in  the  East  wear  very  broad  girdles,  all  of  silk, 
and  superbly  ornamented  witli  gold  and  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  of  which  they  are  extremely 
proud,  regarding  them  as  the  token  of  their  su- 
perior station,  and  the  proof  of  their  riches. — Pax- 
ton. 

t  Joab  knew  that  there  could  be  no  safety  to 
the  king,  nor  peace  to  the  kingdom,  no  security  to 
himself,  or  other  loyal  subjects,  as  long  as  Absalom 
lived.  Looking,  therefore,  upon  the  charge,  to 
spare  Absalom  as  an  order  more  proper  for  a  pa- 
rent than  a  prince,  he  adventured  to  disobey  it ;  and 
as  Absalom  had  forfeited  his  life  to  the  laws  upon 
several  accounts,  it  was  but  justice  now  to  take 
this  opportunity  of  despatching  him,  as  an  enemy 
to  his  king  and  country. 


sent,  took  down  the  body  from  the  tree, 
and  cast  it  into  a  deep  pit,  piling  a  great 
heap  of  stones  upon  it,  in  the  form  of  a 
sepulchre4  This  being  done,  Joab  »c  und- 
ed  a  retreat  to  take  his  men  off  from  the 
chase,  and  save  the  effusion  of  more  blood 
in  a  civil  war. 

Absalom  had  already  erected  a  marble 
column,  with  an  inscription  upon  it,  in  a 
place  called  the  King's  Valley,  about  two 
furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  which  he  called 
by  the  name  of  the  Hand  of  Absalom,  to 
perpetuate  his  memory,  as  he  said,  even  if 
he  should  leave  no  children  behind  him. 

He  had  three  sons,  and  one  daughter 
who  was  married  to  Rehoboam  the  son 
of  Solomon,  by  whom  he  had  Abijah,  his 
immediate  successor. 


\  In  the  description  of  the  Holy  Land,  some 
geographers  tell  us,  that  this  heap  of  stones  re- 
mained even  to  their  days,  and  that  all  travellers, 
as  they  passed  by  it,  were  wont  to  throw  a  stone 
to  add  to  the  heap,  in  detestation  of  his  rebellion 
against  his  father.  For,  though  it  became  a  cus- 
tom among  the  Greeks  to  raise  a  heap  of  stones 
in  the  place  where  any  great  person  was  interred, 
as  a  monument  of  honour  and  respect ;  yet  it  is 
plain,  that  none  of  David's  army  intended  any 
honour  to  Absalom's  memory  in  accumulating 
stones  upon  him,  nor  can  we  think  that  David 
himself  (though  too  fond  of  this  rebel-son)  made 
any  alteration  afterwards  in  the  form  of  his  burial, 
for  fear  of  enraging  the  people  against  him. 
Some,  however,  are  of  a  quite  contrary  opinion, 
namely,  that  David,  who  lamented  him  with  such 
excess,  removed  him  from  this  pit,  in  order  to 
have  him  laid  in  the  sepulchre  belonging  to  the 
kings,  or  perhaps  somewhere  abort  the  place 
where  the  monument,  which  goes  under  his  name, 
and  even  to  this  day  is  shown  to  travellers,  was 
dug  in  a  rock.  It  is  a  little  chamber,  wrought 
with  a  chisel,  out  of  one  piece  of  rock,  which 
stands  at  some  distance  from  the  rest  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  is  a  square  of  eight  paces  from  out  to 
out.  The  inside  of  this  chamber  is  all  plain,  but 
the  outside  is  adorned  with  some  pilasters  of  the 
same  kind  of  stone.  The  upper  part,  or  covering, 
is  made  in  the  form  of  a  conical  pyramid,  pretty 
high  and  large,  with  a  kind  of  flower-pot  on  its 
top.  The  pyramid  is  composed  of  several  stones, 
but  the  monument  itself  is  square,  aud  all  cut  out 
of  one  block.  In  the  time  of  Jesephus,  the  monu- 
ment, which  was  said  to  be  Absalom's,  was  no- 
thing more  than  one  marble  pillar,  widely  different 
from  what  at  present  goes  under  his  name,  and 
which  therefore  must  be  accounted  a  more  modern 
building. — Le  Clerc's  and  Patrick's  Commen- 
taries. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE, 


BOOK    V. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  ABSALOM  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JEHOSHAPHAT. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

In  this  division  of  our  history  we  have 
related  the  latter  part  of  David's  life ;  his 
death,  and  the  accession  of  Solomon,  whose 
reign  comprehended  the  most  prosperous 
and  glorious  period  of  the  Israelitish  his- 
tory, and  prefigured  the  peaceful  reign  of 
the  Messiah;  Solomon's  erection  and  con- 
secration of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem ;  his 
awful  defection  from  the  true  religion  ; 
the  sudden  decay  of  the  Jewish  nation 
after  his  death,  when  it  was  divided  into 
two  kingdoms, — under  Rehoboam,  who 
reigned  over  the  kingdom  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin, — and  under  Jeroboam,  who  was 
sovereign  of  the  ten  tribes  that  revolted 
from  the  house  of  David,  which  in  the 
sacred  writings  are  designated  as  the 
kingdom  of  Israel.  We  have  likewise 
the  reigns  of  Rehoboam's  successors,  Abi- 
jam,  Asa,  and  Jehoshaphat;  and  those  of 
Nadab,  Baasha,  Elah,  Zimri,  Omri,  Tibni, 
the  wicked  Ahab,  Ahaziah,  and  Jehoram, 
(in  part)  who  succeeded  Jeroboam  in  the 
throne  of  Israel. 

The  causes  of  the  revolution  in  the  com- 
mencement of  Rehoboam's  reign,  may,  as 
in  all  similar  commotions,  be  traced  to 
anterior  events :  the  impolicy  of  that 
monarch  was  only  the  immediate  occasion 
of  it ;  and  in  the  successive  periods  of  the 


history  of  the  Hebrews,  we  may  discern 
vestiges  of  hereditary  jealousy,  which  ter- 
minated only  in  the  division  of  the  posterity 
of  Abraham  into  two  distinct  nations,  one 
of  whom  has  since  disappeared.  The  limits 
necessarily  assigned  to  this  portion  of  our 
work,  will  only  allow  us  to  attempt  a  rapid 
sketch  of  this  long  series  of  discord  and 
hatred. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  Israel- 
itish nation,  the  two  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Ephraim  had  disputed  for  the  pre-emi- 
nency.  The  former,  whose  glory  had  been 
predicted  by  the  dying  patriarch  Jacob, 
flourished  in  the  number  of  its  families,  as 
well  as  by  its  power  and  wealth;  being 
allied  to  the  blood  of  the  Pharaohs 
during  the  residence  of  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt,  where  the  two  remarkable  estab- 
lishments of  Er  and  of  Jokim  had  been 
formed,  which  this  tribe  carried  into  Pal- 
estine. Judah  also  marched  first  during 
the  sojourning  in  the  desert,  and  reckoned 
upon  a  dominion  which  had  been  promised 
by  so  many  oracles.  The  latter,  or  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  depending  on  the  great  name 
of  Joseph,  and  on  the  right  of  primogeni- 
ture which  it  had  acquired  in  consequence 
of  being  adopted  by  Jacob,  confided  in 
that  numerous  posterity  which  had  been 
predicted  to  it;  and  became  powerful  during 
the  residence  in  Egypt.   One  very  remark- 


318 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


able  proof,  that  Epliraim  and  Judah  were 
the  two  preponderating  tribes,  is,  that 
when  the  land  of  Canaan  was  divided, 
they  each  received  their  allotments  before 
the  western  tribes.  As  the  southern  par, 
of  the  Holy  Land,  which  was  apportioned 
to  Judah,  proved  too  large  for  that  tribe, 
the  Simeonites  were  added  to  them.  The 
Ephraimites  on  the  contrary,  and  the  half 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  which  were  sister  and 
neighbouring  tribes,  pleaded  that  their 
allotment  was  not  sufficiently  extensive 
for  them;  and  enlarged  it  by  force  of 
arms,  and  by  cutting  down  the  forests 
which  abounded  in  the  mountainous  dis- 
tricts of  the  land  of  Canaan. 

In  this  state  of  things,  with  such  recol- 
lections and  mutual  pretensions,  it  was 
impossible  that  a  spirit  of  rivalry  and 
jealousy  should  not  break  forth.  The 
tribe  of  Ephraim  was  distingushed  for  its 
proud,  turbulent,  and  warlike  spirit,  as  is 
evident  not  only  from  the  remonstrances 
addressed  by  them  to  Joshua,  but  also 
by  their  discontented  murmuring  against 
Gideon,  notwithstanding  he  was  of  the 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  and  in  the  civil  war 
with  Jephthah  in  which  their  envy  and 
hatred  were  so  severely  punished.  The 
tribe  of  Judah,  on  the  contrary,  more 
pacific  in  its  temper  and  more  sedentary 
in  its  pursuits,  appears  always  to  have 
cherished  a  coolness  towards  the  northern 
tribes.  It  never  assisted  them  in  their 
wars ;  its  name  does  not  occur  in  the  tri- 
umphal hymn  of  Deborah,  in  which  so 
many  others  are  mentioned;  and,  what  is 
particularly  deserving  of  attention,  it  took 
no  part  in  the  exploits  of  Gideon,  although 
the  enemies  whom  he  was  going  to  fight 
had  made  incursions  as  far  as  Gaza, 
whither  they  could  not  have  penetrated 
without  entering  on  its  territory.  It  was 
the  men  of  Judah,  also,  who  were  desir- 
ous of  delivering  up  Samson,  a  Danite,  to 
the  Philistines.  This  old  grudge  subsist- 
ed in  all  its  force,  when  the  elevation  of 
Saul,  a  Benjamite,  to  the  throne  of  Israel, 
still  further  chagrined  the  proud  tribe  of 


Ephraim :  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
discontent  manifested  in  the  assembly  of 
the  Israelites  at  Mizpeh,  which  induced 
Samuel  to  renew  the  kingdom  at  Gilgal, 
was  excited  by  the  Ephraimites;  and  at 
the  very  commencement  of  Saul's  reign 
we  observe  a  census,  in  which  the  troops 
of  Judah  are  reckoned  separately  from 
those  of  Israel.  At  length  the  elevation 
of  David  completed  the  mortification  of 
the  jealous  and  envious  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
and  of  the  northern  tribes  which  ordina- 
rily followed  the  fortune  of  so  powerful  a 
neighbour;  while  Simeon  and  Benjamin, 
from  necessity  as  well  as  choice,  were 
more  disposed  in  favour  of  Judah.  Hence 
David,  during  the  whole  of  his  long-con- 
tinued flight  from  Saul,  never  quitted  the 
territory  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  but 
when  he  took  refuge  in  a  foreign  country; 
and  he  sent  presents  only  to  the  cities  of 
his  own  tribe.  On  the  death  of  Saul,  two 
thrones  arose  in  Israel ;  which  gave  rise 
to  a  civil  war,  that  lasted  seven  years ; 
and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  defection  of 
Abner,  and  the  timidity  of  Ishbosheth, 
the  tribes  might  never  have  been  united 
under  one  sceptre.  David  himself  felt 
the  weakness  of  his  power.  The  choice 
of  Jerusalem  for  his  capital  and  for  the 
centre  of  worship,  to  the  exclusion  of 
Shiloh,  a  town  of  Ephraim  where  the  ta- 
bernacle and  ark  had  formerly  been  kept, 
could  not  but  displease  the  malecontents, 
whose  pride  was  wounded  by  hearing  that 
advantage  celebrated  in  one  of  the  sacred 
hymns,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  67,  68.  During  Da- 
vid's reign,  the  dispute  at  the  passage  of 
the  river  Jordan  showed  how  a  small  spark 
kindled  a  flame,  which  Sheba,  retiring  to- 
wards the  north,  was  at  hand  to  excite. 

Finally,  the  erection  of  the  temple,  the 
immoveable  sanctuary,  which  secured  the 
supremacy  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, — the 
taxes  levied  and  personal  services  required 
by  Solomon,  who  employed  them  for  the 
most  part  in  the  embellishment  of  Jeru- 
salem,—  the  little  commercial  advantage 
which   Ephraim   could  derive  during  hie 


Chap.  I.] 

reign,  in  comparison  of  Judah,  which  tribe 
was  more  commodiously  situated  for  pro- 
fiting by  the  transit  of  commodities  be- 


THE  BIBLE. 


319 


the  nearest  way  better  than  the  other,  got 
thither  before  him.  David  was  at  tin's 
time  sitting  at  the  gate,f  with  longing 


tween  Egypt,  Idumaea,  and   Arabia, — the  |  expectation    to    know   the    event   of   the 
tntrijrues  of  Jeroboam  who  had  been  im-    battle,  when  a  scout  brought  him  word, 


prudently  nominated  to  the  command  of 
the  house  of  Joseph ;  all  these  circum- 
stances contributed  secretly  to  mature  that 
revolution,  which  only  awaited  his  death 
to  break  forth,  and  which  the  folly  of  Re- 
hoboam  rendered  inevitable.* 

CHAPTER  I. 

David  lamenteth  Absalom. — Pardons  Shimei. 
— Sheba  endeavours  to  prejudice  the  minds  of 
the  people  against  David. — Joab  treacherous- 
ly slays  Amasa,  who  had  been  sent  against 
Sheba  by  David.  —  The  city  is  saved  by  the 
counsel  of  a  wise  woman. — A  famine  inflicted 
on  the  Israelites  jor  their  former  breach  of 
faith  with  the  Gibeonites. — David  defeats  the 
Philistines. — Is  well  nigh  slain  by  them. — Res- 
cued by  Abishai. — Encounters  the  Philistines 
in  various  battles  with  success. — David's 
champions. —  The  people  punished  for  David's 
numbering  them. — He  is  pardoned  on  repen- 
tance.—  The  pestilence  stopped. — David  lays 
a  plan  for  building  the  temple. 

The  adherents  of  Absalom,  having  lost 
their  presumptuous  leader,  became  intimi- 
dated, and  privately  stole  away  to  their 
respective  places  of  abode.  Ahimaaz  the 
son  of  Zadok  the  high  priest  then  applied 
to  Joab  for  permission  to  go  and  acquaint 
the  king  with  the  news  of  the  victory  ob- 
tained over  his  enemies. 

Joab  gave  him  this  answer,  that  it  would 
not  look  well  for  him  who  had  been  always 
heretofore  the  messenger  of  good  news  to 
the  king,  to  be  now  the  first  man  to  tell 
jiim  of  his  son's  death  ;  and  then  calling 
to  Cushi,  sent  him  on  the  errand,  and 
ordered  him  to  tell  the  king  what  he  him- 
self had  seen.  Ahimaaz  having  entreated 
Joab  a  second  time,  to  let  him  carry  the 
tidings  only  of  the  victory,  but  not  of  the 
death  of  Absalom,  Joab  upon  this  impor- 
tunity gave  him  leave,  and  he  knowing 

*  See  Home's  Introd.  vol.  iii.  p.  99 — 101.  and 
vol.  iv.  p.  53. 


that  he  saw  one|  running  that  way,  but 
he  was  too  far  off  to  discern  who  it  was. 

The  king  looked  upon  it  as  a  good 
omen,  and  the  scout  immediately  upon 
this  told  the  king  that  he  discovered 
another,  which  gave  him  still  more  hope 
than  before. 


•j-  It  appears,  that  the  tower  in  the  entrance  of 
Mahanaim  had  two  pair  of  gates,  at  some  distance 
from  each  other  ;  in  a  small  room,  which  was 
often  found  hy  the  side  of  these  fortified  gates, 
the  door  of  which  opened  into  the  passage  hetween 
them,  sat  the  king,  waiting  in  fearful  suspense, 
the  issue  of  the  contest,  for  it  cannot  be  supposed 
he  sat  in  the  passage  itself,  which  had  been  at  once 
unbecoming  his  dignity,  and  incommodious  to  the 
passengers  entering  or  leaving  the  city.  We  find 
a  watchman  stationed  on  the  top  of  this  tower,  to 
which  he  went  up  by  a  staircase  from  the  passage, 
which,  like  the  roof  of  their  dwelling-houses,  was 
flat,  for  the  purpose  of  descrying  at  a  distance 
those  that  were  approaching  the  place,  or  repel- 
ling the  attacks  of  an  enemy.  The  observations 
made  by  the  watchman  were  not  communicated 
by  him  immediately  to  the  king,  but  by  the  inter- 
vention of  a  warder  at  the  outer  gate  of  the  tower; 
and  it  appears,  that  a  private  staircase  led  from 
the  lower  room  in  which  the  king  was  sitting,  to 
the  upper  room  over  the  gateway  ;  for  by  that 
communication  he  retired  to  give  full  vent  to  his 
sorrow.  The  only  circumstance  involved  in  any 
doubt,  is  in  what  part  of  this  building  he  sat,  (for 
it  is  evident  he  continued  in  some  part  of  the 
gate,)  when  he  returned  his  thanks  to  the  army, 
for  their  exertions  in  his  favour ;  or  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  historian,  '  spake  to  the  hearts  of  his 
servants,  and  received  their  congratulations.  It 
is  somewhat  uncertain,  whether  he  gave  audience 
to  his  people  in  the  upper  room,  where  he  lament- 
ed in  strains  so  affecting  the  death  of  Absalom,  or 
in  the  little  chamber  between  the  two  gates,  where 
he  waited  the  arrival  of  the  messengers,  or  in  some 
other  part  of  the  building.  The  ancient  custom 
of  sitting  in  the  gate  on  solemn  occasions,  rather 
favours  the  opinion,  that  David  went  down  from 
the  apartment  above  the  gate,  to  the  chamber  in 
the  side  of  the  passage.  This  custom,  which  may 
be  traced  to  the  remotest  antiquity,  is  still  observ- 
ed in  the  East  ;  for  when  Pococke  returned  from 
viewing  the  town  of  ancient  Byblus,  the  sheik  and 
the  elders  were  sitting  in  the  gate  of  the  city,  after 
the  manner  of  their  ancestors Paxton. 

\.  This  was  a  token  that  the  messenger  brought 
good  tidings,  and  his  party  were  employed  in  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy ;  for  if  his  party  had  been  worst- 
ed, those  that  fled  would  have  come  in  crowds  to 
the  city  for  refuge. 


320 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


The  messenger  being  uow  come  within 
distance,  was  found  to  be  Ahimaaz,  the 
son  of  Zadok  the  high-priest,  who  came 
first.  This  encouraged  the  king,  who  ex- 
claimed, "  This  is  the  man  that  most  cer- 
tainly brings  me  good  tidings."  The 
words  were  hardly  uttered,  when  Ahimaaz 
cast  himself  at  David's  feet  to  do  him 
reverence,  and  asked  him,  "  What  news 
from  the  army  !"  he  replied,  "  Great  suc- 
cess and  victory." 

David  then  asked  him,  "  What  was  be- 
come of  Absalom  ?"  Ahimaaz  answered, 
that  as  soon  as  ever  he  saw  the  enemy 
routed,  he  came  away  with  the  intelligence; 
but  that  he  heard  a  mighty  clamour  and 
shouting  all  the  while,  upon  the  pursuit 
of  Absalom ;  and  Joab  sent  him  away  in 
such  haste,  that  his  orders  were  only  to 
carry  the  news  of  the  victory,  without  any 
mention  of  Absalom.  By  this  time  Cushi 
was  at  the  king's  feet,  with  the  tidings  of 
a  victory ;  and  the  king  putting  the  same 
question  to  him  as  to  the  other,  namely, 
"  What  was  become  of  Absalom  ?"  "  May 
it  be,"  says  Cushi,  "  with  all  the  enemies 
of  my  lord  the  king  as  it  is  with  Absalom." 
These  words  turned  a  day  of  joy  and 
triumph  into  a  day  of  mourning.  It  prov- 
ed so  to  the  king,  for  the  loss  of  Absalom ; 
and  to  the  people  also ;  for  David  with- 
drew himself  upon  it  out  of  sight,  to  the 
top  of  one  of  the  highest  turrets  about  the 
city,  beating  his  breast,  and  tearing  his 
hair,  with  cries  and  exclamations,  "  Ah 
my  son  Absalom,  my  son  Absalom  !  Oh 
that  I  myself  could  have  but  died  for  thee, 
my  son  !"*  David  was  by  nature  extreme- 

*  Nothing  certainly  can  be  more  moving  and 
pathetic  than  the  words  which  David  utters  upon 
this  sad  occasion  ;  but  whether  it  was  David's  de- 
liberate wish  that  he  had  died  in  Absalom's  stead, 
or  only  the  effect  of  his  excessive  love  and  grief 
for  him,  is  not  so  easy  a  matter  to  determine.  St 
Austin  seems  to  be  on  the  affirmative  side,  and 
gives  this  reason  for  it  .-—that  Absalom  died  im- 
penitent, but  might  have  lived  to  become  a  better 
man  ;  whereas,  if  David  had  died,  he  had  reason 
to  hope  well  of  his  salvation  :  but  this  supposition 
(as  I  take  it)  is  not  so  well  founded,  since  there  is 
much  more  probability  that  if  Absalom  had  sur- 
vived his  father,  he  would  have  grown  more  pro- 


ly  fond  and  tender  of  all  his  children,  but 
his  love  to  Absalom  was  peculiar,  and  in 
a  more  intense  degree  than  to  any  of  the 
rest. 

As  the  king  had  discovered  these  tokens 
of  grief,  Joab  and  his  victorious  army 
were  discouraged  from  entering  the  town 
in  a  joyous  and  triumphant  manner ;  and 
therefore  when  they  approached,  hanged 
down  their  heads,  assumed  dejected  coun- 
tenances, and  appeared  more  like  men 
conquered,  than  conquerors. 

David  continued  so  long  in  this  aban- 
doned dejection,  that  Joab  without  cere- 
mony broke  in  upon  him  in  the  very  agony 
of  his  passion,  reasoning  and  expostulating 
with  him  in  this  manner :  "  Sir,  do  you 
know  what  you  do?  are  you  aware  of  the 
dishonour  you  bring  upon  yourself  by  this 
wilful  and  effeminate  lamentation  ?  It 
makes  you  look  as  if  you  hated  your 
friends,  that  have  saved  your  life  at  the 
hazard  of  their  own  ;  nay,  for  yourself  and 
your  family  too;  and  at  the  same  time 
cherished  a  kindness  even  for  those  of 
your  enemies,  which  divine  justice  hath 
taken  away  in  your  favour,  by  the  stroke 
of  a  most  righteous  vengeance.  If  Absa- 
lom had  carried  the  day,  and  settled  him- 
self in  his  usurpation,  who  would  have  be- 
moaned either  your  fate  or  ours  ?  For 
we  would  have  most  certainly  been  cut  to 
pieces,  every  living  soul :  nay,  you  your- 
self and  your  children  would  have  fallen 
the  first  victims  to  their  cruelty ;  then 
your  enemies  would  have  rejoiced  and 
gloried  in  your  ruin,  and  it  would  have 


fligate  than  ever  ;  triumphed  in  his  good  success  ; 
insulted  and  persecuted  all  his  father's  friends  ; 
and  proved  a  wicked  and  abominable  tyrant.  But 
whether  David's  wish  was  deliberate  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  his  grief  might  be  increased  from  this 
reflection,  that  himself,  by  his  own  sin  in  the  case 
of  Uriah,  had  been  the  unhappy  instrument  and 
occasion  of  his  son's  death  »  though  some  learned 
men  have  observed,  that  the  oriental  people  were 
accustomed  to  express  their  passions  with  more 
vehemence  than  we  in  these  parts  of  the  world  are 
wont  to  do,  and  that  the  repetition  of  the  same 
word,  '  My  son  Absalom,  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my 
son,'  is  a  style  proper  for  mournful  lamentations. — 
Patrick's  and  CalmeVs  Commentaries. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


321 


been  death  for  any  man  to  have  but  so 
much  as  pitied  us.  Does  not  your  con- 
science as  well  as  your  honour  check  you 
for  this  unmanly  tenderness,  for  the 
memory  of  so  implacable  an  enemy.  He 
was  your  son,  it  is  true,  but  a  most  un- 
gracious one;  and  you  cannot  be  just  to 
God's  providence,  without  acknowledging 
the  blessing  of  his  being  taken  away. 
Assume  then  a  cheerful  countenance,  show 
yourself  to  your  people,  and  tell  them, 
that  it  is  to  their  loyalty  and  bravery, 
(under  God,)  that  you  are  indebted  for 
the  honour  of  this  day;  for  if  you  go  on 
as  you  have  begun,  I  will  infallibly  cause 
your  kingdom  and  your  army  to  reject 
you,  and  place  another  on  the  throne; 
and  then  you  will  find  a  more  real  and 
sensible  cause  for  such  grievous  afflic- 
tion." 

The  conduct  of  Joab,  though  bold  and 
resolute,  reduced  David  to  some  degree 
of  reason,  insomuch  that  he  began  once 
more  to  direct  his  attention  to  business  of 
state  and  the  concerns  of  the  people  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  showing  himself  in 
public  as  usual,  and  assuming  a  more  p/a- 
cid  and  satisfied  aspect.  This  change  of 
humour  wrought  so  effectually  upon  the 
people,  that  they  came  in  multitudes  from 
all  parts  to  pay  him  their  reverence. 

The  face  of  things  being  thus  changed, 
Absalom's  men  that  fled  from  the  late 
battle,  and  were  got  home  again,  sent 
messengers  up  and  down,  from  place  to 
place,  to  remind  their  friends  of  the  infi- 
nite obligations  they  lay  under  to  David 
upon  all  accounts,  and  particularly  for  the 
toils  and  hazards  he  had  undergone  in  his 
own  person,  for  the  vindication  of  their 
liberty;  how  ungratefully  they  had  behaved 
themselves  in  their  revolt,  and  that  they 
had  nothing  more  to  do  now,  than  to  lay 
themselves  at  his  feet,  beg  his  pardon, 
and  beseech  him  once  again  to  receive 
them  into  his  care  and  protection,  as  for- 
merly; especially  as  the  person  was  now 
no  more  whom  they  had  most  unjustly 
and  injuriously  set  up  in  his  stead.     The 


king  had  addresses  of  this  kind  sent  him 
in  abundance,  which  he  still  communicat- 
ed by  letters  to  the  high-priests  Zadok 
and  Abiathar,  with  certain  hints,  how 
they  were  to  manage  the  heads  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  toward  his  restoration. 
They  insinuated  accordingly,  how  shame- 
ful it  would  be  for  them  to  stand  looking 
on,  and  let  others  go  before  them,  in  do- 
ing a  common  right  to  a  prince  so  gene- 
rous, and  of  their  own  tribe  and  extrac- 
tion. 

This  way  of  proceeding  created  an 
emulation  among  them  who  should  be 
foremost. 

They  were  likewise  to  expostulate  on 
the  cause  with  Amasa,  the  enemy's  gene- 
ral, wherefore  he  himself,  the  nephew  of 
David  by  his  own  sister,  should  not  dis- 
pose the  army  to  a  sense  of  their  duty, 
and  the  restoring  of  the  government  to 
the  right  owner. 

They  told  Amasa,  that  for  what  was 
past  he  might  be  sure  of  his  pardon;  and 
that  they  doubted  not  but  he  might  have 
the  same  command  under  David  that  he 
had  under  Absalom. 

In  this  manner  the  high-priests  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  heads  of  each  tribe, 
and  by  this  means  brought  over  Amasa 
to  the  interest  of  David. 

The  tribe  of  Judah  were  the  first  that 
sent  their  commissioners  to  invite  the 
king  back  to  the  exercise  of  his  govern- 
ment; and  betwixt  the  influence  of  this 
example,  and  the  credit  of  Amasa,  they 
were  all  to  attend,  and  receive  the  king 
at  Jerusalem. 

The  tribe  of  Judah  were  remarkably 
the  forwardest  of  the  whole  body,  and  the 
most  officious  in  their  respects;  for  thev 
went  to  the  very  bank  of  the  river  Jordan 
to  meet  him. 

There  was  Shimei,  the  son  of  Gera, 
at  the  head  of  a  thousand   Benjamites.* 


*  The  reason  why  Shimei  came  with  so 
large  a  retinue,  was,  to  let  David  see  that  he  was 
a  man  of  some  considerable  rank,  and  capable  of 
doing  him  great  service  among  the  people,  which 

2  s 


322 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


There  was  also  Ziba,  Saul's  freeman,  and 
his  fifteen  children,  and  twenty  servants: 
who,  together  with  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
laid  a  bridge  over  the  river  for  the  more 
commodious  passage  of  David  and  his 
troops. 

Upon  his  coming  to  the  river,  the  tribe 
of  Judah  were  the  first  that  saluted  him; 
and  Shimei,  advancing  to  the  bridge, 
threw  himself  at  David's  feet,  begging 
his  pardon  for  the  indignities  he  had  put 
upon  him;  beseeching  him  to  pass  it  all 
over,  and  that  it  might  never  rise  in  judg- 
ment against  him  when  he  should  be  re- 
instated  in  his  kingdom;  desiring,  more- 
over, that  his  early  repentance  and  return 
to  his  allegiance  might  atone  for  his  past 
faults. 

Shimei,  on  this  application,  was  thus 
accosted  by  Abishai,  Joab's  brother :  "And 
do  you  think  to  come  off  so  easily ;  you 
that  could  have  the  face  to  blaspheme  the 
king  that  God  had  set  over  you  at  so  un- 
pardonable a  rate?  "  But  David  checked 
his  intemperate  zeal  with  these  words : 
"  Be  silent,  you  sons  of  Zeruiah,  without 
blowing  the  coal,  and  stirring  up  new 
broils;  for  I  would  have  you  look  upon 
this  as  the  first  day  of  my  reign  ;  and  take 
notice  of  what  I  do  now  declare  upon  my 
oath.  I  do  freely  forgive  all  the  world, 
and  I  do  promise  that  no  person  shall  suf- 
fer for  any  thing  done  against  me,  or 
against  any  body  else  for  my  sake,  of  what 
kind  or  quality  soever ;  so  that  you  may 
set  your  heart  at  rest.  Shimei,  your  life  is 
in  no  danger."  Upon  this  assurance  he 
made  his  reverence  and  went  his  way. 

After  him  came  Mephibosheth,  Saul's 
grandson,  with  as  forlorn  and  miserable 
an  aspect  as  can  be  conceived ;  for  upon 
the  king's  being  forced  away  from  the 
palace,  this  good  man,  reckoning  the  king's 
calamity  as  his  own,  bound  himself  by  a 

might  be  some  inducement  to  the  king  to  grant 
him  liis  pardon  ;  or,  very  likely,  he  was  one  of  the 
1  captains  of  a  thousand  in  his  own  tribe,'  and 
might  carry  them  all  along  with  him,  to  make  the 
stronger  intercession  for  his  pardon. — Poole's 
Annotations. 


vow  never  to  cut  his  hair,  wash  his  feet, 
or  change  his  clothes,  till  it  might  please 
God  to  restore  him.* 

Ziba  took  this  opportunity  of  traducing 
his  master  to  the  king;  for  upon  David's 
asking  Mephibosheth  how  he  came  to 
leave  him  when  he  was  under  persecution, 
he  laid  the  fault  upon  Ziba,  for  not  only 
not  obeying  his  orders,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, treating  him  like  a  slave,  notwith- 
standing the  express  charge  he  had  given 
him  to  have  all  necessaries  in  readiness 
for  his  journey. 

Mephibosheth  thus  represented  the  true 
state  of  the  case  :  "  If  I  had  the  use  of  my 
legs,  as  other  people  have,  this  should 
not  have  hindered  me  neither.  Nay," 
farther  adding,  "  and  which  is  more,  he 
has  not  only  disappointed  me  in  the  exer- 
cise of  my  duty,  but  I  perceive  he  has 
done  me  spiteful  offices,  and  aspersed  my 
character  to  yourself;  but  you  are  so  just, 
and  so  great  a  lover  of  God,  and  of  truth, 
that  I  am  sure  your  generosity  and  wis- 
dom will  never  entertain  a  calumny  to  my 
prejudice.  Our  family  have  had  the  ex- 
perience of  your  piety,  modesty,  and 
goodness,  to  a  degree  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten, in  passing  over  and  pardoning  the 
innumerable  hazards  and  persecutions  that 
you  were  exposed  to  in  the  days  and 
by  the  contrivance  of  my  grandfather: 
when  all  out  lives  were  forfeited,  and  in 


*  These  were  som»  of  the  instances  wherein  the 
Jews  were  wont  to  express  their  mourning  ;  and 
they  seem  to  be  here  mentioned  as  an  evidence  ol 
the  falsehood  of  Ziba's  information  against  his 
master,  since  no  one  who  neglected  himself  to  such 
a  degree  would  be  suspected  of  aspiring  to  the 
crown.  '  Not  dressing  his  feet,'  may  signify  either 
not  cutting  his  nails,  or  his  not  washing  his  ^et, 
which  the  Jews  used  frequently  to  do,  because  of 
the  bad  smell  which  was  natural  to  them,  as  well 
as  the  Arabians,  and  some  other  nations  ;  and 
therefore  his  omission  of  this  could  not  but  make 
him  offensive  to  himself.  *  Not  trimming  his 
beard,'  was  letting  the  hair  grow  negligently  and 
without  any  order  ;  for  the  manner  of  the  Jews 
was  to  cut  the  hair  from  the  lip  upwards,  and  what 
grew  likewise  on  the  cheek,  but  what  was  on  the 
chin,  and  so  backwards  to  the  ear,  that  they  suf- 
fered to  grow.  And  '  not  changing  his  clothes,' 
must  denote  his  not  putting  on  any  clean  linen, 
but  wearing  the  same  garments  all  the  while. 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

your  power  and  at  your  mercy ;  but  then 
after  all  the  gracious  tenderness,  your 
superadding  the  honour  of  taking  me  to 
your  table,  as  a  friend,  and  as  a  guest; 
and  likewise  a  person  so  obnoxious,  in  re- 
gard of  my  relations,  nothing  could  be 
either  greater,  or  more  obliging." 

David  heard  all  this  without  either 
animadverting  upon  Mephibosheth,  or 
putting  Ziba's  credit  to  the  test;  but  he 
told  him,  that  having  given  the  whole 
estate  to  Ziba,  he  would  order  him  the 
one  half  of  it  back  again.*  Mephibosheth 
replied,  "  Nay,  Sir,  so  long  as  I  have  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  my  lord  the  king 
upon  his  throne  again,  even  let  Ziba  take 
the  whole." 

Barzillai  the  Gileadite,  a  man  of  real 
honour  and  true  valour,  who  during  the 
late  war  had  signalised  himself  in  the 
service  of  his  king  and  country,  insisted 
on  accompanying  David  in  his  way  to  the 
river  Jordan. 

The  king  pressed  him  with  great  ear- 
nestness to  go  through  with  him  to  Jeru- 
salem, promising  that  he  would  be  as 
good  as  a  father  to  him,  and  that  he 
should  want  nothing  that  might  be  a 
relief   and    refreshment   to   his    old   a<je. 


323 


*  At  first,  David  gave  the  land  of  Saul  to 
Mephibosheth  ;  and  Ziba,  his  sons,  and  his  ser- 
vants, were  to  work  that  land ;  and  to  Mephi- 
bosheth, as  the  lord,  he  was  to  give  the  half  of  the 
produce.  Ziba  met  David  in  his  distress  with 
provisions.and  calumniated  Mephibosheth  :  David, 
too  slightly  trusting  to  his  misrepresentation,  and 
supposing  that  Mephibosheth  was  actually  such  a 
traitor  as  Ziba  represented  him,  made  him  on  the 
spot  a  grant  of  his  master's  land.  Now  he  finds 
that  he  has  acted  too  rashly,  and  therefore  con- 
firms the  former  grant  ;  i.  e.  that  Ziba  should  cul- 
tivate the  ground,  and  still  continue  to  give  to 
Mephibosheth,  as  the  lord,  the  half  of  the  produce. 
This  was  merely  placing  things  in  statu  quo,  and 
utterly  annulling  the  gift  that  he  had  made  to 
Ziba.  But  why  did  he  leave  this  treacherous 
man  anything?  Answer,  1.  He  was  one  of  the 
domestics  of  Saul,  and  David  wished  to  show 
kindness  to  that  house.  2.  He  had  supplied  him 
with  the  necessaries  of  life  when  he  was  in  the 
greatest  distress;  and  he  thinks  proper  to  continue 
him  in  his  old  office,  by  way  of  remuneration. 
But  it  was  certainly  too  great  a  compensation  for 
his  services,  however  then  important,  when  all  the 
circumstances  are  considered. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


But  he  excused  himself,  by  alleging,  that 
he  should  be  more  at  ease  in  private  life 
than  in  the  splendour  and  luxury  of  a  pa- 
lace. 

And  observing,  "  He  was  now  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  past  the  relish  of  court 
pleasure;  having  no  other  business  in  the 
world  than  to  prepare  for  death,  and 
give  orders  for  his  funeral;  wherefore  he 
begged  his  majesty's  leave  to  retire  home, 
where  he  might  live  after  his  usual  man- 
ner. His  taste  was  now  gone,  as  to  the 
relish  of  delicious  meats  and  drink,  the 
delights  of  singing,  dancing,  revels,  har- 
monious concerts  of  instruments,  voices, 
and  the  like.  His  hearing  was  impaired, 
and  he  had  no  longer  any  sense  of  these 
entertainments." 

The  king,  by  this  representation  of  his 
case,  was  prevailed  upon  to  part  with 
him;  but  upon  condition  that  his  son 
Chimham  went  along  with  him,  and  took 
his  part  in  the  best  offices  he  could  do 
him. 

Barzillai,  with  all  dutiful  acknowledg- 
ment, left  his  son  with  the  king.  And 
taking  his  have  with  the  most  earnest 
wishes  for  his  long  and  prosperous  reign, 
returned  to  his  own  habitation. 

The  king  proceeded  towards  Gilgal, 
attended  by  the  whole  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  one  half  of  the  nation  of  Israel. 

On  his  arrival  there  came  to  him  seve- 
ral of  the  chiefs  of  the  country,  accom- 
panied by  a  vast  multitude  of  people,  and 
charged  the  tribe  of  Judah  for  arrogating 
to  themselves  too  much  liberty,  in  going 
to  the  king  without  consulting  their  bre- 
thren; whereas  they  ought  unanimously 
to  have  gone  together. 

The  heads  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  desired 
the  rest  not  to  be  incensed  at  their  going 
before;  for  they  esteemed  it  a  duty  in- 
cumbent on  them  for  kindred  sake  so  to 
do.  They  did  not  propose  any  advantage 
to  themselves  in  being  so  forward:  neither 
had  they  given  any  cause  of  offence  by 
their  expedition  to  those  that  came  after 
them. 


324 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


The  heads  of  the  other  tribes  were  not 
at  all  pleased  with  this  way  of  reasoning; 
and  demanding  of  them,  "  How  they 
came  to  engross  the  king  to  themselves  ? 
as  if  he  were  not  their  king  likewise;" 
adding,  "that  he  is  by  God's  providence 
indifferently  the  governor  of  us  all;  so 
that  we  are  eleven  parts  of  the  whole; 
and  you  but  one,  and  consequently  valu- 
able in  comparison  to  that  proportion;  you 
have  certainly  done  ill  in  stealing  away 
to  the  king  by  yourselves  without  ac- 
quainting us." 

While  the  great  men  were  in  hot  de- 
bate about  this  affair,  Sheba,  the  son  of 
Bichri,  a  Benjamite,  a  man  of  a  factious 
and  turbulent  spirit,  stood  up,  and  called 
out  with  a  loud  voice,  in  the  middle  of 
the  crowd:  "  Why  talk  they  to  us  of  a  part 
in  David?  or  what  have  we  to  do  with 
the  son  of  Jesse  ?" 

He  then  caused  the  trumpet  to  be 
sounded,  and  issued  a  proclamation  for 
the  people  to  depart  to  their  tents, — and 
thereupon  a  war  was  proclaimed  against 
David. 

The  multitude  went  over  to  the  party 
and  interest  of  Sheba,  saving  only  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  who  stood  by  the  king, 
and  conducted  him  to  Jerusalem.  Im- 
mediately on  his  arrival,  he  expelled  from 
his  palace  his  concubines  which  his  son 
Absalom  had  prostituted  in  the  sight  of 
the  people ;  but  he  had  them  provided  for 
elsewhere,  though  he  himself  never  more 
had  any  communication  with  them. 

David  made  Amasa  his  general  in  the 
place  of  Joab,  giving  him  orders  to  as- 
semble what  troops  he  could  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  bring  them  to  him  in  three 
days,  that  he  might  be  ready  to  march  out 
with  them  against  the  son  of  Bichri. 

Amasa  hasted  to  obey  the  royal  com- 
mand ;  but  finding  he  could  not  raise  an 
army  so  soon  as  he  expected,  therefore 
David  upon  the  third  day  consulted  about 
the  affair  with  Joab,  whom  he  thus  ad- 
dressed: "This  business  of  Sheba  is  a 
thing  not  to  be  trifled  with ;  wherefore  do 


you  immediately  take  what  forces  you 
have  at  hand,  with  the  six  hundred  vete- 
rans, without  delay ;  take  likewise  your 
brother  Abishai  with  you,  and  march  di- 
rectly after  the  son  of  Bichri ;  fight  him 
wheresoever  you  find  him,  before  he  draws 
his  party  into  a  body ;  and  take  care  to 
prevent  him  from  putting  himself  in  pos- 
session of  fortified  cities  and  strong  holds; 
for  if  he  once  gains  that  point,  he  may 
perhaps  cost  us  more  trouble  to  subdue 
him  than  Absalom  did." 

Joab  in  the  same  instant  posted  forward 
with  his  brother,  and  the  troops  that  were 
assigned  him  to  search  for  Sheba. 

On  his  arrival  at  Gibeon,  a  village  forty 
furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem,  he  met 
Amasa  in  his  march  at  the  head  of  a  gal- 
lant army.  Amasa  advancing  towrards 
him  to  embrace  him,  Joab,  with  a  breast- 
plate upon  his  body,  and  his  sword  girt 
about  him,  going  to  meet  him,  insidiously 
dropped  his  sword  out  of  the  scabbard, 
and  presently  catched  it  up  again  with 
one  hand,  while  he  took  Amasa  by  the 
beard*  with  the  other,  as  if  it  had  been  to 
have  saluted  him,  but  sheathed  it  in  his 
bowels,  so  that  he  died  upon  the  place. 

This  execrable  murder  of  a  gallant 
youth,  nearly  allied  to  him,  and  without 
provocation,  certainly  was  the  highest  de- 
gree of  ignominy  on  the  character  of  Joab, 
who  could  be  excited  to  it  by  no  better 
motive  than  a  malicious  envy  at  his  pre- 
ferment, and  a  jealousy  of  his  being  too 
much  in  the  king's  favour. 

It  was  much  upon  the  same  ground 
that  he  had  already  murdered  Abner,  and 
much  after  the  same  treacherous  manner 

*  It  was  an  ancient  custom  among  the  Grecians, 
to  take  the  person  whom  they  addressed  by  the  chin 
or  beard,  and  the  Turks  to  this  day  continue  the 
same  custom.  The  Arabians  also  have  a  great  re- 
gard to  the  beard.  The  wives  and  children  kiss  the 
beards  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  when  they 
salute  them;  and  even  when  two  friends  meet  to- 
gether, they  interchange  kisses  in  the  same  manner. 
The  like  custom  is  still  preserved  among  the  In- 
dians, who,  when  they  would  give  a  hearty  salute, 
take  each  other  by  the  chin,  and  cry,  Bvbba,  that 
is,  father,  or  JJii,  brother,  as  modern  travellers  re- 
late. 


C«AP.    I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


325 


that  be  did  it  too.  In  the  former  case, 
indeed,  he  might  appear  to  have  some 
specious  pretence  for  it,  in  revenge  of  his 
brother  Asahel;  but  for  this  second 
murder  he  had  not  even  the  shadow  of 
excuse. 

Upon  the  death  of  Amasa,  Joab  ad- 
vanced with  his  army  in  quest  of  Sheba, 
leaving  only  one  man  with  the  general's 
body,  with  orders  to  make  proclamation 
through  the  army,  that  he  was  a  bad  man, 
and  treated  according  to  his  desert ;  de- 
siring all  those  that  were  for  the  king  to 
follow  Joab,*  and  his  brother  Abishai. 

While  the  body  lay  exposed  in  the 
highway,  there  were  multitudes  gathered 
together,  gazing  upon  him  with  astonish- 
ment; so  that  the  man  who  had  it  in 
charge  removed  it  to  a  vi'lage,  where  he 
lodged  it  in  a  house,  and  threw  a  coat 
over  it;  and  as  soon  as  the  surprise  was 
over,  the  soldiers  marched  forward  after 
their  commander. 

Joab  had  by  this  time  pursued  Sheba 
almost  through  the  land  of  Israel ;  and  at 
last  getting  intelligence  that  he  had  shel- 
tered himself  in  a  strong  town  called  Beth- 
Maachahjf  Joab  ordered  the  place  to  be 
immediately  invested,  and  a  trench  cast 
about  it;  and  at  the  same  time  to  ply  it 
with  mines  and  batteries ;  being  resolved 
to  destroy  it,  in  resentment  for  the  indig- 
nity offered  him  by  the  inhabitants  for 
shutting  their  gates  against  him. 


*  So  insolent  was  Joab  become,  upon  the  pre- 
sumption that  David  durst  not  punish  him,  that 
as  he  ventured  upon  this  bloody  act,  so  he  ima- 
gined, that  though  the  sight  of  Amasa's  dead  body 
might  stop  the  march  of  those  that  came  by  it, 
yet,  upon  its  being  given  out  that  he  was  again 
become  their  general,  their  love  for  him  was  such 
that  they  would  not  scruple  to  follow  him. — Pa- 
trick's Commentary. 

f  A  city  in  the  northern  part  of  the  canton  al- 
lotted to  the  tribe  of  Naphtali.  About  eighty  years 
after  this  event,  it  was  taken  and  ravaged  by  Ben- 
hadad  king  of  Syria.  About  two  hundred  years 
after,  it  was  captured  and  sacked  by  Tiglath- 
pileser',  who  carried  the  inhabitants  captive  into 
Assyria.  This  place  was  subsequently  rebuilt; 
and,  according  to  Josephus,  became,  under  the 
name  of  Abila,  the  capital  of  the  district  of  Abi- 
lene. 


While  the  army  of  Joab  were  battering 
the  town,  a  good  and  prudent  woman, ^ 
out  of  zeal  for  the  service  of  her  country 
in  that  extremity,  mounted  the  wall,  and 
called  out  to  Joab  from  the  battlements, 
to  speak  a  word  with  him  out  of  the  hear- 
ing of  the  soldiers. 

Joab  complied  with  her  desire,  and  the 
speech  she  made  him  was  to  this  purpose : 
"  Whereas  God  has  given  us  kings  and 
governors  to  protect  us  against  our  ene- 
mies, and  to  maintain  and  preserve  us  in 
peace  and  unity  one  with  another ;   you 


X  It  seems  not  unlikely,  that  this  woman  was  a 
governess  in  this  city  ;  for  though  that  office  was 
most  commonly  occupied  by  met),  yet  there  wants 
not  instances  of  women,  (as  in  the  case  of  Debo- 
rah, Judg.  iv.  4.  and  queen  Athaliah,  2  Kings  xi.) 
who  have  been  employed  in  the  administration  of 
civil  affairs.  If  she  was  invested  with  any  such 
authority,  she  was  the  properest  person  to  desire 
a  parley  with  the  general  ;  and  reason  good  she 
bad  to  desire  it,  because  she  knew  the  present 
temper  and  fears  of  the  citizens  and  soldiers  both, 
namely,  that,  considering  the  imminent  danger 
they  were  in,  they  were  generally  desirous  of  peace, 
and  restrained  from  it  only  by  Sheba's  power  and 
authority. — In  the  beginning  of  this  woman's 
speech  to  Joab,  there  is  something  that  seems  both 
abrupt  and  obscure  ;  *  They  were  wont  to  speak 
in  old  time,  saying,  they  should  surely  ask  counsel 
at  Abel,  and  so  they  ended  the  matter,'  2  Sam. 
xx.  18.  According  to  this  translation,  the  sense 
of  the  words  is, — '  This  city,  which  thou  art  about 
to  destroy,  is  no  mean  and  contemptible  one,  but 
so  honourable  and  considerable  for  its  wisdom, 
and  the  wise  people  in  it,  that  when  any  difference 
did  arise  among  any  of  the  neighbouring  places, 
they  used  proveibially  to  say,  We  will  ask  the 
opinion  and  advice  of  the  men  of  Abel  about  it, 
and  we  will  stand  to  their  arbitration  ;  and  so  all 
parties  were  satisfied,  and  disputes  ended :'  so 
that  her  words,  according  to  this  sense,  are  a 
high  commendation  of  the  city  of  Abel,  for  its 
being  a  place  (time  out  of  mind)  very  eminent  for 
the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  its  inhabitants.  But 
there  is  another  translation  in  the  margin  of  our 
bibles,  which  seems  to  be  more  natural, and  makes 
the  woman  speak  in  this  manner: — '  When  the 
people  saw  thee  lay  siege  to  the  city,  they  said, 
Surely  he  will  ask,  if  we  will  have  peace;  for  the 
law  prescribes,  that  he  should  offer  peace  to  stran- 
gers, much  more  then  to  Israelitish  cities  ;  and  if 
he  would  once  do  this,  we  should  soon  bring 
things  to  an  amicable  agreement  ;  for  we  are 
peaceable  people,  and  .faithful  to  our  prince.'  So 
that,  according  to  this  interpretation,  the  woman 
both  modestly  reproved  Joab  for  the  neglect  of  his 
duty,  and  artfully  engaged  him  in  the  performance 
of  it. — Patrick's  Commentary,  and  Poole's  An- 
otations. 


326 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


are  come,  without  any  injury  or  provoca- 
tion, to  ruin  one  of  the  most  eminent  cities 
of  the  whole  land  of  Israel." 

Joab  at  this  expressed  his  utter  abhor- 
rence of  so  foul  a  deed;  and  said,  he 
hoped  God  would  always  keep  him  in  a 
better  mind :  adding,  that  he  was  so  far 
from  having  the  least  thought  of  commit- 
ting any  violence  on  this  famous  city,  or 
of  doing  harm  to  any  one  person  in  it, 
that  if  the  people  would  but  deliver  up 
Sheba,  that  rebellious  son  of  Bichri,  to 
justice,  he  would  at  the  same  moment 
draw  off  his  army. 

Upon  this  promise  and  declaration  the 
woman  called  out  to  Joab  to  have  a  little 
patience,  and  Sheba's  head  should  be 
thrown  down  to  him  over  the  wall. 

Upon  this,  she  went  back  to  the  citi- 
zens, and  reasoned  the  matter  with  them 
in  this  manner:  "Are  you  then  resolved, 
like  a  company  of  wicked  men,  and  for 
the  sake  of  a  wicked  wretch,  a  mere 
stranger  to  you,  to  sacrifice  your  habita- 
tions, your  wives,  and  your  children? 
What  has  Sheba  done  for  you,  to  balance 
the  obligations  you  owe  to  David  ?  Or, 
setting  aside  all  other  arguments,  are  you 
able  to  defend  your  city  against  this 
mighty  army?" 

The  woman's  address,  founded  on  truth 
and  reason,  carried  with  it  such  weight, 
that  they  forthwith  cut  off  Sheba's  head 
by  consent,  for  a  composition,  and  cast  it 
over  the  wall.  Whereupon  the  siege  was 
forthwith  raised :  and  the  people  return- 
ing to  Jerusalem,  David  declared  Joab 
general  of  all  his  troops. 

Benaiah  had  the  command  given  him  of 
all  the  guards  of  the  body,  and  the  six 
hundred  veterans ;  Adoram  was  the  ap- 
pointed treasurer,  Jehoshaphat  was  re- 
corder, Sheva  secretary,  Zadok  and  Abi- 
athar  continued  in  the  priesthood. 

Soon  after  this  transaction,  it  pleased 
God  to  afflict  the  Israelites  with  a  sore 
famine  throughout  the  land,  and  David 
earnestly  besought  God  to  reveal  unto 
him   in   mercy,  both   the   cause  of  that 


grievous  judgment,  and  how  it  might  be 
removed. 

Answer  was  returned  by  the  prophets, 
that  the  blood  of  the  Gibeonites,  which 
Saul  had  most  perfidiously  caused  to  be 
shed,  cried  to  heaven  for  vengeance,  as  an 
action  not  only  contrary  to  the  oath  and 
promise  of  Joshua,  and  ratified  also  by  the 
elders,  but  against  conscience  and  com- 
mon justice.  Wherefore  they  demanded 
that  the  king  should  give  such  satisfaction 
to  the  Gibeonites  as  they  might  require 
for  the  loss  of  their  slaughtered  citizens, 
and  then  the  Israelites  might  expect  that 
God  would  be  gracious  to  them  in  deliver- 
ing them  from  their  present  calamity. 

When  David  came  to  understand  this 
from  the  prophets  themselves,  he  sent  to 
the  Gibeonites,  and  asked  them,  what  sat- 
isfaction would  content  them  ? 

They  demanded  that  seven  of  Saul's 
sons,  or  of  his  race,  might  be  delivered  up 
to  justice.* 


*  Whether  the  Gibeonites  did  right  or  wrong 
in  exacting  so  severe  a  retaliation  for  the  injury 
Saul  and  his  family  had  done  them,  sacred  history 
is  nowise  concerned.  But  to  show  us  from 
whence  this  barbarous  custom  of  hanging  up  men 
to  appease  the  anger  of  the  gods  proceeded,  the 
account  of  it  is  prefaced  with  this  observation,  2 
Sam.  xxi.  2.  *  The  Gibeonites  were  not  of  the 
children  of  Israel,'  (for  among  them  they  learnt  no 
such  practice,)  *  but  a  remnant  of  the  Amorites;' 
who  were  addicted  to  this  horrid  superstition,  of 
which  the  Gibeonites  still  retained  some  tincture, 
notwithstanding  their  abode  among  people  of  bet- 
ter sentiments.  Though  the  scripture  speaks  in 
the  dialect  of  these  men,  yet  we  greatly  err  in  the 
conclusion  from  hence,  if  we  imagine  that  God 
can  be  delighted  with  human  sacrifices,  which  he 
so  frequently  and  vehemently  expresses  his  detesta- 
tion of.  He  desires  the  death  or  punishment  of 
no  man,  except  it  be  in  pursuance  of  his  wise  pro- 
vidence, or  when  the  criminal,  by  some  bad  con- 
duct, has  forfeited  his  life  to  the  government  he 
lived  under  ;  nor  would  he  have  required  the  exe- 
cution of  Saul's  posterity,  had  it  not  been  to  pro- 
cure the  poor  distressed  Gibeonites  (who  were 
truly  drudges  to  their  Hebrew  masters)  a  kinder 
treatment  for  the  future;  had  it  not  been  to  tes- 
tify his  abhorrence  of  all  oppression  and  violence, 
and  to  show  that  the  cries  of  the  meanest  slaves, 
as  well  as  the  mightiest  monarch,  enter  the  ears  of 
the  most  High,  that  with  him  there  is  no  respect 
of  persons,  but  that  *  the  rich  and  the  poor  to  him 
are  both  alike.'  Had  it  not  been  to  repair  the 
injury  done  to  his  most  holy  name,  in  the  violation 
of  the  compact  which  both  Joshua  and  the  princes 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


327 


The  king  ordered  seven  of  them  to  be 
found  out,  and  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
Gibeonites,  to  do  with  them  as  they  pleas- 
ed,* but  excepted  Mephibosheth,  for  the 
sake  of  Jonathan  his  father. 

The  Gibeonites  accepted  of  this  as  a 
composition,  and  hanged  them  all;  and  be- 
ing thus  satisfied,  God  sent  them  rain,  and 
,so  kindly  a  continuance  of  it,  that  the 
earth  in  due  time  recovered  its  fertility, 
and  brought  forth  fruits  in  their  season, 
fresh  and  flourishing,  as  before. 

Plenty  being  now  restored  to  the  af- 
flicted land,  David  turned  his  thoughts 
towards  the  reduction  of  his  enemies, 
marched  out  with  his  army  against  the 
Philistines,  fought  and  routed  them:  but 
following  the  chase  too  far,  Ishbi-benob, 
the  son  of  Rapha,  one  of  the  race  of 
giants,  whose  armour  was  a  coat  of  mail, 
a  lance  weighing  three  hundred  shekels, 
and  his  sword  by  his  side,  seeing  David 
alone,  and  quite  spent,  turned  short  upon 
him,  struck  him  to  the  earth,  and  had 
certainly  slain  him,  if  Abishai,  Joab's 
brother,  had  not  in  the  precise  moment 
come  to  his  relief,  bestriding  David,  not 
only  protected  him,  but  killed  his  enemy. 

The  whole  army,  sensible  of  the  danger 
the  king  was  in,  and  of  the  providence  of 
his    deliverance,    that    the    commanders 


of  Israel  made  with  his  people,  and  confirmed  with 
the  solemnity  of  an  oath  :  in  a  word,  had  it  not 
been  by  this  exemplary  punishment,  to  give  man- 
kind a  lesson  of  instruction  concerning  the  sacred- 
ness  of  oaths  and  treaties,  and  how  religiously 
they  ought  to  be  observed,  even  towards  those 
that  are  in  the  lowest  circumstances  of  life. 

*  It  could  not  be  for  any  private  end  that  Da- 
vid delivered  these  children  of  Saul  into  the  hands 
of  the  Gibeonites,  but  purely  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God,  who  had  both  directed,  and  warranted 
him  so  to  do.  For  we  cannot  but  suppose,  as 
.losephus  does,  that,  when  David  consulted  the 
oracle  concerning  the  famine,  God  informed  him 
not  only  for  what  crime  it  was  inflicted,  but  by 
what  means  likewise  it  was  to  be  removed  :  and 
therefore,  being  let  into  all  this,  he  was  not  at 
liberty  to  do  what  he  pleased,  but  compelled 
rattier  to  give  up  the  children  as  so  many  victims, 
notwithstanding  his  promise  and  oath  to  their 
father  ;  because  a  superior  power  interposed,  and, 
in  so  doing,  cancelled  the  prior  obligation. — Stack- 
house. 


bound  him  by  an  oath  never  to  hazard  his 
royal  person  any  more  in  a  battle ;  being 
naturally  brave,  he  laid  himself  too  open 
to  the  common  chance  of  war;  and  if  he 
should  miscarry,  it  would  be  an  irreparable 
loss  to  the  nation,  to  be  deprived  of  the 
blessings  they  enjoyed  under  his  mild  and 
gentle  administration. 

Soon  after  this  engagement,  however, 
the  Philistines  rallied  their  forces,  and 
fixed  their  place  of  rendezvous  at  Gob. 
David  having  notice  of  it,  despatched  an 
army  immediately  against  them. 

In  this  expedition,  Sibbechai  the  Hush- 
athite,  one  of  the  bravest  men  in  the  whole 
body,  acquired  great  reputation  by  cutting 
off  several  of  the  race  of  giants,  men  of 
prodigious  bulk  and  strength,  with  his 
own  hand.  He  had  in  short  the  honour 
of  a  great  share  in  that  day's  success. 

The  Philistines  after  this  brought  an- 
other  army  in  the  field,  and  the  king  sent 
out  his  troops  to  encounter  them.  In  this 
encounter,  Elhanan,  who  was  allied  to  the 
king,  signalized  his  valour,  by  slaying  in 
a  single  combat  one  of  the  boldest  men 
the  Philistines  had  in  their  party :  the 
rest  turned  their  backs  upon  it,  and  lost 
great  numbers  in  this  engagement. 

Notwithstanding  this,  they  in  a  short 
time  recruited  yet  once  again,  and  en- 
camped at  a  certain  town  not  far  from  the 
borders  of  the  Israelites.  The  Philistines 
had  in  their  camp  a  man  six  cubits  high ; 
six  fingers  on  a  hand,f  and  six  toes  on 
each  foot,  and  one  that  valued  himself 
upon  his  descent  from  the  stock  of  giants. 


t  This  is  not  a  solitary  instance:  Tavernier 
informs  us  that  the  eldest  son  of  the  emperor  of 
Java,  who  reigned  in  1648,  had  six  fingers  on  each 
hand,  and  six  toes  on  each  foot.  And  Maupertuis, 
in  his  seventeenth  letter,  says  that  he  met  with 
two  families  near  Berlin,  where  sedigitism  was 
equally  transmitted  on  both  sides  of  father  and 
mother.  I  saw  once  a  young  girl,  in  the  county 
of  Londonderry  in  Ireland,  who  had  six  fingers  on 
each  hand,  and  six  toes  on  each  foot,  but  her 
stature  had  nothing  gigantic  in  it.  The  daughters 
of  Caius  Horatius,  of  patrician  dignity,  were  called 
sedigitce  because  they  had  six  fingers  on  each 
hand.  Volcatius,  a  poet,  was  called  sedigitus  for 
the  same  reason. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


128 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   V 


Jonathan,  the  son  of  Shimei,  had  the 
honour  to  kill  this  gigantic  man  in  single 
combat,  and  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
which  contributed  very  much  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  day;  and  acquired  him  the 
glorious  character  of  a  valiant  man. 

This  was  the  last  battle  the  Israelites 
had  with  the  Philistines;  for  from  that 
time  forward  they  never  had  courage  to 
make  head  against  them. 

King  David  having  now  entirely  van- 
quished his  most  inveterate  and  powerful 
enemies,  and  obtained  for  his  people  a 
profound,  undisturbed  peace,  devoted  him- 
self to  the  service  of  God,  and  composed 
divers  psalms  and  hymns  to  different 
tunes,  in  order  to  celebrate  the  praises  of 
that  God  who  had  so  often  wrought  sal- 
vation for  his  chosen  people. 

These  compositions  he  ordered  to  be 
sung  by  the  Levites,  on  the  sabbaths  and 
other  festivals,  accompanied  with  musical 
instruments  provided  for  that  purpose:  as 
they  had  an  instrument  with  ten  strings, 
to  be  touched  with  a  quill,  the  psaltery 
with  twelve  strings  to  be  played  upon 
with  the  fingers,  and  large  cymbals  of 
brass. 

The  sacred  historian,  having  recorded 
several  of  the  hymns  composed  by  the 
royal  psalmist,  and  having  mentioned, 
that  the  king  had  about  him  eight  and 
thirty  worthies,  or  men  renowned  for  their 
valour  and  probity,  we  shall  particularly 
select  for  minute  observation  the  names, 
characters,  and  remarkable  achievements 
of  five  of  them,  by  which  judgment  may 
be  formed  of  the  rest. 

The  first  was  Adino,  the  Eznite,  who 
broke  several  times  into  the  body  of  the 
enemy,  and  killed  eight  hundred  of  them 
in  one  encounter,  with  his  own  hand. 

The  second  was  Eleazar,  the  son  of 
Dodo,  who  was  with  the  king  in  Arasam. 
It  was  his  fortune  to  be  in  a  battle, 
where  the  Israelites,  finding  themselves 
mightily  overpowered  with  numbers,  gave 
way  and  fled,  leaving  him  alone  to  make 
good  his  ground.     This  he  did  so  effec- 


tually, that  he  gave  a  stand  to  the  whole 
army,  killing  and  wounding  great  num- 
bers; so  that  his  sword  was,  in  a  manner, 
fixed  to  his  right  hand  with  the  blood. 
His  great  example  of  bravery  encour- 
aged the  fugitives,  and  made  them  rally, 
and  charge  the  enemy  with  such  fury, 
that  they  recovered  the  day,  and  crowned 
it  with  a  wonderful  and  most  illustrious 
victory;  Eleazar  killing  them,  and  the 
common  soldiers  stripping  them. 

The  third  was  Shammah,  the  son  of 
Agee,  upon  another  engagement  with  the 
Philistines,  finding  the  Israelites  giving 
way,  opposed  his  single  body  to  the  whole 
force  of  the  enemy;  did  great  execution 
upon  them,  broke  their  order,  put  them 
to  flight,  and  pursued  them  with  a  great 
overthrow. 

In  these  three  instances  we  read  the 
bravery  of  these  three  heroical  adventur- 
ers, in  the  plain  field,  and  in  the  face  of 
an  enemy. 

At  another  time  when  the  king  was  at 
Jerusalem,  and  the  Philistines  encamped 
before  it,  in  the  great  valley  that  extends 
as  far  as  Bethlehem,  about  twenty  furlongs 
from  the  town,  David  went  up  to  a  high 
tower  to  ask  counsel  and  direction  of 
God,  about  the  government  and  event  of 
the  war.  And  speaking  to  his  friends  of 
the  delicious  water  that  was  in  his  coun- 
try, and  especially  of  the  well  at  Bethle- 
hem,*  that  was  next  the  gate,   "  What 


*  This  place  was  generally  called  Bethlehem  of 
Judah,  or  Bethlehem- Ephratah,  to  distinguish  it 
from  another  Bethlehem  which  belonged  to  the 
tribe  of  Zebulon.  Neither  remarkable  for  the 
number,  nor  for  the  wealth  of  its  inhabitants,  it 
nevertheless  became  famous  for  being  the  birth- 
place of  the  royal  psalmist,  whence  it  obtained 
the  name  of  the  city  of  David ;  but  rendered  still 
more  eminent  in  having  been  selected  by  the  most 
High,  as  the  place  where  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
was  born.  It  is  also  the  scene  of  that  admirable 
eclogue  which  is  contained  in  the  book  of  Ruth. 
"This  village,"  says  Volney,  "situated  two  leagues 
south-east  of  Jerusalem,  is  seated  on  an  eminence, 
in  a  country  full  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  might  be 
rendered  very  agreeable.  The  soil  is  the  best  in 
all  these  districts;  fruits,  vines,  olives,  and  sesa- 
mum,  succeed  here  extremely  well.  They  reckon 
about  six  hundred  men  in  the  village  capable  of 
bearing  arms.     Formerly  their  whole  trade  con- 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


820 


would  I  give,"  with  earnest  desire  he  ex- 
claimed, "for  a  draught  of  that  water  !"* 
These    three    men    over-hearing    him, 
went  their  way  immediately,  broke  through 


sisted  in  die  manufacture  of  beads;  but  the  reve- 
rend fathers  not  being  able  to  find  a  market  for  all 
they  could  famish,  have  resumed  the  cultivation 
of  their  lands.  The)'  make  a  white  wine,  so 
excellent  in  its  quality,  as  to  justify  the  former 
celebrity  of  the  wines  of  Judea."  Clarke,  describ- 
ing this  place,  says,  "  After  travelling  for  about  an 
hour  from  the  time  of  our  leaving  Jerusalem,  we 
came  in  view  of  Bethlehem,  and  halted  to  enjoy 
the  interesting  sight.  The  town  appeared  cover- 
ing the  ridge  of  a  hill  on  the  southern  side  of  a 
deep  and  extensive  valley,  and  reaching  from  east 
to  west;  the  most  conspicuous  object  being  the 
monastery,  erected  over  the  cave  of  the  nativity,  in 
the  suburbs,  and  upon  the  eastern  side.  The  bat- 
tlements and  walls  of  this  building  seemed  like 
those  of  a  vast  fortress.  The  Dead  sea  below, 
upon  our  left,  appeared  so  near  to  us,  that  we 
thought  we  could  have  rode  thither  in  a  very 
short  space  of  time.  Still  nearer  stood  a  moun- 
tain upon  its  western  shore,  resembling  in  its 
form  the  cone  of  Vesuvius,  near  Naples,  and 
having  also  a  crater  upon  its  top  which  was  plain- 
ly discernible.  The  distance,  however,  is  much 
greater  than  it  appears  to  be;  the  magnitude  of 
the  objects  beheld  in  this  fine  prospect  causing 
them  to  appear  less  remote  than  they  really  are. 
The  atmosphere  was  remarkably  clear  and  serene; 
but  we  saw  none  of  those  clouds  of  smoke,  which, 
by  some  writers,  are  said  to  exhale  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake,  nor  from  any  neighbouring 
mountain.  Every  thing  about  it  was  in  the  high- 
est degree  grand  and  awful.  Bethlehem  is  six 
miles  from  Jerusalem.  Josephus  describes  the 
interval  between  the  two  cities  as  equal  only  to 
twenty  stadia ;  and  in  the  passage  referred  to,  he 
makes  an  allusion  to  a  celebrated  well,  which, 
hot  1 1  from  the  account  given  by  him  of  its  situa- 
tion, and  more  especially  from  the  text  of  the 
sacred  scripture,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  15,  seems  to  have 
contained  the  identical  fountain,  of  whose  pure 
and  delicious  water  we  were  now  drinking.  The 
well  still  retains  its  pristine  renown  ;  and  many  an 
expatriated  Bethlehernite  has  made  it  the  theme 
of  his  longing  and  regret." 

•  It  is  commonly  observed  by  the  Jewish  com- 
mentators, that,  though  David  expressed  a  desire 
for  some  of  the  waters  of  Bethlehem,  because  it 
was  the  place  of  his  nativity,  a-nd  the  water  not 
improbably  very  excellent  in  its  kind,  yet  he  did 
not  do  this  with  any  intent  that  any  should  ven- 
ture their  lives  to  fetch  him  it.  In  this  action, 
however,  they  have  remarked  three  wonderful 
things,  viz.  that  three  men  could  break  through 
the  whole  host  of  the  Philistines;  and  when  they 
had  so  done,  durst  stay  to  draw  water  out  of  the 
well;  and  then  carry  it  away,  with  a  high  hand, 
through  the  same  host  to  David  :  but  they  might 
have  added  a  fourth  remark,  viz.  that  they  at- 
tempted this  at  the  gate  of  Bethlehem,  where  a 
garrison  of  the  Philistines  kept  a  strong  guard. — 
Patrick's  Commentary. 


the  camp  of  the  enemy,  fetched  some 
water  from  the  well,  and  came  back  with 
it  the  same  way  they  went; — the  barba- 
rians standing  amazed  all  the  while  at  the 
hardihood  of  the  undertaking,  and  not  dar- 
ing, though  so  few  in  number,  to  interrupt 
them  in  their  return. 

Upon  their  presenting  of  this  water  to 
the  king,  he  gave  God  thanks  for  the 
safety  of  them  that  brought  it;  but  it 
would  not  become  him  to  drink  it,  •  for,'  he 
said,  'it  was  the  price  of  blood,'  and  so  he 
poured  it  upon  the  ground  as  an  offering 
to  the  Lord. 

The  fourth  was  Abishai,  the  brother  of 
Joab,  that  in  one  day  slew  three  hundred 
of  the  enemy. 

The  fifth,  and  the  last  of  these  worthy 
champions  we  shall  mention,  was  Benaiah, 
a  man  of  a  sacerdotal  family,  who  fought 
upon  a  challenge,  with  two  brothers,  of 
eminent  fame  for  feats  of  arms  among  the 
Moabites,  and  killed  them  both. 

He  fought  again  with  an  Egyptian  of 
monstrous  force  and  size  ;  going  down  to 
him  with  only  a  staff  in  his  hand,  he  threw 
himself  upon  his  adversary,  who  was  arm- 
ed at  all  points,  forced  his  spear  out  of  his 
hands,  and  despatched  him  with  his  own 
weapon ;  and  for  his  greater  honour,  dis* 
armed  him  while  he  was  yet  living.f 


•f-  We  have  a  good  elucidation  of  this  in  a  duel 
between  Dioxippus  the  Athenian  and  J  lorratas  a 
Macedonian,  before  Alexander :  "  The  Macedo- 
nian, proud  of  his  military  skill,  treated  the  naked 
Athenian  with  contempt,  and  then  challenged  him 
to  fight  with  him  the  ensuing  day.  The  Macedo- 
nian came  armed  cap  a  pie  to  the  place  ;  on  his 
left  arm  he  had  a  brazen  shield,  and  in  the  same 
hand  a  spear  called  sarissa  ;  he  had  a  javelin  in 
his  right  hand  and  a  sword  girded  on  his  side;  in 
short,  he  appeared  armed  as  though  he  were  going 
to  contend  with  a  host.  Dioxippus  came  into  the 
field  with  a  chaplet  on  his  head,  a  purple  sash  on 
his  left  arm,  his  body  naked,  smeared  over  with 
oil,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  strong  knotty  club. 
Horratas,  supposing  he  could  easily  kill  his  anta- 
gonist while  at  a  distance,  threw  his  javelin,  which 
Dioxippus,  suddenly  stooping,  dexterously  avoided, 
and,  before  Horratas  could  transfer  the  spear  from 
his  left  to  his  right  hand,  sprang  forward,  and  with 
one  blow  of  his  club,  broke  it  in  two.  The  Ma- 
cedonian, being  deprived  of  both  his  spears,  began 
to  draw  his  sword  ;  but  before  he  could  draw  it 
2t 


330 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


He  performed  another  feat  of  valour, 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  rest.  There 
was  a  lion  dropped  into  a  pitfall;  the 
snow  drove  in,  and  covered  the  mouth  of 
it;  so  that  the  beast  finding  no  way  to 
get  out  again,  roared  most  hideously. 
Benaiah  happening  to  pass  that  way,  hear- 
ing of  this  outcry,  went  to  the  place,  and 
with  a  staff  killed  the  lion.* 


out  Dioxippus  seized  him,  tripped  up  his  heels, 
and  threw  him  with  great  violence  on  the  ground. 
He  then  put  his  foot  on  his  neck,  drew  out  his 
sword,  and  lifting  up  his  club,  was  about  to  dash 
out  the  brains  of  the  overthrown  champion,  had  he 
not  been  prevented  by  the  king."  Q.  Curt.  lib.  ix. 
How  similar  are  the  two  cases !  '  He  went  down 
to  him  with  a  staff,  and  plucked  the  spear  out  of  the 
Egyptian's  hands,  and  slew  him  with  his  own  spear.' 
Benaiah  appears  to  have  been  just  such  another 
clubsman  as  Dioxippus — Dr  A.  Clarke. 

*  Whether  Benaiah,  listening  only  to  the  sug- 
gestions of  an  undaunted  courage,  or  because  he 
could  not  otherwise  reach  the  shaggy  destroyer, 
went  down  of  his  own  accord  into  the  pit;  or 
whether,  as  Bochart  contends,  he  was  driven  by  a 
storm  of  snow  to  take  shelter,  by  accident,  in  the 
same  pit  where  the  lion  had  taken  refuge  just  be- 
fore, from  the  severity  of  the  weather, — is  of  little 
importance  ;  the  fact  of  his  encountering  a  lion, 
in  these  unfavourable  circumstances,  and  killing 
him,  is  certain.  Nor  are  such  instances  awanting 
in  the  common  page  of  history.  Curtius  relates 
in  the  beginning  of  his  eighth  book,  that  Alexander 
the  Great  singly  encountered  a  lion  of  unusual 
magnitude,  which  rushed  out  upon  him,  and  by 
one  blow  laid  him  dead  at  his  feet:  he  tells  a 
similar  story  of  Lysimachus,  when  he  was  hunting 
in  Syria.  But  this  method  of  destroying  the  lion 
is  attended  with  great  danger,  and  sometimes 
proves  fatal  to  the  assailant ;  and,  therefore,  stra- 
tagem is  commonly  preferred  to  force.  He  is 
hunted  with  large  dogs,  supported  by  men  on 
horseback,  who  dislodge,  and  force  him  to  retire. 
But,  among  the  Arabians,  the  common  method  is 
to  dig  a  pit  in  the  spot  which  he  is  observed  to 
haunt,  which  they  cover  slightly  with  reeds  or 
small  branches  of  trees,  and  fixing  a  live  animal 
upon  it,  they  frequently  decoy  and  catch  him.  To 
destroy  the  lion,  and  other  beasts  of  prey,  was 
anciently  thought  no  small  part  of  a  warrior's 
glory.  The  faithful  page  of  sacred  history  informs 
us,  that  the  first  oppressors  of  their  fellow-men 
endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  favourable  opinion 
of  the  public,  by  distinguishing  themselves  in  the 
chase.  So  late  as  the  time  of  the  crusades,  the 
destruction  of  a  lion  was  reckoned,  by  the  kings 
and  princes  who  engaged  in  those  insane  enter- 
prises, an  exploit  worthy  of  being  engraved  on 
their  teals,  and  celebrated  in  the  songs  of  their 
bards.  The  simple  memorials  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, of  the  courage  and  address  displayed  by 
\ariou«  individuals,  in  single  combat  with  the 
lion,  prove  more  forcibly,  than  long  and  laboured 
ikiuiJs,  the  terrible  character  of  that  animal,  and 


There  were  five  great  men ;  and  the 
other  three  and  thirty  not  inferior  to 
them. 

David  now  determined  to  number  the 
people  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel,  f  not  re- 
membering the  old  precept  of  the  great 
lawgiver  Moses,  that  as  often  as  it  should 
be  found  requisite  to  muster  the  people, 
an  oblation  should  be  offered  unto  the 
Lord  of  a  shekel  a  head ;  but  sent  Joab 
abruptly  to  take  a  general  account. 

Joab  excused  himself  from  it  as  a  thing 
that  was  needless;  but  David  would  not 
admit  of  the  excuse,  and  therefore  posi- 
tively commanded  him  to  go  about  it  im- 
mediately. In  obedience  therefore  to  the 
king's  solemn  injunction,  he  summoned 
the  scribes  and  the  heads  of  the  tribes  to 
advise  with  them,  and  went  through  the 
whole  land  of  Israel  to  make  the  compu- 
tation. 

After  nine  months  and  twenty  days, 
Joab  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and  told  the 
king  upon  the  whole,  that  besides  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  of  Levi,  which  he 
had  not  as  yet  taken  an  account  of,  he 
found  the  number  of  the  rest  of  the  Israel- 
ites to  amount  to  eight  hundred  thousand 
men,   who  were  able  to  bear  arms.     In 


the  severe  calamities  which  the  inhabitants  of 
those  countries  occasionally  suffer  from  his  assaults. 
We  discover  many  qualities  in  him,  which  com- 
mand our  admiration  and  praise  ;  but  we  also  de- 
tect many  which  excite  detestation  and  horror. 
In  the  sacred  volume,  the  lion  accordingly  is  at 
one  time  the  subject  of  praise,  and  at  another,  the 
object  of  pointed  condemnation.  Nothing  in 
heaven  or  on  earth  is  so  sacred  and  excellent ; 
nothing,  on  the  other  hand,  so  destructive  and 
terrible  in  earth  or  hell,  which  the  lion  is  not  in 
some  part  of  scripture  employed  to  symbolize— 
Script.  Must. 

+  David  probably  coveted  an  extension  of  em- 
pire ;  and  having  through  the  suggestions  of  an 
adversary  given  way  to  this  evil  disposition,  he 
could  not  well  look  to  God  for  help,  and,  there- 
fore, wished  to  know  whether  the  thousands  of 
Israel  and  Judah  might  be  deemed  equal  to  the 
conquest  which  he  meditated.  His  design  was,  to 
force  all  the  Israelites  to  perform  military  service, 
and  engage  in  the  contests  which  his  ambition  had 
in  view  ;  and  as  the  people  might  resist  this  cen- 
sus, soldiers  were  employed  to  make  it,  who 
might  not  only  put  down  resistance,  but  *LsO  sup- 
press any  disturbances  that  might  arise. — Home. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


331 


the  tribe  of  Judah  alone  having  reckoned 
five  hundred  thousand. 

When  Joab  was  absent  on  this  business, 
David  being  informed  by  the  prophet 
that  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled 
against  him  for  his  rash  conduct,  and  not 
complying  with  the  precepts  delivered 
down  by  his  servant  Moses, — whereupon 
he  betook  himself  to  true  repentance, 
begged  pardon  of  Almighty  God,  with 
prayer  and  supplications,  and  obtained  it. 

After  this,  God  sent  the  prophet  Gad 
to  him,  with  an  offer  of  three  things  to  his 
choice ;  that  is,  either  a  seven  years'  fa- 
mine,* three  months'  flight  before  an  ene- 
my, or  three  days'  pestilence ;  and  to  de- 
mand an  immediate  answer  from  him 
which  of  the  three  he  would  take  ? 

David  found  himself  in  a  great  strait 
which  to  choose,  thus  arguing  with  him- 
self: "  If  I  choose  the  famine,  it  would 
look  as  if  I  had  more  concern  for  myself 
than  for  my  people ;  for  my  storehouses 
are  much  better  provided  with  corn  than 
theirs.  If  to  lie  at  the  mercy  of  an  ene- 
my, it  appears  the  same  still ;  for  I  have 
strong  holds  and  castles  to  repair  to  for 
my  own  safety.  But  the  third  is  a  cala- 
mity that  threatens  governors  in  common 
with  their  subjects." 

*  There  is  a  difference  between  tins  account 
and  that  which  we  meet  with  in  the  book  of 
Chronicles.  There  the  famine  is  said  to  be  for 
three  years  only,  but  here  it  is  said  to  be  for  seven. 
The  Septuagint  indeed  makes  it  no  more  than 
three  ;  and  for  this  reason  some  have  imagined, 
that  the  seven  is  an  error  crept  into  the  text, 
especially  considering  that  three  years  of  famine 
agree  better  with  three  days'  pestilence,  and  three 
months'  flight  before  an  enemy.  But  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  any  error  in  the  text ;  it  is  but 
saying,  that  in  Chronicles,  the  author  speaks  of 
those  years  of  famine  which  were  to  come  for 
David's  sin  only,  but  in  Samuel,  of  those  three 
years  of  famine  likewise,  which  were  sent  for  Saul's 
sin,  2  Sam.  xxi.  Now  within  one  year  after  the 
famine  that  was  sent  for  Saul's  sin,  was  David's 
gin  in  numbering  the  people  ;  the  intermediate 
year  then  was  either  the  sabbatical  year,  wherein 
the  people  were  not  allowed  to  sow  nor  reap,  or  a 
year  of  such  excessive  drought,  that  the  crop  came 
to  little  or  nothing.  Upon  either  of  these  ac- 
counts we  may  properly  enough  say,  that  there 
were  four  years  of  famine  before,  and  three  more 
being  now  added  to  them  make  up  the  seven  that 
are  here  mentioned. — Poole  s  Annotations. 


As  he  was  thus  deliberating,  the  pro- 
phet pressed  him  to  an  immediate  answer; 
to  which  he  made  this  return  :  "  That  he 
would  rather  fall  into  the  hands  of  God 
than  of  man;"  and  therefore  submitting 
himself  to  God's  pleasure  and  goodness, 
he  chose  the  pestilence. 

The  prophet  had  no  sooner  received 
and  reported  David's  answer,  than  the 
Israelites  were  seized  with  a  most  unac- 
countable distemper,  that  was  attended 
with  certain  death,  and  accompanied  with 
accidents  that  baffled  all  the  doctors, 
either  to  find  the  cause  or  remedy ;  so 
that,  in  fine,  they  died  in  prodigious  num- 
bers. Some  went  off  with  gripes,  and  tor- 
ments that  immediately  despatched  them, 
some  with  faintness  and  languors,  in  de- 
spite of  the  physicians;  others  with  giddi- 
ness, dimness  of  sight,  suffocations,  &c. 
Some  again  expired  themselves,  before 
they  could  thoroughly  perform  the  office 
of  the  burial  for  their  dead  friends.  The 
mortality,  in  short,  was  so  great,  that 
betwixt  break  of  day  and  dinner-time, 
there  were  swept  away  by  this  pestilence 
seventy  thousand  persons. 

The  destroying  angel  was  now  going 
to  Jerusalem  upon  the  same  commission ; 
but  the  king  putting  on  sackcloth,  and 
humbly  supplicating  God  with  prayers 
and  tears,  to  remove  this  dreadful  judg- 
ment; in  the  midst  of  his  ejaculations, 
he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  discovered  an 
angel,  with  a  drawn  sword,  moving  toward 
Jerusalem. 

Upon  perceiving  this  he  broke  out  into 
a  more  passionate  exclamation,  "  Lord," 
says  he,  "  punish  the  shepherd;  but  alas! 
what  have  these  sheep  done  ?  Pour  down 
thy  wrath  rather  upon  me  and  my  family; 
but  spare  the  innocent  people,  I  beseech 
thee." 

The  earnest  supplications  of  the  pious 
and  patriot  king  reached  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  God  immediately  put  a  stop  to 
the  pestilence ;  ordering  the  king,  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophet  Gad,  to  go  up  with- 
out delay  to  the  thrashing-floor  of  Araunah, 


SO!  HISTORY  OF 

and  there  to  erect  an  altar,  and  to  offer 


[Book  V. 


sacrifice  upon  it. 

David  went  away  to  the  place,  accord- 
ing to  his  direction,  where  he  found  Arau- 
nah  thrashing  his  corn,  who  no  sooner 
saw  David  and  his  sons  coming  towards 
him  than  he  ran  out  to  meet  tliem. 

Now  this  Araunah  was  a  Jebusite,  and 
so  particular  a  friend  of  David's  that  he 
protected  and  secured  him  from  all  damage 
upon  the  very  taking  of  the  city,  as  has 
been  before  observed. 

At  the  king's  approach,  he  thus  humbly 
addressed  him :  "  Is  there  any  thing  now 
that  my  lord  will  be  pleased  to  command 
of  his  servant?"  "I  come,"  said  David, 
"  to  buy  your  thrashing-floor,  and  to  raise 
an  altar  to  God  upon  it,  and  to  offer  sacri- 
fice." "  Nay,"  replied  Araunah,  "  not 
only  my  thrashing-floor,  but  my  ploughs 
and  my  oxen  for  burnt-offerings,  are  all 
at  my  lord's  service.  And  I  beseech 
God  to  look  graciously  down  upon  your 
worship  and  sacrifice." 

The  king  was  exceedingly  pleased  with 
the  candour  and  greatness  of  this  good 
man's  mind;  but  told  him,  that  it  must  be 
a  purchase,  not  a  gift;  for  it  would  not  be 
acceptable  to  offer  a  sacrifice  that  should 
cost  him  nothing.  So  Araunah  submitted 
himself  to  David,  who  gave  him  fifty 
shekels  for  the  floor;  and  offered  sacrifices 
and  burnt-offeiings,  and  peace-offerings, 
upon  it.  After  which  solemnity,  David 
was  reinstated  in  God's  grace  and  favour. 

This  was  the  place  whither  Abraham 
brought  his  son  Isaac  to,  when  he  was 
commanded  to  offer  him  for  a  sacrifice. 
David,  on  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the 
favour  of  God  in  averting  the  heavy  judg- 
ment at  his  intercession,  and  afterwards 
accepting  the  oblations  he  offered,  came 
to  a  resolution  to  call  the  whole  place  by 
the  name  of  the  people's  altar,  or  the 
Israelites'  altar,  and  to  build  a  temple 
there;  which  purpose  was  afterward  rati- 
fied by  God  himself,  who  sent  his  prophet 
to  him  with  a  prediction,  that  his  successor 
should  there  build  a  temple. 


David  employed  people  upon  this,  to 
take  an  account  how  many  strangers  he 
had  in  his  dominions,  which  were  reckon- 
ed to  amount  to  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  persons.  Out  of  these 
he  chose  eighty  thousand  to  work  in  stone; 
the  rest  to  be  employed  in  carrying  all 
sorts  of  materials;  appointing  thirty-five 
thousand  to  oversee  the  workmen. 

There  was  provided  for  the  people  a 
prodigious  quantity  of  brass  and  iron,  and 
cedar  wood  in  abundance  was  brought 
from  Tyre  and  Sidon ; — though  David 
told  his  familiar  friends,  that  these  mate- 
rials were  only  to  lie  ready  for  use,  when 
his  son  should  have  occasion  for  them,  which 
would  save  time  trouble  and  expedite  the 
work;  but  that  as  yet  his  son  was  too 
young  and  unexperienced  to  manage  and 
direct  so  arduous  an  undertaking. 


CHAPTER  II. 

David  delivers  to  his  son  Solomon  special 
instructions  concerning  the  building  of  a 
temple,  to  be  devoted  to  God's  immediate 
honour,  worship,  and  service. — Adonijah,  Da- 
vid's fourth  son,  on  his  growing  infirm,  claims 
the  government  by  succession;  but  relinquishes 
the  same  upon  the  opposition  of  the  people. — 
Solomon  proclaimed  king. — David's  transac- 
tions a  short  time  before  his  death,  viz.  his 
speech  to  the  people,  and  advice  to  his  son 
concerning  the  work  he  had  left  him  to  accom- 
plish ;  and  the  future  administration  of  af- 
fairs.— H  s  death  and  sketch  of  character. 

Such  was  the  state  and  condition  of  the 
Israelites,  when  David  called  his  son 
Solomon  to  him,  and  gave  him  special 
charge,  that  as  soon  as  he  came  to  the 
throne,  he  should  enter  upon  the  building 
of  a  temple  for  the  honour  and  worship  of 
God ;  the  charge  ran  in  terms  to  this 
e  fleet : 

"  I  would  have  done  it  myself;  but 
being  frequently  engaged  in  war,  and 
consequently  a  man  of  blood,  I  was  for- 
bidden by  an  express  command  from 
Heaven,  and  the  work  reserved  by  provi- 
dence for  my  youngest  son.     This  son, 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


333 


according  to  the  prediction  was  to  be 
called  Solomon,  who  should  be  a  prince 
of  peace ;  of  whom  it  was  foretold,  that 
God  would  take  him  with  a  paternal  affec- 
tion into  his  care,  and  that  the  whole 
people  of  Israel  should  be  happy  under 
his  administration ;  and  enjoy  not  only  a 
peace,  the  greatest  of  all  temporal  bless- 
ings, with  foreigners,  but  live  free  from 
any  civil  or  intestine  divisions  among  them- 
selves. Now,"  continued  David,  "since 
you  were  designed  to  be  a  king,  even  before 
you  were  born,  do  you  endeavour  to  behave 
yourself  as  a  man  otherwise  worthy  of  that 
honour  conferred  on  you  by  providence ; 
govern  yourself  according  to  the  measure  of 
piety,  justice,  and  true  fortitude ;  pay  a  re- 
verence to  the  precepts,  laws,  and  traditions 
of  Moses;  observe  them  religiously  your- 
self, nor  do  not  suffer  any  violation  of 
them  in  others.  As  for  the  temple  that 
God  hath  appointed  to  be  built  in  your 
reign,  be  sure  to  attend  to  it  as  you  ought 
to  do,  and  let  not  the  difficulty  of  the 
work  discourage  you ;  for  it  shall  be  my 
care  to  have  all  the  materials  in  readiness 
for  you  to  begin  withal,  upon  your  first 
entrance  upon  the  government  of  Israel. 
I  have  provided  ten  thousand  talents  of 
silver,  brass  and  iron  to  an  immense 
quantity,  beside  timber  and  stone  in  vast 
abundance.  You  shall  have  also  many 
thousands  of  carpenters  and  masons,  and 
the  means  of  supplying  yourself  with  what 
you  want.  Attend  your  business  with 
care  and  despatch ;  for  upon  the  finishing 
of  this  undertaking,  you  may  assure  your- 
self of  the  perpetual  favour  and  protection 
of  Almighty  God." 

Having  delivered  this  charge  to  his 
son,  David  enjoined  the  principal  men  of 
the  several  tribes  to  concur  with  his  son 
in  the  pious  design  of  rearing  an  edifice 
to  perpetuate  the  glories  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  and  without  being  solicitous  upon 
any  other  account,  to  attend  the  business 
of  religion  in  the  first  place  ;  for  that  alone 
would  be  sufficient  to  secure  the  peace 
and  welfare  of  the  commonwealth,  which 


are  the  never-failing  rewards  of  righteous- 
ness and  justice. 

He  appointed  also,  that  upon  the  finish- 
ing of  the  temple,  the  ark  should  be  placed 
in  it,  with  all  the  holy  vessels  and  utensils 
thereunto  belonging,  which  he  told  them 
should  have  been  there  deposited  long  be- 
fore, if  their  forefathers  had  observed  the 
injunction  God  laid  upon  them,  of  raising 
a  temple  to  him  immediately  upon  their 
coming  into  the  land  of  promise. 

These  counsels  and  exhortations  of 
David  were  addressed  indifferently  both  to 
his  son  and  to  the  princes. 

Though  David  was  not  yet  arrived  to 
an  age  that  was  deemed  an  advanced  one 
in  those  days  of  longevity,  (being  now 
but  seventy  years  old,)  yet  his  constitu- 
tion was  greatly  impaired  by  the  hardships 
he  had  undergone,  both  in  escaping  the 
indignation  of  Saul,  and  in  numberless 
campaigns;  insomuch  that  his  blood  was 
so  chilled,  that  all  the  coverings  and 
blankets  they  could  throw  over  him  would 
not  procure  him  any  heat;  so  that  a  coun- 
cil of  physicians  was  called,  and  they  un- 
animously agreed,  that  the  best  thing  for 
a  man  under  those  decays  was  a  fair  and 
young  bed-fellow;*  as  the  warmth  being 
gentle  and  kindly,  would  relieve  nature 
without  force.  They  found  out  upon  this, 
in  the  city,  a  very  beautiful  woman  that 


•  It  is  the  observation  of  Galen,  that  nothing 
so  effectually  procures  heat  and  health,  as  the  ap- 
plication of  any  thing  young  to  the  stomach  :  the 
advice  of  David's  physicians  therefore  was  not 
amiss  ;  but  it  had  been  sinful  advice,  and  such  as 
he  could  not  have  followed,  had  not  this  young 
woman,  whom  he  took  to  bed  to  him,  been  his 
concubinary  wife.  In  those  days  such  wives  were 
allowable  :  and  that  she  served  liim  in  this  capacity 
is  very  manifest  from  the  account  we  have  of  her 
in  scripture  ;  for,  whereas  it  is  said,  that  '  the  king 
knew  her  not,'  this  certainly  implies,  that  he  might 
have  had  carnal  knowledge  of  her  without  sin  or 
scandal  ;  whereas  it  i3  said,  that  'she  lay  in  his 
bosom,'  this  phrase  every  where  in  scripture  de- 
notes what  was  the  sole  privilege  of  a  wife  or 
concubine.  Nor  can  we  imagine,  why  Adonijah's 
desiring  her  in  marriage  had  been  so  heinous  a 
crime  in  Solomon's  account,  had  she  not  been  the 
king'  wife,  and  he,  by  this  means,  had  designed  to 
revive  his  pretensions  to  the  crown. — Poole's  An~ 
notations. 


3.'4 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


odme  up  exactly  to  their  prescription,  and 
put  her  to  bed  to  him.  Her  name  was 
Abishag,  and  her  business  only  to  lie  by 
him,  and  comfort  him ;  which  she  might 
safely  and  innocently  do,  the  king  being 
now  past  the  temptations  of  all  irregular 
dispositions. 

David  had  a  fourth  son,  whose  name 
was  Adonijah,  born  to  him  by  Haggith, 
and  the  next  after  Absalom,  in  point  of 
beauty,  stature,  and  gracefulness  of  per- 
son ;  nay,  and  in  his  ambition  too,  he  was 
not  far  behind  him. 

This  Adonijah  (Absalom  being  dead) 
laid  claim  to  the  government,*  as  the  next 


*  Adonijah  could  not  be  ignorant,  that  Solomon 
had  been  appointed  by  God  himself  to  succeed 
David  in  the  kingdom  ;  and  his  whole  conduct 
shows  that  he  considered  Solomon  only  as  his 
rival.  After  the  death  of  Absalom,  Adonijah  was 
David's  eldest  son :  and  no  doubt  he  considered 
the  kingdom  as  his  birthright,  and  confided  in  the 
support  of  the  people  to  seize  upon  it,  without 
any  regard  to  his  father,  or  to  the  revealed  will  of 
God.  It  is  remarkable  how  frequently  the  first- 
born were  set  aside  by  his  express  appointment. 
In  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  it  is  expedient 
that  the  primogeniture  should  have  the  preceden- 
cy ;  and  the  judicial  law  of  Moses,  (as  well  as  the 
civil  laws  of  most  nations,)  was  formed  accordingly. 
But  the  examples  of  Jacob,  Judah,  the  sons  of 
Joseph,  David,  Solomon,  and  others,  prove  that 
this  is  not  grounded  on  moral  obligation  ;  that  it 
is  not  divine,  or  unalterable,  or  to  be  put  in  com- 
petition with  the  welfare  of  whole  nations,  and 
the  liberty  and  rights  of  all  the  rest  of  mankind  ; 
according  to  the  sentiments  of  some  authors,  who 
most  absurdly  ground  their  doctrine  upon  the 
word  of  God,  though  it  is  evidently  contradictory 
to  it ! — Absalom  had  been  displeased  with  his 
father,  though  most  unjustly,  because  of  the  dis- 
grace under  which  he  laid  him  for  the  murder  of 
Amnon  :  but  David  had  never  given  Adonijah 
the  least  cause  of  displeasure ;  except  that,  in 
obedience  to  God,  he  intended  and  appointed 
Solomon  to  be  his  successor.  It  is  probable,  that 
Adonijah  was  of  an  imperious  disposition  ;  and 
David  very  imprudently  indulged  him,  and  never 
restrained  or  reproved  him  in  any  matter.  This 
was  David's  fault  :  for  he  ought  to  have  exerted 
his  authority,  and  kept  him  in  subjection  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  it  aggravated  Adonijah's  contempt 
and  ingratitude.  He  seems  to  have  greatly  re- 
*emhled  his  elder  brother  Absalom :  like  him  he 
was  too  much  indulged,  and  beloved  on  account  of 
his  exterior  accomplishments  ;  and  like  him,  he 
affected  royal  pomp  and  magnificence :  and  he 
succeeded  to  his  ambitious  projects,  though  he 
concealed  and  deferred  them,  till  his  father  was,  as 
\  e  supposed,  finally  incapacitated  for  business. — 
Frntt. 


in  succession,  and  obtaining  many  friends 
by  interest  and  popularity  to  assist  him 
toward  the  gaining  of  his  point,  he  furnish- 
ed himself  with  a  pompous  equipage  of 
chariots,  horses,  guards,  and  the  like; 
while  his  father  innocently  suffered  him  to 
go  on,  without  the  least  check  or  caution; 
nay,  or  so  much  as  asking  him  the  design 
of  this  mighty  preparation. 

His  chief  accomplices  were  Joab  the 
general,  and  Abiathar  the  high-priest ;  but 
Zadok  the  high-priest,  and  the  prophet 
Nathan,  Benaiah  the  captain  of  the  guard, 
Shimei,  the  king's  friends,  and  the  genera- 
lity of  the  soldiery,  were  in  a  different  in- 
terest, and  opposed  his  measures. 

To  strengthen  his  interest,  and  promote 
his  ambitious  design,  Adonijah  prepared 
a  mighty  treat  at  Enrogel,  in  the  suburbs 
of  Jerusalem,  near  the  fountain  in  the 
king's  gardens.f 

To  this  entertainment  he  invited  all  his 
brothers,  save  only  Solomon,  and  there 
was  Joab  also,  and  Abiathar,  and  the 
chiefs  of  the  tribe  of  Judah ;  but  neither 
Zudok,  Nathan,  Benaiah,  nor  any  others 
of  that  interest,  were  invited. 

The  prophet  Nathan  took  notice  of  this 
to  Bathsheba,  the  mother  of  Solomon,  in 
these  words :  "  Look  ye ;  here  is  Adoni- 
jah setting  himself  up  for  king,  and  David 


f  To  fountains,  or  rivers,  says  Dr  Chandler,  the 
Turks  and  the  (Greeks  frequently  repair  for  re- 
freshment, especially  the  latter  on  their  festivals, 
when  whole  families  are  seen  sitting  on  the  grass, 
and  enjoying  their  early  or  evening  repast,  beneath 
the  trees  by  the  side  of  a  rill.  And  we  are  assur- 
ed by  the  same  author,  that  in  such  grateful  re- 
treats they  often  give  public  entertainments.  He 
visited  an  assembly  of  Greeks,  who,  after  cele- 
brating a  religious  festival,  were  sitting  under  half 
tents,  with  store  of  melons  and  grapes,  besides 
lambs  and  sheep  to  be  killed,  wine  in  gourds  and 
skins,  and  other  necessary  provisions.  Such  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  feast  which  Adonijah  gave 
his  friends  at  Enrogel.  It  was  held  near  a  well  or 
fountain  of  water,  and  there  *  he  slew  sheep,  and 
oxen,  and  fat  cattle,  and  invited  his  brethren'  and 
the  principal  people  of  the  kingdom.  Enrogel 
was  not  chosen  for  secrecy,  for  it  was  in  the  vici- 
nity of  the  royal  city,  but  for  the  beauty  of  the 
surrounding  scenery.  It  was  not  a  magnificent 
cold  collation  ;  the  animals  on  which  they  feasted 
were,  on  the  contrary,  killed  and  dressed  on  the 
spot  for  this  princely  repast. — Paxton. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


335 


knows  nothing  of  what's  clone  :  wherefore 
let  it  be  your  care,  as  well  for  your  son's 
sake,  as  for  your  own,  to  look  after  this 
affair.  Go  you  to  David,  and  when  you 
have  him  alone,  remind  him  of  his  oath, 
that  Solomon  should  reign  after  him ;  and 
yet  Adonijah  is  as  good  as  upon  the  throne 
already.  While  you  are  discoursing  this 
matter  with  the  king,  I  may  come  into  the 
chamber  to  you,  and  second  your  informa- 
tion." 

Bathsheba  followed  the  prophet's  ad- 
vice, went  in  to  the  king,  where  she  made 
her  reverence ;  and  after  leave  given  her 
to  deliver  what  she  had  to  say,  she  gave 
David  an  account  of  the  affair  in  the  very 
words  the  prophet  had  dictated  to  her, 
telling  him  moreover  the  circumstances  of 
Adonijah's  entertainment;  whom  he  had 
invited,  and  whom  he  had  left  out.  Also, 
that  the  people  were  in  a  suspense  what 
to  do,  till  he  should  declare  his  successor, 
and  that  her  own  life  and  her  sons'  were 
both  at  stake  upon  the  issue. 

While  Bathsheba  was  relating  these 
circumstances,  the  king's  servants  brought 
word  that  the  prophet  Nathan  was  at  the 
door  to  wait  upon  him.  He  was  immedi- 
ately called  in,  and  upon  the  very  instant 
of  entering  the  presence,  he  asked  David, 
in  some  confusion,  "  Whether  or  no  he  that 
day  transferred  his  government  to  Adoni- 
jah, and  declared  him  his  successor?  He 
has  made  a  very  splendid  feast,  invited 
such  and  such  persons  to  it ;  omitted  such 
and  such  others;  and  now  are  they  eating, 
drinking,  and  making  merry,  with  healths 
and  acclamations  to  the  honour  of  their 
new  king  Adonijah  ;  but  that  neither  him- 
self, Zadok  the  high-priest,  and  Benaiah 
the  captain  of  the  guards,  were  invited. 
Now,  it  would  be  well,"  added  the  prophet, 
"to  let  the  world  understand  whether  this 
be  done  with  your  knowledge  and  appro- 
bation or  not." 

Bathsheba,  who  had  withdrawn  when 
the  prophet  came  in,  was  now,  by  the 
king's  order,  called  for  back  again.  She 
was  accordingly  brought   to  David,  and 


he  addressed  her  in  this  manner :  "  The 
thing  that  I  have  sworn  formerly,  I  do 
now  swear  over  again,  in  the  presence  of 
the  great  God.  Your  son  Solomon  shall 
reign  after  me,  and  sit  upon  my  throne;* 
and  you  shall  see  it  done  this  very  day." 

Upon  which  declaration  and  assurance, 
she  submissively  took  her  leave,  wishing 
the  king  a  long  life. 

The  king,  thus  warned  by  the  prophet 
Nathan,  immediately  determined  to  put 
into  execution  his  resolution  concerning 
the  elevation  of  his  son  Solomon  to  the 
throne  of  Israel,  after  his  decease ;  and  to 
abolish  the  claim  of  Adonijah,  he  sent  for 
Zadok  and  Benaiah,  and  bid  them  take 
the  prophet  Nathan  and  the  royal  guards 
with  them,  mount  Solomon  upon  the 
king's  mule,f  carry  him  out  of  the  city  to 

*  At  what  time  this  promise  was  made,  is  a 
matter  of  some  dispute.  The  generality  of  inter- 
preters are  of  opinion,  that,  after  the  death  of  the 
first  child  which  David  had  hy  Bathsheba,  he  com- 
forted her  for  her  loss,  and  gave  her  assurance,  that, 
if  God  should  give  him  another  son  by  her,  he  would 
not  fail  to  make  him  his  successor.  But  it  is  much 
more  probable  that  David  did  not  make  any  decla- 
ration of  a  promise  to  Bathsheba,  until  God  had 
revealed  it  to  him,  that  he  should  have  a  son,  dis- 
tinct from  what  he  had  already,  who  should  suc- 
ceed him  in  the  kingdom,  and  have  the  honour  of 
building  him  a  temple;  and,  no  sooner  was  Solomon 
born,  but  David  was  convinced  that  this  was  the 
child  to  whom  the  promises  belonged,  by  Nathan's 
being  sent  to  give  him  a  name,  denoting  his  being 
'beloved  of  the  Lord:  and  it  was  at  this  time,  most 
probably,  that  David  gave  his  mother  a  promise, 
confirmed  upon  oath,  that,  since  God  had  so  mani- 
festly declared  in  favour  of  the  child,  he,  for  his 
part,  would  do  his  utmost  to  facilitate  his  succes- 
sion :  but,  upon  the  whole,  he  did  not  choose  for 
himself,  neither  was  his  declaration  to  Bathsheba 
previous  to  Nathan's  information,  but  rather  the 
effect  and  consequence  of  it.  But  even  suppose 
there  had  been  no  divine  interposition  in  favour  of 
Solomon,  why  might  not  David,  who  had  done  such 
signal  service  in  his  reign,  nominate  his  successor? 
Several  great  princes,  in  most  nations,  have  claim- 
ed this  privilege.  Among  the  Romans,  Aurelius 
named  Nerva,  and  Nerva  chose  Trajan,  and  so 
did  Augustus  appoint  his  successor.  And  that 
this  was  a  prerogative  belonging  to  the  crown  of 
Israel,  and  what  continued  with  it  for  some  time 
after  David,  is  evident  from  the  story  of  his  grand- 
son Rehoboam,  who,  though  a  prince  of  no  great 
merit,  took  upon  him  the  authority  of  nominating 
his  successor,  and,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  eldest 
son,  made  one  of  his  youngest  king. — Stack. 

•f  All  the  rest  of  David's  sons  were  wont  to  ride 
upon  mules  when  they  went  abroad,  2  Sam.  xii* 


336 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


the  fountain  that  is  called  Gihon,*  and 
there  anoint  him  with  holy  oil,  and  pro- 
claim him  king;. 

This  office  being  assigned  to  the  high- 
priest  and  the  prophet,  command  was 
further  given  that  they  should  conduct 
him  through  the  heart  of  the  city  with 
trumpets  sounding  before  him,  and  multi- 
tudes of  troops  following  with  shouts  and 
rejoicings,  crying,  •  Long  live  king  Solo- 
mon !'  to  the  end  that  the  whole  nation 
might  be  apprized  that  his  father  had  de- 
clared him  his  successor. 

David,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  laid  on 
his  son  the  strict  charge  to  govern  not 
only  the  tribe  of  Judah,  but  the  whole 
nation  of  the  Israelites  according  to  the 
strictest  rules  and  measures  of  piety  and 
justice. 

Benaiah,  after  this,  with  an  affectionate 
ejaculation  for  God's  blessing  upon  Solo- 
mon, and  the  whole  proceeding,  went  in- 
stantly away  with  the  rest  of  the  company, 
according  to  their  order,  to  execute  the 
office  assigned  them. 


2f».  but  David  bad  a  mule  peculiar  to  himself,  and 
the  mounting  Solomon  upon  it  was  a  sufficient 
declaration  in  his  favour.  For,  as  it  was  capital 
(according  to  Maimonides)  to  ride  upon  the  king's 
mule,  or  sit  on  his  throne,  or  handle  his  sceptre 
without  his  order ;  so,  on  the  contrary,  to  have 
the  honour  to  ride  upon  the  king's  horse,  by  his 
appointment,  was  accounted  the  highest  dignity 
among  the  Persians,  as  appears  by  the  story  of 
Mordecai  in  the  book  of  Esther. —  Calmefs  Com- 
mentary. 

*  Some  commentators  are  of  opinion  that  Gihon 
was  the  same  with  the  fountain  of  Siloam  ;  but 
this  is  a  gross  mistake,  since  Gihon  was  manifestly 
to  the  west,  and  Siloam  to  the  east  of  Jerusalem. 
There  is  little  or  no  certainty  likewise  in  the  no- 
tions of  some  Rabbins,  who  pretend  that,  in 
ancient  times,  kings  were  always  anointed  by  the 
side  of  a  fountain,  by  way  of  good  omen,  or  that 
the  perpetual  running  of  the  stream  might  be 
an  emblem  of  the  perpetuity  of  their  king's  reign. 
In  the  history  of  Saul,  who  was  their  first  king, 
and  of  David,  who  was  three  times  anointed,  we 
find  no  mention  made  of  any  spring  or  fountain. 
As  these  fountains,  however,  were  places  of  great 
concourse,  (for  there  were  not  many  in  Jerusalem) 
the  chief  reason,  we  may  imagine,  why  David 
ordered  Solomon  to  be  anointed  at  one  of  these, 
was,  that  the  thing  might  be  done  as  publicly, 
and  in  the  presence  of  as  many  spectators,  as  pos- 
sible.—  CalmeC$  Commentary. 


They  mounted  Solomon  upon  the  king's 
mule;  conducted  him  out  of  the  city  to  the 
fountain;  anointed  him  with  holy  oil,  and 
then  brought  him  back  again,  attended 
with  the  acclamations  and  the  unanimous 
wishes  of  the  people  for  his  long  and 
happy  reign.  They  brought  him  after- 
ward to  the  palace,  and  placed  him  upon 
his  father's  throne. 

This  solemnity  being  over,  the  people 
devoted  themselves  to  jollity,  feasting, 
music,  dancing,  and  all  other  cheerful 
diversions,  to  such  a  degree  of  transport 
and  rejoicing,  that  the  clamour  of  their 
extravagant  joy  coming  to  the  ears  of 
Adonijah  and  his  guests,  it  did  not  a  little 
surprise  them;  Joab  himself  declaring  that 
the  noise  he  heard  of  shouts  and  trumpets 
did  not  at  all  please  him;  indeed,  it  gave 
such  a  damp  to  their  jollity,  and  disrelish 
to  their  entertainment,  that  none  of  them 
had  any  appetite  to  enjoy  what  was  before 
them. 

While  they  were  in  this  melancholy 
posture,  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Abiathar 
the  high-priest,  came  running  to  them  in 
great  haste,  and  Adonijah,  not  apprehend- 
ing the  doleful  purport  of  his  mes'sage, 
but  rather  that  he  brought  good  news, 
received  him  cheerfully. 

When  Jonathan  gave  them  the  whole 
relation  of  the  king's  orders,  and  the  pro- 
ceeding concerning  Solomon,  they  had 
no  sooner  heard  the  melancholy  circum- 
stance, than  every  man  slinked  away  from 
the  banquet  to  his  own  home.  Adonijah 
indeed,  conscious  to  himself  of  an  indig- 
nity too  great  to  be  forgiven,  fled  for 
sanctuary  to  the  horns  of  the  altar,  f  and 
there  begged  for  pardon. 


\  Though  there  is  no  precept  in  the  law  to 
make  the  altar  a  privileged  place  ;  yet  in  conform- 
ity to  the  customs  of  other  nations,  the  Jews  seem 
to  have  done  it ;  for  that  other  nations  used  this 
custom,  appears  from  that  passage  in  Virgil : 

1  'Twas  thus  he  prayed,  and  thus  the  altars  held ' 

And  it  seems  not  unlikely,  that  as  the  people, 
when  they  came  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  had  cities 
appointed  by  God  whereunto  the  manslayer  might 


Chap.  II. J 


THE  BIBLE. 


337 


When  Solomon  came  to  understand 
the  fate  of  Adonijab,  and  that  he  insisted 
upon  some  security  to  be  given  him  for 
an  indemnity  for  punishment,  with  as 
much  prudence  as  clemency  he  granted 
him  a  pardon  for  what  was  past;  but  with 
a  precaution  to  beware  how  he  behaved 
himself  for  the  future;  for  if  he  should  be 
found  in  any  such  practice  again,  his 
destruction  should  lie  at  his  own  door. 
Whereupon  Solomon  ordered  him  to  be 
brought  to  him  from  his  place  of  refuge; 
and  when  he  had  paid  his  duty  and  reve- 
rence to  the  new  king-,  he  bid  him  go  to 
his  own  house  again  in  peace,  and  to  be- 
have himself  for  the  time  to  come  like  a 
good  man,  as  he  respected  his  own  inter- 
est and  welfare. 

David,  esteeming  it  necessary  for  the 
future  peace  and  tranquillity  of  the  king- 
dom, that  Solomon  should  be  proclaimed 
and  recognised  king  of  the  whole  nation 
of  Israel;  to  effect  which  he  summoned 
all  the  princes  to  Jerusalem,  together 
with  the  priests  and  Levites,  and  found 
upon  the  roll  thirty-eight  thousand  men 
among  them  that  were  above  thirty  years 
of  age;  out  of  which  number  there  were 
twenty  thousand  to  attend  the  building  of 
the  temple;  judges  and  their  clerks  six 
thousand;  four  thousand  porters  belonging 
to  the  house  of  God,  and  as  many  singers 
and  musicians,  of  which  we  have  already 
hinted,  he  divided  into  families;  and  upon 
separating  the  priests  from  the  rest  of  the 
tribe,  he  found  twenty-four  of  them;  that 
is,  sixteen  descended  from  Eleazar,  and 
eight  from  Ithamar;  appointing  every 
family  to  officiate  eight  days,  as  from 
sabbath  to  sabbath,  and  so  to  proceed  in 
regular  succession. 

The  lots  of  the  whole  were  cast  in  the 


flee  ,  so,  while  they  continued  in  the  wilderness, 
the  camp  of  the  Levites  might  serve  for  the  same 
purpose  ;  and  from  the  words  in  Exod.  xxi.  14. 
where  God  ordered  the  wilful  murderer  'to  be 
taken  from  the  altar  that  he  may  die,'  it  seems 
unquestionably  true  that  even  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  the  altar  continued  a  sanctuary  for  those 
who  fled  to  it. 


presence  of  David,  and  of  the  high-priests 
Zadok  and  Abiathar,  together  with  the 
heads  of  the  tribes;  the  course  that  came 
up  first,  being  entered  upon  the  roll  as 
the  first,  and  the  second  accordingly,  and 
so  on  to  the  twenty-fourth,  in  order  as  it 
happened,  which  way  of  distribution  con- 
tinues in  use  to  this  day. 

He  divided  the  tribe  of  Levi  also  into 
twenty-four  parts,  to  succeed  one  after 
another,  according  to  the  chance  of  the 
lot,  in  the  same  manner  with  the  priests. 
But  the  preference  was  still  given  to  the 
posterity  of  Moses,  to  whom  were  com- 
mitted the  custody  of  the  holy  treasure, 
and  the  disposal  of  the  bounties  and  do- 
nations of  princes  and  royal  benefactors. 
He  likewise  ordered  the  whole  tribe  of 
Levi,  and  the  priests,  to  attend  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  day  and  night  in  their  turns, 
according  to  the  institution  of  Moses. 

Having  thus  judiciously  divided  the 
tribes,  and  appointed  the  manner  in  which 
they  should  respectively  succeed  to  the 
sacred  functions  of  the  temple,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  arrangement  of  his  whole 
army  into  twelve  divisions,  with  their 
commanders  in  chief,  tribunes,  centurions, 
and  their  subordinates;  every  division  to 
consist  of  twenty-four  thousand  men,  and 
each  of  those  divisions  to  do  a  month's 
duty  in  their  respective  courses,  upon  the 
guard  of  Solomon's  palace,  together  with 
their  tribunes  and  centurions;  every  part 
to  have  its  distinct  officer  or  judge;  and 
ordained  that  he  should  be  a  man  of  ap- 
proved integrity. 

He  appointed  also  overseers  of  the 
king's  income,  vineyards,  lands,  husband- 
ry, flocks,  and  herds,  &c.  whom  it  would 
be  too  tedious  here  to  recount. 

When  the  king  had  brought  things  to 
this  wise  conclusion,  he  called  a  general 
assembly  of  the  Hebrew  magistrates,  the 
princes  of  the  tribes,  the  officers  of  the 
army,  and  the  managers  of  the  revenue; 
and  then  raising  himself  upon  an  emi- 
nence, spoke  to  the  people  from  his 
throne  to  the  following  effect: 
2u 


338 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


•  I  am  now  to  give  you  to  understand, 
my  countrymen  and  brethren,  that  I  have 
had  it  a  long  time  in  my  thought  to  erect 
a  temple  to  the  Lord,  and  I  treasured  up 
a  great  quantity  of  gold,  and  a  hundred 
thousand  talents  of  silver  toward  the  charge 
of  the  undertaking;  but  it  hath  pleased 
God  in  his  providence,  by  the  mouth  of 
the  prophet  Nathan,  to  put  a  stop  to  my 
design,  upon  this  consideration,  that  he 
would  not  have  the  foundation  of  his  holy 
house  laid  by  hands  that  had  been  dipped 
in  blood,  which  mine  have  inevitably  been, 
though  in  the  blood  of  your  enemies,  by 
reason  of  the  wars  I  have  been  forced  into, 
in  the  righteous  and  necessary  defence 
and  vindication  of  your  liberties.  But 
the  prophet  told  me  further,  that  God 
would  transmit  the  care  of  it  to  my  son 
and  successor,  both  to  begin  and  finish  the 
work.  You  know  that  our  father  Jacob 
had  twelve  sons ;  and  that  Judah  was  yet 
chosen  by  common  consent  to  be  ruler  of 
all  the  rest.  You  know  likewise,  that  I 
myself,  though  there  were  six  brothers  of 
us,  was  advanced  by  God  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  that  none  of  the  rest  thought 
themselves  injured ;  wherefore  I  must  now 
require  in  like  manner  of  you,  and  of  all 
my  sons,  that  you  submit  cheerfully  and 
dutifully  to  my  son  Solomon  ;  and  that 
you  do  it  without  any  murmuring,  faction, 
or  civil  dissension  ;  for  it  is  from  God's 
immediate  command  and  commission  that 
he  derives  his  authority.  If  that  God 
should  have  set  even  a  stranger  over  you, 
how  great  a  folly  and  wickedness  it  would 
have  been  for  you  to  murmur  at  it  ?  But 
how  thankful  ought  you  now  to  be  for  the 
choice  of  so  near  a  relation,  when  you 
yourselves  are  partakers  of  the  honour 
that  is  done  to  your  brother.  There  is 
nothing  I  so  much  long  for,  as  to  see  God's 
gracious  promises  take  a  speedy  effect; 
and  the  whole  people  without  any  more 
delay  put  into  a  full  and  lasting  possession 
of  the  blessings  they  are  to  enjoy  under 
the  reign  of  Solomon.  All  this,  (address- 
ing himself  to  Solomon,)  my  dear  son,  will 


be  made  good,  and  every  thing  succeed 
to  your  wish,  so  long,  as  you  govern  ac- 
cording to  piety  and  justice,  with  a  respect 
to  your  duty  both  to  God  and  man,  up- 
holding in  the  steps  of  your  forefathers  ; 
but  whenever  you  transgress  these  bounds, 
there  is  nothing  but  misery  and  ruin  to  be 
expected  as  the  consequence." 

When  David  had  finished  his  excellent 
counsel,  both  to  his  people  and  son,  con- 
cerning the  reciprocal  duties  they  owed 
each  other,  in  the  presence  of  a  mighty 
concourse,  he  delivered  to  the  latter  a 
draught  of  the  form  and  model  of  the 
temple,*  from  top  to  bottom,  such  as  the 
foundation  and  superstructure  ;  the  height 
and  breadth  of  the  fabric ;  the  private 
cells,  their  number  and  dimensions ;  what 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver  were  to  be  pro- 
vided, with  directions  for  their  precise 
weight. 

He  also  exhorted  him  at  the  same  time, 
with  all  diligence  and  application  to  pro- 
secute the  building ;  likewise  pressing  the 
princes  and  the  tribes  of  Levi  to  contri- 
bute their  assistance,  not  only  in  regard 
to  his  youth  and  want  of  experience,  but 
out  of  reverence  to  his  divine  commission, 
which  both  entitled  him  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  authorized  and  predetermined 
him  to  this  province.  And,  as  a  farther 
encouragement,  observed  that  it  would 
not  be  a  work  of  any  great  difficulty ;  for 
he  had  provided  to  their  hand  so  many 
talents  of  gold,  and  more  of  silver,  with 
stone  and  timber,  carpenters,  stone-cutters, 
and  other  workmen ;  a  great  treasure  in 
emeralds,  and  other  precious  stones,  over 


*  That  the  architecture  of  the  temple  was  ot 
divine  origin,  I,  for  my  part,  am  fully  satisfied 
from  the  passage  in  1  Chr.  xxviii.  14.,  and  am 
confirmed  in  this  opinion  by  finding  from  Vilal- 
pandus  that  the  Roman,  at  least  the  Greek,  archi- 
tecture is  derived  from  this,  as  from  its  fountain  ; 
and  in  my  humble  opinion  even  an  infidel  may 
easily  believe  these  to  be  of  divine  original,  inas- 
much as  they  are,  at  least  the  latter  is,  found  per 
feet  in  the  earliest  models  ;  nor  hath  the  utmost 
reach  of  human  wisdom,  invention,  and  industry, 
been  ever  able  to  improve  it,  or  alter  it  but  to 
disadvantage,  through  the  course  of  so  many 
ages. — Delaney. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


339 


and  above;  beside  a  farther  supply  of 
three  thousand  talents*  of  the  purest  gold, 
out  of  his  own  treasury,  for  the  adorning 
of  the  holy  place,  and  the  chariot  of  God, 
and  the  cherubi  n  that  were  to  cover  the 
ark. 

The  assembly,  pleased  with  the  pious 
and  spirited  address  of  the  king,  unani- 
mously concurred,  both  princes,  people, 
and  Levites,  in  their  respective  promotion 
of  the  arduous  undertaking,  and  proposed 
very  large  contributions. 

They  offered  among  them  to  bring  in 
five  thousand  talentsf  of  gold,  ten  thou- 
sand of  silver,  eighteen  thousand  talents 
of  brass,  and  an  immense  mass  of  iron. 
They  had  also  precious  stones  brought 
them  into  the  treasury,  where  they  were 
deposited  in  the  custody  of  one  Jehiel,  of 
the  race  of  Moses. 

The  people  were  infinitely  pleased  upon 
the  whole,  and  David  above  all  the  rest, 
to  see  such  an  universal  agreement  and 
willingness,  both  in  princes,  priests,  and 
people,  towards  carrying  on  the  work; 
for  which  he  blessed  God  with  a  loud 
voice,  in  the  style  of  "  Father,  and  Creator 
of  heaven  and  earth ;  the  governor  and 
protector  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  blessed 
fountain  of  happiness  to  the  people  com- 
mitted to  his  charge." 

He  concluded  his  devotions  with  a  fer- 
vent prayer  for  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  the  nation ;  and  with  particular  wishes 
of  peace  of  conscience,  and  the  blessing  of 
an  unspotted  innocence  and  integrity  on 
his  son. 

He  then  called  upon  the  people  to  join 
with  him  in  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for 
all  his  mercies ;  upon  which  they  fell  upon 
their  faces,  and  worshipped;  and  coming 

*  Three  thousand  talents  weighed  three  hundred, 
forty  two  thousand,  one  hundred  and  eighty  seven 
pounds,  and  six  ounces  ;  and  their  value  in  gold 
amounted  to  sixteen  millions,  four  hundred  and 
twenty  five  thousand  pounds,  English  money. 

+  Five  thousand  talents  weighed  five  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand,  three  hundred  and  twelve 
pounds,  and  six  ounces  ;  and  their  value  in  gold 
amounted  to  twenty  seven  millions,  three  hundred 
and  seventy  five  thousand  pounds,  English  money. 


afterwards  to  David,  made  their  acknow- 
ledgments for  all  the  benefits  and  advan- 
tages they  had  enjoyed  under  his  reign. 

The  day  following  was  a  great  day  of 
sacrifices;  a  thousand  calves,  a  thousand 
rams,  and  a  thousand  lambs,  for  a  burnt- 
offering;  and  afterwards,  many  thousand 
victims  more  for  peace-offerings.  It  was 
a  day  dedicated  to  feasting,  both  by  the 
king  and  people. 

Solomon  was  now  a  second  time  anoint- 
ed, declared  and  recognised  by  the  people, 
for  their  lawful  king,  and  Zadok,  by  the 
voice  of  the  whole  mu'titude,  appointed 
their  high-priest. 

Thus  generally  acknowledged  by  the 
common  voice,  Solomon  was  conducted  to 
the  palace,  and  placed  upon  his  father's 
throne ;  from  which  day  forward  the  peo- 
ple paid  him  true  and  faithful  allegiance 
as  king  over  Israel. 

Good  king  David,  finding  himself  de- 
cline daily,  and  perceiving  that  his  dissolu- 
tion approached,  sent  for  his  son  Solomon^ 
in  order  to  bestow  on  him  his  last  advice, 
and  take  his  final  leave. 

When  he  approached  his  venerable  fa- 
ther, he  addressed  him  in  this  pious  and 
pathetic  strain  :  "  Son,  I  am  going  to  my 
fathers;  and  you  that  I  leave  behind  me, 
are  in  due  time  to  come  to  me  ;  which  is 
no  more  than  the  paying  of  the  common 
debt  to  nature.  There  is  no  returning 
from  the  grave ;  and  when  we  are  gone, 
we  have  done  with  this  world  for  ever. 
Wherefore  while  I  am  yet  among  the, 
living,  and  before  it  be  too  late,  let  me 
remind  you  of  the  same  things  once  again, 
that  I  have  so  often  inculcated  on  you 
heretofore.  Govern  your  subjects  accord- 
ing to  justice.  Worship  that  God  from 
whom  you  have  received  your  dignity  as 
well  as  your  being,  as  you  are  bound  to 
do.  Observe  his  precepts,  and  keep  his 
laws,  as  they  have  been  handed  down  to 
you  from  Moses ;  and  take  care  that  you 
never  forsake  them,  neither  for  fear, 
flattery,  or  any  other  passion  or  interest 
whatsoever.    For  otherwise,  you  can  never 


340 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


pretend    to    hope    for    the    blessings    of 
God's    favour   and    providence.       But    if 
you  behave  yourself  with  reverence  and 
submission   towards   God,    as    you  ought 
to  do,  and  as  I  wish  you  may  do,  your 
kingdom  will  be  established  to  yourself, 
and  the  succession  of  it  continued  in  your 
family   from    generation     to    generation. 
Let  me  now  remind  you  of  the  iniquity 
of  Joab,*   in   the  murder   of  Abner,  the 
son  of  Ner,  and  of  Amasa,   the  son   of 
Jetlier,   two   great   captains   and   worthy 
men ;  and  all   this  purely  out  of  malice 
and  envy.     You  may  do  by  him  as  you 
think  fit.     The  truth  of  it  is,  I  had  pun- 
ished  him    myself,    but    that   he   was  so 
popular    I    durst   not   meddle  with    him. 
As  for  the  sons  of  Barzillai  the  Gileadite, 
I  must  desire  you  for  my  sake  to  be  very 
kind  to  them,  and  to  do  them  all  the  good 
offices  you  can  :  not  as  an  obligation,  but 


*  From  the  instructions  which  David  here  gives 
to  his  son  Solomon  concerning  Joab  and  Sliimei, 
many  have  been  led  to  think  that  lie  left  the 
world  in  a  very  vindictive  and  unforgiving  temper; 
but  this  misconception  arises  from  nothing  else 
but  a  want  of  distinguishing  between  the  same 
person,  when  acting  or  advising  in  a  public,  and 
when  in  a  private  capacity.  Joab  does  many 
valorous  and  brave  acts  for  the  honour  of  his  kin'" 
and  the  enlargement  of  his  dominions,  but  then  he 
sullies  the  whole  by  his  barbarous  murders,  and 
insolent  behaviour.  Sliimei  curses  David  in  the 
time  of  his  troubles,  and  yet  David  forgives  him, 
and  promises  he  shall  not  die.  They  both  of  them 
had  committed  crimes  enough  to  forfeit  their  lives; 
but  David  thinking  it  not  advisable,  for  reasons  of 
state,  to  seize  either  of  them  at  present,  directs 
his  son,  if  ever  they  give  him  a  sufficient  provoca- 
tion, not  to  spare  them  ;  and  in  so  doing  he  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  a  private  man,  acting  upon  the 
principles  of  resentment,  but  as  a  king  and 
governor,  giving  advice  to  his  son  and  successor 
in  affairs  of  state.  It  was  for  the  public  good  that 
such  offenders  as  Joab  and  Sliimei  should  suffer  at 
a  proper  time,  and  as  providence  should  direct ; 
and  therefore,  since  his  promise  and  oath  to  the 
one  of  them,  and  tlve  formidable  power  and  inte- 
rest of  the  other,  had  restrained  them  in  his  life- 
time from  punishing  them  as  they  deserved  ;  and 
since  it  would  have  been  unjust  in  itself,  and 
derogatory  to  the  glory  of  his  son's  reign,  to  suffer 
such  notorious  crimes  to  go  unpunished  ;  he  re- 
commended to  his  son  the  consideration  of  those 
things,  and,  like  a  wise  magistrate,  laid  a  scheme 
for  the  punishment  of  wickedness,  without  regard 
to  any  private  revenge. 


in  requital  of  the  generous  friendships  I 
received  from  their  father  in  the  time  of 
my  banishment,  which  I  reckoned  as  a 
debt  incumbent  upon  our  whole  family. 
As  for  the  son  of  Gera,  Shimei  the  Ben- 
jamite  that  hunted  me  with  such  bitter 
cursing  and  reviling  in  the  days  of  my 
persecution  at  Mahanaim,  and  afterwards 
meeting  me  at  the  river  Jordan,  obtained 
my  pardon  for  it;  you  may  take  some 
warrantable  occasion  to  punish  him  yet 
for  that  affront." 

Having  thus  delivered  his  sentiments 
and  counsel  to  his  son,  both  concerning 
his  duty  towards  God,  the  administration 
of  justice,  the  requiting  of  his  friends,  and 
the  punishing  of  his  enemies,  David  gave 
up  the  ghost,  in  about  the  70th  year  of 
his  age,  after  he  had  reigned  seven  years 
and  six  months  over  the  tribe  of  Judah  at 
Hebron,  and  thirty  three  years  more  over 
all  Israel  and  Jerusalem. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  goodness,  and 
endued  with  all  the  royal  excellencies  that 
could  qualify  a  prince  for  the  discharge  of 
so  great  a  trust.  He  was  valiant,  and 
often  signalized  his  courage,  both  in  single 
combat  and  general  rencounters,  exposing 
his  person  to  the  most  imminent  hazard 
in  the  defence  of  his  people.  He  swayed 
his  soldiers  by  his  example,  rather  than 
by  the  rigour  of  his  discipline.  He  was 
judicious  in  the  choice  of  his  councils ;  of 
a  singular  presence  of  mind ;  of  sharp 
foresight  in  the  improving  all  advantages, 
and  the  obviating  of  foreseen  difficulties. 
To  this  he  was  temperate  and  sober,  affa- 
ble to  all,  tender  towards  the  distressed, 
righteous  and  humane  to  all.  He  was  a 
prince  that  never  made  an  ill  use  of  his 
power,  saving  only  in  the  case  of  the  wife 
of  Uriah.  He  left  a  treasure  to  his  suc- 
cessor greater  than  ever  any  other  prince 
whatsoever  left  before  him. 

He  was  buried  at  Jerusalem,  with  all 
the  solemnity  of  royal  pomp  and  mag- 
nificence ;  and,  to  add  to  the  splendour 
of  the   ceremony,   his  eon   Solomon  d&- 


Chap.  III.] 

posited    in    his 
treasure.* 


THE  BIBLE. 


,•341 


monument   an    estimable 


CHAPTER  III. 

Solomon's  glorious  accession   to  the  throne  of 

Israel. —  Causes  Adonijah,  Joab,  and  Shimei, 

to  be  put  to  death,  and  Abiathar  to  be  deposed 

from  the  priesthood,  for  their  joint  concur- 

, j 

*  After  the  account  which  Joseplms  gives  us  of 
David's  death  and  burial,  lie  informs  us, — "  That 
when  Aritiochus,surnamedthe  Pious, besieged  Jem-  ! 
salem,  Hircanus,  the  high-priest,  took  from  David's 
monument  to  the  sum  of  three  thousand  talents, 
and  therewith  bribed  him  to  raise  the  siege  ;  and 
that,  many  years  after,  Herod,  surnamed  the  Great, 
took  another  immense  sum  from  thence,  which 
enabled  him  to  rebuild  the  temple."  Among 
several  nations  indeed  it  was  customary  to  bur)', 
along  with  princes,  and  other  great  men,  various 
things  of  value,  that  they  took  delight  in  while 
they  lived.  The  Egyptians  were  used  to  this; 
and  about  their  mummies  are  frequently  found 
very  precious  ornaments.  When  Alexander  the 
Great  had  Cyrus's  tomb  opened,  there  was  found 
therein  a  bed  of  gold,  a  very  rich  table,  drinking 
cups,  and  many  tine  vestments;  but,  notwithstand- 
ing all  this,  several  learned  men  look  upon  this 
account  of  Josephus  as  a  mere  fable.  For,  to  what 
purpose,  say  they,  did  Solomon  bury  all  this  trea- 
sure under  ground  when  he  had  so  much  occasion 
for  it ;  when  he  was  forced  to  borrow  money  of 
the  king  of  Tyre,  and  burden  his  people  with  so 
many  heavy  taxes  to  supply  his  excessive  expenses? 
Dow  came  it,  that  the  other  kings  of  Judah  who 
were  frequently  put  to  the  necessity  of  stripping 
the  temple  of  its  precious  furniture  to  satisfy  their 
greedy  enemies,  never  once  adventured  to  lay  hold 
on  this  treasure?  How  came  it  to  escape  the 
hands  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  other  nations,  that  so 
often  had  the  plundering  of  Jerusalem  ?  Or  why 
should  Hircanus  violate  this  depositum,  which  his 
predecessors  esteemed  more  sacred  than  the  holy 
vessels  of  the  Lord?  These  are  questions  that 
cannot  easily  be  resolved ;  and,  what  is  a  farther 
confutation  of  this  story,  in  that  very  book,  from 
whence  Josephus  is  supposed  to  have  taken  it,  it 
is  never  once  said  that  Hircanus  broke  open 
David's  tomb.  The  words  of  that  spurious  au- 
thor are,  that  Hircanus,  "  while  he  was  besieged 
by  Antiochus,  opened  a  treasure-chamber,  which 
belonged  to  some  of  David's  descendants,  and  that, 
after  he  had  taken  a  large  sum  of  money  out  of  it, 
ne  still  left  a  great  deal  in  it  and  sealed  it  up  asiain:" 
but  this  is  quite  a  different  thing,  and  has  no 
mariner  of  relation  to  the  sepulchre  of  David.  As 
to  the  real  sepulchre  of  David,  it  is  certain,  that  it 
was  always  held  in  great  veneration  among  the 
Jews.  It  was  in  being  in  St  Peter's  time,  for  so 
he  tells  the  people,  Acts  ii.  29.  Dio  informs  us, 
that  part  of  it  was  fallen  down  in  the  emperor 
Adrian's  reign.  St  Jerome  relates,  that  he  himself 
used  frequently  to  go  and  pray  at  it ;  and  modern 
travellers  describe  some  magnificent  monuments 
hewed  in  a  rock,  not  far  from  Jerusalem,  which 


rence,  in  endeavouring  to  obtain  the  crown  for 
his  elder  brother. — Marries  the  daughter  of 
the  king  of  Egypt. —  Gives  evident  tokens  of 
his  superior  wisdom  and  power  in  divers  acts 
of  importance. — But  is  at  length  shamefully 
drawn  into  idolatry  by  the  inordinate  love  oj 
women. 

David,  that  eminent  king  of  Israel,  and 
servant  of  the   most   high   God,   having 

j . 

are  doubtless  very  ancient,  but  they  themselves  do 
not  agree   that  they  were  the  sepulchres  of  the 
kings   of  Judah.      "  Whoever,"   says    Maundrell, 
"  was  buried  there,  this  is  certain,  that  the  place 
itself  discovers  so  great  an  expense  both  of  labour 
and  of  treasure,  that  we  may  well  suppose  it  to 
have  been  the  work  of  kings.     You  approach  it  at 
the  east  side,  through  an  entrance  cut  out  of  the 
natural  rock,  which  admits  you  into  an  open  court 
of  about  forty  paces  square,  cut  down  into  the 
rock,   with   which    it    is   encompassed    instead  of 
walls.      On   the   south   side   of   the   court,   is   a 
portico,  nine   paces  long   and   four  broad,   hewn 
likewise  out  of  the  rock.     This    has   a   kind  of 
archittave  running  along  its  front  adorned  with 
sculpture  of  fruits  and   flowers,  still  descernible, 
but  by  time  much  defaced.      At  the  end  of  the 
portico  on  the  left  hand,  you  descend  to  the  pas- 
sage into  the  sepulchres.     Passing  through  it,  you 
arrive  in  a  large  apartment  about  seven  or  eight 
yards  square,  cut  out  of  the  natural   rock.      Its 
sides  and  ceiling  are  so   exactly  square,  and   its 
angles  so  just,  that  no  architect  with  levels  and 
plummets  could  build  a  room  more  regular ;  and 
the  whole  is  so  firm   and   entire,  that  it  may  be 
called  a  chamber  hollowed   out  of  one   piece  of 
marble.     From  this  room  you  pass  into  six  more, 
one  within  another,  all  of  the  same  fabric  with  the 
first.     Of  these  the  two  innermost  are  deeper  than 
the  rest,  having  a  second  descent  of  about  six  or 
seven  steps  into  them.     In   every  one  of  these 
rooms,  except  the  first,  were  coffins  of  stone  placed 
in  niches  in  the  sides  of  the  chambers.     They  had 
been  at  first  covered  with  handsome  lids,  and  carved 
with  garlands  ;  but  now  most  of  them  are  broken 
to  pieces  by  sacrilegious   hands.      The  sides  and 
ceilings  of  the  rooms  were  also  dropping  with  the 
moist  damps  condensed   upon   them  ;   to  remedy 
which  nuisance,  and  to  preserve  these  chambers  of 
the  dead  polite  and  clean,  there  was  in  each  room 
a  small  channel  cut  in  the  floor,  which  served  to 
drain  the  drops  that  fell  constantly  into  it."     It  is 
somewhat  unaccountable,  however,  that  the  place 
of  this  prince's  sepulchre,  which  both  the  Chalde- 
ans and  the  Romans,  when  they  took  Jerusalem, 
thought  proper  to  spare,  should  now  be  so  entirely 
lost  that  we  cannot  find  the  least  remains  of  it. 
But  though  providence  has  so  ordered  it,  that  the 
place  of  David's  sepulchre  should  not  at  present 
be   known,  yet  there  does    not   want  an   eternal 
monument  of  his    most   excellent  genius.      The 
book  of  Psalms,  which  for  the  most  part  was  com- 
posed by  him,  does  publish  the  glory  of  its  author 
more  than   the  most  pompous  eulogies,  and  the 
author  of  Ecclesiasticus,  chap,  xlvii.  2,  &c,  has 
consecrated  this  epitaph  to  his  memory,  which  is 


342 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


done  honour  to  his  crown  by  the  signal 
services  he  performed  for  his  country,  and 
left  behind  him  a  remarkable  instance  of 
singular  piety  towards  God,  and  benevo- 
lence towards  mankind,  was  at  length 
wafted  through  the  gloomy  passage  of 
death  to  that  world  of  spirits,  where  bliss 
uninterrupted  reigns  for  ever,  and  immor- 
tal minds  are  rendered  completely  happy, 
by  a  total  deprivation  of  those  passions 
which  agitate  the  flesh,  and  are  the  in- 
separable companions  of  mortality. 

Solomon  his  son  ascended  the  throne 
of  Israel  by  the  decree  of  an  overruling 
providence,  and  the  special  appointment 
of  his  deceased  king  and  father,  and  with 
the  universal  acclamation  of  the  people. 

But  Adonijah,  who  had  made  an  at- 
tempt upon  the  government,  during  the 
life  of  his  father,  applied  himself  in  an 
artful  address  to  Bathsheba,  the  king's 
mother.  She  received  him  with  great 
courtesy,  and  with  large  assurances  of  her 
assistance  in  any  thing  that  might  be  in 
her  power. 

Upon  this  encouragement  he  came  pre- 
sently to  his  point,  and  thus  bespoke  her: 
v  Great  princess,  I  need  not  tell  you, 
that  if  I  were  disposed  to  be  troublesome 
upon  the  turn  of  government,  the  right  of 
priority,  and  the  good  will  of  the  people 


more  durable  than  either  marble  or  brass  : — '  As 
the  fat  is  taken  away  from  the  peace-offering,  so 
was  David  chosen  out  of  the  people  of  Israel.  He 
played  with  lions  as  with  kids,  and  with  bears  as 
with  lambs ;  he  slew  a  giant  when  he  was  young, 
and  took  away  reproach  from  the  people  ;  for  he 
called  upon  the  most  high  Lord,  and  he  gave 
strength  to  his  right  hand  to  slay  this  mighty 
warrior  and  to  set  up  the  horn  of  his  people.  So 
the  people  honoured  him  with  ten  thousands,  and 
praised  him  in  blessings  of  the  Lord  ;  for  he 
destroyed  the  enemies  on  every  side,  and  brought 
to  nought  the  Philistines,  his  adversaries:  in  all 
his  works  he  praised  the  Holy  One  most  high, 
and  blessed  the  Lord  with  words  of  glory  : — he 
set  singers  also  before  the  altar,  that,  by  their 
voices,  they  might  make  sweet  melody,  and  daily 
sing  praises  in  their  songs.  He  beautified  their 
feasts.and  set  their  solemn  times  in  perfect  order : — 
the  Lord  took  away  his  sins,  and  exalted  his  horn 
for  ever  ;  lie  gave  him  a  covenant  of  kings,  and 
a  throne  of  glory  in  Israel.' — Calmefs  Commen- 
tary, flc. 


would  be  on  my  side ;  but  since  it  hath 
pleased  God  to  devolve  it  upon  your  son 
Solomon,  I  am  the  king's  humble  servant, 
and  shall  content  myself  with  the  bounds 
of  my  present  condition.  I  have  only  one 
thing  to  beg  of  you,  which  is,  that  you 
will  be  pleased  to  use  your  Interest  with 
your  son,  on  my  behalf,  that  I  may  be 
permitted  to  take  Abishag  to  wife.  She 
lay  by  my  father  David's  side  only  to 
keep  him  warm  in  his  extreme  decay  of 
heat,  and  undoubtedly  he  left  her  a  vir- 
gin as  he  found  her." 

Bathsheba  promised  him  the  utmost 
in  her  power,  and  encouraged  him  to 
hope  for  success;  for  Solomon,  she  doubt- 
ed not,  would  most  readily  agree  to  the 
joint  request  of  his  brother  and  his  mo- 
ther, in  a  greater  matter  than  this  appear- 
ed to  be. 

This  was  a  pleasing  promise  to  Adoni- 
jah from  Bathsheba,  who  went  directly  to 
her  son,  to  confer  with  him  upon  the 
matter. 

Solomon  rose  up  to  meet  his  mother, 
and  taking  her  in  his  arms,  conducted  her 
to  his  bed-chamber,  where  he  placed  her 
on  his  right-hand  upon  a  chair  of  state. 
Bathsheba  was  no  sooner  seated,  but  she 
presently  entered  upon  her  business,  and 
thus  addressed  the  king:  *  Son,  I  have 
an  humble  suit  to  lay  before  you,  and  it 
would  trouble  me  not  a  little  if  you  should 
refuse  it." 

The  king  inquired  the  substance  of  it 
with  apparent  surprise,  as  if  there  were 
any  thing  for  her  to  ask  which  a  dutiful 
child  could  deny  to  his  mother.  He 
therefore  entreated  her  to  go  on,  and  to 
depend  on  his  readiness  to  comply  with 
her  desire  in  any  thing  he  could  do. 

Thus  encouraged  she  proceeded:  "Son, 
I  make  it  my  request  that  you  will  give 
Abishag  in  marriage  to  your  brother 
Adonijah." 

The  king  started  at  this  proposal  in  a 
surprise,  and  dismissed  his  mother  with 
these  words:  "  Adonijah  has  more  ambi- 
tious designs  in  his  head  than  the  marry- 


C.IAP.    III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


343 


ing  of  Abishag.*  Why  does  he  not  speak 
plain  rather,  and  put  in  his  claim  to  the 
kingdom,  as  elder  brother;  which  he 
might  as  honestly  have  done,   and  with 


•  The  wives  of  the  late  king  (according  to  the 
customs  of  the  East)  belonged  to  his  successor, 
and  were  never  married  to  any  under  a  crowned 
head.  Abishag  was  doubtless  a  beautiful  woman, 
and,  by  her  near  relation  to  David,  might  have  a 
powerful  interest  at  court;  Adonijah  might  there- 
fore hope,  by  this  marriage  to  strengthen  his  pre- 
tensions to  the  crown,  or,  at  least,  to  lay  the 
foundation  for  some  future  attempt,  upon  a  pro- 
per opportunity,  either  if  Solomon  should  die, 
and  leave  a  young  son,  not  able  to  contest  the 
point  with  him,  or  if,  at  any  time,  he  should  hap- 
pen to  fall  under  the  people's  displeasure,  as  his 
father  had  done  before  him.  This  might  be 
Adonijah's  design,  and  Solomon,  accordingly, 
might  have  information  of  it:  but  supposing  that 
his  brother's  design  was  entirely  innocent,  yet, 
since  his  request  (according  to  the  customs  then 
prevailing)  was  confessedly  bold  and  presumptuous, 
and  had  in  it  all  the  appearance  of  treason,  it  was 
none  of  Solomon's  business  to  make  any  farther 
inquiry  about  it,  or  to  interpret  the  thing  in  his 
brother's  favour.  It  was  sufficient  for  him,  that 
the  action  was  in  itself  criminal,  and  of  dangerous 
consequence  to  the  state ;  for  it  is  by  their  actions, 
and  not  intentions,  that  all  offenders  must  be 
tried.  Adonijah  indeed,  had  he  lived  under  our 
constitution,  would  have  had  a  fair  hearing  before 
conviction :  but  we  ought  to  remember,  that,  in 
the  kingdoms  of  the  East,  the  government  was 
absolute,  and  the  power  of  life  and  death  entirely 
in  the  prince;  so  that  Solomon,  without  the  for- 
mality of  any  process,  could  pronounce  his  brother 
dead :  and,  because  he  conceived  that  in  cases  of 
this  nature  delays  were  dangerous,  might  send 
immediately,  and  have  him  despatched  ;  though 
we  cannot  but  say  that  it  had  been  more  to  his 
commendation    had   he   showed   more   clemency, 

and   spared   his   life.     Stackhouse The   above, 

however,  is  rather  too  favourable  a  view  of  the 
conduct  of  Solomon  in  this  matter.  Dr  Adam 
Clarke  looks  upon  the  transaction  in  a  different 
light,  and  perhaps  most  will  be  inclined  to  agree 
with  him.  He  remarks  as  follows  : — "  Some  think 
that  Joab  and  Abiathar  had  advised  Adonijah  to 
make  the  application,  not  doubting,  if  he  got  Abi- 
shag, that  the  popular  tide  would  again  turn  in 
his  favour,  and  that  Solomon,  whom  they  did  not 
like,  might  soon  be  deposed  ;  and  that  it  was  on 
this  account  that  Solomon  was  so  severe.  But 
there  is  little  evidence  to  support  these  conjec- 
tures. It  does  not  appear  that  Adonijah  by  desir- 
ing to  have  Abishag  had  any  thought  of  the  king- 
dom, or  of  maintaining  any  right  to  it,  though 
Solomon  appears  to  have  understood  him  in  this 
sense.  But  without  further  evidence,  this  was  a 
flimsy  pretence  to  embrue  his  hands  in  a  brother's 
blood.  The  fable  of  the  wolf  and  lamb  is  here 
very  applicable,  and  the  old  English  proverb  not 
less  so  :  'It  is  an  easy  thing  to  find  a  staff  to  beat 
a  dog  with.'  We  readily  find  an  excuse  for  what- 
ever we  are  determined  to  do." 


the  same  trouble.  First,  he  desires  Abi- 
shag in  marriage;  and  then  he  has  pro- 
cured great  friends  and  interest  to  support 
his  pretensions; — such  as  Joab  the  gene- 
ral, Abiathar  the  high-priest,  and  others." 
Solomon,  deliberating  upon  the  present 
state  of  things,  sent  Benaiah,  the  captain 
of  the  guard,  with  a  commission  forthwith 
to  kill  his  brother  ;f  and  then  calling  for 
Abiathar,  the  high-priest,  he  told  him, 
that  though  he  had  deserved  to  die,  yet 
in  regard  of  the  services  he  had  done  his 
father,  and  of  the  part  he  bore  in  bringing 
back  the  ark,  his  punishment  should  be 
only  banishment.  "  Therefore,"  says  he, 
"  be  gone  immediately  from  this  place, 
and  let  mine  eyes  never  see  you  more. 
Betake  yourself  to  your  own  home;  fix 
your  habitation  in  the  country,  and  there 
continue  to  the  day  of  your  death.  You 
have  been  false  to  me  in  joining  with 
Adonijah,  and  for  that  fault  this  is  your 
sentence.  You  have  made  yourself  un- 
worthy of  the  honour  of  the  priesthood, 


■j-  Executions  in  the  East  are  often  very  prompt 
and  arbitrary.  In  many  cases  the  suspicion  is  no 
sooner  entertained,  or  the  cause  of  offence  given, 
than  the  fatal  order  is  issued  ;  the  messenger  ot 
death  hurries  to  the  unsuspecting  victim,  shows 
his  warrant,  and  executes  his  orders  that  instant 
in  silence  and  solitude.  Instances  of  this  kind 
are  continually  occurring  in  the  Turkish  and 
Persian  histories.  "  When  the  enemies  of  a  great 
man  among  the  Turks,"  says  Harmer,  "have  gain- 
ed influence  enough  over  the  prince  to  procure  a 
warrant  for  his  death,  a  capidgi  (the  name  of  the 
officer  who  executes  these  orders)  is  sent  to  him, 
who  shows  him  the  order  he  lias  received  to  carry 
back  his  head  ;  the  other  takes  the  warrant  of  the 
grand  signior,  kisses  it,  puts  it  on  his  head  in  token 
of  respect,  and  then  having  performed  his  ablu- 
tions, and  said  his  prayers,  freely  resigns  his  life. 
The  capidgi  having  strangled  him,  cuts  off  his 
head,  and  brings  it  to  Constantinople.  The  grand 
signior's  order  is  implicitly  obeyed  ;  the  servants 
of  the  victim  never  attempt  to  hinder  the  execu- 
tioner, although  these  capidgis  come  very  often 
with  few  or  no  attendants."  It  appears  from  the 
writings  of  Chardin,  that  the  nobility  and  grandees 
of  Persia  are  put  to  death  in  a  manner  equally 
silent,  hasty,  and  unobstructed.  From  the  dread- 
ful promptitude  with  which  Benaiah  executed  tlu 
commands  of  Solomon  on  Adonijah  and  Joab,  ii 
may  be  concluded  that  the  executioner  of  tlu 
court  was  as  little  ceremonious,  and  the  ancient 
Jews  nearly  as  passive  as  the  Turks  or  Persians 
— Pazton. 


344 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


and  from  this  time  forward  you  shall 
exercise  that  function  no  more." 

Abiathar  thus  dismissed  from  the  sacer- 
dotal office,  that  dignity  devolved  from 
the  house  of  Ithamar  (as  God  had  foretold 
to  Eli,  the  grandfather  of  Abiathar)  into 
the  family  of  Phinehas,  being  conferred 
on  Zadok. 

When  Joab  heard  of  the  death  of 
Adonijah,  conscious  of  having  cultivated 
his  friendship,  and  studied  his  interest 
more  than  the  king's,  he  had  just  ground 
to  expect  the  resentment  of  Solomon,  to 
evade  which  he  fled  for  sanctuary  to  the 
altar;  not  doubting  but  that  the  venera- 
tion the  king  had  for  God,  and  for  holy 
things,  would  be  a  protection  to  him. 

When  the  king  came  to  understand  that 
Joab  had  taken  sanctuary,  he  sent  Benaiah 
to  cite  him  to  a  court  of  justice,  to  answer 
for  what  he  had  done :  but  he  refused  to 
quit  the  altar,  declaring,  that  if  he  must 
perish,  he  would  rather  die  there  than  in 
any  other  place.* 

Benaiah  carried  his  answer  to  the  king, 
who  immediately  ordered  him  to  cut  off 
his  head  where  he  was,  and  as  a  just 
punishment  upon  him  for  the  detestable 
murders  of  Abner  and  Amasa,  against  all 
the  ties  of  honour,  humanity  and  justice, 
but  gave  it  in  charge  to  Benaiah,  to  see 
his  body  buried,  for  a  memorial  to  pos- 
terity of  so  execrable  a  wickedness,  and 
likewise  to  acquit  both  himself  and  father 
of  any  rigour  in  the  death  of  Joab. 


*  The  altars  were  so  sacred  among  all  the  peo- 
ple that,  in  general,  even  the  vilest  wretch  found 
safety,  if  he  once  reached  the  altar.  This  led  to 
many  abuses,  and  the  perversion  of  public  justice : 
and  at  last  it  became  a  maxim  that  the  guilty 
should  be  punished,  should  they  even  have  taken 
refuse  at  the  altars.  God  decreed  that  the  pre- 
sumptuous murderer  who  had  taken  refuge  at  the 
altar  should  be  dragged  thence,  and  put  to  death  ; 
see  Exod.  xxi.  14.  Joab  must  have  been  both  old 
and  infirm  at  this  time,  and  now  lie  bleeds  for 
Abner,  he  bleeds  for  Amasa,  and  he  bleeds  for 
Uriah.  The  two  former  he  murdered  ;  of  the 
blood  of  the  litter  he  was  not  innocent:  yet  he 
had  done  the  state  much  service,  and  they  knew 
it.  But  he  was  a  murderer,  and  vengeance  would 
not  sutler  such  to  live. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


Benaiah,  upon  the  execution  of  this 
commission,  was  made  general  in  Joab's 
place ;  and  upon  the  deposing  of  Abiathar 
the  high-priest,  the  king  assigned  Zadok 
to  succeed  him. 

Nor  did  Shimei  escape  his  just  resent- 
ment, for  the  king  commanded  him  to 
build  himself  a  house  at  Jerusalem,  and 
not  to  stir  out  of  it,  or  to  pass  the  river 
Kidron  upon  the  peril  of  his  life ;  nay,  he 
confirmed  the  solemn  sentence  with  exact- 
ing an  oath  from  Shimei,  who,  well  satis- 
fied with  the  conditions,  swore  to  the 
observance  of  them.  Hereupon  he  quitted 
his  own  country,  and  came  and  dwelt  at 
Jerusalem. 

About  three  years  after,  it  happened 
that  two  of  Shimei's  servants  ran  away 
from  him ;  and  the  master  hearing  that 
they  were  at  Gath,  took  a  journey  thither, 
in  order  to  fetch  them  baek.f 

Upon  his  return  with  his  servants  the 
king  received  intelligence  of  it,  and,  high- 
ly incensed  at  the  affront  offered  his  regal 
dignity  in  thus  contemptuously  transgress- 
ing the  positive  command,  (even  after  so 
solemn  an  oath  on  the  observance  of  it,) 
thus  severely  chastised  the  delinquent : 

"  Shimei,  didst  thou  not  swear  to  me 
that  thou  wouldest  never  stir  out  of  this 
city  into  any  other,  to  the  day  of  thy 
death  ?  and  like  a  false  wretch,  thou  hast 
now  broken  that  sacred  oath,  and  for  that 
perjury  shalt  die.  Take  this  for  thy  in- 
struction too,  that  Divine  vengeanoe, 
sooner  or  later,  finds  out  the  criminal ;  and 


f  These  servants  were  probably  such  as  he  had 
purchased  with  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  and 
their  running  away  was  not  only  a  loss,  but  a  great 
affront  likewise  to  their  master;  and  therefore 
partly  out  of  rage,  and  partly  through  covetous- 
ness,  he  undertook  this  dangerous  journey,  pre- 
suming that  a  thing  which  might  be  done  so  se- 
cretly and  speedily  would  never  come  to  Solomon's 
ears  ;  that  in  the  space  of  three  years'  time,  Solo- 
mon might  have  forgot  his  injunction  ;  or  that  if 
he  remembered  it,  he  would  not  be  so  rigid  as  to 
put  it  in  execution  ;  especially  as  he  went  not  out 
of  Jerusalem,  through  wantonness,  or  any  con- 
tempt of  authority,  but  merely  to  recover  what  he 
had  lost,  which  he  might  think  was  a  thing  verv 
excusable. 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

that  forbearance  is  so  far  from  an  acquittal, 
that  it  aggravates  the  delayed  vengeance. 
The  hand  of  God  is  in  this  judgment 
upon  thee,  not  only  for  thy  late  perjury, 
but  for  thy  sins  of  ancient  date ;  I  mean 
the  insolencies  against  my  father  in  the 
depth  of  his  distresses.  Think  of  this, 
and  remember  that  God  is  just."  Benaiah 
then  put  Shimei  to  death  by  the  king's 
order. 

Solomon  not  only  ascended  the  throne 
of  his  father  David  with  great  glory  and 
splendour,  but  swayed  the  royal  sceptre 
without  control.  He  had  punished  those 
who  arrogantly  endeavoured  to  deprive 
him  of  his  government,  conciliated  the  uni- 
versal affection  of  his  people,  and  settled 
every  point  neeessary  to  general  happiness. 

In  this  interval  of  profound  peace,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  he  took  to  wife  the 
daughter  of  the  king  of  Egypt,*  applied 


345 


*  Whatever  augmentation  of  power  he  might 
promise  himself  from  this  alliance,  he  certainly 
ran  the  hazard  of  having  his  religion  corrupted  by 
this  unlawful  mixture.  It  has  been  observed,  how- 
ever, that  as  the  sacred  scriptures  commend  the 
beginning  of  Solomon's  reign,  in  all  other  respects, 
except  the  '  people's  sacrificing  in  high  places,' 
which  might  be  the  rather  tolerated,  *  because 
there  was  no  house  built  unto  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  in  those  days  ;'  and  as  they  gave  him  this 
character,  that  '  he  loved  the  Lord,  and  walked  in 
all  the  statutes  of  David  his  father,'  lie  would 
never  have  done  an  act  so  directly  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  God,  as  marrying  an  idolatrous  princess, 
had  she  not  been  first  proselyted  to  the  Jewish 
faith.  The  scripture  indeed  takes  notice  of  the 
gods  of  the  Moabites,  Ammonites,  and  Zidonians, 
for  whom  Solomon,  in  compliance  to  his  strange 
wives,  built  places  of  worship :  but,  as  there  is  no 
mention  made  of  any  gods  of  the  Egyptians,  it 
seems  very  likely  that  this  princess,  when  she  was 
espoused  to  Solomon,  quitted  the  religion  of  her 
ancestors,  to  which  these  words  in  the  psalm,  sup- 
posed to  be  written  upon  this  occasion,  *  Hearken, 
O  my  daughter,  forget  thine  own  people,  and  thy 
father's  house,  so  shall  the  king  have  pleasure  in 
thy  beauty,  for  he  is  the  Lord,'  are  thought  by 
some  to  be  no  distant  allusion.  However  this  be, 
it  is  certain  that  we  find  Solomon  no  where  re- 
proved in  scripture  for  this  match,  ;  nor  can  we 
think,  that  his  book  of  Canticles  (which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  his  epithalamium)  would  have  found 
a  place  in  the  sacred  canon,  had  the  spouse, 
whom  it  tall  along  celebrates,  been  at  that  time 
an  idolatress  ;  though  there  is  reason  to  Di-lieve, 
that  she  afterwards  relapsed  into  her  ancient  reli- 
gion, and  contributed,  as  much  as  any,  to   the 


himself  to  the  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jer- 
usalem, which  he  made  much  larger  and 
stronger  than  they  were  before,  and  every 
other  business  that  could  aggrandize  his 
own  glory,  and  contribute  to  the  happiness 
and  welfare  of  his  people. 

He  was  young,  indeed,  but  want  of 
years  prevented  him  not  from  doing  jus- 
tice, or  the  execution  of  the  laws,  or  pay- 
ing a  religious  reverence  to  the  authority 
of  his  dying  father's  precepts;  for,  in  a 
word,  such  was  the  pregnancy,  even  of  his 
early  youth,  that  he  ruled  every  thing  with 
a  judgment  that  might  have  become  the 
most  consummate  experience. 

Reflecting  on  the  goodness  of  the  God 
of  his  father  in  raising  him  to  the  throne 
of  Israel,  and  blessing  him  with  peace  and 
plenty,  the  approbation  and  love  of  his 
subjects,  with  all  that  could  contribute  to 
his  happiness,  he  thought  himself  bound 
to  address  God  by  prayer  and  sacrifice,  in 
acknowledgment  of  these  mercies;  there- 
upon he  went  to  Gibeon,  where  he  offered 
upon  Moses's  brazen  altar,  long  since 
erected  there,  a  thousand  victims  for  a 
burnt-offering.f 

This  piety  and  zeal  were  so  acceptable 
to  God,  that  the  very  night  following  he 
appeared  unto  him  in  a  dream  ;J  and  to 


king's  seduction,  and  the  many  great  disorders 
that  were  in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign. — Stack- 
house. 

f  Without  having  recourse  to  the  many  forced 
solutions  which  have  been  made  upon  this  passage, 
I  shall  only  observe,  that  there  is  not  the  ieast  in- 
timation given  us,  that  all  these  sacrifices  were 
offered  in  one  day  ;  and  therefore  it  is  doing  no 
injury  to  the  sacred  text  to  suppose,  that  this  was 
one  of  the  great  festivals  which  Solomon  might 
think  proper  to  hold  at  Gibeon,  and  that  he  con- 
tinued there,  until,  by  the  daily  oblations,  this 
number  of  burnt-offerings  were  consumed. 

J  Sleep  is  like  a  state  of  death  to  the  soul, 
wherein  the  senses  are  locked  up,  and  the  under- 
standing and  will  deprived  of  the  free  exercise  of 
their  functions  ;  and  yet  this  is  no  impediment  to 
God  in  communicating  himself  to  mankind  :  for 
'  God  speaketh  once,  yea  twice,  in  a  dream,  in  a 
vision  of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  falleth  upon 
men,  in  slumberiiigs  upon  the  bed,  then  he  open- 
eth  the  ears  of  men,  and  sealeth  their  instructions  :* 
for  God,  no  doubt,  has  power,  not  only  to  awaken 
our  intellectual  faculties,  but  to  advance  them 
above  their  ordinary  measure  of  perception,  even 

2x 


346 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


show  him  that  the  services  of  his  heart 
and  good-will  should  not  go  unrewarded, 
bade  him  ask  what  he  would  and  it  should 
be  granted  him. 

Solomon  pitched  upon  the  greatest  and 
the  most  valuable  thing  he  could  think  of, 
and  that  which  he  concluded  would  be 
most  agreeable  to  the  approbation  of  the 
giver,  and  at  the  same  time  most  advan- 
tageous to  the  receiver.  It  was  not  silver, 
nor  gold,  nor  any  thing  of  those  vanities 
to  which  youthful  minds  are  generally  at- 
tached, that  he  chose  as  the  only  thing 
worth  asking;  but  he  thus  entreated  the 
Lord:  "  Lord,  grant  me  aright  apprehen- 
sion of  matters,  and  a  sound  judgment, 
that  may  enable  me  to  govern  this  people 
according  to  truth  and  justice."  * 

while  the  body  is  asleep.  Gregory  Nyssen,  speak- 
ing of  the  different  kinds  of  dreams,  has  observed, 
that  the  organs  of  our  body  and  our  brain  are  not 
unlike  the  strings  of  a  musical  instrument.  While 
the  strings  are  screwed  up  to  a  proper  pitch,  they 
give  an  harmonious  sound,  if  touched  by  a  skilful 
hand  ;  but,  as  soon  as  they  are  relaxed,  they  give 
none  at  all.  In  like  manner,  while  we  are  awake, 
(says  he)  our  senses,  touched  and  directed  by  our 
understanding,  make  an  agreeable  concert  ;  but 
when  once  we  are  asleep,  the  instrument  has  done 
sounding,  unless  it  be,  that  the  remembrance  of 
what  passed,  when  we  are  awake,  comes  and  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  mind,  and  so  forms  a  dream, 
just  as  the  strings  of  an  instrument  will  for  some 
time  continue  their  sound  even  after  the  hand  of 
the  artist  has  left  them.  It  is  no  hard  matter  to 
apply  this  to  Solomon's  dream.  He  had  prayed 
the  day  before  with  great  fervency,  and  desired  of 
God  the  gift  of  wisdom.  In  the  night-time  God 
appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  and  bid  him  ask 
whatever  he  would.  Solomon,  having  his  mind 
still  full  of  the  desire  of  wisdom,  asked  it,  and  ob- 
tained it :  so  that  the  prayer,  or  desire,  which  he 
uttered  in  his  dream,  was  but  the  consequence  of 
the  option  he  had  made  the  day  before,  when  he 
was  awake.  In  a-  word,  though  we  should  allow, 
that  the  soul  of  man,  when  the  body  is  asleep,  is 
in  a  state  of  rest  and  inactivity,  yet  we  cannot 
but  think  that  God  can  approach  it  many  different 
ways  ;  can  move  and  actuate  it  just  as  he  pleases ; 
and  when  he  is  minded  to  make  a  discovery  of 
any  thing,  can  set  such  a  lively  representation  of 
it  before  the  eyes  of  the  man's  understanding,  as 
shall  make  him  not  doubt  of  the  reality  of  the 
vision. — Stuekhouse. 

•  Hereupon  some  Jewish  annotators  have  ob- 
served, that  though  Solomon,  in  his  great  modesty, 
might  request  of  God  no  more  than  the  gift  of 
government,  or  (as  he  expresses  it)  'an  understand- 
ing heart  to  judge  the  people,  and  to  discern  be- 
tween good  and  evil,'  yet  God,  out  of  his  abundant 


This  choice  was  so  acceptable  to  God, 
that  he  not  only  promised  him  what  he 
desired,  but  riches  and  glory  besides,  as- 
suring him  that  he  would  confer  upon 
him  such  an  exalted  degree  of  under- 
standing, and  such  practical  wisdom,  as 
no  man,  either  public  or  private,  could 
ever  pretend  to  before  him ;  and  adding, 
that  upon  condition  of  his  continuing  just 
to  the  world,  obedient  in  all  things  to 
God,  treading  in  the  steps,  and  imitating 
the  eminent  virtues  of  his  father,  the  gov- 
ernment should  remain  in  his  family  for 
many  ages. 

Upon  these  words  he  awoke,  rose  out 
of  his  bed,  worshipped,  gave  thanks,  and 
then  returned  to  Jerusalem,  where  he 
sacrificed  to  God  before  the  tabernacle, 
and  feasted  all  his  people. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  difficult 
cause  brought  before  him,  which  is  parti- 
cularly worthy  of  general  observation,  as 
it  displays  the  extraordinary  wisdom  and 
justice  of  Solomon,  and  holds  forth  a  shin- 
ing example  to  all  succeeding  princes. 

There  came  to  the  king  two  common 
womenf   for  justice.     The  plaintiff  told 


grace,  gave  him  a  general  knowledge  of  an  other 
things,  as  the  following  history  informs  us  :  and 
that  whereas  other  men  gather  their  knowledge 
from  study  and  observation,  Solomon  had  his  by 
an  immediate  inspiration  from  God,  insomuch, 
that  '  he,  who  went  to  bed  as  ignorant  as  other 
men,  awaked  in  the  morning  like  an  angel  of  God.' 
But  though  his  knowledge  of  things  was,  in  a  great 
measure,  infused,  yet  he  did  not  therefore  neglect 
his  study  ;  '  He  gave  his  heart  to  seek,  and  search 
out  by  wisdom,  concerning  all  things  under  the 
sun  ;'  in  which  search,  as  himself  testifies,  Eccl. 
i.  13.  he  took  no  small  pains  :  so  that  his  gifts  ex- 
traordinary did  not  supersede  the  use  of  other 
means  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  but  by  ap- 
plication and  experience  he  perfected  what  he  had 
so  advantageously  received  from  the  hands  of  God. 
— Patrick's  and  Calmet's  Commentaries. 

f  These  two  women  are  said  in  the  text  to  be 
harlots,  but  the  Hebrew  word  (as  we  took  notice 
in  the  case  of  Rahah)  may  equally  signify  an 
hostess,  or  one  who  kept  a  house  of  public  en- 
tertainment ;  and  that  it  is  so  to  be  taken  here  we 
have  these  reasons  to  presume :  that  as  all  public 
prostitution  was  severely  forbidden  by  the  law. 
Deut.  xxiii.  17.  women  of  this  infamous  character 
durst  not  have  presented  themselves  before  so  just 
and  so  wise  a  king ;  that  women  of  this  lewd  be- 
haviour seldom  do  become  mothers  of  children, 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE 

her  tale,  to  this  effect :  "  This  woman 
and  I  lived  both  in  a  lodging,  and  it  was 
our  fortune  to  be  delivered  each  of  us  of 
a  male  child,  on  the  same  day  and  hour. 
Within  three  days  this  woman  having 
overlaid  her  own  child,  and  smothered  it, 
took  mine  softly  out  of  my  arms  as  I  was 
asleep,  and  laid  hers  in  the  place  of  it. 
Early  the  next  morning  when  I  was  about 
to  suckle  my  own  infant,  the  child  was 
not  to  be  found,  but  a  dead  one  in  its 
place ;  for  I  know  my  own  child  by  most 
infallible  marks.  I  have  pressed  her  for 
my  child ;  but  she  keeps  it  from  me,  and 
bears  me  down  that  it  is  her  child  still, 
and  I  have  no  witness  to  prove  the  con- 
trary. Now,  Sir,  I  humbly  beseech  your 
majesty  to  see  justice  done  betwixt  us." 

The  king  then  addressed  himself  to  the 
other  woman,  demanding  of  her  what  she 
had  to  allege  in  her  own  behalf.  She  an- 
swered,  she  laid  no  such  child  there,  but 
the  living  child  was  her  own,  and  so  stood 
upon  her  justification. 

The  attendants  in  general  were  greatly 
dubious  on  whom  to  fix  the  imputation  of 
injustice,  till  the  king  thought  of  this  ex- 
pedient. He  ordered  the  living  child  to 
be  brought,  and  one  of  his  guards  to  take 
his  sword,  cut  the  infant  in  two,  just  in 
the  middle,  and  divide  it  betwixt  the  two 
pretended  mothers,  half  to  the  one,  and 
half  to  the  other.* 


and  when  they  chance  to  have  any,  are  not  so  so- 
licitous for  their  preservation,  but  rather  rejoice 
when  they  have  got  rid  of  them.  There  is  no  rea- 
son to  suppose  then,  that  these  women  were  com- 
mon harlots  ;  and  yet  it  is  generally  thought  that 
they  were  both  unmarried  persons,  and  guilty  of 
fornication,  because  no  mention  is  made  of  their 
husbands,  whose  office  it  was  (if  they  had  any)  to 
contest  the  matter  for  their  wives. — Poole's  Anno- 
tations,  and  Calmet's  Commentary. 

*  Solomon  knew  at  once,  that  the  only  sign  that 
would  discover  the  true,  would  be  her  affection, 
and  compassion,  and  tenderness  for  her  child ;  and 
therefore,  in  order  to  distinguish  between  the 
two,  his  business  was  to  make  trial  of  this  ;  and  if 
we  suppose,  that,  when  he  commanded  the  child 
to  be  divided,  he  spake  with  a  sedate  countenance 
and  seeming  earnestness,  (as  the  true  mother's 
petition  to  the  king  makes  it  apparent  that  he 
did)  then  we  may  suppose  farther,  not  only  the 
two  womens  but  all  the  people  present  with  hor- 


347 

This,  at  first,  was  deemed  a  very  idle 
stratagem,  till  one  of  the  women  crying 
out  earnestly,  begged  that  her  companion 
might  have  the  child,  and  pass  for  the 
mother  of  it,  provided  that  its  life  might 
be  spared,  and  she  have  the  comfort  of 
seeing  it  yet  amongst  the  living. 

The  other  woman  quietly  submitting 
to  the  proposal,  and  not  without  some 
seeming  satisfaction  at  the  calamity  of 
her  neighbour,  the  king  adjudged  the 
child  to  the  right  woman  upon  the  evi- 
dence of  her  tenderness  and  natural  affec- 
tion ;  highly  condemning  the  wickedness 
of  the  other,  who,  after  that  she  had  killed 
her  own  child,  did  what  she  could  to  de- 
stroy that  of  her  neighbour. 

This  was  so  singular  an  instance  of  the 
king's  wisdom  and  justice,  that  from  that 
day  forward  the  people  honoured  and 
obeyed  him  as  a  prince  that  acted  by  the 


ror  and  admiration  expecting  the  execution  of  the 
thing ;  which,  when  it  ended  in  so  just  a  decision 
quite  contrary  to  what  they  looked  for,  raised  joy 
in  every  breast,  and  gave  a  more  advantageous 
commendation  to  the  judge :  and  yet  Abarbinel, 
the  Jewish  commentator,  thinks,  that  all  this  was 
no  great  proof  of  Solomon's  extraordinary  wisdom, 
nor  could  it  beget  tliat  fear  or  reverence,  which 
the  text  says  (1  Kings  iii.  28.)  it  procured  to  his 
person.  His  opinion  therefore  is,  that  Solomon 
made  a  discovery  of  the  truth  antecedent  to  this 
experiment;  that,  by  observing  the  countenance, 
the  manner  of  speech,  and  all  the  motions  of  the 
women,  he  discerned  the  secret  of  their  hearts, 
and  penetrated  to  the  bottom  of  the  business;  and 
that  his  commanding  the  child  to  be  divided  after- 
wards was  only  to  notify  to  the  company  what  he 
before  had  discovered.  However  this  be,  it  may 
not  be  improper,  upon  this  occasion,  to  mention 
an  instance  or  two  out  of  profane  history,  of  a 
singular  address  (though  much  inferior  to  this)  in 
discovering  such  secrets  as  seemed  to  be  past  rind- 
ing out.  To  this  purpose,  Suetonius  (in  his  Life  of 
Claudian,  cap.  15.)  tells  us,  how  that  emperor 
discovered  a  woman  to  be  the  mother  of  a  young 
man,  whom  she  would  not  own  for  her  son,  by 
commanding  her  to  be  married  to  him  ;  for  the 
horror  of  committing  incest  obliged  her  to  declare 
the  truth  ;  and,  in  like  manner,  Diodorus  Sicuhis 
relates  how  Ariopharnes,  king  of  the  Thracians, 
being  appointed  to  arbitrate  between  three  men, 
who  all  pretended  to  be  sons  of  the  king  of  the 
Cimmerians,  and  claimed  the  succession,  found 
out  the  true  son  and  heir  by  ordering  them  to 
shoot,  each  man  his  arrow,  into  the  dead  king's 
body,  which  one  of  them  refusing  to  do,  was 
deemed  the  true  claimant. — Poole's  Annotations* 
Patrick's  and  Calmet's  Commentaries. 


348 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


guidance   and  direction   of  a  divine  im- 
pulse. 

Solomon  then  proceeded  to  take  a  list 
of  his  officers,  civil,  military,  and  ecclesi- 
astical in  his  provinces. 

There  was  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur,  in  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim,  including  Bethlehem; 
the  son  of  Abinadab,  son-in-law  to 
Solomon,  had  the  command  of  Dor,  and 
the  sea  coast ;  the  great  plain  was  under 
Baana,  the  son  of  Ahilud,  and  so  as  far  as 
to  the  river  Jordan ;  the  son  of  Geber 
had  the  government  of  the  Gileadites,  as 
far  as  Mount  Lebanon,  within  which 
command  there  were  sixty  large  and  well 
fortified  cities;  Abinadab,  that  married 
Basmath,  another  of  Solomon's  daughters, 
had  the  government  of  Mahanaim,  which 
comprehends  all  Galilee  up  to  Sidon; 
under  Baanah  was  the  government  of  the 
sea  coast  about  Asher;  Jehoshaphat  com- 
manded the  mountains  of  Issachar,  and 
all  the  lower  Galilee,  to  the  farther  side 
of  Jordan ;  the  whole  country  of  the 
Benjamites  was  under  the  government  of 
Shimei ;  and  the  land  beyond  Jordan 
was  under  Tabar.  These  were  Solomon's 
governors,  and  he  had  one  lieutenant- 
general  to  superintend  them  all. 

So  soon  as  the  people  found  themselves 
settled  in  a  state  of  peace  and  plenty,  and 
out  of  fear  of  any  distractions  by  war  or 
tumult,  they  gave  themselves  up  to  hus- 
bandry and  improvements;  and  in  a  short 
time  advanced  their  fortunes  and  posses- 
sions (the  tribe  of  Judah  especially)  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  world. 

The  king  had  likewise  other  officers 
over  the  Assyrians,  and  other  barbarous 
nations,  between  Egypt  and  Euphrates,* 


*  The  sacred  historian  tells  us  that  ■  Solomon 
reigned  over  all  kingdoms,  from  the  river  unto  the 
land  of  the  Philistines,  and  unto  the  horder  of 
Egypt,'  1  Kings  iv.  21.  for  the  hounds  of  his  king- 
dom were  to  tfte  east,  the  Euphrates,  which  is  here, 
and  in  other  places  of  scripture,  called  the  river, 
without  any  addition  ;  to  the  west,  the  country  of 
.  the  Philistines,  which  bordered  upon  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea  ;  and  to  the  south,  Egypt.  So  that 
Solomon  had  tributary   to  him  the  kingdoms  of 


to  whom  he  committed  the  care  of  his 
subsidies,  those  people  being  tributaries 
to  him. 

The  daily  proportion  of  provisions  that 
these  people  furnished  every  day  for  the 
king's  own  table  and  entertainment,  was 
thirty  homersf  of  fine  flour,  threescore 
homers  of  meal,  ten  fat  oxen,  twenty 
oxen  out  of  the  pastures,  and  a  hundred 
fat  lambs,  besides  deer,  birds,  fish,  and 
game  in  vast  abundance. 

He  had  so  prodigious  a  number  of 
chariots,  that  there  were  forty  thousand 
stalls  provided  for  the  horses  that  belong- 
ed to  them,!  over  and  above  twenty  thou- 
sand horsemen  that  were  of  his  guards; 
one   half  being  quartered  in  Jerusalem, 

Syria,  Damascus,  Moab,  and  Amnion,  which  lay 
between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Mediterranean  ; 
as  indeed,  without  such  a  number  of  tributary 
kingdoms,  we  cannot  conceive  how  the  country  of 
Israel  could  have  furnished  such  a  constant  supply 
of  provisions,  and  other  things  necessary  for  the 
support  of  this  prince's  grandeur. — Patrick's  and 
Calmet's  Commentaries. 

■J-  A  homer,  or  core,  contained  about  six  hun- 
dred and  five  pints  English  measure  ;  thirty  of 
which  amounted  to  eighteen  thousand,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  English  pints,  and  threescore  to 
thirty-six  thousand  and  three  hundred.  This 
word  in  scripture  is  translated  measures.  It  is 
computed  that  here  was  bread  enough  for  3000 
persons.  The  great  number  of  beasts  daily  re- 
quired in  Solomon's  kitchen  will  by  no  means  be 
found  incredible,  when  we  compare  it  witl*  the 
accounts  of  the  daily  consumption  of  orie.ital 
courts  in  modern  times,  and  the  prodigious  num- 
ber of  servants  of  an  Asiatic  prince.  Thus,  Ta- 
vernier,  in  his  description  of  the  seraglio,  says, 
that  five  hundred  sheep  and  lambs  were  daily  re- 
quired for  the  persons  belonging  to  the  court  of 
the  sultan. 

J  In  2  Chron.  ix.  25.  the  number  is  stated  at 
four  thousand :  which  is  supposed  to  relate  to  the 
stalls  or  stables  only,  while  the  number  here  re- 
lates to  the  horses  contained  in  them.  However, 
it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  Hebrew  word  here 
used  will  admit  of  being  translated  four,  as  well  as 
forty.  In  excuse  for  Solomon's  having  so  great  a 
number  of  war  horses,  (contrary  to  the  law  in 
Deut.  xvii.  16.)  it  is  alleged,  that  he  kept  them, 
not  out  of  pride  or  vanity,  but  merely  as  a  neces- 
sary guard  to  his  kingdom  against  the  incursions 
of  the  Philistines.  Perhaps,  however,  though  this 
account  is  given  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  it 
refers  to  what  took  place  towards  the  latter  part  of 
it  ;  so  that  it  may  have  been  as  great  a  fault  in 
him  to  multiply  horses,  as  to  multiply  wives  and 
concubines;  both  being  done  at  the  same  time  of 
his  life,  and  prohibited  in  the  same  law,  D.uit. 
xvii.  16.  M.—Pyle. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


349 


near  his  person,  and  the  other  half  distri- 
buted into  out-villages,  near  the  city  ;  and 
the  same  officer  that  was  commissary  for 
the  expense  of  the  king's  table,  was  ap- 
pointed also  to  provide  necessaries  for  the 
king's  house  wherever  he  went. 

The  wisdom  of  Solomon,  proceeding 
immediately  from  the  fountain  of  know- 
ledge, and  origin  of  all  science,  was  so 
far  superior  to  the  philosophy  and  highest 
attainments  of  the  most  learned  of  his 
cotemporaries,  that  his  pre-eminence  was 
acknowledged  by  the  most  renowned 
scholars,  both  among  the  Egyptians  and 
Hebrews.* 

This  extraordinary  prince  composed 
three  thousand  proverbs,f  and  his  songs 


*  There  were  three  nations  in  the  east  of  Ca- 
naan, that  were  very  famous  for  their  wisdom  and 
erudition  ;  the  Chaldeans,  beyond  the  Euphrates  ; 
the  Persians,  beyond  the  Tigris  ;  and  the  Ara- 
bians, on  the  nearer  side  of  the  Euphrates,  a  little 
towards  the  south  :  but  whether  the  Persians  and 
Chaldeans  were  remarkable  for  their  learning  in 
fcolomon's  days,  is  much  doubted  among  com- 
mentators. 'I  he  book  of  Job  sufficiently  shows, 
that  the  Arabians  (for  of  that  nation  was  Job  and 
his  friends)  were  famous  for  their  learning  in  an- 
cient times  ;  and  as  to  the  Chaldeans  and  other 
oriental  people,  since  the  sons  of  Noah  took  up 
their  habitation  about  Babylon,  and  the  neigh- 
bouring countries,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose, 
that  where  mankind  first  be:;an  to  settle  them- 
selves into  regular  societies,  there  arts  and  sciences 
first  began  to  appear.  The  Egyptians  however 
pretend  to  a  precedency  in  this,  and  several  other 
accomplishments.  They  say,  that  the  Chaldeans 
received  the  principles  of  philosophy  at  first  from 
a  colony  that  came  from  Egypt,  as  Diodorus  in- 
deed makes  mention  of  such  a  colony,  conducted 
by  Belus  :  but  the  Chaldeans,  on  the  other  hand, 
maintain,  that  from  them  it.  was,  that  the  Egyptians 
received  their  first  instructions,  and  (according  to 
some)  that  Abraham  was  the  person  who  first 
communicated  to  the  Chaldeans  the  knowledge  of 
astronomy,  and  other  sciences.  However  this  be, 
Solomon  received  from  God  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  all  that  useful  and  solid  learning,  for  which  the 
Eastern  peopleand  the  Egyptians  were  justly  famed; 
for  (as  it  follows)  he  was  a  great  moral  philoso- 
pher, a  great  natural  philosopher,  and  an  excellent 
poet. — Patrick's  and  Calmet's  Commentaries. 

t  Josephus,  who  loved  to  magnify  every  thing 
that  concerned  Solomon,  instead  of  three  thousand 
proverbs,  tells  us  that  Solomon  composed  three 
thousand  books  of  proverbs  ;  the  greater  certainly 
is  our  loss,  (if  the  thing  were  credible)  because  all 
the  proverbs  of  Solomon  that  we  have  now,  are 
comprised  in  the  book  that  goes  under  that  name, 
and  in  Ecclesiastes ;  and  yet  some  learned  critics 


;  were  a  thousand  and  five.J  He  wrote 
j  the  history  of  plants,  from  the  cedar  to 
the  hyssop;  also  of  cattle  and  beasts  of 
the  earth ;  water-fowl,  and  birds  of  the 
air;  for  he  understood  the  nature  of  all 
these  creatures,  and  studied  and  refined 
upon  their  respective  properties  and  dis- 
positions, j] 


are  of  opinion,  that  the  nine  first  chapters  of  the 
book  of  Proverbs  were  not  of  Solomon's  compo- 
sure, and  that  the  number  of  proverbs  which 
properly  belong  to  him  is  no  more  than  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty. —  Grotius's  Annotations,  and  Cal- 
met's Commentary. 

\  These,  one  would  think,  were  poems  enough, 
for  a  person  that  had  so  much  more  other  busi- 
ness as  king  Solomon  had  ;  but  Josephus,  who  is 
never  content,  makes  him  the  author  of  so  many 
volumes  of  poetical  composition  ;  and  the  Septua- 
gint  indeed,  as  well  as  other  interpreters,  make 
the  number  of  them  to  be  no  less  than  five  thou- 
sand songs,  or  odes:  but,  of  all  this  number,  we 
j  have  none  remaining  but  the  Song  of  Songs,  as  it 
is  called  ;  except  the  hundred  and  twenty-sixth 
psalm,  which  (in  its  Hebrew  title)  is  ascribed  to 
Solomon,  may  be  supposed  to  be  one  of  these. 
The  psalter  of  Solomon,  which  contains  eighteen 
psalms,  a  work  that  was  found  in  Greek  in  the 
library  of  Augsburg,  and  has  been  translated  into 
Latin  by  John  Lewis  de  la  Cerda,  is  supposed  by 
the  learned  to  be  none  of  Solomon's,  but  of  some 
Hellenistical  Jew,  much  conversant  in  reading  the 
sacred  authors,  and  who  had  composed  them  in 
imitation  of  the  psalms  of  David,  whose  style  he 
closely  pursued,  and  had  inserted  several  passages 
of  the  prophets,  especially  of  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel, 
which  he  accommodated  well  enough  to  his  pur- 
pose. However  this  be,  these  eighteen  psalms 
were  not  unknown  to  the  ancients  ;  for  they  were 
formerly  in  the  famous  Alexandrian  Manuscript, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  index  which  is  still  to  be 
found  at  the  end  of  the  New  Testament,  though 
the  psalms  themselves  have  either  been  torn  out 
of  the  book,  or  lost  by  some  accident. — Le  Clerc 
and  Calmet. 

||  The  several  books,  which  treated  of  the  nature 
and  virtue  of  animals,  as  well  as  plants,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  lost  in  the  Babylonish  capti- 
vity ;  but  Eusebius  (as  he  is  quoted  by  Anastasius) 
informs  us,  that  king  Hezekiah,  seeing  the  abuse 
which  his  subjects  made  of  Solomon's  works,  by 
placing  too  much  confidence  in  the  remedies  which 
he  prescribed,  and  the  natural  secrets  which  he 
discovered,  thought  proper  to  suppress  them  all. 
Notwithstanding  this,  since  his  time,  many  books, 
concerning  the  secrets  of  magic,  medicine,  and  en- 
chantments, have  appeared  under  the  name  of 
this  prince  ;  and  several  pieces  have  been  quoted, 
such  as  *  The  Instructions  of  Soiomon  to  his  Son 
Rehoboam;'  *  The  Testament  of  Solomon  ;'  'The 
Book  of  the  Throne  of  Solomon  ;'  '  The  Books  of 
Magic,  composed  by  the  Daemons  under  the  Name 
of  Solomon  ;'  '  The  Clavicula,  or  Key  of  Solomon  ;' 
1  The  Ring  of  Solomon  ;'  '  The  Contradiction  of 


350 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


Nor  did  he  onlv  know  and  understand 
(by  a  gift  from  above)  but  likewise  im- 
prove his  knowledge  and  understanding  of 
these  things,  for  the  help  and  benefit  of 
mankind,  even  to  the  confusion  of  evil 
spirits. 

When  the  fame  of  Solomon's  wisdom 
reached  the  ears  of  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre, 
who  had  ever  retained  the  warmest  affec- 
tion for  his  father  David,  that  prince  sent 
an  embassy  to  congratulate  him  on  his 
accession  to  the  throne  of  Israel,  and  on 
the  favourable  presage  of  his  future  pros- 
perity, expressing  at  the  same  time  the 
most  ardent  desire  that  the  government 
might  long  continue  in  the  family.  Solo- 
mon received  the  ambassadors  very  cordial- 
ly, and  despatched  by  them  the  following 
address  to  the  king  their  master : — 

"King  Solomon  to  king  Hiram,  greet- 
ing.— Be  it  known  unto  thee,  O  king, 
that  my  father  David  had  it  a  long  time 
in  his  mind  and  purpose  to  build  a  temple 
to  the  Lord;  but  being  perpetually  in 
war,  and  under  a  necessity  of  clearing  his 
hands  of  his  enemies,  and  making  them  all 
his  tributaries,  before  he  could  attend  this 
great  and  holy  work,  he  hath  left  it  to  me 
in  a  time  of  peace  both  to  begin  and  to 
finish  it,  according  to  the  direction,  as 
well  as  the  prediction,  of  Almighty  God. 
Blessed  be  his  great  name  for  the  present 
tranquillity  of  my  dominions ;  by  his  gra- 
cious assistance,  I  shall  now  dedicate  the 
best  improvements  of  this  liberty  and 
leisure  to  his  honour  and  worship  :  where- 
fore I  make  it  my  request,  that  you  will 
let   some   of  your  people  go  with   some 


Solomon,'  &c,  which  were  most  of  them  very 
wicked  and  pernicious  tracts,  to  which  the  authors 
prefixed  this  great  name,  to  give  them  more  credit 
and  sanction.  It  is  somewhat  strange,  however, 
that  Josephus  should  inform  us,  that  Solomon 
composed  books  of  enchantments,  and  several 
manners  of  exorcisms,  or  of  driving  away  devils, 
so  that  they  could  return  no  more  ;  and  that  he 
should  further  assure  us,  that  himself  had  seen 
experiments  of  it  by  one  Eleazar,  a  Jew,  who,  in 
the  presence  of  Vespasian,  his  sons,  and  the  officers 
of  his  army,  cured  several  that  were  possessed. — 
Jew.ish  Antiq.  lib.  viii.  c.  2.  and  Calmet's  Dic- 
tionary. 


servants  of  mine  to  mount  Lebanon,  to 
assist  them  in  cutting  down  materials  to- 
wards this  building;  for  the  Sidonians  un- 
derstand it  much  better  than  we  do.  As 
for  the  workmen's  wages,  whatever  you 
think  reasonable  shall  be  punctually  paid 
them." 

Hiram  was  exceedingly  pleased  with 
Solomon's  letter,  and  returned  him  the 
following  answer : — 

"  King  Hiram  to  king  Solomon. — No- 
thing could  have  been  more  welcome  to 
me  than  to  understand  that  the  govern- 
ment of  your  pious  father  is  devolved,  by 
God's  providence,  into  the  hands  of  so 
excellent,  so  wise,  and  so  virtuous  a  suc- 
cessor; his  holy  name  be  praised  for  it. 
That  which  you  write  for  shall  be  done 
with  all  care  and  good-will;  for  I  will  give 
order  to  cut  down,  and  to  export  such 
quantities  of  the  fairest  cedars  and  cypress- 
trees,  as  you  shall  have  occasion  for.  My 
people  shall  bring  them  to  the  sea-side  for 
you,  and  from  thence  ship  them  away  to 
what  port  you  please,  where  they  may  lie 
ready  for  your  men  to  transport  them  to 
Jerusalem.  It  would  be  a  great  obliga- 
tion, after  all  this,  to  allow  us  such  a 
provision  of  corn  in  exchange,  as  may 
suit  your  convenience ;  for  that  is  the 
commodity  we  islanders  want  most." 

When  king  Solomon  had  received  and 
perused  the  contents  of  Hiram's  letter, 
he  was  pleased  with  the  benevolence  of 
disposition  and  goodness  of  heart  therein 
displayed ;  that,  as  a  token  of  his  esteem 
and  respect,  he  ordered  him  a  yearly 
present  of  two  thousand  omers  of  wheat, 
two  thousand  vessels  of  oil,  and  as  many 
of  wine,  of  seventy-two  quarts  apiece. 
This  was  the  first  earnest  of  friendship 
betwixt  the  two  kings,  which  continued  to 
increase  to  the  last,  every  day  firmer  and 
stronger. 

The  king  ordered  his  people  to  provide 
him  thirty  thousand  workmen,  which  In- 
disposed of  in  such  an  easy  method  that 
their  labour  should  not  be  grievous  to 
them. 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

The  number  of  them  was  thirty  thou- 
sand, and  their  post  was  to  do  duty  tor 
one  mouth,  by  ten  thousand  at  a  time,  in 
cutting  down  wood  upon  mount  Lebanon,* 


*  Lebanon,  by  the  Greeks  and  Latins  termed 
Libanus,  is  a  long  cliain  of  limestone  mountains, 
on  tbe  summits  of  which  fossilised  antediluvian 
fishes  were  formerly  discovered  ;  extending  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Sidon  on  the  west  to  the 
vicinity  of  Damascus  eastward,  and  forming  the 
extreme  northern  boundary  of  the  Holy  Land. 
Anciently,  it  abounded  with  odoriferous  trees  of 
various  descriptions,  from  which  the  most  curious 
gums  and  balsams  were  extracted.  It  is  divided 
into  two  principal  ridges  or  ranges  parallel  to  each 
other,  the  most  westerly  of  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Libanus,  and  the  opposite  or  eastern 
ridge  by  the  appellation  of  Anti-Libanus:  but  the 
Hebrews  do  not  make  this  distinction  of  names, 
denominating  both  summits  by  the  common  name 
of  Lebanon.  These  mountains  may  be  seen  from 
a  very  considerable  distance,  and  some  part  or 
other  of  them  is  covered  with  snow  throughout 
the  year.  On  the  loftiest  summit  of  all,  Dr  Clarke 
observed  the  snow  lying,  not  in  patches,  as  he  had 
seen  it  during  the  summer  upon  the  tops  of  very 
elevated  mountains,  but  investing  all  the  higher 
part  with  that  perfect  white  and  smooth  velvet-like 
appearance  which  snow  only  exhibits  when  it  is 
very  deep — a  striking  spectacle  in  such  a  climate, 
where  the  beholder,  seeking  protection  from  a  burn- 
ing sun.  almost  considers  the  firmament  to  be  on 
fire.  These  mountains  are  by  no  means  barren, 
but  are  almost  all  well  cultivated,  and  well  peo- 
pled :  their  summits  are,  in  many  parts,  level,  and 
form  extensive  plains,  in  which  are  sown  corn,  and 
all  kinds  of  pulse.  They  are  watered  by  numer- 
ous cold  flowing  springs,  rivulets,  and  streams  of 
excellent  water,  which  diffuse  on  all  sides  a  fresh- 
ness and  fertility  even  in  the  most  elevated  regions. 
To  these  Solomon  has  a  beautiful  allusion,  Song 
iv.  15.  Vineyards,  and  plantations  of  mulberry, 
olive,  and  fig-trees  are  also  cultivated  on  terraces 
formed  by  walls,  which  support  the  earth  from 
being  washed  away  by  the  rains  from  the  sides  of 
the  acclivities.  The  soil  of  the  declivities  and  of 
the  hollows  that  occur  between  them  is  most  ex- 
cellent and  produces  abundance  of  corn,  oil,  and 
wine  ;  which  is  as  much  celebrated  in  the  East  in 
the  present  day  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the  pro- 
phet Hosea,  who  particularly  alludes  to  it,  chap, 
xiv.  7.  Lebanon  was  anciently  celebrated  for  its 
stately  cedars,  which  are  now  less  numerous  than 
in  former  times  ;  they  grow  among  the  snow  near 
the  highest  part  of  the  mountain,  and  are  remark- 
able, as  well  for  their  age  and  size,  as  for  the 
frequent  allusions  made  to  them  in  the  scriptures. 
These  trees  form  a  little  grove  by  themselves,  as  if 
planted  by  art,  and  are  seated  in  a  hollow  amid 
rocky  eminences  all  around  them,  and  form  a  small 
wood,  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  which  forms  the 
highest  peak  of  Lebanon.  The  number  of  the 
largest  trees  has  varied  at  different  times.  To 
omit  the  varying  numbers  stated  by  the  earlier 
travellers  : — the  Rev.  Henry  Maundrell,  who  tra- 
velled in  this  region  in   1096,  reckoned  sixteen  of 


and  to  be  relieved  at  the  month's  end  by 
the  second  ten  thousand,  and  the  second, 
after  another  month,  by  the  third;  so  that 
they  had  two  months'  liberty  to  be  at  their 


the  largest  size,  one  of  which  he  measured,  and 
found  it  to  be  twelve  yards  and  six  inches  in  girth, 
and  yet  sound ;  and  thirty-seven  yards  in  the  spread 
of  the  boughs.  The  celebrated  oriental  traveller, 
Mr  Burckhardt,  who  traversed  mount  Libanus  in 
1810,  counted  eleven  or  twelve  of  the  oldest  and 
best  looking  trees,  twenty-five  very  large  ones, 
about  fifty  of  middling  size,  and  more  than  three 
hundred  smaller  and  young  ones.  Mr  Bucking- 
ham, in  1816,  computed  them  to  be  about  two 
hundred  in  number,  twenty  of  which  were  very 
large.  In  1817-18  captains  Irby  and  Mangles 
stated  that  there  might  be  about  fifty  of  them,  not 
one  of  which  had  much  merit  either  for  dimensions 
or  beauty  ;  the  largest  among  them  appearing  to 
be  the  junction  of  four  or  five  trunks  into  one 
tree.  Dr  Richardson,  in  1818,  stated  the  oldest 
trees  to  be  no  more  than  seven.  The  oldest  trees 
were  distinguished  by  having  the  foliage  and  smaK 
branches  at  the  top  only,  and  by  four,  rive,  or  even 
seven  trunks  springing  from  one  base ;  the  branches 
and  trunks  of  the  others  were  lower:  the  trunks 
of  the  old  trees  were  covered  with  the  names  of 
travellers  and  other  persons  who  have  visited  them, 
some  of  which  are  dated  as  far  back  as  1640.  The 
trunks  of  the  oldest  trees,  the  wood  of  which  is  of 
a  grey  tint,  seemed  to  be  quite  dead.  These 
cedars  were  the  resort  of  eagles,  as  the  lofty  sum- 
mits of  the  mountains  were  the  haunts  of  lions 
and  other  beasts  of  prey,  which  used  to  descend 
and  surprise  the  unwary  traveller.  But  instead  of 
these,  the  traveller  may  now  frequently  see  the 
hart  or  the  deer  issue  from  his  covert  to  slake  his 
thirst  in  the  streams  that  issue  from  the  mountains. 
To  this  circumstance  David  beautifully  alludes  in 
Psal.  xlii.  1.,  which  was  composed  when  he  was 
driven  from  Jerusalem  by  the  rebellion  of  Ab- 
salom, and  was  wandering  among  these  mountains. 
Finally,  Mr  Came,  in  1825,  states  that  the  forests, 
the  cedar-trees,  the  glory  of  Lebanon,  have  in  a 
great  measure  disappeared,  to  make  way  for  innu- 
merable plantations  of  vines. 

Anti-Libanus  or  Anti-Lebanon  is  the  more  lofty 
ridge  of  the  two,  and  its  summit  is  clad  with  almost 
perpetual  snow,  which  was  carried  to  the  neigh- 
bouring towns  for  the  purpose  of  cooling  liquors, 
a  practice  which  has  obtained  in  the  East  to  the 
present  day.  Its  rock  is  primitive  calcareous,  of 
a  fine  grain,  with  a  sandy  slate  upon  the  higher 
parts  :  it  affords  good  pasturage  in  many  spots 
where  the  Turkmans  feed  their  cattle,  but  the 
western  declivity  towards  the  district  of  Baalbec 
is  quite  barren.  The  most  elevated  summit  of 
this  ridge  was  by  the  Hebrews  called  Hermon  ; 
by  the  Sidonians  Sirion  ;  and  by  the  Amorites, 
Shenir  :  it  formed  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
country  beyond  Jordan.  Very  copious  dews  fall 
here  as  they  also  did  in  the  days  of  the  Psalmist. 
In  Deut.  iv.  48.  this  mountain  is  called  Sion,  which 
has  been  supposed  to  be  either  a  contraction,  or  a 
faulty  reading  for  Sirion:  but  bishop  Pococke  thinks 
itorobible  that  Hermon  was  the  name  of  ihe  highest 


352 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


own  homes;  and  thus  in  a  circle,  every 
fourth  month,  each  ten  thousand  were  to 
take  their  turn  over  again.  Their  in- 
spector-general, or  superintendent,  was 
Adoniram 

Besides  these,  there  were  seventy  thou- 
sand foreigners,  formerly  designed  by 
David  for  the  carrying  of  stones  and 
other  materials,  eighty  thousand  stone 
cutters  and  masons,  and  three  thousand 
and  three  hundred  overseers  of  the  work. 
Their  order  was  to  make  use  of  the 
largest  stones  they  could  get  for  the 
foundation,  and  to  have  them  squared  and 
ready  wrought  upon  the  mountains  where 
they  were  quarried,  and  thence  to  be  car- 
ried whole  to  Jerusalem,  in  which  injunc- 
tion Hiram's  men  were  concerned  as  well 
as  the  rest. 

Solomon  was  now  in  the  fourth  year 
of  his  reign*  when  he  began  this  mighty 


summit  of  this  mountain,  and  that  a  lower  part  of 
it  had  the  name  of  Sion.  This  obviates  the  geo- 
graphical difficulty  which  some  interpreters  have 
imagined  to  exist  in  Psal.  cxxxiii.  3.  where  mount 
Sion  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  Hermon, 
ond  is  generally  understood  to  be  mount  Sion  in 
Jerusalem,  which  was  more  than  thirty  miles 
distant.  Both  Lebanon  and  Anti- Lebanon  are 
computed  to  be  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred 
fathoms  in  height,  and  offer  a  grand  and  magnifi- 
cent prospect  to  the  beholder;  Lebanon  was  justly 
considered  as  a  very  strong  barrier  to  the  land  of 
promise,  and  opposing  an  almost  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  the  movements  of  cavalry  and  to  cha- 
riots of  war.  When,  therefore,  Sennacherib,  in 
the  arrogance  of  his  heart,  and  the  pride  of  his 
strength,  wished  to  express  the  ease  with  which 
he  had  subdued  the  greatest  difficulties,  and  how 
vain  was  the  resistance  of  Hezekiah  and  his  peo- 
ple, he  says :  '  By  the  multitude  of  my  chariots 
have  1  come  to  the  height  of  the  mountains,  to  the 
sides  of  Lebanon  !  and  I  will  cut  down  the  tall 
cedars  thereof,  and  the  choice  fir-trees  thereof ; 
and  I  will  enter  into  the  height  of  his  border,  and 
the  forest  of  his  Carmel.'  What  others  accom- 
plish on  foot,  with  much  labour  and  the  greatest 
difficulty,  by  a  winding  path  cut  into  steps,  which 
no  beast  of  burden,  except  the  cautious  and  sure- 
footed mule,  can  tread,  that  haughty  monarch 
Taunted  he  could  perform  with  horses  and  a 
multitude  of  chariots.  During  the  latter  period 
of  the  Roman  empire,  Lebanon  afforded  an 
asylum  to  numerous  robbers,  who  infested  the 
neighbouring  regions,  so  that  the  eastern  emperors 
found  it  necessary  to  establish  garrisons  there. — 
Home's  Introd. 

*  If  it  be  asked,  why  Solomon  did  not  begin 
the  building  of  the  temple  sooner,  and  even  in  the 


work;  and  of  that  year  the  second  month, 
which  the  Macedonians  called  Artemisius, 
and  the  Hebrews  Zif ;  four  hundred  and 
eighty  years  from  the  Israelites'  coming 
out  of  Egypt;  a  thousand  and  twenty 
years  from  Abraham's  coming  out  of  Me- 
sopotamia into  the  land  of  Canaan;  four- 
teen hundred  and  forty  from  the  deluge; 
and  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  two.  It  was 
also  in  the  eleventh  year  of  Hiram,  the 
king  of  Tyre;  and  two  hundred  and  forty 
years  after  the  building  of  that  city. 

Josephus,  in  his  description  of  the  tem- 
ple, says,  "  The  foundation  was  laid  pro- 
digiously deep;  and  the  stones  not  only 
of  the  largest  size,  but  hard  and  firm 
enough  to  resist  the  assault  of  wind  and 
rain;  besides,  that  they  were  so  wrought 
one  in  another,  and  wedged  in  the  rock, 
that  the  strength  and  curiosity  of  the  basis 
was  not  less  admirable  than  the  bidk  and 
ornament  of  the  intended  superstructure, 
and  one  was  in  all  respects  answerable  to 
the  beauty  and  magnificence  of  the  other. 

"  The  walls  were  all  of  a  white  stone 
from  the  ground  to  the  ceiling.  The 
height  of  the  building  was  sixty  cubits 
(or  a  hundred  and  five  feet),  the  length  as 
much,  and  the  breadth  twenty  (or  thirty- 
five  feet);  over  which  there  was  another 
stage  of  the  same  dimensions;  so  that  the 


first  year  of  his  reign,  since  his  father  had  left  him 
a  plan,  and  all  things  necessary  for  the  undertaking? 
AbarbintTs  answer  is,  that  Solomon  would  not 
make  use  of  what  his  father  had  prepared,  but  was 
resolved  to  build  this  temple  all  at  his  proper  cost 
and  charge.  He  therefore  put  into  the  treasure 
of  the  Lord's  house  all  that  David  had  dedicated 
to  the  work  ;  and,  to  gather  together  as  much  gold 
and  silver  as  was  necessary  to  defray  so  vast  an 
expense,  four  years  can  be  accounted  no  unrea- 
sonable time.  Nay,  even  suppose  that  he  made 
use  of  the  treasure  which  his  father  had  amassed, 
yet,  if  the  materials  that  his  father  had  provided 
lay  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  were  left  rude 
and  unfashioned,  it  would  cost  all  this  time  to 
form  them  into  the  exact  symmetry,  wherein  the 
scripture  represents  them,  before  they  were  brought 
together,  especially  considering  that  the  very  stones 
which  made  the  foundation  were  very  probably 
vast  blocks  of  marble,  or  porphyry,  1  Kings  v.  17. 
And  all  polished  in  the  most  exquisite  manner — . 
Patrick's  Commentary,  and  Poole's  Annotations, 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


353 


whole  height  of  the  building  was  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  cubits.  Its  front  was  to- 
ward the  east. 

"  The  porch,  or  court  next  to  the  en- 
trance, was  twenty  cubits  in  length,  to 
answer  the  temple;  ten  in  breadth,  and  a 
hundred  and  twenty  cubits  in  height. 

"  There  was  built  round  about  it,  and 
against  the  outward  walls,  like  so  many 
buttresses  to  support  it,  thirty  cells, 
or  little  houses,  in  the  form  of  galleries 
opening  one  into  another.  The  length 
and  breadth  of  these  cells  was  five  cubits 
each  and  the  height  twenty.  And  there 
were  two  other  floors  over  this,  of  the 
same  make  and  proportion,  amounting  all 
together  to  the  just  height  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  fabric:  for  these  cells  or  gal- 
leries went  no  higher  than  the  top  of  the 
first  story.  They  were  all  ceiled  with 
cedar,  and  every  partition  had  its  cover- 
ing apart,  independent  one  of  another; 
they  were  all  likewise  fastened  together, 
by  long  and  large  beams,  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  they  looked  but  like  one  piece, 
and  as  if  the  very  walls  were  the  stronger 
for  them.  Under  these  beams  were  seve- 
ral curious  varieties  of  carving  and  fret 
work,  gilding,  &c.  The  walls  were  all 
wainscotted  with  cedar,  and  so  adorned 
with  works  in  gold  so  as  to  make  the  most 
splendid  appearance  imaginable. 

"The  whole  frame  was  raised  upon 
stones  polished  to  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection,  and  so  artificially  constructed, 
that  there  was  no  joint  to  be  discerned, 
nor  the  least  sign  of  a  hammer,  or  of  any 
working  tool  ;*  all  things  being  so  adjust- 

*  The  Jewish  doctors  have  entertained  a  very 
odd  conceit  relating  to  the  passage  in  the  sacred 
history,  wherein  the  temple  is  said  to  have  been 
built  without  noise.  They  tell  us,  that  the  dae- 
mon Asmodeus  drove  Solomon  once  from  his 
throne,  and  reigned  in  his  place,  while  that  prince 
was  forced  to  travel  over  the  several  kingdoms 
and  provinces  of  the  world  ;  but  that,  at  his  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem,  he  defeated  Asmodeus,  and 
having  chained  him  so  that  he  could  do  no  hurt, 
he  compelled  him  to  teach  him  the  art  of  cutting 
stones  for  the  temple  without  making  any  noise, 
which  was  done,  as  they  say,  not  with  any  tool  or 
instrument,  but  by  the  help  of  a  worm,  called  Sa- 


ed  and  accommodated,  one  piece  to  ano- 
ther beforehand,  that  upon  the  whole  it 
looked  more  like  the  work  of  Providence 
and  nature,  than  the  product  of  art  or  hu- 
man invention. 

"  As  the  second  story  had  not  a  large 
door  to  it  at  the  east  end,  as  the  lower 
had,  but  only  some  small  doors  to  enter  at 
from  the  sides  above,  Solomon  contrived 
a  pair  of  winding  stairs  to  be  cut  through 
the  wall,  for  a  passage  to  the  upper  part. 
The  inside  of  the  temple  was  lined  with 
cedar;  and  the  binding  of  the  timber 
together  with  strong  iron  chairs,  added 
greatly  to  the  strength  of  the  building. 

"  The  king  caused  it  to  be  laid  in  two 
divisions;  that  is  to  say,  the  inner  part  or 
holy  of  holies,  of  twenty  cubits  square, 
which  was  inaccessible ;  and  the  other  of 
forty  cubits,  which  was  assigned  to  the 
use  and  service  of  the  priests.  In  the 
partition  wall,  betwixt  the  inner  and  out- 
ward parts  of  the  temple,  he  built  large 
cedar  doors,  which  were  richly  gilt,  and 
exquisitely  carved,  beside  choice  subjects 
of  nature  and  history,  embroidered  upon; 
a  hanging  veil  before  it,  of  rich,  silks 
and  fine  linen,  interwoven  with  beautiful 
flowers,  and  the  colours  all  in  perfection. 

"  Solomon  caused  also  to  be  formed 
two  cherubim  of  massy  gold,  which  he 
dedicated  to  God  in  the  holy  place,  being 
each  of  them  five  cubits  high,f  and  two 


mir,  which  cuts  and  polishes  stone  with  a. marvel- 
ous facility.  But  the  foundation  of  all  this  fiction 
(as  Bochart.  Hieroz.  p.  2.  lib.  vi.  c.  11.  has  observ- 
ed) is  laid  in  somebody's  mistaking  the  sense  of 
the  word  Samir,  which  signifies  a  very  hard  stone, 
called  Smiris,  that  is  of  use  to  cut  and  polish  other 
stones,  and  which  Solomon's  workmen  might 
possibly  have  had  recourse  to  upon  this  occasion. 
But  the  true  reason  why  no  noise  was  heard  in 
the  building  of  the  temple,  was,  that  the  stones 
and  all  other  materials  were  hewn,  and  squared, 
and  fitted  at  a  distance,  so  that  when  they  were 
brought  to  the  place  where  the  temple  was  to 
stand,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  join  them 
together.  And  this  might  be  done,  not  only  for 
the  ease  and  convenience  of  the  carriage,  but  for 
the  magnificence  of  the  work,  and  the  commenda- 
tion of  the  workmen's  skill  and  ingenuity Poole's 

Annotations,  and  CalmeVs  Dictionary. 

f  Josephus  says  here  that  the  cherubim  were  of 
solid  gold,  and  only  five  cubits  high  ;  while  our 
2y 


354 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


wings,  each  of  them  five  cubits  in  length ; 
which  being  stretched  out,  one  touched 
the  south  side,  and  the  other  the  north ; 
and  with  their  other  two  wings  they  met 
one  another,  overspreading  the  holy  ark 
in  the  middle.  These  cherubim  surpassed 
all  description.  The  very  floor  of  the  tem- 
ple was  overlaid  with  beaten  gold.  The 
doors  which  were  added  to  the  gate  of  the 
temple  were  proportioned  to  the  height  of 
the  wall,  and  twenty  cubits  broad,  which 
were  also  covered  with  gold.  There  was 
a  curious  curtain  put  up  at  this  gate,  as  at 
the  other,  but  none  at  the  entrance  into 
the  porch.  In  short,  this  superb  edifice 
might  be  deemed  a  composition  of  all  that 
is  valuable  in  nature. 

"  It  having  been  reported  to  king  So- 
lomon, that  there  lived  at  Tyre  a  man 
named  Hiram,  eminent  for  his  extraordi- 
nary skill  in  workmanship  upon  gold, 
silver,  and  other  metals,  being  superior 
in  his  art  to  the  whole  fraternity — his 
mother  was  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  and 
his  father,  by  extraction,  an  Israelite — 
he  sent  for  this  man  from  Tyre,  and  em- 
ployed him  in  his  business,  and  whenso- 
ever Solomon  had  any  thing  to  do  that 
was  difficult  or  curious,  it  was  performed 
by  Hiram. 

"  He  cast  him  two  brazen  hollow  pillars 
of  four  fingers  thick  in  the  metal,  eighteen 
cubits  high,  and  twelve  in  circumference ; 
and  placed  two  chapiters  of  brass  on  the 
tops  of  the  two  pillars,  five  cubits  each. 
These  were  covered  with  a  kind  of  brass  net- 
work; and  below  them  were  flowers  of  lily- 
work  of  the  same  contrivance,  with  two  rows 
of  pomegranates  hanging  down,  a  hundred 
in  each  row.  These  two  pillars  he  placed 
at  the  entrance  of  the  porch ;  one  on  the 
right  hand,  which  he  called  Jachin,  and  the 
other  on  the  left,  which  he  called  Boaz. 

"  He  made  a  vessel  also  of  molten  brass, 
somewhat,  after  the  figure  of  a  globe,  cut 

Hebrew  copies  (1  Kings  vii.  23,  28.)  say  they  were 
of  the  olive-tree;  and  the  Seventy,  of  the  cypress- 
tree,  and  only  overlaid  with  gold  ;  and  both  agree 
ihey  were  ten  cubits  high. 


off  in  the  middle,  which  for  the  largeness 
of  it  he  called  his  sea.  It  was  made  gob- 
let fashion  ;  the  diameter  ten  cubits  from 
side  to  side,  four  fingers  thick,  with  a 
spiral  pillar  of  one  cubit  over,  under  the 
middle  of  it  for  a  supporter.  Around  this 
pillar  were  placed  the  figures  of  twelve 
bulls,  or  oxen,  facing,  by  three  and  three, 
the  four  principal  quarters  of  east,  west, 
north,  and  south.  They  stood  in  a  po- 
sition lower  behind  than  before,  which 
was  both  a  support  to  the  weight,  and 
kept  it  firm  and  steady.  This  sea,  or 
vessel,  held  three  thousand  baths,  reckon- 
ing every  bath  at  about  ten  English 
pottles. 

"  Hiram  made  also  ten  bases  of  brass  of 
an  oblong  square,  and  all  of  the  same 
form  and  dimensions ;  that  is,  five  cubits 
in  length  each  of  them,  four  in  breadth, 
and  six  in  height.  The  several  pieces 
were  cast  apart,  and  then  put  together 
after  this  manner.  There  were  four  pil- 
lars, or  under-setters,  one  to  the  corner  of 
every  base,  which  were  so  incorporated 
with  the  rest  of  the  work  that  they  served 
not  only  to  uphold  the  weight,  but  to  keep 
the  sides  close  to  each  other.  Upon  the 
square  were  the  figures  of  a  lion,  a  bull, 
an  eagle,  ike;  images  were  also  placed 
upon  the  pillars,  and  upon  the  plates  of 
the  borders.  The  whole  work  was  mount- 
ed upon  four  wheels,  a  cubit  and  a  half 
over,  all  of  cast  work,  which  had  naves, 
spokes,  and  felloes;  and  the  whole  was 
executed  with  amazing  accuracy  and  sym- 
metry. The  angles  were  formed  with 
embossed  work  of  shoulders,  anTl  paws  of 
lions,  and  talons  of  eagles ;  with  rests  or 
lodges  of  rail  upon  them  to  receive  the 
laver ;  but  so  artificially  fitted  to  the  fin- 
gers of  those  creatures,  as  they  were  re- 
presented upon  the  pannels,  together  with 
branches  of  palm-trees  intermixed  upon 
the  same  piece,  that  every  thing  looked 
as  natural  life. 

"  Such  was  the  structure  of  the  ten 
bases;  and  to  these  bases  he  made  ten 
lavers  of  the  same  metal,  and  of  an  oval 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

form,  each  containing  forty  baths;  the 
height  four  cubits,  and  the  diameter  as 
much.  These  ten  lavers  were  set  upon 
as  many  bases,  which  in  their  language 
they  called  Mechonoth.  They  were  all 
placed  in  the  temple ;  five  of  them  on  the 
left-hand,  at  the  north  side;  and  the  other 
five  at  the  south  side,  on  the  right,  look- 
ing toward  the  east.  In  the  same  direc- 
tion stood  likewise  the  brazen  sea.  They 
were  all  filled  with  water ;  the  sea  for  the 
use  of  the  priests  to  wash  their  hands  and 
feet  with,  upon  entering  the  sanctuary, 
before  they  went  up  to  the  altar;  and  the 
rest  of  the  lavers  for  cleansing  of  the  en- 
trails, and  other  parts  of  burnt-offerings. 

''  He  erected  moreover  a  brazen  altar  of 
twenty  cubits  in  length,  as  many  in  breadth, 
and  ten  in  depth,  providing  all  the  vessels 
thereunto  belonging  of  the  same  stuff;  as 
boilers,  water-pots,  flesh-hooks,  &c.  He 
dedicated  also  a  great  number  of  tables, 
and  one  of  pure  gold  for  the  shew-bread, 
larger  than  the  rest.  But  there  were 
many  others  of  several  forms  and  sizes, 
not  much  inferior  to  that  for  the  shew- 
bread.* 

"  He  made  a  provision  likewise  of  ten 
candlesticks,  for  the  service  of  the  temple, 
and  there  to  be  kept  with  light  in  them, 
burning  day  and  night,  after  the  direction 
of  the  law. 


355 


*  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  Solomon 
made  all  the  utensils  and  ornaments  of  the  temple 
proportionable,  botli  in  number  and  richness,  to 
that  of  the  edifice  ;  and  yet  Josephus  seems  to 
have  carried  his  account  beyond  all  credibility, 
when  he  tells  us  that  there  were  10,000  tables,  be- 
sides those  of  the  shew-bread  ;  10,000  candlesticks, 
besides  those  in  the  holy  place  ;  80,000  cups  for 
drink-offerings  ;  100,000  basons  of  gold,  and  dou- 
ble that  number  of  silver :  when  he  tells  us  that 
Solomon  caused  to  be  made  1000  ornaments  for 
the  sole  use  of  the  high  priest ;  10,000  linen  robes 
and  girdles  for  that  of  the  common  priests  ;  and 
200,000  more  for  the  Levites  and  musicians : 
when  he  tells  of  200,000  trumpets  made  according 
to  Solomon's  direction,  with  200,000  more,  made 
in  the  fashion  that  Moses  had  appointed,  and 
400,000  musical  instruments  of  a  mixed  metal, 
between  gold  and  silver,  called  by  the  ancients 
tlectrum ; — concerning  all  which  we  can  only  say 
tnat  the  text  is  either  silent  or  contradicts  this 
prodigious  account. —  Universal  History. 


"  The  table  for  the  shew-bread  was 
placed  on  the  north  side,  over  against  the 
candlestick  which  stood  on  the  south. 
Betwixt  these  was  the  golden  altar. 

"These  were  all  in  that  part  of  the 
temple  which  was  forty  cubits  long,  and 
were  before  the  vail  of  the  holy  of  holies, 
wherein  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  to 
be  kept. 

"  Neither  expense  nor  labour  was  spared 
to  complete  the  strength  and  magnificence 
of  this  stupendous  structure ;  which  long 
remained  a  monument  of  the  founder's 
zeal  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  his  holy 
worship. 

"  When  the  preparatory  part  was  over, 
the  church  stuff  was  deposited  in  the  holy 
treasury,  and  set  apart  for  religious  uses. 

"  The  temple  itself  was  fenced  with 
an  enclosure  of  three  feet  in  height  to 
keep  out  the  laity  from  entering  into  a 
place  where  only  the  priests  were  to  be 
admitted.  Beyond  this  partition  was 
another  square  court  or  building,  with 
large  porticos  or  galleries  about  it,  and 
four  stately  gates,  that  opened  east,  west 
north,  and  south;  the  doors  were  all 
plated  and  inlaid  with  gold.  This  place 
was  common  to  all  people,  provided  they 
came  thither  with  that  purity  of  prepara- 
tion and  legal  qualification  which  the  law 
required. 

'*  The  outward  building  was  superb 
beyond  expression,  and  arduous  beyond 
conception ;  there  were  hollows  filled  up, 
which  from  their  depth  might  be  deemed 
the  work  of  ages;  yet  these  were  levelled 
in  order  to  be  a  foundation  for  this  aston- 
ishing fabric. 

"  This  part  was  encompassed  again  with 
a  kind  of  double  cloisters,  and  two  rows 
of  pillars  to  support  it,  every  pillar  being 
cut  whole  out  of  the  rock.  The  doors 
were  all  silver  work ;  the  roof  fret-work, 
and  the  wainscotting  all  of  cedar. 

"  This  cuiious  edifice  was  completed  in 
the  short  space  of  seven  years;  and  it  is 
difficult  to  determine  which  most  demands 
our  admiration, — the  magnitude,  sumptu- 


S5G 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


ousness,  and  splendour  of  the  work  itself, 
or  the  shortness  of  the  time  in  which  it 
was  effected ;  as  the  business  of  ages  was 
transacted  within  the  narrow  compass  of 
a  few  years." 

The  mighty  undertaking  being  now 
brought  to  perfection,  Solomon  wrote  to 
all  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  the  heads  of 
the  tribes,  to  summon  the  people  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  see  the  temple,  and  to  assist 
in  transporting  thither  the  ark  of  the 
covenant. 

The  resolution  was  duly  notified,  and 
in  the  seventh  month,  which  was  called 
Ethanim,  with  much  difficulty  they  were 
convened. 

In  this  month  was  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles,  which  among   the    Israelites  was 
accounted  the  most  sacred  and  solemn  of' 
their  festivals.     So  the  priests  took  up  the  i 
ark,  and  Moses's  tabernacle,  with  the  holy  j 
vessels  belonging  to  the  altar,  and  carried  j 
them  all  into  the  temple.     The  king,  and 
the  whole  congregation,  with  the  Levites,  j 
marched  before  them  with  their  sacrifices 
and  oblations,  sprinkling   the  ground,  as 
they  passed,  with  their  blood,  and  perfum- 
ing the  air  with  the  fragrancy  of  incense 
and  sweet  odours  to  such  a  degree,  that 
people  were  sensible  of  it  at  a  distance; 
and  it  indicated  that  God  himself  had  de- 
scended   from  heaven    to  consecrate    the 
temple  that  was  newly  built  and  dedicated 
to   himself,   and   therein    to   take   up   his 
abode.     For  though  the  whole  congrega- 
tion came  singing  and  dancing  all  the  way 
to  the  temple,   they   went  on  fresh  and 
cheerfully  to  their  journey's  end. 

This  was  the  manner  of  their  transport- 
ing the  ark:  On  their  approach  to  the 
holy  of  holies,  where  it  was  to  be  deposit- 
ed, the  people  withdrew,  and  the  priests 
only  that  brought  it  carried  it  into  the 
oracle,  and  there  placed  it  under  the 
figures  of  the  two  cherubim  that  were  re- 
presented with  the  points  of  their  wings 
touching  one  another,  which  looked  like 
a  kind  of  cover  and  protection  to  the  ark 
that  was  under  them. 


The  ark  contained  nothing1  more  than 
the  two  tables  of  stone,*  on  which  were 
engraved  the  ten  commandments,  as  God 
delivered  them  upon  mount  Sinai. 

The  candlestick,  table,  and  golden  al- 
tar, stood  in  the  same  order  in  the  sanctu- 
ary as  they  did  at  first  in  the  tabernacle, 
when  they  offered  their  daily  sacrifices. 

The  brazen  altar  was  placed  directly 
against  the  door,  for  the  better  view  of 
the  magnificence  of  the  worship  on  the 
other  side;  and  then  the  rest  of  the  holy 
utensils  and  vessels  were  all  laid  up  to- 
gether in  the  temple. 

The  ark  being  fixed  with  the  utmost 
order  and  solemnity,  and  the  priests  with- 
drawn from  the  sacred  spot,  there  de- 
scended a  cloud,  which  so  filled  and  dark- 
ened the  place,  that  they  could  hardly 
see.  It  resembled  not  a  heavy  lowering 
sky,  but  a  mild  dew,  and  seemed  to  in- 
timate the  divine  approbation  of  the  pious 
work  in  which  they  were  engaged;  and 
also  to  portend  that  the  Almighty  would 
vouchsafe  to  dwell  there  as  a  place  pe- 
culiarly devoted  to  his  honour  and  wor- 
ship. 


*  The  sacred  history  tells  us,  that  '  in  this  ark 
there  was  nothing,  save  the  two  tahles  of  stone, 
which  Moses  put  there  at  Horeb,'  1  Kings  viii.  9. 
and  yet  the  author  to  the  Hebrews  affirms,  '  that 
in  this  ark  was  the  golden  pot  that  had  manna, 
and  Aaron's  rod  that  budded,  as  well  as  the  tables 
of  the  covenant.'  Heb.  ix.  4.  Now,  to  reconcile 
this,  some  imagine,  that  before  the  ark  had  any 
fixed  and  settled  place,  (which  is  the  time  the 
apostle  refers  to)  all  these  things  were  included  in 
it,  though  it  was  chiefly  intended  for  nothing  but 
the  tables  of  the  covenant ;  but  that,  when  it  was 
placed  in  the  temple,  nothing  was  left  in  it  but 
these  two  tables  ;  all  the  other  things  were  depo- 
sited in  the  treasury  of  the  temple,  where  the. 
book  of  the  law  (as  we  read,  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  !4.) 
was  found  in  the  days  of  king  Josias.  Others 
however  pretend,  that,  in  the  time  of  the  apostle, 
i.e.  towards  the  end  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth, 
Aaron's  rod  and  the  pot  of  manna  were  really 
kept  in  the  ark,  though  in  the  days  of  Solomon 
they  were  not.  But  this  answer  would  be  more 
solid  and  satisfactory,  if  we  knew  for  certain,  that, 
in  the  times  of  the  apostle,  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
was  really  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple  which 
Herod  built,  whereas  Josephus  tells  us  expressly 
that,  when  the  Romans  destroyed  the  temple, 
there  was  nothing  found  in  the  holy  of  holies.— 
Calmet'8  Commentary. 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

While  the  people  wore  contemp'ating 
on  the  mighty  event,  Solomon  stood  up, 
and,  with  a  grace  and  majesty  becoming 
the  dignity  of  the  subject  and  occasion, 
addressed  himself  in  a  short  prayer  to  Al- 
mighty God,  in  words  to  this  effect: — 

"O  Lord,  thou  that  inhabitest  eternity, 
and  hast  raised  out  of  nothing  the  mighty 
fabric  of  this  universe,  the  heavens,  the 
air,  the  earth,  and  the  sea;  thou  that  fillest 
the  whole,  and  every  thing  that  is  in  it, 
and  art  thyself  unbounded  and  incompre- 
hensible; look  down  graciously  upon  thy 
servant  that  has  presumed  to  erect  a  tem- 
ple here  to  the  honour  of  thy  great  name. 
Lord,  hear  our  prayers,  and  receive  our 
sacrifices;  thou  that  art  every  where, 
vouchsafe  also  to  be  with  us;  thou  that 
seest  and  nearest  all  things,  look  down 
from  thy  throne  in  heaven,  and  give  ear 
to  our  supplications  in  this  place;  thou 
that  never  failest  to  assist  those  that  call 
upon  thee  night  and  day,  and  love  and 
serve  thee  as  they  ought  to  do,  have  mer- 
cy upon  us." 

Having  thus  humbly  addressed  the 
God  of  Israel  in  prayer  and  supplication, 
the  king,  turning  himself  to  the  people, 
reminded  them  of  the  wonderful  things 
that  had  been  revealed  to  his  father  Da- 
vid in  dreams  and  visions;  some  of  which 
had  been  accomplished,  and  others  were 
yet  to  come,  concerning  himself,  his 
name,  his  succession  to  the  throne,  his 
building  of  the  temple,  the  establishment 
of  his  family,  and  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  the  nation. 

"  Now,"  says  he,  "  a  great  part  of 
these  predictions  being  already  verified, 
you  are  to  thank  God,  not  only  for  the 
comforts  you  enjoy,  but  for  the  good 
things  also  that  are  further  promised,  and 
to  look  upon  the  former  only  as  the 
earnest  of  greater  blessings." 

After  the  speaking  of  these  words  the 
king  turned  his  eye  again  toward  the  tem- 
ple, and  thus  addressed  the  Divine  Majes- 
ty: "  O  Lord,  what  are  the  most  glorious 


357 

the  smallest  of  thy  benefits  and  mercies? 
Or  what  can  we,  that  have  nothing  to  give, 
pretend  to  offer  thee  that  wantest  nothing, 
when  the  very  least  of  thy  bounties  are 
above  and  beyond  all  requital  ?  We  can 
only  render  thee  praise,  acknowledgment, 
and  thanksgiving;  and  that  indeed  is  a 
prerogative  that  thou  hast  vouchsafed  to 
mankind  above  all  other  creatures ;  so 
that  this  I  am  not  only  allowed,  but 
obliged  to  do,  in  the  name  of  myself,  my 
family,  and  the  whole  people  of  Israel, 
for  all  thy  multiplied  favours  and  infinite 
goodness  towards  us.  As  we  have  no 
other  way  of  expressing  our  duty  and 
affections  than  by  means  of  bare  empty 
words,  that  are  only  air,  be  pleased  to  ac- 
cept of  our  humble  gratitude  ; — first,  for 
thy  gracious  goodness  to  my  father,  in 
raising  him  from  a  shepherd's  crook  to 
an  imperial  sceptre, — next,  for  making 
good  to  myself  all  thy  promises  and  pre- 
dictions in  my  favour. 

"  Lord,  continue  thy  bounties  to  us,  as 
to  thy  chosen  people.  Preserve,  prosper, 
and  perpetuate  the  government  to  our 
family,  by  a  constant  train  of  successions 
from  generation  to  generation,  according 
to  thy  promises  to  my  father,  living  and 
dying.  Do  thou,  O  Lord,  grant  us  all 
this ;  and  to  all  mine,  the  virtues  and  the 
grace  that  may  make  them  acceptable  in 
thy  sight. 

"  I  do  further  most  humbly  beseech 
thee,  to  let  thy  Holy  Spirit  descend  upon 
this  temple,  in  the  blessing  of  thy  peculiar 
presence.  Heaven  and  earth  I  know  are 
too  little  for  thy  majesty  and  glory ;  and 
much  more  the  workmanship  of  men's 
hands,  in  a  fabric  of  wood  and  stone;  and 
yet  I  cannot  but  presume  to  implore  thy 
providence  and  protection  over  it.  O 
Almighty  Lord,  preserve  it  from  the 
power  and  rage  of  enemies;  and  be  pleas- 
ed to  take  care  of  it,  as  thy  own  property 
and  possession:  and  if  at  any  time  hereafter 
thou  shalt  be  moved  in  thy  just  displeasure 
to  punish  this  people  for  their  transgres- 


works  of  man,  in  comparison  even  with  1  sions,  with  famine,  pestilence,  or  any  other 


358 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


judgment,  according  to  the  degree  of  their 
wickedness,  Lord,  be  pleased,  upon  their 
humble  supplications  to  thee  in  thine  own 
house,  with  prayers  and  tears,  for  mercy 
and  forgiveness,  to  remove  thy  judg- 
ment. This  I  beseech  thee,  not  for  the 
Israelites  alone,  but  for  the  relief  indiffer- 
ently of  all  people  whatsoever,  that  shall 
offer  up  their  petitions  to  thee  in  this  holy 
place.  By  this  means  it  will  appear  to 
the  whole  world,  that  this  is  thy  house,  and 
we  thy  people;  and  that  the  Israelites  are 
not  so  inhuman  as  to  envy  sti  angers  the 
common  dispensations  of  the  Author  and 
Fountain  of  all  our  happiness." 

After  this  humble  and  affectionate 
prayer  for  the  divine  blessing  on  his 
work,  Solomon  cast  himself  upon  the 
ground,  and,  after  a  short  continuance 
in  that  posture  of  adoration,  he  rose  and 
offered  sacrifices  in  abundance ;  having 
the  satisfaction  also  of  an  assurance,  by  a 
token  from  God,  that  his  oblations  were 
accepted ;  for  there  fell  a  flash  of  fire 
from  heaven,  that  shot  through  the  air 
directly  down  to  the  altar,  and  consumed 
the  offerings. 

This  prodigy  being  seen  by  the  whole 
multitude,  they  all  looKed  upon  it  as  a 
certain  sign  of  God's  owning  both  the 
worship  and  the  temple,  which  filled  them 
with  such  exceeding  joy,  that  they  all  fell 
down  together,  and  unanimously  joined  in 
praise  and  adoration. 

Solomon  continued  his  praises  and 
thanksgivings,  persuading  and  encourag- 
ing the  multitude  to  do  the  like  for  so 
clear  an  evidence  of  God's  special  favour 
toward  them. 

The  king  charged  the  people  to  be  in- 
stant with  God  in  prayer,  for  the  contin- 
uance of  his  goodness  and  graces  to  them, 
that  they  might  live  in  holiness  and  right- 
eousness, without  any  spot  or  blemish, 
and  walk  in  the  steps,  and  according  to 
the  divine  traditions  of  Moses,  to  their 
lives'  end ;  this  being  the  sure  and  only 
way  to  render  the  Israelites  the  happiest 
people  of  all  mortals. 


He  reminded  them  also,  that  their  feli- 
city was  no  way  to  be  secured  and  aug- 
mented, but  by  the  means  by  which  it 
was  acquired,  as  being  not  only  the  effect, 
but  the  reward  of  piety  and  justice.  And 
further  added,  that  it  was  much  easier  to 
get  what  they  wanted,  than  to  keep  what 
they  had  got;  admonishing  them  to  be- 
ware, lest  they  forfeited,  by  any  misde- 
meanor, what  they  had  gained  by  their 
virtue. 

The  king,  having  finished  his  solemn 
charge,  dismissed  the  assembly,  after  he 
had  offered  up  in  sacrifice  for  himself  and 
his  people,  twelve  thousand  calves,  and  a 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  lambs. 

This  was  the  first  blood  that  was  spilt  in 
the  temple ;  and  the  Israelites,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  were  all  feasted  at  it. 

There  was  celebrated  at  the  same  time 
before  the  temple,  besides  this  solemnity, 
the  feast  of  tabernacles,  which  lasted  four- 
teen days,  at  the  king's  expense,  with 
great  magnificence  and  splendour. 

The  various  ceremonies  on  this  occa- 
sion being  performed  with  that  solemnity 
which  was  requisite,  every  man  was  now 
returning  to  his  habitation  ;  but  not  with- 
out making  many  acknowledgments  of 
the  king's  wisdom,  care,  and  bounty  in  all 
respects,  and  prayers  for  his  long  life,  and 
the  continuance  of  the  people  under  the 
blessing  of  his  government. 

They  went  back,  singing,  rejoicing, 
and  giving  glory  to  God,  and  their  hearts 
were  so  elated  with  the  transaction  in 
which  they  had  been  engaged,  and  the 
manifest  tokens  they  had  received  of  the 
divine  favour  and  approbation,  that  they 
proceeded  on  their  way  with  alacrity  and 
cheerfulness,  without  the  least  sense  of 
fatigue  or  danger. 

The  ark  being  now  deposited  in  the 
temple,  and  the  beauty  and  magnificence 
of  that  glorious  structure  with  all  due 
ceremony  and  solemnity  set  forth,  the  con- 
gregation dispersed,  and  returned  home, 
when  God  appeared  a  second  time  to  So- 
lomon in  his  sleep,  and  a  voice  told  him, 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


359 


"  That  God  had  accepted  his  sacrifices, 
and  heard  his  prayers  ;  that  he  would  pre- 
serve his  temple,  and  make  it  the  house 
of  his  dwelling;  so  long  as  he  himself, 
and  his  posterity  and  people,  should  con- 
tinue to  walk  before  him,  as  David  his 
father  did,  in  pureness  of  heart ;  promis- 
ing him,  upon  that  condition,  to  advance 
him  to  the  highest  degree  of  earthly  bliss; 
to  perpetuate  the  throne  of  Israel  to  his 
family;  so  that  there  should  never  want  a 
prince  of  that  line,  and  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah,  to  sway  the  sceptre  of  Israel.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  ever  they  should  de- 
part from,  or  forget  the  worship  they 
professefl,  and  run  after  strange  gods, 
they  should  be  quite  rooted  out  from  off 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  Israel  be  no 
longer  a  people ;  but  after  being  torn  to 
pieces,  and  broken  with  wars,  and  other 
calamities  at  home,  be  forced  to  shift  for 
themselves  in  the  wide  world,  as  vagrants 
and  exiles." 

And  the  voice  further  told  him,  "  That 
in  case  of  such  an  apostasy,  his  new  erect- 
ed fabric  should,  with  the  Divine  per- 
mission, be  sacked  and  burned  by  the 
hands  of  barbarians,  and  Jerusalem  itself 
laid  in  rubbish  and  ashes  by  a  merciless 
enemy ;  insomuch  that  the  people  should 
stand  amazed  at  the  very  report  of  so  in- 
credible a  misery  and  distress,  and  be 
wondering  one  to  another  how  it  should 
come  to  pass,  that  a  people  who  were  but 
yesterday  the  envy  of  all  mankind,  for 
riches,  external  glory,  and  reputation, 
should  now  on  a  sudden  be  sunk  and  lost 
to  the  last  degree  of  wretchedness  and 
contempt,  and  reduced  to  this  despicable 
state  too  by  the  same  hand  that  raised 
them.  To  which  question  their  own 
guilty  consciences  shall  make  this  answer : 
We  have  forsaken  our  God,  we  have  aban- 
doned the  religion  of  our  forefathers,  and 
of  our  country.  And  all  this  is  justly  be- 
fallen us  for  our  sins." 

This  was  the  substance  of  Solomon's 
dream,  or  vision,  as  it  is  transmitted  to  us 
by  the  sacred  historian. 


When  this  magnificent  structure  was 
raised  and  consecrated  to  the  divine  wor- 
ship and  service,  Solomon  entered  upon 
the  building  of  a  royal  palace  for  himself, 
which  was  full  thirteen  years  in  perfecting. 
He  was  not  so  solicitous  and  intent  upon 
the  latter,  as  the  former,  which  in  truth 
was  great  and  artificial  to  a  miracle ;  and 
without  God's  peculiar  blessing  and  assis- 
tance, could  not  have  been  completed  in 
that  compass  of  years. 

Solomon's  court  indeed  was  in  appear- 
ance much  inferior  to  the  majesty  of  his 
temple,  not  only  for  want  of  time  to 
provide  his  materials,  but  because  it  was 
designed  only  for  the  honour  and  con- 
venience of  a  temporal  prince,  and  the 
other  dedicated  to  the  King  of  kings; 
so  that  the  work  was  longer  in  finishing. 
However,  it  was  sufficient  to  answer  the 
end  for  which  it  was  designed,  being  a 
work  that  redounded  much  to  the  glory 
both  of  the  prince  and  people.  But  in 
this  place  it  may  neither  be  unprofitable 
nor  unentertaining,  to  recite  an  account  of 
the  model  and  disposition  of  this  stupen- 
dous fabric. 

There  was  erected,  upon  several  rows 
of  pillars,  a  spacious  pile  of  building,  in 
the  nature  of  a  common  hall,  for  the  hear- 
ing of  causes.  It  was  a  hundred  cubits  iti 
length,  fifty  in  breadth,  and  thirty  in  depth; 
nor  could  it  well  be  less,  to  receive  the 
vast  multitudes  that  came  thronging  thi- 
ther from  all  parts  for  justice.  It  was 
supported  by  sixteen  square  columns, 
covered  with  Corinthian  work  in  cedar, 
and  fortified  with  double  doors  curiously 
wrought,  that  served  both  for  the  security 
and  the  ornament  of  the  place. 

In  the  middle  of  this  court,  or  hall,  was 
another  edifice  of  thirty  cubits  square,  and 
under-set  with  strong  pillars,  in  which  quar- 
ter was  a  throne  of  state,  where  the  king 
himself  used  to  sit  personally  in  judgment. 

Adjoining  to  this  royal  court  of  justice, 
was  the  queen's  house,  and  other  apart- 
ments, for  diversion  and  retreat  after  the 
fatigue  of  business,  all  fitted  up  with  ce- 


360 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


dar,  and  raised  upon  huge  stones,  of  ten 
eubits  square*  which  were  partly  plain, 
and  in  part  o  c  rlaiil  with  the  most  pre- 
cious marble,  after  the  fashion  of  the  most 
magnificent  palaces  of  temples. 

The  rooms  were  hung  with  three  depths 
of  rich  hangings,  and  beautified  with 
images,  in  sculpture,  of  trees,  plants, 
branches,  &c,  and  all  so  marvellously 
wrought,  that  they  appeared  to  the  eye  to 
be  all  in  motion. 

The  remainder  of  the  space  up  to  the 
ceiling,  was  all  set  out  with  delicate  parti- 
coloured figures,  upon  white  ground;  and 
beside  these,  there  was  a  great  variety  of 
other  chambers  for  retirement  or  delight; 
long  and  large  galleries ;  vast  rooms  of 
state,  and  others  for  feasting  and  enter- 
tainment, elegantly  adorned,  with  costly 
furniture  and  gildings ;  besides  which,  all 
the  services  for  the  king's  table  were  of 
pure  gold. 

It  would  be  endless  to  give  a  particular 
account  of  this  mighty  building,  which 
comprehended  such  an  infinite  diversity  of 
chambers  and  offices,  great  and  small; 
some  under  ground,  others  above,  as 
vaults,  turrets,  and  the  like. 

In  a  word,  the  whole  house  was  com- 
posed of  white  marble,  cedar,  gold,  and 
silver,  with  precious  stones,  intermingled 
upon  the  walls  or  ceilings,  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  adorning  of  the  temple. 

There  was  also  erected  a  very  large  ivory 
throne,f  with  delicate  carved   work  and 


*  The  size  of  these  stones  has  been  justly  deem- 
ed matter  of  surprise,  their  measure  being  from 
seventeen  to  eighteen  feet.  All  surprise,  however, 
at  these  will  cease,  on  the  mention  of  what  is  re- 
lated by  Volney  concerning  the  ruins  of  Balbec, 
that  there  are  stones  amongst  them  of  fifty-eight 
feet  in  length  and  twelve  feet  in  thickness.  What 
means  the  ancients  had  of  moving  such  enormous 
masses,  is  wholly  unknown. — Frag,  to  Calmet. 

f  We  never  read  of  ivory  till  about  Solomon's 
days,  who  perhaps  brought  elephants  out  of  India, 
or  at  least  took  care  to  have  a  great  deal  of  ivory 
impoited  from  thence  ;  for,  in  after-ages,  we  read 
of  ivory  beds,  and  ivory  palaces,  &c.  At  this  time, 
however,  it  was  every  whit  as  precious  as  gold  : 
and  therefore  we  must  not  suppose  that  this 
tlirone  of  Solomon's  was  entirely  overlaid  with 
gold,  (for  then  it  might  as  well  have  been  made 


engravings  upon  it,  after  the  fashion  of  a 
tribunal.  There  were  six  steps  that  ied 
u  to  it; — the  figure  of  a  lion  at  each  end 
of  every  step,  and  two  lions  above ;  that 
is,  one  on  either  hand  of  the  state.J 

As  the  king  rested  upon  his  throne, 
there  were  arms  put  forth,  as  in  a  readi- 
ness to  take  care  of  him,  and  to  receive 
him ;  and  the  figure  of  a  bullock  placed 
in  a  proper  posture  under  him  for  his  sup- 
port. The  whole  piece  was  covered 
with  gold. 

The  two  magnificent  structures  were 
twenty  years  in  finishing;  and  Hiram 
king  of  Tyre  contributed  to  the  mighty 
work.  It  was  a  huge  mass  of  gold,  and  a 
greater  of  silver,  besides  a  great  quantity 
of  cedar  and  fir.  Nor  was  Solomon  un- 
mindful of  the  presents  he  made  him;  for 
he  sent  him  every  year  great  quantities  of 
corn,  wine,  and  oil,  a  supply  that  Hiram, 
being  an  islander,  stood  most  in  need  of. 

He  bestowed  upon  him,  moreover, 
twenty  cities  upon  the  borders  of  Gali- 
lee^ not  far  from  Tyre,  of  which  upon 


of  wood)  but  only  in  particular  places,  that  so  the 
mixture  of  gold  and  ivory,  which  gave  a  lustre  to 
each  other,  might  make  the  throne  look  more- 
beautiful.  The  like  to  this,  the  text  says,  there 
was  not  made  in  any  kingdom,  1  Kings  x.  '20.  and 
peih:ips  it  was  so  in  those  days  ;  but,  in  after-a^es, 
we  read,  that  the  throne  of  the  Parthian  kings 
was  of  goH,  encompassed  with  four  golden  pillars, 
beset  with  precious  stones  ;  and  that  the  Persian 
kings  sat  in  judgment  under  a  golden  vine,  (and 
other  trees  of  gold,)  the  bunches  of  whose  grapes 
were  made  of  several  sorts  of  precious  stones. — 
Patrick's  Commentary. 

|  An  account  is  given  by  Sir  Thomas  Roe  of  a 
throne  of  the  Mogul,  much  resembling  this  of  So- 
lomon :  "  He  hath  at  Agra  a  most  glorious  throne 
within  his  palace,  the  ascent  to  which  is  by  divers 
steps,  covered  with  plates  of  silver  ;  on  the  top  of 
the  ascent  stand  four  lions  upon  pedestals  of  mar- 
ble, which  lions  are  all  of  massy  silver,  in  part  gilt. 
These  lions  support  a  canopy  of  fine  gold,  under 
which  the  Mogul  sits  when  lie  appears  in  his 
greatest  state  and  glory." 

^    It  is  an  express  injunction,  which  God  gives 

the  Israelites,  tiiat  the  land,  wherein  the  people 

had  a  right  by  a  divine  lot,  and  himself  a  right,  as 

j  being  the  sole  proprietor  thereof,  was  not  to  be 

i  sold  or  alienated  for  ever,    Lev.  xxv.  23.     How 

then  could  Solomon,   without  violating  this  law, 

pretend  to  give  Hiram  twenty  cities  in  the  laud  of 

Galilee?      Now  to  this  some  have  replied,  that 

i  Solomon  did  not  give  Hiram  a  property,  and  per- 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


861 


review  and  consideration,  he  declined  the 
acceptance,  with  a  respectful  excuse  to 
Solomon,  that  he  had  no  need  of  them. 
From  this  refusal,  that  part  of  the  country 
was  called  Cabul,  which,  in  the  Phoenician 
language,  signifies,  'it  does  not  please  me.' 
So  great  was  the  king  of  Tyre's  esteem 
and  reliance  on  the  wisdom  of  the  king  of 
Israel,  that  whenever  any  perplexed  case 
offered  itself  to  his  consideration,  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  that  extraordinary  prince 
for  his  judgment  and  direction.  Solomon 
never  failed  to  answer  him  to  his  satisfac- 
tion, according  to  the  true  reason  and 
nature  of  the  matter  in  hand. 


petual  right  to  those  cities,  but  only  assigned  him 
the  possession  of  them  for  a  time,  until  the  debt, 
which  he  had  contracted  for  the  several  supplies 
he  had  from  him  while  he  was  building  the  temple, 
was  satisfied.  Others  think,  that  upon  supposition 
that  these  cities  were  inhabited  by  Israelites,  Solo- 
mon did  not  give  Hiram  (as  indeed  he  could  not) 
their  particular  possessions,  but  only  his  own 
loyalties  over  them,  (which  he  might  justly  do,) 
and  all  the  profits  he  received  from  them,  which, 
according  to  the  taxes  then  imposed,  1  Kings  xii. 
4.  were  not  inconsiderable.  But  there  is  no  rea- 
son for  these  far-fetched  solutions,  when  the  scrip- 
ture expressly  tells  us,  that  these  cities  were  not 
in  the  territories  of  Israel,  nor  inhabited  at  that 
time  by  fhe  Israelites,  2  Chron.  viii.  2.  They 
were  indeed  some  of  them  conquered  by  the  king 
of  Egypt,  who  gave  them  to  Solomon  as  a  portion 
with  his  daughter,  and  others  by  Solomon  himself, 
who,  as  Selden  observes,  had  "a  right  to  dispose 
of  those  lands,  which  he  had  conquered  in  volun- 
tary war,  without  the  consent  of  the  senate:"  and 
this  may  be  one  reason  why  he  gave  these  rather 
than  otiier  cities,  because  these  were  certainly  in 
his  power  to  give,  when  others  perhaps  were  not. 
A  learned  author,  upon  this  subject,  has  given  a 
quite  different  turn  to  the  sense  of  the  passage  : 
for  his  opinion  is,  that  Hiram  did  not  return  these 
cities  because  he  thought  them  not  good  enough, 
but  because  he  was  unwilling  to  receive  so  large  a 
remuneration  for  the  few  good  offices  he  had  done 
Solomon,  and  was  minded  rather  that  his  favours 
of  this  kind  should  be  all  gratuitous.  He  there- 
fore makes  the  word  Cabul  a  title  of  respect,  and 
not  of  contempt ;  for  he  derives  it  from  the  He- 
brew Chebes,  which  signifies  a  bond,  or  chain,  in- 
timating that  these  two  neighbouring  kings  had 
mutually  bound  themselves  in  a  bond  of  friend- 
ship, Solomon  by  giving,  and  Hiram  by  returning 
the  cities,  now  under  consideration.  This  is  very 
pretty  :  but  it  is  carrying  the  point  of  generosity 
in  tlie  king  of  Tyre  a  little  too  high,  in  my  opinion, 
considering  his  acceptance  of,  if  not  express  stipu- 
lation for,  such  a  quantity  of  corn  and  oil,  in  lieu 
of  the  timber  which  he  sent  Solomon,  1  Kings  v. 
10,  II. — Patrick's  and Le  Clerc's  Commentaries, 
unci  Poole's  Annotations. 


Menander,  the  historian,  who  translated 
the  Tyrian  Annals  out  of  the  Phoenician 
tongue  into  Greek,  makes  mention  of 
these  two  princes  as  follows:  "Hiram, 
the  son  of  Abibale,  succeeded  his  father 
in  the  kingdom  of  Tyre.  He  lived  three 
and  fifty  years,  and  reigned  four  and  thirty. 
He  annexed  a  piece  of  forced  ground,  call- 
ed the  Great  Field,  to  the  island,  and  dedi- 
cated a  gold  pillar  to  Jupiter  in  his  tem- 
ple. He  cut  down  materials  also  in 
abundance  upon  mount  Lebanon,  for  the 
covering  of  holy  places;  and  pulling  down 
ancient  temples,  he  built  new  ones  to 
Hercules  and  Astarte.  He  erected  a 
statue  for  Hercules  in  the  month  of  Peri- 
tius;  and  then  in  an  expedition  against 
the  Eyceans,  for  not  paying  the  duty  of 
a  tribute,  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  he 
overcame  them,  and  returned  home  again. 
In  his  days  there  was  one  Abdemonus,  a 
young  man  that  took  upon  him  to  give 
Solomon,  the  king  of  Jerusalem,  a  solu- 
tion of  all  dark  and  mysterious  questions 
that  should  be  put  to  him." 

Dius  also  writes  to  this  effect. — "  Abi- 
bale being  new  dead,  Hiram  his  son  suc- 
ceeded him,  who,  by  filling  up  void  places 
in  the  east  quarter  of  the  town,  enlarged 
the  borders,  and  brought  the  temple  of 
Olympian  Jupiter,  that  before  stood  apart, 
and  at  a  distance,  into  the  compass  of  the 
city, — enriching  and  adorning  it  with 
golden  offerings  to  a  very  great  value ; 
after  which  he  ordered  the  cutting  down 
of  cedars  upon  mount  Lebanon  for  the 
use  of  holy  places." 

He  farther  adds,  "tfiat  Solomon,  the 
king  of  Jerusalem,  often  sent  problems  to 
Hiram,  upon  the  forfeit  of  a  great  sum  of 
money  if  he  failed  of  expounding  them. 
Those  difficult  cases  were  afterwards  not 
only  unravelled  by  Abdemonus  a  Tyrian, 
but  new  propositions  started  by  him,  which 
Solomon  himself  not  being  able  to  solve, 
was  obliged  to  refund  the  greatest  part  of 
the  money."  Thus  far  according  to 
Dius. 

The  fortifications  of  Jerusalem  being 


362 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


deemed  insufficient  for  the  defence  of  that 
spacious  and  opulent  city,  king  Solomon 
having  finished  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  his  own  palace,  in  the  most  sumptu- 
ous manner,  applied  himself  to  the  com- 
pletion of  such  repairs  as  were  deemed 
necessary  for  the  security  of  the  place. 

He  built  several  cities  also  of  consider- 
able note,  as  Hazor,  Megiddo, — and  Ge- 
zer, in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  which 
Pharaoh  the  king  of  Egypt  had  formerly 
taken  by  assault,  and  rasing  it  to  the 
ground,  put  every  creature  in  it  to  the 
sword,  giving  it  afterward  to  his  daughter 
upon  the  match  with  Solomon.* 


*  Gezer  lay  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
Egypt,  which,  since  the  time  of  Sesostris,  had 
seldom  extended  its  conquests  into  foreign  lands ; 
and  therefore,  to  account  for  its  conduct  here,  we- 
must  observe,  that  Gezer  was  so  ancient  a  town  in 
Canaan,  that,  when  Joshua  conquered  it,  it  had  a 
king  of  no  small  note;  that,  in  the  division  of  the 
land,  it  fell  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  was  bordering 
upon  the  northern  part  of  the  country  of  the  Phil- 
istines, and  not  far  from  the  Mediterranean  sea  ; 
that  it  was  one  of  the  eight  and  forty  cities  which 
were  given  to  the  Levites  ;  an  inland  town,  but  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  sea-port  of  Joppa  ;  that 
when  the  Ephraimites  took  possession  of  it,  they 
suffered  the  Canaanites  to  cohabit  with  them,  who 
gave  them  no  small  disturbance,  and  towards  the 
latter  end  of  David's  reign,  expelled  them  thence  ; 
that,  when  Solomon  came  to  the  throne,  he  applied 
himself  chiefly  to  the  building  of  the  temple,  nor 
thought  it  worth  while  to  disturb  the  peace  of  his 
reign  for  the  recovery  of  a  few  revolted  cities  ;  that 
when  a  match  was  proposed  between  Solomon  and 
Pharaoh's  daughter,  Pharaoh  thought  he  could  not 
do  a  more  acceptable  service,  or  show  the  benefit 
of  his  alliance  better,  than  in  taking  Gezer,  and 
some  adjacent  places;  that,  for  this  purpose  he  set 
out  with  a  large  fleet  of  ships,  landed  at  Joppa,  be- 
sieged Gezer,  because  it  made  an  obstinate  defence, 
burnt  it  to  the  ground,  and  slew  all  the  Canaanites 
that  were  in  it ;  but  that  not  long  after,  he  began  to 
rebuild  it;  and  when  his  daughter  was  espoused  to 
Solomon,  gave  him  this,  and  some  other  places  he 
had  taken  along  with  it,  as  part  of  her  portion;  for 
it  is  a  mistaken  notion  that  princes'  daughters  had 
no  portion  in  those  days.  Among  the  Jews  indeed, 
the  custom  was  for  men  to  give  the  dower,  or  to 
make  some  present  to  the  parents,  for  the  favour 
of  having  their  daughter  in  marriage.  But  this 
custom  prevailed  only  among  the  inferior  sort: 
ladies  of  the  first  distinction  were,  in  all  nations, 
wont  to  bring  their  husbands  fortunes  proportion- 
ate to  their  quality  :  for  Saul,  we  read,  declared, 
that  the  man  who  should  slay  Goliath,  should  not 
only  have  his  daughter  in  marriage,  but  together 
willi  her.  plenty  of  riches,  and  other  valuable 
emoluments.     Antiochus  the  Great  promised  to 


This  city  the  king  rebuilt,  for  the 
strength  of  its  situation,  and  the  use  it 
might  be  of  to  the  government,  as  well  in 
war  as  peace. 

He  built  likewise  not  far  from  thence, 
Beth-horon  and  Baalath,  beside  other 
places  of  pleasure,  agreeable  in  respect  to 
the  temperature  of  the  climate,  the  deli- 
cacy of  the  fruits,  and  effects  of  the  water. 

He  possessed  himself  after  this  of  the 
entrance  into  the  desert  that  lies  towards 
Syria,  where  he  built  a  very  fair  city,  two 
days'  journey  from  Upper  Syria,  one  from 
the  Euphrates,  and  six  from  Babylon. 

This  city  was  erected  at  such  a  distance 
from  the  habitable  part  of  the  country,  in 
order  to  supply  travellers,  who  passed 
through  the  deserts,  with  water,  as  it 
abounded  with  springs  and  fountains. 

This  town  being  built,  walled,  and 
strongly  fortified,  was  called  Tadmor, 
which  name  it  bears  among  the  Syrians 
to  this  day.  But  the  Greeks  call  it 
Palmyra.f 


settle  upon  his,  the  kingdoms  of  Judea  and  Sama- 
ria, as  a  dowry  to  Ptolemy,  king  of  Egypt ;  and, 
to  name  no  more,  Agamemnon,  in  times  of  an  older 
date,  though  not  so  great  affluence,  offered  no  less 
than  seven  good  towns  with  his,  without  any  re« 
served  rent,  or  other  deduction  from  her  husband. 
So  that  Pharaoh  did  no  more  than  conform  to  the 
practice  of  other  great  princes,  in  endowing  his 
daughter  with  the  places  he  had  taken  from  the 
Philistines,  in  all  probability,  for  that  very  purpose. 
— Stackhouse. 

t  The  situation  of  this  city  was  remote  from 
human  habitations,  in  the  midst  of  a  dreary  wilder 
ness  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Solomon  built  it  tc 
facilitate  his  commerce  with  the  East,  as  it  afford- 
ed  a  supply  of  water,  a  thing  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance in  an  Arabian  desert.  The  original  name  was 
preserved  till  the  time  of  Alexander,  who  extended 
liis  conquests  to  this  city,  which  then  exchanged 
Tadmor  for  the  title  of  Palmyra.  It  submitted 
to  the  Romans  about  the  year  130,  and  continued 
the  alliance  with  them  during  a  period  of  150 
years.  When  the  Saracens  triumphed  in  the  East, 
they  acquired  possession  of  this  city,  and  restored 
its  ancient  name  of  Tadmor.  Of  the  time  of  its 
ruin  there  is  no  authentic  record  ;  but  it  is  thought, 
with  some  probability,  that  its  destruction  occurred 
during  the  period  in  which  it  was  occupied  by  the 
Saracens.  Of  its  present  appearance  Messrs  Wood 
and  Dawkins,  who  visited  it  in  1751,  thus  speak: 
"  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  any  tiling  more 
striking  than  the  view.  So  great  a  number  of 
Corinthian  pillars,  mixed  with  so  little  wall  or 
solid  building,  afforded  a  most  romantic  variety  of 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


363 


There  was  still  a  stubborn  remnant  of 
the  Canaanites,  betwixt  mount  Lebanon 
and  the  city  of  Hamath,  who  for  some 
time  disputed  their  allegiance  to  the 
kings  of  Israel,  till  Solomon  at  last  made 
them  his  tributaries,  upon  condition  of 
furnishing  him  yearly  with  such  a  certain 
number  of  slaves,  as  was  agreed  upon,  to 
be  employed  in  tilling  the  land,  and  other 
sorts  of  drudgery;  for  the  Israelites  were 
not  employed  in  any  work  that  was  ser- 
vile, neither  would  it  have  been  reason- 
able, when  God  had  subdued  so  many 
nations  to  his  power,  for  the  conquerors 
to  descend  to  do  the  business  of  their  cap- 
tives. 

As  to  the  Israelites,  their  genius  lay 
more  in  arms,  chariots,  horses,  exploits  of 
war,  and  military  exercises. 

The  Canaanites  in  the  mean  time  were 
held  to  their  labour,  and  six  hundred 
officers  of  the  king's  put  over  them,  to 
appoint  them  their  tasks  and  keep  them 
to  their  work. 

Solomon  likewise,  for  the  defence  of 
his  kingdom,  caused  a  fleet  of  ships  to  be 
built  in  Ezion-geber,*  an  Egyptian  bay 


prospect."  Captain  Mangles,  who  travelled  more 
recently, observes:  "On  opening  upon  the  ruins  of 
Palmyra,  as  seen  from  the  valley  of  the  tombs,  we 
were  much  struck  with  the  picturesque  effect  of 
the  whole,  presenting  the  most  imposing  sight  of 
the  kind  we  had  ever  seen."  But  on  a  minuter 
inspection,  the  ruins  of  this  once  mighty  city  do 
not  appear  so  interesting  as  at  a  distance.  Volney 
observes  :  "  In  the  space  covered  by  these  ruins, 
we  sometimes  find  a  palace  of  which  nothing  re- 
mains but  the  court  and  walls  ;  sometimes  a  tem- 
ple, whose  peristile  is  half  thrown  down  ;  and  now 
a  portico,  a  gallery,  a  triumphal  arch.  If  from  this 
striking  scene  we  cast  our  eyes  upon  the  ground, 
another  almost  as  varied  presents  itself.  On 
which  side  soever  we  look,  the  earth  is  strewed 
with  vast  stones  half  buried,  with  broken  entabla- 
tures, mutilated  friezes,  disfigured  reliefs,  effaced 
sculptures,  violated  tombs,  and  altars  defiled  by 
the  dust."  It  is  situated  under  a  ridge  of  barren 
hills  to  the  west,  and  its  other  sides  are  open  to 
the  desert.  The  city  was  originally  about  ten 
miles  in  circumference,  but  such  have  been  the 
destructions  effected  by  time,  that  the  boundaries 
are  with  difficulty  traced  and  determined.  In  the 
4  Modern  Traveller '  there  is  a  very  excellent  de- 
scription of  the  present  aspect  of  this  ruined  city, 
by  Mr  Josiah  Conder. —  Calmet. 

*  When   David  conquered   lidom,  or  Idumea, 


upon  the  Red  sea.  This  port  was  called 
Berenice,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Eloth, 
which  in  those  days  was  reckoned  to  be 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Hebrews. 

In  the  building,  fitting,  and  rigging 
out  of  this  navy,  the  king  was  greatly 
assisted  by  Hiram,  who  sent  him  as  many 
expert  pilots  and  skilful  mariners  as  he 
had  occasion  for,  to  conduct  his  officers  to 
the  land  of  Ophir,f  where,  having  got 
together  four  hundred  talents  j  of  gold, 
they  returned  with  it  to  the  king. 


he  made  himself  master  of  this  port;  his  son,  we  see, 
built  ships  here,  and  sent  them  from  hence  to  Ophir 
for  gold.  It  continued  in  the  possession  of  the 
Israelites  about  an  hundred  and  fifty  years,  till,  in 
the  time  of  Joram,  the  Edomites  recovered  it,  but 
it  was  again  taken  from  them  by  Azariah,  and  by 
him  left  to  his  son.  His  grandson  Ahaz  however 
lost  it  again  to  the  king  of  Syria,  and  the  Syrians 
had  it  in  their  hands  a  long  while,  till,  after  many 
changes  under  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucidac, 
it  came  at  length  into  the  possession  of  the  Ro- 
mans. It  was  formerly  a  small  town,  with  fruitful 
fields  about  it,  but  now  there  is  nothing  left  but  a 
tower,  which  serves  as  a  habitation  for  the  gover- 
nor, who  is  subject  to  the  governor  of  Grand 
Cairo,  and  no  signs  of  frnitfulness  are  to  be  seen 
in  any  parts  adjoining  to  it — Patrick's  Commen- 
tary and  Calmet's  Dictionary. 

+  In  what  region  of  the  earth  we  should  search 
for  the  famous  ports  of  Tharshish  and  Ophir,  is 
an  inquiry  which  has  long  exercised  the  industry 
of  learned  men.  They  were  early  supposed  to  be 
situated  in  some  part  of  India,  and  the  Jews  were 
held  to  be  one  of  the  nations  which  traded  with 
that  country.  But  the  opinion  more  generally 
adopted  is,  that  Solomon's  fleets,  after  passing  the 
straits  of  Babel-mandel,  held  their  course  along 
the  south-east  coast  of  Africa,  as  far  as  the  king- 
dom of  Sofala,  a  country  celebrated  for  its  rich 
mines  of  gold  and  silver,  (from  which  it  has  been 
denominated  the  golden  Sofala  by  oriental  writers,) 
and  abounding  in  all  the  other  articles  which 
composed  the  cargoes  of  the  Jewish  ships.  This 
opinion,  which  the  accurate  researches  of  M. 
D'Anville  rendered  highly  probable,  seems  now 
to  be  established  with  the  utmost  certainty  by  Mr 
Bruce;  who,  by  his  knowledge  of  the  monsoons 
in  the  Arabian  gulf,  and  his  attention  to  the 
ancient  mode  of  navigation,  both  in  that  sea  and 
along  the  African  coast,  has  not  only  accounted 
for  the  extraordinary  length  of  time  which  the 
fleets  of  Solomon  took  in  going  and  returning, 
but  has  shown,  from  circumstances  mentioned  con- 
cerning the  voyage,  that  it  was  not  made  to  any 
place  in  India.  This  commercial  effort,  which  the 
Jews  made  in  the  reign  of  Solomon,  was  merely  a 
transient  one;  and  thty  quickly  returned  to  their 
former  state  of  unsocial  seclusion  from  the  rest  ot 
mankind. — Dr  Robertson. 

I  Four  hundred  talents  in  weight  amounted  to 
forty -five  thousand   six   hundred   and  ninety-five 


364 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


The  king  of  Israel's  extraordinary  vir- 
tue and  wisdom  having  spread  his  fame 
throughout  the  known  world,  had  conse- 
quently reached  the  ears  of  the  queen  of 
Sheba,*  a  distant   kingdom,    who    being 

pounds  Troy,  and  their  value  in  gold  was  worth 
two  million  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand 
pounds  English  money. 

•  The  queen  of  Sheba  was,  according  to  some, 
a  queen  of  Arabia;  but  according  to  others,  a 
queen  of  Ethiopia.  Josephus  says,  that  Sheba 
was  the  ancient  name  of  the  city  of  Meroe,  and 
that  the  queen,  of  whom  we  are  speaking,  came 
thence;  which  opinion  has  much  prevailed.  The 
Ethiopians  still  claim  this  princess  as  their  sove- 
reign, and  say,  that  her  posterity  reigned  there 
for  a  long  time.  The  visit  of  this  queen  to  Solo- 
mon is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of  his 
reign  ;  and  as  it  appears  to  have  had  important 
consequences  in  her  own  country,  we  insert  Mr 
Bruce's  account,  as  related  in  the  annals  of 
Abyssinia.  It  confirms,  most  decidedly,  the  scrip- 
ture history:  *•  We  are  not  to  wonder,  if  the 
prodigious  hurry  and  flow  of  business,  and  the 
immensely  valuable  transactions  they  had  with 
each  other,  had  greatly  familiarized  the  Tyrians 
and  Jews,  with  their  correspondents  the  Cushites 
and  shepherds,  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  This  had 
gone  so  far,  as  very  naturally  to  have  created  a 
desire  in  the  queen  of  Azab,  the  sovereign  of  that 
country,  to  go  herself  and  see  the  application  of 
such  immense  treasures  that  had  been  exported 
from  her  country  for  a  series  of  years,  and 
the  prince  who  so  magnificently  employed  them. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  expedition,  as 
Pagan,  Arab,  Moor,  Abyssinian,  and  all  the  conn- 
tries  round,  vouch  it  pretty  much  in  the  terms  of  j 
scripture.  Her  name,  the  Arabs  say,  was  Belkis;  j 
the  Abyssinians,  Macqueda.  Our  Saviour  calls 
her  Queen  of  the  South,  without  mentioning  any  j 
other  name,  but  gives  his  sanction  to  the  truth  of 
the  voyage.  '  I  he  queen  of  the  south  (or  Saba, 
or  Azab)  shall  rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  this 
generation,  and  shall  condemn  it;  for  she  came 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon;  and  behold,  a  greater  than 
Solomon  is  here,'  Matt.  xii.  42.  Luke  xi.  31.  No 
other  particulars,  however,  are  mentioned  about 
her  in  scripture;  and  it  is  not  probable  our  Saviour 
would  say  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth,  if  she  had  been  an  Arab,  and  had  near 
50  degrees  of  the  continent  behind  her.  The 
j.old,  the  myrrh,  cassia,  and  frankincense,  were  all 
the  produce  of  her  own  country.  Whether  she 
were  a  Jewess  or  a  pagarj  is  uncertain  ;  Sabaism 
was  the  religion  of  all  the  East.  It  was  the  con- 
stant attendant  and  stumbling-block  of  the  Jews  ; 
but,  considering  the  multitude  of  that  people  then 
trading  from  Jerusalem,  and  the  long  time  it  con- 
tinued, it  is  not  improbable  she  was  a  Jewess. 
4  And  when  the  queen  of  Sheba  heard  of  the  fame 
of  Solomon  concerning  the  name  of  the  Lord,  she 
came  to  prove  him  with  hard  questions,'  1  Kings 
X.  1.  and  2  Chron.  ix.  1.  Our  Saviour,  moreover, 
speaks  of  her  with  praise,  pointing  her  out  as  an 
example  to  the  Jews.     And,  in  her  thanksgiving 


a  princess  of  extraordinaty  understanding, 
and  highly  accomplished,  the  renown  of 
his  character  had  excited  her  impatience 
to  hear  and  see  the  king  himself,  wisely 


berore  Solomon,  she  alludes  to  Gods  blessing  on 
the  seed  of  Israel  for  ever,  which  is  by  no  means 
the  language  of  a  pagan,  but  of  a  person  skilled 
in  the  ancient  history  of  the  Jews.  She  likewise 
appears  to  have  been  a  person  of  learning,  and 
that  sort  of  learning  which  was  then  almost  pecu- 
liar to  Palestine,  not  to  Ethiopia.  For  we  see 
that  one  of  the  reasons  of  her  coming  was  to 
examine  whether  Solomon  was  really  the  learned 
man  he  was  said  to  be.  She  came  to  try  him  in 
allegories,  or  parables,  in  which  Nathan  had  in- 
structed Solomon.  The  annals  of  Abyssinia,  be- 
ing very  full  upon  this  point,  have  taken  a  middle 
opinion,  and  by  no  means  an  improbable  one. 
They  say  she  was  a  pagan  when  she  left  Azab, 
but  being  full  of  admiration  at  the  sight  of  Solo- 
mon's works,  she  was  converted  to  Judaism  in 
Jerusalem,  and  bore  him  a  son,  whom  she  called 
Menilek,  and  who  was  their  first  king.  However 
strongly  they  assert  this,  however  dangerous  it  would 
be  to  doubt  it  in  Abyssinia,  1  will  not  here  aver 
it  for  truth,  nor  much  less  still  will  I  positively 
contradict  it,  as  scripture  has  said  nothing  about 
it.  The  Abyssinians,  both  Jews  and  Christians, 
believe  the  xlvth  Psalm  to  be  a  prophecy  of  this 
queen's  voyage  to  Jerusalem  ;  that  she  was  attend- 
ed by  a  daughter  of  Hiram's  from  Tyre  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  that  the  last  part  contains  a  declaration 
of  her  having  a  son  by  Solomon,  who  was  to  be 
king  over  a  nation  of  (ientiles. 

"  To  Saba  or  Azab,  then,  she  returned  with  her 
son  Menilek  ;  whom,  after  keeping  him  some 
years,  she  sent  back  to  his  father  to  be  instructed. 
Solomon  did  not  neglect  his  charge;  and  he  was 
crowned  king  of  Ethiopia  in  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem,  and  at  his  inauguration  took  the  name 
of  David.  After  this  he  returned  to  Azab,  and 
brought  with  him  a  colony  of  Jews,  among  whom 
were  many  doctors  of  the  law  of  Moses,  particu- 
larly one  of  each  tribe,  to  make  judges  of  in  his 
kingdom  ;  from  whom  the  present  Hmbarcs,  or 
supreme  judges  (three  of  whom  always  attended 
the  king),  are  said  and  believed  to  be  descended. 
With  these  came  also  Azarias,  the  son  of  Zadok 
the  priest,  and  brought  with  him  a  Hebrew  tran- 
script of  the  law,  which  was  delivered  into  his 
custody,  as  he  bore  the  title  of  Nebret,  or  high- 
priest  ;  and  this  charge,  though  the  book  itself  was 
burnt  with  the  church  of  Axum,  in  the  Moorish 
war  of  Adel,  is  still  continued,  as  it  is  said,  in  the 
lineage  of  Azarias,  who  are  Nebrets,  or  keepers  of 
the  church  of  Axum,  at  this  day.  All  Abyssinia 
was  thereupon  converted,  and  the  government  of 
church  and  state  modelled  according  to  what  was 
then  in  use  at  Jerusalem. 

"  By  the  last  act  of  the  queen  of  Saba's  reign, 
she  settled  the  mode  of  succession  in  her  country 
for  the  future.  First,  she  enacted,  that  the  crown 
should  be  hereditary  in  the  family  of  Solomon  for 
ever.  Secondly,  that,  after  her,  no  woman  should 
be  capable  of  wearing  that  crown,  or  being  queen  ; 
but  that  it  should  descend  to  the  heir  male,  how- 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

concluding,  that  experimental  proof  sur- 
passed the  most  confirmed  report,  which, 
on  proper  examination,  might  be  found 
inconclusive  or  unauthenticated.  Having 
debated  the  point  for  some  time  with  her- 
self, she  came  to  a  resolution,  notwith- 
standing aLl  the  hazards  and  difficulties  of 
a  long  and  tedious  journey,  to  make  him 
an  honourable  visit,  for  the  satisfaction  of 
her  curiosity,  as  well  as  her  inclination  and 
judgment;  and  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  in- 
struction from  that  wisdom,  of  which  she 
had  heard  such  an  extraordinary  account. 

With  this  determination  she  set  forward 
toward  Jerusalem,  with  a  train  and  equi- 
page suitable  to  her  royal  dignity,  taking 
with  her  a  number  of  camels,  laden  with 
gold,  a  great  variety  of  rich  perfumes,  and 
precious  stones. 

Upon  her  arrival,  the  king  received  her 
with  all  possible  honour,  courtesy,  and  re- 
spect; and  with  so  much  ease  and  clear- 
ness solved  all  the  difficulties  she  propos- 
ed, that  with  astonishment  she  beheld  a 
display  of  his  surprising  power,  far  supe- 
rior to  that  which  had  been  generally 
rumoured  concerning  it. 

She  greatly  admired  the  magnificence 
of  his  palace,  the  order  and  disposition  of 
the  building,  and  at  the  king's  incompar- 
able skill,  through  the  whole  contrivance 


365 


ever  distant,  in  exclusion  of  all  heirs  female,  how- 
ever near  ;  and  that  these  two  articles  should  be 
considered  as  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  king- 
dom, never  to  be  altered  or  abolished.  And  lastly, 
that  the  heirs  male  of  the  royal  house  should  al- 
ways be  sent  prisoners  to  a  high  mountain,  where 
they  were  to  continue  till  their  death,  or  till  the 
succession  should  open  to  them.  The  queen  of 
Saba,  having  made  these  laws  irrevocable  by  all 
her  posterity,  died,  after  a  long  reign  of  forty  years, 
in  98b'  before  Christ,  placing  her  son  Menilek 
upon  the  throne,  whose  posterity,  the  annals  of 
Abyssinia  would  teach  us  to  believe,  have  ever 
since  reigned.  So  far,  indeed,  we  must  bear  wit- 
ness to  them  that  this  is  no  new  doctrine,  but  has 
been  steadfastly  and  uniformly  maintained  from 
their  earliest  account  of  time  ;  first,  when  Jews, 
then  in  later  days,  after  they  had  embraced  Chris- 
tianity. We  may  further  add,  that  the  testimony 
of  all  the  neighbouring  nations  is  with  them  on 
this  subject,  whether  friends  or  enemies.  They 
only  differ  in  the  name  of  the  queen,  or  in  giving 
her  two  names." — Bruce,  Taylor's  Calmet,  and 
Dr  A.  Clarke. 


and  conduct,  but  nothing  moved  her  ad- 
miration more  than  the  masterly  execu- 
tion of  that  fabric,  called  the  grove  of 
Lebanon  ;  the  elegant  and  regular  course 
of  his  entertainments;  the  discipline  and 
economy  of  his  household ;  and  the  pecu- 
liar grace  and  propriety  with  which  he 
conducted  all  his  concerns. 

She  was  likewise  infinitely  pleased 
with  the  sight  of  the  daily  sacrifices,  and 
the  application,  care,  and  veneration,  with 
which  the  priests  and  Levites  performed 
their  part  in  the  worship. 

The  regularity  and  order  of  their  stated 
worship  employed  her  thoughts  day  and 
night,  and  so  exceedingly  affected  her 
mind,  that  she  broke  out  into  this  raptur- 
ous address  :  "  Great  prince,  report  is  so 
doubtful  and  uncertain,  that  without  a  de- 
monstrative and  experimental  confirma- 
tion of  the  truth  of  what  we  hear,  we  are 
forced  to  suspend  our  assent,  especially 
where  the  fame  of  things  relates  either  to 
extreme  good  or  evil :  but  with  respect  to 
your  incomparable  faculties;  that  is,  to 
the  advantages  of  the  mind  in  a  superla- 
tive degree  of  knowledge  and  understand- 
ing, and  the  glory  of  your  outward  state,* 

*  The  sovereigns  of  the  East,  it  is  well  known, 
are  very  fond  of  displaying  their  gorgeous  splen- 
dour. The  present  sovereign  of  Persia,  and  (after 
his  example)  his  sons,  generally  appoint  for  the 
reception  of  ambassadors  such  an  hour  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  season,  or  the  intended  room  of  audi- 
ence, will  best  enable  them  to  display  the  brillian- 
cy of  their  jewels  in  full  sunshine.  The  title  of 
bright  or  resplendent  was  added  to  the  name  of 
one  sovereign,  who  lived  upwards  of  eight  cen- 
turies ago,  because  his  regal  ornaments,  glittering 
in  the  solar  rays  on  a  solemn  festival,  so  dazzled 
the  eyes  of  all  beholders  that  they  could  scarcely 
bear  the  effulgence  ;  and  some  knew  not  winch 
was  the  monarch,  or  which  the  great  luminary  of 
the  day.  Thus,  Theophylact  Simocatta  ^a  (Jreek 
historian  who  flourished  in  the  seventh  century  of 
the  Christian  era)  relates  that  the  Persian  king, 
Horrnisdas,  sitting  on  his  throne,  astonished  all 
spectators  by  the  blazing  glories  of  his  jewels. 
Thus  also  king  Agrippa  was  almost  regarded  as  a 
god,  so  powerfully  did  his  ornamented  dress  re- 
flect the  morning  sun-beams;  and  it  was  probably 
the  splendour  of  Solomon  '  in  all  his  glory,'  when 
seated  on  the  throne,  in  addition  to  the  magnifi- 
cence of  his  establishment,  which  so  struck  the 
queen  of  Sheba  on  beholding  them,  that  '  there 
was  no  more  spirit  in  her.' — Home. 

/ 


366 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


the  rumour  has  been  so  far  from  partial, 
that  it  falls  short  even  of  a  common 
justice;  for  though  common  fame  report- 
ed as  much  to  your  honour  as  words  could 
express,  I  have  yet  the  happiness  at  this 
present  time  to  see  much  more  than  I 
heard.  Blessed  are  the  Hebrews;  bless- 
ed are  the  friends  and  people  of  Solomon, 
that  stand  ever  before  him,  and  hear  his 
wisdom;  and  blessed  be  God  for  his  good- 
ness to  this  land  and  nation,  in  placing 
them  under  the  government  of  so  excel- 
lent a  prince." 

Nor  did  this  great  princess  testify  her 
admiration  of  the  extraordinary  endow- 
ments of  Solomon  by  words  alone,  but  as 
a  farther  instance  of  the  high  respect  she 
had  for  the  king,  she  made  him  a  present 
of  twenty  talents  of  gold,  and  aromatic 
spices,  rich  perfumes,  and  precious  stones, 
to  a  prodigious  value.* 

Nor  was  the  king  of  Israel  wanting  in 
grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  favour 
thus  conferred  upon  him,  for  he  denied 
the  queen  nothing,  and  was  much  readier 
to  give  than  she  was  to  ask,  even  to  the 
preventing  of  her  desires.  After  this 
reciprocal  interchange  of  presents  given 
and  taken,  the  queen  returned  to  her 
own  country. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  the  queen 
of  Sheba,  Solomon's  fleet  returned  from 
Ophir,  (otherwise  called  the  land  of  gold,) 
with  stones  for  jewels,  and  almug  wood  f 


*  They  speak  also  of  a  root  of  balsam  that  she 
brought  with  her,  which  (according  to  a  tradition 
we  have)  was  the  first  plant  of  the  kind  that  ever 
came  into  Judea,  where  it  hath  propagated  so 
wonderfully  ever  since. 

f  It  is  not  well  ascertained  what  description  of 
tree  is  meant  by  this  name.  The  Latin  transla- 
tors call  it  thyine  wood.  Respecting  which  Theo- 
phrastus  says,  that  the  thyon  or  tbya  tree  grows 
near  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon  in  Africa,  that 
it  resembles  the  cypress  tree  in  its  boughs,  leaves, 
stalks,  and  fruit ;  and  that  its  wood  never  rots. 
It  was  in  high  esteem  among  the  heathen,  who 
frequently  made  of  this  wood  the  doors  of  their 
temples,  and  the  images  of  their  gods.  It  should 
be  observed,  however,  that  Josephus  calls  the  al- 
mug trees  of  Solomon  '  pitch  or  torch  trees :'  but 
cautions  us  against  supposing  that  the  wood  of 
them  was  like  what  was  known  in  his  time  by 


in  abundance  ;  the  latter  was  made  use  of 
partly  for  pillars  and  supporters  to  the 
king's  temple  and  palace,  and  partly  for 
musical  instruments,  as  harps,  timbrels, 
psalteries,  and  the  like,  for  the  Levites  to 
glorify  God  upon  in  company  with  their 
voices. 

This  plate-fleet  brought  the  king  six 
hundred  and  sixty-six  talents  of  gold, 
over  and  above  the  merchants'  adventure, 
and  what  the  governors  and  kings  of 
Arabia  sent  him  for  presents.  Of  this 
gold  he  caused  to  be  cast  two  hundred 
targets,  weighing  sixty  hundred  shekels 
of  gold  each ;  and  these  were  all  hung  up 
in  the  great  hall  of  the  grove  of  Lebanon. 
His  drinking  cups  were  all  of  beaten  gold, 
too,  garnished  with  precious  stones,  and 
most  curiously  wrought  by  eminent  artists; 
in  short,  the  rest  of  his  utensils  were  of 
the  same  metal.J 

The  renown  of  Solomon's  wisdom, 
power,  and  magnificence  having  now  ex- 
tended to  the  remotest  climates,  several 
potent  princes  most  ardently  desired  to 
see  him,  and  embraced  every  opportunity 
of  testifying  by  their  submission*  and  mu- 
nificence the  veneration  in  which  they  held 
his  dignified  character.  They  sent  him 
gold  and  silver  plate,  purple  robes,  spices, 
and  perfumes  of  all  sorts,  horses,  chariots, 
and  mules  for  burden,  such  as  for  strength 
and  beauty  they  thought  might  be  most 
acceptable  to  the  king;  so  that  he  had 
now  an  addition  of  four  hundred  chariots 
to  what  he  had  before ;  that  is,  a  thousand 
chariots,  and  twelve  thousand  horses,  that 
for  beauty  and  speed  were  beyond  all 
others;  and  to  grace  the  spectacle,  they 
had  the  flower  of  the  youth  to  ride  and 


that  name;  for  it  was,  says  he,  rather  like  that  of 
the  fig  tree,  but  more  white  and  shining. — Park- 
hurst. 

J  There  was  no  trading  with  money  in  this  case  ; 
for  the  king  had  his  ships  in  the  sea  of  Tarsus  that 
merchandised  with  foreign  nations  ;  and  in  ex- 
change for  commodities  of  his  own,  brought  him 
back  gold  and  silver,  great  quantities  of  ivory, 
apes,  &c.  Going  and  coming,  they  reckoned  upon 
this  expedition  as  a  three  years'  voyage. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


367 


manage  them.  They  were  all  comely 
persons,  in  purple  vests ;  their  hair  flow- 
ing, which  added  a  lustre  to  their  motion, 
and  a  dignity  to  their  general  appearance. 

This  was  the  body-guard,  who,  with 
their  arms  and  quivers,  attended  the  king's 
chariot  (himself  mounted  in  it,  clothed  in 
white)  to  a  pleasant  retirement  not  far 
from  the  city,  in  which,  for  the  curious 
gardens,  walks,  and  fountains,  and  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  place,  he  took  great 
delight. 

Such  was  the  regularity  and  preciseness 
of  this  extraordinary  prince,  in  the  mi- 
nutest cases  that  fell  under  his  inspection, 
that  he  provided  for  the  very  paving  of 
the  highways  that  led  to  his  palace  at 
Jerusalem,  partly  for  the  convenience  of 
passengers,  and  partly  for  his  own  magni- 
ficence. 

He  kept  not  many  chariots  about  his 
person,  but  quartered  them  here  and  there 
by  certain  numbers  in  the  adjacent  towns; 
and  these  places  were  called  his  chariot- 
towns. 

Silver  was  as  plentiful  in  Jerusalem  as 
stones ;  and  cedars,  which  had  never  been 
seen  in  Judea  before,  were  now  as  com- 
mon as  mulberry  trees.* 

He  gave  commission  also  to  his  Egyp- 
tian merchants  to  buy  him  a  provision  of 
chariots  with  two  horses,  at  the  price  of 
six  hundred  silver  drachmas  a-piece;  and 
these  were  to  be  sent  away  to  the  kings 
of  Syria,  and  beyond  the  river  Euphrates. 

The  impartiality  of  the  sacred  historian 
is  in  no  instance  more  evident  than  in  his 
recital  of  the  transactions  that  occurred 
during  the  reign  of  this  memorable  prince ; 

*  By  the  mulberry,  or  rather  sycomore,  is  here 
meant  a  tree  called  the  Egyptian  fig;  its  name 
denotes  it  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  fig-tree, 
and  the  mulberry  tree.  It  resembles  the  mulberry 
tree  in  its  leaves,  and  the  fig  tree  in  its  fruit.  Iu 
fruit  resembles  the  fig  in  shape  and  size,  and  its 
taste  is  pretty  much  that  of  the  wild  fig.  These 
sycomores  were  very  common  in  Egypt,  also  in 
Judea  ;  we  read,  Luke  xix.  4.  that  Zaccheus 
climbed  up  into  a  sycomore  tree,  to  see  Jesus  as 
he  passed  by.  Sycomore  trees  appear  to  have 
furnished  the  more  ordinary  timber,  s*r  cedars  did 
the  most  precious. —  Calmel. 


who  is  represented  as  the  most  pious,  glo- 
rious, and  wise  monarch,  that  ever  swayed 
the  sceptre  of  Israel  in  the  former  part  of 
his  government;  and  as  justly  censured 
for  departing,  in  the  latter  clause  of  it, 
from  the  precepts  of  his  forefather,  and 
sullying  the  glories  he  had  before  ac- 
quired. 

His  raging  lust  after  women  transport- 
ed him  beyond  all  bounds;  nor  could  the 
women  of  his  own  country  serve  his  turn, 
for  he  took  indifferently  women  of  all  na- 
tions,— Sidonians,  Tyrians,  Ammonites, 
Edomites,  &c.  contrary  to  the  institutions 
of  Moses,  which  forbid  the  Hebrews  any 
intercourse  of  marriage  with  strangers, 
wisely  foreseeing,  that  strange  women 
would  inveigle  them  over  to  worship 
strange  gods  too. 

This  was  the  true  reason  of  the  pre- 
caution, against  such  marriages;  for  the 
violation  of  one  law  is  but  a  step  toward 
the  breaking  of  another;  and  the  taking 
of  a  prohibited  wife  naturally  led  to  the 
embracing  of  a  prohibited  religion. 

But  Solomon's  sensual  appetite  was 
deaf  to  all  counsels  of  sobriety  and  rea- 
son. He  had  no  less  than  seven  hundred 
wives  that  were  princesses,  (the  daughter 
of  the  king  of  Egypt  for  one,)  and  three 
hundred  concubines  ;f  and  the  passion  he 
had  for  the  charms  of  their  conversation 

f  Without  knowing  the  custom  of  the  princes 
of  the  East,  their  pomp  and  sumptuousness  of  liv- 
ing, one  might  be  tempted  to  wonder  what  possible 
use  Solomon  might  make  of  this  milliad  of  wives 
and  concubines  ;  but  as  he  was  between  forty  and 
fifty  years  old  before  he  ran  into  this  excess,  we 
cannot  but  think  that  he  kept  this  multitude  of 
women  more  for  state  than  any  other  service. 
Darius  Codomannus  was  wont  to  carry  along  with 
him  in  his  camp  no  less  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  concubines  in  time  of  war  ;  nor  was  his  queen 
at  all  offended  at  it,  because  these  women  used  to 
reverence  and  adore  her  as  if  she  had  been  a  god- 
dess. F.  Le  Compte,  in  his  history  of  China,  tells 
us,  that  the  emperor  there  has  a  vast  number  of 
wives,  chosen  out  of  the  prime  beauties  of  the 
country,  many  of  which  he  never  so  much  as  saw 
in  his  whole  life  :  and  therefore  it  is  not  improba- 
ble that  Solomon,  as  he  found  his  riches  increase, 
might  enlarge  his  expenses,  and  endeavour  to  sur- 
pass all  the  princes  of  his  time  in  this,  as  well  as 
all  other  kinds  of  pomp  and  magnificence. — Stack* 
house. 


368 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


carried  him  into  compliances  with  them  in 
the  impiety  of  their  practices  and  opin- 
ions, as  the  most  effectual  earnest  he  could 
give  them  of  his  tenderness  and  affection. 
As  he  grew  more  advanced  in  years  he 
felt  the  decay  of  age  in  his  mind  as  well 
as  in  his  body;  and  still  as  he  became 
more  and  more  careless  and  remiss  in  the 
exercise  of  the  true  worship,  he  was  the 
more  easily  prevailed  upon  to  join  with 
these  strange  women  in  a  false  one.*  Nor 
was  this  the  first  breach  of  the  law  that 
he  was  guilty  of;  for  he  had  transgressed 
in  making  images  of  oxen  to  support  his 
brazen  sea,  and  in  the  lions  afterward  that 
were   set   as   a   guard   upon   the   throne, 


*  A  man  of  Solomon's  great  wisdom,  one  would 
think,  should  have  converted  those  women  that 
were  ahout  him  to  the  true  religion,  rather  than 
have  suffered  himself  to  he  perverted  by  them  to 
a  false  one.  The  scripture  tells  us  that  'he  went 
after  Ashtoreth,  the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  and 
Milcom,  the  abomination  of  the  Ammonites,  and 
Chemosh,  the  abomination  of  Moab;'  but  surely 
he  could  never  be  so  far  infatuated  as  to  prefer 
these  idols  before  the  God  of  Israel.  These 
women,  no  doubt,  as  they  had  got  an  ascendant 
over  him,  might  abate  his  zeal  against  idolatry,  and 
prevail  with  him  for  a  public  toleration  of  their 
religion  :  they  might  obtain  money  of  him  for  the 
making  of  their  idols,  the  support  of  their  priests, 
and  expense  of  their  sacrifices;  nay,  and  might 
sometimes  persuade  him  to  go  with  them  to  their 
worship,  or  to  partake  of  their  lewd  and  riotous 
feasts  ;  but  that  they  should  ever  be  able  to  alter 
his  notions  concerning  the  true  God,  or  prevail 
with  him  to  believe  that  the  images  they  worship- 
ped were  informed  with  any  kind  of  divinity,  is  a 
thing  incredible.  But  whatever  notions  he  may 
have  formed  of  these  idols,  we  may  presume,  that 
towards  the  conclusion  of  his  life  he  grew  sensible 
of  his  transgressions,  though  the  sacred  writer  takes 
no  notice  of  it,  on  purpose  to  leave  a  blot  upon  his 
memory,  and  a  frightful  example  of  human  weak- 
ness to  all  posterity  ;  that  the  temples  which  lie 
had  built  to  heathen  idols,  he  pulled  down  and  de- 
molished, though  they  were  afterwards  raised  again 
upon  the  same  places  by  other  impious  princes  ; 
and  that  after  his  fall,  he  wrote  his  book  of  Eccle- 
siastes,  as  a  monument  of  his  repentance,  and  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  own  apostasy,  and  a  warning 
and  admonition  to  all  others,  that  however  they 
may  think  of  'doing  whatever  their  eyes  desired, 
of  keeping  nothing  from  them,  and  of  withholding 
their  hearts  from  no  joy ;'  yet  in  the  event  they 
would  find  (what  his  experience  had  taught  him  so 
late)  that  all  '  was  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit ;' 
that  there  was  no  profit  in  any  kind  of  wickedness 
under  the  sun,  but  that  •  to  fear  God  and  keep  his 
command  menu  was  the  whoje  duty  of  man.'— 
Stachhouse. 


which  were  all  directly  against  a  positive 
institution. f 

He  had  at  the  same  time  in  his  own 
family  the  most  glorious  precedent  for 
honour  and  virtue,  in  the  example  of  his 
father,  whose  piety  and  practice  were  so 
expressly  recommended  to  his  imitation, 
that  God  inculcated  his  charge  over  and 
over  to  him  in  his  sleep  ;  and,  upon  the 
pain  of  his  utmost  displeasure,  enjoined 
him  to  tread  in  his  father's  steps.  This 
he  neglected  to  do,  and  came  in  the  con- 
clusion to  an  ignominious  end. 

The  eye  of  Omniscience  having  beheld 
his  vicious  practices,  it  pleased  God  at 
length  to  let  him  know  that  his  displea- 
sure was  kindled  against  him,  bv  sending 
a  prophet  to  assure  him,  that  his  wick- 
edness was  not  so  secret,  and  he  should 
not  pass  long  unpunished ;  but,  in  regard 
to  a  promise  from  Heaven  to  his  father 
that  he  should  have  no  other  successor, 
the  prophet  told  him  that  his  government 
should  not  be  taken  from  him  while  he 
was  living,  but  that  after  his  death  his  son 
should  suffer  for  the  iniquities  of  his  fa- 
ther ;  not  that  there  should  be  a  universal 
defection,  but  that  ten  tribes  only  should 
revolt,  and  the  other  two  continue  in  their 
allegiance  to  the  son  of  Solomon  for  his 
grandfather's  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  which  God  had  made 
choice  of  for  the  place  of  his  habitation. 

This  severe  chastisement,  which  fore- 


\  Josephus,  from  whom  the  above  is  taken,  is 
certainly  too  severe  upon  Solomon,  who,  in  mak- 
ing the  cherubim  and  these  twelve  brazen  oxen, 
seems  to  have  done  no  more  than  imitate  the  pat- 
terns left  him  by  David  ;  which  were  all  given 
David  by  divine  inspiration.  And  although  God 
gave  no  direction  for  the  lions  that  adorned  his 
throne,  yet  does  not  Solomon  seem  therein  to 
have  broken  any  law  of  Moses  ;  for  although  the 
Pharisees  and  latter  Rabbins  have  extended  the 
second  commandment,  to  forbid  the  very  making 
of  any  image,  though  without  any  intention  to 
iiave  it  worshipped,  yet  do  not  I  suppose  that 
Solomon  so  understood  it,  nor  that  it  ought  to  he 
so  understood.  The  making  any  other  altar  for 
worship  but  that  at  the  tabernacle,  was  equally 
forbidden  by  Moaes ;  yet  did  not  the  two  tribes 
and  a  half  offend  when  they  made  an  altar  for  a 
memorial  only. —  Whiston. 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

told  his  sudden  ejection  from  the  most 
exalted  glory  and  dignity,  to  the  lowest 
state  and  condition,  wounded  him  to  the 
very  soul ;  nor  could  he,  on  reflection, 
deny  the  justice  of  the  sentence. 

Some  short  time  after  this  denouncing 
message  by  the  prophet,  God  stirred  up 
a  bitter  enemy  against  Solomon,  whose 
name  was  Hadad,  an  Edomite  by  birth, 
and  a  branch  of  the  royal  family.  The 
ground  of  his  animosity  was  as  follows. 

When  the  Hebrews  over-ran  the  coun- 
try of  Edom  under  the  command  of  Joab, 
who  at  that  time  was  David's  general,  he, 
having  subdued  the  people,  put  to  the 
sword  all  the  males  he  could  find  in  the 
province  that  were  able  to  bear  arms,  and 
this  execution  continued  for  six  months. 

This  Hadad,  who  in  those  days  was  but 
a  child,  made  his  escape  to  Pharaoh  king 
of  Egypt,  who  not  only  received  him  with 
great  humanity,  but  very  generously  gave 
him  houses,  lands,  and  revenues  for  his 
entertainment,  and  conceived  such  an  af- 
fection further  for  him,  upon  his  growing 
up,  that  he  married  him  to  his  own  wifeV 
sister,  whose  name  was  Tahpenes,  w.'io 
bore  him  a  son  that  was  trained  up  with 
the  children  of  Pharaoh. 

In  process  of  time  word  was  brought  to 
Egypt  that  David  and  Joab  were  both 
dead;  and  Hadad,  upon  these  ddings,  de- 
sired Pharaoh's  leave  to  return  to  his  own 
country.  The  king,  not  w^ll  pleased  with 
his  request,  asked  him  what  he  wanted, 
or  what  he  meant  by  tiat  earnestness  to 
leave  the  best  friend  he  had  in  the  world? 
And  though  he  pressed  him  most  earnest- 
ly, he  could  not  as  yet  prevail. 

Solomon  being  now  in  a  declining  con- 
dition, and  the  measure  of  his  iniquity 
beinv  well  nigh  full,  God  put  it  into  Pha- 
raoh's heart,  whom  he  had  hitherto  re- 
strained, to  let  Hadad  return  ;  so  that  he 
came  forthwith  into  Edom,  with  a  design 
to  stir  up  the  people  to  a  rebellion  against 
Solomon.  But,  finding  the  garrisons  so 
strong,  and  the  country  in  such  a  pos- 
ture that  there  was  no  possibility  of  suc- 


339 

cess  by  a  surprise,  he  took  new  measures, 
and  went  from  thence  into  Syria,  where 
he  joined  interest  with  one  Ilezon,*  a  fu- 
gitive from  his  master  Hadadezer,  the 
king  of  Zobah,  and  a  famous  captain  of  a 
body  of  banditti  that  ravaged  the  country 
at  pleasure. 

Hadad  entered  into  a  league  with  this 
man;  and,  with  his  assistance,  subdued 
that  part  of  Syria,  where  lie  got  himself 
to  be  declared  king,  and  made  so  many 
inroads  upon  the  land  o(  the  Israelites, 
that  murder  and  plunder  generally  pre- 
vailed even  during  tlie  reign  of  the  once 
potent  king  Solomon. 

Nor  were  these  affronts  and  indicrnities 
from  a  stranger  all  that  the  king  suffered; 
for  a  more  dangerous  conspiracy  was 
formed  against  him  at  the  same  time,  in 
his  own  kingdom,  by  Jeroboam,f  the  son 
of  Nebit,  a  man  of  a  turbulent  and  ambi- 


*  When  David  made  war  against  Hadadezer, 
Rr/on,  one  of  liis  generals,  escaped  from  the  field 
o/  battle  with  the  troops  under  his  command  ;  and, 
.'laving  lived  for  a  little  while  by  plunder  and  rob- 
bery, at  length  seized  on  Damascus  and  reigned 
there.  But  his  reign  was  not  long ;  for  David 
took  Damascus  as  well  as  the  other  parts  of  Syria, 
and  left  it  in  subjection  to  his  son  Solomon,  till- 
God  was  pleased  to  suffer  this  Rezon  to  recover 
Damascus,  and  there  re-establish  himself,  to  the 
great  disturbance  of  the  latter  part  of  Solomon's 
reign. —  Calmefs  Commentary. 

f  As  Solomon  was  engaged  in  several  great 
buildings,  he  took  care  to  set  proper  persons  over 
the  works,  among  whom  Jeroboam  was  one,  and 
the  workmen  under  his  command  seem  to  be 
chiefly  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim.  Dow  he  acquitted 
himself  in  this  capacity  we  are  not  told;  but  the 
pretence  of  his  being  angry  with  Solomon,  and 
fomenting  jealousies  among  the  people,  was  the 
building  of  Millo.  Millo  was  a  deep  valley  be- 
tween the  old  Jerusalem  and  the  city  of  David, 
part  of  which  David  filled  up,  and  thereon  made 
both  a  fortress  and  a  place  for  the  people  to  as- 
semble. Another  part  of  it  Solomon  rilled  up  to 
build  a  palace  for  his  queen,  the  daughter  of  Pha- 
raoh. The  prodigious  expense  which  this  work 
cost  gave  Jeroboam  an  opportunity  to  infuse  a  spi- 
rit of  sedition  into  his  brethren  of  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim,  to  complain  heavily  of  hard  labour 
they  were  forced  to  submit  to,  and  the  taxes  they 
were  obliged  to  pay  ;  and  to  represent  the  whole 
thing  as  a  work  of  vanity,  merely  to  gratify  a 
proud  foreign  woman  and  a  silly  doting  king ; 
and,  by  these  insinuations,  he  wrought  in  the  peo- 
ple a  disaffection  to  Solomon  and  his  government. 
— Patricks  Commentary  and  Calmet's  Dic- 
tionary. 

3a 


370 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


tious  spirit,  and  one  who  hud  an  expec- 
tation of  rising,  from  a  prophecy  that  had 
been  made  to  him  a  long  time  before. 

Jeroboam  being  left  by  his  father  very 
young,  and  under  the  tuition  of  his 
mother,  Solomon  took  notice  of  him  as 
he  grew  up  towards  man's  estate,  for  a 
youth  of  promising  parts,  and  made  him 
overseer  of  his  works,  being  at  that  time 
repairing  and  rebuilding  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem.  He  acquitted  himself  so  well 
in  that  commission,  that  he  gave  him  the 
military  command  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
as  a  consideration  for  his  industry  and 
service. 

As  he  was  one  day  travelling  out  of 
Jerusalem,  about  his  business,  the  prophet 
Ahijah,  the  Shilonite,  met  him  upon  the 
way;  and  after  a  formal  salute,  took  him 
aside  and  there  laid  hold  of  tlit  garment 
he  had  on,  and  rent  it  into  twelve -pieces,* 
bidding  him  take  ten  of  them  to  himself, 
and  delivering  to  him  the  will  of  Goil  in 
these  words :  "  God  is  resolved  to  teur 
the  srovernment  from  Solomon ;  and  for 
his  promise'  sake,  to  give  the  two  con- 
tiguous tribes  to  the  son  of  Solomon, 
and  the  other  ten  to  you,  as  a  just  punish- 
ment for  giving  up  himself  to  strange 
women,  and  to  strange  gods;  wherefore, 
since  you  see  the  ground  of  his  rejection, 


*  The  people  of  the  East,  especially  those  who 
took  upon  them  the  character  of  prophets,  were 
fond  of  discovering  their  minds  in  signs,  and  em- 
blematical actions;  because  they  looked  upon 
such  representations  as  more  lively  and  affecting 
than  any  that  proceeded  from  the  mouth  only 
could  be.  Ahijah  might  have  addressed  himself 
to  a  man  of  Jeroboam's  haughty  spirit  to  small 
purpose,  had  he  not,  by  some  previous  action, 
drawn  his  observation,  and  made  him  attentive  to 
the  message  he  was  going  to  deliver.  Now,  if  any 
such  symbolical  act  was  necessary  at  this  time,  the 
tearing  his  garment  was  more  proper  than  any, 
because,  in  the  case  of  Saul,  Samuel  had  applied 
it  to  denote  the  alienation  of  his  kingdom  ;  '  the 
Lord  hath  rent  the  kingdom  of  Israel  from  thee 
this  day,  and  hath  given  it  to  a  neighbour  of  thine, 
that  is  better  than  thou :'  and  if  rending  the  gar- 
ment was  no  insignificant  symbol  upon  this  occa- 
tion,  the  newer  the  garment  was,  the  more  it 
would  declare,  that  what  the  prophet  did  was  by 
a  divine  command,  and  upon  mature  deliberation. 
— Stackliouse. 


let  Solomon's  miserable  case  be  a  warning 
to  you  not  to  do  the  same  things  yourself 
that  ruined  him.  Be  just  to  all  men; 
observe  and  protect  the  laws;  imitate 
David's  virtues  of  piety  and  religion,  and 
you  may  promise  yourself  the  comfort  and 
enjoyment  of  David's  reward." 

Jeroboam  was  not  a  little  elevated  with 
these  words  of  the  prophet;  and  being 
naturally  of  a  very  haughty  and  aspiring 
spirit,  every  thing  that  gratified  his  ambi- 
tion made  him  turbulent  and  unquiet. 
The  prophetical  prediction  rested  upon 
his  mind;  and  the  first  thing  he  did,  after 
he  came  to  the  army,  was  to  tamper  with 
the  people  against  their  sovereign,  arid  to 
set  up  for  himself. 

Solomon  was  no  stranger  to  the  malice 
of  his  designs;  and  there  was  a  train  laid 
to  surprise  him,  and  despatch  him  ;  but 
the  plot  was  discovered,  and  Jeroboam 
escaped  to  Shishak,f  the  king  of  Egypt, 
where  he  waited  the  death  of  Solomon 
for  a  fair  opportunity  to  revive  his  pre- 
tensions. 


\  All  tlie  kings  of  Egypt,  from  the  time  of 
Abhjham,  are  in  the  sacred  history  called  by  the 
name  of  Pharaoh,  unless  Rameses,  that  is  men- 
tioned^ Gen.  xlvii.  11.,  be  the  name  of  a  king, 
not  a  country ;  so  that  this  is  the  first  we  meet 
with,  called  by  his  proper  name  from  the  rest  of 
the  Pharaohs.  Who  this  Egyptian  prince  was, 
the  learned  aie  not  agreed.  The  opinion  is  pretty 
general,  that  itwas  the  famous  Sesostris  mentioned 
in  Herodotus,  b\,t  his  life  could  hardly  be  extend- 
ed to  this  periot.  Usher  sets  him  a  vast  way 
backward,  even  to  the  time  of  the  peregrination, 
and  some  chronologcrs  carry  it  farther:  but  be  that 
as  it  will,  it  is  very  probable  that  the  prince  had 
taken  some  offence  at  Solomon,  otherwise  he 
would  hardly  have  harboured  such  seditious  refu- 
gees as  Jeroboam  was.  Patrick's  and  Le  Clerc's 
Commentaries. — It  is  far  ^rom  being  improbable 
that  Shishak  is  the  Sesonch's  of  profane  histori- 
ans, and  the  head  of  the  Bubasule  or  twenty-second 
dynasty  of  the  Egyptian  kings.  His  name  has 
been  discovered  on  the  recently  explained  Egyptian 
monuments ;  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  an 
Ethiopian,  who,  supported  by  the  military  caste, 
dethroned  the  Pharaoh  who  was  Solomon's  father- 
in-law.  On  one  of  the  colonnades  which  decorate 
the  first  court  of  the  great  temple  or  palace  of 
Karnac,  there  are  two  royal  legends  or  inscriptions, 
on  one  of  which  M.  Champollion  read,  in  phonetic 
(or  vocal  hieroglyphic)  characters,  the  words, — 
Amon-ma:-Sheshonk ;  'the  well-beioved  of  Anion 
(or  the  sun)  Sheshonk.'     In  the  same  temple  he 


Chap.  IV.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


371 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Death  of  Solomon. — Revolt  of  the  ten  tribes 
from  their  allegiance  to  Rehoboam,  his  son 
and  successor. —  They  declare  for  Jeroboam, 
who  seduces  them  to  idolatry. — Awful  display 
of  the  divine  vengeance  against  wilful  disobe- 
dience, in  God's  dispensations  toward  wicked 
hings,  and  a  perverse  people. — Death  of  Reho- 
boam.—  Prediction  of  the  ruin  of  Jeroboam, 
and  his  whole  family. — Exact  fulfilment  of 
that  prophecy. 

Soon  after  this  special  revelation  of  the 
divine  mind  and  will  to  Jeroboam,  Solo- 
mon the  renowned  king  of  Israel  paid  the 
debt  of  nature,  having  reigned  over  that 
mighty  people  forty  years.*  He  was  un- 
doubtedly the  wisest  and  richest  prince 
that  ever  existed,  and  might  have  reigned 
the  happiest,  if  his  inordinate  attachment 
to  women  had  not  hurried  him  into  a 
commission    of   such     enormities    in    the 


also  beheld  Sesonchis  drawing  at  the  feet  of  the 
Thehan  trinity  (Amon,  Mouth,  and  Kons,)  the 
chiefs  of  more  than  thirty  conquered  nations, 
among  whom  he  found  written  in  letters  at  full 
length  ioudahmalek,  *  the  king  of  Judah.  or  of  the 
Jews.' 

*  Josephus  indeed  tells  us,  that  Solomon  lived 
to  a  great  age,  that  he  reigned  eighty  years,  and 
died  at  ninety-four  ;  but  this  is  a  manifest  error 
in  that  historian,  and  it  is  a  poor  and  forced  way 
of  reconcilement,  to  say,  that  the  scriptures  give 
tis  only  an  account  of  Solomon  while  he  continu- 
ed in  a  state  of  piety,  but  that  Josephus's  compu- 
tation takes  in  the  whole  of  his  life.  The  autho- 
rity of  Josephus  must  never  be  put  in  balance  with 
that  of  the  holy  scriptures,  from  whence  may  be 
learned,  that  Solomon  lived  to  the  age  of  tifty- 
ei'dit,  or  thereabout,  because  we  may  very  well 
presume,  that  his  immoderate  pursuit  of  sensual 
pleasures  both  shortened  his  life,  and  left  an  eter- 
nal stain  upon  his  memory:  otherwise  the  charac- 
ter, which  the  author  of  Ecclesiasticus  gives  of  this 
prince,  is  very  beautiful :  '  Solomon  reigned  in  a 
ptaceable  time,  and  was  honoured  ;  for  God  made 
all  quiet  round  about  him,  that  he  might  build 
an  house  in  his  name,  and  prepare  his  sanctuary 
for  ever.  How  wise  wast  thou  in  thy  youth,  and 
as  a  flood  rilled  with  understanding!  Thy  soul 
covered  the  whole  earth,  and  thou  filledst  it  with 
dark  parables.  Thy  name  went  far  unto  the 
islands,  and  for  thy  peace  thou  wast  beloved. 
The  countries  marvelled  at  thee  for  thy  songs,  and 
proverbs,  and  parables,  and  interpretations.  By 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  is  called  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  thou  didst  gather  gold  as  tin,  and 
didst  multiply  silver  as  lead:  but  thou  didst  bow 
thy  loins  unto  women,'  &c.  Ecclui  xlvii.  14. 


sight  of  God,  as  entailed  misery  on  him- 
self, and  were  the  source  of  numberless 
misfortunes  to  the  Israelites,  as  will  ap- 
pear in  the  sequel  of  this  history. 

Solomon  being  deceased,  and  Reho- 
boam •]-  his  son  succeeding  in  course  to 
the  throne,  some  of  the  grandees  sent  im- 
mediately into  Egypt,  to  inform  Jeroboam 
of  the  event,  and  to  recall  him. 

Upon  this  notice  he  repaired  to  She- 
chem,J  and  Rehoboam  proposed  to  call 
an  assembly,  and  enter  upon  the  govern- 
ment by  the  common  declaration  and  con- 
sent of  the  people. 

Upon  this  occasion  divers  of  the  people 
and  leading  men,  together  with  Jeroboam, 


f  Notwithstanding  the  vast  multitude  of  wives 
that  Solomon  had,  the  scripture  makes  mention 
of  no  more  than  three  children,  this  son,  and  two 
daughters,  and  (what  is  strange)  in  the  beginning 
of  his  story  it  takes  no  notice  (as  usually  it  does) 
of  his  mother's  nation,  or  family,  though  in  the 
conclusion  it  twice  reminds  us,  that  she  was  an 
Ammonitess  by  birth,  and  that  her  name  was 
Naamah.  Rehoboam  was  born  in  the  first  year  of 
his  father's  reign,  and  was  therefore  much  about 
forty-one  when  he  entered  upon  the  government ; 
but  he  was  an  unskilful  and  imprudent  man,  and 
therefore  made  a  very  false  step  at  his  first  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.  The  author  of  Ecclesiasticus 
gives  us  no  advantageous  character  of  him,  when 
he  terms  him  '  A  man  void  of  understanding,  who 
turned  the  people  away  with  his  counsel.'  Nay, 
his  own  son  makes  but  a  faint  apology  for  him, 
when  he  tells  the  people,  that  he  was  young 
(young  in  understanding)  and  tender-hearted,  and 
could  not  withstand  his  enemies,  2  Cliron.  xiii.  7. 
and  therefore  some  have  imagined,  that  his  father 
Solomon  had  him  in  his  thoughts,  when  he  said, 
in  his  Preacher,  *  I  hated  all  my  labour  which  I 
had  taken  under  the  sun,  because  I  was  to  leave  it 
to  a  man  that  should  come  after  me;  and  who 
knoweth  whether  he  shall  be  a  wise  man  or  a 
fool  ?  yet  shall  he  have  rule  over  all  my  labour 
wherein  I  have  laboured:  this  also  is  vanity,' chap, 
ii.  18,  19. — Patrick's  and  Calrnefs  Commen- 
taries. 

J  This  city  stood  not  only  in  the  centre  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  but  in  the  middle  of  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  wherein  there  was  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  malcontents.  It  was  therefore  very  pro- 
bably by  the  management  of  Jeroboam,  or  some  of 
his  friends,  who  durst  not  perhaps  venture  them- 
selves at  Jerusalem,  that  this  city  was  made  choice 
of  for  the  place  of  a  general  convention,  because 
they  might  more  securely  propose  their  grievances, 
(which  they  were  resolved  to  do)  and  use  a  greater 
freedom  of  speech,  than  they  could  at  Jerusalem, 
where  the  family  of  David  was  more  powerful, 
more  numerous,  and  better  supported. —  Caimet 
and  Poole. 


372 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


went  to  Rehoboam,  and  addressed  him  by 
way  of  advice  and  respect,  representing 
to  him,  that  his  father  had  laid  heavy  bur- 
dens upon  his  subjects,  and  that  they  were 
in  hopes  they  should  find  him  easier; 
as  it  was  to  his  interest  and  security 
to  make  himself  beloved  rather  than  fear- 
ed. They  humbly  recommended  this  to 
his  consideration;  and  Rehoboam  took 
three  days'  time  to  consider  of  it. 

The  delay  of  his  answer  gave  them 
some  suspicion  what  would  be  the  result, 
especially  in  a  case  which  they  consider- 
ed so  necessary  to  be  resolved  immediate- 
ly, and  which  was  so  well  becoming-  the 
vears  and  circumstances  of  a  young  prince. 
However,  as  he  declined  giving  them  a 
positive  answer,  they  still  entertained 
some  hopes  of  his  compliance. 

In  consequence  of  this  general  applica- 
tion Rehoboam  advised  with  his  father's 
friends  and  counsellors  what  answer  to  re- 
turn them ;  upon  which  they  gave  him 
the  advice  which  became  friends,  and 
advised  him  by  all  means  to  treat  them 
with  courtesy  and  condescension,  assuring 
him  that  he  would  gain  much  more  upon 
their  affections  by  a  popular  freedom,  than 
by  standing  to  the  formalities  of  majesty 
and  state;  there  being  no  such  tie  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  as  affability  and  hu- 
mility in  the  prince. 

Nothing  could  have  been  said  more  to 
the  purpose  in  general,  or  more  especially 
to  his  purpose  in  particular,  having  a  king- 
dom in  his  view.  But  his  understanding 
was  perverted  by  a  judicial  infatuation,  to 
such  a  degree,  that  he  rejected  their  coun- 
sel, formed  a  cabal  of  his  own  humour 
and  years,*  told  them  what  had  passed, 


*  It  was  a  common  custom  among  the  kings  of 
the  East,  to  have  their  sons  educated  among  other 
young  lords,  that  were  of  the  same  age,  which,  as 
it  created  a  generous  spirit  of  emulation,  and 
both  endeared  the  prince  to  the  nobles,  and  the 
nobles  to  the  prince,  could  not  but  tend  greatly 
to  the  benefit  of  the  public.  Sesostris,  the  most 
famous  prince  that  ever  Kgypt  produced,  is  said 
to  have  been  educated  this  way :  and,  by  the 
gallant  youths,  that  were  bis  contemporaries  and 


and  demanded  their  opinion  upon  the 
whole  affair. 

They  took  the  point  into  debate;  and 
whether  for  want  of  experience  and  fore- 
sight, or  that  God  had  blinded  them,  they 
came  all  to  this  agreement  upon  the  ques- 
tion : 

Rehoboam  was  to  tell  them,  "  That 
since  they  complained  of  his  predecessor, 
they  should  find  his  little  finger  heavier 
than  his  father's  loins.  If  they  thought 
themselves  ill-used  formerly,  they  must 
expect  greater  severity  now ;  and  that  if 
his  father  had  chastised  them  with  whips, 
he  himself  was  resolved  to  chastise  them 
with  scorpions."f 

The  king  was  so  delighted  with  this 
proud,  insulting  answer,  that  upon  the 
third  day,  when  the  people  were  gathered 
together  in  the  greatest  anxiety  imagin- 
able, betwixt  hope  and  fear  of  the  doom 
they  were  to  receive,  the  king  appeared, 
and  rejecting  the  opinion  of  his  father's 
counsellors,  gave  the  people  for  answer, 
the  very  words  that  the  young  men  had 
put  in  his  mouth, — the  providence  of  God 
having  so  ordered  it,  that  the  prophecy  of 
the  prophet  Ahijah  might  be  fulfilled. 

These  words  were  no  less  terrible  in 
the  hearing  than  the  dreadful  things  they 
threatened  would  have  been  in  the  execu- 
tion ;  insomuch  that  they  all  cried  out  in 

fellow-pupils,  it  was,  that  he  afterwards  did  so 
many  surprising  actions.  The  same  custom  was 
in  use  among  the  Persians,  as  we  may  learn  from 
the  life  of  Cyrus:  and,  of  Alexander  the  (treat  we 
are  told,  that  his  father  Philip  had  him  trained 
up,  in  his  youth,  among  those  young  noblemen, 
who  became  his  great  captains  in  the  conquest  of 
all  Asia.  So  that  Solomon's  method  and  design 
in  the  education  of  his  son,  was  wise  and  well 
concerted,  though  it  failed  of  success. —  Calmed 
Commentary. 

f  Should  you  rebel,  or  become  disaffected,  my 
father's  whip  shall  be  a  scorpion  in  my  hand.  His 
was  chastisement,  mine  shall  be  punishment.  St 
Isidore,  and  after  him  Calmet  and  others,  assert 
that  the  scorpion  was  a  sort  of  severe  whip,  the 
lashes  of  which  were  armed  with  iron  points,  that 
sunk  into  and  tore  the  flesh.  We  know  that  the 
scorpion  was  a  military  engine  among  the  Romans 
for  shooting  arrows,  whieli  being  poisoned  were" 
likened  to  the  scorpion's  sting,  and  the  wound  it 
inflicted. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


Chap.  IV.  1 


THE  BIBLE. 


S73 


a  rage,  as  with  one  voice :  "  What  have 
we  to  do  with  the  house  of  David?  Let 
him  take  to  himself  the  temple  that  his 
father  built.;"  and  the  uproar  looked 
like  a  prelude  to  a  general  revolt.  Nay, 
the  sedition  was  so  violent,  that  Adoram, 
one  of  the  king's  officers  in  the  treasury, 
being  sent  out  to  pacify  them,  by  laying 
the  blame  upon  the  intemperate  zeal  of 
some  hot-headed  young  men,  the  people 
stoned  him  to  death,  without  so  much  as 
hearing  him.* 

Rehoboam  looked  upon  this  violence  to 
be  levelled  at  him  rather  than  his  officer, 
(nor  was  his  conjecture  without  ground,) 
so  that  he  presently  mounted  his  chariot, 
and  posted  away  to  Jerusalem,  to  avoid 
the  fury  of  the  mutineers. 

The  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  as 
one  man,  adhered  to  him,  and  proclaimed 
him  for  their  king;  but  the  rest  of  the 
people  went  over  to  Jeroboam ;  and  from 
that  day  forward  revolted  from  their  al- 
legiance to  the  house  of  David. 

Such  was  Rehoboam's  indignation  at 
the  thought  of  this  revolt,  that  he  sum- 
moned  a  full  convention  of  the  two  tribes 
that  stood  firm  to  their  allegiance,  and 
drew  out  one  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand soldiers,  proposing  to  himself,  with 
this  body  of  men,  to  reduce  the  other  ten 
tribes  to  their  duty  by  force. 

While  he  was  preparing  for  this  enter- 
prise, he  was  admonished  by  Shemaiah, 
a  prophet  from  God,  not  to  engage  him- 
self in  a  civil  war,  especially  where  the 
desertion  was  in  some  measure  the  work 
of  a  divine  direction. 

Having  premised  these  things  relative 
to  the  defection  of  the  tribes,  we  shall 
proceed  to  relate  the  consequences  as  dis- 


*  It  was  certainly  a  piece  of  great  imprudence 
to  send  any  one  to  treat  with  them,  when  they 
were  so  highly  exasperated  ;  hut  to  send  him,  that 
was  an  obnoxious  man,  as  having  the  principal 
care  of  the  very  tributes  they  complained  of,  was 
downright  infatuation  ;  because  nothing  is  so 
natural  as  to  hate  those  that  are  the  instruments 
of  citir  oppression,  or  any  ways  employed  in  it. — 
Patrick's  Commentary 


tinctly  as  the  various  subjects  will  admit 
of. 

Jeroboam  built  himself  a  palace  at  She- 
chem,  which  he  made  his  place  of  resi- 
dence, and  afterwards,  for  variety's  sake, 
he  erected  another  at  Penuel. 

As  the  feast  of  tabernacles  approached, 
he  thus  deliberated  with  himself  on  the 
danger  he  should  incur,  by  permitting  the 
people  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship : 
"  If  I  now  suffer  the  people  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem,  and  leave  them  at  liberty  to 
celebrate  that  festival,  they  will  be  so  de- 
lighted with  the  shows  and  ceremonies  of 
the  place,  and  of  the  religion,  that  they 
will  be  liable  to  change  their  minds,  and 
be  returning  to  their  old  king  again,  as 
well  as  to  their  old  way,  which  may  tend 
to  the  extreme  hazard  even  of  my  life,  as 
also  of  my  government." 

Now  to  prevent  this,  he  bethought 
himself  of  the  following  expedient:  he 
caused  to  be  made  two  golden  calves,  and 
two  temples  to  be  built,  the  one  at  Bethel, 
and  the  other  at  Dan,f  which  is  a  town 
situate  at  the  head  of  the  lesser  Jordan. 


•f-  How  the  figure  of  a  calf,  or  any  other  animal, 
can  be  a  symbol  of  a  deity,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive. But  a  certain  learned  author,  who  seems  a 
little  singular  in  his  opinion,  will  needs  have  it, 
that  the  golden  calves,  which  Jeroboam  made, 
were  in  imitation  of  the  cherubim  (in  his  account 
these  were  winged  oxen)  Moses  had  placed  upon 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  whereon  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  sat  enthroned.  These  cherubim  in  the 
tabernacle  of  Moses,  and  afterwards  in  Solomon's 
temple,  were  placed  in  the  sanctuary,  and  secreted 
from  vulgar  sight:  but  Jeroboam,  to  make  his  reli- 
gion more  condescensive,  placed  his  calves  in  open 
view,  so  that  every  one  who  looked  on  them,  might, 
through  them,  worship  the  God  of  Israel,  witliout 
repairing  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  This  no- 
tion (if  it  were  true)  would  make  the  transition 
easy  from  the  worship  at  Jerusalem  to  the  worship 
at  Dan  or  Bethel  ;  but  we  can  hardly  imagine 
that  Jeroboam  had  either  so  harmless  or  so  con- 
formable a  design,  in  setting  up  these  golden 
images.  Whatever  his  design  was,  it  is  certain 
that  the  scripture  all  along  represents  him  as,  or 
all  others,  the  principal  person  that  '  made  Israel 
to  sin  ;'  that  'drew  Israel  from  serving  the  Lord, 
and  made  them  sin  a  great  sin  ;'  and  therefore  we 
may  observe,  that,  whenever  it  describes  a  bad 
prince,  one  part  of  his  character  is,  that  he  imitat- 
ed the  sin  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nehat,  who  (as 
the  prophet  upbraids  his  wife)  'went  and  made 


874 


IltfTOllY  OF 


[Book   V 


These  images  were  consecrated  in  both 
places;  and  having  convened  an  assembly 
of  the  ten  tribes  under  his  command,  he 
harangued  them  to  this  purpose :  "  I  need 
not  tell  you,  my  countrymen,  that  God  is 
every  where,  and  not  confined  to  any  cer- 
tain place;  but  wherever  we  are,  he  hears 
our  prayers,  and  accepts  our  worship  in 
one  place  as  well  as  in  another ;  and  there- 
fore I  am  not  at  all  of  opinion  for  your 
going  up  to  Jerusalem  at  this  time,  to  a 
people  that  hate  you.  It  is  a  long  and 
tedious  journey,  and  all  this  only  for  the 
sake  of  religion.  He  that  built  that  tem- 
ple was  but  a  man,  as  every  one  here  is ; 
and  the  golden  calves  that  I  have  provided 
for  you,  the  one  in  Bethel,  and  the  other 
in  Dan,  are  consecrated  as  well  as  that 
temple,  and  so  much  nearer  you,  on  pur- 
pose for  the  convenience  of  your  worship; 
where  you  may  pay  your  duty  to  God  in 
such  manner  as  best  pleaseth  you.  As 
for  the  priests  and  Levites,  I  shall  make 
such  a  provision  for  you,  that  you  shall 
have  no  want,  either  of  the  tribe  of  Levi, 
or  of  the  race  of  Aaron.     Let  him  that 


him  other  gods,  and  molten  images,  to  provoke  me 
to  anger,  and  to  cast  me  behind  his  back,  saith  the 
Lord.'  The  truth  is,  Jeroboam  had  lived  a  con- 
siderable time  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  had  contract- 
ed an  acquaintance  with  the  king  thereof  and 
formed  an  interest  among  the  people  ,  and  there- 
fore finding  himself  under  a  necessity  of  making 
an  alteration  in  the  established  religion  of  his 
country,  he  thought  it  the  wisest  method  to  do  it 
upon  the  Egyptian  model,  that  thereby  he  might 
•ndear  himself  to  that  nation,  and,  in  case  he 
met  with  opposition  from  his  rival  Rehoboam, 
might  hope  for  assistance  from  that  quarter.  For, 
<is  the  Egyptians  had  two  oxen  which  they  wor- 
shipped, one  called  Apis,  at  Memphis,  the  metro- 
Solis  of  the  Upper  Egypt ;  and  another  called 
Inevis,  at  Hierapolis,  a  principal  city  of  the 
Lower  ;  so  he  made  two  calves  of  gold,  and  placed 
one  of  them  in  Bethel,  which  was  in  the  south  j 
and  the  other  in  Dan,  which  was  in  the  north  part 
of  the  country  of  Israel.  There  was  this  farther 
reason  likewise,  that  might  determine  him  in  the 
choice  of  these  two  places.  Dan  was  a  town  fa- 
mous for  the  teraphim  of  Micah,  unto  which  there 
nad  been  a  great  resort  for  many  ages  ;  and  Bethel 
was,  in  every  one's  opinion,  a  holy  place,  that 
which  Jacob  had  consecrated  after  he  had  been 
vouchsafed  the  vision  of  the  ladder,  and  where 
God  had  so  frequently  appeared  to  him,  that  he 
thought  he  had  reason  to  call  it  '  the  gate  of  hea- 
Ten.' — Stachhoute. 


has  a  mind  to  enter  into  the  sacerdotal 
office,  initiate  himself  into  the  priesthood, 
by  the  sacrifice  of  a  calf  and  a  ram,  ac- 
cording to  the  institution  of  Aaron,  who 
was  the  first  of  that  order,  and  only  quali- 
fied for  that  function." 

This  was  Jeroboam's  method  of  seduc- 
ing the  multitude  into  an  apostasy  from 
the  laws  of  their  God  and  of  their  coun- 
try ;  and  he  himself,  consequently,  was 
the  capital  cause  of  those  calamities  that 
befell  the  Israelites, — such  as  foreign  wars, 
routs,  captivity,  and  the  like. 

The  festival  of  the  seventh  month  was 
now  drawing  on,  and  Jeroboam  took  a  re- 
solution to  worship  the  same  way  at  Beth- 
el as  the  two  tribes  did  at  Jerusalem. 

There  was  an  altar  erected  before  the 
golden  calf;  he  himself  personated  the 
high-priest,  %and  went  up  with  his  own 
priests  after  the  manner  of  the  temple- 
worship. 

But  as  he  was  preparing  to  put  fire  to 
the  offering  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people, 
there  came  out  a  prophet  from  Jerusalem 
in  that  very  point  of  time,  whose  name, 
as  Joseph  us  informs  us,  was  Jadon.  He 
was  sent  by  God;  and,  being  advanced 
into  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  he  addressed 
himself  in  the  king's  hearing  to  the  altar, 
in  words  to  this  purpose  :  "  Altar,  altar ! 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  There  shall  arise  one 
out  of  the  house  of  Judah,  whose  name 
shall  be  Josiah  ;*  who  upon  thee  shall  put 
to  death  the  false  prophets,  seducers,  and 
impostors  of  those  times,  and  upon  thee 
shall  burn  their  bones;  and  to  the  end 
that  no  creature  may  doubt  the  truth  of 


*  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  prophecies 
that  we  have  in  sacred  writ.  It  foretells  an  action 
that  exactly  came  to  pass  above  three  hundred  and 
forty  years  afterwards.  It  describes  the  circum- 
stances of  the  action,  and  specifies  the  very  name 
of  the  person  that  was  to  do  it ;  and  therefore 
every  Jew  who  lived  in  the  time  of  its  accomplish- 
ment must  have  been  convinced  of  the  divine 
authority  of  a  religion  founded  upon  such  prophe- 
cies as  this  ;  since  none  but  God  could  foresee, 
and  consequently  none  but  God  could  foretell, 
events  at  such  a  distance. — Le  CUrc's  and  Cal- 
met's  Commentaries. 


Chap.  IV.] 


the  :;ir,LE. 


375 


this  prediction,  the  authority  of  it  shall  be 
now  confirmed  by  a  prodigy.  The  altar 
shall  fall  to  pieces,  and  the  fat  of  the  sa- 
crifices upon  it  shall  be  spilt  upon  the 
ground." 

The  king  was  so  inflamed  by  these 
words  of  the  prophet,  that  he  lifted  up  his 
hand  against  him,  and  commanded  aloud 
that  somebody  should  lay  hold  on  him. 
But  his  arm  was  immediately  so  benumb- 
ed and  blasted,  that  it  was  like  a  dead 
limb,  nor  could  he  draw  it  back  again. 
The  altar  fell  to  pieces,  and  the  fat  of  the 
sacrifices  was  thrown  upon  the  ground,  as 
the  prophet  had  foretold. 

The  king,  finding  by  what  spirit  the 
man  spoke,  and  that  he  was  no  counterfeit, 
besought  him  to  pray  to  God  on  his  be- 
half, for  the  restoring  of  his  withered  arm; 
which  being  done,  and  the  miracle  wrought, 
Jeroboam  thankfully  acknowledged  the 
benefit  of  the  cure,  and  earnestly  pressed 
the  prophet  to  stay  and  take  some  re- 
freshment with  him;  but  he  excused  him- 
self, by  alleging  an  injunction  that  God 
had  laid  upon  him,  not  so  much  as  to  taste 
either  bread  or  wine  in  that  city,  nor  to 
return  the  same  way  he  came. 

This  solemn  and  reserved  behaviour  of 
the  prophet  confirmed  the  king  in  his  be- 
lief of  the  reality  of  his  mission  from 
God,  and  consequently  excited  his  terror 
lest  his  predictions  concerning  him  should 
be  fulfilled. 

There  was  at  Bethel  a  certain  prophet* 
that  was  in  Jeroboam's  favour.     This  man 


*  The  learned  are  divided  in  their  sentiments 
concerning  this  prophet  at  Bethel.  Some  will  needs 
have  him  to  have  been  a  false  prophet,  highly  in 
esteem  with  Jeroboam,  because  he  prophesied  to 
him  soft  things,  and  such  as  would  humour  him  in 
his  wickedness.  Others  think  more  favourably  of 
the  old  prophet,  viz.  that  he  was  a  true  prophet  of 
God,  though  (some  say)  a  wicked  one,  not  unlike 
the  famous  Balaam,  who  sacrificed  everything  to  his 
profit  :  whilst  others  say  he  was  a  weak  one,  who 
thought  he  might  innocently  employ  an  officious 
lie  to  bring  the  prophet  of  Judah  back,  who  was 
under  a  prohibition  indeed,  but  such  an  one  as, 
in  his  opinion,  related  only  to  the  house  of  Jero- 
boam, and  such  others  as  were  of  an  idolatrous 
religion. — Josephus. 


was  old ;  and  as  he  lay  upon  his  bed  his 
sons  brought  him  news  of  a  famous  pro- 
phet that  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  and 
what  wonders  he  had  done ;  with  the 
story  of  Jeroboam's  withered  arm,  and  the 
recovery  of  it  at  the  prophet's  intercession 
to  God  for  him ;  and  how  he  was  now 
gone  back  again,  and  which  way  he  went. 

The  fame  of  this  stranger  created  such 
a  jealousy  in  the  old  man,  that  he  present- 
ly ordered  his  sons  to  saddle  his  ass,  which 
being  immediately  done,  the  man  mounted 
and  posted  with  all  imaginable  expedition 
to  seek  after  the  strange  prophet.  He 
followed  him  step  by  step,  till  he  came  up 
with  him  at  last,  as  he  was  resting:  himself 
under  the  shadow  of  a  large  spreading 
oak. 

After  the  first  salute,  the  old  prophet 
desired  him  to  return  home  with  him,  and 
take  some  refreshment.  The  stranger 
positively  refused  his  invitation,  telling 
him  that  God  had  forbidden  him  either 
to  eat  or  drink  in  that  city.  But  the 
old  prophet  arrogated  to  himself  a 
power  to  forgive  this  deviation  from  the 
command  of  God,  and  so  far  prevailed 
upon  Jadon,  that  he  gave  credit  to  his 
wicked  insinuation,  accepted  of  his  invita- 
tion, and  went  along  with  him. 

While  they  were  at  dinner,  and  in  the 
freedom  of  discourse,  God  appeared  to 
Jadon,  and  told  him,  that  he  would  not 
only  punish  him  for  his  disobedience,  but 
the  very  manner  of  his  punishment,  which 
was,  that  he  should  be  torn  to  pieces 
upon  the  way  by  a  lion,  and  that  his  body 
should  not  be  buried  in  the  sepulchre  of 
his  forefathers. 

It  fell  out  accordingly,  and  perhaps 
God  ordered  it  so  for  the  hardening  of 
Jeroboam's  heart,  into  a  disbelief  of  Jadon, 
upon  so  remarkable  a  miscarriage  ;  for, 
in  his  way  back  to  Jerusalem,  a  lion  tore 
him  off  his  ass*  and  killed  him.     The  ass 


f  It  has  been  asserted  by  those  who  are  too 
ready  to  arraign  the  divine  providence,  that  the 
punishment  of  this  prophet  was  very  inadequate 
to  the  crime  he  had  committed,  which  was  of  a 


376 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


remaining  untouched,  and  standing  still,  j 
while  the  |ion  also  stood  by  the  carcase,  j 
like  a  guard  to  both. 

The  relation  of  this  disaster  being 
brought  to  the  old  prophet  by  some  tra- 
vellers that  passed  that  way,  he  appointed 
his  sons  to  fetch  the  body  into  the  city, 
which  being  done,  he  gave  it  a  magnificent 
burial,  charging  his  sons,  whenever  he 
died,  to  see  his  own  body  laid  in  the 
same  monument.  For,  said  he,  "  What- 
ever this  good  man  has  spoken  concern- 
ing the  city,  the  altar,  the  priests,  and 
the  false  prophets,  is  all  true.  Now  when 
I  am  dead,  and  my  bones  deposited  with 
his,  I  am  safe;  for  who  shall  know  his 
bones  from  mine?" 

As  soon  as  Jadon's  funeral  rites  were 
finished,  the  old  prophet  hastened  to 
Jeroboam,  and,  observing  the  anxiety  of 
his  mind,  inquired  the  cause  of  such 
extraordinary  dejection,  representing  the 
folly  of  being  affected  by  the  words  of  a 
madman.  But  the  king,  sensibly  affected, 
demanded  of  him  what  he  thought  of  the 
prodigy  of  the  altar,  and  the  miraculous 
loss  and  recovery  of  his  arm?  relating 
both  the  circumstances  at  length.  "  The 
man,"  says  he,  "  certainly  is  a  man  of 
God,  and  a  true  prophet,  or  else  he  could 
never  have  done  all  this."  The  other  in 
the  mean  time  did  all  he  could  to  disguise 
the  truth,  with  plausible  glosses  and  dis- 


very  trivial  nature,  and  if  it  merited  any  punish- 
ment at  all,  it  ought  to  have  been  much  milder 
than  what  was  really  inflicted :  but,  who  art  thou, 
vain  man !  that  darest  thus   impiously  to  call  in 
question  the  justice  of  thy  Maker?     This  prophet 
had  sufficient  evidence  of  the  truth  of  his  own 
revelation ;   had  sufficient  cause  to  suspect  some 
corrupt  ends  in  the  prophet  who  came  to  recall 
him  ;    and   had   sufficient    reason    to   expect   an 
interposition  of  the  same  power  that  gave  him 
the  injunction,  to  repeal   it:  his  crime  therefore 
was  an  easy  credulity,  and  a  compliance  with  an 
offer,  merely  to  gratify  a  petulant  appetite,  which 
he  wi  11  knew  was  repugnant  to  a  divine  command. 
We  have  no  reason   then   to  say,  that  his  crime 
w;is  small,  or  his  punishment  too  severe  ;  but  let 
us  learn  horn  hence,  not  to  suffer  our  faith  to  be 
perverted   by   any   suggestions   which    are   made 
against  a  revelation  whose  authority  is  divine  and 
tucon  testable. 


tinctions.  "  As  to  the  affair  of  your 
hand,"  says  he,  addressing  himself  to  the 
king,  "  it  is  very  probable  you  had  over- 
wrought yourself  with  carrying  sacrifices 
to  the  altar.  The  very  weariness  made  it 
numb  at  first,  perhaps ;  but  after  a  little 
rest,  it  came  to  itself  again.  Now,  with 
respect  to  the  altar,  it  was  but  newly 
built;  and  not  being  thoroughly  settled, 
it  sunk  under  the  weight  of  an  insupport- 
able burden  of  sacrifices  that  were  laid 
upon  it.  And,  as  concerning  the  holy 
man's  end,  he  observed,  that  he  was 
killed  by  a  lion ;  and  that  there  was  not 
the  least  sign  or  token  of  a  prophet  in  all 
this." 

The  king  was  so  corrupted  with  these 
insinuations,  that  from  thenceforward  he 
had  no  longer  any  thought  of  God  or  his 
commands;  but,  on  the  contrary,  aban- 
doned himself  wholly  to  the  love,  study, 
and  practice  of  all  manner  of  wickedness ; 
and  to  such  a  degree  too,  that  in  effect  he 
bade  defiance  to  all  that  was  sacred,  work- 
ing all  manner  of  iniquity  with  greediness. 
Rehoboam,  being  king  all  this  time  of 
the  two  tribes  before-mentioned,  built  and 
fortified  several  fair  and  strong  cities,  as 
Bethlehem,  Etam,  Tekoa,  Bethzur,  Shoco, 
Adullam,  Gath,  Mareshah,  Ziph,  Adoraim, 
Lachish,  Azekah,  Zorah,  Aijalon,  and 
Hebron,  all  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  beside 
other  towns  in  the  lot  of  Benjamin,  which 
he  provided  with  good  garrisons  and 
governors,  and  with  corn,  oil,  and  other 
necessaries  in  abundance,  for  their  main- 
tenance and  defence;  beside  many  thou- 
sands of  shields  and  lances. 

While  Rehoboam  continued  at  Jeru- 
salem, there  came  up  from  all  parts  great 
numbers  of  priests  and  Levites,  and  as 
many  of  the  laity  too,  as  made  any  con- 
science of  obeying  the  commandments  of 
the  God  of  Israel,  leaving  their  habitations 
to  attend  his  solemn  worship. 

They  were  all  weary  of  Jeroboam's 
tyranny,  and  forcing  them  to  worship  his 
calves,  to  the  dishonour  of  the  true  God. 
The  discontent,  in  fine,  was  so  great,  that 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


377 


within  the  space  of  three  years,  the  power 
and  interest  of  Rehoboam  was  mightily 
increased. 

The  king's  first  wife  was  his  kinswoman, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children,  and  he 
afterwards  married  Maachah,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Absalom,  by  whom  he  had  Abijah, 
and  she  was  related  to  him  too.  He  had 
several  wives  beside,  and  children  by  them, 
but  none  were  so  dear  to  him  as  Maachah. 
Me  had  eighteen  legitimate  wives,  and 
sixty  concubines,  by  whom  he  had  eight 
and  twenty  sons,  and  sixty  daughters. 
Amongst  whom  Abijah,  the  son  of  Maa- 
chah, was  the  person  he  designed  for  his 
successor,  committing  his  treasure  and 
strong  holds  all  to  his  trust. 

But  it  fell  out  with  Rehoboam,  as  in 
common  with  other  mortals ;  prosperity 
puffed  him  up,  and  in  time  ruined  him; 
for  the  greater  he  grew  in  the  world,  the 
more  liberty  he  took  to  be  wicked;  *  and 
not  only  contemned  God  and  his  holy 
commandments  himself,  but  influenced 
the  people  by  his  example  to  the  same 
iniquitous  practices.  It  is  natural  for 
subjects  to  be  depraved  by  the  evil  exam- 
ple of  their  superiors;  for  the  virtue  or 
the  iniquity  of  the  governor  is  generally  a 
sort  of  rule  for  the  people  to  walk  by;  or 
in  other  words,  not  to  do  as  they  do,  is 
tacitly  to  condemn  their  doings;  thus  it 
happened  to  Rehoboam,  where  the  people 
were  wicked  and  licentious,  for  fear  of 
displeasing  the  king. 

Such  flagrant  violations  of  the  divine 
law,  and  general  depravity  in  a  people 
who  had  received  so  many  and  signal 
favours  from  God,  could  not  fail  in  meet- 
ing with  the  divine  resentment. 

It  pleased  God  therefore  to  avenge 
himself  upon   Rehoboam,   by  the  hand  of 


*  Foolish  and  unwise  prince!  to  imagine  him- 
self secure  amidst  the  most  numerous  legions, 
while  he  rejected  that  assistance  which  alone 
could  preserve  him,  and  rendered  himself  obnox- 
ious to  the  indignation  of  that  Being,  hy  whose 
sole  permission  kings  reign  and  princes  decree 
justice;  who  can  at  anytime  make  a  land  barren 
ior  the  wickedness  of  them  that  dwell  therein. 


Shishak  the  king  of  Egypt.  This  Shishak, 
in  the  fifth  year  of  llehoboam's  reign, 
marched  against  him  with  a  vast  army, 
the  soldiers  being  most  of  them  Africans 
and  Ethiopians.  With  this  army  Shishak 
broke  in  upon  the  Israelites,  and  took 
into  his  protection  several  of  their  strong 
towns,  that  surrendered  "of  their  own 
accord. 

In  all  these  places  he  left  garrisons, 
and  marched  immediately  up  to  Jerusalem, 
where  Rehoboam  and  his  people  were 
blocked  up  in  the  town. 

The  king  in  this  strait  betook  himself 

to  prayer  and  supplication  for  victory  over 

his  enemies,  but  could  not  prevail  for  an 

answer  to  his  satisfaction ;  and  thereupon 

Shemaiah  the  prophet   told   him,  for  his 

greater  terror,    that    God    threatened    to 

forsake  all   those   that  first  forsook  him. 

|  This  terrified  them  all  into  an  acknow- 

I  ledgment    of    their    wickedness,    and    of 

God's  just  judgment  upon  them  for  their 

!  apostasy  and  disobedience. 

Being  now  brought  to  the  extremity  of 
I  despair,  f  the  prophet  told  the  king  once 
again,   that   God   was    pleased  so  far  to 
•  accept  of  their  humiliation  and  repentance 
that  they  should  not  be  utterly  destroyed 
and  cut  off,  but  only  delivered  up  in  sub- 
jection and  slavery  to  the  Egyptians,  that 
j  they  might  learn  by  experience  whother 
'  it  was  better  to  serve  God  or  man. 

Thus  alarmed,  Rehoboam  delivered  up 
Jerusalem  to  Shishak  upon  certain  condi- 
tions ;  but  the  conqueror,  without  any 
I  regard  to  faith  or  honour,  broke  his 
articles,  pillaged  the  temple,  took  away 
all  the  plate  and  treasure,  as  well  apper- 
taining to  the  sanctuary,  as  to  the  king,  to 

f  An  unfeigned  sorrow,  and  hearty  contrition 
for  sin,  is  an  effectual  method  of  averting  the 
vengeance  of  that  gracious  Deity,  who  delights  to 
save  rather  than  destroy,  and  is  ever  ready  to  for- 
give the  sins  of  all  them  that  are  penitent.  And 
this  merciful  disposition  these  Israelites  now 
happily  experienced  ;  for  he  was  pleased  to  accept 
their  sincere  humiliation  and  promrse  of  amend- 
ment, and  to  respite  the  severest  part  of  that  pun- 
ishment which  would  otherwise  have  been  inflicted 
upon  them. 

3b 


378 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


an  inestimable  value,  without  leaving  so 
much  as  one  grain  behind  him.  He  car- 
ried away  the  golden  shields  and  bucklers 
that  Solomon  had  caused  to  be  made,  with 
the  golden  quivers  that  David  took,  and 
dedicated  to  the  adorning  of  the  temple. 
After  which  Shishak  returned  to  Egypt 
with  a  prodigious  booty. 

After  the  departure  of  Shishak  into 
Egypt,  Rehoboam  repaired  the  loss  of 
the" golden  shields  and  bucklers,  with  the 
same  number  of  brass,*  and  committed 
the  care  of  them  to  his  proper  officers  and 
guards,  and  then  betook  himself  to  a  life 
of  retirement,  resigning  every  public  con- 
cern, fearing  lest  the  continual  feuds  be- 
tween Jeroboam  and  himself  might  in 
the  end  prove  destructive  to  him. 

He  was  a  weak  and  arrogant  prince, 
and  lost,  through  his  own  misconduct,  his 
government  and  his  reputation.  He  was 
buried  at  Jerusalem,  among  the  kings; 
and  his  son  Abijah  succeeded  him,  in  the 
eighteenth  year  of  Jeroboam's  reign  over 
the  ten  tribes. 

Having  related  the  most  memorable 
transactions  of  the  life  of  Rehoboam,  we 
follow  the  account  of  the  sacred  historian, 
in  presenting  an  account  of  God's-  dealing 
with  Jeroboam,  who  caused  the  Israelites 
to  run  into  most  enormous  idolatries,  and 
every  abominable  practice,  in  the  sight  of 
their  God  and  mighty  deliverer;  a  con- 
duct which  brought  on  him  the  just  ven- 
geance of  heaven. 

It  happened  at  this  time  that  Abijah, 


*  This  shows  to  what  a  low  condition  the  king- 
dom of  Judah  was  reduced.  These  shields  were  a 
matter  of  state  and  grandeur;  and  therefore  it  was 
necessary,  if  possible,  to  have  them  of  the  same 
value  that  they  were  before  ;  and  as  they  were 
carried  before  the  king  to  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
it  seemed  likewise  to  be  a  matter  of  religion  that 
their  value  should  not  be  diminished.  Now  in 
making  these  three  hundred  shields  we  are  told 
three  pounds  of  gold  went  to  one  shield:  this,  at 
four  pounds  per  ounce,  amounts  to  no  more  than 
forty-three  thousand  two  hundred  pounds ;  and 
therefore  it  was  a  miserable  case,  that  they  were 
reduced  from  so  much  wealth  to  so  much  poverty, 
that  neither  reasons  of  state  nor  religion  couid 
raise  so  small  a  sum  on  so  great  an  occasion. 


his  son,  falling  sick,  he  bade  his  wife  put 
herself  in  the  disguise  of  a  private  per- 
son,f  and  to  go  to  Ahijah  the  prophet,  a 
man  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prediction, 
and  a  person  who  told  him  formerly,  that 
he  himself  should  be  king.  "  Go  you," 
says  he,  "  to  this  prophet  and  ask  him  if 
the  boy  shall  recover  or  no."  She  dressed 
herself  according  to  her  husband's  order, 
and  went  to  Shiloh,  where  Ahijah  at  that 
time  lived. 

As  she  was  upon  the  way,  a  voice  from 
heaven  spoke  to  the  prophet,  (who  was 
now  dim-sighted  with  age,)  informing  him 
that  the  wife  of  Jeroboam  was  then 
coming-  to  him;  and  of  her  business,  what 
questions  she  would  ask  him,  and  what  he 
should  answer.  Upon  her  coming  to  the 
door  in  the  dress  of  an  ordinary  guest, 


+  Jeroboam  might  be  for  having  his  wife  to  go 
to  consult  the  prophet  at  Shiloh,  because  this  was 
a  secret  not  to  be  intrusted  with  any  body  else  :  a 
secret,  which,  had  it  been  divulged,  might  have 
endangered  his  whole  government:  because,  if 
once  his  subjects  came  to  understand  that  he 
himself  had  no  confidence  in  the  calves  which  he 
had  set  up,  but,  in  any  matter  of  importance,  had 
recourse  to  the  true  worshippers  of  tiod,  it  is  not 
to  be  imagined  what  an  inducement  this  would 
have  been  for  them  to  forsake  these  senseless 
idols,  and  to  return  to  the  worship  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  whom  they  imprudently  had  forsaken. 
The  queen  then  was  the  only  person  he  could  have 
confidence  in.  As  a  mother,  he  knew,  that  she 
would  be  diligent  in  her  inquiry;  and,  as  a  wife, 
faithful  in  her  report;  but  there  were  sundry 
reasons  why  he  might  desire  her  to  disguise  her- 
self. For,  though  Shiloh  lay  within  the  confines 
of  Ephraim,  yet  there  is  sufficient  ground  to  think 
that  it  was  subject  to  the  house  of  David,  and 
belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  It  was  cer- 
tainly nearer  Jerusalem  than  Shechem,  which 
Rehoboam  had  lately  fortified,  and  made  his  place 
of  residence:  and  therefore  Jeroboam  thought  it 
not  safe  to  venture  his  queen  in  a  place  that  was 
under  his  rival's  government,  without  her  putting 
on  some  disguise.  He  knew  too,  that  the  prophet 
Ahijah  was  greatly  offended  at  him  for  the  gross 
idolatry  he  had  introduced,  and  therefore  lie 
thought  (as  justly  he  might)  that,  if  the  prophet 
perceived  her  to  be  his  wife,  he  would  either  tell 
iier  nothing,  or  make  tilings  much  worse  than 
they  were.  The  only  way,  therefore,  to  come  at 
the  truth,  was  (as  he  thought)  to  do  what  he  did: 
but  herein  appears  his  infatuation,  that  he  should 
not  think  the  person,  whom  he  held  capable  of 
resolving  him  in  the  fate  of  his  son,  able  to  set 
through  tli is  guile  and  disguise. —  Calmet's  Com.' 
mentury  and  Poole's  Annotations. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


379 


the  prophet  called  to  her  by  the  name  of 
Jeroboam's  wife,  and  thus  addressed  her : 
"Come  in,  and  seek  not  to  disguise  your- 
self; for  he  that  told  me  who  you  are,  and 
put  the  words  in  my  mouth  that  I  am  to 
say  to  you,  is  not  to  be  imposed  upon. 
Go  therefore  to  your  husband  from  me, 
and  tell  him,  that  thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  As  it  was  I  that  raised  thee  out  of  a 
low  condition  to  the  dignity  of  a  throne; 
and,  cutting  off  the  family  of  David  from 
the  kingdom,  gave  it  to  thee;  so  on  the 
other  hand,  in  return  for  all  these  boun- 
ties and  benefits,  thou  hast  now  most 
ungratefully  cast  off  him  that  exalted 
thee,  and  set  up  gods  of  thine  own  fancy, 
and  of  the  founder's  making,  in  preference 
to  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
in  contempt  of  my  majesty  and  power; 
wherefore  I  will  now  forthwith  expunge 
thee  and  thy  family  out  of  the  roll  of 
mankind,  give  your  carcases  to  the  dogs, 
and  to  the  fowls  of  the  air;  and  set  up 
another  king  over  my  people,  that  shall 
not  leave  one  living  man  of  the  house  of 
Jeroboam  upon  the  face  of  the  earth;  and 
the  very  multitude  shall  not  escape  the 
stroke  of  divine  justice  neither.  For  they 
shall  be  exterminated  out  of  the  good 
land  they  were  possessed  of,  and  driven 
away,  and  dispersed  beyond  the  Euphrates, 
for  being  wicked,  after  their  king's  exam- 
ple, in  adoring  his  gods,  to  the  contempt 
of  me  and  my  commandments.  Make 
haste  therefore  to  your  husband,  and  tell 
him  as  I  have  told  you.  As  for  your 
child,  on  your  return  you  shall  find  it 
dead ;  for  the  very  moment  you  enter  the 
city,  he  shall  breathe  his  last.  He  shall 
be  lamented  and  buried  with  the  solemnity 
of  a  public  mourning,  as  the  only  person 
of  Jeroboam's  family  that  had  any  thing 
good  in  him." 

The  woman,  greatly  alarmed  on  hear- 
ing these  tidings,  immediately,  and  with  a 
sorrowful  heart,  retraced  her  steps  home- 
ward, where  she  found,  to  her  unspeak- 
able grief,  the  prophet's  words  verified, — 
her  child  was  dead.     She  then  announced 


to  her  husband  the  appalling  events  which 
the  prophet  had  foretold  should  befall  him 
and  his  family.  But,  notwithstanding 
these  awful  predictions,  the  perverse  Jero- 
boam, as  if  in  defiance  of  the  Most  High, 
assembled  forces  throughout  all  his  domin- 
ions, and  marched  against  Abijah,  the  son 
of  Rehoboam,  who  was  the  king  of  the 
two  tribes  in  right  of  his  father, — confi- 
dent of  his  success  against  a  prince  of  so 
little  experience  either  in  government  or 
arms. 

Abijah,  however,  was  so  far  from  being 
terrified  at  this  preparation,  that  he  raised 
an  army  of  the  two  tribes,  and  advanced 
with  it  toward  Jeroboam,  in  a  certain 
place  called  mount  Zemaraim,  and  there 
encamped  and  prepared  for  battle. 

His  army  consisted  of  four  hundred 
thousand  men,  and  Jeroboam's  double 
that  number.  The  two  armies  beincr 
drawn  up,  and  ready  to  engage,  Abijah 
advanced  to  a  little  eminence;  and  from 
thence  held  up  his  hand  to  obtain  silence 
and  attention  to  what  he  had  to  say ;  the 
sum  of  which  was  this: 

"  You  cannot  be  ignorant  of  God's 
promises,  that  this  kingdom  should  be 
continued  to  David  and  his  posterity  for 
many  ages,  even  to  him  and  his  sons  by  a 
covenant  of  salt.*     Now,  this  being  the 


*  It  is  generally  thought  that  salt  is  here  made 
an  emblem  of  perpetuity  ;  but  the  covenant  of 
salt  seems  to  refer  to  an  agreement  made  in  which 
salt  was  used  as  a  token  of  confirmation.  Baron 
du  Tott  says,  "  Moldovanji  Pacha  was  desirous 
of  an  acquaintance  with  me,  and  seeming  to  re- 
gret that  this  business  would  not  permit  him  to 
stay  long,  he  departed,  promising  in  a  short  time 
to  return.  I  had  already  attended  him  half  way 
down  the  staircase,  when  stopping,  and  turning 
briskly  to  one  of  my  domestics  who  followed  me, 
■  Bring  me  directly,'  said  he,  '  some  bread  and 
salt.'  I  was  not  less  surprised  at  this  fancy,  than 
at  the  haste  which  was  made  to  obey  him.  What 
he  requested  was  brought  ;  when,  taking  a  little 
salt  between  his  fingers,  and  putting  it  with  a 
mysterious  air  on  a  bit  of  bread,  he  ate  it  with  a 
devout  gravity:  assuring  me,  that  I  might  now 
rely  on  him.  I  soon  procured  an  explanation  of 
this  significant  ceremony;  but  this  same  man, 
when  become  Visir,  was  tempted  to  violate  his 
oath,  thus  taken  in  my  favour.  Yet  if  this  solemn 
contract  be  not  always  religiously  observed,  it 


3*0 


HISTORY  OF 


[Hook  V. 


cast1.  (  cannot  hut  winder  to  see  my  father 
deserted,  Jeroboam  his  subject,  advanced 
to  his  place,  and  you  yourselves  in  arms 
against  the  divine    right  of  government 


serves,  at  least,  to  moderate  the  spirit  of  vengeance 
so  natural  to  the  Turks."  The  Baron  adds  in  a 
note:  "The  Turks  think  it  the  blackest  ingrati- 
tude, to  forget  the  man  from  whom  we  have 
received  food:  which  is  signified  by  the  bread  and 
salt  in  this  ceremony."  The  Baron  alludes  to 
this  incident  in  part  iii.  p.  36.  Moldovanji  Pacha, 
being  ordered  to  obey  the  Baron,  was  not  pleased 
at  it.  "  I  did  not  imagine  I  ought  to  put  any 
great  confidence  in  the  mysterious  covenant  of  the 
bread  and  salt,  by  which  this  man  had  formerly 
vowed  inviolable  friendship  to  me."  Yet  he 
"dissembled  his  discontent,"  and  "his  peevishness 
only  showed  itself  in  his  first  letters  to  the  Porte." 
It  will  now  appear  credible,  that  the  phrase  'a 
covenant  of  salt'  alludes  to  some  such  custom  in 
ancient  times  ;  and  without  meaning  to  symbolize 
very  deeply,  we  take  the  liberty  of  asking,  whether 
the  precept,  Lev.  ii.  13.  '  With  all  thine  offerings 
thou  shalt  offer  salt,'  may  have  any  reference  to 
ideas  of  a  similar  nature?  Did  the  custom  of 
feasting  at  a  covenant-making  include  the  same, 
according  to  the  sentiment  of  the  Turks  hinted  at 
in  the  Baron's  note  ?  We  ought  to  notice  the 
readiness  of  the  Baron's  domestics,  in  proof  that 
they  well  understood  what  was  about  to  take 
place.  Also,  that  this  covenant  is  usually  punc- 
tually observed,  and  where  not  so,  has  a  restraining 
influence  on  the  party  who  has  made  it ;  and  his 
non-observance  of  it  disgraces  him.  We  proceed 
to  give  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  this 
covenant  of  salt  over  the  mind  ;  it  seems  to  imply 
a  something  attributed  to  salt,  which  it  is  very 
difficult  for  us  completely  to  explain,  but  which  is 
not  the  less  real  on  that  account :  "  Jacoub  ben 
Laith,"  says  D'Herbelot,  "  the  founder  of  a 
dynasty  of  Persian  princes  called  the  Saffarides. 
rising,  like  many  others  of  the  ancestors  of  the 
princes  of  the  Last,  from  a  very  low  state  to  royal 
power,  being,  in  his  first  setting  out  in  the  use  of 
arms,  no  better  than  a  freebooter  or  robber,  is  yet 
said  to  have  maintained  some  regard  to  decency  in 
his  depredations,  and  never  to  have  entirely  strip- 
ped those  that  he  robbed,  always  leaving  them 
something  to  soften  their  affliction.  Among  other 
exploits  that  are  recorded  of  him,  he  is  said  to 
have  broken  into  the  palace  of  the  prince  of  that 
country,  and  having  collected  a  very  large  booty, 
which  he  was  on  the  point  of  carrying  away,  he 
found  his  foot  kicked  something  which  made  him 
stumble  ;  lie  imagined  it  might  be  something  of 
value,  and  putting  it  to  his  mouth,  the  better  to 
distinguish  what  it  was,  his  tongue  soon  informed 
him  it  was  a  lump  of  salt.  Upon  this,  according 
to  the  morality,  or  rather  superstition,  of  the 
country,  where  the  people  considered  salt  as  a 
symbol  and  pledge  of  hospitality,  he  was  so  touch- 
ed, that  he  left  all  his  booty,  retiring  without 
taking  any  thing  away  with  him.  The  next 
morning,  the  risk  they  bad  run  of  losing  many 
valuable   things   being   perceived,   great  was   the 


settled  by  God  himself;  and  not  content 
with  that  neither,  un'ess  you  ean  force 
the  right  heir  out  of  the  small  remainder 
that  is  left  him,  when  Jeroboam  hath 
already  by  violence  and  usurpation  en- 
grossed the  greater  part  of  the  kingdom. 
But  he  is  not  long  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of 
his  wickedness;  for  God  will  call  him  to  a 
severe  account  for  his  iniquities,  and  to  put 
an  end  to  this  course  of  rapine  and  oppres- 
sion, which  he  himself  is  so  far  from  doing 
that  he  makes  it  his  daily  business  to  con- 
tinue and  inflame  a  most  impious  sedition; 
and  what  was  the  true  ground  and  reason 
of  this  defection?  My  father  never  did 
you  any  injury,  only  by  following  evil 
counsel,  Jeroboam  himself  being  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  he  had  the  misfortune  to 
give  you  an  answer  expressed  in  terms 
too  harsh;  upon  which  you  all  in  great 
rage  abandoned  your  duty,  not  only  to 
my  father,  but  to  your  God,  and  to  his 
laws,  and  all  things  that  are  sacred.  You 
should  have  weighed  matters  with  allow- 
ances for  human  frailty ;  you  should  have 
considered  that  my  father  was  a  young 
man,  and  one  that  did  not  set  up  for  an 
orator:  you  should  have  considered  him 
again  as  the  son  of  Solomon,  your 
royal  patron  and  benefactor.  Now  these 
considerations  might  have  atoned  for  a 
few  unguarded  expressions;  and  it  would 
have  been  but  reason  to  have  borne  a 
little  with  the  son,  for  the  father's  sake. 


surprise,  and  strict  the^, inquiry,  what  could  be  the 
occasion  of  their  being  left.  At  length  Jacoub 
was  found  to  be  the  person  concerned ;  who 
having  given  an  account,  very  sincerely,  of  the 
whole  transaction  to  the  prince,  he  gained  his 
esteem  so  effectually,  that  it  might  be  said  with 
truth,  that  it  was  his  regard  for  salt  that  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  after-fortune.  The  prince  em- 
ploying him  as  a  man  of  courage  and  genius  in 
many  enterprises,  and  finding  him  successful  in  all 
of  them,  he  raised  him,  by  little  and  little,  to  the 
thief  posts  among  his  troops  ;  so  that  at  that 
prince's  death,  he  found  himself  possessed  of  the 
command  in  chief,  and  had  such  interest'in  their 
affections,  that  tiny  preferred  his  interests  to  those 
ot'  the  children  of  the  deceased  prince,  and  he  be- 
came absolute  master  of  that  province,  from 
whence  he  afterwards  spread  his  conquests  far  and 
wide." — Calmet. 


THE  BIBLE. 


381 


Chap.  IV.] 

But  these  thoughts  never  came  near  your  they  put  them  to  a  total  rout,  and  made 
hearts,  nor  are  they  ever  like  to  do,  if  I  such  a  slaughter,  as  cannot  be  paralleled 
may  judge  by  the  army  that  is  advancing  in  history,  sacred  or  profane.  In  this 
against  us.  And  what  have  you  to  trust .  tremendous  destruction  of  human  life  no 
to?  If  in  your  golden  calves,  your  altars,  J  fewer  than  five  hundred  thousand  men 
andyour  high  places,  it  is  not  your  religion  .  were  slain  upon  the  field, — a  victory 
that  you  depend  upon,  but  your  wicked-  j  never  to  be  forgotten.f  Their  strongest 
ness.  Besides  that,  you  have  the  laws  of  j  towns  were  taken  and  plundered,  as  were 
God  and  man  to  contend  with."  also  Bethel  and  Ephraim,  with  their  de- 

"  Piety  and  justice  will  overcome  you    pendencies. 


in  the  end.  You  manifestly  fight  against 
both,  in  this  cause,  in  fighting  against  us, 
who  have  constantly  asserted  the  worship 
and  the  reverence  that  we  owe  to  the  true 
God ; — not  a  god  of  wood  or  stone,  or  the 
imposture  of  a  wicked  king  upon  a  credit 


This  blow  so  weakened  Jeroboam,  that 
he  was  never  able  to  make  any  farther 
attempt  so  long  as  Abijah  was  living, 
who  died  soon  after,  in  the  third  year  of 
his  reign,  and  was  buried  at  Jerusalem,  in 
the  sepulchre  of  his  ancestors.     He  left  two 


lous   multitude;  but  God,  the  maker  of  j  and  twenty  sons,  and  sixteen  daughters,  all 
all   things,  the  beginning   and    the    end.  |  of  which  he  had  by  fourteen  wives. 
Wherefore  let  me  advise  you  to  repent  of 


your  past  sins  and  follies,  and  to  betake 
yourselves  to  sounder  counsels  for  the  fu- 
ture :  or  if  you  must  be  contending,  let  it 
be  for  the  defence  of,  and  not  in  opposi- 
tion to,  those  laws  that  have  made  you  so 
great  and  happy." 

While  Abijah  was  thus  piously  ha- 
ranguing the  multitude,  Jeroboam  per- 
fidiously sent  a  detachment  to  surprise  his 
rear,*  but  his  stratagem  succeeded  not; 
for  Abijah,  perceiving  their  amazement, 
exhorted  them  to  rely  on  the  mighty  God 
of  Israel,  nor  fear  the  power  or  policy  of 
an  idolatrous  foe. 

These  words  of  their  king  dissipated 
their  fears,  and  inspired  them  with  cour- 
age and  resolution;  whereupon,  having 
first  invoked  the  assistance  of  God  Al- 
mighty, the  priests  sounded  the  charge; 
at  which,  with  a  mighty  shout,  they  at- 
tacked the  enemy,  and  charged  them  so 
vigorously,   that,  with   the  help  of  God, 


*  Though  Jerohoam  did  not  attempt  to  answer 
the  speech  of  Abijah,  yet  he  was  certainly  touched 
with  it;  and  being  fearful  that  it  might  have  such 
an  effect  upon  his  troops  as  to  make  them  decline 
the  battle  had  they  been  regularly  led  on  to  the 
charge,  lie  bad  recourse  to  stratagem,  and  endea- 
voured to  compass  that  by  artifice,  which  he  was 
apprehensive  of  failing  in,  from  the  use  of  fair  and 
honourable  methods. 


Asa    his   son    succeeded    him,    whose 
mother's  name  was  Maachah,J  and  under 


f  By  this  terrible  and  perfectly  unparalleled 
slaughter  of  500,000  men  of  the  newly  idolatrous 
and  rebellious  ten  tribes,  God's  high  displeasure 
and  indignation  against  that  idolatry  and  rebellion 
fully  appeared ;  the  remainder  were  thereby  se- 
riously cautioned  not  to  persist  in  them,  and  a 
kind  of  balance  or  equilibrium  was  made  between 
the  ten  and  the  two  tribes  for  the  time  to  come  ; 
while  otherwise  the  perpetually  idolatrous  and 
rebellious  ten  tribes  would  naturally  have  been 
too  powerful  for  the  two  tribes,  which  were  pretty 
frequently  free  both  from  such  idolatry  and  rebel- 
lion ;  nor  is  their  any  reason  to  doubt  of  the  truth 
of  the  prodigious  number  slain  upon  so  signal  an 
occasion. —  Winston. 

\  Maachah  was  Asa's  natural  grandmother,  and 
is  here  represented  as  still  maintaining  the  title 
and  dignity  of  king's  mother.  Mr  liaruh  suggests 
that  the  phrase,  'And  his  mother's  name  was,'  &c. 
when  expressed  on  a  king's  accession  to  the 
throne,  at  the  beginning  of  his  history,  does  not 
always  imply  that  the  lady  whose  name  is  then 
mentioned  was  the  king's  natural  mother ;  and 
conceives  that  '  the  king's  mother,'  when  so  intro- 
duced, is  only  a  title  of  honour  and  dignity  en- 
joyed by  one  lady,  solely,  of  the  royal  family  at  a 
time,  denoting  her  to  be  the  first  in  rank,  chief 
sultana,  or  queen-dowager,  whether  she  happened 
to  be  the  king's  natural  mother  or  not.  That  the 
title  and  place  of 'king's  mother'  is  of  great  conse- 
quence, we  learn  from  Bruce,  in  his  account  of 
Abyssinia,  who  represents  the  Itegheas  interfering 
much  in  public  affairs,  keeping  a  separate  palace 
and  court,  possessing  great  influence,  authority,  &c. 
He  also  informs  us,  that  while  any  Iteghe  is  living, 
it  is  contrary  to  Jaw  to  crown  another ;  which 
accounts  at  once  for  Asa's  Iteghe,  or  'kind's 
mother,'  being  his  grandmother,  the  same  person 
as  held  that  dignity  before  became  to  the  crown. 


382 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


liis   government    the    Israelites   enjoyed 
peace  for  ten  years. 

This  is  the  substance  of  what  is  record- 
ed concerning  Abijah,  who  was  soon  fol- 
lowed in  the  path  of  mortality  by  Jero- 
boam, the  king  of  the  ten  tribes,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  Asa,  and  the 
twenty-second  of  his  own. 

His  son  Nadab,  who  succeeded  him, 
lived  in  a  kind  of  competition  for  profane- 
ness  and  impiety  with  the  character  of 
his  father,  and  reigned  only  two  years; 
in  which  time  he  led  out  an  army  against 
Gibbethon,  a  city  of  the  Philistines,  being 
possessed  with  an  opinion  that  he  might 
take  it  by  siege;  but  in  the  mean  time  he 
was  cut  off  by  the  treachery  of  a  familiar 
friend,  whose  name  was  Baasha,  who 
seized  upon  the  government,  and  destroy- 
ed the  whole  family;  which  verified  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  "  That  the  dogs 
should  eat  him  of  Jeroboam's  stock  that 
died  in  the  city,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air 
should  eat  him  that  died  in  the  field." 

This  was  the  end  of  Jeroboam  and  his 
family,  for  their  apostasy  from  the  Lord 
their  Maker. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Amiable  character  of  king  Asa. — Is  prospered 
by  God  in  his  military  undertakings. —  God's 
judgment  on  Baasha,  king  of  Israel. — ZimrVs 
conspiracy  against  his  son  and  successor. — 
Wicked  Ahab  succeeds  to  the  throne  of  Israel. 
— His  ruin  foretold  by  a  prophet. — Naboth 
slain  at  the  instance  of  Jezebel. —  The  prophet 
again  predicts  the  destruction  of  Ahab,  whose 
repentance  respites  part  of  the  vengeance,  till 
the  days  of  his  son. 

King  Asa,  possessed  with  a  holy  awe  of 
the  majesty  of  God,  the  mighty  deliverer 
of  Israel,  acted  in  strict  conformity  to  his 
holy  will,  and  was  a  shining  example  of 
piety  and  justice  to  all  his  subjects.  He 
rectified  all  that  he  found  amiss  in  his 
government,  and  purged  his  dominions 
from  all  extravagant  lusts  and  foreign 
abominations.  He  had  a  select  body  of 
men  armed  with  lances  and  shields,  to  the 


number  of  three  hundred  thousand  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah;  and  of  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min, he  had  two  hundred  and  fourscore 
thousand,  with  bows  and  bucklers. 

In  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  Zerah, 
a  king  of  Ethiopia,*  marched  against  him 
with  an  army  of  nine  hundred  thousand 
foot,  one  hundred  thousand  horse,  and 
three  hundred  chariots. 

When  he  was  advanced  as  far  as  Mare- 
shah,  a  city  in  the  dependency  of  Judah, 
Asa  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  ranged 
his  army  not  far  from  the  city,  in  a  cer- 
tain valley  called  Zephathah. 

Upon  the  sight  of  so  prodigious  a  mul- 
titude, Asa  called  out  to  God  for  his 
assistance,  that  he  would  vouchsafe  to 
prosper  his  arms,  and  give  him  victory 
over  so  formidable  an  enemy;  for  it  was 
wholly  in  a  dependence  upon  his  divine 
goodness  that  he  had  now  undertaken  this 
enterprise.  Upon  this  prayer  of  Asa's 
God  was  pleased  to  encourage  him  with  a 
token  and  assurance  of  victory. 

In  the  divine  strength,  Asa  charged 
the  enemy  with  such  bravery,  that  with 
great  slaughter  he  pursued  them  to  the 
plain  of  Gerar;  and  there  desisting  from 
the  pursuit,  he  spoiled  Gerar  itself,  and 
likewise  the  enemy's  camp,  from  which 
he  took  a  vast  booty  in  gold,  camels, 
flocks,  and  herds. 

Upon  gaining  this  mighty  victory, 
through    the    goodness    of  divine    provi- 


*  Zerah,  king  of  Egypt,  is  in  scripture  termed 
an  Ethiopian  or  Cushite ;  an  appellation  which 
perhaps  marks  the  origin  of  the  dynasty  to  which 
he  belonged.  Interpreters  have  long  been  per- 
plexed to  ascertain  where  the  dominions  of  Zerah 
were  situated  ;  some  supposing  him  to  be  a  king 
of  Cushite  Arabia  (although  there  is  no  evidence 
that  that  country  then  had  powerful  sovereigns), 
while  others  have  imagined  that  he  was  king  of 
Abyssinia  or  African  Ethiopia,  but  without  being 
able  to  explain  how  he  could  have  traversed 
Egypt,  in  order  to  penetrate  into  Judea.  All 
these  difficulties  are  now  removed.  The  name  of 
this  king  exists  on  ancient  monuments;  and  the 
Zerah  of  scripture  is  the  Osorchon  or  Osoroth  of 
the  Egyptian  lists  and  legends,  the  second  king  of 
the  twenty-second  dynasty,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Shishak,  who  was  contemporary  with  Heho- 
boam Home. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BrBLE. 


383 


dencc,  the  king;  returned  with  his  army 
to  Jerusalem,  laden  with  spoil. 

On  their  return  home,  Asa  was  met  by 
the  prophet  Azariah,  who  thus  addressed 
him  with  all  the  people:  "God  hath  been 
pleased  to  bless  you  with  this  glorious 
victory,  in  consideration  of  your  justice, 
your  piety,  and  obedience  to  his  will  and 
commandments;  and  if  you  go  on  as  you 
have  begun,  you  may  expect  the  same 
providential  advantages  in  all  your  affairs 
for  the  time  to  come.  But  if  ever  you 
depart  from  the  precepts  of  your  God, 
you  will  find  in  all  respects  the  contrary; 
and  the  time  will  come,  wherein  there 
shall  not  be  a  true  prophet  among  you, 
nor  a  priest  answerable  to  the  dignity  of 
his  function.  Your  cities  shall  be  laid 
level  with  the  ground;  your  nation  scat- 
tered like  vagabonds  over  the  earth,  with- 
out any  seat  or  habitation  that  they  can 
call  their  own.  Wherefore  let  me  advise 
you,  while  you  have  time,  to  apply  your- 
selves to  the  study  and  practice  of  the 
good  and  acceptable  pleasure  of  the  Lord; 
and  finally,  to  join  with  thanksgiving  in 
the  acknowledgment  and  enjoyment  of 
the  blessings  of  God's  favour." 

These  words  of  the  prophet  did  greatly 
rejoice  the  hearts  both  of  the  king  and 
people,  who  thereupon  attended  to  the 
advice  of  the  prophet,  carefully  observing 
every  ordinance  and  precept  of  the  Lord 
their  God.  And  the  king  gave  a  full  and 
express  order  for  the  utter  demolition  of 
all  idols,  through  Judea  and  Benjamin, 
and  the  cities  he  had  conquered,  as  well 
as  repaired  the  altar  and  temple  of  the 
only  true  God. 

Having  thus  considered  the  character 
and  administration  of  Asa,  king  of  the 
two  tribes,  we  proceed  to  Baasha,  king  of 
the  Israelites;  who,  when  he  had  killed 
Nadab,  the  son  of  Jeroboam,  seized  his 
kingdom. 

This  prince,  whose  palace  was  in  Tir- 
zah,#  reigned  four  years   in  all  sorts  of 

*  This  city  is  frequently  mentioned  in  scripture, 
because  it  appears  to  have  been  for  a  long  time  \ 


lewdness  and  impiety;  he  went  beyond 
either  Jeroboam  or  his  son,  and  was  a 
tyrannical  oppressor  of  his  people,  and  a 
stubborn  and  contumacious  spirit  toward 
God  himself;  insomuch  that  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Jehu  the  prophet,  com- 
manding him  to  tell  Baasha,  that  God 
had  fully  determined  to  root  out  him  and 
his  family  from  off  the  earth,  as  he  had 
done  Jeroboam  before  him,  for  his  ingra- 
titude to  that  power  and  goodness  that 
raised  him  to  the  throne,  and  for  his 
tyranny  and  impiety  in  the  exercise  of  his 
government,  without  any  regard  to  right- 
eousness or  justice.  Also  informing  him 
farther,  that  since  he  thought  fit  to  make 
Jeroboam  his  example,  for  all  manner  of 
iniquity,  it  was  but  reasonable  that  he 
should  resemble  him  in  his  misery  and 
punishment. 

Baasha,  after  these  awful  denunciations, 
obstinately  persisted,  as  if  resolved  to  af- 
front his  Maker,  and  as  if  the  prophet 
had  rather  promised  him  a  reward  for  his 
wickedness  than  threatened  him  with  so 
dreadful  a  vengeance,  striving  daily  to 
exceed  in  impiety  and  profaneness,  heap- 
ing sins  upon  sins,  without  any  care  or 
thought  how  to  avert  the  judgment,  and 
reconcile  himself  to  God ;  nay,  without 
the  least  disposition  towards  amendment 
or  repentance.  In  the  conclusion,  he 
marched  with  an  army  to  Ramah,  a  place 


the  regal  city  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  Jeroboam, 
the  first  king,  though  lie  dwelt  for  some  time  at 
Shechem,  yet  he  appears  to  have  fixed  in  his  latter 
days  his  royal  residence  at  Tirzah.  The  succeed- 
ing kings  kept  their  residence  in  the  same  city, 
till  Omri,  after  reigning  six  years  at  Tirzah,  re- 
moved the  royal  seat  to  Samaria,  1  Kings  xvi.  24, 
where  it  afterwards  continued  till  a  final  period 
was  put  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  It  appears 
from  Cant.  vi.  4,  that  this  was  a  very  beautiful 
city,  and  pleasant  to  dwell  in;  on  which  account, 
probably,  it  was  selected  for  the  royal  seat.  No- 
thing is  said  about  this  place  in  scripture  from 
which  we  can  determine  its  situation,  nor  is  any 
light  afforded  us  on  the  subject  by  any  writer  of 
authority.  Thus  we  can  rest  only  on  conjectures; 
but,  as  Jeroboam  was  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  and 
might  therefore  be  disposed  to  fix  his  residence 
there,  it  is  inferred,  with  some  probability,  that 
Tirzah  was  situated  somewhere  within  that  tribe. 
— Dr  Wells. 


384 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


of  some  note,  about  six  miles  from  Jeru- 
salem. He  took  it,  and  fortified  it,  with 
an  intent  to  make  it  the  seat  of  the  war, 
as  a  commodious  station  for  the  advantage 
of  many  inroads  into  the  dominions  of  Asa. 

Now  Asa  was  not  without  some  appre- 
hension of  his  design;  and  reflecting  with 
himself,  how  great  danger  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  so  powerful  an  army  might 
bring  upon  his  country,  he  despatched 
ambassadors  to  the  king  of  Damascus, 
with  money  and  presents,  inviting  him 
over  to  his  alliance,  out  of  respect  to  the 
former  friendship  that  had  subsisted  be- 
twixt those  two  families. 

The  kih a  willinfflv  received  the  money 
and  the  presents;  broke  off  with  Baasha, 
entered  into  a  league  with  Asa,  and  sent 
an  army  soon  after  into  the  territory  of 
Baasha,  fell  upon  his  towns  and  strong- 
holds, burning  some,  and  rifling  others, — 
as  Ijon,  Dan,  Abel-beth-maachah,  and  all 
Cinneroth,  which  was  a  country  bordering 
on  a  lake  of  the  same  name.* 


*  This  lake  is  also  called  the  sea  of  Tiberias, 
from  a  town  of  that  name  on  its  western  border  ; 
the  sea  of  Galilee,  from  the  province  of  Galilee  in 
general,  and  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  from  that 
partictdar  tract  of  Galilee  which  skirted  its  western 
border.  This  capacious  lake,  almost  equal  in  the 
grandeur  of  its  appearance  to  that  of  Geneva, 
spreads  its  transparent  waters  over  all  the  lower 
territory  of  Galilee,  extending  from  the  north-east 
to  the  south-west.  The  waters  of  the  northern 
part  of  this  lake  abound  with  fish  :  this  circum- 
stance marks  the  propriety  of  our  Lord's  parable 
of  the  net  cast  into  the  sea,  which  was  delivered 
by  him  from  a  vessel  near  the  shore.  The  fish 
are  said  to  be  most  delicious.  There  is  not  much 
variety,  but  the  best  sort  is  the  most  common  ;  it 
is  a  species  of  bream,  equal  to  the  finest  perch. 
It  is  remarkable,  that  there  is  not  a  single  boat  of 
any  description  on  the  lake  at  present  ;  and  the 
fish  are  caught,  partly  by  the  fishermen  going  into 
the  water,  up  to  their  waist,  and  throwing  in  a 
hand  net,  and  partly  with  casting  nets  from  the 
beach :  a  method  which  must  yield  a  very  small 
quantity,  compared  to  what  they  would  get  witli 
boats.  Pliny  states  this  lake  to  be  sixteen  miles 
in  length  by  six  miles  in  breadth.  Josephus, 
whose  intimate  knowledge  of  his  country  gives  his 
descriptions  a  high  claim  to  attention,  says  that 
"  its  breadth  is  forty  furlongs,  and  its  length  one 
hundred  and  forty.  Its  waters  are  sweet  and  very 
agreeable  for  drinking,  for  they  are  finer  than  the 
thick  waters  of  other  fens.  The  lake  is  also  pure, 
and  on  every  side  ends  directly  at  the  shores,  and 
us  the  sand:  it  is  also  of  a  temperate  nature,  when 


Upon  the  news  of  this  incursion,  the 
king  of  the  Israelites  quitted  Ramah,  and 
proceeded  nearer  home;  but  Asa  erected 
two  strono-  towns  there,  out  of  the  ma- 
terials  that  Baasha  had   left  behind  him ; 


drawn  up,  and  softer  than  river  or  fountain  water: 
and  it  is  so  cold,  that  the  people  of  the  place 
cannot  warm  it  by  setting  it  in  the  sun,  in  the 
hottest  season  of  the  year.  Tiiere  are  several 
kinds  offish  in  it.  different  both  to  the  taste  and 
sight  from  those  elsewhere.  It  is  divided  into  two 
parts  by  the  river  Jordan."  The  fidelity  of 
Josephus's  description  is  attested  by  two  learned 
and  acute  modern  travellers.  Mr  Buckingham, 
who  beheld  it  in  1816,  observes  that  "all  these 
features  are  drawn  with  an  accuracy  that  could 
only  have  been  attained  by  one  resident  in  the 
country.  The  size  is  still  nearly  the  same,  the 
borders  of  the  lake  still  end  at  the  beach  or  the 
sands,  at  the  feet  of  the  mountains  which  environ 
it.  Its  waters  are  still  as  sweet  and  temperate  as 
ever,  and  the  lake  abounds  with  great  numbers  of 
fish  of  various  sizes  and  kinds.  The  appearance 
of  the  lake  as  seen  from  Capernaum,"  Mr  Buck- 
ingham states,  *'  is  still  grand  ;  its  greatest  length 
runs  nearly  north  and  south  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
miles  ;  and  its  breadth  seems  to  be,  in  general, 
from  six  to  nine  miles.  The  barren  aspect  of  the 
mountains  on  each  side,  and  the  total  absence  of 
wood,  give,  however,  a  cast  of  dulness  to  the  pic- 
ture ;  and  this  is  increased  to  melancholy  by  the 
dead  calm  of  its  waters  and  the  silence  which 
reigns  throughout  its  whole  extent,  where  not  a 
boat  or  vessel  of  any  kind  is  to  be  found."  Dr 
Clarke,  by  whom  this  lake  was  visited  a  few  years 
before  Mr  Buckingham's  arrival,  describes  it  as 
longer  and  finer  than  our  Cumberland  and  West- 
moreland lakes,  although  it  yields  in  majesty  to 
the  stupendous  features  of  Loch  Lomond  in  Scot- 
land :  like  our  Windermere,  the  lake  of  Gennes- 
areth is  often  greatly  agitated  by  winds.  A  strong 
current  marks  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  through 
the  middle  of  this  lake  ;  and  when  tins  is  opposed 
by  contrary  winds,  which  blow  here  with  the  force 
of  a  hurricane  from  the  south-east,  sweeping  into 
the  lake  from  the  mountains,  a  boisterous  sea  is 
instantly  raised :  this  the  small  vessels  of  the 
country  are  11  qualified  to  resist.  "  The  wind," 
says  ht\  "rendered  its  surface  rough,  and  called  to 
mind  the  situation  of  our  Saviour's  disciples;  when, 
in  one  of  the  small  vessels,  which  traversed  these 
waters,  they  were  tossed  in  a  storm,  and  saw  Jesus 
in  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  walking  to  them 
upon  the  waves."  These  agitations,  however,  do 
not  last  for  any  length  of  time. —  Its  broad  and  ex- 
tended surface,  covering  the  bottom  of  a  profound 
valley,  environed  by  lofty  and  precipitous  emi- 
nences (excepting  only  the  narrow  entrance  and 
outlets  at  the  Jordan  at  each  extremity,)  added  to 
the  impression  of  a  certain  reverential  awe  under 
which  every  Christian  pilgrim  approaches  it,  give 
it  a  character  of  dignity  unparalleled  by  any 
similar  scenery.  When  not  agitated  by  tempests, 
the  water  is  stated  to  be  as  clear  as  the  purest 
crystal,  sweet,  cool,  and  most  refreshing  to  the 
taste. — Home. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

calling  the  one  Geba,  and  the  other 
Mizpah. 

This  was  the  last  of  Baasha's  military 
adventures ;  for  he  was  cut  off  by  Creon, 
and  buried  in  the  city  of  Arsanes,  and  his 
ion  Elah  succeeded  him ;  he  himself  be- 
ing afterwards  treacherously  slain  by 
Zimri,  the  master  of  one  division  of  his 
horse,  in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  as 
he  was  drinking  with  Arza,  the  steward 
of  his  house, — a  troop  of  horse  breaking  in 
upon  him,  in  the  absence  of  his  guards 
and  officers,  who  were  then  abroad  at  the 
siege  of  Gibbethon,*  a  city  of  the  Philis- 
tines. 

Zimri,  after  this  exploit,  advanced  him- 
self from  master  of  the  horse  to  the 
throne ;  and,  according  to  the  prediction 
of  Jehu,  totally  extinguished  the  race  of 
Baasha,  which  was  utterly  rooted  out  for 
their  wickedness,  after  the  method  of  the 
destruction  that  befell  Jeroboam. 

The  news  of  the  king's  death  coming 
to  Gibbethon,  when  the  army  was  before 
the  town,  and  that  Zimri,  the  assassin,  had 
taken  the  government  to  himself,  the 
army  chose  Omri  the  captain  of  the 
guards  for  their  king,  who  raised  the 
siege,  and  immediately  attacked  Tirzah, 
and  took  it  by  storm. 

Zimri  rinding  the  city  without  a  guard, 
withdraws  himself  into  a  private  apartment 
in  the  palace,  sets  fire  to  it,f  and  burns 


*  This  was  a  city  in  the  trihe  of  Dan,  and  given 
to  the  Levites  for  their  habitation,  Josh.  xix.  44. 
and  xxi.  23.  but  they  seem  to  have  quitted  it,  as 
they  did  the  rest  of  the  cities,  when  Jeroboam 
would  not  suffer  them  to  exercise  their  office,  and 
the  Philistines,  it  is  likely,  then  seized  upon  it,  as 
being  adjoining  to  their  country.  It  seems,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  a  place  of  no  inconsiderable 
strength,  since  we  find  that  it  maintained  a  siege 
for  three  kings'  reigns  successively,  though  with 
some  interruption,  1  Kings  xvi.  15,  16. 

-j-  Some  would  rather  have  it,  that  Omri  set  the 
royal  palace  on  fire  in  order  to  burn  Zimri  in  it, 
who  had  retired  thither.  The  Hebrew  words  in- 
deed will  bear  that  construction,  but  the  other 
sense  seems  to  be  more  likely.  Nor  has  profane 
history  forgot  to  preserve  the  memory  of  some 
princes  who  have  chosen  to  die  in  this  manner  ra- 
ther than  fall  by  the  sword,  whereof  Sardanapalus 
is  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  most  notorious 
examples. —  Calmefs  Commentary. 


38* 

himself  and  the  house  together,  in  the 
seventh  day  of  his  reign. 

All  things  were  now  in  confusion, 
and  the  people  immediately  divided  into 
two  factions,  the  one  for  Tibni,  and  the 
other  for  Omri;  but  the  latter  carried  it; 
for  Tibni  was  slain,  and  Omri  had  the 
whole  government  to  himself. 

This  was  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Asa ;  and  Omri  governed  twelve 
years,  six  at  Tirzah  and  the  rest  at 
Shemer,  which  the  Greeks  call  Samaria.} 


J  Samaria  was  built  on  an  agreeable  and  fruit 
f»I  hill,  in  an  advantageous  situation,  twelve  miles 
from  Dothaim,  twelve  from  Merrom,  and  four 
from  Atharoth.  Josephus  says,  it  was  a  day's 
journey  from  Jerusalem.  Though  built  on  an 
eminence,  it  must  have  had  water  in  abundance  ; 
since  we  find  medals  struck  there  on  which  is  re- 
presented the  goddess  Astarte,  at  whose  feet  is  a 
river.  The  kings  of  Israel  omitted  nothing  to  ren- 
der this  city  the  strongest,  the  finest,  and  the  rich- 
est, possible.  Ahab  here  built  a  palace  of  ivory, 
and  Amos  describes  it  under  Jeroboam  II.  as  a 
city  sunk  in  excess  of  luxury  and  effeminacy.  Ben- 
hadad,  kin?  of  Syria,  built  public  places  or  streets, 
probably  for  traffic,  where  his  people  dwelt,  to 
promote  commerce.  His  son  Benhadad  besieged 
it,  under  the  reign  of  Ahab,  but  was  defeated  by  a 
handful  of  young  men.  The  following  year  Ben- 
hadad brought  an  army  into  tlie  field,  probably 
with  a  design  to  march  against  Samaria;  but  bis 
army  was  again  destroyed.  Some  years  after  this 
he  came  again  before  Samaria,  and  reduced  it  to 
such  extremities  by  famine,  that  a  mother  was 
forced  to  eat  her  own  child  ;  but  the  city  was  re- 
lieved by  a  striking  interposition  of  Divine  provi- 
dence. It  was  besieged  by  Shalmaneser,  king  of 
Assyria,  in  the  ninth  year  of  Hoshea,  king  of 
Israel,  which  was  the  fourth  of  Hezekiah,  king  of 
Judah  ;  (A.M.  3280  ;)  and  it  was  taken  three  years 
after,  2  Kings  xvii.  6,  7,  &c.  The  prophet  Hosea 
speaks  of  the  cruelties  exercised  by  Shalmaneser ; 
and  Micah  says  the  city  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
stones.  The  Cuthites  sent  by  Esarhaddon  to  in- 
habit the  country  of  Samaria,  did  not  think  it 
worth  their  while  io  repair  the  ruins  of  this  city, 
but  dwelt  at  Shechem,  which  they  made  their 
capital.  However,  the  Cuthites  rebuilt  some  part 
of  Samaria,  since  Ezra  speaks  of  its  inhabitants, 
Ezra  iv.  17.  Neh.  iv.  2.  The  Samaritans  being 
jealous  of  the  favours  Alexander  the  Great  con- 
ferred on  the  Jews,  revolted  from  him,  while  he 
was  in  Egypt,  and  burnt  alive  Andromaclius, 
whom  he  had  left  governor.  Alexander  took  Sa- 
maria, and  sent  Macedonians  to  inhabit  it;  giving 
the  country  around  it  to  the  Jews  ;  and  to  en- 
courage them  to  cultivate  it,  he  granted  them  ex- 
emptions from  tribute.  But  the  kings  of  Egypt 
and  Syria,  who  succeeded  Alexander,  deprived 
them  of  this  country.  Alexander  Balas,  king  of 
Syria,  restored  to  Jonathan  Maccabaeus  the  cities 
of  Lydda,  Ephrem,  and  Ramatha,  which  he  sepa- 
3c 


386 


Til  STORY  OF 


[Book 


He  gave  it  the  name  of  Samaria  from  the 
man's  name  that  sold  the  mountain,  where- 
upon it  was  built. 

He  differed  little  from  the  former  kings; 


rated  from  the  country  of  Samaria.  And  the  Jews 
resumed  the  full  possession  of  it  under  John  Hir- 
canus,  who  took  Samaria,  and  ruined  it,  according 
to  Josephus,  so  that  the  river  ran  through  its  ru- 
ins, A.  M.  3995.  It  so  continued  till  Aulus  Ga- 
binius,  proconsul  of  Syria,  rebuilt  it,  and  named 
it  Gabiniana.  But  it  was  very  inconsiderable  till 
Herod  the  Great  restored  it  to  its  ancient  lustre, 
and  <rave  it  the  Greek  name  of  Sebaste,  (in  Latin 
Ammstn,)  in  honour  of  the  emperor  Augustus, 
who  had  given  him  the  proprietory  of  it.  Sama- 
ria is  never  called  Sebaste  in  the  New  Testament, 
though  strangers  hardly  knew  it  by  any  other 
name.  Jerome  says  it  was  thought  Obadiah  was 
buried  at  Samaria.  They  also  showed  there  the 
tombs  of  EUsha  and  of  John  the  Baptist.  Rabbi 
Benjamin  of  Tudela  says,  "  Sebaste  is  Samaria, 
where  the  palace  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  is  still 
known.  Now,  that  city  was  on  a  mountain,  and 
well  fortified,  had  springs,  well  watered  land,  gar- 
dens, paradises,  vineyards,  and  olive-yards.  Dis- 
tant eight  miles  is  Neapolis,  that  is  Sychem,  in 
mount  Ephraim.  It  is  seated  in  a  valley  between 
the  mountains  Gerizim  and  Ebal ;  in  it  are  about 
a  hundred  Cutheans,  observing  the  law  of  Moses 
only ;  they  are  called  Samaritans ;  and  have 
priests  of  the  seed  of  Aaron.  They  sacrifice  in 
the  temple  on  mount  Gerizim  on  the  day  of  the 
passover,  and  on  feast  days  on  the  altar  built  there 
of  the  stones  set  up  by  the  children  of  Israel,  when 
they  passed  over  Jordan." 

The  following  is  the  account  of  the  modern 
city,  as  given  by  Richardson  :  "  Its  situation  is  ex- 
tremely beautiful,  and  strong  by  nature  ;  more  so, 
I  think,  than  Jerusalem,  it  stands  on  a  fine  large 
insulated  hill,  compassed  all  round  by  a  broad 
deep  valley ;  and  when  fortified,  as  it  is  stated  to 
have  been  by  Herod,  one  would  have  imagined, 
that  in  the  ancient  system  of  warfare,  nothing  but 
famine  would  have  reduced  such  a  place.  The 
valley  is  surrounded  by  four  hills,  one  on  each 
side,  which  are  cultivated  in  terraces  to  the  top, 
sown  with  grain  and  planted  with  fig  and  olive- 
trees,  as  is  also  the  valley.  The  hill  of  Samaria, 
likewise,  rises  in  terraces  to  a  height  equal  to  any 
of  the  adjoining  mountains.  The*  present  village 
is  small  and  poor,  and,  after  passing  the  valley,  the 
ascent  to  it  is  very  steep,  but  viewed  from  the  sta- 
tion of  our  tents,  is  extremely  interesting,  both 
from  its  natural  situation,  and  from  the  picturesque 
remains  of  a  ruined  convent  of  good  Gothic  archi- 
tecture. Having  passed  the  village,  towards  the  t 
middle  of  the  first  terrace,  there  is  a  number  of 
columns  still  standing.  I  counted  twelve  in  one 
row,  besides  several  that  stood  apart,  the  brother- 
less  remains  of  other  rows.  The  situation  is  ex- 
tremely delightful  ;  and  my  guide  informed  me 
that  they  belonged  to  the  serai  or  palace.  On  the 
next  terrace  there  are  no  remains  of  solid  build- 
ing, but  heaps  of  stone  and  lime,  and  rubbish 
mixed"  with  the  soil  in  great  profusion.     Ascend- 


for  they  all  made  it  their  business  to 
alienate  the  people's  hearts  from  the  love 
and  service  of  God,  by  the  repeated  prac- 
tices of  every  abomination ;  wherefore 
God  in  his  wrath  made  use  of  them  suc- 
cessively for  the  destruction  of  one  an- 
other, till,  in  the  end,  the  whole  race  was 
extinct. 

This  prince  died  at  Samaria,  and  Ahab 
his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 

In  the  course  of  this  history,  the  wis- 
dom and  justice  of  an  all-seeing,  all-wise 
God,  are  manifestly  displayed  in  discover- 
ing the  sins  of  the  wicked  and  obedience 
of  the  righteous;  and  also  in  the  punish- 
ment of  the  former,  and  reward  of  the 
latter;  for  the  kings  of  the  Israelites  were 
in  a  short  time  cut  off,  with  their  whole 
families,  by  the  hands  of  one  another; 
only  Asa,  king  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the 
two  tribes,  lived  happily,  and  in  the  favour 
of  God,  to  a  great  age,  in  consideration  of 
his  piety  and  justice;  and  after  a  reign  of 
one  and  forty  years,  departed  this  life  with 
co  i/i  fort. 

His  son  Jehoshaphat,  that  he  had  by 
Abida,  succeeded  him,  and  imitated  his  fa- 
ther in  a  pious  obedience  to  the  divine 
commands,  and  righteous  administration 
towards  his  people,  proposing  the  conduct 
of  holy  David  as  his  highest  and  invariable 
example. 


ing  to  the  third,  or  highest  terrace,  the  traces  of 
former  buildings  were  not  so  numerous,  but  we 
enjoyed  a  delightful  view  of  the  surrounding 
country.  The  eye  passed  over  the  deep  valley 
that  compasses  the  hill  of  Sebaste,  and  rested  on 
the  mountains  beyond,  that  retreated  as  they  rose 
with  a  gentle  slope,  and  met  the  view  in  eveiy  di- 
rection, like  a  book  laid  out  for  perusal  on  a  writ- 
ing desk.  From  this  lofty  eminence  we  descend- 
ed to  the  south  side  the  hill,  where  we  saw  the 
remains  of  a  stately  colonnade  that  stretches  along 
this  beautiful  exposure  from  east  to  west.  Sixty 
columns  are  still  standing  in  one  row  ;  the  shafts 
are  plain,  and  fragments  of  Ionic  volutes,  that  lie 
scattered  about,  testify  the  order  to  which  they 
belong.  These  are  probably  the  relics  of  some  of 
the  magnificent  structures  with  which  Herod  the 
Great  adorned  Samaria.  None  of  the  walls  re- 
main." The  population  of  Samaria  in  1819  was 
computed  by  Mr  Rae  Wilson  at  nearly  10,000 
souls,  composed  of  Turks,  Arabs,  and  Greeks,  and 
a  few  Jews  of  the  Samaritan  sect. —  Calmet. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


387 


Aliab,  king  of  the  Israelites,  fixed  his 
residence  at  Samaria,  where  he  ruled  two 
and  twenty  years,  without  any  innovation 
in  the  government.  He  followed  the 
steps  of  the  worst  of  his  predecessors,  and 
most  particularly  of  Jeroboam,  not  only 
in  worshipping  golden  calves,  but  in  mul- 
tiplying all  manner  of  heinous  offences. 

He  took  to  wife  Jezebel,  the  daughter 
of  Ethbaal,*  the  king  of  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
who  drew  him  over  to  the  idolatry  of  her 
country.  She  was  a  woman  of  a  rash,  en- 
terprising temper,  and  of  so  impetuous  and 
ungovernable  spirit,  that  she  had  the  con- 
fidence to  erect  a  temple  to  Baal,  the 
God  of  the  Tyrians ;  to  plant  groves  for 
superstition,  of  all  sorts  of  trees,  and  to 
appoint  her  priests  and  false  prophets  ex- 
pressly for  that  idolatrous  service. 

Such  persons  and  practices  were  well- 
pleasing  to  Ahab,  who  was  disposed  for 
the  commission  of  any  heinous  offence, 
and  exceeded  in  wickedness  all  his  prede- 
cessors. There  came  to  Ahab,  about  that 
time,  a  certain  prophet,  whose  name  was 


*  Ethbaal,  or  Ithobahis  (as  he  is  called  by  pro- 
fane writers)  does  equally  signify  the  '  Strength  of 
Baal.'  In  the  catalogue  of  the  kings  of  Tyre,  he 
is  said  to  be  the  eighth ;  and,  as  both  Tyre  and 
Sidon  were  from  the  beginning  subject  to  the 
same  king,  it  is  not  improbable,  that  their  kings 
resided  sometimes  at  one,  and  sometimes  at  the 
other  city,  and  were  therefore  called  the  kings  of 
Tyre  or  Sidon  promiscuously.  As  the  character 
of  king  and  priest  were  frequently  united  in  the 
same  person,  so  is  he  supposed  to  have  been  the 
high-priest  of  Astarte  or  Ashtaroth,  the  goddess 
of  the  Sidonians,  and  for  this  reason  perhaps  his 
daughter  was  so  violently  attached  to  that  kind  of 
idolatry,  that,  when  she  came  into  power,  she  was 
for  utterly  extirpating  all  the  priests  and  prophets 
of  the  Lord.  The  truth  is,  this  queen  was  a 
monster  in  her  kind,  and  therefore  the  name  of 
Jezebel  has  passed  into  a  proverb,  to  denote  any 
cruel,  impious,  and  imperious  woman  Culmet 
— Baal,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  signifies  Lord, 
and,  as  Selden  observes,  was  anciently  the  name  of 
the  true  God,  until  the  world  grew  wicked,  and 
came  to  apply  it  to  the  sun ;  in  after-ages,  to  other 
stars ;  and,  in  process  of  time,  to  any  of  their  kings, 
whose  memory  was  dear  to  them.  The  same 
author  observes,  that  the  Phoenician  Belus,  or 
Baal,  was  the  same  with  the  European  Jupiter, 
and,  as  Sidon  was  situated  on  the  sea,  their  Baal 
was  called  by  the  Greeks,  the  Jupiter  of  the  sea. 
But  more  of  this  you  may  see  in  the  writings  of 
that  great  man .Selden  de  Diis  Syris. 


Elijah,  a  Tishbite,f  and  born  in  the  city  of 
Gilead.  His  message  was  to  tell  the  king, 
that  from  the  time  of  his  going  away, 
there  should  not  be  one  drop  of  rain,  or 
so  much  as  the  least  sign  of  dew  in  that 
province,  till  his  return ;  confirming  his 
prediction  with  a  strong  affirmation  that 
it  should  be  so. 

As  soon  as  he  had  delivered  his  errand, 
he  went  away  to  the  southward,  till  he 
came  to  the  brook  Cherith,  where  he 
might  supply  himself  with  water,  and 
there  he  stopped  for  the  present;  the 
ravens,  time  after  time,  bringing  him  a 
supply  of  meat4 


•f  Thesbe  was  a  town  on  the  other  side  of  Jor- 
dan, in  the  tribe  of  Gad,  and  in  the  land  of  Gilead, 
where  this  prophet  was  born,  or  at  least  inhabited 
for  some  time.  Since  the  scripture  makes  no 
mention,  either  of  the  quality  of  his  parents,  the 
manner  of  his  education,  or  his  call  to  the  pro- 
phetic office,  the  Jewish  doctors  have  formed  some 
very  fanciful  conjectures  respecting  him.  Some 
have  been  of  opinion,  that  he  was  an  angel  sent 
from  heaven,  in  the  midst  of  the  general  corrup- 
tion of  the  world,  to  preserve  the  true  worship  of 
God.  Others  pretend  that  he  was  a  priest,  de- 
scended from  the  tribe  of  Aaron  ;  that  his  father's 
name  was  Sabaca,  and  his  birth  altogether  mirac- 
ulous :  whilst  others  again  will  needs  have  it,  that 
he  was  Phinehas,  the  son  of  Aaron,  who,  after 
having  lived  a  long  while  concealed,  appeared 
again  in  the  world  under  the  name  of  Elijah.  But 
where  the  scripture  is  silent,  all  particulars  of  this 
kind  are  of  small  authority.  This,  however,  may 
be  said  with  safety  of  him,  that  he  was  one  of  the 
chief,  if  not  the  prince  of  the  prophets  of  his  age  ; 
a  man  of  a  great  and  elevated  soul,  of  a  generous 
and  undaunted  spirit,  a  zealous  defender  of  the 
laws  of  God,  and  a  just  avenger  of  the  violations 
of  his  honour. —  Calntcfs  Commentary. 

J  It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  the  raven, 
an  unclean  bird,  and  one  too  of  very  gross  and 
impure  dispositions,  was  chosen  by  Jehovah  to 
provide  for  his  servant  Elijah.  So  improbable  is 
the  story  in  the  ear  of  reason,  that  morose  and 
voracious  ravens  should  become  caterers  for  the 
prophet,  that  some  interpreters  have  maintained 
that  the  original  word  denotes  merchants  or 
Arabians,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  Arbo: 
according  to  this  interpretation,  the  promise  would 
run  ;  I  have  commanded  the  Arabs  or  the  Orebim 
to  nourish  thee.  But  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Jordan,  where  Elias  concealed  himself,  were  no 
Arabs,  no  Orebim,  and  no  city  which  bore  the 
name  of  Arbo.  Add  to  this,  Elias  was  command- 
ed to  hide  himself  there ;  but  how  could  he  hide 
himself,  if  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  or  encamp- 
ment knew  of  his  retreat,  as  they  must  have  done, 
if  his  daily  subsistence  depended  upon  their 
bounty.     On  this  occasion    a  number  of  ravens 


MSi'OKY  OF 


[Book  V. 


'i  he  m ought  continuing  and  increasing 
the  channel  was  dried  up;  whereupon 
God   warned  the   prophet   to   remove   to 


were  employed,  because  the  service  of  one  was  not 
sufficient  to  supply  the  prophet  with  daily  food. 
But  the  circumstance  entirely  accords  with  the 
native  instincts  of  that  bird ;  for  the  ravens  go  in 
quest  of  their  prey  in  troops,  and  share  in  common 
the  spoils  of  the  chase.  Following,  therefore,  the 
instincts  of  their  nature,  which  received  for  a  time 
a  peculiar  direction,  by  the  miraculous  interposi- 
tion of  Jehovah,  a  number  of  ravens  associated  to- 
gether, in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  Elijah, 
whom  his  country  had  abandoned  to  the  rage  of 
an  impious  and  cruel  monarch  ;  'and  they  brought 
him  bread  and  flesh  in  the  morning,  and  bread  and 
flesh  in  the  evening,  and  he  drank  of  the  brook.' 
The  Septuagint,  in  many  copies  read  the  passage; 
'  They  brought  bread  in  the  morning,  and  flesh 
in  the  evening ;'  but  the  common  reading  is  en- 
titled to  the  preference.  It  gives  a  striking  dis- 
play of  divine  goodness,  that  when  the  whole  re- 
sources of  Israel  were  exhausted  by  a  long  and 
severe  famine,  the  prophet  of  the  Lord  was  mi- 
raculously and  abundantly  supplied  with  nutritious 
food  twice  every  day.  The  ravens  brought  it  in 
the  evening  and  in  the  morning,  which  were  the 
stated  hours  of  repast  among  the  Jews  and  other 
oriental  nations.  The  Hebrew  writers  eagerly 
inquire  where  the  ravens  found  the  provisions  to 
supply  the  wants  of  Elijah  ;  and,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, very  different  are  the  opinions  they  ad- 
vance ;  but  on  this  question,  which  is  of  little  im- 
portance, no  certainty  can  be  obtained.  The 
scriptures  are  silent  on  the  subject,  and  we  have 
no  other  means  of  information.  It  was  enough 
for  the  prophet,  that  his  winged  providers  regularly 
supplied  his  necessities  ;  and  it  is  sufficient  to  ex- 
cite our  admiration  of  the  power  and  goodness  of 
God,  and  our  confidence  in  his  providential  care, 
without  attempting  to  discover  what  the  divine 
wisdom  lias  seen  meet  to  conceal.  When  he 
gives  the  commandment,  a  raven  is  as  successful 
in  his  service,  according  to  the  range  of  its  facul- 
ties,  as  an  angel ;  and  we  must  not  presume  to  re- 
fuse or  slight  his  aid,  how  mean  soever  the  agent 
he  condescends  to  employ.  The  Jewish  legislator 
placed  the  raven  in  the  list  of  unclean  birds,  which 
imparted  pollution  to  every  thing  they  touched; 
but  the  same  God  who  gave  the  law,  had  a  right 
to  repeal  or  suspend  it;  and  that  he  did  suspend 
it  for  a  time,  in  favour  of  his  persecuted  servant, 
cannot  be  reasonably  denied.  Nor  was  this  a 
singular  instance  of  divine  clemency  ;  for  the  ob- 
servance of  ceremonial  institutions  often  yielded 
to  urgent  necessity.  The  Jews  were  forbidden  to 
touch  a  dead  carcase ;  but  Samson  was  allowed, 
for  a  special  purpose,  to  eat  of  the  honey  which 
he  found  in  the  dead  lion.  The  priests  only  were 
permitted  by  the  law  to  eat  the  show-bread  :  yet 
David  and  his  men  were  justified  by  our  Lord 
himself  in  using  the  consecrated  loaves,  when  no 
other  could  be  procured.  Many  are  the  reasons 
assigned  hy  different  writers,  for  the  employment 
of  ravens  on  this  occasion  ;  but  they  are  so  trifling, 
or  so  fanciful,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  state  them  ; 


Zarephath,*  situated  betwixt  Tyre  and  Si- 
don;  a  voice  from  heaven  foretelling  him, 
that  he  should  find  a  widow  woman  there, 
who  would  feed  and  provide  for  him. 


the  true  reason  perhaps  was  to  convince  the  de- 
jected propiiet,  that  although  his  nation  had  for- 
saken him,  the  God  whom  lie  served  continued  to 
watch  over  him  with  unceasing  care  ;  and  that  he 
would  employ  the  most  unpromising  means,  and 
counteract  the  most  powerful  instincts,  rather  than 
suffer  him  to  want  the  necessaries  of  life.  And 
when  he  saw  those  voracious  birds,  the  cravings  of 
whose  appetite  are  seldom  entirely  satisfied,  part,  of 
their  own  accord,  with  their  favourite  provision, 
morning  and  evening,  for  many  days,  and  bring  it 
themselves  to  the  place  of  his  retreat ;  he  could 
not  mistake  or  disregard  the  secret  influence  under 
which  they  acted. — The  brook  Cherith,  oh  whose 
border  the  miracle  was  wrought,  is  supposed  to  be 
the  same  as  the  river  Kana,  mentioned  in  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  chapters  of  Joshua,  which 
watered  the  confines  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin. 
This  brook  derived  its  name  Kana,  from  the  reeds, 
which,  in  great  abundance,  clothed  its  banks  ; 
among  which  the  prophet  found  a  secure  retreat 
from  the  persecution  of  his  enemies.  Its  other 
name  Cherith,  may  be  traced  to  the  verb  Charah, 
which  the  Greek  interpreters  render  to  feed,  be- 
cause on  its  margin  the  prophet  was  fed  by  the 
ravens.  Were  this  conjecture  true,  the  name 
must  have  been  given  by  anticipation  ;  for  which 
no  satisfactory  reason  can  be  assigned.  It  is  more 
natural  to  suppose,  that,  as  the  verb  commonly 
signifies  to  dig,  and  sometimes  to  rush  on  with 
violence,  the  name  Cherith  alludes  to  the  violent 
rapidity  of  the  stream  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  or  to  the  deep  pits  which,  like  many  other 
torrents  in  those  regions,  it'excavates  in  its  furious 
course.  The  particular  situation  of  this  brook  is 
more  distinctly  marked  by  the  sacred  historian, 
who  says,  it  '  is  before  Jordan.'  This  phrase 
seems  to  mean,  that  it  flowed  into  the  Jordan; 
and  from  the  second  clause  of  the  verse  we  may 
infer,  that  its  course  lay  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  because  it  is  said  hy  God  to  Elijah,  *  Get 
thee  hence,  and  turn  thee  eastward,  and  hide  thy- 
self by  the  brook  Cuerith,  that  is  before  Jordan  :' 
for  Elijah  must  have  been  on  the  west  side  of 
Jordan,  when  he  was  commanded  to  go  eastward 
to  a  stream  that  flowed  into  the  Jordan  on  that 
side. — Paxton. 

*  Zarephath,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  New 
Testament,  frarepta,  was  a  town  which  lay  between 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  but  somewhat  nearer  to  the 
latter.  Mr  Maundrell  observes,  that  it  is  the 
same  with  what  is  now  called  Sarphan,  distant 
about  three  hours'  travel  from  Sidon,  in  the  way 
to  Tyre.  The  same  author  tells  us,  that  it  con- 
sists of  no  more  than  a  few  houses,  on  the  tops  of 
the  mountains,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  sea; 
though  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  city  stood  below,  in  a  space  be- 
tween the  hills  and  the  sea,  because  there  are  stil! 
ruins  there  to  be  seen  of  a  very  considerable 
extent. —  Wells's  Geography. 


Chap.   V.] 


THE  BIBLfc. 


389 


He  followed  his  order,  and  being  come 
almost  to  the  end  of  his  journey,  saw  a 
poor  woman  gathering  sticks,  not  far  from 
the  port.  This  woman  he  understood, 
by  a  divine  impulse,  was  to  be  his  nurse, 
so  he  called  to  her  to  give  him  a  little 
water  to  drink;  and  as  she  was  going  to 
fetch  it,  he  spoke  to  her  again  to  bring 
him  likewise  a  little  bread.  The  woman 
solemnly  protested  to  liirn,  that  she  had 
nothing  in  the  house  but  one  handful  of 
meal  and  a  little  oil,  and  that  she  was 
now  getting  a  few  sticks  for  a  fire  to  bake 
a  cake  for  herself  and  her  son;  and  when 
that  was  eaten,  they  must  even  starve,  it 
being  her  all. 

But  the  prophet  encouraged  her  with 
these  words:  "  Go  thy  ways  with  a  good 
heart,  and  hope  for  better  things,  and 
bring  me  a  piece  of  it  when  it  is  ready; 
for  I  do  assure  thee,  that  when  we  have 
all  eaten  our  fill,  thy  barrel  shall  never  be 
without  meal,  nor  thy  cruse  without  oil, 
till  God  shall  send  rain  upon  the  earth." 

The  woman  did  as  the  prophet  bade 
her,  and  found  his  words  to  be  true;  for 
they  had  all  three  sustenance  sufficient, 
and  the  provision  was  still  recruited  again 
as  it  wasted,  till  this  miserable  drought 
was  over.* 

About  this  time  the  woman's  son  of  the 
house  fell  sick  and  died;  and  the  mother, 
in  her  passionate  grief  for  the  loss  of  her 
boy,  laid  the  blame  upon  the  prophet, 
exclaiming,  "  This  man,  that  I  have  en- 
tertained, hath  discovered  my  sins,  and 
now  brought  this  judgment  upon  me." 
The  child  being  absolutely  given  over  for 
dead,  the  prophet  bade  the  woman  com- 


*  Menander  speaks  of  it  in  the  history  of 
Itliobal,  a  king  of  the  Tyrians.  "  In  his  time," 
says  lie,  "there  was  an  extreme  drought  for  want  of 
rain,  that  lasted  from  the  month  of  Hyperberetaeus, 
till  the  same  month  again  next  year.  There  were 
prayers  indeed  put  up  for  the  averting  of  the 
judgment,  which  were  followed  with  mighty  claps 
of  thunder.  This  prince  built  Botrys  in  Phoenicia, 
and  Auzates  in  Africa."  This  was  undoubtedly 
the  drought  under  Ahab ;  for  it  was  in  his  reign 
that  lthobal  was  king  of  Tyre,  as  Menander  has 
it  in  his  Commentaries. 


fort  herself,  and  deliver  up  her  son  into 
his  arms,  with  an  assurance  that  he  would 
suddenly  restore  him  to  her  alive  again. 
He  took  him  up,  and  carried  him  into  his 
chamber,  laid  him  upon  his  bed,  and 
offered  up  a  prayer  to  God  that  he  would 
return  the  soul  of  the  child  into  him,  and 
restore  him  to  life. 

God  was  pleased,  upon  the  prophet's 
supplication,  to  restore  the  child  to  life 
again,  that  the  poor  woman  might  not 
have  any  misfortune  to  complain  of  while 
the  prophet  was  in  the  family;  and  the 
woman,  with  great  thankfulness  to  the 
prophet,  found  herself  now  fully  convinc- 
ed that  he  was  authorized  and  directed  by 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  prophet,  soon  after  this,  by  the 
commandment  of  God,  was  sent  to  Ahab, 
to  tell  him  that  there  should  suddenly  be 
rain.  The  famine  having  prevailed  so 
long  throughout  the  country,  there  wA's 
so  general  a  scarcity  of  all  necessaries  of 
life,  that  not  only  the  people  were  ready 
to  starve  for  want  of  bread,  but  the  very 
cattle  also,  for  want  of  forage, — so  parch- 
ing was  the  drought. 

In  this  distress  the  king  sent  for  Oba- 
diah,f  the  overseer  of  his  stables  and 
grounds,  and  commanded  him  to  search 
every  where  about  the  brooks  and  rivers 

f  There  are  some  Jewish  doctors,  who  think, 
that  this  Obadiah  was  the  same  with  him,  whose 
writings  we  have  among  the  twelve  minor  pro- 
phets.  They  pretend,  that  he  was  married  to  that 
woman  of  Shimem,  where  Elisha  used  to  lodire  : 
that  he  was  a  disciple  of  the  prophet  Elijah,  and 
the  last  of  the  three  captains  whom  king  Ahaziih 
sent  to  apprehend  him  ;  and  that  for  tin's  rea'- 
son,  he  had  compassion  on  him,  though  he 
destroyed  the  others  that  came  before  him,  witii 
fire  from  heaven,  2  Kings  i.  9,  &c.  but  this  is 
altogether  uncertain.  Obadiah  himself,  in  his  dis 
course  with  Elijah,  sufficiently  tells  us  who  he  was, 
viz.  a  person  truly  religious,  who  worshipped  God 
alone,  and  had  a  singular  affection  for  his  serv- 
ants ;  enough,  one  would  think,  to  have  made 
Ahab  discard,  if  not  persecute  him,  had  he  not 
found  him  so  highly  useful  in  the  management  oi 
his  domestic  affairs,  as  to  connive  at  his  not  wor- 
shipping Baal,  or  the  calves ;  especially  since  we 
read  nothing  of  his  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  which 
was  a  defect  that  God  perhaps  might  think  proper 
to  dispense  with. —  Calmet's  and  Patrick's  Com- 
mentaries. 


390 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V. 


for  grass  for  his  horses  and  herds;  and 
charging  him  by  all  means  to  get  Elijah 
the  prophet  to  him,  whom  they  had  long 
sought  most  earnestly.     Having  delivered 
this  charge,  Ahab  proceeded  one  way  and 
Obadiah  another,  in  quest  of  the  prophet. 
Now  Obadiah,   who  was   a   good  and 
holy  man,  at  the  time  when  queen  Jeze- 
bel was  in  the  heat  of  her  bloody  persecu- 
tion against  the  prophets,  concealed  and 
protected  a  hundred  of  them  in  caves,  and 
fed  them  with  bread  and  water.*      The 
king  and  Obadiah  were  no  sooner  parted, 
than  the  latter  met  Elijah  upon  the  way; 
and  finding  who  he  was,  by  his  answering 
a  question  proposed  to  him,  did  him  rever- 
ence.    The  prophet,  after  a  while,  desired 
Obadiah  to  go  to  the  king,  and  tell  him 
that  he  was  coming.     But  Obadiah,  aston- 
ished  at   the    command,    and   fearful    of 
Ahab's  resentment,  thus  expostulated  with 
him :    "  What  have   I   done,   to   be  sent 
on  such  an  errand,  to  a  person  that  is  at 
this  time  seeking  you  to  put  you  to  death; 
and  there  is  no  torment  you  are  not  to 
expect  when  he  catches  you  ?     But  what 
when  I  go  to  the  king,  if  the  Spirit  that 
governs   you    should    carry   you   another 
way,  and  when  you  are  not  to  be  found, 
my  head  may  lie  at  stake  to  answer  for 
you  ?     Therefore  be  not  so  indifferent  in 
a  case  where  my  life  is  in  so  much  danger. 
You  may  assure  yourself,  I  do  not  want 


*  We  can  hardly  imagine,  that  all  these  hundred, 
whom  Obadiah  preserved,  were  men  actually  in- 
spired, and  invested  with  a  prophetic  character, 
but  such  only  as  were  the  disciples  of  the  pro- 
phets, and  candidates  for  that  office.  For  it  is  not 
unlikely,  that,  even  to  Jezebel's  time,  there  were 
remaining  in  Israel  schools  of  the  prophets,  which 
she  endeavoured  to  destroy,  as  well  as  those  that 
were  bred  up  in  them,  that  there  might  none  be 
left  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  true  religion. 
These  she  certainly  looked  upon  as  enemies  to  her 
idolatry,  and  might  possibly  persuade  her  husband, 
that  they  were  disaffected  to  his  government,  and 
favourers  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  because  they  wor- 
shipped the  same  God,  and  thought  that  the  proper 
place  of  his  worship  was  Jerusalem:  and  therefore 
the  greater  was  the  piety  and  courage  of  Obadiah, 
in  rescuing  so  many  victims  from  the  hands  of  this 
furious  and  enraged  woman.— Patrick's  and  Le 
Clerc's  Commentaries. 


affection  for  your  party,  that  ran  the  risk 
of  preserving  a  hundred  of  your  prophets 
from  the  rage  of  Jezebel,  and  to  this  day 
maintain  them  in  caves  upon  my  own 
account."  The  prophet,  however,  banish- 
ed the  fear  of  pious  Obadiah  by  these 
words:  "Well,  fear  nothing;  but  go  to 
the  king,  and  promise,  upon  my  solemn 
oath,  that  I  will  come  to  him."  As  soon 
as  Ahab  understood  that  Elijah  was  there, 
he  mended  his  pace,  and  in  indignation, 
advancing  toward  him,  called  out:  "Are 
you,  at  this  day,  the  troubler  of  Israel? 
Are  you  the  occasion  of  this  drought  and 
famine?" 

Elijah  told  him,  that  it  was  Ahab  and 
his  family,  and  their  bringing  in  foreign 
and  false  gods,  and  the  suppressing  of  the 
worship  of  the  true  God,  that  was  the 
cause  of  all  their  misery.  He  then,  to 
confirm  his  declaration,  proposed  to  him 
this  direction:  "Give  order  for  all  the 
people  to  assemble  upon  mount  Carmel, 
and  let  your  own  and  your  wife's  prophets 
be  there  also,"  expressing  the  very  number 
of  them.  "  Summon  likewise  the  prophets 
of  your  groves,  who  are  about  four  hun- 
dred, to  assemble  also."  The  king  ac- 
cordingly summoned  them;  and  they 
having  met,  Elijah,  standing  in  the  midst 
of  the  throng,  addressed  them  in  this 
manner:  "How  long  will  ye  stand  waver- 
ing between  two  opinions.f  If  you  be- 
lieve ours  to  be  the  true  and  the  only 
God,  obey  him,  and  keep  his  command- 


f  Literally,  '  How  long  hop  ye  about  upon 
two  boughs?'  This  is  a  metaphor  taken  from 
birds  hopping  about  from  bough  to  bough,  not 
knowing  on  which  to  settle.  Perhaps  the  idea  of 
limping  through  lameness  should  not  be  overlooked. 
They  were  halt,  they  could  not  walk  uprightly 
they  dreaded  Jehovah,  and  therefore  could  not 
totally  abandon  him;  they  feared  the  king  and 
queen,  and  therefore  thought  they  must  embrace 
the  religion  of  the  state.  Their  conscience  for- 
bade them  to  do  the  former;  their  fear  of  man 
persuaded  them  to  do  the  latter;  but  in  neither 
were  they  heartily  engaged  ;  and  at  this  juncture 
their  minds  seemed  in  equipoise,  and  they  were 
waiting  for  a  favourable  opportunity  to  make  their 
decision.  Such  an  opportunity  now,  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  presented  itself. — JDr  A.  Clarke. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


391 


ments;  or  if  you  are  rather  of  opinion  for 
the  worshipping  of  strange  gods,  adhere 
to  them  only."  The  people  making  no 
answer,  Elijah  proceeded  to  this  challenge: 
"If  you  choose  to  be  certainly  assured 
which  worship  is  the  right,  here  do  I 
stand,  a  single  prophet  on  the  one  side, 
to  defend  the  cause  against  the  four  hun- 
dred on  the  other.  I  will  take  an  ox  and 
lay  it  upon  a  pile  of  wood,  without  putting 
any  fire  to  it;  let  them  do  the  same  thing, 
and  call  upon  their  gods  to  set  their  pile 
in  a  flame;  and  the  God  that  answereth 
by  fire,  let  him  be  worshipped  as  such. 
By  this  means  you  will  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish the  true  from  the  false." 

The  people  were  well  pleased  with  the 
experiment  proposed;  and  Elijah  bade 
Ahab's  prophets  take  an  ox,  and  call  upon 
their  gods  by  their  names,  giving  them 
the  precedency  in  offering  up  the  sacrifice. 
When  they  had  called  a  long  time  upon 
their  gods,  and  leaped  upon  the  altar,* 
without  any  effect,  Elijah  turned  their 
superstition  to  ridicule,  and  bade  them 
cry  out  louder,  intimating  that  their  gods 
might  possibly  be  upon  a  journey,  or 
asleep.f     Thus  stimulated,  they  continu- 


*  They  danced  round  it  with  strange  and  hide- 
ous cries  and  gesticulations,  tossing  their  heads  to 
and  fro,  with  a  great  variety  of  bodily  contortions. 
A  heathen  priest,  a  high-priest  of  Budhoo,  showed 
to  me  the  manner  in  which  they  dance  and 
jump  up  and  down,  and  from  side  to  side,  twisting 
tlieir  bodies  in  all  manner  of  ways,  when  making 
their  offerings  to  their  demon  gods  ;  a  person  all 
the  while  beating  furiously  on  a  tom-tom,  or  drum, 
to  excite  and  sustain  those  frantic  attitudes;  at  the 
game  time  imploring  the  succour  of  their  god,  fre- 
quently in  some  such  language  as  this:  "O  loving 
brother  devil,  hear  me,  and  receive  my  offering  !" 
To  perform  these  sacrificial  attitudes  they  have 
persons  who  are  taught  to  practise  them  from  their 
earliest  years,  according  to  directions  laid  down  in 
religious  books  ;  and  to  make  the  joints  and  body 
pliant,  much  anointing  of  the  parts  and  mechanical 
management  are  used  ;  and  they  have  masters, 
whose  business  it  is  to  teach  these  attitudes  and 
contortions  according  to  the  rules  laid  down  in 
those  books.  It  seems  therefore  that  this  was  a 
very  general  practice  of  idolatry,  as  indeed  are  the 
others  mentioned  in  this  place. —  Clarke. 

■f  Rab.  S.  Jarchi  gives  this  the  most  degrading 
meaning ;  I  will  give  it  in  Latin,  because  it  is  too 
coarse  to  be  put  in  English:  Fortassis  ad  locum 


ed  their  outcries  and  exclamations,  from 
morning  till  noon,  cutting  and  lancing 
tlieir  bodies,:}:  after  their  manner  of  wor- 
shipping, but  their  senseless  idol  knew 
nothing  of  the  matter. 


secrctumabiit,ut  ventrem  ibi  exoneret;  "Perhaps 

he  is  gone  to  the  ."     This  certainly  reduces 

Baal  to  the  lowest  degree  of  contempt,  and  with  it 
the  ridicule  and  sarcasm  are  complete.  The  hea- 
then deities  had  all  of  them  certain  employments 
ass'mned  them, — one  had  the  management  of  the 
winds,  another  of  the  water,  the  cares  of  which 
were  supposed  necessarily  to  occupy  and  distract 
their  minds  at  particular  periods;  and  some  were 
also  engaged  in  long  and  distant  expeditions,  from 
which  they  had  to  return  before  they  could  answer 
the  supplications  of  their  votaries.  Even  in  the 
present  day,  the  same  notions  prevail  among  the 
Iieathen,  of  the  limited  powers  of  the  deities. 
Thus  Siva,  the  principal  god  of  the  Hindoos,  once 
fell  into  a  profound  reverie,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  the  cause  of  great  public  calamities  and  por- 
tentous occurrences  that  befell  the  land.  On  a 
particular  season  of  the  year,  he  is  constantly  oc- 
cupied with  the  pleasures  of  the  chase,  to  gratify 
him  with  which,  his  statue,  together  with  that  of 
his  favourite  wife,  is  taken  from  his  temple,  placed 
on  a  car,  and  carried  out  to  the  open  fields. 
Sometimes  he  suddenly  departs  on  long  journeys, 
and  sometimes  he  falls  asleep,  which  he  did  on  one 
occasion  particularly,  when  he  had  assumed  the 
form  of  a  porter,  arid,  wearied  with  his  task,  re- 
signed himself  under  a  tree  to  the  influence  of 
oblivious  rest. —  Clarke  and  Jamie  son. 

%  A  strange  method,  one  would  think,  to  ob- 
tain the  favour  of  their  gods!  And  yet,  if  we 
look  into  antiquity,  we  shall  find,  that  nothing 
was  more  common  in  the  religious  rites  of  several 
nations,  than  this  barbarous  custom.  To  this 
purpose  we  may  observe,  that  the  priests  of 
Bellona,  when  they  sacrificed  to  that  goddess, 
were  wont  to  besmear  the  victim  with  their  own 
blood  ;  that  the  Persian  Magi  used  to  appease 
tempests,  and  allay  the  winds,  by  making  incisions 
in  their  flesh  ;  that  they,  who  carried  about  the 
Syrian  goddess,  among  other  mad  pranks,  were, 
every  now  and  then,  cutting  and  slashing  them- 
selves with  knives,  till  the  blood  gushed  out  ;  and 
that  even  to  this  day,  some  modern  travellers  tell 
us,  that  in  Turkey,  Persia,  and  several  parts  of  the 
Indies,  there  are  a  kind  of  fanatics,  who  think  they 
do  a  very  meritorious  thing,  and  what  is  highly 
acceptable  to  the  deity,  in  cutting  and  mangling 
their  own  flesh. — Among  the  New  Zealanders, 
who  are  perhaps  the  rudest  people  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,  there  is  established  the  strange  custom 
of  tatooing,  or  burning  tlieir  faces  and  other  parts 
of  their  bodies  with  every  atrocity  of  devices  in 
honour  of  their  gods — and  among  the  Hindoos, 
who  possess  the  most  perfect  and  gigantic  system 
of  heathen  worship  that  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
to  brand  themselves  with  the  marks  of  their 
respective  deities,  is  a  practice  not  only  common 
but  held  in  the  highest  veneration  ;  for  before  any 
one  is  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  entering  a  tern- 


392 


HISTORY  OF 


[I5ook  V. 


But  when  it  came  to  the  other's  turn  to 
sacrifice,  and  these  fanatical  priests  were 
ordered  to  retire,  Elijah  desired  the  multi- 
tude to  draw  near,  and  examine  everywhere 
if  they  could  find  any  fire  that  was  secretly 
conveyed  for  the  execution  of  his  proposal. 
Upon  their  approach  Elijah  took  twelve 
stones,  according  to  the  number  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  and  repaired  the  altar  of 
the  Lord,*  and  cut  a  deep  ditch  about  it. 
The  wood  was  prepared,  and  laid  upon 
the  altar;  the  sacrifice  upon  the  pile,  and 
four  vessels  of  spring  water  cast  upon  the 
altar;  so  that  it  ran  off,  and  filled  the 
trenches.f 


pie,  he  must  receive  on  his  forehead  an  impression, 
which  varies  in  form,  and  also  in  the  colour  with 
which  it  is  distinguished  according  as  the  temple 
happens  to  be  that  of  Vishnu  or  Siva,  the  grand 
objects  of  their  superstition — and  besides  these 
important  incisions,  which  he  wears  on  his  fore- 
head, every  Hindoo  has  also  many  others,  amount- 
ing frequently  to  upwards  of  a  hundred,  on  the 
arms,  hands,  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  and 
which  vary  in  size  and  form  according  to  the  rank 
or  fervour  of  the  devotee. —  Calmet,  Le  Clerc, 
and  Jamieson. 

*  The  altar,  which  the  sacred  author  here  calls 
•the  altar  of  the  Lord,'  was  certainly  one  of  those 
which  were  built  in  the  time  of  the  judges,  and 
tirst  kings  of  Israel  ;  when,  for  want  of  a  fixed 

Slace  of  worship,  such  structures  were  permitted. 
»oth  Tacitus,  lib.  ii.  c.  74.  and  Suetonius  speak  of 
the  God  of  Carmel,  whom  Vespasian  went  to  con- 
sult, when  he  was  at  Judea.  His  priest  Basilides 
promised  him  all  manner  of  prosperity  and  success 
in  his  undertakings;  but,  as  the  two  historians  tell 
us,  there  was  neither  temple  nor  statue  upon  this 
mountain  but  one  altar  only,  plain  but  very  vener- 
able for  its  antiquity.  Some  are  of  opinion  that 
this  Basilides  was  a  Jew,  and  priest  of  the  most 
high  God ;  but  it  seems  more  reasonable,  that  he 
was  a  Pagan  priest,  and  probably  the  same  who 
met  Vespasian  in  the  temple  of  Serapis  in  Egypt. 
However  this  be,  the  altar  of  Carmel  seems  to 
have  had  its  original  from  this  altar  of  the  true 
God,  which  the  ancient  Hebrews  first  erected,  and 
Elijah  afterwards  repaired  ;  which  even  the  hea- 
thens held  in  such  veneration,  that  when  they 
came  to  be  masters  of  the  country,  they  would  not 
place  so  much  as  an  image  by  it. —  Calmefs  Com- 
mentary. 

t  This  was  done  to  prevent  any  kind  of  suspi- 
cion that  there  was  fire  concealed  under  the  altar. 
An  ancient  writer  under  the  name  of  Chrysostom, 
quoted  l>y  Calmet.  says  that  he  had  seen  under  the 
altars  of  the  heathens  holes  dug  in  the  earth  with 
funnels  proceeding  from  them,  and  communicating 
with  openings  on  the  tops  of  the  altars.  In  the 
former  the  priests  concealed  fire,  which,  communi- 
cating through  the  funnels  with  the  holes,  set  fire  to 


When  every  thing  was  ready  the  pro- 
phet Elijah  called  upon  God,  and  be- 
sought him  to  show  his  power  now  for  the 
conviction  of  a  mistaken  and  unbelieving 
people.  While  the  words  were  yet  be- 
tween his  lips,  there  fell  a  fire  from 
heaven,  upon  the  altar,  in  the  sight  of  the 
people,  and  consumed  the  sacrifice,  and 
dried  up  all  the  water  about  the  altar, 
and  in  the  ditch. 

The  Israelites,  upon  this  prodigy,  fell 
prostrate  upon  the  ground,  and  agreed  in 
the  adoration  of  one  Lord;  confessing 
him  to  be  the  great  and  only  true  God, 
and  that  the  rest  were  only  the  vain 
imaginations  of  weak  men. 

The  four  hundred  prophets  were  taken, 
and  put  to  death  by  the  command  of 
Elijah,  who  then  bade  the  king  go  and 
take  refreshment,  for  that  rain  would 
soon  fall  in  abundance,  without  troubling 
himself  any  farther. 

When  the  king  was  gone,  Elijah  went 
up  to  the  top  of  mount  Carmel,|  where 


the  wood  and  consumed  the  sacrifice ;  and  thus  the 
simple  people  were  led  to  believe  that  the  sacrifice 
was  consumed  by  a  miraculous  fire.  Elijah  showed 
that  no  such  knavery  could  be  practised  in  the 
present  case.  Had  there  been  a  concealed  fire 
under  the  altar,  as  in  the  case  mentioned  above, 
the  water  that  was  thrown  on  the  altar  must  have 
extinguished  it  most  effectually.  This  very  pre- 
caution has  for  ever  put  this  miracle  beyond  the 
reach  of  suspicion. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 

\  Mount  Carmel  is  situated  about  ten  miles  to 
the  south  of  Acre  or  Ptolemais,  on  the  shore  of 
the  Mediterranean  sea :  it  is  a  range  of  hills  ex- 
tending six  or  eight  miles  nearly  north  and  south, 
coming  from  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  and  ending 
in  the  promontory  or  cape  which  forms  the  bay  of 
Accho  or  Acre.  It  is  very  rocky,  and  is  composed 
of  a  whitish  stone,  with  flints  imbedded  in  it.  On 
the  east  is  a  fine  plain  watered  by  the  river 
Kishon  ;  and  on  the  west  a  narrower  plain  de- 
scending to  the  sea.  Its  greatest  height  does  not 
exceed  fifteen  hundred  feet.  The  summits  of  this 
mountain  are  said  to  abound  with  oaks,  pines,  and 
other  trees ;  and,  among  brambles,  wild  vines  and 
olive  trees  are  still  to  be  found,  proving  that  in- 
dustry had  formerly  been  employed  on  this  un- 
grateful soil :  nor  is  there  any  deficiency  of  foun- 
tains and  rivulets,  so  grateful  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  East.  There  are  many  caves  in  this  moun- 
tainous range,  particularly  on  the  western  side, 
the  largest  of  which,  called  the  school  of  Elijah,  is 
much  venerated  both  by  Mohammedans  and  Jews. 
On  the  summit,  facing  the  sea,  tradition  says,  that 
the  prophet  stood  when  he  prayed  for  rain,  and 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


393 


he  sat  down  upon  the  ground,  and  laying 
his  head  upon  his  knees,  ordered  his  ser- 
vant to  go  up  to  a  rock  toward  the  sea, 
and  look  about  him  if  he  could  see  a 
cloud.  He  went  up  again  and  again, 
but  still  saw  nothing;  at  last,  after  the 
seventh  time,  looking  about  him,  he  said 
he  saw  something  blackish  in  the  air, 
about  the  size  of  a  man's  hand.*  As 
soon  as  the  prophet  heard  that,  he  sent 
away  immediately  to  Ahab,  to  hasten  to 
the  city,  lest  he  should  be  taken  in  a  very 
great  shower.  The  king  took  his  advice, 
and  the  prophet,  having  girded  up  his  vest, 
ran  before  him;f  and  by  the  time  he  was 


beheld  the  cloud  arise  out  of  the  sea  :  and  on  the 
side  next  the  sea  is  a  cave,  to  which  some  com- 
mentators have  supposed  that  the  prophet  Elijah 
desired  Ahab  to  bring  Baal's  prophets,  when 
celestial  h're  descended  on  his  sacrifice.  Carmel 
appears  to  have  been  the  name,  not  of  the  hill 
only  distinguished  as  Mount  Carmel,  on  the  top 
of  which  the  faithful  prophet  Elijah  offered  sacri- 
fice, hut  also  of  the  whole  district,  which  afforded 
the  richest  pasture:  and  shepherds  with  their 
flocks  are  to  be  seen  on  its  long  grassy  slopes, 
which  at  present  afford  as  rich  a  pasture  ground, 
as  in  the  days  when  Nabal  fed  his  numerous  herds 
on  Carmel.  This  was  the  excellency  of  Carmel 
which  Isaiah  opposes  to  the  barren  desert.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Amos  as  the  habitation  of  the  shep- 
herds. The  expression,  'forest  of  his  Carmel,' 
implies  that  it  abounded  atone  time  with  wood: 
but  its  remoteness,  as  the  border  country  of  Pales- 
tine, and  the  wilderness  characteristic  of  pastoral 
highlands,  rather  than  its  loftiness  or  its  inaccessi- 
bility, must  be  alluded  to  by  the  prophet  Amos 
(ix.  2,  3.) — Home. 

*  In  Abyssinia  the  morning  is  often  clear,  and 
the  sun  shines;  about  nine,  a  small  cloud  appears 
in  the  East,  whirling  violently  round,  as  if  upon 
an  axis  ;  when  arrived  near  the  zenith,  it  first 
abates  its  motion,  then  loses  its  form,  and  extends 
itself  greatly,  and  seems  to  collect  vapours  from 
all  opposite  quarters.  These  clouds,  having  at- 
tained nearly  the  same  height,  rush  against  each 
other  with  great  violence,  and  put  me  always  in 
mind  of  Elijah's  foretelling  rain  on  mount  Carmel; 
violent  rain,  attended  with  thunder,  soon  follows. 
— Bruce. 

f  In  this  country  loose  and  long  garments  were 
in  use  ;  and  therefore,  when  the  people  were 
minded  to  run,  or  to  make  any  great  expedition, 
their  custom  was  to  gird  them  round  their  waist: 
but  why  the  prophet  condescended  to  become,  as 
it  were,  the  king's  running  footman  upon  this 
occasion,  was  to  show  the  world,  that  his  extraor- 
dinary power,  in  working  miracles,  and  the  con- 
quest he  had  thereby  gained  over  his  enemies,  had 
not  made  him  proud  ;  and  to  satisfy  the  king  of 
his  readiness  to  do  him  all  the  honour  imaginable; 


come  to  the  city  of  Jezreel,  the  whole  ait 
was  dark  and  overcast,  and  there  fell  im- 
mediately a  very  heavy  rain. 

When  the  mighty  wonders  that  Elijah 
had  performed,  and  particularly  his  hav- 
ing caused  her  prophets  to  be  slain,  reach- 
ed the  ears  of  the  haughty  Jezebel,  she 
sent  him  threatening  messages,  that  his 
life  should  answer  for  theirs.  Elijah, 
upon  these  menaces,  fled  to  Beersheba, 
which  is  in  the  farthest  part  of  Judea,  and 
there  leaving  his  servant,  went  further 
into  the  wilderness  of  Arabia  Petrsea, 
where  he  laid  himself  down,  as  a  man 
weary  of  life,  and  thus  called  upon  God : 
"  Lord,  I  am  not  better  than  those  that 
are  gone  before  me ;  and  I  find  no  temp- 
tations left  me  to  desire  longer  life." 

Laying  himself  down  under  a  tree,  he 
there  fell  asleep;  but  he  had  not  slept 
long  before  an  angel  awoke  him ;  and 
upon  raising  himself,  he  found  meat  and 
drink  set  before  him,  upon  which  he  fed 
heartily ;  and  in  the  strength  of  that  re- 
freshment, he  went  forward  to  mount 
Horeb,  the  place  where  God  delivered  the 
law  to  Moses.  There  was  a  large  con- 
venient  cave   there,  %  which  he  entered 


that  he  was  far  from  being  his  enemy,  and  only 
desired  he  would  become  the  true  worshipper  of 
God. — In  the  East,  it  is.always  the  practice  of  the 
grandees  to  be  preceded  by  running  footmen, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  chaunt  songs  in  honour  of  their 
master,  or  to  repeat  moral  sentiments  for  his  in- 
struction ;  and  in  proportion  to  the  rank  and 
dignity  of  the  man  of  state  who  is  thus  honoured, 
is  the  quality  of  the  individuals  who  move  in  pro- 
cession before  him.  In  a  progress  made  by  a 
Persian  monarch  through  his  dominions  he  was 
always  preceded  by  multitudes,  who,  on  his  ap- 
proach to  every  town  or  village,  were  joined  by 
the  most  respectable  people  of  the  place,  pro- 
claiming in  loud  and  measured  strains,  the  virtues 
and  princely  qualities  of  the  monarch,  his  victories 
over  his  enemies,  and  the  most  important  deeds 
he  had  done  for  the  benefit  of  his  country.  Ac- 
cording to  the  usual  custom,  Ahab  might  have 
been  honoured  in  like  manner  by  many  hundreds 
of  his  principal  subjects,  who  had  no  doubt  min- 
gled with  the  crowd  that  covered  the  mount  of 
Carmel  to  witness  the  contest  between  Elijah  and 
the  priests  of  Baal. — Patrick  and  Jamieson. 

\  The  cave  or  grotto,  in  which  the  prophet 
found  shelter,  is  yet  pointed  out  by  tradition,  the 
truth  of  which  is  confirmed  by  the  appearance  of 
the  surrounding  scenery.     Tins  cave  is  as  deso- 

3d 


394 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


into,  with  some  thought  of  taking  it  up 
for  his  habitation.  While  he  was  there, 
the  question  was  put  to  him,  how  he  came 
to  leave  the  city,  and  wander  thus  in  the 
desert.  He  heard  the  voice  distinctly, 
but  whence  it  came  he  knew  not.  His 
answer  was,  that  upon  the  killing  of  the 
false  prophets,  and  preaching  the  doctrine 
to  the  people  of  only  one  God,  and  that 
God  only  to  be  worshipped,  the  queen  for 
this  crime  threatened  to  have  him  put  to 
death. 

He  was  commanded  after  this,  by  the 
same  voice,  to  quit  the  cavern  the  next 
day,  and  receive  his  instructions  how  to 
govern  himself  for  the  future. 

The  day  following  he  came  out  from 
his  retreat,  and  immediately  there  was  a 
great  earthquake ;  and  after  the  earth- 
quake, the  appearance  in  the  air  of  a  blaz- 
ing fire,  which  fire  was  followed  with  a 
little  pause  of  silence;  and  after  that,  a 
still  voice,*  bidding  him  fear  nothing,  for 
his  enemies  should  not  prevail  against 
him ;  and  so  commanded  him  back  again, 
by  the   way  of  Damascus,  and  there   to 


late  a  place  of  refuge  as  the  fancy  can  conceive : — 
no  brook  or  pool  is  nigh,  to  quench  the  burning 
thirst  ;  not  a  shrub  grows  on  the  soil,  but  sad  and 
useless  precipices  are  on  every  side.  Every  part 
of  the  way  was  strewed  with  broken  fragments  of 
rocks. —  Came. 

*  Various  are  the  speculations,  which  this  ap- 
pearance of  the  Divine  Majesty  hath  suggested  to 
interpreters.  The  generality  of  them  have  looked 
upon  this  as  a  figure  of  the  gospel  dispensation, 
which  came  not  in  such  a  terrible  manner  as  the 
law  did,  with  storms,  thunders,  lightnings,  and 
earthquakes,  (Exod.  xix.  16.)  but  with  great  lenity 
and  sweetness,  jvherein  God  speaks  to  us  by  his 
Son,  who  makes  use  of  no  other,  but  gentle  argu- 
ments, and  soft  persuasions.  But  if  we  take  this 
to  be  a  symbolical  admonition  to  Elijah,  according 
to  the  circumstances  he  was  then  in,  we  may 
reasonably  suppose,  that  herein  (iod  intended  to 
show  him,  that  though  he  had  all  the  elements 
ready  armed  at  his  command  to  destroy  idolaters, 
if  lie  pleased  to  make  use  of  them,  yet  he  had 
rather  attain  his  end  by  patience,  and  tenderness, 
and  long-suffering,  (signified  by  that  small  still 
voice,  wlierein  the  Deity  exhibited  himself,)  and 
consequently,  that  the  prophet  should  hereby  be 
incited  to  imitate  him,  bridling  that  passionate 
zeal  to  which  his  natural  complexion  did  but  too 
much  incline  him.— Le  Clerc's,  CalmeCs,  and 
Patrick's  Commentaries. 


anoint  Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  and  Jehu, 
the  son  of  Nimshi,  king  over  Israel ;  and 
to  anoint  Elisha  also,  of  Abel-meholah, 
prophet  in  his  room  ;  for  that  God  was 
resolved  to  root  out  all  the  wicked  from 
the  land,  by  the  strokes  of  Divine  justice; 
and  those  that  escaped  the  sword  of  Jehu 
should  fall  by  that  of  Hazael. 

Elijah  returned,  according  to  his  order, 
and  found  Elisha,  the  son  of  Shaphat, 
ploughing,!  with  twelve  yoke  of  oxen.  He 
went  to  him,  and,  casting  his  mantle  over 
him,;}:  Elisha  immediately  began  to  pro- 


f  So  far  was  this  from  being  any  argument  of 
his  poverty,  that  it  was  in  reality  a  token  of  his 
wealth  and  great  riches :  for  he,  who  could  keep 
twelve  yoke  of  oxen  at  plough,  was  in  this  respect 
no  inconsiderable  man,  and  yet,  (according  to  the 
manner  of  these  early  times,)  he  looked  after  his 
own  business  himself;  for  nothing  was  of  greater 
esteem,  not  only  among  the  Hebrews,  but  among 
the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  likewise,  than 
agriculture  ;  and  such  persons  as  were  of  the  best 
quality,  were  called  aumv^yci,  men  '  who  did  their 
work  themselves,'  and  left  not  the  care  of  it  to 
others.  Elisha  therefore  was  taken  from  the 
plough  to  be  a  prophet,  in  like  manner,  as  among 
the  Romans  afterwards,  some  were  taken  from 
thence  to  be  consuls  and  dictators. — Patrick's 
Commentary. 

%  The  plough  of  Elisha  was  halted  that  he 
might  receive  the  prophetic  robe  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor,  a  ceremony  which  has  always  been 
considered  by  Eastern  people  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  consecration  to  the  sacred  office.  It 
is  in  this  way  that  the  Brahmins  are  still  invested 
with  the  priestly  character, — a  yellow  mantle 
being  thrown  across  the  shoulders,  which  is  buckled 
round  the  waist  with  a  sacred  ribbon  ;  and  it  is 
in  this  way  too,  that  the  Persian  sooffees  are  ap- 
pointed. The  master,  in  the  anticipation  of  death, 
selecting  one  of  his  favourite  pupils,  bequeathes 
his  antiquated  garment  to  the  youth,  who  by  that 
act  is  publicly  recognised  as  successor,  and  looked 
upon  as  inheriting,  along  with  the  mantle,  the 
virtues  and  powers  of  his  venerable  precursor. 
The  Suflavean  dynasty,  who  long  occupied  the 
throne  of  Persia,  owed  the  origin  of  their  family 
to  the  reputation  which  the  founder  of  it  enjoyed 
for  sanctity.  That  person,  who  was  universally 
regarded  as  a  holy  man,  was  succeeded  by  his 
grandson,  Juneyd,  who  took  up  his  mantle  after 
the  death  of  his  grandsire,  and  a  crowd  of  disciples 
flocked  to  him,  as  the  heir  of  the  talents  and 
qualifications  of  his  deceased  relative.  It  was 
evidently  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  same 
Asiatic  sentiments  among  the  Israelites,  that  the 
succession  to  the  prophetic  office  was  determined 
by  the  descent  of  his  master's  cloak  afterwards 
upon  Elisha  ;  and  so  well  was  the  action  under- 
stood as  conveying  to  the  servant  the  spirit  and 
authority  of  the  master,  that  he  was  universally 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


S«5 


phesy,  quitted  his  oxen,  and  followed  him, 
only  desiring  to  take  leave  of  his  father 
and  mother  before  he  departed. 

This  was  granted  him ;  and  upon  his 
return  from  his  parents,  he  became  thence- 
forward a  disciple  and  companion  of  Elijah. 

It  happened  that  one  Naboth  of  Jezreel 
had  a  vineyard  near  the  palace  of  Ahab, 
which  lay  contiguous  to  the  king's  grounds. 
Ahab  had  a  great  desire  to  inclose  this 
parcel  of  ground  within  his  own  gardens, 
and  often  solicited  Naboth  to  have  it, 
either  in  exchange  for  some  equivalent  in 
another  place,  or  otherwise  for  a  sum  of 
money. 

Naboth  excused  himself,  by  alleging, 
that  it  being  his  inheritance,  and  in  so 
particular  a  manner  the  gift  of  Providence, 
he  preferred  it  to  any  other  the  king  could 
bestow  upon  him,  and  that  on  any  terms 
he  did  not  wish  to  part  with  it.* 

This  disappointment  of  his  desire,  on 
another  man's  estate,  was  as  grievous  to 
Ahab  as  if  he  had  lost  his  own  ;  insomuch 
that  he  fell  melancholy  upon  it,  refusing 
to  bathe  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do,  and 
neglecting  his  meals. 

acknowledged  as  the  successor  of  that  eminent 
prophet. — Jamieson. 

*  Naboth  was  unwilling  to  part  with  it,  not 
only  because  he  might  have  acquired  that  fondness 
for  the  spot,  which  is  naturally  felt  towards  a  place 
which  one  has  done  much  to  beautify  and  improve, 
hut  because  it  was  his  patrimony,  and  had  long 
been  in  the  possession  of  his  family.  Even  ac- 
cording to  our  ideas,  attachment  to  a  property 
which  has  come  through  a  long  line  of  ancestors 
would  operate  strongly  in  preventing  the  proprie- 
tor from  parting  with  it, — but  this  feeling  exists 
in  a  much  stronger  degree  in  the  breast  of  a  native 
of  the  East  ;  for  there  is  scarcely  a  single  tree  in 
oriental  gardens  that  is  not  associated  with  some 
pleasing  recollections  or  traditions  of  the  family  ; 
one  having  been  planted  at  the  birth  of  one  of  its 
members, — another  having  been  watered,  and 
trained  by  the  hand  of  another  member  of  it, — a 
third  in  memory  of  some  great  domestic  event. 
Indeed,  as  parents  in  the  East  are  in  the  habit  of 
planting  one  or  more  fruit  trees  on  the  birth  of 
every  child, — so  a  large  and  well-cultivated  garden 
is  a  sort  of  register  of  the  various  members — liter- 
ally a  roof-tree  of  the  family  ; — so  that  to  part 
with  a  spot  which  is  not  only  endeared  with  ven- 
erable associations,  but  contains  an  ocular  history 
of  the  family,  is  almost  to  sever  all  connection 
with  one's  hereditary  line,  and  would  be  felt  as 
parting  with  life  itself. 


Jezebel,  upon  this  change,  became  very 
solicitous  and  inquisitive  to  know  the 
cause  of  so  wonderful  an  alteration,  that 
her  husband  should  on  a  sudden  leave  off 
bathing  as  he  used  to  do,  and  forsake  his 
food;  so  that  upon  her  importunity,  he 
told  her  the  story  of  Naboth,  and  how 
contemptuously  he  had  behaved  himself; 
informing  her  farther,  in  these  words,  "  I 
gave  him  the  most  courteous  words,  and 
in  truth  treated  him  even  below  the 
majesty  of  a  king ;  for  which  civility  I 
was  put  off  with  a  flat  denial." 

The  queen,  on  the  other  side,  bade 
him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  give  himself  no 
farther  uneasiness  upon  that  account,  for 
she  would  undertake  to  effect  the  matter 
herself,  and  make  Naboth  severely  suffer 
for  the  affront. 

Upon  this  she  wrote  letters  in  Ahab's 
name  to  the  elders  and  chief  men  of 
Jezreel,  to  this  purpose :  "  That  they 
should  proclaim  a  fast,f  call  an  assembly, 
and  assign  Naboth,  upon  account  of  his 
extraction,  a  place  among  the  principal 
men  of  the  people ;  that  they  should  have 
two  witnesses  ready,  who  should  swear 
any  thing,  to  give  evidence  against  him, 
for  speaking  blasphemy  against  God  and 
the    king; X   upon    which    testimony    he 


f  It  was  always  a  customary  thing,  upon  the 
approach  of  any  great  calamity,  or  the  apprehen- 
sion of  any  national  judgment,  to  proclaim  a  fast  ; 
and  Jezebel  ordered  such  a  fast  to  be  observed  in 
Jezreel,  the  better  to  conceal  her  design  against 
Naboth.  For  by  this  means  she  intimated  to  the 
Jezreelites,  that  they  had  some  accursed  thing 
among  them,  which  was  ready  to  draw  down  the 
vengeance  of  God  upon  their  city  ;  and  that  there- 
fore it  was  their  business  to  inquire  into  all  those 
sins  which  provoked  God  to  anger  against  them, 
and  to  purge  them  out  effectually.  As  therefore 
these  days  of  fasting  were  employed  in  punishing 
offenders,  doing  justice,  and  imploring  God's  p;ir- 
don,  they  gave  the  elders  of  the  city  an  occasion 
to  convene  an  assembly,  and  the  false  witnesses  n 
fair  opportunity  to  accuse  Naboth  before  them. — 
Le  Clerc's  and  Patrick's  Commentaries. 

\  By  the  law  of  Moses  it  was  death  to  blaspheme 
God,  Lev.  xxiv.  IG.  and  by  custom  it  was  death  to 
revile  the  king,  Exod.  xxii.  '28.  Now,  in  order 
to  make  safe  work,  the  evidences  (as  tlvey  were 
instructed)  accused  Naboth  of  both  these  crimes, 
that  the  people  might  be  the  better  satisfied  to  see 
him  stoned.     There  is  this  difference,  however,  to 


39  (i 


HISTORY   OF 


[•I»cktk    V 


should  stand  convL-ted.  and  receive  sen- 
tence to  be  stoned  to  death  by  the  people." 

Every  thing  was  done  according  to  t!ie 
queen's  direction,  and  Naboth  convicted, 
sentenced,  and  stoned  to  death.*  .Je/e- 
"bel  instantly,  upon  the  news  of  this  suc- 
cess, went  to  the  king,  and  told  him,  that 
Naboth's  work  was  now  done,  and  that  he 
might  take  possession  of  the  vineyard 
when  he  pleased,  without  putting  himself 
to  the  expense  of  purchasing  it. 

Ahab  was  so  overjoyed  at  what  Jeze- 
bel told  him,  that  the  first  thing  he  did 
was  to  take  a  journey  to  his  new  purchase 
But  God  sent  Elijah  to  him  in  his  wrath, 
to  charge  him  with  the  murder  of  the 
owner  of  that  vineyard,  and  the  iniquity 
of  his  usurping  the  possession. 

When  Ahab  saw  the  prophet  coming 
toward  him,  he  went  to  him  with  a  volun- 


be  observed  between  these  two  crimes,  that  if  a 
man  had  only  blasphemed  God,  he  was  to  be  tried 
by  the  great  court  at  Jerusalem,  (as  the  Hebrew 
doctors  tell  us,)  and  his  goods  came  to  his  heirs ; 
whereas,  when  a  man  was  executed  for  treason 
against  the  king,  his  estate  went  to  the  exchequer, 
and  was  forfeited  to  him  against  whom  the  offence 
was  committed  :  and  for  this  reason  it  was,  that 
they  accused  Naboth  of  this  crime  likewise,  that 
his  estate  might  be  confiscated,  and  Ahab,  by  that 
means,  get  possession  of  his  vineyard. — Patrick's 
Commentary. 

*  The  manner  of  compassing  Naboth's  destruc- 
tion was  detestable.  It  was  by  the  corruption  of 
a  whole  court  of  judicature,  and  by  subornation 
of  witnesses.  And  so  all  the  magistrates  of  Jez- 
reel,  at  the  instigation  of  Ahab's  wife,  and  to  serve 
her  wicked  purposes,  were  drawn  into  the  horrible 
guilt  of  wilful  perjury  and  deliberate  murder.  It 
was  one  dismal  circumstance  in  this  tragedy,  that 
it  was  acted  under  the  mask  of  religion,  and  with 
high  pretences  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  God. 
It  was  introduced  with  a  fast,  to  implore  the 
Divine  assistance  and  direction  in  the  great  cause 
they  were  entering  upon  ;  and  the  first  article  in 
Naboth's  accusation  was,  that  he  had  blasphemed 
the  great  Majesty  of  heaven.  What  a  mystery  of 
iniquity  is  the  heart  of  man,  where  such  black 
villanies  are  hatched  and  wrapt  up,  and  transacted 
under  the  specious  colours  of  zeal  and  devotion ! 
Hypocrisy  is  odious  in  the  lowest  of  the  human 
race,  but  much  more  in  a  king,  who  punishes  with 
death  the  counterfeiting  of  his  seal,  and  abusing 
of  his  image  and  superscription  to  any  fraudulent 
purpose,  as  being  highly  dishonourable  to  him  ; 
and  yet  is  not  ashamed  to  counterfeit  the  gnat 
seal  ol  heaven,  and  profane  the  most  sacred  things 
of  God,  to  give  authority  to  his  infernal  machina- 
tions.— Reading. 


tan  Coirfi  >sitvi  an  !  a  tender  of  any  satis', 
faction  the  prophet  shotild  require.  T.  is 
he  did  to  prevent  the  other's  taxing  him 
with  the  fact. 

Elijah  told  him,  "  That  where  the  do^s 
licked  the  blood  of  Naboth,  they  shoiil  I 
also  lick  the  blood  of  Ahabf  and  Je/ebr!; 
and  that  his  whole  race  should  be  rooted 
out  for  this  flagitious  cruelty,  in  taking 
away  the  life  of  an  innocent  man  by  ca- 
lumny  and  subornation." 

These  words  of  the  prophet  brought 
Ahab  to  the  sense  of  a  true  and  sincere 
repentance.  He  mortified  himself  in 
sackcloth  and  fasting,  going  bare-foot,  and 
giving  manifestation  of  a  hearty  sorrow 
for  his  sins  ;  so  that  God  sent  the  prophet 
once  again  to  him  with  another  mes>age, 
to  acquaint  him,  that  in  regard  to  his 
penitence  and  humiliation,  the  judgment 
denounced  should  not  be  executed  in  his 
days,  but  should  come  to  pass  in  the  days 
of  his  son. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  siege  of  Samaria  by  Benhadad. — Slaughter 
of  the  Syrians. — Ahab  dismisseth  Benhadad. 
— Is  reproved  by  a  prophet. — Seduced  by 
false  prophets,  and  slain  — Prediction  con- 
cerning the  dogs  licking  up  his  blood  fulfilled. 
— Different  characters  and  i*eigns  of  Jeho- 
shaphat  and  Ahaziah. 

During   these   transactions,   relating   to 
king  Ahab,  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria  and 


\  There  is  a  great  dispute  among  the  learned, 
as  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  prophecy.  At 
first,  it  was  no  doubt  intended  to  be  literally  fid- 
filled,  but  upon  Ahab's  repentance,  (as  we  find 
below,)  the  punishment  was  transferred  from  him 
to  his  son  Jehoram,  in  whom  it  was  actually  ac- 
complished ;  for  itis  'dead  body  was  cast  into 
the  portion  of  the  field  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,' 
for  the  dogs  to  devour,  2  Kings  ix.  25.  Since 
Ahab's  blood  therefore  was  licked  by  dogs,  not  at 
Jezreel,  but  at  Samaria,  it  seems  necessary,  that 
we  should  understand  the  Hebrew  word,  which 
our  translation  renders  '  in  the  place  where,'  not 
as  denoting  the  place,  but  the  manner,  in  which 
the  thing  was  done  ;  and  so  the  sense  of  tiie  pas- 
sage will  be — that  •  as  dogs  licked,  or  in  like  man- 
ner as  do<;s  licked  Naboth's  blood,  even  so  shall 
they  lick  mine,  observe  what  1  say,  even  thine.'— 
Poole's  Annotations. 


Chap  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


397 


Damascus,  levied  a  powerful  army  out  of 
his  whole  kingdom;  and  being  joined  by 
two  and  thirty  confederate  kings,  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  marched  with  this  mighty 
armament  against  Ahab,  who  did  not  think 
it  reasonable,  upon  so  vast  a  disparity  in 
number,  to  venture  a  battle  in  the  field ; 
but  chose  rather  to  draw  his  military  men 
out  of  the  open  country  into  strong  holds 
and  fortified  towns,  and  to  keep  them- 
selves upon  the  defensive. 

He  made  choice  of  Samaria  for  his 
capital,  which  he  resolved  to  make  good, 
especially  as  the  place  was  well  fortified 
by  nature  and  art. 

The  Syrian  brought  his  army  before 
it,  and  began  in  form  to  make  his  attack, 
sending  a  herald  to  Ahab  at  the  same 
time,  for  license  to  despatch  ambassadors 
to  him,  with  instructions  to  propose  what 
he  should  demand. 

So  upon  the  king  of  Israel's  permission 
to  send  ambassadors,  they  came,  and  told 
him  that  their  kind's  command  was,  that 
his  treasure,  his  wives,  and  his  children, 
were  at  Benhadad's  mercy ;  and  that  if 
he  would  acknowledge  as  much,  and  per- 
mit the  other  to  take  what  he  thought  fit 
out  of  them,  he  would  instantly  quit  the 
siege,  and  withdraw  his  army. 

Ahab  sent  the  ambassadors  back,  with 
this  answer,  that  he  himself,  and  all  he 
had,  was  at  their  master's  service. 

The  Syrian,  after  this  demand  and  re- 
turn, sent  yet  another  embassy,  which 
was,  that  upon  sending  his  officers  and 
servants  to  him  next  morning,  they  should 
have  free  liberty  to  search  all  his  own 
lodgings,  with  the  houses  and  apartments 
of  all  his  relations  and  domestics,  and  to 
take  away  with  them  whatever  they  should 
deem  worthy  of  their  acceptance ;  and  as 
for  the  remainder,  Ahab  might  keep  to 
himself. 

This  message  was  by  no  means  dis- 
agreeable to  Ahab,  as  it  afforded  him  a 
very  plausible  pretence  for  calling  a  coun- 
cil, in  order  to  debate  on  measures  neces- 
sary to  be  pursued. 


Accordingly,  when  the  assembly  was 
convened  he  thus  addressed  them:  "I 
have  had  two  proposals  sent  me  from 
Benhadad;  the  former  for  an  acknowledg- 
ment that  myself,  my  wives,  and  children, 
are  all  at  his  mercy;  and  upon  the  terms 
of  such  a  confession,  he  was  to  raise  the 
siege.  Now  all  this  I  yielded  to,  as  I 
would  part  with  any  thing  of  my  own 
interest  for  the  sake  of  the  public  peace, 
and  the  common  good  of  my  people;  but 
they  are  now  come  to  insist  upon  a  gen- 
eral surrender,  out  of  a  mere  captious 
humour,  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  us.  They 
began  at  first  with  my  own  particular  con- 
cerns, out  of  an  opinion  that  self-partiality 
would  cause  me  to  hesitate  on  that  point. 
But  I  am  now  to  deliver  up  my  country 
and  my  people,  which  they  know  I  will 
never  do.  Therefore  there  must  be  a 
war.  I  am  ready  and  resolved  to  act 
solely  according  to  your  counsel  and 
approbation." 

The  council  vehemently  exclaimed 
against  the  insolence  of  this  barbarian,  and 
gave  their  voices  unanimously  for  a  war; 
so  that  the  ambassadors  were  sent  away 
with  this  answer,  "  That  the  king  would 
yet  agree  to  their  first  demands;  but  that, 
for  the  security  and  honour  of  the  citizens, 
he  would  never  consent  to  the  latter." 

Benhadad  was  so  enraged  at  this  an- 
swer, that  he  sent  a  third  embassy  which 
was  much  more  peremptory  and  menacing 
than  the  former:  "Tell  the  king,  that  he., 
values  himself  upon  the  strength  and 
security  of  his  walls;  but  before  he  is 
aware,  I  will  cast  up  works  that  shall  sur- 
mount them ;  and  that  will  be  but  every 
soldier  a  handful  of  earth  to  do  this  busi- 
ness;" intimating  thereby  the  incredible 
number  of  his  people.  To  this  Ahab  re- 
plied, "  That  men  of  honour  were  to 
dispute  with  their  swords,  not  with  their 
tongues." 

Benhadad  happened  to  be  at  supper, 
with  his  two  and  thirty  confederate  kings, 
upon  the  ambassador's  arrival  with  this 
answer;    and    he    gave    orders    the  same 


398 


HISTORY  OF 


[Boor  V. 


moment  for  the  siege,  and  for  prosecuting 
every  measure  that  might  conduce  to  the 
taking  of  the  town. 

Ahab  and  his  party  in  the  mean  time 
were  dispirited  and  hopeless,  till  a  certain 
prophet  came  to  him,  and  dispersed  his 
fears  with  an  assurance  from  God  that  he 
should  prevail  against  that  mighty  army. 
Ahab  was  desirous  to  know  by  what  hands 
this  victory  should  be  obtained.  The 
prophet  on  inquiry,  answered,  "By  the 
sons  of  the  nobility,  and  yourself  at  the 
head  of  them,  to  conduct  them,  and  give 
your  orders."  So  the  king  then  called 
them  together  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty-two;  and  Ahab  hav- 
ing information  that  the  Syrian  was  in 
the  height  of  his  cups  and  luxury,  the 
gates  were  thrown  open  of  a  sudden,  and 
these  young  heroes  made  a  sally.  The 
information  of  this  was  no  sooner  brought 
to  Benhadad  than  he  forthwith  sent  out  a 
party  toward  them  with  orders,  that  whether 
they  came  to  fight  or  to  treat,  they  should 
bring  them  bound  to  him. 

Ahab,  in  the  mean  time,  had  the  rest  of 
his  army  in  readiness  within  the  walls  to 
issue  out  upon  occasion.  These  great 
officers'  sons  first  engaged  with  the  guards, 
killed  a  great  many  of  them,  and  pursued 
the  rest  up  to  their  tents.  When  the 
king  of  Israel  found  that  they  succeeded 
thus  far  so  well,  he  issued  out  with  the 
remainder  of  the  army,  and  furiously 
charging  the  Syrians,  took  them  at  una- 
wares, and  routed  them  without  any  diffi- 
culty, having  only  drunken  men  unarmed 
to  encounter;  so  that  they  were  forced  to 
flee  for  their  lives,  Benhadad  himself 
escaping  with  difficulty,  by  the  swiftness 
of  his  horse. 

They  pursued  them  a  great  way,  slay- 
ing all  whom  they  overtook;  and  then  with 
a  rich  booty  of  gold,  silver,  and  equipages 
that  they  took  in  the  tents,  and  the  very 
chariots  and  horses  of  Benhadad,  they 
marched  back  again  to  the  city. 

The  prophet,  however,  advised  the 
king,  after  all  this,  to  have  an  army  in 


readiness  to  take  the  field  next  spring; 
for  Benhadad  would  give  occasion  for  it. 
So  Ahab  prepared  vigorously  for  it  on 
the  one  hand,  and  Benhadad  called  his 
friends  together  on  the  other,  with  the 
remainder  of  his  broken  army,  to  advise 
how  to  proceed. 

Benhadad's  friends  were  against  his 
fighting  any  more  in  the  mountains;  for 
the  Israelites'  God,  said  they,  was  the 
God  of  the  mountains;*  but  if  they 
had  fought  upon  the  plains,  the  Israelites 
would  have  been  worsted.  They  also 
advised  him  to  discharge  the  confederate 
princes  from  any  further  personal  service 
and  attendance,  but  to  retain  their  troops 
and  supply  them  with  good  officers ;  and 
in  the  mean  time,  their  commanders  might 
be  levying  recruits  of  horse  and  foot  to 
fill  up  their  broken  companies.  The  king 
was  well  pleased  with  this  advice,  and 
applied  himself  to  put  it  into  execution. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  spring,  he 
marched  his  army  against  the  Israelites, 
and  pitched  his  camp  in  a  large  plain,  not 
far  from  the  city  of  Aphek.f     Ahab,  in 


*  That  there  were  many  gods  who  had  each 
their  particular  charge  and  jurisdiction;  that  some 
presided  over  whole  countries,  whilst  others  had 
but  particular  places  under  their  tuition  and 
government  ;  and  were  some  of  them  gods  of  the 
woods,  others  of  the  rivers,  and  others  of  the  moun- 
tains, was  plainly  the  doctrine  of  all  heathen  na- 
tions. Pan  was  reckoned  the  god  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  like  manner,  the  Syrians  might  have  a 
conceit  that  the  God  of  Israel  was  a  god  of  the 
mountains,  because  Canaan,  they  saw,  was  a  moun- 
tainous land  ;  the  Israelites,  they  perceived,  delight- 
ed to  sacrifice  on  high  places;  their  law,  they  might 
have  heard,  was  given  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  ; 
their  temple  stood  upon  a  famous  eminence,  as 
did  Samaria,  where  they  had  so  lately  received  a 
signal  defeat.  For  their  farther  notion  was,  that 
the  gods  of  the  mountains  had  a  power  to  inject  a 
panic  fear  into  an  army  whenever  they  pleased. 
Nay,  that  they  did  not  only  assist  with  their  influ- 
ence, but  actually  engage  themselves  in  battle,  in 
behalf  of  their  favourites,  is  a  sentiment  as  old  as 
Homer,  and  what  Virgil  has  not  forgot  to  imitate. 

f  Apliek,  or  Aphaca,  as  it  is  called  by  profane 
authors,  was  situated  in  Libanns,  upon  the  river 
Adonis,  between  Heliopolis  and  Biblos;  and,  in 
all  probability,  is  the  same  that  Paul  Lucas,  in  his 
'  Voyage  du  Levant,'  speaks  of,  as  swallowed  up  in 
a  lake  of  mount  Libanns,  about  nine  miles  in 
circumference,  wherein   there  are  several  houses, 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


399 


the  mean  time,  advanced  with  his  troops, 
and  drew  up  over-against  him,  though  by 
many  thousands  inferior  to  the  number  of 
the  Syrians. 

While  the  armies  were  drawn  up  oppo- 
site each  other,  the  prophet  came  to  the 
Israelites,  with  an  assurance  from  God 
that  they  should  be  victorious,  and  that 
their  enemies  should  find  the  God  of  the 
mountains  to  be  the  God  of  the  valleys 
also. 

The  armies  continued  for  six  days  in 
the  same  station,  without  moving ;  and 
upon  the  seventh  day  they  advanced  on 
both  sides  in  a  line,  and  joined  battle. 
It  was  maintained  with  great  obstinacy  at 
the  first  onset,  but  when  the  Syrians  found 
that  they  were  not  able  to  stand  the  shock 
any  longer,  they  turned  their  back,  and 
betook  themselves  to  flight,  with  the  Is- 
raelites close  at  their  heels. 

Betwixt  those  that  were  slain  in  the 
pursuit,  and  those  that  perished  in  the 
confusion  of  their  flight,  by  their  own 
chariots  and  by  one  another,  some  being 
torn  to  pieces,  and  others  trampled  to 
death,  the  overthrow  was  very  great. 

Those  that  got  into  Aphek,  the  only 
place  they  had  to  fly  to,  were  not  many, 
considering  so  mighty  a  body  of  men ; 
and  of  them  about  seven  and  twenty 
thousand  were  buried  under  the  ruins  of 
the  walls,*  besides  a  hundred  thousand 
that  were  slain  in  battle. 


all  entire  to  be  seen  under  water.  The  soil  about 
tliis  place  (as  the  ancients  tell  us)  was  very  bitu- 
minous, which  seems  to  confirm  their  opinion, 
who  think,  that  subterraneous  fires  consumed  the 
solid  substance  of  the  earth,  whereon  the  city 
stood,  so  that  it  subsided  and  sunk  at  once,  and  a 
lake  was  soon  formed  in  its  place. —  Calmefs 
Commentary. 

*  We  are  not  to  suppose,  that  this  wall,  or 
castle,  or  fort,  (as  it  may  be  rendered)  fell  upon 
every  individual,  much  less  that  it  killed  every 
man  it  fell  on  :  it  is  sufficient  to  justify  the  ex- 
pression, that  it  fell  upon  the  main  body  of  these 
seven  and  twenty  thousand,  and  that  it  killed 
some,  and  maimed  others,  (for  the  scripture  does 
not  say  that  it  killed  all,)  as  is  usual  in  such  cases. 
Let  us  suppose  then,  that  these  Syrians,  after 
their  defeat  from  the  plains  of  Aphek,  betook 
themselves  to  this  fenced  city,  and,  despairing  of 
any  quarter,  mounted  the  walls,  or  retired  into 


Penhadad,  with  some  of  his  trusty  offi- 
cers and  servants,  got  into  a  cave,  and  hid 
himself,  where  some  of  those  about  him 
extolled  the  natural  humanity  and  good- 
nature of  the  Israelites,  and  advised  their 
master  to  cast  himself  at  Ahab's  feet  for 
mercy,  confident  that,  upon  such  an  ap- 
plication and  submission,  it  would  not  be 
refused  him. 

TLe  king  consented  to  try  the  experi- 
ment; and  thereupon  a  certain  number  of 
his  train  were  immediately  dressed  up  in 
the  habit  of  suppliants  and  captives, 
clothed  in  sackcloth,  with  halters  about 
their  necks,f  according  to  the  custom  of 


some  castle,  with  a  resolution  to  defend  themselves 
to  the  last ;  and  that  the  Israelitish  army,  coming 
upon  them,  plied  the  walls,  or  the  castle,  on  every 
side,  so  warmly  with  their  batteries,  that  down 
they  came  at  once,  and  killing  some,  wounding 
others,  and  making  the  rest  disperse  for  fear,  did 
all  the  execution  that  the  text  intends.'  Thus  we 
may  account  for  this  event  in  a  natural  way  ;  but 
it  is  more  reasonable  to  think,  that  God,  upon 
this  occasion,  wrought  a  miracle;  and,  either  by 
some  sudden  earthquake,  or  some  violent  storm  of 
wind,  overturned  these  walls,  or  this  fortress,  upon 
the  Syrians.  And  indeed,  if  any  time  was  proper 
for  his  almighty  arm  to  interpose,  it  was  at  such  a 
time  as  this,  when  these  blasphemous  people  had 
denied  his  sovereign  power  and  authority  in  the 
government  of  the  world,  and  thereby,  in  some 
measure,  obliged  him,  in  vindication  of  his  own 
honour,  to  give  them  a  full  demonstration  of  it, 
and  to  show,  that  he  was  the  God  of  the  plains 
as  well  as  of  the  mountains;  that  he  could  as 
effectually  destroy  them  in  strong-holds,  as  in  the 
open  field,  and  make  the  very  walls,  wherein  they 
trusted  for  defence,  the  instruments  of  their  ruin. 
— Stachhouse. 

f  These  appear  such  unusual  and  profound 
tokens  of  humility,  that  we  are  led  to  inquire  into 
the  cause  of  so  extraordinary  means  being  resorted 
to,  to  propitiate  the  conqueror;  and  the  slightest 
review  of  the  sacred  narrative  will  show,  that  the 
very  abject  condition  which  the  Syrian  prince 
and  his  nobles  assumed,  was  intended  as  an  ac- 
knowledgment, not  only  of  their  submission  to  the 
king  of  Israel  as  their  liege  lord,  but  of  sorrow  and 
contrition  for  the  insult  they  had  offered  to  Israel's 
God,  and  which  they  considered  as  the  cause  of 
the  irretrievable  ruin  into  which  they  had  fallen. 
That  such  was  the  real  object  of  the  extraordinary 
tokens  of  humiliation,  which  Benhadad  and  his 
followers  displayed,  is  abundantly  evident,  not 
only  from  the  tenor  of  the  sacred  story,  but  from 
many  instances  that  occur  in  the  history  of  the 
East,  of  persons  being  forced  to  acknowledge  their 
offences,  and  coming  to  implore  forgiveness  in  the 
very  same  style  of  profound  submission.  Among 
other  instances,   Thevenot  mentions,  that,  when 


400 


HISTOHY  OP 


[Book  V 


tlie  country  in  such  cases,  and  sent  to 
Ahab,  with  a  commission  to  tell  him  that 
Benhadad  was  his  servant,  and  would  ever 
own  himself  so  to  be;  and  that  they  came 
in  his  name  to  implore  his  grace  toward 
him  for  the  saving  of  his  life. 

Ahab  replied,  "  I  am  glad  he  is  safe  ; 


Bagdad  was  besieged  by  the  Turks  in   1638,  the 
governor  of  the  city  went  to  the  grand  vizier  with 
a  scarf  about  his  neck,  and  his  sword  wreathed  in 
it,  as  a  mark  of  submission,  begging  pardon  and 
mercy.    An  example  of  the  same  kind  is  mention- 
ed by  Sir  John   Malcolm,  as  having  occurred  in 
the  modern    history    of  Persia.       Abdalla,   great 
governor  of  Ammadabat,  had,  by  his  insolent  and 
disloyal  behaviour,  given  the  greatest  provocation 
to  the  king.     Being  at  last,  however,  persuaded  to 
submit,  he  appeared  in  the  royal  presence,  with  a 
sword  swung  from   his  neck,   with  chains  at  his 
heels,  and  barefoot.     "  The    whole  of  which  de- 
meanour," says  the  historian,  "  is  a  mode  of  beg- 
ging clemency  the  most  humble,  and  is  considered, 
by  proud  and  barbarous  men,  the  most  ignomini- 
ous.    It  signifies,  I  approach    you  as  a  criminal, 
and  bring  myself  to  submit  to  whatever  terms  you 
may  impose."     In  the  ancient  history  of  Egypt,  a 
remarkable  instance  is  afforded,  on  occasion  of  the 
horrible  and  perfidious  murder  of  a'herald,  sent  to 
the  people  of  that  country  by  Cambyses,  to  whom 
they  were  tributary.     The  Persian  monarch,  de- 
termined on  ample  revenge,  laid  siege  to  Memphis 
— took  it — and  seized  on  Psammeticus,  the  king 
of  Egypt,  and  the  principal  of  his  nobility,  who 
were   reserved   to  act  a  part  in  one  of  the  most 
doleful  tragedies  that  was  ever  performed.     First 
of  all,  the  king,  habited  in  the  meanest  attire,  was 
placed  in  a  conspicuous  place  to  witness  the  spec- 
tacle.    One  of  the  Egyptian  princesses,  his  daugh- 
ter, was  then  led  forth  in  the  dress  of  a  slave,  with 
a  pitcher  to  fetch  water  from  the  river,  followed 
by  the  daughters  of  all  the  principal  families  in 
Egypt  in  the  same  wretched  garb,  and  with  pit- 
chers in  their  hands;   after  them   were  brought 
forth  the  young  prince  with  2000  of  the  Egyptian 
nobility,  all   with    bridles   in    their   months,  and 
halters  about  their  necks,  led  to  execution,  to  ex- 
piate the  blood  of  the  Persian  envoy  ;  and,  last  of 
all,  Psammeticus  himself,  with  the  same  ensigns  of 
degradation,  his  head  bound  with  ropes,  his  sword 
suspended  from  his  neck,  closed  the  melancholy 

[>roce-ssion.  In  this  instance  the  sad  tokens  of 
inmiliation  were  imposed  on  the  criminals  by  the 
justly  offended  Cambyses,  but  it  shows  the  cere- 
mony in  its  true  light ;  it  affords  a  clear  proof, 
that  in  voluntarily  assuming  those  symbols  of  sub- 
mission, the  fallen  Syrians  were  complying  with 
what  the  customs  of  the  East  have  made  the  ap- 
propriate signs  of  humility  and  penitence,  and 
they  seem  to  have  entertained  the  hope,  that  by 
their  suppliant  tone  and  attitude,  they  would  not 
only  secure  a  mild  treatment  from  the  conqueror, 
but  also  propitiate  the  powerful  Deity,  of  whose 
wrath  they  regarded  all  their  mortifying  defeats, 
as  the  real  and  appalling  effects. — Jamieson. 


and  you  may  assure  him  that  he  shall  be 
as  welcome  to  me  as  if  he  was  my  own 
brother." 

The  messengers,  upon  the  solemnity  of 
a  sacred  oath,  that  no  violence  should  be 
ottered  to  his  person,  went  away  to  their 
master,  and  brought  him  out  to  the  king 
oJ  Israel,  who  was  at  that  time  in  his 
chariot.  As  soon  as  the  prisoner  had 
made  his  obeisance,  Ahab  bowed  himself 
to  receive  him,  taking  him  up  to  him 
with  his  right  hand,  and  kissing  him,  giv- 
ing him  his  faith,  and  also  his  honour,  for 
his  absolute  security  and  freedom. 

Benhadad,  on  the  other  side,  returned 
large  acknowledgments,  with  repeated 
protestations,  that  his  generosity  and 
goodness  should  never  be  forgotten;  and 
in  the  mean  time,  he  would  restore  again 
to  the  Israelites  all  the  cities  and  lands 
that  had  been  taken  from  them,  and  that 
Ahab  should  be  as  free  at  Damascus,  as 
ever  the  other's  father  had  been  at  Sa- 
maria * 


*  The  privilege  which  Benhadad  gave  to  Ahab 
is  thus  expressed  :  '  Thou  shalt  make  streets  for 
thee  in  Damascus  as  my  father  made  in  Samaria.' 
This  extraordinary  privilege  of  making  streets  in 
Damascus,  has  exceedingly  puzzled  commentators. 
Some  of  them  suppose  the  word  houtsoth  signifies 
market-places,  where  commodities  were  sold,  the 
duties  on  which  should  belong  to  Ahab  ;  others 
imagine  he  meant  courts  of  justice,  where  the 
king  of  Israel  should  have  the  prerogative  of  sitting 
in  judgment,  and  exercising  a  jurisdiction  over 
the  Syrians  ;  others  think  they  were  a  sort  of 
piazzas,  of  which  he  should  receive  the  rents  ;  one 
class  of  interpreters  understand  by  the  word  forti- 
fications or  citadels;  another  class  attempt  to 
prove,  that  palaces  are  meant,  which  Ahab  should 
be  permitted  to  build  as  a  proof  of  his  superiority. 
The  privileges,  which  we  know  from  the  faithful 
page  of  history  were  actually  granted  to  the  Vene- 
tians for  their  aid,  by  the  states  of  the  kingdom  of 
Jerusalem,  during  the  captivity  of  Baldwin  II. 
may  perhaps  explain  in  a  more  satisfactory  ma  .- 
ner  these  words  of  Benhadad.  The  instrument 
by  which  these  privileges  were  secured,  is  pre- 
served in  the  history  of  William,  bishop  of  Tyre, 
the  historian  of  the  croisades,  from  which  it  ap- 
pears, they  "were  accustomed  to  assign  churches, 
and  to  give  streets  in  their  towns  and  cities,  with 
very  ample  prerogatives  in  these  streets,  to  the 
foreign  nations  who  lent  them  the  most  effectual 
assistance.  The  Venetians  had  a  street  in  Acre, 
with  full  jurisdiction  in  it;  and  in  what  this  con- 
sisted, we  learn  from  the  deed  of  settlement  just 


Chap.  VI.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Upon  this  they  proceeded  to  the  sign- 
ing and  sealing  of  a  league,  and  the  re- 
ciprocal interchange  of  oaths,  for  the  per- 
formance of  covenants ;  and  Benhadad 
was  dismissed,  not  without  magnificent 
presents. 

After  this  victory  over  the  Syrians,  a 
certain  prophet,  whose  name  was  Micaiah, 
came  to  an  Israelite,  and  bade  him  strike 
him  on  the  head ;  telling  him  at  the  same 
time  that  it  was  God's  will  to  have  it  so; 
but  the  man  refusing  to  do  it,  the  prophet 
told  him  he  should  pay  dear  for  his  dis- 
obedience ;  for  he  should  be  devoured  by 
a  lion. 

This  accordingly  happened;  and  the 
prophet,  with  the  same  words,  went  after- 
wards to  another,  who  immediately  smote 
him  on  the  head,  and  wounded  him 
Upon  this,  he  bound  up  his  head,  and 
went  to  the  king  with  this  story,  that  he 
was  a  soldier,  and  a  certain  officer  had  de- 
livered him  a  prisoner  to  keep,  who  had 
made  his  escape,  and  he  himself  was  now 


401 


mentioned  ;  they  had  a  right  to  have  in  their 
street  an  oven,  a  mill,  a  bath,  weights  and  measures 
for  wine,  oil  and  honey  ;  they  had  also  a  right  to 
judge  causes  among  themselves,  together  with  as 
great  a  jurisdiction  over  all  those  who  dwelt  in 
their  street  of  what  nation  soever  they  might  be, 
as  the  kings  of  Jerusalem  had  over  others.  The 
same  historian  informs  us,  that  the  Genoese  also 
had  a  street  in  that  city,  with  full  jurisdiction  in 
it,  and  a  church  as  a  reward  for  their  services, 
to»ether  with  a  third  part  of  the  dues  of  the  port. 
In  the  treaty  of  peace  granted  by  Bajazet,  em- 
peror of  the  Turks,  to  Emanuel  the  Greek  em- 
peror, it  was  stipulated,  tnat  the  latter  should 
grant  free  liberty  to  the  Turks  to  dwell  together, 
in  one  street  of  Constantinople,  with  the  free 
exercise  of  their  own  religion  and  laws,  under  a 
judge  of  their  own  nation.  This  humiliating  con- 
dition the  Greek  emperor  was  obliged  to  accept ; 
and  a  great  number  of  Turks,  with  their  families, 
were  sent  out  of  Bithynia  to  dwell  in  Constanti- 
nople, where  a  mosque  was  built  for  their  accom- 
modation. It  is  not  improbable,  that  the  same 
kind  of  privileges  that  were  gratited  to  the  Vene- 
tians, the  Genoese,  and  the  Turks,  had  been 
granted  to  the  father  of  Benhadad,  by  the  king  of! 
Israel,  and  were  now  offered  to  Ahab  in  Damas- 
cus, in  the  distressed  state  of  his  affairs.  The 
Syrian  monarch  promised  to  give  his  conqueror  a  i 
Dumber  of  streets  in  his  capital  city,  for  the  use  ofJ( 
bis  subjects,  with  peculiar  rights  and  privileges, 
which  enabled  him  to  exercise  the  same  jurisdic-  j 
lion  there  as  in  his  own  dominions. — Puzlon. 


forced  to  fly  for  it,  for  fear  the  officer  that 
committed  him  to  his  custody  should  put 
him  to  extremities  for  letting-  him  go. 

"Well,"  says  Ahab,  "and  he  would 
serve  you  but  justly."  Upon  which  words 
the  prophet  unbound  his  head,  to  give 
Ahab  to  understand,  that  he  that  told  him 
this  story  was  Micaiah.* 

He  made  use  of  this  artifice  to  fasten 
the  deeper  impression  on  him;  informing 
him  in  the  end,  that  God  would  call  hirn 
to  a  severe  account  for  permitting  the 
impious  and  blasphemous  Benhadad  to  go, 
when  he  had  him  in  his  power;  and  as- 
suring him,  that  the  time  would  come, 
when  this  very  man,  that  he  had  now 
spared,  should  be  the  death  of  himself, 
and  the  destruction  of  his  army.  Ahab 
was  so  incensed  at  this  prophet's  faithfu' 
discharge  of  his  commission  from  the 
Lord,  that  he  ordered  him  to  be  imprison- 
ed. However,  the  prediction  was  at- 
tended with  terrible  apprehensions,  and 
caused  him  to  return  home  in  a  state  of 
despondency. 

During  these  transactions  relative  to 
the  king  of  Israel,  Jehoshaphat,  king  of 
Jerusalem,  a  prince  of  a  very  different 
turn  of  mind  from  that  of  the  former,  had 
not  only  fortified  with  garrisons  all  the 
places  under  his  dominions,  but  likewise 
those  in  the  land  of  Ephraim,  that  his 
grandfather  Abijah  had  taken  from  Jero* 
boam,  the  king  of  the  ten  tribes.  '1  he 
king  never  failed  of  God's  blessing  and 
protection,  in  any  of  his  undertakings, 
for  he  was  a  just  and  pious  man,  and  not 


*  It  is  here  remarkable,  that  this  prophet, 
whose  severe  denunciation  of  a  disobedient  per- 
son's slaughter  by  a  lion  had  lately  come  to  pass, 
was  no  other  than  Micaiah,  the  son  of  Imlah,  who, 
as  he  now  denounced  God's  judgment  on  disobe- 
dient Ahab,  seems  directly  to  have  been  that  very 
propnet  whom  the  same  Ahab,  in  I  Kings  xxii. 
8,  18.,  complains  of  'as  one  whom  he  hated,  be- 
cause he  did  not  prophecy  good  concerning  him, 
but  evil  ;'  and  who,  umlhat  chapter,  openly  re- 
peats his  denunciations*against  him  ;  all  wliich 
came  to  pass  accordingly ;  nor  is  there  any  reason 
to  doubt  but  this  and  the  former  were  the  very 
same  prophet. —  Whiston. 
3  K 


402 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   V 


a  day  passed  in  which  he  neglected  his 
duty  to  God  or  his  people.  The  integrity 
of  his  life  and  manners  gained  him  a  high 
reputation  among  all  the  neighbouring 
kings,  as  appeared  by  the  richness  of  their 
presents,  which  not  a  little  contributed  to 
the  advancing  his  fortune,  as  well  as  his 
fame. 

In  the  third  year  of  his  reign  he  called 
together  the  elders  and  the  priests  that 
were  under  his  jurisdiction,  and  gave  them 
orders  to  have  commissioners  sent  from 
town  to  town,  throughout  the  kingdom, 
to  superintend  the  worship  of  God,  and 
to  see  that  the  laws  of  Moses  might  be 
duly  observed.  This  care  for  the  preser- 
vation of  their  religion  was  so  great  a 
satisfaction  to  all  his  subjects,  that  there 
appeared  a  laudable  emulation  to  excel  in 
the  promoting  of  so  pious  a  design.  The 
neighbouring  princes  also  held  him  in 
such  reverence,  that  they  lived  in  a  good 
understanding  one  with  another,  and  pre- 
served with  him  an  inviolate  peace.  The 
Philistines  paid  their  ordinary  tribute  with 
punctuality,  and  the  Arabians  their  annuity 
of  lambs  and  kids. 

Jehoshaphat  also  fortified  his  great 
towns,  and  kept  in  constant  pay  a  well 
disciplined  army,  to  be  in  readiness  on 
every  occasion.  Of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
there  were  three  hundred  thousand  under 
the  command  of  Adnah,  two  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  under  Jehohanan,  and 
two  hundred  thousand  under  Amaziah; 
and  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  two  hun- 
dred thousand  archers,  under  the  command 
of  Eliada.  There  was  also  another  cap- 
tain, whose  name  was  Jehozabad,  that 
commanded  a  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand men,  armed  with  bucklers,  beside  the 
soldiers  that  were  dispersed  in  towns  and 
garrisons.* 

*  Jehoshaphat  had  a  more  numerous  people, 
and  a  larger  military  force^in  proportion  to  his 
territories,  than  any  of  his  Tnost  powerful  prede- 
cessors. The  whole  amount  of  the  particulars  in- 
deed is  so  very  great,  that  some  have  suspected  a 
mistake  in  tlie  transcribers  ;    Jut,  when  it"  is  con- 


Jehoshaphat  married  his  son  Jehoram 
to  Athaliah  the  daughter  of  Ahab,  king 
of  the  ten  tribes;  and  when  he  had  occa- 
sion to  go  to  Samaria,  he  was  most  mag- 
nificently entertained  by  Ahab,  he  and  all 
his  army,  with  corn,  wine,  flesh,  and  other 
provisions. 

Upon  Ahab's  entreaty  to  join  with  him 
in  a  war  upon  the  king  of  Syria,  for  the 
recovery  of  Ramoth-gilead,  which  had 
been  taken,  and  was  detained  from  him 
by  that  prince,  Jehoshaphat,  having  an 
army  of  his  own  not  inferior  to  the  other, 
promised  him  his  assistance,  and  sent  for 
his  troops  from  Jerusalem  to  Samaria, 
where  both  the  kings  went  out  of  the 
town,  and  each  sitting  upon  his  throne, 
took  a  review  of  their  forces,  and  gave 
their  orders  to  their  several  armies. 

Jehoshaphat,  upon  this  occasion,  was  of 


sidered,  that  the  dominions  of  the  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dah under  Jehoshaphat  were  not  confined  to  the 
narrow  limits  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  only,  but 
reached  into  the  tribes  of  Dan,  Ephraim,  and 
Simeon  ;  into  Arabia,  and  the  country  of  the 
Philistines ;  in  a  word,  from  Beersheba  to  the 
mountains  of  Ephraim  one  ^ay,  and  from  Jordan 
to  the  Mediterranean  sea  the  other  ;  when  it  is 
considered,  that  this  kingdom  received  a  vast  ac- 
cession when  Jeroboam  thrust  out  the  priests  and 
Levites  from  officiating  in  the  service  of  the  Lord, 
and  multitudes  of  other  piously  disposed  persons 
followed  them  from  all  parts  of  Israel,  when  they 
found  that  they  might  be  encouraged  in  worship 
ping  God  at  Jerusalem ;  when  it  is  considered, 
that  this  country  was  exceedingly  well  cultivated, 
flourishing  in  commerce,  abounding  with  foreigners, 
and  what  a  vast  increase  of  inhabitants  in  any  na- 
tion may  be  produced  in  the  space  of  an  hundred 
years,  which  was  the  very  period  from  David  ; 
and  when  it  is  considered  farther,  that  soldiers  in 
these  days  were  not  kept,  like  our  standing  ar- 
mies, in  constant  pay  and  duty  ;  but  only  had 
their  names  set  down  in  the  king's  muster-rolls, 
in  order  to  be  summoned  to  arms  whenever  there 
was  occasion,  and  so  returned  to  their  families, 
and  followed  their  usual  occupations  :  when  all 
tlji3  is  considered,  and  put  together,  I  say,  we 
shall  not  find  the  number  of  twelve  hundred  thou- 
sand fighting  men  (even  though  they  may  include 
six  millions  of  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions) 
to  be  so  very  extravagant ;  especially,  when  it  is 
remembered,  that  the  city  of  Thebes  alone  (as  it 
is  reported  by  Tacitus)  furnished  no  less  than 
seven  hundred  thousand  soldiers  ;  that  in  ancient 
Rome,  there  were  once  between  three  and  four 
millions  of  souls  ;  and  that,  in  Grand  Cairo,  (as 
some  travellers  report)  there  is  an  immense  popu- 
lation.—  Staclihoiise. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


403 


opinion,  if  any  of  the  prophets  were  at 
hand,  to  advise  with  them  concerning 
this  expedition  against  the  Syrians,  whe- 
ther it  were  advisable  to  undertake  a  war 
at  this  time ;  for  there  had  been  three 
years'  peace  betwixt  those  two  kings, 
since  the  Syrian  was  taken  prisoner  and 
set  at  liberty. 

In  consequence  of  the  counsel  of  Je- 
hoshaphat,  Ahab  called  his  prophets  to- 
gether, to  the  number  of  about  four  hun- 
dred, and  ordered  them  to  inquire  whether 
they  should  be  victorious  in  this  war 
against  Benhadad,  and  carry  the  city, 
which  was  the  main  point  in  question. 

The  prophets  were  unanimous  for  the 
war ;  declaring  that  the  Syrian  should  be 
overcome,  and  made  prisoner  as  before. 
Jehoshaphat,  however,  gave  no  credit  to 
their  assertions,  but  suspecting  them  to 
be  false  prophets,  asked  Ahab  what  other 
prophets  there  were,  to  whom  he  might 
have  recourse.  He  informed  him,  that 
there  was  another  indeed,  one  Micaiah, 
the  son  of  Imlah,  but  he  hated  the  man; 
for  he  had  prophesied  ill  success  to  his 
affairs,  and  given  out  that  he  was  to  lose 
his  life  in  this  action  against  the  king  of 
Syria,  so  that  he  had  now  imprisoned  him 
on  that  account 

But  Jehoshaphat  insisting  that  he  should 
be  consulted,  a  eunuch  then  in  waiting 
was  despatched  to  fetch  him.  This  mes- 
senger told  Micaiah,  as  they  were  upon 
the  way  together,  what  the  rest  of  the 
prophets  said,  and  how  they  all  agreed 
that  Ahab  should  be  victorious.  Micaiah 
honestly  replied,  "  I  must  not  prevaricate 
with  him  who  made  me;  but  by  the  grace 
of  God,  what  message  soever  he  shall 
think  fit  to  put  in  my  mouth,  shall  be 
most  faithfully  reported  to  the  king." 

Upon  this  prophet's  arrival,  Ahab  ad- 
jured him  to  speak  the  very  truth,  with- 
out addition  or  diminution.  Upon  which 
the  prophet  thus  declared:  "I  saw  all 
Israel  scattered  and  flying,  and  the  Syri- 
ans pursuing  them,  as  sheep  that  had  no 
shepherd ;   by  which  representation  God 


hath  given  me  to  understand,  that  all  the 
rest  of  the  people  shall  return,  and  Ahab 
alone  shall  fall  in  the  battle  " 

The  king,  upon  these  words,  turning  to 
Jehoshaphat,  inquired  if  he  was  not  con- 
vinced that  this  man  was  his  enemy. 

This  occasioned,  the  prophet  to  add 
farther,  "The  words  that  I  deliver  are  ac- 
cording to  the  express  direction  and  com- 
mand of  God ;  but  you  suffer  yourself  to 
be  flattered  by  your  false  prophets  into 
war,  upon  the  hope  of  victory,  when  you 
yourself  are  to  fall  in  it."  This  firmness 
and  resolution  of  the  prophet  gave  the 
king  much  concern. 

One  of  the  false  prophets,  whose  name 
was  Zedekiah,  stood  forth  upon  this  occa- 
sion, and,  in  contempt  of  Micaiah,  advised 
the  king  "  not  to  give  any  heed  to  what 
that  babbler  said,  as  there  was  not  a  word 
of  truth  in  it;  and  there  needed  no  other 
proof  of  his  being  an  impostor,  than  the 
prediction  of  Elijah,  who  undoubtedly 
saw  further  into  things  to  come  than  he 
did ;  for  he  had  foretold,  l  That  in  the 
place  where  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Na- 
both,  (who  was  stoned  to  death  by  his 
command,)  in  the  field  of  Naboth  dogs 
should  lick  the  king's  blood  also.'  Now 
this  is  a  most  palpable  falsity,  in  contra- 
diction to  the  prediction  of  a  prophet  of 
much  greater  authority  than  himself;  for 
he  will  have  it,  that  within  the  compass 
of  three  days  the  king  is  to  fall  in  the 
battle;  but  it  shall  be  quickly  seen,  by 
what  spirit  this  man  speaks.  I  will  strike 
him  upon  the  ear,  and  let  my  hand  wither 
in  doing  it,  as  Jeroboam's  did  upon  lifting 
up  his  hand  against  Jadon,  when  he  would 
have  had  the  prophet  taken  into  custody, 
if  what  he  delivers  to  you  be  from  heaven. 
I  take  it  for  granted,  that  you  have  heard 
of  the  circumstance." 

Upon  uttering  these  words  he  struck 
the  prophet;  and  Ahab  finding  that  no 
judgment  immediately  ensued,  was  hard- 
ened in  his  resolution  upon  this  war,  by 
a  fatality  that  disposed  him  to  give  more 
credit  to  false  prophets  than  to  true  ones, 


401 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


and  produced  causes  that  might  be  fol- 
lowed with  suitable  events. 

Zedekiah  then  made  him  horns  of  iron, 
and  declared,  that  under  the  figure  of 
these  horns  was  signified  by  God  the 
pushing  and  the  breaking  of  all  Syria. 
Micaiah,  on  the  other  hand,  told  the  false 
prophet,  that  in  a  very  short  time  he 
should  be  called  to  an  account  for  the 
vanity  and  falsity  of  his  pretensions,  and 
be  driven  from  one  hiding-place  to  another, 
to  save  himself. 

Ahab  was  so  exasperated  that  he  ap- 
pointed Amon,  the  governor  of  the  city, 
to  take  him  into  close  custody,  and  feed 
him  with  only  bread  and  water  till  he 
should  return.* 

The  dire  event,  foretold  by  the  faithful 
Micaiah,  now  approaching,  the  two  kings 
advanced  with  their  troops  toward  Ramath, 
and  the  king  of  Syria  hearing  of  it,  went 
out  to  meet  them. 

It  was  agreed  upon  betwixt  them,  that 
Ahab  should  that  day  disguise  himself  in 


*  The  keepers  of  the  prison  anciently  had,  as  in 
the  East  they  still  have,  a  discretionary  power  to 
treat  their  prisoners  just  as  they  please i  nothing 
further  being  required  of  them  than  to  produce 
them  when  called  for.  According  to  the  accurate 
and  observant  traveller,  Chardin,  the  gaoler  is  mas- 
ter, to  do  as  he  pleases  ;  to  treat  his  prisoner  well 
or  ill ;  to  put  him  in  irons  or  not,  to  shut  him  up 
closely,  or  to  hold  him  in  easier  restraint;  to  admit 
persons  to  him,  or  to  suffer  no  one  to  see  him. 
If  the  gaoler  and  hisservants  receive  large  fees,  how- 
ever base  may  be  the  character  of  the  prisoner,  he 
shall  be  lodged  in  the  best  part  of  the  gaoler's  own 
apartment :' and.  on  the  contrary,  if  the  persons, 
who  have  caused  the  prisoner  to  he  confined,  make 
the  gaoler  greater  presents,  he  will  treat  his  victim 
with  the  utmost  inhumanity.  Chardin  illustrates 
this  statement  by  a  narrative  of  the  treatment 
received  by  a  very  great  Armenian  merchant. 
While  he  bribed  the  gaoler,  the  latter  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  lenity;  but  afterwards,  when  the 
adverse  party  presented  a  considerable  sum  of 
money,  first  to  the  judge,  and  afterwards  to  the 
gaoler,  the  hapless  Armenian  first  felt  his  privileges 
retrenched:  he  was  next  closely  confined,  and  then 
was  treated  with  such  inhumanity,  as  not  to  be 
permitted  to  drink  oftener  than  once  in  twenty-four 
hours,  even  during  the  hottest  time  in  the  summer. 
ho  person  was  allowed  to  approach  him  but  the 
servants  of  tlve  prison  :  at  length  he  was  thrown 
into  a  dungeon,  where  he  was  in  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  brought  to  the  point  to  which  all  this  severe 
usage  was  designod  to  force  him. — Horhe. 


a  private  habit,  and  the  king  of  Jerusalem 
appear  in  his  royal  robes,  the  better  to 
evade  the  fate  predicted  by  the  prophet. 
But  the  awful  stroke  reached  the  king, 
notwithstanding  the  artifice  he  employed 
to  evade  it;  for  Benhadad  gave  a  strict 
charge  to  his  officers  and  commanders  to 
fight  neither  with  small  nor  great,  but 
with  the  king  of  Israel. 

The  Syrians,  upon  the  first  push,  see- 
ing Jehoshapliat  at  the  head  of  the  army, 
immediately  pressed  upon  him,  taking 
him  for  Ahab,  but  when  they  found  their 
error,  they  went  off  and  left  him.  They 
kept  the  field  from  morning  till  night, 
the  one  flying,  and  the  other  pursuing, 
but  not  one  drop  of  blood  was  spilled,  the 
Syrians  only  hunting  after  Ahab,  and 
still  not  finding  him ;  but  in  the  end,  one 
of  Benhadad's  domestics  shot  an  arrow 
at  a  venture,  that  struck  the  king  through 
the  joints  of  his  armour  to  his  very  lungs. 
Ahab  was  desirous  to  keep  it  concealed, 
for  fear  of  discouraging  his  men ;  he 
therefore  desired  his  charioteer  to  carry 
him  a  little  distance  from  the  army,  for  he 
was  mortally  wounded.  He,  however, 
kept  his  chariot  till  about  sun-set,  though 
in  great  pain  and  torment,  and  then,  be- 
tween his  agony  and  weakness,  with  the 
loss  of  blood,  he  expired. 

The  night  coming  on,  the  Syrians  with- 
drew to  their  tents ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  informed  by  a  herald  of  Ahab's 
death,  the  camp  broke  up,  and  every 
man  departed  to  his  own  habitation. 

The  king's  body  was  carried  to  Sama- 
ria, and  there  interred ;  and  upon  wash- 
ing the  blood  off  the  chariot  in  a  fountain 
near  at  hand,  the  prediction  of  Elijah  was 
verified;  for  the  dogs  licked  up  the  blood; 
and  the  place  was  afterwards  made  use  of 
for  common  women  to  bathe  in. 

Tli us  died  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  by 
means  of  a  divine  appointment,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  deviation  from  strict  obe- 
dience to  the  divine  command;  finding 
too  late  the  folly  and  weakness  of  relying 
upon  false  and  flattering  prophets,  in  op- 


Chap.  V 


THE  BIBLE. 


405 


position  to  the  declaration  of  those  com- 
missioned rrom  above.  Anaziah  nis  son 
succeeded  him  in  tne  government  of 
Israel.        • 

Upon  Jeliosnaphat's  returning  to  Jeru-  ! 
salem,  after  ms  joining  witti  Ahab  against 
Benhadad,  the  prophet  Jehu  met  him,  and  I 
rebuked  him,  for  espousing  the  quarrel  of 
so  impious  and  flagitious  a  man  as  Ahab. 
lie  told  him  how  highly  he  had  offended 
God  by  making  that  alliance;  but  yet  that 
he  was  graciously  pleased,  as  his  heart 
was  upright  before  him,  to  pass  over  what 
he  had  done  amiss,  and  to  deliver  him  out 
of  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

Upon  this  admonition,  the  king  turned 
himself  to  God  by  prayers  and  sacrifices, 
and  appointed  a  general  visitation  through 
all  his  dominions,  with  orders  for  instruct- 
ing the  people  in  the  laws  of  Moses,  and 
in  the  religion  of  their  forefathers. 

He  also  appointed  magistrates  in  all 
cities  and  great  towns,  giving  them  charge 
to  administer  justice  to  all  men  indifferent- 
ly, to  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  with- 
out any  respect  to  profit,  favour,  or  affec- 
tion ;  and  in  fine,  to  discharge  their  du- 
ties as  in  the  sight  of  the  all-seeing  God 
that  knew  the  very  thoughts  of  their 
hearts. 

Having  thus  settled  the  administration 
of  affairs,  both  civil  and  religious,  in  the 
several  cities  of  the  two  tribes,  he  return- 
ed to  Jerusalem,  where  he  constituted 
judges  from  among  the  most  considera- 
ble of  the  priests  and  Levites,  enjoining 
them  to  do  justice  impartially;  or  if  there 
should  arise  any  controversies  of  more 
weight  than  ordinary,  in  any  of  their 
neighbouring  cities,  that  should  be  brought 
to  them  for  judgment,  they  should  not 
pass  sentence  without  all  possible  delibera- 
tion ;  for  it  would  be  most  scandalous  and 
dishonourable  to  neglect  the  strictest  rules 
of  justice  in  a  city  where  God  had  es- 
tablished his  temple,  and  the  king  his 
palace. 

He  chose  the  chief  magistrates  out 
of  the   number   of  his    own   friends;   as 


Amariah  the  priest,  and  Zebadiab  of  the 
house  of  Judah. 

At  this  time,  the  Moabites  and  Ammon- 
ites made  war  upon  Jehoshaphat,  assisted 
with  a  mighty  army  of  auxiliary  Arabians, 
and  encamped  at  Engedi,  a  city  near  the 
lake  of  Asphaltites,  about  three  hundred 
furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  and  famous  for 
balsam  and  palm-trees. 

When  Jehoshaphat  understood  that  they 
had  passed  the  lake,  and  made  inroads  into 
his  country,  he  was  much  alarmed,  and 
immediately  called  an  assembly  of  state; 
and,  standing  before  the  temple,  he  betook 
himself  to  prayer  for  God's  blessing  upon 
his  arms  against  so  powerful  an  enemy, 
which  was  according  to  the  form  and  prac- 
tice of  his  forefathers,  upon  the  first  erec- 
tion of  that  holy  place;  who,  whenever 
they  found  themselves  in  danger  of  being 
over-run  by  a  foreign  enemy,  caused  all 
the  people  to  meet  in  full  congregation, 
to  implore  God's  assistance  towards  the 
repelling  of  that  violence,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  that  inheritance  which  the 
Lord,  in  his  infinite  bounty,  had  bestowed 
upon  them,  that  their  enemies  sought  to 
take  away  by  force. 

Jehoshaphat  mingled  his  prayers  with 
tears,  and  the  whole  multitude,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  made  their  supplica- 
tions also. 

As  they  were  in  the  fervour  of  their 
devotion,  there  started  up  a  certain  pro- 
phet in  the  midst  of  them,  by  name  Jaha- 
ziel,*  who  declared  to  the  people,  that  God 
had  heard  their  prayers,  and  would  fight 
their  battle,  in  favour  of  the  religion  they 
professed;  and  warned  them,  upon  this, 
to  be  in  readiness  next  day  to  march  to- 
wards their  enemies,  whom  they  should 
find  encamped  betwixt  Jerusalem  and 
Engedi,  at  a  certain  ascent,  known  by  the 

*  This  person  seems  to  have  been  immediately 
inspired  by  God  on  this  occasion,  (for  we  do  not 
read  of  him  as  a  prophet  either  before  or  after,)  to 
comfort  the  people  with  an  assurance  of  their  de- 
liverance :  God  himself  hereby  testifying  how  ac- 
ceptable their  pious  king's  devout  address  had 
been  to  him. 


406 


name  of  Ziz,  (which  in  Hebrew  signifies 
an  eminence;)  he  also  informed  them  far- 
ther, that  they  should  not  need  to  strike 
a  stroke,  but  only  stand  looking  on,  as 
unconcerned  spectators  of  an  action  where- 
in God  would  fight  for  them. 

After  this  declaration,  both  the  king 
•  and  people  fell  prostrate  upon  their  faces, 
gave  thanks,  and  worshipped, — the  Le- 
vites  in  the  mean  while  accompanying 
their  hymns  with  musical  instruments. 

The  king,  early  next  morning,  went 
into  the  desert,  under  the  city  of  Tekoa, 
where  he  admonished  the  multitude  to 
put  their  trust  in  God,  according  to  the 
prediction  of  the  prophet,  and  that  there 
was  no  need  of  ranging  themselves  in  a 
form  of  battle,  only  to  set  the  priests  with 
their  trumpets  in  the  first  line,  and  the 
Levites  with  their  singers,  and  so  move 
cheerfully  forward  with  music  and  thanks- 
giving, as  upon  a  day  of  victory,  or  de- 
liverance from  a  common  enemy. 

They  were  all  highly  satisfied  with  the 
king's  advice,  and  soon  put  it  in  execu- 
tion ;  so  God  struck  the  Ammonites  and 
their  allies  with  such  a  panic  and  conster- 
nation, that  they  fell  upon  one  another, 
and  fought  till  not  one  of  the  army  was 
left  alive. 

When  Jehoshaphat  came  to  take  a  view 
of  the  valley  where  the  enemy  was  en- 
camped, he  found  it  covered  with  dead 
bodies.  Never  was  victory  gained  more 
entire,  or  with  such  ease,  insomuch  that 
Jehoshaphat,  in  a  transport  of  joy  for  so 
unexpected  a  blessing,  gave  his  soldiers 
the  pillage  of  the  camp,  and  the  spoil  of 
the  dead,  which  was  so  prodigious,  that 
they  were  full  three  days  in  carrying  oft' 
their  booty. 

On  the  fourth  day,  all  the  people 
gathered  together  in  a  certain  valley, 
where  they  praised  ana  messed  God  for 
all  the  works  of  his  power  and  mercy ; 
from  which  circumstance  the  place  was 
called  HeruchaK  or  *  the  vaney  of  oless- 
ing/ 

The  V.njr  then  led  his  army  thence  to 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  V. 

Jerusalem,  where  he  passed  several  days 
in  sacrifice  and  feasting.  The  report  of 
this  miraculous  victory  filled  all  foreign 
princes  and  nations,  wherever  it  came, 
with  such  reverence  for  Jehoshaphat, 
that  they  looked  upon  him  as  a  person 
for  whom  God  had  a  particular  kindness, 
and  retained  the  same  opinion  of  him  to 
the  end  of  his  days. 

Nothing  in  the  history  of  Jehoshaphat 
can  more  excite  the  wonder  of  the  pious 
reader,  than  that  a  prince  so  eminent  for 
strict  obedience  to  the  divine  law,  and  the 
peculiar  manifestations  of  the  divine  fa- 
vour, should  still  be  attached  to  the  family 
and  interest  of  Ahab's  race,  so  far  as  to 
join  with  his  son  Ahaziah,  both  in  war  and 
traffic;  for  we  find  that  they  were  jointly 
concerned  in  fitting  out  ships  to  trade 
between  Tarshish  and  Ezion-geber. 

But  the  design  miscarried  to  their  great 
expense  and  detriment;  for  the  vessels 
were  not  adapted  to  those  seas;  so  that, 
whether  through  ill  conduct  or  foul 
weather,  they  were  all  cast  away,  and  the 
project  proved  abortive,  and  was  never 
after  resumed. 

Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel,  had  his  royal 
palace  at  Samaria.  He  was  wicked  and 
profane,  and  altogether  adhered  to  the 
principles  of  his  father  and  mother,  and 
seemed  to  have  had  a  certain  emulation 
to  out-sin  Jeroboam  himself,  the  capital 
seducer  of  Israel. 

Jn  the -second  year  of  his  reign,  the 
king  of  the  Moabites  revolted,  and  abso- 
lutely refused  to  be  any  longer  subject  to 
the  tribute  he  had  formerly  paid  to  his 
father. 

Ahaziah  being  in  danger  of  his  life, 
from  a  fall  from  off  the  battlements  *  into 

*  In  the  Eastern  countries,  as  before  mentioned, 
the  roofs  of  the  houses  were  flat,  and  surrounded 
with  a  battlement  to  prevent  falling  from  them, 
because  it  was  a  customary  tiling  for  people  to 
walk  upon  them  in  order  to  take  the  air.  Now, 
in  this  battlement  we  may  suppose  that  there  were 
some  wooden  lattices  for  people  to  look  through, 
of  equal  height  with  the  parapet-wall,  and  that 
Ahaziah  negligently  leaning  on  it,  as  it  was  rotten 
and  infirm,  it  broke  down,  and  let  him  fall  into  the 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


407 


the  court-yard  of  his  palace,  sent  to  in- 
quire of  Baalzebub,*  the  idol  god  of 
Ekron,  concerning  the  event  of  the  ma- 
lady consequent  on  the  fall. 


court,  or  garden  belonging  to  his  house.  Or  there 
is  another  way  whereby  he  might  fall.  In  these 
flat  roofs  there  was  generally  an  opening,  which 
served  instead  of  a  sky-light  to  the  house  below, 
and  this  opening  might  be  done  over  with  lattice- 
work, which  the  king,  as  he  was  carelessly  walking, 
might  chance  to  step  upon,  and  slip  through.  Nor 
is  there  any  absurdity  in  supposing  such  lattice- 
work in  a  king's  palace,  when  the  world  was  not 
arrived  to  that  height  of  art  and  curiosity  that  we 
find  it  in  now. — Poole  and  Calmet. 

*  The  word  signifies,  the  god  of  flies;  but  how 
this  idol  came  to  obtain  that  name,  it  is  not  so 
easy  a  matter  to  discover.  Several  are  of  opinion, 
that  this  god  was  called  Baal-semin,  the  lord  of 
heaven,  but  that  the  Jews,  by  way  of  contempt, 
gave  it  the  name  of  Baalzebub,  or  the  lord  of  a 
fly,  a  god  that  was  nothing  worth,  or,  as  others 
say,  whose  temple  was  filled  with  flies  ;  whereas 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  notwithstanding  all  the 
sacrifices  that  were  there  daily  offered,  never  once 
had  a  fly  in  it,  as  their  doctors  relate.  The  sacred 
writings,  indeed,  when  they  speak  of  the  gods  of 
the  heathens,  very  frequently  call  them  in  general, 
idols,  vanity,  abominations,  &c.  but  they  never 
change  their  proper  names  into  such  as  are  of  an 
opprobrious  import;  neither  can  we  think  it  likely 
that  the  king  of  Israel  would  have  called  the  god 
of  Ekron,  for  whom  he  had  so  high  a  veneration 
as  to  consult  him  in  his  sickness,  by  any  appella- 
tion of  contempt.  Whoever  considers  what  trou- 
blesome and  destructive  creatures,  especially  in 
some  hot  countries,  flies  are  known  to  be;  in  what 
vast  swarms  they  sometimes  settle,  and  not  only 
devour  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  but  in  many 
places  occasion  a  noisome  pestilence,  may  reason- 
ably suppose  that  the  heathens  had  a  proper  deity, 
to  whom  they  made  their  addresses,  either  for  the 
prevention  or  removal  of  this  sore  plague.  And  ac- 
cordingly we  are  told  by  Pliny,  that,  when  there  was 
a  plague  in  Africa,  occasioned  by  vast  quantities  of 
flies,  after  that  the  people  had  sacrificed  to  the  god 
Achore,  he  should  have  said,  the  god  of  Ekron, 
for  there  is  a  plain  affinity  between  their  names, 
the  flies  all  died,  and  the  distemper  was  extinguish- 
ed. Now,  it  was  a  known  maxim  of  the  heathen 
theology,  that,  as  all  plagues  were  inflicted  by 
some  evil  demon  or  other,  so  all  evil  demons  were 
under  the  restraint  of  some  superior  one,  who  is 
their  prince  and  ruler.  As  therefore  Pluto  was 
known  to  be  the  god  of  hell,  and  to  have  all  the 
mischievous  band  of  spirits  under  his  control ;  to 
him  the  heathen  used  to  pray,  and  offer  sacrifices, 
that  lie  might  not  suffer  any  of  his  inferior  agents 
to  inflict  this  heavy  judgment  upon  them.  They 
worshipped  him,  1  s;iy,  not  to  engage  him  to  do 
them  any  good,  but  to  prevail  with  him  to  do 
them  no  harm  ;  and  accordingly  we  may  observe, 
that  every  thing  in  their  service  was  dark  and 
gloomy.  Their  offerings  were  in  the  night,  their 
victims  were  black,  and  the  blood  let  out  into  a 
deep  ditch.     Such  good  reason  have  we  to  think, 


Upon  this  occasion  the  God  of  Israel 
commanded  the  prophet  Elijah  to  go  im- 
mediately, meet  the  messengers,  and  ask 
them,  whether  the  Israelites  had  not  a 
God  of  their  own?  And  to  remind  them 
that  there  was  no  need  of  consulting  a 
strange  god  in  the  case;  and  therefore 
they  had  best  go  back  to  the  king,  and 
tell  him  that  he  should  not  recover. 

The  messengers  immediately  took  their 
errand  from  Elijah,  and  hasted  with  it 
to  the  king,  who  was  surprised  at  their 
hasty  return.  They  told  him  of  a  man 
they  met,  who  bade  them  go  no  farther, 
but  charged  them  to  return  and  tell  their 
king  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  the  Israel- 
ites, that  his  illness  was  mortal. 

The  king  was  very  earnest  with  them 
to  describe  the  man  ;  so  they  told  him  he 
was  a  hairy  man,  with  a  leathern  girdle 
about  him.  By  this  description  the  king 
presently  concluded  this  person  to  be 
Elijah,  and  despatched  an  officer  with  fifty 
soldiers  to  take  him  into  custody. 

The  commander,  finding  him  upon  the 
top  of  a  hill,  called  him  down  to  go  with 
him  to  the  king,  and  informed  him,  that 
if  he  refused,  he  must  use  compulsive 
measures. 

Elijah  told  him,  that  to  show  him  the 
difference  between  a  true  prophet  and  a 
false  one,  he  would  now  convince  him  by 
a  prodigy,  that  he  was  no  impostor.  "  If 
I  am  a  mart  of  God,"  says  he,  "  let  fire 
come  down  from  heaven,  and  devour  thee 
and  thy  fifty."f 


that  the  Ba;ilzebub,  in  scripture  called  the  'prince 
of  the  devils,'  was  the  very  same  with  the  Pluto 
whom  the  heathens  made  the  god  of  hell,  and 
worshipped  in  this  manner. —  Patrick's  and  Le 
Clerc's  Commentaries,  and  Jurieu  Hist,  des  Dog- 
mes  et  Cult.es. 

f  Some  have  blamed  the  prophet  for  destroying 
these  men,  by  bringing  down  fire  from  heaven 
upon  them.  But  they  do  not  consider  that  it  was 
no  more  possible  for  Elijah  to  bring  down  tire 
from  heaven  than  for  them  to  do  it.  God  alone 
could  send  the  fire;  and  as  he  is  just  and  good,  lie 
would  not  have  destroyed  these  men  had  there  not 
been  a  sufficient  cause  to  justify  the  act.  It  was 
not  to  please  Elijah,  or  to  gratify  any  vindictive 
humour  in  him,  that  God  thus  acted  ;  but  to  show 


408 


HISTORY  OF 


[Rook  V. 


The  prophet  had  no  sooner  put  the 
authenticity  of  his  predictions  to  this  test, 
than  a  fire  descended,  and  consumed  them 
all.  The  tidings  of  this  dreadful  judg- 
ment no  sooner  reached  the  king's  ear, 
than  enraged  he  sent  another  officer,  with 
the  same  number  of  men,  and  upon  the 
same  errand.  The  captain  said  the  same 
things,  used  the  same  menaces,  and  they 
were  all  destroyed  after  the  same  mariner. 
After  this  the  king  sent  a  third  officer 
with  his  party. 

This  messenger  being  a  person  of  a 
mild  disposition,  who  seems  to  have  main- 
tained a  due  respect  for  the  prophet  of 
the  Lord,  addressed  him  in  the  following 
humble  manner:  "I  need  not  tell  you 
that  I  am  under  command ;  that  I  come 
upon  this  errand  unwillingly,  as  they  did 
likewise  who  came  before  me ;  wherefore 
I  beseech  you  be  pleased  out  of  pity  to 
me,  and  my  soldiers  about  me,  to  come 
down  willingly,  and  follow  us  to  the  king." 
Elijah  was  so  much  moved  with  the 
modesty  and  humility  of  this  officer,  that 
he  went  down  and  followed  him.*  When 
they  had  brought  him  into  the  king's  pre- 
sence, the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  him, 
and  he  freely  addressed  the  king  in  these 


his  own  power  and  justice.  No  entreaty  of  Elijah 
could  have  induced  God  to  have  performed  an  act 
that  was  wrong  in  itself.  Elijah,  personally,  had 
no  concern  in  the  business  ;  God  led  him  simply 
to  announce  on  these  occasions  what  he  himself 
had  determined  to  do.  *  If  I  be  a  man  of  God,' 
i.  e.,  as  surely  as  I  am  a  man  of  God,  'fire  shall 
come  down  from  heaven,  and  shall  consume  thee 
and  thy  fifty.'  This  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
original  ;  and  by  it  we  see  that  Elijah's  words 
were  only  declarative,  and  not  imprecatory. — Dr 
A.  Clarke. 

*  This  is  a  great  instance  of  the  prophet's  faith 
and  obedience  to  God,  in  whom  he  trusted,  that 
he  would  deliver  him  from  the  wrath  of  the  king, 
and  the  malice  of  Jezebel.  He  had  ordered,  not 
long  before,  all  the  prophets  of  Baal  to  be  slain  ; 
had  sent  a  very  unwelcome  message  to  the  king; 
and  now  made  a  very  terrible  execution  upon  two 
of  his  captains,  and  their  companies;  so  that  he 
had  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  apprehend  the 
utmost  expressions  of  the  king's  displeasure  :  and 
yet,  when  God  commands  him,  he  makes  no  man- 
ner Df -hesitation,  but  goes  boldly  to  him,  and  con- 
firms with  his  own  mouth  the  ungrateful  truth 
which  lie  had  declared  to  his  messengers. — Pa- 
trick's Commentary. 


words:  "Thussaith  the  Lord,  Since  you 
have  an  opinion  of  me  that  I  am  no  God, 
nor  able  to  foretell  what  will  be  the  issue 
of  your  distemper ;  and  that  you  have 
rather  chosen  to  send  to  the  god  of  the 
people  of  Ekron  for  your  satisfaction, 
know  for  certain  that  it  will  be  your 
death." 

In  some  short  time  this  prophecy  was 
fulfilled,  and  Ahaziah  dying  without  is- 
sue, Jehoram  his  brother  succeeded  to  the 
sceptre  of  Israel.  He  was  equal  to  Ahab 
in  a  vicious  and  irreligious  course  of  life; 
for  he  delivered  himself  up  wholly  to 
strange  gods,  to  the  scandal  and  dishon- 
oui  of  the  religion  of  his  forefathers, 
though  in  other  respects  he  had  genius 
and  capacity  happily  adapted  to  conduct 
the  important  business  of  state. 

About  the  close  of  the  reign  of  this 
prince,  Elijah,  that  faithful  servant  and 
eminent  prophet  of  the  God  of  Israel,  was 
translated  from  the  earth  to  the  regions 
of  bliss  and  glory. 

Whilst  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  dis- 
coursing, there  appeared  a  chariot  of  fire, 
and  horses,  which  separated  them,  and  in 
a  short  time  Elijah  was  caught  in  a  whirl- 
wind from  the  sight  of  Elisha  into  heaven. f 

This  wonderful  exertion  of  Almighty 
power  was  displayed  in  the  presence  of 
Elisha,  in  order  to  strengthen  his  reliance 
on  that  God  who  had  enabled  him  to  per- 
form divine  miracles  in  confirmation  of 
the  truth  of  his  prophetic  mission. 

Jehoram,  now  elevated  to  the  throne  of 
his  brother  Ahaziah,  determined  to  make 
war  upon  Mesha,  king  of  the  Moabites, 
for  refusing  to  pay  the  yearly  tribute  of 
two   hundred    thousand   unshorn    sheep,| 


f  The  enemies  of  revelation  have  not  failed  to 
throw  their  impious  scoffs  on  this  part  of  sacred 
writ,  as  well  as  that  which  speaks  of  the  transla- 
tion of  Enoch  ;  because  the  precise  manner  of  it 
is  not  recounted.  But  such  would  do  well  to  re- 
member, that  many  of  the  operations  of  Omnipo- 
tence are  beyond  the  comprehension  of  finite 
beings,  and  lhat  to  scan  the  practicability  of*  things, 
with  respect  to  that  Divine  attribute,  by  human 
reason,  is  as  absurd  as  it  is  impious. 

t    This  was  a  prodigious  number  indeed  ;  but 


Chap.  VI. ] 


THE. BIBLE. 


409 


which  lie  had  formerly  paid  to  his  father 
Ahab ;  wherefore  he  began  with  levying 
an  army  at  home,  and  after  that  solicited 
the  assistance  of  Jehoshaphat  (upon  the 
account  of  his  having  maintained  an  alli- 
ance with  his  father)  to  join  him.  Je- 
hoshaphat not  only  promised  for  himself, 
but  undertook  likewise  to  engage  the  king 
of  Edom,  having  some  tie  upon  him,  in 
the  party. 

When  Jehoram  came  to  understand  how 
well  he  was  to  be  supported,  he  went 
forthwith  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  was 
splendidly  received  and  entertained  by 
the  king.  Being  there  in  council,  the 
method  of  the  expedition  was  taken  into 
debate,  and  it  was  unanimously  agreed 
for  the  army  to  steer  their  course  through 
the  desert  of  Edom,*  where  the  enemy 
would  be  least  aware  of  the  design.  The 
kings  of  Jerusalem,  Israel,  and  Edom, 
therefore,  put  themselves  upon  their  march, 
according  to  the  resolution  of  the  coun- 
cil;  and  when  they  had  wandered  up  and 
down  for  the  space  of  seven  days,  they 
were  greatly  distressed  for  want  of  water, 
for  man  and   beast,  insomuch   that  both 


then  we  are  to  consider,  that  these  countries 
abound  with  sheep,  insomuch  that  Solomon  offer- 
ed an  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  temple,  2  Chron.  vii.  5.  and  the 
Reubenites  drove  from  the  Hagarites  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand,  1  Chron.  v.  7.  For,  as 
Bochart  observes,  their  sheep  frequently  brought 
forth  two  at  a  time,  and  sometimes  twice  a  year. 
The  same  author  remarks,  that  in  ancient  times, 
when  people's  riches  consisted  in  cattle,  this  was 
the  only  way  of  paying  tribute.  It  is  observed  by 
others  likewise,  that  this  great  number  of  cattle 
was  not  a  tribute  which  the  Moabites  were  obliged 
to  pay  to  the  Israelites  every  year,  but  on  some 
special  occasion  only  ;  upon  the  accession  of  every 
new  king,  for  instance,  when  they  were  obliged  to 
express  their  homage  in  this  manner,  or  to  make 
satisfaction  for  some  damages,  that  the  Israelites 
should  at  any  time  suffer  from  their  invasions,  or 
revolts. — Patrick's  and  Le  Clerc's  Commentaries. 
*  Their  nearest  and  most  direct  way  to  invade 
Moab,  which  lay  over  Jordan,  was  through  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  or  the  south  part  of  the  country 
beyond  Jordan  ;  but  they  fetched  a  compass 
through  the  wilderness  of  Edom,  which  probably 
lay  on  the  southwest  of  the  Salt  sea,  and  so  in- 
vaded Moab  on  those  parts  which  were  most  dis- 
tant from  Israel,  and  on  which,  in  consequence, 
the)  least  expected  to  be  invaded — Dr  Wells. 


their  men  and  cattle  were  upon  the  point 
of  perishing. 

Jehoram  thus  impiously  and  presump- 
tuously expostulated  with  God  upon  that 
awful  occasion  :  "  What  have  these  three 
kings  done,  to  be  delivered  up  captives  to 
the  king  of  the  Moabites,  without  the 
hazard  of  a  battle  ?" 

Jehoshaphat,  on  the  other  hand,  as  be- 
came a  pious  man,  and  according  to  his 
general  practice,  endeavoured  to  appease 
the  vehemence  of  Jehoram,  advising  him 
to  inquire  if  there  were  a  prophet  in  the 
army  to  ask  counsel  of  God  what  was  to 
be  done  under  their  present  circumstances. 
A  servant  within  hearing  told  them  that 
he  had  seen  Elisha  the  son  of  Shaphat 
there,  the  disciple  of  Elisha ;  and  upon 
this  information,  the  three  kings,  at  the 
persuasion  of  Jehoshaphat,  went  and  found 
him  out. 

When  they  came  to  his  tent,  which 
was  at  a  little  distance  from  the  camp, 
they  asked  him  what  would  become  of  the 
army  for  want  of  water;  but  Jehoram 
being  more  importunate  than  the  rest,  the 
prophet  addressing  him,  said,  "You  should 
have  gone  to  your  father's  and  mother's 
prophets  for  satisfaction,  without  troubling 
other  people;  they  would  have  resolved 
you  no  doubt." 

Jehoram  importuned  him  still,  entreat- 
ing and  begging  for  an  answer,  if  it  were 
but  for  saving  the  lives  of  so  many  men 
that  were  ready  to  perish.  Elisha  swore 
solemnly  to  Jehoram,  that  if  it  were  not 
for  the  sake  of  Jehoshaphat,  who  was  a 
good  and  a  pious  man,  he  should  have  had 
no  answer  from  him. 

Upon  this  he  ordered  a  minstrel  to  be 
called,  and  as  he  was  playing,  the  Spirit  of 
God  came  upon  the  prophet,  who  spoke 
to  the  kings  in  this  manner:  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  Make  this  place  full  of  ditches, 
and  you  shall  see  them  all  flowing  with 
water,  without  either  wind  or  rain;  wa- 
ter sufficient  for  yourselves  and  your  cat- 
tle, to  all  manner  of  purposes.  Beside 
this,  God  wiH  bless  you  yet  further,  for 

/v    of  th***;§8^ 
fmrX7Bft5IT7l 


410 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  V 


by  his  grace  and  help  you  shall  overcome 
your  enemies,  and  scatter  them,  and  ruin 
their  fruit  trees,*  lay  their  country  waste, 
and  dam  up  all  their  fountains." 

The  day  after  the  prophet  had  deliver- 
ed this  prediction,  there  came  down  from 
Edom,  three  days'  journey  from  this  place, 
an  impetuous  torrent  upon  a  mighty  fall 
of  rain,  so  that  there  was  no  longer  any 
want  of  drink,  either  for  man  or  beast. 

When  the  king  of  Moab  understood 
that  these  three  kings  were  advancing 
against  him  by  the  way  of  the  wilderness, 
he  mustered  all  his  forces  to  meet  them 
upon  the  borders,  lest  they  might  find  an 
opportunity  of  falling  on  him  by  surprise. 
The  two  armies  were  by  this  time  not  far 
from  the  land  of  Moab,  when  the  rising 
sun  striking  upon  the  torrent,  made  the 
water  look  so  red,  that  the  Moabites  took 
it  for  blood,  vainly  imagining  that  the 
three  kings  had  fallen  upon  one  another 
in  a  rage  for  want  of  water,  and  that  this 
torrent  was  a  stream  of  their  blood. 

In  this  confidence  they  went  to  their 
king  only  for  permission  to  rifle  the  ene- 
my's camp,  taking  it  for  granted  that  it 
was  abandoned.  Upon  their  application 
they  obtained  leave  to  break  in  upon  the 
enemy's  baggage,  and,  confident  of  mak- 
ing a  large  booty,  advanced  without  order, 
and  in  great  haste  towards  the  camp ;  but 
the)  soon  reaped  the  fruits  of  their  rash- 
ness and  vain  boasting  ;  for  being  charged 
on  all  hands  in  the  attempt,  part  of  them 
were  slain,  and  the  rest  so  scattered,  that 
with  much  difficulty  they  escaped  with 
their  lives. 


*  This  practice  cf  cutting  down,  or  plucking 
«ip  by  the  roots,  the  fruit-trees,  was  forbidden, 
even  in  ordinary  wars,  by  the  law  of  Moses,  Deut. 
xx,  19,  20  ;  and  only  allowed  by  God  in  this  par- 
ticular case,  when  the  Moabites  were  to  be  punish- 
ed and  cut  off  in  an  extraordinary  manner  for 
their  wickedness.  See  Jer.  xlviii,  1 1,  12,  18.,  and 
many  the  like  prophecies  against  them.  Nothing 
could  therefore  justify  tiiis  practice  but  a  particu- 
lar commission  from  Hod  by  his  prophet,  as  in  the 
present  case,  which  was  ever  a  sufficient  warrant 
lor  breaking  any  such  ritual  or  ceremonial  law 
whatsoever. 


The  kings,  in  the  mean  time,  made  an 
incursion  into  the  land  of  the  Moabites, 
destroyed  their  towns  and  cities,  drove 
away  all  their  cattle,  and  covered  all  their 
fields  with  the  gravel  of  the  torrent ; 
cut  down  the  best  of  their  trees,  dammed 
up  the  springs  and  fountains,  and  levelled 
their  walls  to  the  ground;  nay,  the  king 
himself  was  forced  to  take  sanctuary  in  a 
town,  where  he  was  afterwards  besieged ; 
and  in  such  danger  was  he  of  losing  it  by 
an  assault,  that  he  attempted  a  sally  with 
seven  hundred  horse  upon  the  enemy's 
weakest  quarter,  to  break  through  their 
body;  but  failing  in  his  attempt,  he  was 
forced  into  the  town  again,  where  he  en- 
tered upon  the  most  horrid  and  barbarous 
action  that  the  uttermost  distress  or  de- 
spair could  bring  a  person  to  perpetrate. 

Mesha  took  his  eldest  son,  the  next  heir 
to  the  government,  and  sacrificed  him  to 
God  upon  the  walls,  in  the  view  of  the 
enemy's   army.f     The    kings,    reflecting 


f  We  are  assured,  not  only  from  scripture,  but 
from  the  testimony  of  several  heathen  writers,  that 
in  cases  of  great  extremity,  it  was  customary  to 
sacrilice  to  their  gods  whatever  was  dear  to  them. 
Caesar,  in  his  Commentaries,  tells  us,  that  when 
the  Gauls  were  afflicted  with  any  grievous  diseases, 
or  apprehensive  of  great  danger,  they  either  offer- 
ed men  for  sacrifices,  or  vowed  that  they  would 
offer  them,  because,  says  he,  "  they  imagined  their 
gods  could  never  be  appeased,  unless  one  man's 
life  was  given  for  another's."  Grotius  is  of 
opinion,  that  this  king  of  Moab,  in  imitation  of 
Abraham,  sacrificed  his  son  to  the  God  of  Israel, 
hoping  thereby  to  appease  his  wrath,  and  to  move 
the  compassion  of  the  kings  that  were  besieging 
him :  and  others  have  held  that  he  offered  this 
costly  sacrifice  to  Chemosh,  which  was  his  national 
god,  and  generally  thought  to  be  the  sun. —  By 
thus  sacrificing  his  son  publicly,  however,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  rather  contemplated  the  terrifying 
of  his  enemies  than  the  appeasing  of  his  god.  In 
a  communication  from  Sir  John  Shore,  afterwards 
Lord  Teignmouth,  the  governor-general  to  the 
society  at  Calcutta,  he  mentions  a  custom  of  the 
Brahmins,  of  sitting  at  a  person's  door,  with  some 
implement  of  suicide  in  their  hands,  and  threaten- 
ing to  kill  themselves,  unless  that  which  they  de- 
mand be  granted  to  them  :  this,  when  their  demand 
is  not  excessive,  is  usually  complied  with,  through 
fear  of  their  self-murder.  After  which  his  excellen- 
cy relates  the  following  history,  as  it  appeared  on  a 
trial  before  the  English  court  of  justice.  It  will 
elucidate  the  otherwise  unaccountable  conduct  of 
Mesha.  "  Beeclmk  and  Adher  were  two  Brah- 
mins,  and    zemindars,   or   proprietors   of  landed 


Chap.  VI.  1 


THE  BIBLE. 


411 


upon  tlie  force  of  an  abandoned  despera- 
tion, together  with  the  vicissitude  of  hu- 
man affairs,  and  considering  if  it  were 
their  own  case,  were  softened  to  such  a 

estates,  the  extent  of  which  did  not  exceed  eight 
acres.  The  village  in  which  they  resided  was  thn 
property  of  many  other  zemindars.  A  dispute, 
which  originated  in  a  competition  for  the  general 
superintendence  of  the  revenue  of  the  village,  had 
long  subsisted  between  the  two  brothers,  and  a 
person  named  Gowry.  The  officer  of  government, 
who  had  conferred  this  charge  upon  the  latter,  was 
intimidated  into  a  revocation  of  it,  (by  the  threats 
of  the  mother  of  Beechuk  and  Adher  to  swallow 
poison)  as  well  as  to  a  transfer  of  the  management 
to  the  two  Brahmins.  By  the  same  means  of  in- 
timidation, he  was  deterred  from  investigating  the 
complaint  of  Gowry,  which  had  been  referred  to  his 
inquiry  by  his  superior  authority.  But  the  imme- 
diate cause  which  instigated  these  two  Brahmins 
to  murder  their  mother,  was,  an  act  of  violence 
said  to  have  been  committed  by  the  emissaries  of 
Gowry,  (with  or  without  his  authority,  and  em- 
ployed by  him  to  a  different  purpose,)  in  entering 
their  house  during  their  absence  at  night,  and 
carrying  off  forty  rupees,  the  property  of  Beechuk 
and  Adher,  from  the  apartments  of  their  women. 
Beechuk  first  returned  to  his  house  ;  where  his 
mother,  his  wife,  and  his  sister-in-law  related  what 
had  happened.  He  immediately  conducted  his 
mother  to  an  adjacent  rivulet,  where  being  joined 
in  the  gray  of  the  morning  by  his  brother  Adher, 
they  called  out  aloud  to  the  people  of  the  village, 
that  although  they  would  overlook  the  assault  as 
an  act  that  could  not  be  remedied,  yet  the  forty 
rupees  must  be  returned.  To  this  exclamation 
no  answer  was  received  ;  nor  is  there  any  certain- 
ty that  it  was  even  heard  by  any  person ;  never- 
theless, Beechuk,  without  any  further  hesitation, 
drew  his  scymetar,  and  at  one  stroke  severed  his 
mother's  head  from  her  body  ;  with  the  professed 
view,  as  entertained  and  avowed  both  by  parent  and 
son,  that  the  mother's  spirit,  excited  by  the  beat- 
ing of  a  large  drum  during  forty  days,  might  for 
ever  haunt,  torment,  and  pursue  to  death,  Gowry 
and  the  others  concerned  with  him.  The  last 
words  which  the  mother  pronounced  were,  that 
1  she  would  blast  the  said  Gowry,  and  those  con- 
cerned with  him.'  The  violence  asserted  to  have 
been  committed  by  the  emissaries  of  Gowry  in 
forcibly  entering  the  female  apartments  of  Beechuk 
and  Adher,  might  be  deemed  an  indignity  of  high 
provocation  ;  but  they  appeared  to  have  consider- 
ed this  outrage  as  of  iess  importance  than  the  loss 
of  the  money,  which  might,  and  would,  have  been 
recovered  with  due  satisfaction  by  application  to 
the  court  of  justice  at  Benares.  The  act  which 
they  perpetrated  had  no  other  sanction  than  what 
was  derived  from  the  local  prejudices  of  the  place 
where  they  resided;  it  was  a  crime  against,  their 
religion  ;  and  the  two  brothers  themselves  quoted 
an  instance  of  a  Brahmin,  who  six  or  seven  years 
before  had  lost  his  caste,  and  all  intercourse  with 
the  other  Brahmins,  for  an  act  of  the  same  nature. 
But   in   truth,    Beechuk    and    Adher,   although 


degree  of  compassion,  that  they  broke  up 
the  siege  upon  it,  and  departed. 

Jehoshaphat  after  this  expedition  reign- 
ed in  peace,  but  did  not  long  enjoy  his 
crown ;  for  he  died  at  Jerusalem  in  the 
sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  twen- 
ty-fifth of  his  reign  :  and  had  in  that  city 
a  most  magnificent  burial,  as  became  the 
imitator  of  David,  the  renowned  monarch 
of  that  state. 


Brahmins,  had  no  knowledge  or  education  suitable 
to  the  high  distinctions  of  their  caste,  of  which 
they  preserved  the  pride  only  ;  being  as  grossly 
ignorant  and  prejudiced  as  the  meanest  peasants 
in  any  part  of  the  world.  They  seemed  surprised 
when  they  heard  the  doom  of  forfeiture  of  caste 
pronounced  against  them  by  a  learned  Pundit,  and 
they  openly  avowed  that  so  far  from  conceiving 
they  had  committed  a  barbarous  crime,  both  they 
and  their  mother  considered  this  act  as  a  vindica- 
tion of  their  honour,  not  liable  to  any  religious 
penalty."  Sir  John  Shore  gives  two  other  in- 
stances of  a  like  nature  ;  one  of  which  is,  the 
murder  of  a  daughter  by  a  Brahmin  who  was  pro- 
voked by  an  adversary.  These  instances  are  all 
of  Brahmins  ;  and  probably  are  not  general  in 
India ;  but  the  idea  connected  with  them  appears 
to  be  of  ancient  date,  and  are  similar  to  the  action 
cf  the  king  of  Moab,  failing  in  his  attempt  to  re- 
jvilse  his  assailants.  If  these  Brahmins  thought 
they  had  such  a  right  over  the  life  of  their  mother, 
with  her  consent,  might  not  the  king  of  Moab 
think  he  had  such  a  right  over  the  life  of  his  son  ? 
who  perhaps  was  hero  enough  voluntarily  to  suffer 
it  (like  the  son  of  Idomeneus,  in  Fenelon's  Tele- 
machus.)  It  is  certain,  that  parental  power  ex- 
tended even  to  the  depriving  a  child  of  life  among 
the  Romans,  the  Gauls,  the  Persians,  and  other 
ancient  nations.  From  whence,  then,  was  the 
'  foaming  rage'  against  Israel  ?  no  doubt  from 
Moab,  thus  deprived  of  her  prince:  but,  probably, 
also  from  Edom,  q.  d.  "These  Israelites,  not  having 
such  customs  among  themselves,  despise  our  in- 
stitutions; they  push  this  king  to  extremities,  and 
call  his  behaviour  superstitious,  profane,  impious; 
whereas  we,  being  aware  of  this  custom,  and  in- 
deed respecting  it,  sympathize  with  the  distressed 
king,  and  hate  those  who  abominate  what  he  is 
doing."  Is  not  this  a  natural  solution  of  the  dif- 
ficulty, whence  was  this  rage  ?  and  why,  and 
wherefore  Israel  returned  disgusted,  as  it  should 
seem,  into  their  own  land  ?  Did  Edom  also  sup- 
pose itself  to  be  haunted  by  the  spirit  of  this  sac- 
rifice, and  feeling  this  terror  flee  to  avoid  it,  at  the 
same  time  cursing  Israel  who  had' brought  it  upon 
tnem  ?  If  this  conjecture  be  applicable,  the  king 
of  Moab  did  not  merely  by  this  sacrifice  implore 
assistance  from  his  gods ;  but  he  took  this  method 
of  terrifying  his  adversaries,  after  his  own  personal 
valour  had  proved  ineffectual  to  deliver  himself 
and  his  country  from  them. — Le  Clerc  and 
Calmet. 


rm 


III*  i'vluf  uf  THE  BIBLE 


BOOK    VI. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JEHOSHAPHAT  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  HEZEKIAH, 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  history  contained  in  this  Book  ex- 
hibits little  else  than  a  series  of  crimes, 
disasters,  divine  benefits  and  divine  judg- 
ments. The  kingdom  of  Israel  presents 
a  long  succession  of  tyrannical  and  profli- 
gate sovereigns,  from  Jehoram  to  Hoshea, 
in  whose  reign  Samaria  was  captured  by 
Shalmaneser  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  ten 
tribes  taken  captive  into  that  country. 
In  the  kingdom  of  Judah  we  meet  with 
some  few  pious  princes,  who  promoted 
the  interests  of  pure  religion  in  the  land, 
but  the  major  part  were  wedded  to  idol- 
atry. During  this  period  numerous  pro- 
phets flourished,  as  Elisha,  Joel,  Amos, 
Jonah,  Hosea,  Micah,  &c.  who  lifted  up 
their  voices  against  the  corruptions  of-  the 
princes,  and  the  profligacy  of  the  people. 
The  prophets,  according  to  Augustine, 
were  the  philosophers,-  divines,  instructors, 
and  guides  of  the  Hebrews  in  piety  and 
virtue.  Those  holy  men  were  the  bul- 
warks of  religion  against  the  impiety  of 
princes,  the  wickedness  of  individuals,  and 
every  kind  of  immorality.  Their  lives, 
persons,  and  discourses  were  alike  in- 
structive and  prophetical.  Raised  up  by 
God  to  be  witnesses  of  his  presence,  and 
living  monuments  of  his  will,  the  events 
that  frequently   happened  to  them  were 


predictions  of  what  was  about  to  befall  the 
Hebrew  nation.  Although  the  prophets 
possessed  great  authority  in  Israel,  and 
were  highly  esteemed  by  pious  sovereigns, 
who  undertook  no  important  affair  with- 
out consulting  them,  yet  their  way  of  life 
was  exceedingly  laborious,  and  they  were 
very  poor,  and  greatly  exposed  to  perse- 
cution and  ill  treatment.  They  generally 
lived  retired  in  some  country  place,  and 
in  colleges  or  communities,  where  they 
and  their  disciples  were  employed  in 
prayer,  in  manual  labour,  and  in  study. 
Their  labour,  however,  was  not  such  as 
required  intense  application,  or  was  incon- 
sistent with  that  freedom  from  secular 
cares  which  their  office  required.  Thus, 
Elisha  quitted  his  plough,  when  Elijah 
called  him  to  the  prophetic  office;  and 
Amos  tells  us  that  he  '  was  no  prophet, 
neither  a  prophet's  son,  but  a  herdsman, 
and  a  gatherer  of  sycomore  fruit.'  The 
pupils  or  sons  of  the  prophets,  who  lived 
under  the  direction  of  Elijah  and  Elislut, 
erected  their  own  dwellings,  for  which 
they  cut  down  the  timber  tliat  was  re- 
quisite. Their  poverty  was  conspicuous 
in  their  whole  life.  The  presents  they 
received  were  only  bread,  fruits,  and 
honey;  and  the  first  fruits  of  the  earth 
were  given  them,  as  being  persons  who 
possessed  nothing  themselves.     Their  re- 


Chap.  1.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


413 


cluse,  abstemious  mode  of  living,  and 
mean  apparel,  sometimes  exposed  them  to 
contempt  among  the  gay  and  courtly:  it 
was,  probably,  the  singular  dress  and  ap- 
pearance of  Elisha  which  occasioned  the 
impious  scoffs  of  the  young  men  at  Bethel. 
But,  in  general,  the  prophets  were  regard- 
ed with  high  esteem  and  veneration  by 
the  wise  and  good,  and  even  by  persons 
of  the  first  rank  in  the  state.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  prophets  were  bound  by 
any  vow  of  celibacy;  for  Samuel  had 
children,  and  the  scriptures  mention  the 
wives  of  Isaiah  and  Hosea.  But  the  pro- 
phets maintained  a  very  guarded  inter- 
course with  the  female  sex,  as  is  evident 
in  the  conduct  of  Elisha  towards  his  be- 
nevolent hostess.  But,  however  they 
might  be  respected  by  pious  monarchs, 
the  prophets  were  frequently  exposed  to 
cruel  treatment  from  wicked  princes, 
whose  impiety  they  reprehended,  and  to 
insults  and  jeers  from  the  people,  whose 
immoral  practices  they  censured  and  con- 
demned; and  many  of  them  were  even 
put  to  violent  deaths.  Yet,  amid  all  these 
persecutions  and  this  injurious  treatment, 
they  despised  dangers,  torments,  and 
death,  and  with  wonderful  intrepidity  at- 
tacked whatever  was  contrary  to  the  law 
and  worship  of  Jehovah,  contemning  secu- 
lar honours,  riches,  and  favours,  with 
astonishing  disinterestedness. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Various  circumstances  attesting  the  mission  of 
the  prophet  Elisha. — Jehoram  is  besieged  by 
Benhadad,  who  raises  the  siege,  and  is  after- 
wards strangled  by  Hazael. — Flagrant  im- 
pieties of  Jehoram. —  The  prophet  Elisha  de- 
nounces dreadful  judgments  against  that  aban- 
doned prince. 

Good  king  Jehoshaphat  was  succeeded, 
according  to  his  own  appointment,  by  Je- 
horam his  eldest  son,  who  bore  the  sane 
name  with  his  mother's  brother  the  king 
of  Israel,  and  the  son  of  Ahab.  He  was 
then  but  newly  returned  to  Samaria  from 


the  war  with  the  Moabites,  and  broug.it 
Elisha  with  him.* 

The  prophet  Elisha,  having  received 
notice  of  a  conspiracy  against  the  life  of 
Jehoram,  and  that  Benhadad  had  treach- 
erously planted  an  ambush  to  surprise 
him,  gave  the  king  intelligence  of  it,  with 
a  caution  to  avoid  a  certain  place,  where 
the  Syrians  had  laid  a  plot  to  insnare  him. 
This  precaution  kept  the  king  from  going 


*  The  holy  scriptures  make  mention  of  several 
memorable  passages  of  that  prophet,  which  we 
shall  account  well  worthy  our  notice  of  in  this  his- 
tory ;  amongst  the  rest  is  the  following.  The 
wife  of  Obadiah,  Ahab's  steward,  applied  herself 
to  Elisha,  and  told  him  that  he  was  no  stranger  to 
the  outrageous  violence  of  Jezebel  against  the  pro- 
phets, and  that  her  husband  concealed  and  pre- 
served a  hundred  of  them  from  destruction,  and 
took  up  money  upon  his  own  credit  to  feed  them 
while  they  were  in  the  cave  ;  but  that  her  husband 
being  now  dead,  the  creditors  threatened  to  make 
slaves  of  her  and  her  children  for  the  debt;  where- 
fore she  entreated  him  for  her  husband's  sake  to 
procure  her  some  present  relief:  upon  this  the 
prophet  asked  her  what  she  had  in  the  house.  She 
replied,  Only  a  little  oil  in  a  cruise.  The  prophet 
then  bade  her  go  borrow  as  many  empty  pots,  or 
vessels,  of  her  neighbours,  as  she  could  get,  and 
keep  her  chamber  door  shut,  and  put  oil  into  all 
those  vessels;  for  God  would  rill  them  all.  The 
widow  did  as  she  was  ordered  ;  and  after  the  dis- 
tributing of  the  oil,  she  came  back  again  to  the 
prophet,  and  gave  him  a  particular  account  of  what 
she  had  done  ;  who  advised  her  to  sell  the  oil,  and 
discharge  the  debts  ;  for  there  would  be  somewhat 
remaining,  after  satisfaction  given  to  the  creditors, 
for  the  relief  of  her  children.  By  this  means  she 
delivered  herself  from  a  troublesome  obligation. 

The  Jewish  law  looked  upon  children  as  the 

proper  goods  of  their  parents,  who  had  power  to 
sell  them  for  seven  years,  as  their  creditors  had  to 
compel  them  to  do  it  in  order  to  pay  their  debts ; 
and  from  the  Jews  this  custom  was  propagated  to 
the  Athenians,  and  from  them  to  the  Romans. 
The  Romans,  indeed,  had  the  most  absolute  con- 
trol over  their  children.  By  the  decree  of  Romulus 
they  could  imprison,  beat,  kiil,  or  sell  them  for 
slaves.  But  Numa  Pompilius  first  moderated  this, 
and  the  emperor  Dioclesian  made  a  law,  that  no 
free  persons  should  be  sold  upon  account  of  debt. 
The  ancient  Athenians  had  the  like  jurisdiction 
over  their  children,  but  Solon  reformed  this  cruel 
custom:  as  indeed  it  seemed  a  little  hard  that  the 
children  of  a  poor  man,  who  have  no  manner  of 
inheritance  left  them,  should  be  compelled  into 
slavery,  in  order  to  pay  their  deceased  father's 
debts  :  and  yet  this  was  the  custom  as  appears 
from  this  passage,  wherein  the  prophet  does  not 
pretend  to  reprove  the  creditor,  but  only  puts  the 
woman  in  a  method  to  pay  him. —  Calmet's  and 
Le  Clercs  Commentaries. 


414 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


a  hunting,  and  disappointed  the  plot. 
But  Benhadad  was  so  enraged  when  he 
found  his  malicious  contrivance  defeated, 
that  he  reviled  his  domestics  as  a  set  of 
traitors,  threatening  them  with  no  less 
than  death  itself,  for  discovering  a  design 
that  no  other  persons  were  privy  to  but 
themselves.  One  of  his  servants  made 
answer,  that  he  need  not  accuse  his  friends 
and  domestics  of  treason,  or  suspect  that 
any  of  the  party  he  had  sent  to  intercept 
the  enemy  had  betrayed  his  counsels, 
while  he  had  Elisha  for  a  spy  upon  him, 
who  was  perpetually  prying  into  his  ways 
and  actions  on  his  master's  behalf,  and 
had  the  faculty  of  diving  into  the  most 
secret  of  his  designs. 

The  king  immediately  sent  his  scouts 
abroad  to  inquire  after  Elisha,  and  learn 
where  he  was;  and  in  a  short  time  word 
was  brought  him  that  he  might  be  found 
at  Dothan.  Upon  this  intelligence  he 
immediately  despatched  horsemen  and  cha- 
riots to  apprehend  him;  who  went  and 
beset  the  town  by  night,  so  that  there 
was  no  possibility  of  coming  in  or  going 
out.  Early  the  next  morning,  a  servant 
of  the  prophet's  ran  trembling  to  his  mas- 
ter, to  acquaint  him  that  the  town  was 
beset  with  a  body  of  the  enemy  that  were 
come  to  apprehend  him;  but  Elisha  bade 
him  be  courageous,  nor  fear  even  an  army, 
and  put  his  trust  and  confidence  in  the 
goodness  and  power  of  an  over-ruling  pro- 
vidence; and  he  prayed  to  God  for  some 
special  token  of  his  presence  and  protec- 
tion, that  might  confirm  his  servant  in  a 
fearless  resignation  to  his  holy  will  and 
pleasure.  The  prophet's  prayers  were 
heard,  and  there  appeared  forthwith,  in 
the  sight  of  the  servant,  a  multitude  of 
horses  and  chariots  round  about  Elisha,  as 
a  guard  upon  his  person.  The  considera- 
tion of  this  succour,  as  the  servant  under- 
stood it  to  be,  put  him  out  of  all  fear  of 
any  further  danger  for  his  master. 

After  this  vision  the  prophet  prayed 
again  that  God  wotdd  cast  a  mist  before 
the  eyes  of  these  people,  and  strike  them 


with  a  blindness,  that  they  might  not 
discern  him  from  another  man.  Upon 
the  granting  of  this  request  also,  Elisha 
cast  himself  into  the  middle  of  their 
troops,  and,  passing  from  one  to  another, 
inquired  for  what  or  for  whom  they 
sought.* 

On  their  informing  him  that  they 
sought  for  Elisha  the  prophet,  he  assured 
them,  that  if  they  would  follow  him,  lie 
would  conduct  them  to  the  place  where 
they  might  apprehend  him. 

Encouraged  by  this  promise,  they  fol- 
lowed him  without  any  scruple,  till  he 
brought  them  into  Samaria. 

Upon  their  entrance  into  the  city,  the 
prophet  bade  Jehoram  cause  the  gates  to 
be  shut,  and  the  Syrians  to  be  surrounded. 

Upon  this  occasion  Elisha  offered  up  a 
third  prayer;  which  was,  that  God  would 
restore  the  Syrians  to  their  sight  again: 
whereupon  their  eyes  were  opened,  and 
to  their  great  astonishment  and  admira- 
tion, they  found  themselves  inclosed  in  an 
enemy's  town,  in  the  hands  and  entirely 
at  the  mercy  of  their  adversaries. 


*  We  are  not  to  imagine,  that  this  blindness 
was  so  total,  that  they  quite  lost  the  use  of  their 
eyes,  but  only  that  it  was  such  a  dimness,  and 
confusion  in  their  sight,  as  hindered  them  from 
distinguishing  one  object  from  another,  the  city  of 
Dothan,  for  instance,  from  the  city  of  Samaria  : 
even,  in  like  manner  as  we  read  of  the  people  of 
Sodom,  that  when  the  angels  '  smote  them  with 
blindness,'  which  they  might  easily  do  by  some 
small  alteration  either  in  their  sight  or  in  the  air, 
1  they  wearied  themselves  to  find  out  Lot's  door.' 
They  saw  the  house,  it  seems,  but  did  not  discern 
the  door,  because  this  sudden  disorder  in  their 
imagination,  might  either  make  the  door  appear  to 
them  like  the  solid  wall,  or  the  solid  wall  like  so 
many  doors.  This  is  no  more  than  what  happens 
to  several  men  in  their  liquor:  that  though  their 
eyes  be  open,  and  can  perceive  the  several  objects 
that  surround  them,  yet  they  cannot  discern  where- 
in they  differ.  And  if  we  may  suppose  that  the 
Syrian  army  was  under  the  like  a^ana,  (as  the 
Greeks  very  happily  term  it)  we  need  no  longer 
wonder  that  they  readily  accepted  of  a  guide,  who 
offered  his  service,  and  bespoke  them  fair,  (whom 
they  might  indeed  take  for  some  deputy  of  the 
town,  with  authority  to  deliver  up  the  prophet  to 
them)  than  that  a  drunkard,  who,  after  a  long  while 
having  lost  his  way,  and  found  himself  bewildered, 
should  be  thankful  to  any  hand  that  would  pro 
mise  to  conduct  him  safe  home. — Stackhouse. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


415 


While  tlie  Syrians  were  involved  in  this 
dilemma,  and  perplexed  concerning  the 
means  of  extricating  themselves,  the  king 
proposed  to  the  prophet  the  putting  of 
them  all  to  death;  which  he  absolutely 
opposed,  as  a  proceeding  incompatible 
with  his  honour  and  justice,  and  only  to 
be  allowed  in  cases  of  battle.  He  also 
observed,  that  those  people  were  guilty  of 
no  act  of  hostility  upon  his  country,  and 
only  brought  thither  by  the  will  and 
power  of  God,  without  any  malicious  in- 
tention, or  so  much  as  the  knowledge  of 
what  they  did;  and  therefore  gave  his 
opinion,  that  it  would  redound  most  to  his 
honour  to  treat  them  with  hospitality  and 
respect,  and  then  leave  them  to  their  dis- 
cretion. Wherefore  Jehoram  took  the 
prophet's  advice,  gave  them  a  splendid 
and  liberal  entertainment,  and  so  sent 
them  back  again  unhurt  and  safe  to  their 
master.* 


*  Though,  according  to  the  rigour  of  the  laws 
of  arms,  a  conqueror  is  at  liberty  to  put  whatever 
enemies  fall  into  his  hands,  if  he  pleases,  to  the 
sword  ;  yet  the  laws  of  humanity  and  compassion, 
of  honour  and  good  nature,  should  always  restrain 
us  from  treating  with  the  utmost  severity,  such  as 
surrender  themselves  and  implore  our  mercy ; 
but,  besides  the  humanity  and  charity  of  the  thing, 
there  was  this  prudence  and  policy  in  the  kind 
treatment  of  the  Syrians,  that,  by  this  means,  their 
hearts  might  be  mollified  towards  the  Israelites, 
that,  upon  their  return,  they  might  become,  as  it 
were,  so  many  preachers  of  the  power  and  great- 
ness of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  not  only  be  afraid 
themselves,  but  dissuade  others  likewise  from  op- 
posing a  people  that  had  so  invincible  a  protector. 
Several  heathens  have  observed,  that  injuries  are 
more  gloriously  overcome  by  benefits,  than  requit- 
ed by  pertinacious  and  mutual  hatred;  but  the 
..ense  of  benefits  in  bad  natures  does  not  last  long: 
for  no  sooner  do  we  read  of  the  kind  treatment 
which  the  Syrians  received,  2  Kings  vi.  23.  but 
it  immediately  follows,  that  the  king  of  Syria 
gathered  all  his  host,  and  went  up  and  besieged 
Samaria;  which  does  not  so  well  agree  with  what 
is  said  in  the  preceding  verse,  viz.  that  the  bands 
of  the  Syrians  came  no  more  into  the  land  of 
Israel.  But  now,  as  we  can  hardly  think,  that 
any  author  whatever  would  contradict  himself  in 
the  same  breath,  so  we  must  suppose,  either  that 
the  Syrians  quite  retreated  for  this  time,  and  laid 
aside  all  thoughts  of  war,  though  afterwards  they 
altered  their  minds,  and  broke  out  again  into 
hostilities  ;  or  (what  seems  more  plain)  that  their 
bands  made  no  more  incursions  and  inroads,  but 
that  they  were  resolved  to  fall  upon  the  Israelites 


At  their  return,  they  gave  the  king 
a  particular  account  of  this  wonderful  ad- 
venture; upon  the  hearing  of  which  his 
conscience  was  struck  with  a  conviction 
that  the  hand  of  God  was  manifestly  in 
this  prodigy,  and  that  what  the  prophet 
delivered  in  the  name  of  God  was  no 
other  than  the  dictate  of  divine  inspira- 
tion. 

After  this  time,  Benhadad  never  enter- 
ed into  any  secret  practice  against  tin.' 
king  of  Israel,  but  resolved  to  make  ope:i 
war  upon  him,  relying  on  his  great 
strength  and  numbers. 

Upon  this  resolution,  Benhadad  mi -el 
a  mighty  army,  and  marched  with  his 
whole  force  against  Jehoram,  who,  finding 
himself  too  weak  to  venture  his  all  upon 
the  event  of  a  field-battle,  kept  himse'f 
within  the  walls  of  Samaria,  where  he 
had  good  works  and  defences.  It  being  a 
strong  place,  Benhadad  was  in  some  doubt 
whether  to  attempt  it  by  assault  or  by 
famine;  however,  siege  was  laid  to  the 
town,  and  the  garrison  reduced  to  so 
miserable  a  scarcity  of  provisions,  that  an 
ass's  head  sold  for  fourscore  pieces  of  sil- 
ver^ and  a  pint  and  a  half  of  pigeon's 
dung  for  five  pieces.:): 

at  once,  with  a  regular  and  formed  army,  and  to 
besiege  Samaria.  For  in  this  sense  Josephus 
takes  it,  when  he  tells  us,  that,  after  this  time, 
■  Adad  (for  so  he  calls  Benhadad)  never  entered 
into  any  underhand  practice  against  the  king  of 
Israel,  but  resolved  to  make  open  war  upon  him, 
in  confidence  of  his  greater  strength  and  numbers.' 
—  Calmefs  Commentary  and  Poole's  Annota- 
tions. 

f  If  we  reckon  these  pieces  of  silver,  or  shekels, 
at  fifteen  pence  a-piece,  they  come  to  five  pounds 
sterling  ;  a  vast  price  for  that  which  had  on  it  so 
little  meat,  and  that  unclean,  according  to  the  law, 
Lev.  xi.  26.  In  times  of  famine,  however,  and 
extreme  necessity,  the  Jews  themselves  were  ab- 
solved from  the  observation  of  the  law ;  nor  do 
there  want  instances  in  history,  where  other  people, 
upon  the  same  occasion,  have  been  reduced  to 
the  like  distress,  if  what  Plutarch  (in  the  life  of 
Artaxerxes)  tells  us,  be  true,  viz.  that,  in  that 
prince's  war  with  the  Caducii,  an  ass's  head  could 
scarce  have  been  purchased  at  the  price  of  sixty 
drachms,  i   e.  two  pounds  and  five  shillings  of  our 

money Calmet's  Commentary  and  Prideauz's 

Connection. 

t  What  we,  in  this  place,  call  pulse,  our  transla- 
tion   lias   rendered  dove's  dung ;  but  interpreters 


416 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   VI. 


In  this  extremity,  nothing  gave  the 
king  so  much  concern  as  an  apprehension 
that  some  person  might  betray  the  place 
to  the  enemy,  under  the  force  and  necessity 
of  an  insupportable  famine;  so  that  he 
every  day  visited  the  walls  and  the  guards, 
took  care  that  no  spies  should  enter  pri- 
vately into  the  town,  and  had  a  vigilant 
eye  upon  all  the  motions  and  practices  of 
the  garrison  and  inhabitants. 

As  the  king  was  attending  his  business, 
there  came  a  woman  crying  to  him  for 
help;  and  Jehoram,  supposing  she  had 
come  to  beg  of  him,  turned  her  off  with 
this  angry  rebuke:  "  I  have  no  barns  nor 
wine-presses;  and  what  have  I  to  supply 
your  wants?" 

The    woman    informing    him    she    did 


have  been  at  a  great  loss  to  devise,  upon  what 
account  the  inhabitants  of  Samaria  should  be 
obliged  to  buy  so  small  a  quantity  of  it  (for  a  cab 
was  the  least  measure  the  Jews  had  for  dry  things) 
at  so  dear  a  rate.  For  food,  for  salt,  for  firing,  for 
dunging  their  lands  within  the  walls,  several  inter- 
preters have  severally  applied  it:  but,  upon  a  small 
examination,  it  will  appear,  that  none  of  these 
uses  could  suit  with  the  circumstances  of  a  city  so 
closely  besieged  as  Samaria  was.  The  Talmudists 
suppose,  that  they  have  found  out  the  true  solu- 
tion, by  translating  the  term  in  the  original,  by 
crop  of  doves;  for  they  affirm,  that  several  people 
in  Samaria  kept  many  doves,  to  bring  them  pro- 
visions from  the  country,  which  were  wont  to 
disgorge  what  they  picked  up,  so  that  their  owners 
might  sell  it  at  a  dear  rate  ;  but  who  can  imagine, 
that  so  great  a  number  of  doves,  as  were  necessary 
for  this  purpose,  should  be  suffered  to  live  in  a 
city  so  pinched  with  famine  ;  that  doves  should  be 
so  docile,  and  well  trained  up,  as  to  bring  to  their 
masters  whatever  they  had  ranged  for;  or,  that  in 
a  country  in  a  manner  covered  with  the  enemy, 
who  had  altogether  foraged  and  laid  it  waste,  there 
should  be  found  any  nourishment  at  all  ?  The 
learned  Bochart  therefore  has  not  only  solidly 
confuted  these  wild  opinions,  but  has  likewise 
farther  observed,  that  the  Arabians  gave  the  name 
of  dove's  dung,  r>  p.  r  T's  Jin*,  .  to  sfvr;  J 
things;  1st.  to  a  *  d  )l  ml-?.  t.:-t  O.ov.  -  on  ,!ec, 
or  stony  ground  ;  and,  2dly,  to  a  sort  of  pease,  or 
pulse,  which  was  very  common  in  Jndea.  as  may 
be  seen  in  2  Sam.  xvii.  28.  and  therefore  he  con- 
cludes, that  the  word  Chersonim  may  very  wen 
denote  vetches,  or  pulse:  and,  fcr  the  confirmation 
of  this,  some  travellers  have  told  us,  that,  at 
Grand  Cairo,  and  Damascus,  there  are  magazines, 
where  they  constantly  fry  this  kind  of  grain,  which 
those  who  go  in  pilgrimage  buy,  and  take  witli 
them,  as  part  of  the  provision  for  their  journey. — 
lliei  oz,  and  Essay  towards  a  New  Translation. 


not  come  to  beg  his  provision,  but  to 
implore  his  justice,  and  desire  that  he 
would  do  her  right  in  a  controversy  be- 
tween her  and  another  woman,  the  king 
asked  her  what  it  was?  and  she  answered 
to  this  effect:  "  A  certain  neighbour  and 
myself,  that  were  ready  to  die  for  want 
of  food,  came  to  an  agreement  between 
ourselves,  having  each  of  us  a  little  male 
child,  to  eat  our  children  by  turns,  merely 
to  preserve  life.  Mine  was  killed  and 
dressed  yesterday,*  and  she  had  her  part 
of  it;  and  now  I  should  have  part  of  her 


*  This  terrible  effect  of  the  divine  vengeance, 
Moses  had  long  before  told  the  Israelites  should 
fall  upon  them,  if  they  rebelled  against  God  ; 
which,  at  two  other  times  besides  this,  namely,  at 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem  under  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  at  that  under  Titus,  came  likewise  to  pass. 
The  horrors  of  the  siege  under  the  Roman  general, 
somewhat  similar  to  this,  but  perhaps  still  more 
aggravated,  are  depicted  in  the  most  lively  colours 
by  the  Jewish  historian  ;  and  especially  the  mis- 
eries of  famine  :  when  "  wives  snatched  the  food 
from  their  husbands,  children  from  their  parents, 
and  what  was  most  lamentable,  mothers  even  from 
the  mouths  of  their  infants  ;  while  they  them- 
selves were  not  allowed  in  quiet  to  devour  the 
prey ;  for  the  seditious  broke  into  any  houses 
which  they  saw  shut,  suspecting  that  provisions 
were  concealed  therein  ;  and  tore  the  morsels 
from  their  very  jaws.  The  old  men  were  beaten, 
while  grasping  the  food  ;  and  the  women  drag- 
ged by  the  hair,  while  hiding  it  in  their  hands. 
There  was  no  pity  for  gray  hairs  nor  infants: 
the  children,  clinging  to  the  pieces  of  food,  were 
lifted  up  and  dashed  against  the  ground."  The 
following  deed  occurred  near  the  end  of  the  siege. 
Mary,  the  daughter  of  Fieazer,  a  woman  of  dis- 
tinguished rank  and  fortune,  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  troubles  had  fled  to  Jerusalem  from  Beth- 
czob,  ihe  place  of  her  residence  beyond  Jordan, 
with  the  relics  of  her  fortune,  and  whatever  stock 
of  provisions  she  could  procure.  But  of  these  she 
was  plundered  every  day  in  the  domiciliary  visits 
of  the  soldiers.  Provoked  at  this,  she  often  en- 
deavoured to  exasperate  the  plunderers  by  re- 
proaches and  imprecations  to  kill  her ;  but  in 
va  i.  3e'iig  red'ct  d  i^  Fug',  to  absolute  want, 
si.  «a.  cKveu  jy  p.tdSiJg  ..  jnger  to  kill  her 
suckling  babe  ;  and  when  she  had  dressed  it,  she 
ate  the  half  of  it,  and  kept  the  remainder  covered 
"•>.  Immediately  the  seditious  came  to  her;  and, 
attracted  by  the  scent*  threatened  to  slay  her  in- 
stantly, unless  she  produced  the  provision  which 
she  had  prepared.  Accordingly  she  uncovered 
what  was  left  of  her  son,  telling  them  that  she  had 
reserved  a  good  share  for  them.  Struck  with  hor- 
ror and  amazement  at  the  spectacle,  they  departed 
trembling,  and  with  reluctance  leit  the  remains  to 
the  wretched  mother. — Dr  Hales. 


Chap.  L] 


THE  BIBLE. 


417 


child,  she  breaks  her  word  with  me,  and 
has  concealed  him." 

Jehoram,  struck  with  grief  and  horror, 
rent  his  garment,  exclaiming,  that  he 
never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  perfectly 
miserable  till  that  instant;  and  all  this 
might  have  been  prevented  by  a  word,  if 
the  prophet  would  have  interceded  with 
God  for  him.  But  that  he  would  take  the 
forfeit  of  his  life  for  it;  and  in  that  heat 
despatched  an  officer  to  cut  off  his  head, 
who  immediately  set  forward  upon  this 
commission. 

The  outrageous  displeasure  of  the  king 
was  no  secret  to  Elisha,  who  told  his  dis- 
ciples, that  Jehoram,  that  son  of  a  mur- 
derer, had  sent  an  officer,  who  was  then 
upon  his  way,  to  take  off  his  head; 
"wherefore,"  addressing  himself  to  them, 
"  do  you  watch  and  observe  him ;  and 
when  he  comes  near  the  house,  be  sure  to 
shut  the  door  upon  him,  and  detain  him 
till  the  king  himself  shall  come  up,  who 
hath  now  changed  his  mind,  and  is  hasten- 
ing after  as  fast  as  possible  to  prevent 
mischief." 

They  watched  as  they  were  directed, 
shut  the  door  upon  the  man  when  he 
came,  and  kept  him  out  till  Jehoram  ap- 
peared himself,  who  made  all  possible 
haste  lest  he  should  be  too  late  to  coun- 
termand the  execution  of  the  order,  and 
to  save  the  prophet's  life. 

When  Jehoram  came  to  him,  he  up- 
braided the  prophet  with  inhumanity,  in 
being  capable  of  beholding  the  extreme 
distress  of  so  many  wretched  persons, 
without  once  interceding  with  God  for 
their  relief.  The  prophet  gave  him  for 
answer  this  promise  and  assurance,  that 
by  the  same  hour  next  day,  Samaria 
should  be  so  abundantly  stored  with  all 
sorts  of  necessaries  of  life,  that  a  measure 
of  fine  flour  should  be  sold  publicly  in  the 
market  for  one  shekel,  and  two  measures* 
of  barley  at  the  same  rate. 

*  The  word  seah,  which  we  render  a  measure, 
was  equal  10  six  cabs,  and  contained  as  some  think 
six  quarts,  as  others,  a  peck,  and  as  others,  a  peck 


The  king  and  the  court  made  no  doubt 
of  the  truth  of  his  predictions,  having  had 
so  many  proofs  of  their  authority  and 
credit;  so  that  they  comforted  themselves 
upon  the  presage,  as  if  it  had  been  a  thing 
already  accomplished,  and  made  their  pre- 
sent difficulties  easy  by  the  hope  of  what 
was  to  come;  but  a  certain  favourite  of- 
ficer of  the  king,  who  commanded  a  third 
part  of  the  army,  thus  ludicrously  address- 
ed the  prophet,  as  the  king  was  leaning 
upon  him  in  a  familiar  way :  "  Elisha,  we 
may  as  well  believe  that  it  shall  rain  flour 
and  barley  from  heaven,  as  what  you  have 
now  foretold;  for  it  seems  to  me  incre- 
dible, even  to  a  degree  of  impossibility." 

The  prophet  replied,  "  Make  no  ques- 
tion of  it;  for  you  shall  see  it.  But  you 
shall  only  see  it,  without  enjoying  .it;" 
which  prediction  was  made  good. 

It  was  a  custom  among  the  Samaritans, 
that  no  leprous  person  should  be  suffered 
to  live  within  the  walls  of  the  city;  and  at 
this  time  there  were  four  lepers,  f  who  had 
their  habitations  without  the  gates. 

The  famine  in  the  city  was  so  extreme, 


and  two  quarts  of  our  measure.  The  shekel  was 
much  about  our  three  shillings  ;  and  to  have  a 
peck  of  fine  flour  for  three  shillings  at  other  times 
would  not  have  been  so  cheap,  but,  considering 
the  present  situation  of  things,  it  was  wonderlully 
so. — Le  Clerc's  Commentary,  and  Poole's  Anno- 
tations. 

t  The  Jews  are  of  opinion  that  these  four 
lepers  were  Gehazi,  and  three  of  his  sons.  Per- 
sons that  were  leprous  indeed,  were  not  permitted 
to  converse  with  other  men,  and,  by  the  law  of 
Moses,  while  the  Israelites  lived  in  tents,  they 
were  to  be  turned  out  of  the  camp,  Numb.  v.  2,  3. 
But,  after  they  came  to  inhabit  cities,  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  they  treated  them  with 
that  rigour;  since,  in  2  Kings  viii.  4.  we  find 
Gehazi  holding  discourse  with  the  king,  (which 
makes  against  his  being  one  of  the  four  excluded 
lepers)  and  giving  him  a  detail  of  all  Elisha's 
miracles  ;  but  this  he  might  do  by  talking  to  him 
at  a  proper  distance.  Lepers,  indeed,  were  care- 
fully avoided,  because  their  distemper,  in  these  hot 
countries,  was  thought  contagious ;  but,  in  the 
case  before  us,  these  four  seem  to  be  excluded, 
not  so  much  upon  the  account  of  their  distemper, 
as  because  they  were  useless  hands.  They  could 
neither  right  nor  work  in  communion  with  others: 
they  were  only  fruges  consumere  nati,  and  were 
therefore  no  proper  persons  in  a  siege. — Patrick's 
and  Caimet's  Commentaries. 
3  G 


418 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


that  there  was  no  provision  to  be  expected 
from  thence ;  so  thet  whether  they  went 
back  into  the  town,  or  staid  where  they 
were,  they  had  certain  death  before  them. 

Upon  this  deliberation  they  took  a  re- 
solution of  casting  themselves  upon  the 
enemy.  If  they  spared  them  they  should 
live;  or  if  they  put  them  to  death,  it  would 
be  a  gentler  way  of  despatch.  They  all 
agreed  in  this  proposal,  as  the  best  expe- 
dient they  could  pursue,  and  so  slip  away 
by  night  into  the  enemy's  camp. 

At  this  critical  moment  it  pleased  God 
to  possess  the  Syrians  with  a  panic,  upon 
the  imaginary  noise  of  horses  and  armed 
men  breaking  in  upon  them;  and  with 
strength  of  this  apprehension,  they  all  ran 
in  a  great  consternation  to  Benhadad,  and 
told  him  that  Jehoram's  confederate  kings 
of  Egypt  and  of  the  islands,  were  just  at 
hand,  and  within  hearing  of  the  march  of 
the  army.  He  gave  the  more  credit  to 
the  delusion  as  he  himself  laboured  under 
the  same  false  imagination;  so  that  in  this 
consternation  the  whole  army  dispersed, 
and  every  man  betook  himself  to  flight, 
leaving  their  horses,  carriages,  baggage, 
and  their  whole  treasure  in  the  camp. 

When  the  lepers  approached  the  camp 
of  the  Syrians,  they  heard  not  the  least 
stir;  and  advancing  still  farther,  found 
great  plenty  of  riches  and  provisions,  but 
the  place  deserted;  so  that  having  eat  and 
drank,  they  carried  off  much  valuable 
plunder  without  being  discovered  by  the 
enemy. 

They  loaded  themselves  repeatedly,  and 
buried  their  treasures  in  a  hole  they  dug  for 
that  purpose  without  the  camp.  And  as 
they  might  now  reasonably  conclude  the 
enemy  was  drawn  off,  they  blamed  them- 
selves for  not  giving  Jehoram  and  the 
citizens  notice  of  their  desertion;  where- 
fore they  hastened  back  to  Samaria,  and 
called  aloud  to  the  watchmen  upon  the 
walls,  that  the  enemy  had  totally  aban- 
doned their  camp;  and,  upon  this  intelli- 
gence being  instantly  conveyed  to  the 
king's  guards,  Jehoram  called  a  council  of 


his  friends  and  officers,  and  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  it  was  a  stratagem  to  draw  his 
people  into  an  ambush;*  at  the  same  time 
observing,  "  they  might  perhaps  despair 
of  starving  us,  and  therefore  have  recourse 
to  this  invention  to  surprise  us;  and  if 
they  should  but  draw  us  out  to  take  pos- 


*  In  the  history  of  the  revolt  of  Ali  Bey  we 
have  an  account  of  a  transaction  very  similar  to 
the  stratagem  supposed  to  have  been  practised  by 
the  Syrians.  The  pasha  of  Damascus  having 
approached  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  found  sheik  Daher 
encamped  there ;  but  the  sheik  deferring  the 
engagement  till  the  next  morning,  during  the 
night  divided  his  army  into  three  parts,  and  left 
the  camp  with  great  fires  blazing,  all  sorts  of  pro- 
visions, and  a  large  quantity  of  spirituous  liquors, 
giving  strict  orders  not  to  hinder  the  enemy  from 
taking  possession  of  the  camp,  but  to  come  down 
and  attack  just  before  the  dawn  of  day.  In  the 
middle  of  the  night,  the  pasha  thought  to  surprise 
sheik  Daher,  and  marched  in  silence  to  the  camp, 
which,  to  his  great  astonishment,  he  found  entirely 
abandoned ;  and  imagiued  the  sheik  had  fled  with 
so  much  precipitation,  that  he  could  not  carry  off 
the  baggage  and  stores.  The  pasha  thought  proper 
to  stop  in  the  camp  to  refresh  his  soldiers.  They 
soon  fell  to  plunder,  and  drunk  so  freely  of  the 
liquors,  that,  overcome  with  the  fatigue  of  the 
day's  march,  and  the  fumes  of  the  spirits,  they 
were  not  long  ere  they  sunk  into  a  profound  sleep. 
At  that  time  two  sheiks,  who  were  watching  the 
enemy,  came  silently  to  the  camp,  and  Daher 
having  repassed  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  meeting  them, 
they  all  rushed  into  the  camp,  and  fell  upon  the 
sleeping  foe,  eight  thousand  of  whom  they  butcher- 
ed on  the  spot;  and  the  pasha,  with  the  remainder 
of  the  troops,  escaped  with  much  difficulty  to  Da- 
mascus, leaving  all  their  baggage  in  the  hands  of 
the  victorious  Daher.  We  subjoin  another  in- 
stance which  still  more  strikingly  resembles  the 
panic  of  the  Syrians.  During  the  crusading  wars, 
the  armies  of  Saladin  and  Baldwin  met  at  Gaza, 
and  prepared  for  an  engagement  next  morning. 
During  the  night,  however,  an  unaccountable 
panic  seized  the  Saracen  troops  ;  insomuch  that, 
to  a  man,  they  took  to  flight,  and,  that  they  might 
escape  the  more  expeditiously  from  the  danger  of 
which  they  were  apprehensive,  they  threw  off  their 
arms  and  clothes,  and  all  their  military  accoutre- 
ments, and  abandoned  their  baggage  and  stores  to 
the  soldiers  of  the  cross.  The  deliverance  of 
Samaria,  however,  by  the  sudden  flight  of  the  be- 
siegers, and  the  plentiful  supply  of  provisions  the 
inhabitants  found  in  the  deserted  camp,  both  of 
which  effects  are  frequently  realized  in  Eastern 
armies,  and  result  from  their  constitution,  must  be 
ascribed  to  the  miraculous  interposition  of  God  in 
behalf  of  the  Israelites  ;  since  the  supply  of  the 
city  with  food,  and  the  establishment  of  the  market, 
as  usual,  at  the  gate  of  the  city,  together  with  the 
violent  death  of  the  sceptical  nobleman,  happened 
exactly  in  the  manner  that  Elisha  had  predicted 
—  Par  ton  and  Jamie  son. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


419 


session  of  the  booty,  they  might  make  an 
excursion  upon  us  from  their  places  of 
retirement,  cut  our  men  to  pieces,  and 
with  great  ease  make  themselves  masters 
of  the  city.  For  these  reasons  therefore 
I  am  for  providing  against  their  treachery, 
and  being  the  more  wary  for  this  pre- 
tence. I  cannot  think  they  are  tied 
away,  and  deem  it  very  imprudent  to  haz- 
ard our  security  upon  the  credit  of  this 
intelligence." 

Then  one  of  the  council  stood  up,  and 
with  due  respect  to  the  king's  proposal, 
observed,  that  it  was  necessary  at  such  a 
juncture  to  send  out  scouts  as  far  as  Jor- 
dan ;  observing,  that  if  they  should  hap- 
pen to  be  taken,  it  might  serve  for  a 
warning  to  others.  However,  he  ad- 
vised that  they  should  not  expose  them- 
selves too  much,  lest  being  detected,  they 
frustrated  the  design  of  their  project. 

The  king  was  much  of  the  counsellor's 
opinion,  and  sent  his  scouts  immediately 
for  intelligence ;  who  returned  soon  after 
with  this  report,  that  they  had  been  so  far 
without  seeing  so  much  as  one  enemy ; 
but  that  they  saw  arms,  corn,  and  several 
bundles  of  things  upon  the  way,  from 
whence  they  concluded  that  the  Syrians 
had  thrown  them  down  in  order  to  make 
their  flight  the  more  expeditious. 

The  king  upon  this  information  sent 
out  his  people  to  plunder  Benhadad's 
camp,  where  they  found  a  rich  booty,  in 
gold,  silver,  horses,  and  several  sorts  of 
beasts ;  besides  an  incredible  quantity  of 
grain. 

Having  obtained  so  vast  a  supply,  the 
people  forgot  their  former  scarcity;  for 
two  measures  of  barley  were  sold  for  one 
shekel,  and  a  measure  of  flour  at  the 
same  price,  according  to  the  prediction  of 
Elisha. 

But  the  incredulous  nobleman  had  no 
benefit  from  this  booty  ;  for  being  posted 
at  the  gate,  by  the  king's  command,  to 
keep  the  people  in  order,  that  they  might 
not  crowd  one  another  to  death  in  their 
eagerness  to  fall  upon  the  spoil,  he  him- 


self was  trodden  under  foot  and  killed  in 
the  throng,  as  a  judgment  that  befell  him 
for  his  unbelief,  in  giving  so  little  heed  to 
what  Elisha  foretold. 

Benhadad  was  by  this  time  got  safe  to 
Damascus  ;*  and  when  he  understood  that 


*  This  celebrated  city  of  Asia,  anciently  the 
capital  of  Syria,  may  be  accounted  one  of  the 
most  venerable  places  in  the  world  for  its  anti- 
quity. It  is  supposed  to  have  been  founded  by 
ux,  the  son  of  Aram  ;  and  is,  at  least,  known  to 
have  subsisted  in  the  time  of  Abraham.  It  was 
the  residence  of  the  Syrian  kings  during  the  space 
of  three  centuries  ;  and  experienced  a  number  of 
vicissitudes  in  every  period  of  its  history.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  the  emperors  it  was  one  of  their 
principal  arsenals  in  Asia,  and  is  celebrated  by 
the  emperor  Julian  as,  even  in  his  day,  "  the  eye 
of  the  whole  East."  The  modern  city,  called  Da- 
mas,  Domeschk,  is  delightfully  situated  about  fifty 
miles  from  the  sea,  in  a  fertile  and  extensive  plain, 
watered  by  the  river  which  the  Greeks  called 
Chrysorrhoas,  or  golden  river,  but  which  is  now 
known  by  the  name  of  Barrady,  and  of  which  the 
ancient  Abana  and  Pharpar  are  supposed  to 
have  been  branches.  The  city  is  nearly  two^piles 
in  length  from  its  north-east  to  its  north-west  ex 
tremity,  but  of  very  inconsiderable  breadth,  es- 
pecially near  the  middle  of  its  extent,  where  its 
width  is  much  contracted.  It  is  surrounded  by  a 
circular  wall,  which  is  strong  though  not  lofty  ; 
but  its  suburbs  are  extensive  and  irregular.  Its 
streets  are  narrow,  and  one  of  them  called  Straight, 
mentioned  in  Acts  ix.  11.,  still  runs  through  the 
city  about  half  a  mile  in  length.  The  houses,  es- 
pecially those  which  front  the  streets,  are  very  in- 
differently built,  chiefly  of  mud  formed  into  the 
shape  of  bricks  and  dried  in  the  sun  ;  but  those 
towards  the  gardens,  and  in  the  squares,  present  a 
more  handsome  appearance.  In  these  mud  walls, 
however,  the  gates  and  doors  are  often  adorned 
with  marble  portals,  carved  and  inlaid  with  great 
beauty  and  variety  ;  and  the  inside  of  the  habita- 
tion, which  is  generally  a  large  square  court,  is 
ornamented  with  fragrant  trees  and  marble  foun- 
tains, and  surrounded  with  splendid  apartments, 
furnished  and  painted  in  the  highest  style  of 
luxury.  The  market  places  are  wed  constructed, 
and  adorned  witli  a  rich  colonnade  of  variegated 
marble.  The  principal  public  buildings  are  :  the 
castle,  which  is  about  three  hundred  and  forty 
paces  in  length  ;  the  hospital,  a  charitable  esta- 
blishment for  the  reception  of  strangers,  compos- 
ing a  large  quadrangle,  lined  with  a  colonnade, 
and  roofed  in  small  domes  covered  with  lead  ; 
and  the  mosque,  the  entrance  of  which  is  support- 
ed by  four  large  columns  of  red  granite;  the  apart- 
ments are  numerous  and  magnificent,  and  the  top 
is  covered  with  a  cupola  ornamented  with  two 
minarets.  Damascus  is  surrounded  by  a  fruitful 
and  delightful  country,  forming  a  plain  nearly 
eighty  miles  in  circumference ;  and  the  lands 
most  adjacent  to  the  city  are  formed  into  gardens 
of  great  extent,  which  are  stored  with  fruit-trees 
of  eve-v  description.     Besides  the  mosques  aim 


420 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


tie  alarm  of  chariots  and  horsemen,  which 
had  excited  such  fear  and  confusion 
throughout  his  army,  arose  from  appre- 
hension rather  than  reality,  he  looked 
upon  it  as  a  declaration  from  heaven 
against  him;  and  the  anxiety  arising 
therefrom  brought  upon  him  a  dangerous 
sickness. 

Elisha  then  went  towards  Damascus; 
and  Benhadad  being  informed  where  he 
was,  sent  Hazael,  his  particular  and  trusty 


minarets,  which  are  the  usual  ornaments  of  Tur- 
kish cities,  the  gardens  are  filled  with  pleasure- 
houses,  turrets,  and  similar  structures  ;  a  circum- 
stance which  altogether   gives  to   the   place  the 
appearance  of  a  noble  city  in  the  midst  of  an  ex- 
tensive forest,  and  fully  justifies  the  appellation 
commonly  given    to    it   by   Orientals,  of  goutah 
Demesk,  orchard  of  Damascus.     The  pleasantness 
and  fertility  of  these  grounds  are  chiefly   to  be 
ascribed  to  the  waters  of  the  Bnrrady,  which  are 
distributed  by  numberless  streams  and  rivulets  in 
such  a  manner,  that  every  garden  has  a  fine  run  of 
water^passing  through  it,  at  once  fertilizing  the 
soil,  and  supplying  a  variety  of  artificial  fountains 
and  ornamental  water-works.     So  numerous  are 
the  fruit-trees  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  that  those 
which  are  decayed   supply  the  inhabitants    with 
fire-wood ;    and,   together   with   the   walnut   and 
Lombardy  poplar,  furnish  also  the  principal  ma- 
terials for  building.     In  these  orchards  the  air  is 
most  salubrious,  the  soil  remarkably  productive, 
and  the  fruits,  especially  the  apricots  and  grapes, 
as  much  distinguished  by  their  superior  flavour  as 
by  their  extraordinary  abundance.     "  No  place  in 
the  world,"  says  Mr  Maundrell,  "  can  promise  to 
the  beholder  at  a  distance  a  greater  voluptuous- 
ness ;"  and  he  mentions  a  tradition  of  the  Turks, 
that  their  prophet,  when  approaching  Damascus, 
took  his  station  upon  a  certain  precipice,  in  order 
to  view  the  city  ;  and,  after  considering  its  ravish- 
ing beauty  and  delightful  aspect,  was  unwilling  to 
tempt  his  frailty  by  going  farther,  but  instantly 
took  his  departure  with  this  remark,  that  there 
was  but  one  paradise  designed  for  man,  and  that 
for  his  part,  he  was  resolved  not  to  take  his  in  this 
world.     The  air  or  water  of  Damascus,  or  both, 
are  supposed  to  have  a  powerful  effect  in  curing  the 
leprosy,  or  at  least  in  arresting  its  progress,  while 
the  patient  remains  in  the  place.     But,  with  all 
those  advantages,  the  climate  is  represented  by  Vol- 
ney  as  deficient  in  point  of  salubrity.     The  white 
waters  of  the  Barrady  are  found  to  be  cold  and 
hard  ;  the  natives  are  subject  to   frequent  com- 
plaints ;  their  fair  complexions  are  considered  as 
rather  a  sickly  paleness,  than  the  natural  colour 
of  health  ;  and  the  excessive  use  of  fruit  is  pro- 
ductive, during  the  summer  and  autumn  seasons, 
of  intermittent  fevers  and  dysenteries.     Damascus 
is  twenty-three  leagues  east   of  Sidon.  forty-five 
north  of  Jerusalem,  and  sixty-five  south  of  An- 
tioch. — Jones'  liiLl.  Cycl. 


friend,  with  a  compliment  and  magnificent 
presents  to  meet  him,  and  inquire  whether 
the  king  should  out-live  his  disease  or  not, 
and  what  would  be  the  issue  of  it.  Ha- 
zael took  forty  camels,*  and  loading  them 
with  the  choicest  curiosities  that  the  court 
or  country  afforded,  advanced  with  them 
towards  Elisha;  meeting  him  upon  the 
way,  he  saluted  him  with  great  reverence, 
in  the  name  and  by  the  order  of  king 
Benhadad,  telling  him,  that  he  had  a  com- 
mission to  offer  him  those  presents,  and 
likewise  to  advise  with  him  about  his  dis- 


*  There"  is  often  in  oriental  countries  a  great 
deal  of  pomp  and  parade  in  presenting  their  gifts; 
and  that  not  only  when  they  are  presented  to 
princes  or  governors  of  provinces,  but  where  they 
are  of  a  more  private  nature.  Thus  Dr  Russell 
tells  us,  that  the  money  which  the  bridegrooms  of 
Aleppo  pay  for  their  brides,  is  laid  out  in  furni- 
ture for  a  chamber,  in  clqthes,  jewels,  or  orna- 
ments of  gold,  for  the  bride,  whose  father  makes 
some  addition,  according  to  his  circumstances ; 
which  things  are  sent  with  great  pomp  to  the 
bridegroom's  house  three  days  before  the  wedding. 
The  like  management  obtains  in  Egypt,  and  is  in 
a  very  lively  manner  described  by  Maillet,  in  his 
account  of  that  country,  where  these  gifts  are 
carried  with  great  pomp  too  to  the  bridegroom's 
house,  but  on  the  marriage-day  itself,  and  im- 
mediately before  the  bride :  carpets,  cushions, 
mattresses,  coverlets,  pignates,  dishes,  basins, 
jewels,  trinkets  of  gold,  pearls,  girdles,  plate, 
every  thing  down  to  the  wooden  sandals  wrought 
with  mother-of-pearl.  And  through  ostentation, 
says  the  writer,  they  never  fail  to  load  upon  four 
or  five  horses  what  might  easily  be  carried  by  one; 
in  like  manner  as  to  the  jewels,  trinkets,  and  other 
things  of  value,  they  place  in  fifteen  dishes  what  a 

single  plate  would  very  well  hold The  Syrian 

prince,  on  this  occasion,  in  which  he  felt  a  par- 
ticular interest,  no  doubt  sent  Elisha  a  present 
corresponding  with  his  rank  and  magnificence  ; 
but  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  tiiat  so  many 
camels  were  required  to  carry  it,  or  that  the  king 
would  send,  as  a  Jewish  writer  supposes  he  did, 
so  great  a  quantity  of  provisions  to  one  man. 
The  meaning  of  the  passage  certainly  is,  that  the 
various  articles  of  which  the  present  consisted, 
according  to  the  modern  custom  of  oriental  courts, 
were  carried  on  a  number  of  camels  for  the  sake 
of  state,  and  that  no  fewer  than  forty  were  em- 
ployed in  the  cavalcade.  That  these  camels  weie 
not  fully  laden,  must  be  evident  from  this,  that 
the  common  load  of  a  lumman's  camel  is  eight 
hundred  pounds  weight ;  and  consequently,  thirty- 
two  thousand  pounds  weight  is  the  proper  loading 
of  forty  camels  ;  "  if  they  were  only  of  the  Arab 
breed,  twenty  thousand  pounds  weight  is  the  pro- 
per loading  ;"  a  present,  as  Mr  Harmer  justly  re- 
marks, too  enormous  to  be  sent  by  any  one  per- 
son to  another. — Harmer  and  Paxton. 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


421 


ease,  whether  or  not  he  might  hope  for 
relief. 

The  prophet  told  Hazael  that  the  king 
was  to  die;  but  charged  him  to  conceal  it 
from  his  master.  This  greatly  affected  Ha- 
zael, and  Elisha  wept  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  miseries  the  people  were  to  endure 
after  the  decease  of  Benhadad.  When 
Hazael  asked  the  prophet  what  might  be 
the  cause  of  that  excessive  grief;  Elisha 
thus  replied :  "  I  cannot  forbear  weeping 
to  think  of  the  calamities  that  you  your- 
self are  to  bring  upon  the  Israelites.  Yon 
shall  put  the  best  of  their  men  to  the 
sword,  burn  their  walled  cities,  dash  their 
children  to  death  against  the  stones,  and 
rip  up  their  women  with  child.*  Upon 
HazaePs  inquiry  how  it  was  possible  for 
him  to  compass  all  this  mischief?  The 
prophet  informed  him  that  he  should  be 
king  of  Syria.  Upon  this  discourse  Ha- 
zael left  him,  and  returned  to  his  master 
with  an  account  that  he  should  recover  of 
his  distemper. 


*  That  dashing  young  children  against  the 
stones  was  one  piece  of  harbarotis  cruelty,  which 
the  people  of  the  East  were  apt  to  run  into,  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  wars,  is  plainly  intimated  in 
that  passage  of  the  Psalmist,  alluding  to  the  cala- 
mities which  preceded  the  Babylonish  captivity:  'O 
daughter  of  Babylon,  wasted  with  misery  !  Yea, 
happy  shall  he  be  that  rewardeth  thee  as  thou  hast 
served  us.  Blessed  shall  he  be  that  taketh  thy 
children,  and  throweth  them  against  the  stones,' 
Psal.  cxxxvii.  8,  9.  Nor  was  this  inhuman  prac- 
tice quite  out  of  use  among  nations  that  pretend- 
ed to  more  politeness  :  for,  according  to  tlie  re- 
mains of  ancient  fame,  the  (irecians,  when  they 
became  masters  of  Troy,  were  so  cruel  as  to  throw 
Astyanax,  Hector's  son,  a  child  in  his  mother's 
arms,  (as  Homer  represents  him)  headlong  from 
one  of  the  towers  of  the  city.  The  ripping  up 
women  with  child  is  the  highest  degree  of  brutal 
cruelty  ;  and  a  cruelty  for  which  there  is  no  occa- 
sion, because,  kill  but  the  mother,  and  the  child 
dies  of  course;  and  yet  it  has  been  often  known, 
that,  iti  the  heat  of  execution,  this  barbarity  has 
been  committed.  Nay,  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
that  Hazael,  in  his  war  with  the  Gileadites, 
2  Kings  x.  32,  38.  verified  this  part  of  the  prophet's 
prediction  concerning  him  ;  for,  what  Amos,  com- 
plaining of  his  cruelty  to  these  people,  calls 
thrashing  Gilead  with  thrashing  instruments  of 
iron,  both  the  Septuugint  and  Arabic  versions  read, 
*  He  sawed  the  big-bellied  women  of  (Jilrad  with 
iron  saws. — Le  Clercs  and  Calmet's  Cornmen- 
tariefi. 


On  the  day  following  he  made  the  king 
a  visit;  and,  taking  his  opportunity,  stran- 
gled him  with  a  wet  cloth, f  and  took  pos- 
session of  his  palace  and  government 
He  was  a  man  of  great  interest  and  repu- 
tation with  the  people  of  Syria  and  Da- 
mascus ;  insomuch,  that  for  many  succes- 
sive years  the  memory  of  Benhadad  and 
of  Hazael  his  successor  was  celebrated 
amongst  the  Syrians  with  divine  honours, 
not  only  for  their  bounty  and  generosity 
in  general,  but  in  particular  for  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  temples  they  erected  at 
Damascus,  and  the  care  they  took  for  the 
honour  and  ornament  of  the  city.  Then 
images  were  carried  about  in  procession, 
as  a  token  of  the  veneration  in  which  they 
were  universally  held. 

The  death  of  Benhadad  set  the  heart  of 
Jeroboam  the  king  of  Israel  much  at  ease, 
as  it  afforded  him  a  suspension  from  wars 
and  broils,  and  the  comfort  of  seeing  him- 
self once  again  in  a  state  of  peace.  But 
Jehoram,  the  king  of  Judah,  was  no  soon- 
er vested  with  the  sovereignty,  than  he 
sullied  his  legal  character  with  the  slaugh- 
ter of  his  brothers,  and  his  father's 
friends,  and  the  commission  of  such  out- 
rages, as  if  he  had  been  upon  a  competi- 
tion with  the  worst  of  former  kings  which 
should  be  the  wickedest;  being  prompted 
by  his  wife  Athaliah,  the  daughter  of 
Ahab,  who  proved  the  instrument  of  his 


•]•  This  he  did,  that  no  signs  of  violence  might 
appear  upon  him;  for  had  the  people  in  the  least 
suspected  his  being  murdered,  Hazael  would  not  so 
easily  have  succeeded  to  the  throne  ;  because,  (ac- 
cording to  the  account  of  Josephus,)  Benhadad 
was  a  man  of  such  reputation  among  the  people  of 
Syria  and  Damascus,  that,  as  his  memory  was  cele- 
brated among  them  with  divine  honours,  his 
death,  no  doubt,  had  it  been  known  to  have  been 
violent,  would  have  been  fully  revenged  upon  the 
murderer.  We  may  observe,  however,  that  history 
makes  mention  of  some  other  princes,  who  have 
died  in  the  same  manner  that  Benhadad  did  ;  that 
the  emperor  Tiberius,  according  to  Suetonius,  was 
in  his  last  sickness  choked  in  his  bed  by  a  pillow 
crammed  into  his  mouth,  or,  as  Tacitus  has  it,  was- 
smothered  to  death  under  a  vast  load  of  bed-clothes; 
and  that  king  Demetrius,  the  son  of  Philip,  (as 
well  as  the  emperor  Frederick  the  Second)  was 
hurried  out  of  the  world  the  same  way  — Calmest 
Comihcntary. 


422 


HISTORY   OF 


[Book  VI. 


idolatrous  defection  from  tlie  true  worship, 
to  the  service  of  strange  gods. 

Though  God  would  most  certainly  stand 
firm  to  the  promise  he  made  to  king  Da- 
vid, that  he  would  never  utterly  extin- 
guish the  whole  race,  Jehoram  did  all  that 
he  could  to  provoke  him  to  a  total  extir- 
pation, by  a  daily  course  of  impieties  and 
abominations. 

Edom  at  this  time  revolted  from  Jeho- 
ram, and  the  inhabitants  made  way  to 
their  apostasy  by  the  murdering  of  their 
king  (who  had  ever  been  faithful  to  Jeho- 
shaphat)  and  by  setting  up  another  in  his 
place. 

In  consequence  of  this  indignity,  the 
king  made  a  speedy  incursion  by  night, 
with  a  body  of  horse  and  charioteers,  into 
the  enemy's  quarters.  But  they  could 
only  avenge  themselves,  by  making  some 
depredations  on  the  borders,  not  daring  to 
make  farther  progress  into  the  country. 

This  expedition  v/as  so  far  from  strik- 
ing any  sort  of  terror  or  apprehension 
into  the  deserters,  that,  on  the  contrary,  it 
served  for  an  encouragement  to  others  to 
follow  the  example  of  their  leaders,  and  to 
shake  off  their  yoke  likewise ;  for  Libnah 
rebelled  also  at  the  same  time.  Such,  in 
short,  was  the  madness  and  folly  of  Jeho- 
ram, that  he  forced  the  Israelites  up  to 
the  groves  and  high  places  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  there  to  worship  false  gods. 

He  went  on  for  some  time  in  the  defi- 
ance and  contempt  of  law  and  religion,  and 
all  that  could  be  sacred  either  in  heaven  or 
earth,  till  in  the  end  there  came  a  menac- 
ing letter  from  the  prophet  Elisha  to  him, 
to  this  effect :  "  That  since  he  had  auda- 
ciously and  wilfully  set  up  himself  against 
the  practice  and  example  of  his  forefathers, 
and  espoused  the  impious  superstition 
of  the  Israelites ;  and  not  resting  there 
neither,  had  likewise  debauched  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem, 
from  the  religion  of  their  country,  into 
the  paganish  superstitions  of  idolatry,  in 
making  gods  of  images,  after  the  example 
of    Ahab's   violence  upon  his   people   to 


force  them  into  these  abominations," — af- 
ter the  doing  of  all  this,  and  the  polluting 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  own- brothers, 
and  other  good  and  righteous  men,  this 
judgment  was  pronounced  against  him,  in 
the  before-mentioned  letter :  "  That  his 
family,  and  his  people,  should  fall  into  the 
hands  of  a  merciless  enemy,  that  should 
neither  spare  women  nor  children;  that  he 
himself  should  be  tormented  with  a  linger- 
ing pain  in  his  bowels,  till  by  little  and 
little  they  should  rot  and  fall  out." 

This  was  to  be  the  miserable  condition 
that  should  bring  him  at  last,  though  too 
late,  to  a  sense  and  a  sight  of  his  wicked- 
ness. In  fine,  this  was  the  substance  of 
the  writing  that  was  delivered  to  Jehoram 
in  the  name  of  Elisha. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  prophet's  prediction  accomplished  in  the 
miserable  end  of  Jehoram,  king  of  Judah. — 
Extirpation  of  the  family  of  Ahab,  by  the 
hand  of  Jehu. — Destruction  of  the  temple 
dedicated  to  the  idol  Baal. — Ahab's  daughter 
seeks  revenge  upon  the  house  of  David. — Her 
design  frustrated. — And  judgment  falls  upon 
her  own  head. 

Some  time  after  this,  an  army  of  Arabi- 
ans from  the  borders  of  Ethiopia,  toge- 
ther with  a  number  of  other  barbarians, 
broke  into  the  kingdom  of  Jehoram,  ra- 
vaged the  country,  rifled  the  palace,  and 
put  the  king's  wife  to  the  sword,  and  all 
his  children,  Ahaziah  only  excepted,  who 
very  narrowly  escaped  the  fury  of  the 
enemy. 

The  king,  after  this  public  calamity, 
was  smitten,  according  to  the  prophet's 
prediction,  with  a  kind  of  plague  in  the 
bowels,  which  proved  mortal,  and  carried 
him  off  in  the  extremest  agony.*     The 


*  This  disease,  Dr  Mead  says,  beyond  all  doubt 
was  the  dysentery,  and  though  its  continuance  so 
long  a  time  was  very  uncommon,  it  is  by  no  means 
a  thing  unheard  of.  The  intestines  in  time  be 
come  ulcerated  by  the  operation  of  this  disease. 
Not  only  blood  is  discharged  from  them,  but  a 
sort  of  mucous  excrements  likewise  is  thrown  ofl 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

people  also  derided  his  calamity,  inferring 
from  the  great  degree  of  his  punishment, 
the  aggravated  nature  of  his  crimes,  which 
had  incurred  the  j**t  judgment  of  an  in- 
censed God;  and  on  this  account,  they 
would  neither  vouchsafe  him  a  royal  fu- 
neral, nor  a  place  in  his  father's  monu- 
ment. 

He  lived  forty  years,  and  reigned  eight; 
and  upon  his  death  the  people  of  Judah 
placed  Ahaziah  upon  the  throne  of  his 
father. 

Jehoram,  king  of  the  Israelites,  was  in 
hopes,  after  the  death  of  Benhadad,  that 
he  might  recover  Ramoth-gilead ;  and 
with  that  design  he  levied  a  great  army, 
and  sat  down  before  it. 

At  the  siege  he  received  a  wound  with 
an  arrow  from  the  bow  of  a  Syrian.  It 
was  not  mortal ;  yet  he  was  obliged  to 
withdraw  to  the  city  of  Jezreel  for  the 
convenience  of  the  cure,  leaving  his  whole 
army  behind  him  at  the  siege  of  Ramoth, 
under  the  command  of  Jehu,  the  son  of 
Nimshi,  who  took  the  town  by  force. 

Jehoram  proposed,  upon  his  recovery, 
to  make  war  upon  the  Syrians;  and  in 
the  mean  time  Elisha  sent  one  of  his  dis- 
ciples,* with  holy  oil,  to  Ramoth,  there 
to  anoint  and  declare  Jehu  king,  and  to 
do  it  in  the  name  of  God,  and  by  his  au- 
thority and  order.  The  prophet  gave 
him  some  other  things  in  charge  also,  and 
commanded  him  to  be  as  expeditious  as 


and  sometimes  small  pieces  of  the  flesh  itself;  so 
that  apparently  the  intestines  are  emitted  or  fall 
out,  which  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  expres- 
sions that  are  used  in  the  statement  of  king  Jeho- 
ram's  disease. — Home. 

*  The  Jewish  doctors  are  of  opinion,  that  the 
prophet,  whom  Elisha  sent  upon  this  message, 
was  Jonah  ;  hut,  upon  this  supposition,  he  must, 
at  this  time,  have  been  a  very  young  man,  because 
Jeroboam  the  Second  (in  whose  reign  Jonah  pro- 
phesied) did  not  ascend  the  throne  till  about  fifty 
years  after  this  unction  of  Jehu  king  of  Israel. 
However  this  be,  it  is  reasonable  to  think,  that 
Elisha  himself  did  not  go  to  perform  this  office, 
either  because  he  was  now  grown  old,  and  unfit 
for  such  a  journey,  or  because  he  was  a  person 
too  well  known,  and  not  so  proper  to  be  employed 
in  an  affair  that  required  secresy. — Patrick's  and 
Calmet's  Commentaries. 


423 

he  could,  making  no  person  privy  to  his 
journey. 

When  the  messenger  came  to  the  town, 
he  found  Jehu  sitting  with  the  head  offi- 
cers of  the  army,  as  was  foretold  him  by 
Elisha;  he  therefore  went  up  to  him,  and 
gave  him  to  understand  that  he  desired 
to  have  a  short  conference  with  him  in 
private.  Upon  which  Jehu  rose  up  im- 
mediately, and  the  young  man,  following 
him  into  his  apartment,  took  out  the  oil, 
and  poured  it  on  his  head  ;  informing  him, 
that  God  had  chosen  him  king,  for  the 
destruction  of  the  house  of  Ahab,  and  to 
revenge  the  blood  of  the  prophets,  which 
against  all  justice  was  spilt  by  Jezebel; 
and  that  as  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat, 
and  after  him  the  family  of  Baasha,  were 
utterly  rooted  out,  and  destroyed  for  their 
wickedness,  so  there  should  be  none  left 
of  the  wicked  stock  of  Ahab. 

As  soon  as  he  had  spoken  those  words 
he  conveyed  himself  out  of  the  apartment 
in  haste,  and  with  all  imaginable  privacy, 
— Jehu  returning  forthwith  to  his  place 
among  the  commanders. 

The  officers  were  very  desirous  of  know- 
ing the  import  of  the  young  man's  em- 
bassy, declaring  that  his  looks  indicated 
insanity.f      Jehu,    to    disguise    the   fact, 


-f-  The  officers  who  were  in  company  with  Jehu, 
might  easily  perceive,  by  the  habit,  and  air,  and 
manner  of  speech  of  the  person  who  accosted  Jehu 
so  boldly,  and,  when  he  had  done  his  business, 
vanished  so  suddenly,  that  he  was  a  prophet ;  but 
then  there  might  be  several  reasons  which  might 
induce  men  of  their  profession  to  have  a  contemp- 
tible opinion  of  men  of  that  order.  The  rigid  and 
obscure  course  of  life  which  the  prophets  led, 
their  neglect  of  themselves,  and  of  the  things  of 
this  world,  might  pass  with  them  for  a  kind  of  in- 
fatuation ;  and  the  holy  exercises,  to  which  they 
devoted  themselves,  for  no  more  than  a  religious 
frenzy.  Besides  this,  the  false  prophets  they 
had  seen  in  the  court  of  Ahab  had  given  just 
offence ;  and,  by  their  affected  gestures,  and 
studied  contortions,  whereby  they  thought  to  re- 
commend their  crude  enthusiasms,  made  them- 
selves justly  ridiculous  and  contemptible.  And 
therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  these  officers,  at 
first  sight,  should  censure  a  true,  as  they  thought 
they  had  reason  to  judge  of  the  false  prophet, 
with  whom  they  had  been  acquainted;  especially, 
when  we  find  some  leading  men,  in  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  treating  the  prophets  of  the  Lord,  as  in  the 


424 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


appeared  to  acquiesce  in  their  opinion; 
however,  as  they  persisted  in  the  most 
earnest  inquiry,  he  told  them  in  plain 
terms  that  he  came  to  him  with  a  message 
from  God  to  pronounce  him  king. 

At  these  words  the  commanders  took 
every  man  his  cloak,  and  laid  them  one 
upon  another  for  Jehu  to  sit  down  upon, 
instead  of  a  throne;  xind  when  he  had 
taken  his  place,  they  all  saluted  him  king, 
with  acclamations,  benedictions,  and  the 
sound  of  horns  and  trumpets,  to  congratu- 
late his  accession  to  the  throne. 

Jehoram  was  now  under  the  surgeon's 
hands  at  Jezreel  for  the  wounds  he  had 
received  at  the  siege  of  Ramoth,  and  his 
sister's  son  Ahaziah  was  there  at  the  same 
time  to  visit  him  as  he  lay  sick  of  his 
wounds;  so  that  Jehu  took  this  oppor- 
tunity of  marching  with  his  army  to  Jez- 
reel, where  he  might  surprise  them  both 
at  once:  precautioning  his  soldiers,  as  a 
proof  of  their  fidelity  to  him,  neither 
directly  nor  indirectly  to  give  Jehoram 
any  knowledge  or  intimation  of  the  matter. 

The  soldiers  executed  their  orders  with 
great  cheerfulness,  possessing  themselves 
of  all  the  passes  and  avenues  of  the  town, 
and  keeping  so  strict  a  guard  upon  them, 
that  it  was  morally  impossible  to  convey 
any  intelligence  into  the  place  without 
discovery. 

While  this  was  doing,  Jehu  mounts  his 
chariot,  and  with  a  party  of  choice  men 
advanced  with  all  expedition  toward  the 
city. 

The  king  had  a  scout  abroad  to  observe 
what  people  passed  that  way,  and  his  scout 
finding  Jehu  at  the  head  of  the  troops, 
posted  away  immediately  to  Jehoram  with 
tidings  of  a  body  of  horse  being  upon 
their  march.  Upon  which  he  despatched 
a  horseman,  with  instructions  to  go  to- 
wards the  party,  and  learn  who  they  were. 


case  of  Ezekiel,  ch.  xxiii.  30,  31.  and  of  Jeremiali, 
cli.  xxix.  '2<i.,  as  fools  and  madmen  ;  and  some  great 
names  in  [he  heathen  world,  looking  upon  all 
pretenders  to  inspiration  in  no  better  light. — 
b'tacli/iuuse. 


The  messenger  went,  and  did  according 
to  his  instructions,  inquiring  also  into  the 
state  of  the  army;  for  the  king,  he  said, 
was  desirous  of  knowing. 

Jehu  admonished  him  not  to  be  anxious 
concerning  such  matters,  but  to  fall  into 
the  rear  and  march  with  them.  The  man 
complied,  and  the  scout  presently  gave 
the  king  notice  that  his  messenger  had 
joined  the  troops.  Jehoram  upon  this 
sent  a  second  messenger  with  the  same 
instructions,  but  he  met  with  the  very 
same  treatment.  When  Jehoram  received 
this  information,  he  took  his  chariot  him- 
self, and  along  with  Ahaziah  the  king  of 
Judah,  went  out  together  to  meet  Jehu; 
and  coming  into  the  field  of  Kaboth, 
Jehoram  asked  him  concerning  the  des- 
tination  of  his  army,  when  Jehu,  in  reply, 
cast  some  poignant  reflections  upon  the 
whoredoms  and  witchcraft  of  his  mother. 
This  caused  Jehoram  to  suspect  the  secu- 
rity of  his  situation,  and  he  determined  to 
decamp  as  soon  as  possible  :  he  therefore 
told  Ahaziah  that  he  was  betrayed;  and 
as  he  was  hastening  to  make  his  escape, 
Jehu  shot  him  through  the  heart  with  an 
arrow,  so  that  he  sunk  down  and  expired. 
Jehu  then  commanded  Bidkar,  the  captain 
of  a  third  part  of  the  army,  to  take  the 
carcass,  and  cast  it  out  into  the  field  of 
Naboth,*  calling  to  mind  what  the  pro- 
phet Elijah  had  formerly  said  to  his  father 
Ahab ;  which  he  himself  had  heard  as  he 
was  sitting  in  a  chariot  behind  Ahab;  and 


*  How  just  are  the  judgments  of  God  !  It  was 
in  the  field  of  Naboth  that  Jehoram  met  with 
Jehu  ;  that  very  ground  called  to  him  for  blood. 
And  now  this  new  avenger  remembers  that  pro- 
phecy which  he  heard  from  the  mouth  of  Elijah, 
in  that  very  place,  following  the  heels  of  Ahab, 
and  is  careful  to  perform  it.  Little  did  Jehu 
think,  when  he  heard  that  message  from  Elijah, 
that  his  hands  should  act  it :  now,  as  if  zealous  ot 
accomplishing  the  word  of  a  prophet,  he  gives 
charge  to  Bidkar  his  captain,  that  the  bleeding 
carcass  of  Jehoram  should  be  cast  upon  that  very 
plat  of  Naboth.  O  Naboth's  blood  well  paid  for! 
Ahab's  blood  is  licked  up  by  dogs  in  the  very 
place  where  dogs  licked  Naboth's.  Jehoram's 
blood  shall  manure  that  ground  which  was  wrung 
from  Naboth,  and  Jezebel  shall  add  to  its  nianur- 
U,S#     O  garden  of  herbs  dearly  bought ' — Hull. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


42-5 


every  thing  fell  out  accordingly.*  Upon 
the  death  of  Jehoram,  Ahaziali  apprehend- 
ing his  own  life  to  be  in  danger,  turned 
off  his  chariot  into  another  road,  where  he 
thought  Jehu  would  not  find  him  ;  but  he 
followed  him  to  a  certain  acclivity,  where 
lie  wounded  him  with  an  arrow,  which 
caused  him  to  leave  his  chariot,  and  take 
horse  to  save  himself  by  flight.  He  got 
off  to  the  city  of  Megiddo,  where  he  soon 
after  died  of  his  wound ;  thence  he  was 
carried  to  Jerusalem  where  he  was  buried, 
after  he  had  reigned  one  year,  which  ex- 
ceeded in  wickedness  even  the  wicked 
reign  of  his  father. 

When  Jehu  came  to  Jezreel,  Jezebel, 
resolving  to  keep  up  her  grandeur  to  the 
last,  painted,f  and  arrayed  in  her  royal 


*  The  words  which  Jehu  seems  to  quote  are 
these,  '  Surely  I  have  seen  yesterday  the  blood  of 
Nahoth,  and  the  blood  of  his  sons,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  I  will  requite  him  in  this  place,'  2  Kings  ix. 
26.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  in  all  the 
history  of  Naboth,  which  is  recorded  in  I  Kings 
xxi.,  we  find  no  mention  made  of  the  death 
of  his  sons  :  but  it  is  no  unusual  thing  for  the 
scripture  to  supply  in  one  place  that  which  has 
been  omitted  in  another.  It  is  not  improbable, 
therefore,  that,  as  Naboth  was  accused  of  high- 
treason,  all  his  family  were  involved  in  his  ruin, 
and  all  his  estate  confiscated  to  the  king's  ex- 
chequer and  what  seems  to  confirm  this  opinion, 
is,  that  we  find  Elijah  never  once  putting  the 
king  in  mind  to  restore  the  vineyard  to  Naboth's 
children,  nor  the  king  in  the  time  of  his  repentance, 
ever  once  thinking  to  do  it,  because  in  all  human 
appearance  there  were  no  heirs  left.  Notwith- 
standing this,  Urotius,  and  other  learned  men, 
have  observed,  that  these  words  may  signify  no 
more  than  the  extreme  poverty  to  which  Naboth's 
family  was  reduced  by  the  death  of  their  father 
and  the  confiscation  of  his  goods:  for,  among  the 
Hebrews,  say  they,  all  punishments  and  miseries 
are  called  blood,  Lev.  xvii.  4.  and  to  take  away 
their  estate,  upon  which  they  would  have  lived, 
was  in  effect  to  take  away  their  blood  in  which 
is  the  life  of  every  creature. — LeClerc's,  Patrick's, 
and  Calmefs  Commentaries. 

f  Tiie  words  in  the  original  import,  '  she  put 
her  eyes  in  paint,'  i.  e.  she  used  stibium,  or  anti- 
mony pulverised,  to  make  ner  eyes  and  eyebrows 
look  black  and  large,  which,  in  several  countries, 
was  accounted  a  great  beauty.  This  is  a  custom 
in  Asiatic  countries  to  the  present  day.  From  a  I 
late  traveller  (Waring)  in  Persia,  I  borrow  the 
following  account  : — "  The  Persians  differ  as  much 
from  us  in  their  notions  of  beauty  as  they  do  in 
those  of  taste.  A  larne,  soft,  and  languishing  black 
eye,  with  them  constitutes  the  perfection  of  beauty. 
It  is  chiefly  on  this  account  that  the  women  use 


robes,  planted  herself  in  a  turret-window, 
to  see  his  entry.  As  he  passed  by  her 
she  scoffingly  said,    "  Had   Zimri  peace, 

j  who  slew  his  master?"     Jehu,  seeing  the 

:  woman,  and  hearing  these  words,  called 
out  to  her  to  know  who  she  was,  and  bid 
her  come  down  ;  but  on  not  coming  im- 
mediately,  he    commanded    the    eunuchs 

.  that  were  then  about  her  to  cast  her  down 

|  headlong.^ 


the  powder  of  antimony,  which,  although  it  adds 
to  the  vivacity  of  the  eye,  throws  a  kind  of  volup- 
tuous languor  over  it,  which  makes  it  appear,  if  I 
may  use  the  expression,  dissolving  in  bliss.  The 
Persian  women  have  a  curious  custom  of  making 
their  eye-brows  meet;  and  if  this  charm  be  denied 
them,  they  paint  the  forehead  with  a  kind  of  pre- 
paration made  for  that  purpose."  This  casts  light 
enough  on  Jezebel's  painting,  &c;  and  shows 
sufficiently  with  what  design  she  did  it,  to  conquer 
and  disarm  Jehu,  and  induce  him  to  take  her  for 
wife,  as  Jarchi  supposes.  This  staining  of  the  eye 
with  stibium  and  painting  was  a  universal  custom, 
not  only  in  Asiatic  countries,  but  also  in  all  those 
that  bordered  on  them,  or  had  connexions  with 
them.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  mentions  the  paint- 
ing of  the  eyes,  chao  xxiii.  40.  That  the  Romans 
painted  their  eyes  we  have  the  most  positive  evi- 
dence. Pliny  says,  '  Such  is  their  affectation  of 
ornament,  that  they  paint  their  eyes  also.'  That 
this  painting  was  with  stibium  or  antimony,  is 
plain  from  these  words  of  St  Cyprian,  'Anoint 
your  eyes,  not  with  the  devil's  antimony,  hut  with 
the  eye-salve  of  Christ.'  Juvenal  is  plain  on  the 
same  subject.  Men  as  well  as  women  in  Rome 
practised  it : 

"  With  sooty  moisture  one  his  eye-brows  dyes. 
And  with  a  bodkin  paints  his  trembling  eyes." 
The  manner  in  which  the  women  in  Barbarydo  it 
Dr  Russel  particularly  describes  :  "  Upon  the 
principle  of  strengthening  the  sight,  as  well  as  an 
ornament,  it  is  become  a  general  practice  among 
the  women  to  black  the  middle  of  their  eye-lids 
by  applying  a  powder  called  ismed.  Their  method 
of  doing  it  is  by  a  cylindrical  piece  of  silver,  steel, 
or  ivory,  about  two  inches  long,  made  very  smooth, 
and  about  the  size  of  a  common  probe"  This  they 
wet  with  water,  in  order  that  the  pow*\  l'P.ay  stick 
to  it,  and  applying  the  middle  part  |  ^rizotitally  to 
the  eye,  they  shut  the  eye-lids  upon  it,  and  so 
drawing  it  through  between  them,  it  blacks  the 
inside,  leaving  a  narrow  black  rim  all  round  the 
edge."  However  the  use  of  paint,  and  the  art  of 
blackening  the  hair,  and  beautifying  the  face,  may 
be  indulged  the  vanity  of  the  female  sex,  it  raises 
one's  indignation  to  read  of  a  Sardanapalus  paint- 
ing his  eyes  and  eye-brows;  of  the  ancient  (ireeks 
running  into  the  same  custom;  and  much  more  of 
the  martial  Romans  ;  but  there  were  fops  in  all 
nations  then,  as  well  as  now. — Stacklwuse  and 
Clarke. 

X  According  to  the  custom  of  the  Eastern  na- 
tions, the  business  of  this  sort  of  people  was  to 
3  H 


426 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI 


They  obeyed  his  order;  and  the  walls 
were  stained  with  the  blood  that  gushed 
from  her  body  in  the  fall.  As  she  lay 
upon  the  earth,  the  horsemen  rode  over 
the  carcass,  and  trampled  her  to  death. 

After  this,  Jehu  and  his  friends  march- 
ed forward  to  the  palace  to  refresh  them- 
selves. When  they  had  been  there  some 
time,  Jehu  ordered  Jezebel's  servants,  out 
of  respect  to  her  quality,  to  see  their  mis- 
tress buried, — reminding  them  that  she 
was  a  king's  daughter :  but  when  they 
came  to  look  for  the  body,  there  was  no- 
thing to  be  found  but  a  piece  of  the  skull, 
the  palms  of  her  hands,  and  the  soles  of  her 
feet;  the  dogs  having  eat  up  all  the  rest.* 


attend  upon  queens  in  their  chambers,  who,  by 
their  great  fidelity  and  obsequiousness,  gained 
generally  the  esteem,  and  were  admitted  to  the 
confidence  of  those  they  served,  and  from  thence 
into  places  very  often  of  great  trust  and  profit. 
It  is  remarked,  however,  of  Jezebel's  eunuchs,  that 
they  were  far  from  being  faithful  to  her,  to  let  us 
see  how  suddenly  courtiers  are  wont  to  change 
with  the  fortune  of  their  masters — The  fate  of 
the  wretched  Jezebel  was  peculiarly  affecting  and 
awful.  T«>  understand  her  situation,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  remark,  that  in  all  the  buildings  of  the 
East,  as  we  are  informed  by  Shaw,  the  windows 
open  into  private  courts,  with  the  exception  of  a 
latticed  window  or  balcony  that  looks  towards  the 
street ;  and  this  is  never  opened  but  during  the 
celebration  of  some  public  festival,  when,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  liberty  and  revelling  that  then 
prevail,  crowds  of  both  sexes,  decked  out  in  their 
best  apparel,  and  laying  aside  their  usual  reserve 
and  restraint,  go  in  and  out  when  they  please. 
The  town  of  Jezreel  was  in  this  state  of  public 
rejoicing  when  the  cavalcade  of  Jehu  entered,  and 
Jezebel,  having  probably  got  notice  of  the  con- 
spirators' approach,  availed  herself  of  the  privilege 
which,  on  another  occasion,  would  have  been  de- 
nied to  any  ,of  her  sex,  and  ventured  to  appear  in 
public  in  hj'jr  gayest  attire,  upbraiding  the  usurper, 
and  det(   ur   ing  the  greatest  vengeance  upon  him. 

On  a  si,— um  Jehu,  some  of  his  partisans  in 

the  palace  '^Fled  her  from  the  window,  and  dash- 
ed her  brain*  out  upon  the  street  ;  a  mode  of 
punishment  which  the  reader  is  apt  to  imagine 
was  purely  accidental,  and  suggested  to  the  con- 
spirators by  the  position  of  their  victim  ;  but  it  is 
one  which  has  been  very  common  in  the  East,  as 
we  meet  with  many  descriptions  of  similar  trage- 
dies in  the  ancient  historians  of  the  East,  and  Sir 
Robert  Ker  Porter  mentions  its  continuance  in 
the  present  day, — that  traveller  having  seen  the 
windows  of  several  Eastern  palaces,  out  of  which 
the  malefactors  were  thrown  the  moment  sentence 
was  pronounced. — Patrick  and  Jamieson. 
*  To  an  English  ear  it  sounds  very  surprising, 


This  circumstance  confirmed  Jehu  more 
in  the  authenticity  of  Elijah's  prediction, 
— for  he  had  foretold,  "  that  dogs  should 
eat  the  flesh  of  Jezebel  in  the  field  of 
Jezreel." 


that,  during  the  time  of  a  single  meal,  so  many 
dogs  should  be  on  the  spot,  ready  to  devour  ;  and 
should  so  speedily  despatch  this  business,  in  the* 
very  midst  of  a  royal  city,  close  under  the  royal 
gateway,  and  where  a  considerable  train  of  people 
had  so  lately  passed,  and  no  doubt,  many  were 
continually  passing  :  this  appears  extremely  un- 
accountable ;  but.  we  find  it  well  accounted  for  by 
Mr  Bruce,  whose  information  the  reader  will  re- 
ceive with  due  allowance  for  the  different  man- 
ners and  ideas  of  countries  ;  after  which,  this 
rapid  devouring  of  Jezebel  will  not  appear  so  ex- 
traordinary as  it  has  hitherto  done.  "  The  bodies 
of  those  killed  by  the  sword  were  hewn  to  pieces, 
and  scattered  about  the  streets,  being  denied  burial. 
I  was  miserable,  and  almost  driven  to  despair,  at 
seeing  my  hunting-dogs,  twice  let  loose  by  the 
carelessness  of  my  servants,  bringing  into  the 
court-yard  the  heads  and  arms  of  slaughtered  men, 
and  which  I  could  no  way  prevent,  but  by  the 
destruction  of  the  dogs  themselves  :  the  quantity 
of  carrion,  and  the  stench  of  it,  brought  down  the 
hyaenas  in  hundreds  from  the  neighbouring  moun- 
tains ;  and,  as  few  people  in  Gondor  go  out  after 
it  is  dark,  they  enjoyed  the  streets  to  themselves, 
and  seemed  ready  to  dispute  the  possession  of  the 
city  with  the  inhabitants.  Often,  when  I  went 
home  late  from  the  palace,  and  it  was  this  time 
the  king  chose  chiefly  for  conversation,  though  I 
had  but  to  pass  the  corner  of  the  market-place 
before  the  palace,  had  lanterns  with  me,  and  was 
surrounded  with  armed  men,  I  heard  them  grunt- 
ing by  twos  and  threes,  so  near  me,  as  to  be  afraid 
they  would  take  some  opportunity  of  seizing  me 
by  the  leg.  A  pistol  would  have  frightened  them, 
and  made  them  speedily  run,  and  1  constantly 
carried  two  loaded  at  my  girdle ;  but  the  dis- 
charging a  pistol  in  the  night  would  have  alarmed 
every  one  that  heard  it  in  the  town,  and  it  was 
not  now  the  time  to  add  any  tiling  to  people's 
fears.  I  at  last  scarcely  ever  went  out,  and  no- 
thing occupied  my  thoughts  but  how  to  escape 
from  this  bloody  country,  by  way  of  Sennaar,  and 
how  1  could  best  exert  my  power  and  influence 
over  Yasine  at  Ras  el  Feel  to  pave  my  way,  by 
assisting  me  to  pass  the  desert,  into  Atbara.  The 
king,  missing  me  at  the  palace,  and  hearing  I  had 
not  been  at  Ras  Michael's,  began  to  inquire  who 
had  been  with  me?  Ayto  Confu  soon  found 
Yasine,  who  informed  him  of  the  whole  matter. 
Upon  this  I  was  sent  for  to  the  palace,  where  I 
found  the  king,  without  any  body  but  menial  ser- 
vants. He  immediately  remarked,  that  I  looked 
very  ill ;  which,  indeed,  I  found  to  be  the  case,  as 
I  had  scarcely  ate  or  slept  since  I  saw  him  last,  or 
even  for  some  days  before.  He  asl<ed  me,  in  a 
condoling  tone,  what  ailed  me  ?  That,  besides 
looking  sick,  I  seemed  as  if  something  had  rutHed 
me,  and  put  me  out  of  humour.  1  told  him,  that 
what  he  observed  was  true  i  that,  coming  across 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


427 


Now  Ahab  had  seventy  sons,  who  re- 
sided at  this  time  in  Samaria,  where  they 
were  brought  up ;  so  Jehu  wrote  two  let- 
ters thither,  one  to  the  governors  of 
Ahab's  children,  and  the  other  to  the 
magistrates  of  the  place,  wherein  he  gave 
them  to  understand,  that  as  they  were 
well  provided  with  horses,  men,  arms, 
chariots,  and  other  necessaries  for  war, 
beside  fortified  towns  and  strong  holds,  it 
was  incumbent  on  them  to  select  from  the 
race  of  Ahab  a  youth  of  the  most  amiable 
qualifications,  both  natural  and  acquired, 
and  vest  him  with  the  regal  dignity,  in  or- 
der to  revenge  the  death  of  their  lord  and 
master,  and  to  try  how  they  stood  affect- 
ed to  his  interest. 

The  persons  to  whom  these  letters  were 
addressed  read  them  over  with  great  care  and 
attention,  and  agreeing  upon  the  whole  that 
it  would  not  be  safe,  under  their  circum- 
stances, to  oppose  a  power  which  had  al- 
ready been  too  mighty  for  two  great  kings, 
they  resolvgd  to  give  him  an  answer  as 
evasive  and  inconclusive  as  possible,  im- 
plying upon  the  whole  that  they  owed  al- 
legiance to  no  other  prince  but  him,  at 


the  market-place,  I  had  seen  Za  Mariam,  the 
Ras's  door-keeper,  with  three  men  bound,  one  of 
whom  lie  fell  a-liacking  to  pieces  in  my  presence, 
and  upon  seeing  me  running  across  the  place 
stopping  my  nose,  he  called  me  to  stay  till  he 
should  come  and  despatch  the  other  two,  for  he 
wanted  to  speak  with  me,  as  if  he  had  been  en- 
gaged about  ordinary  business  ;  that  the  soldiers, 
in  consideration  of  his  haste,  immediately  fell 
upon  the  other  two,  whose  cries  were  still  remain- 
ing in  my  ears  ;  that  the  hyaenas,  at  night,  would 
scarcely  let  me  pass  in  the  streets,  when  I  return- 
ed from  the  palace;  and  the  dogs  fled  into  my 
house  to  eat  pieces  of  human  carcasses  at  their 
leisure."  Without  supposing  that  Jezreel  was 
pestered  with  hyaenas,  like  Gondor,  though  that  is 
not  incredible,  we  may  easily  admit  of  a  sufficiency 
of  dogs,  accustomed  to  carnage,  which  had  pulled 
the  body  of  Jezebel  to  pieces,  and  had  devoured 
it  before  the  palace-gate,  or  had  withdrawn  with 
parts  of  it  to  their  hiding-places.  But  perhaps, 
the  mention  of  the  head,  hands,  and  feet,  being 
left  on  the  spot  indicates,  that  it  had  not  been  re- 
moved by  the  dogs,  but  was  eaten  where  it  fell, 
(as  those  parts  adjoined  the  members  most  likely 
to  be  removed,)  so  that  the  prophecy  of  Elijah 
was  literally  fulfilled,  "  in  the  portion  of  Jezreel 
shall  dogs  eat  Jezebel." — Calmet. 


whose  devotion  they  should  ever  thankful- 
ly and  obediently  remain. 

Jehu  wrote  them  word  back,  that  if  they 
favoured  his  interest,  they  should  forthwith 
send  him  the  heads  of  all  Ahab's  sons,  as 
a  token  and  testimony  of  their  readiness 
to  serve  him.  Whereupon  the  magistrates 
and  the  young  men's  tutors  conferred  to- 
gether about  it;  and  without  any  scruple 
of  tenderness  or  compassion,  agreed  among 
themselves  to  cut  off  all  their  heads,  and 
send  them  in  baskets  to  Jezreel. 

The  king  and  his  friends  were  at  sup- 
per when  the  news  arrived  that  the  heads 
were  come :  so  he  ordered  them  to  be  laid 
in  two  heaps  before  the  gate,  on  each  side 
one  ;*  and  the  next  morning  going  out  to 
view  them,  thus  addressed  himself  to  the 
people:  "I  had  a  hand  in  the  death  of  my 
master;  but  whose  doing  is  all  this?" 
His  design  was  to  satisfy  the  people  that 
this  rigour  toward  the  house  of  Ahab  was 
not  only  according  to  the  will  of  God,  but 

*  Such  barbarities,  shocking  as  they  are,  are  far 
from  being  uncommon  in  the  East,  and  so  gratifying 
a  spectacle  does  a  number  of  enemies'  heads  seem 
to  afford  to  the  savage  princes  of  that  quarter  of  the 
world,  that  there  is  scarcely  any  one  country  there, 
even  the  most  advanced  in  civilization,  where  in- 
stances may  not  be  found,  of  sovereigns  and  chiefs 
adorning  the  walls  and  avenues  of  their  palaces 
with  those  bloody  trophies.  On  passing  one  of 
the  gates  of  the  seraglio  in  Constantinople,  which 
stood  open,  Came  saw  lying  a  number  of  heads 
of  the  wretched  Greeks,  which  the  boys  were 
tumbling  about  like  foot-balls.  A  traveller  who 
was  invited  to  the  court  of  the  Dey  of  Algiers, 
says,  the  first  object  that  struck  his  eyes  were  six 
bleeding  heads,  ranged  along  the  entrance  to  tht 
palace  :  and  Sir  John  Malcolm  informs  us,  that 
at  the  storming  of  Ispahan,  where  the  slaughter 
was  beyond  all  description,  Timour  ordered 
seventy  thousand  heads  to  be  piled  up  as  a  mo- 
nument of  his  conquest.  So  fond  are  Eastern 
conquerors  of  these  sanguinaiy  trophies,  that 
prisoners  have  been  known  to  be  put  to  death  in 
cold  blood,  in  order  that  a  greater  number  of 
heads  might  be  despatched  from  the  seat  of  war 
to  the  victorious  monarch,  and  so  callous  are  the 
persons  charged  with  the  arrangement  of  them, 
that  they  often  select  a  head  of  peculiar  appear- 
ance and  long  beard,  to  grace  the  summit  of  the 
pyramid.  Brutal  arid  savage,  then,  as  it  was,  the 
conduct  of  Jehu  has  its  parallel  in  the  habits  of 
so  many  other  Eastern  princes,  that  it  must  be 
imputed,  less  to  the  barbarous  temper  and  feroci- 
ty of  the  man,  than  the  delight  in  blood  and  cruelty 
common  to  all  uncivilized  people. — Jamieson. 


428 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI 


answerable  to  what  God  himself  had  fore- 
told by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet.  He 
destroyed  as  many  of  the  family  of  Ahab 
as  he  could  find,  and  returned  afterward  to 
Samaria. 

Falling  into  company  upon  the  way 
with  several  of  the  kindred  of  Ahaziah, 
king  of  Jerusalem,  he  asked  them  whither 
they  were  going.  They  answered,  they 
were  going  to  pay  their  duty  to  Jehoram 
and  king  Ahaziah,  having  heard  nothing 
as  yet  of  their  death  by  the  hand  of  Jehu. 
There  were  two  and  forty  of  them  in 
number,  and  Jehu  caused  them  all  to  be 
slain.  He  happened  afterward  to  meet 
with  Jehonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,*  his 


*  'Hie  Rechabites  are  by  many  writers  consid- 
ered as  a  class  of  holy  persons,  who,  like  the  Na- 
zarites,  separated  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the 
Jews,  in  order  that  they  might  lead  a  more  pious 
life.  But  this  is  evidently  a  mistake  ;  for  they 
were  not  Israelites  or  Jews,  but  Kenites  or  Medi- 
anites,  who  used  to  live  in  tents,  and  traverse  the 
country  in  quest  of  pasture  for  their  cattle,  as  the 
Nabathaean  Arabs  anciently  did,  and  as  the  modem 
Arabians,  and  Oim-Tatars  (or  Tartars)  still  do. 
Their  manner  of  living  was  not  the  result  of  a  re- 
ligious institute,  but  a  mere  civil  ordinance,  ground- 
ed upon  a  national  custom.  They  derived  their 
name  from  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,  a  man  of 
eminent  zeal  for  the  pure  worship  of  God  against 
idolatry.  It  was  he  who  gave  the  rule  of  life 
to  his  children  and  their  posterity,  which  is  record- 
ed by  the  prophet  Jeremiah  (xxxv.  5 — 7.)  ;  and 
which  consisted  of  these  three  articles  :  I.  That 
they  should  drink  no  wine  :  2.  That  they  should 
neither  possess  nor  occupy  any  houses,  fields,  or 
vineyards  ;  and,  3.  That  they  should  dwell  in 
tents.  In  these  regulations  he  appears  to  have 
had  no  religious,  but  merely  a  prudential  view,  as 
is  intimated  in  the  reason  assigned  for  them,  viz. 
that  they  might  live  many  days  in  the  land  where 
they  were  strangers.  And  such,  in  fact,  would  be 
the  natural  consequence  of  their  temperate  and 
quiet  mode  of  living.  On  the  first  invasion  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  with  intent  to  besiege  Jerusalem, 
these  hechabites,  apprehending  themselves  in 
more  danger  in  the  open  country,  came  to  Jerusa- 
lem for  safety  ;  by  these  people  God  intended  to 
convince  the  Jews  of  their  disobedience  to  him  ; 
and  therefore,  he  ordered  his  prophet  Jeremiah  to 
bring  them  to  an  apartment  of  the  temple,  and 
there  offer  them  wine  to  drink,  which  when  they 
refused,  on  account  of  its  being  contrary  to  their 
institute,  which  they  never  had  violated,  the  pro- 
phet, after  due  commendation  of  their  obedience, 
addressed  the  Jews,  and  reproached  them,  who 
were  God's  peculiar  people,  for  being  less  obser- 
vant of  his  laws,  than  these  poor  Hechabites  had 
been  of  the  injunctions  of  their  ancestor.  Where- 
fore Jehovah  declares,  that,  '  because  the  Rechab-  j 


particular  friend,  and  a  just  man  ;  who, 
after  the  first  salutation,  highly  commend- 
ed him  for  his  zeal  in  rooting  out  the  race 
and  family  of  wicked  Ahab,  according  to 
the  command  and  appointment  of  God. 

Jehu  then  invited  him  into  his  chariot, 
to  go  with  him  to  Samaria;  telling  him 
that  he  should  now  see  he  would  spare  no 
apostates,  but  put  all  the  false  priests  and 
prophets  to  the  sword,  even  every  man 
that  had  seduced  the  people  from  the  reli- 
gion of  their  forefathers  into  the  idolatrous 
worship  of  false  gods;  accounting  it,  a 
matter  of  joy. for  a  good  man  to  see  the 
wicked  punished  according  to  their  deserts. 

Jehonadab  submitted  to  the  king's  plea- 
rare,  and  waited  upon  him  in  his  chariot 
to  the  city.  Jehu,  as  soon  as  they  came 
thither,  cause  strict  search  to  be  made  for 
Ahab's  relations,  and  put  them  all  to  death 
as  soon  as  he  found  them  ;  being  resolved 
that  none  of  Ahab's  false  prophets,  or  pro- 
fane priests,  should  escape  him,  he  circum- 
vented them  all  by  stratagem. 

He  appointed  the  people  to  meet 
him  in  an  assembly,  telling  them,  that  if 
Ahab  served  Baal  a  little,  Jehu  should 
serve  him  twice  as  much,  for  he  would 
worship  double  the  number;  therefore  he 
would  have  all  the  priests  and  prophets  of 
Baal  to  be  present  to  a  single  man  ;  for 
he  had  a  great  sacrifice  to  offer  to  the  god 
of  Ahab,  whom  they  called  Baal,  and  it 
should  be  death  for  any  priest  to  absent 
himself. 


ites  had  obeyed  the  precepts  of  Jonadab  their  fa- 
ther, therefore  Jonadab  should  not  want  a  man  to 
stand  before  him  for  ever.'  The  RechabiU's  flour- 
ished as  a  community  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  years,  and  were  supposed  to  have  been  dis- 
persed after  the  captivity  ;  but  modern  travellers 
liave  discovered  their  descendants  in  a  tribe  of 
Bedouin  Arabs,  who  dwell  alone  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mecca,  and  are  called  Beui  Khaibr,  or  the  sous  of 
Khaibr  (that  is,  of  Heber).  They  continue  to 
obey  the  injunctions  of  tiieir  ancestor  Rechab. 
"  To  this  moment  they  drink  no  wine,  and  have 
neither  vineyard,  nor  field,  nor  seed  ;  but  dwell 
like  Arabs  in  tents,  and  are  wandering  nomades. 
They  believe  and  observe  the  law  of  Moses  by 
tradition,  for  they  are  not  in  possession  of  the 
written  law." — Home. 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Thus  he  sent  his  messengers  up  and  down 
Israel,  to  summon  the  priests  to  Samaria 
at  the  appointed  day. 

Upo.i  their  arrival,  they  had  vestments 
given  them,  which  they  put  on.  So  Jehu 
took  Jehonadab  with  him  into  the  house 
of  Baal,  where  strict  search  was  made,  that 
there  might  not  be  any  person  there  pre- 
sent more  than  the  servants  of  Baal ;  for 
Jehu  would  not  suffer  (as  he  said)  any 
profane  intruder  to  intermix  in  the  holy 
worship. 

When  Jehu  found  that  they  were  all 
Baalites,  and  just  entering  upon  the  cere- 
mony, he  had  fourscore  men  set  ready  at 
the  door,  that  waited  only  the  word  of 
command  to  break  in  upon  the  apostates. 
Their  orders  were  to  put  all  the  false  pro- 
phets to  the  sword,  and  to  vindicate  the 
religion  of  their  ancestors,  under  this  con- 
dition and  penalty,  that  whoever  should 
spare  the  life  of  but  one  of  them,  his  life 
should  answer  for  the  other's. 

The  word  was  given,  and  they  exe- 
cuted their  commission  to  the  uttermost 
rigour.  They  slew  them  all  to  a  man,  set 
fire  to  the  temple  itself,  and  so  purged  the 
city  of  all  its  sacrilegious  abominations. 

This  Baal  was  the  Syrian's  idol,  to 
whom  Ahab  dedicated  an  altar  in  Samaria, 
for  the  sake  of  Ithobal  his  father-in-law, 
king  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  assigned 
them  priests  and  prophets,  and  other 
necessaries  appertaining  to  their  religion.* 


429 

Now  Jehu  abolished  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  this  worship,  but  permitted  the 
Israelites  to  continue  in  their  devoted  at- 
tachment to  the  golden  calves. 


*  As  much  of  the  lieathen  idolatry  alluded  to  in 
the  Old  Testament,  is  derived  from  the  rites  of 
Baal,  which  rites  are  not  yet  extinct,  even  among 
ourselves,  and  as  it  appears  hy  the  nnmher  of 
names  of  places  in  scripture,  into  which  this  title 
is  compounded,  that  his  worship  was  extremely 
popular,  we  suhjoin  the  following  particulars,  fur- 
nished hy  Mr  Taylor.  It  is  remarkable,  that  we 
do  not  tind  the  name  Baal  so  much  in  popular 
use  east  of  Babylonia,  nor  do  we  find  it  prior  to 
the  building  of  Babylon.  It  was  general,  however, 
west  of  Babylonia,  and  to  the  very  extremity  of 
western  Europe,  including  the  British  isles  ;  of 
which  every  year  affords  abundant  evidence  to 
this  day.  It  is  true,  however,  that  Maha  Bali, 
the  great  Baal,  is  famous  on  the  coast  of  Malabar; 
where  his  capital.  Maba-Bali-puram,  (or  the  Seven 
Pagodas,)  is  well  known  ;  though  long  ago  swallow- 
•  ed  up  hy  the  sea      If  this  great  Baal  be  the  same 


as  Baal  the  infant,  then  it  shows  the  wide  extent 
of  his  domination.  M.  Sonnerat  informs  us,  (Vov. 
vol.  i.  p.  140.)  that,  in  November,  the  Hindoos 
light  up  vast  tires,  and  illuminate  their  houses  by 
night,  in  compliance  with  the  institutions  of  Bali  ; 
who,  they  assert,  appointed  the  feasts  of  tire ; 
meaning,  perhaps,  originally,  the  solstitial  fires. 
The  worship  of  Bel,  Belus,  Belenus,  or  Belinus, 
was  general  throughout  the  British  islands  ;  and 
certain  of  its  rites  and  observances  are  still  main- 
tained among  us,  notwithstanding  the  spread  and 
the  establishment  of  Christianity  during  so  many 
ages.  It  might  have  been  thought,  that  the  pom. 
pons  rituals  of  popery  would  have  superseded  the 
Druidical  superstitions  ;  or  that  the  reformation  to 
protestantism  would  have  banished  them  ;  or  that 
the  prevalence  of  various  sects  would  have  reduc- 
ed them  to  oblivion  :  but  the  fact  is  otherwise. 
Surely  the  roots  of  Druidism  were  struck  extreme- 
ly deep!  What  charm  could  render  them  so  pre- 
valent and  permanent  ? — "  A  town  in  Perthshire, 
on  the  borders  of  the  Highlands,  is  called  Tillie- 
(or  Tullie-)  beltane,  that  is,  the  eminence,  or  ris- 
ing-ground, of  the  fire  of  Baal.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood is  a  Druidical  temple  of  eight  upright  stones, 
where  it  is  supposed  the  tire  was  kintiled.  At 
some  distance  fro.n  this  is  another  temple  of  the 
same  kind,  but  smaller,  and  near  it  a  well  still 
held  in  great  veneration.  On  Beltane  morning, 
superstitious  people  go  to  this  well,  and  drink  of 
it  ;  then  they  make  a  procession  round  it,  as  we 
are  informed,  nine  times.  After  this  they  in  like 
manner  go  round  the  temple.  So  deep  rooted  is 
this  heathenish  superstition  in  the  minds  of  many 
who  reckon  themselves  good  protestants,  that  they 
will  not  neglect  these  rites,  even  when  Beltane 
falls  on  sabbath."  {Statist.  Accounts  of  Scotland, 
vol.  iii.  p.  105.)  "  On  the  first  day  of  May,  which 
is  called  Beltan,  or  Bal-tein,  day,  all  the  boy3  in  a 
town-ship,  or  hamlet,  meet  in  the  moors.  They 
cut  a  table  in  the  green  sod,  of  a  round  figure,  by 
casting  a  trench  in  the  ground,  of  such  circum- 
ference as  to  hold  the  whole  company.  They 
kindle  a  tire,  and  dress  a  repast  of  eggs  and  milk 
in  the  consistence  of  a  custard.  They  knead  a 
cake  of  oatmeal,  which  is  toasted  at  the  embers 
against  a  stone.  After  the  custard  is  eaten  up, 
they  divide  the  cake  into  so  many  portions,  as 
similar  as  possible  to  one  another  in  size  and 
shape,  as  there  are  persons  in  the  company.  They 
daub  one  of  these  portions  all  over  with  charcoal, 
until  it  be  perfectly  black.  Tiiey  put  all  the  bits 
of  cake  into  a  bonnet.  Every  one,  blindfold, 
draws  out  a  portion.  He  who  holds  the  bonnet 
is  entitled  to  the  last  bit.  Whoever  draws  the 
black  bit,  is  the  devoted  person  who  is  to  be  sacri- 
ficed to  Baal,  whose  favour  they  mean  to  implore, 
in  rendering  the  year  productive  of  the  sustenance 
of  man  and  beast.  There  is  little  doubt  of  these 
inhuman  sacrifices  having  been  once  offered  in 
this  country,  as  well  as  iti  the  East,  although  they 
now  pass  from   the  act   of  sacrificing,  and  only 


430 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


This  severity  against  that  impious  gen- 
eration was  so  far  pleasing  to  God,  that 
he  signified  to  him  by  his  prophet,  that 
his  posterity  should  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
Israel  to  the  fourth  generation. 


compel  the  devoted  person  to  leap  three  times 
through  the  flames  ;  with  which  the  ceremonies  of 
this  festival  are  closed."  {Id.  vol.  xi.  p.  621.) 
Mr  Pennant  gives  a  similar  account,  with  the  ad- 
dition of  some  other  circumstances. — "  On  the 
first  of  May,"  he  says,  "  the  herdsmen  of  every 
village  hold  their  Bel-tein,  a  rural  sacrifice.  They 
cut  a  square  trench  on  the  ground,  leaving  the 
turf  in  the  middle  ;  on  that  they  make  a  fire  of 
wood,  on  which  they  dress  a  large  caudle  of  eggs, 
butter,  oatmeal,  and  milk  ;  and  bring,  beside  the 
ingredients  of  the  caudle,  plenty  of  beer  and  whis- 
ky; for  each  of  the  company  must  contribute 
something.  The  rites  begin  with  spilling  some  of 
the  caudle  on  the  ground,  by  way  of  libation  :  on 
that  every  one  takes  a  cake  of  oatmeal,  upon 
which  are  raised  nine  square  knobs,  each  dedicated 
to  some  particular  being,  the  supposed  preserver 
of  their  flocks  and  herds,  or  to  some  particular 
animal,  the  real  destroyer  of  them  :  each  person 
then  turns  his  face  to  the  tire,  breaks  off  a  knob, 
and  flinging  it  over  his  shoulders,  says, — '  This  1 
give  to  thee,  preserve  thou  my  horses  ;' — '  this  to 
thee,  preserve  thou  my  sheep ;'  and  so  on.  After 
that,  they  use  the  same  ceremony  to  the  noxious 
animals :  '  this  I  give  to  thee,  O  fox  !  spare  thou 
my  lambs  ;' — '  this  to  thee,  O  hooded  crow  !' — 
1  this  to  thee,  O  eagle !'  When  the  ceremony  is 
over,  they  dine  on  the  caudle."  {Tour  in  Scot- 
land, 1769,  p.  110.)  "In  Ireland,  Bel-tein  is 
celebrated  on  the  21st  June,  at  the  time  of  the 
solstice.  There,  as  they  make  fires  on  the  tops  of 
hills,  every  member  of  the  family  is  made  to  pass 
through  the  fire  ;  as  they  reckon  this  ceremony 
necessary  to  insure  good  fortune  through  the  suc- 
ceeding year.  This  resembles  the  rite  used  by  the 
Romans  in  the  Palilia.  Bel-tein  is  also  observed 
in  Lancashire."  {Dr  Macpher son's  Critical  Dis- 
sert, xvii.  p.  286.) 

This  pagan  ceremony  of  lighting  fires  in  honour 
of  the  Asiatic  god  Belus,  gave  its  name  to  the  en- 
tire month  of  May,  which  is  to  this  day  called  mi 
na  Bealtine,  in  the  Irish  language.  Dr  Keating, 
speaking  of  this  fire  of  Beal,  says,  that  the  cattle 
were  driven  through  it,  and  not  sacrificed,  and 
that  the  chief  design  of  it  was  to  keep  off'  all  con- 
tagious disorders  from  them  for  that  year  ;  and  he 
also  says,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland 
quenched  their  fires  on  that  day,  and  kindled 
them  again  out  of  some  part  of  that  fire.  He 
adds,  from  an  ancient  glossary  :  "  The  Druids 
lighted  two  solemn  tires  every  year,  and  drove  all 
four-footed  beasts  through  them,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve them  from  all  contagious  distempers  during 
the  current  year."  In  Wales  this  annual  fire  is 
kindled  in  autumn,  on  the  first  day  of  November  ; 
which  being  neither  at  the  solstice  nor  equinox, 
deserves  attention.  We  believe  it  is  accounted 
for  by  supposing  that  the  lapse  of  ages  has  re- 
moved it  from  its  ancient  station,  and  that  the  ob- 


When  Athaliah,  the  daughter  of  Ahab 
king  of  Israel,  and  the  widow  of  Jehoram 
king  of  Judah,  came  to  understand  what 
havoc  Jehu  had  made  in  her  father's  wicked 


servance  is  kept  on  the  same  day,  nominally, 
though  that  be  now  removed  some  weeks  back- 
ward from  its  true  station.  However  that  may  be, 
in  North  Wales,  especially,  this  fire  is  attended 
by  many  ceremonies  :  such  as  running  through  the 
fire  and  smoke,  each  participator  casting  a  stone 
into  the  fire,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  this  action, 
all  running  off'  to  escape  from  the  blacK  short- 
tailed  sow.  The  food  for  supper  must  consist  of 
parsnips,  nuts,  and  apples  :  then  an  apple  is  sus- 
pended by  a  string,  and  caught  by  the  mouth 
alone  ;  or  one  is  flung  into  a  tub  of  water,  and 
the  mouth  alone  is  privileged  to  catch  at  it.  Nor 
are  the  purposes  of  divination  absent  from  the  fire 
on  this  evening.  Each  person  present  throws  a 
nut  into  it,  and  those  which  burn  bright  betoken 
prosperity  to  the  owners  through  the  following 
year:  misfortune  is  presaged  by  those  that  burn 
black  and  crackle.  On  the  following  morning  the 
stones  are  searched  for  in  the  fire  :  if  any  be  miss- 
ing, let  their  owners  make  up  their  minds  to  en- 
counter mischief — perhaps  calamity.  The  writer 
of  this  article  has  witnessed  the  Bel-tein  on  mid- 
summer-eve, in  the  public  streets  of  towns  in  the 
diocese  of  Durham.  The  Bel-tein  was  certainly 
derived  from  the  East:  it  is  practised  at  this  day 
in  the  ceremonies  of  the  Derma  Rajah,  wherein 
the  devotees  walk  barefoot  over  about  40  feet  of 
burning  coals.  It  was,  we  may  presume,  into  a 
Bel-tein  that  the  three  Hebrew  youths  were  cast, 
hound  hand  and  foot,  Dan.  iii.  15.  The  Bel-tein, 
anciently,  at  Jerusalem,  was  held  in  the  valley  of 
Tophet  ;  and  the  burning  of  children  in  honour 
of  Moloch,  was  the  same  ceremony  under  an  idol 
of  another  name.  So  general  was  this  custom. 
Our  bonfires  are,  possibly,  remains  of  the  Bel- 
tein  ;  and  the  tricks  of  our  lads  in  leaping  over 
the  rising  flame,  might  be  proved  to  have  antiquity 
in  their  favour,  if  it  were  worth  while. 

This  superstition,  says  Dr  Macpherson,  prevail- 
ed throughout  the  North,  as  well  as  the  West. 
"  Although  the  name  of  Bel-tein  is  unknown  in 
Sweden,  yet  on  the  last  of  April,  that  is,  the  even- 
ing preceding  our  Bel-tein,  the  country  people 
light  great  fires  on  the  hills,  and  spend  the  night 
in  shooting.  This  with  them  is  the  eve  of  Wal- 
burgh's  Mess."  Leopold  Von  Buch,  who  travel- 
led through  Norway  in  1807,  noticed  this  practice 
at  Lodingen.  His  words  are — "It  was  Hansdag- 
saften,  the  eve  of  St  John's  day.  The  people 
flocked  together  on  an  adjoining  hill,  to  keep  up  a 
St  John's  fire  till  midnight,  as  is  done  throughout 
all  Germany  and  Norway.  It  burnt  very  well, 
but  it  did  not  render  the  night  a  whit  more  light. 
The  midnight  sun  shone  bright  and  clear  on  the 
fire,  and  we  scarcely  could  see  it.  The  St  John's 
fire  has  not  certainly  been  invented  in  these  re. 
gions,  for  it  loses  here  all  the  power  and  nightly 
splendour  which  extend  over  whole  territories  in 
Germany.  Notwithstanding  this  circumstance, 
we  surrounded  the  fire  in  great  good  humour, 
and  danced  in  continual  circles  the  whole  night 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


431 


family, — kino;  Jelioram  her  brother  as- 
sassinated,  her  son  Ahaziah  dead  of  his 
wounds  and  the  whole  stock  upon  the 
point  of  being  utterly  rooted  out, — she 
formed  a  resolution  of  exterminating  the 
house  of  David,  and  not  to  leave  so  much 
as  one  man  alive  of  the  family  to  pretend 
to  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  This  was  her 
determination,  nor  was  it  wanting  to  her 
assiduity  that  it  was  not  executed.  For 
of  all  the  sons  of  Ahaziah,  there  was  only 
one  that  escaped;*  the  manner  of  his  deliv- 


throngh."  This  extract  informs  us,  not  only  that 
this  custom  maintains  itself  in  the  extreme  north, 
but  also  throughout  Germany :  in  short,  we  see 
that  it  involves  all  Europe.  It  can,  therefore, 
occasion  no  surprise  that  we  find  it  so  inveterately 
established  in  the  countries  mentioned  in  scrip- 
ture, where  the  sun  had  infinitely  more  power 
and  influence,  and  which  are  much  nearer  to  the 
seat  of  the  original  observances.  The  world  was 
then  plunged  in  idolatry,  and  we  cannot  wonder 
that  this  branch  of  it  prevailed,  since  many  of  its 
ceremonies  and  superstitious  rites  still  exist,  not- 
withstanding the  influence  of  the  gospel.  This 
article  affords  matter  for  serious  reflection.  There 
were  many  cities  in  Palestine,  into  whose  name 
the  word  Baal  entered  by  composition ;  either, 
because  the  god  Baal  was  adored  in  them  ;  or, 
beAuse  these  places  were  considered  as  the  capi- 
tal cities, — lords-superiors  of  their  respective  pro- 
vinces . —  Taylor's  Calmet. 

*  The  consideration  of  the  fate  that  attended 
these  royal  families,  is  enough  to  make  any  one 
bless  providence  for  having  been  born  of  a  meaner 
parentage.  The  whole  offspring  of  Jeroboam, 
Baasha,  and  Ahab,  kings  of  Israel,  was  cut  off*  for 
their  idolatry,  so  that  there  was  not  one  left ;  and 
the  kings  of  Judah,  having  contracted  an  affinity 
with  the  house  of  Ahab,  and  being  by  them  seduced 
into  the  same  crime,  were  so  destroyed  by  three 
successive  massacres,  that  there  was  but  one  left. 
For,  first,  Jehoram  slew  all  his  brethren  ;  then  Jehu 
slew  all  his  brother's  children  ;  and  now  Athaliah 
destroys  all  the  rest  that  her  executioners  could 
meet  with.  Enraged  she  was  to  see  Ahab's  family 
cut  off*;  and  therefore  she  resolved  to  do  as  much 
by  the  house  of  David.  As  she  was  one  of  Ahab's 
family  she  had  reason  to  apprehend  that  Jehu, 
who  had  a  commission  to  extirpate  all,  would  not 
be  long  before  he  called  upon  her :  her  only  way 
therefore,  to  secure  herself  against  him,  was  to 
usurp  the  throne;  but  this,  she  knew,  she  could 
not  do  without  destroying  all  the  royal  progeny, 
who  were  no  well-wishers  to  the  worship  of  Baal, 
which  she  had  abetted,  and  was  resolved  to 
maintain.  And  it  is  very  likely,  that  Athaliah 
might  imagine  that  she  had  slain  all,  and  so  think 
herself  secure  ;  or,  if  she  suspected  that  this  one 
was  preserved,  she  might  not  think  it  advisable 
to  make  any  strict  search,  lest  thereby  she  should 
alarm  the  people  with  the  notion,  that  there  was 


erance  was  as  follows :  Jehosheba,  the 
sister  of  Ahaziah,  and  the  wife  of  Jehoiada 
the  high-priest,  coming  into  the  palace, 
found  a  male  child  of  about  a  year  old, 
whose  name  was  Jehoash,  among  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  sons  of  Ahaziah,  which  the 
nurse  had  hid  there.  This  child  she  con- 
veyed to  her  own  lodgings,  and  thence  to 
the  temple,  where  she  concealed  it  through 
the  whole  six  years  of  Athaliah's  reign 
over  Jerusalem  and  the  two  tribes,  and  no 
one  of  her  council  all  the  while  was  privy 
to  the  secret  but  her  own  husband. 

In  the  seventh  year  Jehoiada  entered  into 
an  association  with  five  captains,  to  force 
the  government  out  of  Athaliah's  hand,  and 
transfer  it  to  the  right  heir. 

Their  business  was  now  only  to  inter- 
change an  oath  of  faith  and  secresy,  and 
so  apply  themselves  to  the  execution  of 
the  design ;  which  they  did  immediately, 
but  not  without  great  hope  of  success. 

The  captains  that  he  had  engaged  in  this 
enterprise  travelled  all  over  the  country, 
with  summons  to  the  priests  and  Levites, 
and  several  of  the  principal  men  in  their 
tribes,  in  the  high-priest's  name,  to  go  up 
to  Jerusalem,  where  Jehoiada  told  them, 
that  they  were  now  called  up  for  advice 
about  the  common  good  of  the  public; 
and  that  he  would  lay  the  whole  matter 
before  them ;  but  it  must  be  kept  private, 
and  the  case  not  only  required  secresy, 
but  help. 

Upon  their  taking  an  oath  of  secresy, 
he  told  them  the  whole  story  without  any 
reserve,  showing  them  the  child  likewise 
that  he  had  taken  under  his  care  and  pre- 
served ;  and  thus  addressing  them,  said, 

"  This  child  is  your  king,  and  a  branch 
of  that  family  which  God  had  promised 
and  foretold  should  never  be  wanting  to 


still  a  son  of  David's  family  left,  which  might  be  a 
means  to  make  them  uneasy  under  her  government, 
and  desirous  of  a  change:  besides  that,  she  might 
have  the  vanity  to  think  of  being  able,  in  a  short 
time,  to  secure  the  crown  to  herself,  in  such  a 
manner,  as  that  she  should  not  need  to  fear  such  a 
weak  competitor.— Poole,  Patrick,  and  Bedford 


432 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI 


supply  the  throne  of  David.  Now  it  is 
my  advice,  that  you  divide  yourselves  into 
three  bodies;  one  third  to  be  upon  the 
guard  of  the  king  in  the  temple  ;  a  second 
third  to  secure  the  passes  and  avenues  that 
lead  to  it;  and  the  remainder  to  guard 
the  open  gate  that  loads  to  the  palace. 
As  for  those  that  have  no  arms,  let  them 
be  in  the  temple,  if  they  think  fit;  but 
let  no  armed  man  be  admitted  there,  ex- 
cept he  be  a  priest." 

Jehoiada  gave  order  also  for  a  select 
number  of  priests  and  Levites  to  stand 
with  drawn  swords,  as  a  guard  about  the 
king's  person,  and  to  kill  any  man  that 
should  press  into  the  temple  with  a  weapon 
about  him,  in  order  to  secure  the  life  and 
safety  of  the  king.  They  were  all  pleased 
with  the  advice  and  contrivance  of  the 
high-priest.  So  that  the  next  thing  to  be 
done  was  the  putting  the  project  in  exe- 
cution. 

Jehoiada,  upon  this,  opened  a  magazine 
of  armour  that  David  had  stored  up  in 
the  temple,  delivering  out  lances,  arrows, 
and  what  other  military  weapons  were 
there  deposited,  to  the  centurions,  priests, 
and  Levites,  who  planted  themselves  as  a 
guard  upon  the  temple  quite  round  it, 
and  so  strictly  beset  the  doors,  that  not  a 
person  was  let  in  that  had  no  business 
there. 

The  child  was  now  produced  with  a 
roval  crown  upon  his  head ;  and  being 
anointed  with  holy  oil,  according  to  cus- 
tom, the  high-priest  pronounced  him  king; 
which  solemnity  was  accompanied  with  in- 
numerable acclamations  by  the  people. 

The  clamour  of  this  outcry  and  procla- 
mation was  a  terrible  surprise  to  Athaliah, 
who  immediately  hasted  away  with  her 
guards  from  the  palace  to  the  temple, 
where  she  herself  was  admitted  by  the 
priest;  but  the  soldiers  that  followed  her 
were  kept  out  by  the  guards  that  were 
posted  there  by  Jehoiada  for  that  very 
purpose 


she  rent  her  garments,  and  cried  out  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Treason  !  treason  !"  But 
Jehoiada  commanded  the  officers  to  seize 
the  woman,  and  carry  her  away  to  the 
brook  of  Kidron,  and  there  put  her  to 
death,  as  the  temple  was  not  to  be  polluted 
with  the  blood  of  a  sorceress. 

Order  was  likewise  given,  that  if  any 
man  should  attempt  a  rescue,  they  should 
put  him  to  death.  Those  who  had  the 
charge  of  this  commission  carried  her  out 
of  the  gate  by  the  horse-way,  and  there 
despatched  her. 

As  soon  as  this  plot  against  Athaliah 
had  taken  effect,  Jehoiada  called  all  the 
people  and  soldiers  together  into  the  tem- 
ple, and  administered  to  them  an  oath  of 
allegiance  and  fidelity  to  the  king,  for  the 
safety  and  defence  of  his  person,  and  the 
honour  and  preservation  of  his  govern- 
ment. 

After  this,  the  king  himself  took  ar 
oath  of  religious  reverence  to  God,  and 
for  the  observance  of  those  laws  that 
Moses  received  from  heaven,  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  people.  • 

The  multitude,  thus  wrought  into  a  re- 
ligious reverence  and  holy  awe  of  the  true 
God,  and  filled  with  just  indignation  at 
idolatry  and  its  abettors,  hastened  in  great 
numbers  to  the  temple  of  Baal  that  Atha- 
liah, in  concurrence  with  her  husband  Je- 
horam,  had  erected,  in  order  to  ingratiate 
themselves  with  Ahab,  and  demolished  it 
after  they  had  slain  Mat  tan,  the  priest  of 
Baal. 

But  Jehoiada  committed  the  holy  tem- 
ple to  the  charge  of  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites, according  to  the  appointment  of 
David,  and  enjoined  two  solemn  sacrifices 
to  be  offered  up  every  day,  with  incense, 
according  to  the  direction  of  the  law ;  he 
also  appointed  porters  out  of  the  number 
of  the  Levites,  to  prevent  any  that  were 
polluted  from  entering  into  the  temple. 

When  all  things  were  thus  disposed, 
Jehoash  was  conducted  out  of  the  temple 


So  soon  as  she  saw  the  child  upon  fhe    into  the  palace,  by  the  captains,  the  gov- 
throne,  with  a  royal  crown  upon  his  head, ,  ernors,  and  all  the  people,  where,  being 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


433 


placed  a  second  time  upon  the  throne,  and 
received  with  repeated  acclamations,  the 
people  gave  themselves  up  for  some  days 
to  mirth  and  feasting,  as  there  was  not  an 
individual  but  rejoiced  at  the  death  of  that 
wicked  woman. 

Jehoash  vvas  seven  years  of  age  when  he 
began  to  reign.  His  mother's  name  was 
Zibiali  of  Beersheba.  He  was  a  strict 
observer  of  the  laws  and  religion  of  his 
country,  so  long  as  Jehoiada  lived. 

When  he  arrived  at  years  of  maturity, 
-  he  married  two  wives,  with  the  approba- 
tion of  the  high-priest,  had  children  by 
them  of  both  sexes,  and  behaved  in  every 
respect  becoming  a  prince. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  pious  conduct  of  Jehoash  during  the  life  of 
Jehoiada. — Apostasy  after  his  death Ston- 
ing of  Zechariah  the  prophet  at  his  instance. — 
Siege  of  Jerusalem. — Jehoash  is  slain Suc- 
ceeded by  Amaziah. —  The  ruin  of  the  Assy- 
rians foretold. — Apostasy  of  Amaziah  awfully 
punished. 

It  having  pleased  God,  in  the  course  of 
his  wise  providence,  to  chastise  the  Is- 
raelites, Hazael  the  Syrian  was  made  the 
awful  instrument  of  divine  vengeance. 
Accordingly  he  advanced  into  their  terri- 
tories, spoiling  all  before  him,  and  laying 
waste  a  great  tract  of  land  to  the  eastward 
beyond  Jordan,  particularly  in  the  tribes 
of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh,  as  also 
Gilead  and  Bashan  ;  and  all  this  was  done 
with  little  or  no  opposition  from  Jehu, 
being  a  man  that  spent  his  time  in  a 
stupid  contempt  of  God's  religion  and 
holy  laws.  Having  reigned  eight  and 
twenty  years  over  Israel,  Jehu  died  and 
was  buried  at  Samaria,  Jehoahaz  his  son 
succeeding  him. 

In  the  days  of  Jehoram  and  Athaliah, 
and  of  their  sons,  the  temple  was  gone  to 
ruin  for  want  of  repair,  so  that  Jehoash 
the  king  of  Jerusalem,  sent  for  Jehoiada 
the  high-priest,  and  gave  him  orders  to 
send   priests  and    Levites  into  ail   quar- 


ters of  his  dominions,  to  charge  every 
man  at  half  a  silver  shekel  a  head  toward 
repairing  the  temple. 

Notwithstanding  this  command,  there 
was  nothing  done  toward  it  at  present;  for 
Jehoiada  well  knew,  that  the  people  would 
not  at  that  time  contribute  towards  such  a 
design.  But  this  king,  in  the  three  and 
twentieth  year  of  his  reign,  finding  so 
good  and  needful  a  work  to  be  totally  for- 
gotten and  laid  aside,  charged  the  high 
priest  and  the  Levites  with  the  care  of  it 
once  again, — blaming  them,  in  some  de- 
gree, for  their  former  neglect  of  duty. 

This  put  Jehoiada  upon  devising  how 
the  business  might  be  brought  about  with- 
out any  grievance  to  the  people;  and  in 
the  end  he  fixed  upon  this  expedient. 
He  caused  a  wooden  chest  to  be  provided, 
close  wrought  and  locked,  with  a  slit 
through  the  cover  of  it,  to  receive  what 
pieces  of  money  soever  would  be  put  into 
it.  This  was  to  be  placed  near  the  altar, 
and  the  people  invited  to  show  their  good 
will  upon  this  occasion  towards  the  work 
in  hand,  in  proportion  to  the  zeal  they 
had  to  the  true  religion  and  God's  imme- 
diate service. 

The  multitude  were  so  well  pleased 
with  the  method,  that  they  brought  in 
gold  and  silver,  as  if  emulous  of  exceeding 
each  other  in  their  donations.  The  chest 
was  every  day  opened,  the  money  counted, 
and  registered  by  the  clerk  of  the  trea- 
sury, and  then  locked  up  again  by  the 
priest,  who  had  the  keeping  of  the  key; 
and  all  this  was  done  in  the  presence  of 
the  king. 

When  they  had  got  treasure  enough  to 
begin,  the  king  and  the  high-priest  hired: 
carpenters,  masons,  and  other  artificers; 
procured  the  largest  and  choicest  timber 
that  could  be  provided,  and  went  in  hand 
with  the  reparations,  employing  the  over- 
plus, (which  was  very  considerable,)  after 
the  finishing  of  that  work,  upon  cups, 
chalices,  goblets,  and  other  vessels  for 
holy  uses,  over  and  above  the  oblation  oi, 
daih  sacrifices. 

3i 


434 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


This  regularity  was  exactly  observed 
while  Jehoiada  lived;  but  in  the  hundred 
and  thirtieth  year  of  his  age  he  died.* 
He  was  a  man  of  singular  probity  and 
justice,  and  so  highly  esteemed  as  a  friend 
to  the  house  of  David,  that  his  body  was 
deposited  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings. 
After  his  decease  Jehoash  fell  off  from  his 
former  zeal  for  religion,  and  the  princes 
of  the  people  quickly  followed  his  exam- 
ple, priding  themselves  upon  the  contempt 
of  holy  things. 

Upon  this  apostasy  of  the  king  and  his 
ministers,  God  sent  prophets  to  expostu- 
late and  reason  with  them,  and  to  convince 
them  of  their  wickedness;  but  they  were 
so  hardened  in  their  iniquity,  that  neither 
the  example  of  their  forefathers  and  their 
families,  that  had  been  severely  punished 
for  their  contempt  of.  the  laws,  nor  the 
threatenings  of  the  prophets  could  avail 
with  them;  but  the  king  caused  Zechariah, 
the  son  of  the  high-priest  Jehoiada,  to  be 
stoned  to  death  in  the  very  temple,  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  merit  and  good 
counsels  of  his  father. 

Thus  did  he  treat  the  servant  of  the 


*  This  the  sacred  historian  takes  notice  of,  as  a 
life  remarkably  long  in  those  days;  and  yet  Usher 
has  observed,  that  in  an  age  not  far  remote  from 
our  time,  several  men  out-lived  this  period.  The 
words  of  Joseph  Scaliger,  which  he  quotes,  are  to 
this  effect:  "Several  persons  we  could  mention, 
that  have  lived  120,  125,  and  130  years,  whom  we 
knew,  have  seen,  and  well  remember:  but,  in  the 
year  1584,  there  was  at  Paris  a  miracle  of  an  old 
man,  who  bore  arms  under  Louis  XI.  and,  at  the 
age  of  140  years  and  upwards  had  the  use  of  his 
limbs  and  faculties  entire:"  but  not  a  greater 
miracle  was  he  than  Thomas  Parr,  the  son  of 
John  Parr,  of  Winnington,  in  the  county  of 
Salop,  who  abode  with  his  father  as  long  as  he 
lived,  but,  after  his  decease,  married  his  first  wife 
at  the  age  of  80.  With  her  he  lived  for  the  space 
of  two  and  thirty  years,  in  which  time  he  did 
public  penance  in  the  church  of  Alberbury, 
when  he  was  105.  In  his  122d  year,  he  married 
his  second  wife,  who  abode  with  him  as  long  as  he 
lived :  but  at  length  he  was  brought  up  to  London 
by  the  earl  of  Arundel  and  Surrey,  in  the  year 
1635,  and  shown  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
when  he  was  some  months  more  than  152  years 
old.  Two  years  after  this  he  died  in  Arundel- 
house,  and  might  probably  have  lived  some  years 
longer,  had  he  continued  in  his  native  air. — 
Chronol.  Sacra,  c.  12. 


Lord  for  exhorting  both  king  and  peo- 
ple to  repentance  and  the  administration 
of  equal  justice,  and  for  giving  a  premo- 
nition of  the  grievous  judgments  that 
would  befall  them  if  they  persisted  in 
their  iniquity.  Zechariah,  with  jus  last 
breath,  appealed  to  God  both  as  his  judge 
and  as  his  witness,  that  the  crime  for 
which  he  died  was  only  the  giving  of 
good  advice,  and  being  the  son  of  a  father 
that  had  deserved  so  well  from  the  king; 
and  that  the  death  he  then  suffered  was 
but  the  reward  of  those  services. 

After  this  the  divine  vengeance  over- 
took the  king  himself;  for  Hazael,  the 
king  of  Syria,  made  an  inroad  into  his 
country,  and  having  plundered  and  de- 
stroyed Gath,  he  marched  directly  to 
Jerusalem.  Jehoash  was  so  affrighted  at 
the  approach  of  the  Syrian  army,  that  he 
compounded  for  himself  and  the  city,  and 
delivered  up  all  the  treasure  of  the  temple, 
as  well  what  was  dedicated  to  God,  as  the 
gifts  of  particular  kings,  to  purchase  ex- 
emption from  the  danger  that  then  threat- 
ened him,  and  security  for  the  future; 
Hazael  accepted  the  offer,  being  a  pro- 
digious sum  of  money,  and  so  raised  the 
siege. 

Jehoash  after  this  was  seized  with  a 
severe  distemper,  and  the  friends  of 
Zechariah  took  their  revenge  upon  him 
by  surprise  for  the  murder  of  the  son  of 
the  high-priest.  He  was  buried  at  Jeru- 
salem at  the  age  of  forty-seven  years;  and 
though  a  man  of  apparent  piety  at  his  ac- 
cession to  the  throne,  he  had  fallen  from 
the  service  of  God  into  every  kind  of 
abomination. 

Amaziah  succeeded  Jehoash,  his  father, 
in  the  government  of  Judah,  and  in  the 
three  and  twentieth  year  of  Jehoash, 
Jehoahaz  the  son  of  Jehu  entered  upon 
the  government  of  Israel  in  Samaria,  and 
reigned  seventeen  years,  not  so  much 
after  the  example  of  his  father,  as  after 
that  of  the  worst  of  his  ancestors,  who 
lived  in  open  defiance  of  God  and  good- 


ness. 


Chap.  III.1 


THE  BIBLE 


435 


The  king  of  Syria  in  the  mean  time 
had  reduced  the  mighty  power  of  Jehoa- 
haz to  the  small  number  of  ten  thousand 
foot  and  fifty  horse,  over-running  several 
of  his  cities,  and  killing  numbers  of  his 
people.  This  calamity  of  the  Israelites 
was  foretold  by  Elisha  in  his  prediction 
to  Hazael,  when  he  told  him  that  he 
should  kill  his  lord,  and  possess  himself  of 
the  government  of  Syria  and  Damascus. 
In  this  unhappy  juncture,  Jehoahaz  had 
recourse  to  God  by  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion, for  deliverance  from  the  power  and 
oppression  of  Hazael. 

Upon  his  humiliation,  that  gracious 
God,  who  not  only  cherishes  the  innocent 
but  pardons  the  penitent,  and  chooses  ra- 
ther to  correct  and  reform  the  wicked, 
than  destroy  them,  was  prevailed  upon  to 
deliver  him  from  the  burden  of  a  ruinous 
war,  by  a  timely  peace,  and  to  restore  his 
dominions  to  their  former  state  of  happi- 
ness and  plenty. 

After  the  death  of  Jehoahaz,  Joash  his 
son  came  to  the  government  of  Israel  and 
Samaria,  in  the  seven  and  thirtieth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Jehoash  king  of  Judah, 
this  king  and  the  king  of  Jerusalem  be- 
ing both  of  the  same  name.  He  held  the 
government  sixteen  years.  The  prophet 
Elisha  was  now  far  advanced  in  years; 
and  being  at  this  time  upon  his  death- 
bed,* Joash  made  him  a  visit  in  his  ex- 


*  Good  Elisha,  who  had  now  lived  some  ninety 
years,  a  wonder  of  prophets,  and  had  outworn 
many  successions  in  the  thrones  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  is  now  cast  upon  the  bed  of  his  sickness  ; 
yea,  of  his  death.  His  very  age  might  seem  a 
disease,  which  yet  is  seconded  by  a  languishing 
distemper.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  any  holiness 
to  privilege  us  from  infirmity  of  body,  from  final 
dissolution.  He  that  stretched  himself  upon  his 
bed  over  the  dead  body  of  the  Shunamite's  son, 
and  revived  it,  must  now  stretch  out  his  own  limbs 
on  his  sick  bed  and  die.  He,  who  had  seen  his 
master  Elijah  rapt  up  suddenly  from  the  earth, 
and  fetched  by  a  fiery  chariot  from  this  vale  of 
mortality,  himself  must  leisurely  wait  for  his  last 
pangs,  in  a  lingering  passage  to  the  same  glory. 
There  are  several  ways  appointed  to  us  by  the 
divine  providence  unto  one  common  blessedness. 
One  has  more  pain  ;  another  passes  off*  with  more 
6pecd :  violence  snatches  away  one ;  another,  by 


tremity,  and  out  of  tenderness  to  see  the 
good  man  labouring  in  his  agonies,  burst 
out  into  tears;  calling  him  the  father,  the 
defender  and  protector  of  his  country;  ob- 
serving, that  while  he  lived,  the  people 
were  secure  against  all  their  enemies,  even 
without  arms,  through  the  benefit  and 
blessing  of  his  prayers;  but  that  whenever 
he  was  taken  away,  they  should  be  left 
naked  and  defenceless,  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Syrians  and  other  enemies;  and  that 
therefore,  for  his  own  part,  he  had  rather 
leave  the  world  with  him,  than  stay  in  it 
without  him. 

This  compassionate  tenderness  wrought 
so  far  upon  the  prophet,  that,  to  comfort 
the  king,  he  called  for  a  bow  and  arrow, 
laid  his  hand  upon  it,  and  bade  him  bend 
it  and  shoot.  He  shot  thrice,  and  then 
gave  over;  then  Elisha  told  him  that  if 
he  had  let  fly  more  shafts,  he  should  have 
ruined  and  destroyed  the  whole  kingdom 
of  the  Syrians  ;f  but  since  he  gave  over 
at  a  third  shot,  he  must  content  himself 
with  three  several  victories  over  them  ; 
wherein  he  should  recover  the  countries 
they  had  taken  from  his  father. 


an  insensible  pace,  draws  every  day  nearer  to  his 
term.  Happy  is  he,  that,  after  due  preparation, 
is  passed  through  the  gates  of  death,  ere  he  be 
aware !  Happy  too  is  he,  who,  by  the  holy  use  of 
long  sickness,  is  taught  to  see  the  gates  of  death 
afar  off,  and  is  prepared  for  a  resolute  passage! 
The  one  dies  like  Elijah,  the  other  like  Elisha ; 
both  blessedly. — Hall. 

f  It  was  an  ancient  custom  to  shoot  an  arrow 
or  cast  a  spear  into  the  country  which  an  army 
intended  to  invade.  Justin  says  that,  as  soon  as 
Alexander  the  Great  had  arrived  on  the  coasts  of 
Iona,  he  threw  a  dart  into  the  country  of  the 
Persians.  The  dart,  spear,  or  arrow  thrown,  was 
an  emblem  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities. 
Virgil  represents  Turnus  as  giving  the  signal  of 
attack  by  throwing  a  spear: 
"  Who  first,"  he  cried,  "with  me  the  foe  will  dare?" 
Then  hurl'd  a  dart,  the  signal  of  the  war. 

Servius,  in  his  note  upon  this  place,  shows  that 
it  was  a  custom  to  proclaim  war  in  this  way:  the 
pater  patratus,  or  chief  of  the  Feciales,  a  sort  of 
heralds,  went  to  the  confines  of  the  enemy's  coun- 
try, and  after  some  solemnities,  said  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  I  wage  war  with  you,  for  such  and  such 
reasons  "  and  then  threw  in  a  spear.  It  was  then 
the  business  of  the  parties  thus  defied  or  warned  to 
take  the  subject  into  consideration  ;  and  if  they 
did  not  within  thirty  days,  come  to  some  accom- 
modation, the  war  was  begun. — Dr  A.  Clarke. 


436 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


Tlie  king  went  his  way  upon  tiiese 
words:  and  the  prophet  expired  soon  after. 
He  was  a  man  celebrated  for  his  justice, 
and  without  all  dispute  highly  in  God's 
favour,  as  appears  by  the  wonderful  things 
he  did,  and  the  miracles  that  he  wrought. 
They  gave  him  an  honourable  interment, 
answerable  to  the  merit  of  so  great  a 
saint.* 

It  happened,  after  this,  that  a  traveller 
was  killed  upon  the  way  by  thieves,  and 
the  body  was  thrown  into  the  prophet's 
monument;  which,  upon  the  bare  touch 
of  Elisha,  was  immediately  revived ;  so 
that  both  dead  and  living  this  prophet 
wrought  miracles.f 

*  The  common  places  of  burying  among  the 
Hebrews,  were  in  the  fields,  in  caverns  dug  into  a 
rock,  with  niches  for  the  bodies  to  be  placed  in, 
and,  at  the  entrance  of  the  sepulchre  there  was  a 
hewn  stone,  which  might  be  removed  or  replaced 
without  any  damage  to  the  tomb.  The  Jews  (as 
Josephus  informs  us)  gave  Elktlta  a  pompous  and 
honourable  interment,  answerable  to  the  dignity 
and  merit  of  so  great  a  prophet ;  but  he  does  not 
tell  us  where  the  place  of  his  sepulture  was.  Here- 
upon some  have  imagined,  that  he  was  carried  to 
Abel-meholah,  the  place  of  his  nativity,  to  be  there 
interred  among  his  ancestors :  others  think,  that 
he  was  at  first  buried  on  mount  Carmel.  a  favourite 
place  of  his,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Samaria. 
Others  again  say,  that  he  was  buried  at  Nineveh; 
and,  to  this  very  day,  the  inhabitants  show  his 
monument  at  Mosul,  which  was  built,  as  they  say, 
upon  the  very  same  spot  where  old  Nineveh  stood. 
But  the  most  prevailing  opinion,  founded  upon  a 
constant  tradition,  is,  that  he  was  buried  some- 
where in  the  neighbourhood  of  Samaria,  because 
there,  10  all  appearance,  he  died.  Tire  tomb,  how- 
ever, that  is  usually  shown  for  his  in  that  city,  can 
be  nothing  more  than  the  repository  of  his  remains, 
since  his  original  burying-place  was  certainly  at 
some  distance  from  it. — Jewish  Antiq.  lib.  ix.  c.  9. 

■}  Josephus,  who  gives  the  above  account  of  this 
transaction,  varies  a  little  from  the  sacred  history : 
and  the  Jewish  doctors,  who  love  to  improve  upon 
every  miracle,  tell  us,  that  this  person,  (whom 
they  pretend  to  call  Sellurn)  after  he  was  revived, 
did  presently  die  again,  because  he  was  a  wicked 
man,  and  did  not  deserve  to  live  long  ;  never  con- 
sidering, that  his  hasty  death  afterwards  was  the 
ready  way  to  impair  the  credit  of  the  miracle,  and 
make  it  indeed  of  no  effect.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain,  that  by  this  miracle,  (as  we  rind  it 
related  in  scripture)  (Jod  did  the  highest  honour 
to  his  prophet,  and  confirmed  the  truth  of  what 
he  had  promised  to  the  king  of  Israel,  as  well  as 
the  certainty  of  a  future  life;  in  whicli  sense  some 
part  of  the  character,  which  the  author  of  Ecclesi- 
tiMitus,  chap,  x.viii.  \>,  &c.  gives  him,  may  not 
improperly    be    understood  :    *  Elisha    was    tilled 


Hazael  was  now  dead,  and  the  kingdom 
of  Syria  devolved  by  hereditary  right  to 
his  son  Benhadad,  who  was  overthrown 
by  Joash  in  three  battles;  and  all  that 
country  recovered  to  the  Israelites,  which 
his  father  had  wrested  from  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  prediction  of  Elisha.  Upon 
the  death  of  Joash,  Jeroboam  his  son,  the 
second  of  that  name,  entered  upon  the 
government. 

In  the  second  year  of  Joash  king  of  Is- 
rael, Amaziah  came  to  the  government  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem. 
His  mother's  name  was  Jehoaddan,  a  na- 
tive of  the  place.  He  had  a  reverence 
for  justice,  even  in  his  youth;  and  began 
his  administration  in  revenging  the  death 
of  his  father  upon  those  persons  who  had 
treacherously  murdered  him,  under  a 
cloak  of  friendship.  He  brought  the  as- 
sassins to  public  justice,  but  spared  their 
children,  according  to  the  laws  prescribed 
by  Moses,  who  deemed  it  unreasonable  to 
punish  the  children  for  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers.^ 

After  this  he  levied  an  army  of  select 
men  from  among  the  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin,  and  appointed  proper  officers 
over  them.  Besides  this  chosen  body, 
which  consisted  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand, he  treated  with  the  king  of  the 
Israelites  for  one  hundred  thousand  auxil- 
iaries, at  the  rate  of  an  hundred  talents  of 
silver§  for  their  hire,  paid  down  immedi- 


with  Elijah's  spirit  ;  whilst  he  was  not  moved 
with  the  presence  of  any  prince,  neither  could  any 
bring  him  into  subjection :  no  word  could  over- 
come him  ;  and,  after  his  death,  his  body  prophe- 
sied :  he  did  wonders  in  his  life,  and  at  his  death 
were  his  works  marvellous.' — Jewish  Antiq.  and 
Calmet's  Commentary. 

\  In  this  he  acted  like  a  good  man,  and  contrary 
to  the  wicked  customs  of  many  kingdoms,  where,  if 
any  one  be  guilty  of  high-treason,  not  only  he,  but 
his  children  likewise,  who  are  neither  conscious 
nor  partakers  of  any  of  his  traitorous  practices,  are 
equally  devoted  to  destruction,  lest  they  (forsooth) 
should  form  any  faction  against  the  prince,  or  seek 
revenge  for  their  father's  death. — Le  Clerc's 
Commentary. 

§  If  we. reckon  each  talent  at  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds  weight,  and  each  pound  weight 
at  four  pounds  in  value,  the  whole  will  amount  to 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


437 


ately,  being  fully  determined  to  make  war 
upon  the  Amalekites,  the  Edomites,  and 
the  Gebalites.  As  he  was  just  upon  the 
point  of  marching  against  them,  a  «ian  of 
God  advised  him  by  ail  means  to  dismiss 
the  Israelites;  for  they  were  a  wicked 
generation,  and  would  certainly  be  de- 
stroyed, together  with  those  that  joined 
with  them ;  adding,  moreover,  that  he  had 
a  sufficient  force  of  his  own,  with  God's 
assistance,  to  overcome  the  enemy. 

The  king  having  already  parted  with 
his  money,  was  not  a  little  troubled  at  the 
thought  of  losing  both  his  pay  and  his 
men  ;  yet  upon  the  prophet's  counsel  to 
resign  himself  wholly  to  the  will  of  God, 
under  whose  protection  he  should  be  sure 
to  want  nothing,  he  discharged  his  auxil- 
iaries, observing,  that  he  frankly  bestowed 
that  treasure  upon  them  as  bounty,  which 
they  had  received  only  as  hire. 

Immediately  upon  parting  with  his  mer- 
cenaries, he  advanced  with  his  own  troops 
against  the  combined  enemies,  which  he 
overcame,  cut  off  ten  thousand  of  them  in 
one  battle,  and  carried  away  ten  thousand 
more  to  the  top  of  a  great  rock,  that  over- 
looks Arabia,  where  they  were  all  thrown 


fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  wliich  will  be  but 
ten  shillings  to  each  man,  officers  included.  Very 
low  pay  !  unless  we  suppose,  that  this  whole  sum 
was  given  to  the  king  of  Israel  for  the  loan  of  so 
many  men,  and  that  the  men  were  to  have  their  pay 
besides  ;  or  rather,  that  they  were  to  have  no  other 
pay  but  the  booty  which  they  took  from  the  ene- 
my, and  that  this  was  the  true  reason  why  they 
were  so  exasperated  at  their  dismission  as  to  fal! 
upon  the  cities  of  Judah,  from  Samaria  even  unto 
Beth-horon,  2  Chron.  xxv.  13.  They  went  very 
probably  first  to  Samaria,  where  they  complained 
to  their  own  king  of  the  bad  treatment  they  had 
received  from  Amaziah,  and  desired  some  repara- 
tion to  be  made  them  for  the  affront  put  upon 
them,  and  the  loss  of  the  profit  which  they  might 
have  made  in  the  war  :  but,  rinding  him  not  in- 
clinable to  make  them  satisfaction,  they  immediate- 
ly fell  foul  upon  the  territories  of  Judah,  and, 
from  Samaria  (for  that  is  the  place  of  their  setting 
out)  even  to  beth-horon,  a  town  not  far  distant 
from  Jerusalem,  ravaged  the  country,  and  did  the 
mischief  here  mentioned  ;  which  they  might  more 
easily  do,  because  the  war  with  Edom  had  drained 
the  country  of  all  the  forces  that  should  have  op- 
posed them Patrick's  and  Calmet's  Com- 
mentaries. 


down  the  precipice  and  destroyed  ;• 
Amaziah  then  returned  home  with  great 
booty.  But  the  Israelitish  mercenaries 
were  so  incensed  at  being  dismissed  in  so 
abrupt  a  manner,  and  without  any  just 
cause  being  assigned,  that,  to  revenge  the 
contempt  cast  upon  them,  they  made  an 
inroad  into  the  territories  of  Amaziah, 
laying  all  waste  as  far  as  Beth-horon, 
putting  three  thousand  people  to  the 
sword,  and  carrying  away  a  great  number 
of  their  cattle. 

Amaziah  was  so  elated  by  his  late  victo- 
ry, that,  regardless  of  that  God  by  whom 
alone  kings  reign,  he  degenerated  from  his 
pure  worship  into  the  abominable  idolatry 
of  the  Amalekites.  The  prophet,  upon  this, 
went  to  the  king,  and  told  him,  that  he 
could  not  but  wonder  at  his  confiding  in 
those  powers,  that  were  so  far  from  being 
able  to  protect  their  servants,  that  they 
could  not  defend  themselves,  but  were 
taken  prisoners  by  the  Hebrews,  and  car- 
ried away  like  slaves  to  Jerusalem,  with 
the  rest  of  the  spoil.f 


*  That  this  was  an  ancient  punishment  among 
the  Romans,  who  used  to  throw  certain  malefac- 
tors from  the  Tarpeian  rock,  we  may  learn  from 
Livy,  Plutarch, and  several  others;  and  Pitt  informs 
us  that  the  same  practice  obtains  among  the  Moors 
at  Constantine,  a  town  in  Barbary;  but  we  do 
not  find  it  commonly  practised  among  the  Jews. 
We  have,  however,  two  instances, — that  in  which 
the  Jews  attempted  to  precipitate  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  brow  of  a  mountain  ;  and  the  other,  that  of 
James,  surnamed  the  Just,  who  was  thrown  from 
the  highest  part  of  the  temple  into  the  subjacent 
valley.  It  is  not  in  the  catalogue  of  the  punish- 
ments which  Moses  enacts  ;  neither  was  it  ever  in- 
flicted by  any  regular  judicature:  and  therefore 
one  would  tnink,  that  the  Edomites,  either  by  some 
such  like  cruelty  to  the  peopie  of  Judah,  had  pro- 
voked them  to  make  retaliation  in  this  manner,  or 
that  they  were,  in  their  very  disposition,  so  apt  to 
revolt,  that  there  could  be  no  keeping  them  in  sub- 
jection without  some  such  sad  exemplary  punish- 
ment as  this. —  Calmet  and  Le  Clerc. 

•f-  Idolatry  at  the  best  can  no  ways  be  apologiz- 
ed for  ;  but  no  reason  can  be  invented  why  any 
person  should  make  the  objects  of  his  adoration 
such  gods  as  could  '  not  deliver  their  own  people 
out  of  the  enemies'  hands,'  as  the  prophet  very 
justly  reproves  Amaziah,  2  Chron.  xxv.  15.  unless 
we  suppose  that  the  images  of  these  «ods  were  so 
very  beautiful,  that  he  perfectly  fill  in  love  with 
them,  or  that  he  worshipped  them  for  fear  they 
should  owe  him  a  spite,  and  do  him  some  mis- 


438 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


These  words  of  tlie  prophet  highly 
provoked  the  king's  wrath,  insomuch  that 
he  forbade  him,  at  his  peril,  to  interfere 
any  further  in  a  business  that  did  not  con- 
cern him.  The  prophet's  answer  was, 
that  for  the  future  he  would  be  quiet ;  but 
assured  him,  that  God  would  take  se- 
vere vengeance  on  him  for  this  wicked 
and  idolatrous  innovation  in  religion  which 
he  had  introduced. 

But  this  infatuated  prince  was  so  trans- 
ported with  vanity  and  insolence  upon  his 
late  success,  that,  without  any  regard  to 
the  hand  of  divine  providence,  he  wrote 
an  imperious  letter  some  time  after  to  Jo- 
ash,  the  king  of  the  Israelites,  command- 
ing him  and  his  people  to  pay  the  same 
allegiance  to  him  which  they  had  former- 
ly rendered  to  his  ancestors  David  and 
Solomon;  or,  in  case  of  their  refusal,  to 
expect  a  decision  of  the  cause  by  the 
sword  ;  to  which  summons  Joash  returned 
this  answer : 

"  King  Joash  to  king  Amaziah,  greet- 
ing,— It  happened,  once  upon  a  time, 
betwixt  a  cedar  tree,  and  a  thistle,  upon 
mount  Lebanon,  that  the  thistle  sent  to 
the  cedar,  saying,  Give  thy  daughter  to 
my  son  for  wife;  whereupon  there  came  a 
wild  beast  and   trode  down   the  thistle.* 


chief,  in  revenge  for  what  he  had  done  against 
the  Edomites.  How  much  more  wise  were  the 
sentiments  of  Fahricius  Maximus  upon  the  like 
occasion,  who,  having  conquered  Tarentum,  and 
being  asked  what  should  be  done  with  their  gods  ? 
'Bid  them  leave  tliem  with  the  Tarentines  ;  for 
what  madness  is  it,' as  he  adds, 'to  hope  for  an y 
safety  from  those  that  cannot  preserve  them- 
selves ?' — Patrick's  Commentary. 

*  It  was  a  custom  among  the  oriental  people  to 
deliver  their  sentiments  in  parables,  in  which  they 
made  a  great  part  of  their  wisdom  to  consist :  and, 
considering  the  circumstances  of  the  person  he 
addressed,  who  was  a  petty  prince,  flushed  with  a 
little  good  success,  and  thereupon  impatient  to 
enlarge  his  kingdom,  no  similitude  could  be  better 
adapted  than  that  of  a  thistle,  a  low  contemptible 
shrub,  but,  upon  its  having  drawn  blood  of  some 
traveller,  growing  proud,  and  affecting  an  equality 
with  the  cedar,  (a  tall,  stately  tree,  that  is  the 
pride  and  ornament  of  the  wood,)  till,  in  the  midst 
of  all  its  arrogance  and  presumption,  it  is  unhap- 
pily trodden  down  by  the  beasts  of  the  forests, 
2  Kings  xiv.  9.  which  Joash  intimates  would  be 
Amaziah's  fate,  if  he  continued   to   provoke  a 


Make  use  of  this  example  for  your  own 
instruction,  and  moderate  your  own  ambi- 
tion, without  aspiring  to  things  out  of 
your  reach.  Take  care  that  your  confi- 
dence and  pride,  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
Edomites,  do  not  betray  you  some  time 
or  other  to  the  loss  of  your  life  and  king- 
dom." 

This  answer  to  Amaziah  was  but  as  oil 
to  the  flame,  and  made  him  ten  times 
more  furious  and  implacable  than  before; 
God  in  his  justice  giving  him  up,  as  may 
be  reasonably  supposed,  to  such*  a  violence 
of  rage  and  passion,  as  would  certainly 
expose  him  to  the  stroke  of  divine  justice 
for  his  impiety. 

In  this  enraged  state  of  mind  he  took 
the  field,  and  both  armies  were  drawn  up 
in  form  of  battle.  But  no  sooner  were 
his  men  advanced  within  sight  of  the 
enemy,  than  they  were  instantly  struck 
with  such  consternation  and  terror,  that 
they  turned  their  backs  without  striking  a 
blow,  and,  flying  several  ways,  left  Ama- 
ziah prisoner  in  the  hands  of  his  enemy, 
who  refused  to  give  him  quarters  upon 
any  other  terms,  than  that  the  citizens  of 
Jerusalem  should  set  open  the  gates,  and 
receive  him  and  his  victorious  army  into 
the  town. 

With  these  hard  terms  the  present  crisis 
obliged  him  to  comply,  having  life  or 
death  immediately  before  him;  so  that 
Joash  entered  the  town  in  his  triumphal 
chariot,  through  a  breach  of  about  four 
hundred  cubits  of  wall  that  he  had  caused 
to  be  broken  down,  with  his  prisoner 
Amaziah  marching  along  with  him;  and 
this  was  the  splendid  manner  in  which  he 
took  possession  of  the  place,  making  him- 
self master  of  the  city. 

He  made  a  seizure  of  all  the  holy  plate 
and  treasure,  and  of  all  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver likewise  that  he  could  find  in  the 
palace,  carrying  the  whole  spoil  away 
with  him;  and  then  dismissing  the  king, 


prince  of  his   superior   power   ai:<l    strength — Le 
Clerc's,  CatuieCs,  and  Futrich's  Commentaries. 


Chap.  IV.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


439 


he  returned  to  Samaria.  This  calamity 
befell  Jerusalem  in  the  fourteenth  year  of 
Amaziah's  reign. 

The  people  of  Jerusalem,  after  this, 
entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  him,*  so 
that  he  was  forced  to  fly  for  safety  to 
Lachish;  but  his  flight  availed  not,  for  the 
assassins  followed  him  thither,  and  mur- 
dered him  upon  the  spot. 

His  body  was  carried  back  to  Jerusa- 
lem, where  it  was  buried  in  royal  state. 
This  was  the  miserable  end  of  the  once 
victorious  Amaziah,  for  the  neglect  of 
God's  worship,  and  introducing  innova- 
tions in  his  holy  religion. 

He  died  in  the  one  and  fiftieth  year  of 
his  age,  and  twenty-ninth  of  his  reign, 
leaving  his  son  Uzziah  successor  to  his 
government. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Jonah  prophesies  against  Nineveh. —  Uzziah  be- 
gins his  reign  well,  but  degenerates,  and  is 
punished. — Several  successive  kings  obtain  the 
crown  by  the  heinous  crime  of  murder. —  Vic- 
torious character  of  Jotham,  king  ofJudah. — 
Nahum  foretells  the  destruction  of  Nineveh, 
and  the  Assyrian  empire. — Jotham  des,  and 
is  succeeded  by  Ahaz,  an  idolatrous  prince* 
who  is  vanquished  on  his  accession  by  his  ene- 
mies with  great  slaughter. 

In  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Ama- 
Tiah,  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Joash,  was 
made  king  over  Israel,  and  kept  his  court 

*  What  provoked  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
more  than  any  other  part  of  the  nation,  against 
their  king,  was,  their  seeing  their  city  spoiled  of 
its  best  ornaments,  exposed  to  reproach  upon 
account  of  the  great  breach  that  was  made  in  their 
wall,  and  several  of  their  children  carried  away  as 
hostages  for  their  good  behaviour;  all  which 
they  imputed  to  their  king's  maladministration. 
Whereupon  they  entered  into  a  conspiracy  against 
him,  which  makes  some  commentators  say,  that  he 
lived  in  a  state  of  exile  at  Lachish  the  space  of 
twelve  years,  not  daring  to  continue  longer  in 
Jerusalem  after  the  defeat  which  Joash  had  given 
him.  But  Usher  has  placed  this  conspiracy  in 
the  last  year  of  Amaziah's  reign,  as  Jacobus 
Capellus  supposes  that  it  was  set  on  foot  by  the 
great  men  of  Jerusalem  upon  the  specious  pre- 
tence of  being  guardians  to  the  young  prince,  and 
taking  better  care  of  him  than  his  father  was  likely 
to  do. — Patrick's  and  CalmeCs  Commentaries. 


at  Samaria,  in  the  palace  of  his  forefathers, 
for  forty  years  of  his  reign. 

He  was  a  prince  impious  to  the  highest 
degree,  wholly  abandoned  to  idolatry; 
and  so  licentious,  that  he  gratified  his  in- 
ordinate desire,  in  violation  of  all  law, 
civil  or  religious;  and  the  judgments 
which  his  profligate  course  of  life  brought 
upon  the  Israelites  were  almost  innumera- 
ble. It  was  foretold  of  him  by  Jonahf 
the  prophet,  that  he  should  overcome  the 
Syrians,  and  enlarge  the  territories  as  far 
as  the  city  Hamath  on  the  north,  and  the 
lake  Asphaltites  on  the  south,  which  were 
formerly  the  bounds  of  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, according  to  the  allotment  of  Joshua 
the  general. 

Jeroboam  was  so  elevated  upon  this 
prediction,  that  he  took  away  from  the 
Syrians  all  the  tract  of  ground  before- 
mentioned,  and  annexed  it  to  his  own  do- 
minions ;  and  made  good  the  prediction 
of  the  prophecy  of  Jonah ;  and  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  it,  being  so  peculiar 
in  their  nature,  and  so  demonstrative  of 
the  divine  power,  cannot  with  justice  be 
omitted  in  this  history,  and  is  therefore 
related  in  the  following  plain  manner. 

"The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto 
Jonah,  saying,  Arise,  and  go  to  Nineveh,:]: 


\  Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  was  a  Galilean,  a 
native  of  Gath-hepher,  which  is  believed  to  be  the 
same  as  Jotapata,  celebrated  for  the  siege  which 
Josephus  the  historian  there  maintained  against 
the  Roman  army,  a  little  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  Gath-hepher  was  situated  in  the  land 
of  Zebulun,  where  was  the  canton  of  Ophir  or 
Hepher.  St  Jerome  places  it  two  miles  from 
Sepphoris,  in  the  way  towards  Tiberias.  Some 
Rabbins  are  of  opinion  that  Jonah  was  the  widow 
of  Sarepta's  son,  restored  to  life  by  Elijah. 

X  Nineveh,  the  capital  of  the  Assyrian  empire, 
could  boast  of  the  remotest  antiquity.  It  was 
founded  by  Nimrod,  or  (as  the  text  of  Gen.  x.  1 1. 
may  be  rendered)  by  Ashur  the  son  of  Shem :  by 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  it  was  called  Ninns.  Ac- 
cording to  some  writers,  it  stood  on  the  eastern 
banks  of  the  Tigris  above  Babylon,  while  others 
represent  it  as  being  erected  on  the  western  hank: 
it  may  very  probably  have  occupied  both.  This 
city  was  very  splendid,  and  of  great  extent  :  ac- 
cording to  Diodorus  Siculus,  it  was  480  stadia  or 
48  English  miles  (others  estimate  it  60  miles)  in 
circumference  :  in  the  time  of  Jonah,  it  was  "an 
exceeding  great  city  of  three  days'  journey,"  con- 
taining "  more   than  six-score  thousand  persons 


440 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


and  there  cry  aloud  to  them,  that  that 
great  kingdom  is  to  be  suddenly  destroy- 
ed ;  but  Jonah,  to  avoid  the  danger  of 
being  author  of  sueh  tidings  to  them, 
thought  it  better  to  go  out  of  the  way,  (as 
if  he  could  hide  himself  from  God,)  and 
therefore  went  on  board  a  vessel  at  Jop- 
pa,* that  was  bound  for  Tarshish  in  Cilicia. 


that  could  not  discern  between  their  right  hand 
and  their  left ;"  that  is,  children  not  arrived  at  the 
use  of  reason.  As  children  make,  generally,  about 
one-fifth  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  cities,  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  Nineveh  contained  above  600,000  per- 
sons. Its  destruction  within  forty  days,  which 
that  prophet  had  denounced,  was  averted  by  the 
general  repentance  and  humiliation  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  was  suspended  for  nearly  200  years,  un- 
til 4  their  iniquity  came  to  the  full  ;'  and  then 
the  prophecy  was  literally  accomplished,  in  the 
third  year  of  the  siege  of  the  city,  by  the  combined 
Modes  and  Babylonians  ;  the  king,  Sardanapalus, 
being  encouraged  to  hold  out  in  consequence  of 
an  ancient  prophecy  that  Nineveh  should  never 
be  taken  by  assault,  till  the  river  became  its  ene- 
my ;  when  a  mighty  inundation  of  the  river, 
swollen  by  continual  rains,  came  up  against  a  part 
of  the  city,  and  threw  down  twenty  stadia  of  the 
wall  in  length;  upon  which  the  king,  conceivini;; 
that  the  oracle  was  accomplished,  burnt  himself, 
his  concubines,  eunuchs,  and  treasures;  and  the 
enemy,  entering  by  the  breach,  sacked  and  rased 
the  city,  about  b.  c.  606.  Of  this  once  celebrated 
city  there  are  literally  no  remains.  Four  mounds, 
the  largest  running  north  and  south,  and  the  most 
southerly  called  after  the  prophet  Jonah,  whose 
tomb  it  is  supposed  to  contain,  exhibit  all  that  can 
now  be  traced  of  the  metropolis  of  Asia. — Home. 
•  Joppa  is  a  sea-port  town  in  Palestine, 
upon  the  Mediterranean,  and  was  formerly  the 
only  port  which  the  Jews  had  upon  that  coast, 
whither  all  the  materials,  that  were  sent  from 
Tyre,  towards  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple, 
were  brought,  and  landed.  The  town  itself  is  very 
ancient,  for  profane  authors  reckon  it  was  built  be- 
fore the  flood,  and  derive  the  name  of  it  from 
Joppa,  the  daughter  of  Elolus,  and  the  wife  of 
Cepheus,  who  was  the  founder  of  it.  Others  are 
rather  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  built  by 
Japhet,  and  from  him  had  the  name  of  Japho, 
which  was  afterwards  moulded  into  Joppa,  but  is 
now  generally  called  Jaffa,  which  comes  nearer  to 
the  first  appellation.  The  town  is  situated  in  a 
fine  plain,  between  Jamuia  to  the  south ;  Caesarea 
of  Palestine  to  the  north;  and  Rama  or  Hamula, 
to  the  east  ;  but  at  present  is  in  a  poor  and  mean 
condition  ;  and  as  a  station  for  vessels,  its  harbour 
is  one  of  the  worst  in  the  Mediterranean, — ships 
generally  anchoring  about  a  mile  from  the  town, 
to  avoid  the  shoals  and  rocks  of  the  place.  The 
house  of  the  British  vice-consul  (signor  Damiani), 
in  18.'51,  stood  on  the  reputed  site  of  the  house 
which  had  been  Simon  the  Tanner's,  the  host  of  the 
apostle  IVtcr  ;  and  a  portion  of  an  ancient  wall 
therein,  was  pointed  out  as  a  genuine  relic  of  the 


While  they  were  upon  the  way,  there 
arose  a  violent  tempest,  that  put  the 
master  and  the  mariners,  and  the  pilot 
himself,  into  the  greatest  apprehension  of 
danger.  But  it  was  observed,  that  while 
the  crew  were  at  their  prayers,  and  labour- 
ing to  keep  the  ship  above  water,  Jonah 
was  the  only  man  that  did  not  exert  him- 
self, but  lay  flat  upon  his  face  in  the  hold, 
with  his  head  covered. 

The  wind  and  the  storm  increasing,  the 
company  were  induced  to  think  that  this 
calamity  had  befallen  them  for  the  wick- 
edness of  some  of  the  people  they  had 
on  board;  and  therefore  agreed  among 
themselves  to  put  it  to  the  lot  in  order 
to  discover  the  man.  They  did  so,  and 
the  lot  fell  upon  the  prophet,  f 


original  mansion.  The  chief  thing  for  which  this 
place  was  famous,  in  ancient  Pagan  history,  is  the 
exposition  of  Andromeda,  the  daughter  of  Cepheus, 
king  of  Egypt,  who  for  her  mother's  pride  was 
bound  to  a  rock,  in  order  to  be  devoured  by  a  sea- 
monster,  but  was  delivered  by  the  valour  and 
bravery  of  Perseus,  who  afterwards  married  her ; 
for,  iu  the  times  of  Mela  and  Pliny,  there  were 
some  marks  remaining,  as  they  themselves  testify, 
of  the  chains  wherewith  this  royal  virgin  was 
bound  to  the  rock,  which  projects  into  the  sea. 
But  all  this  is  mere  fiction,  first  founded  upon  the 
adventure  of  Jonah,  who  set  sail  from  tiiis  port, 
and  then  improved  with  the  accession  of  some 
particular  circumstances. —  Caltnet,  §*c. 

j"  The  Jewish  doctors,  who  are  great  lovers  of 
prodigies,  are  not  even  satisfied  with  what  they 
meet  with  in  this  history  of  Jonah,  but  have  over 
and  above  added,  that  as  soon  as  the  ship,  wherein 
he  was  embarked,  was  under  sail,  it  all  on  a  sudden 
stood  stock  still,  so  that  it  could  be  made  to  move 
neither  backward  nor  forward,  notwithstanding  all 
the  pains  that  the  mariners  took  in  rowing  :  but 
others,  with  more  probability,  say,  that  while  all 
the  rest  of  the  ships  were  quiet  and  unmolested, 
the  storm  fell  upon  none  but  that  wherein  Jonah 
was,  which  made  the  seamen  think  that  there  was 
something  miraculous  in  it,  and  thereupon  called 
upon  the  company,  that  sailed  with  them,  to  come 
and  cast  lots,  as  the  superstitious  custom  among 
the  heathens  was  whenever  they  were  in  any 
great  distress;  that,  accordingly,  they  cast  lots 
three  different  times,  which  still  fell  upon  Jonah  ; 
and  that  they  let  him  down  several  times  with  a 
rope,  without  plunging  him  into  the  sea,  and  as 
often  as  they  did  it,  found  the  storm  abate,  and 
whenever  they  pulled  him  up  again,  found  it  in- 
crease ;  so  that,  at  last,  they  were  forced  to  commit 
him  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves:  all  which  are  cir- 
cumstances which  tlie  scripture  account  neither 
favours  nor  contradict*  It  may  be  proper,  how- 
evei,  to  remark,  on  the  testimony  of  Roberts,  who 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


441 


This  put  the  crew  upon  inquiring  what 
he  was  and  what  might  be  his  business? 
He  told  them  that  he  was  an  Israelite,  and 
a  prophet  of  God;  adding  that  he  was  the 
man  that  had  raised  the  storm ;  and  they 
had  no  way  left  to  save  themselves  and 
the  vessel  but  by  casting  him  over  board. 

It  first  appeared  to  them  in  so  odious  a 
light,  thus  cruelly  to  deliver  up  a  stranger, 
who  had  put  his  very  life  into  their  hands, 
to  certain  and  inevitable  destruction,  that 
they  durst  not  resolve  upon  it. 

But,  at  last,  partly  by  the  extreme  ne- 
cessity of  the  case,  (for  the  ship  was  upon 
the  very  point  of  sinking,)  partly  by  the 
authority  of  the  prophet,  and  partly  by 
their  own  fear,  they  were  prevailed  upon, 
and  threw  him  into  the  sea;  at  which  in- 
stant the  storm  ceased. 

The  sacred  history  says  that  he  was 
taken   up  by  a  whale,*  and  after    three 


had  much  acquaintance  with  heathen  sailors,  that, 
on  the  approach  of  danger,  they  cry,  like  the  crew 
of  Jonah's  vessel,  'every  man  to  his  god.'  "  More 
than  once,"  says  he,  "  have  I  heen  in  these  circum- 
stances, atid  never  can  I  forget  the  horror  and 
helplessness  of  the  poor  idolaters.  They  invari- 
ably ascrihe  the  storm  to  some  one  on  board,  who 
has  committed  a  great  crime,  and,  instead  of  labour- 
ing at  the  oar,  look  about  and  inquire  who  is  the 
sinner.  Some  time  ago  a  number  of  native  ves- 
sels left  the  roads  of  Negapatam,  at  the  same  hour, 
for  Point  Pedro  in  the  island  of  Ceylon ;  they  had 
not  been  long  at  sea  before  it  was  perceived  that 
one  of  them  could  not  make  any  way;  she  rolled 
and  pitched  and  veered  about  in  every  direction, 
but  the  other  vessels  went  on  beautifully  before 
the  wind.  The  captain  and  his  crew  began  to 
look  at  the  passengers,  and  at  last  fixed  their  eyes 
upon  a  poor  woman,  who  was  crouched  in  a  corner 
of  the  hold;  they  inquired  into  her  condition,  and 
found  that  she  was  in  a  state  of  impurity.  '  Let 
down  the  canoe,'  was  the  order,  'and  take  this 
woman  ashore.'  In  vain  she  remonstrated  ;  she 
was  compelled  to  enter,  and  was  soon  landed  on 
the  beach.  To  appease  the  angry  gods,  the  sailors 
•offered  sacrifice'  of  cocoa  nuts,  which  were  the 
only  articles  on  board."  Such  were  exactly  the 
notions  of  the  mariners  respecting  Jonah,  and  the 
Lord  employed  their  superstition  as  the  means  of 
bringing  the  disobedient  prophet  to  penitence  and 
submission. —  Culrnet  and  Jamieson. 

*  Bochart  has  long  since  attempted  to  prove 
that  a  great  fish  of  the  shark  kind  is  here  intended. 
It  is  a  well-attested  fact  that  many  of  the  shark 
species  are  not  only  of  such  a  size  and  form  as  to 
be  able,  without  any  miracle,  to  swallow  a  man 
whole,  but  also  that  men  have  been  found  entire 


days,  cast  up  again,  alive  and  unhurt,  up- 
on the  shore ;  from  whence,  after  pardon 
obtained  from  almighty  God  for  his  dis- 
obedience, he  went  directly  to  Nineveh, 


in  their  stomachs  ,  and,  since  it  is  a  fact  well 
known  to  physiologists,  that  the  stomach  has  no 
power  over  substances  endued  with  vitality,  this 
circumstance  will  account  in  part  for  the  miracu- 
lous preservation  of  the  prophet  Jonah  in  the  belly 
or  stomach  of  the  great  fish,  in  which  he  was  for 
three  days  and  three  niglus.  Bochart  is  further  of 
opinion,  that  the  particular  species  of  shark  which 
followed  the  prophet  Jonah  was  the  squalus  car- 
charias  or  white  shark,  for  its  voracity  termed 
lamia  by  some  naturalists,  and  which  is  a  native 
of  the  seas  in  hot  climates,  where  it  is  the  terror 
of  navigators.  Mr  Hae  Wilson,  the  day  after  a 
violent  storm  exactly  in  the  same  portion  of  the 
sea  where  the  ship  with  Jonah  on  board  encoun- 
tered the  tempest,  observed  several  very  '  great 
fishes'  sporting  about  the  ship,  some  of  which 
could  not  be  less  than  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  ap- 
peared as  long  as  the  vessel  itself  on  board  ol 
which  he  was  embarked.  Bishop  Jebb,  however, 
has  urged  several  considerations  (which  are  too 
long  for  insertion  here,  and  the  force  of  which  it 
would  impair  to  abridge,)  showing  that  it  probably 
was  a  whale,  into  the  cavity  of  whose  mouth  Jonah 
was  taken.  The  observations  which  he  has  adduced 
from  the  natural  history  of  the  whale  are  confirm- 
ed by  the  enterprising  and  experienced  whale- 
fisher.  Captain  Scoresby  ;  who  states,  that  when 
the  mouth  of  the  Balsena  Mysticetus,  or  Great 
Common  Whale,  is  open,  "  it  presents  a  cavity  as 
large  as  a  room,  and  capable  of  containing  a  mer- 
chant ship's  jolly-boat  full  of  men,  being  six  or 
eight  feet  wide,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high  (in  front), 
and  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  long."  And  we  are  told 
of  one  cast  upon  the  coast  of  Tuscany,  in  the  year 
1624,  whose  jaws  were  so  wide  that  a  man  on 
horseback  might  have  walked  into  them  with  ease  ; 
and  we  have  not  much  reason  to  doubt,  but  that 
their  throat  and  belly  are  answerable  to  so  spacious 
an  opening.  It  cannot  be  thought  indeed,  but  the 
oesophagus,  in  creatures  that  are  dead,  must  be 
contracted  to  a  great  degree  in  comparison  to  what 
it  is  when  they  are  alive,  and  especially  when  they 
are  eating  ;  in  which  case  it  is  capable  of  so  great 
dilatation,  (as  is  evident  from  a  pike's  sometimes 
swallowing  another  fish  almost  of  his  own  magni- 
tude) that  we  need  not  much  fear  but  that  the  fish 
whichGod  had  provided  for  that  purpose,  was  able 
to  gulp  Jonah  down  at  once,  without  ever  hurting 
him.  For  the  whale,  as  we  are  told,  has  neither 
teeth  nor  tushes,  whereas  the  sea-dog  has  four  or 
five  rows  of  teeth  in  each  jaw,  and  is  therefore  the 
much  properer  of  the  two  to  receive  into  its  sto- 
mach any  thing  alive,  without  the  danger  of  con- 
tusion. Nor  is  it  only  in  the  sacred  records  that 
we  meet  with  this  history  of  Jonah,  but  in  the 
fables  related  by  several  heathen  authors  both  in 
verse  and  prose  we  find  evident  memorials  of  it. 
Hercules  was  the  great  champion  of  the  Grecians, 
and  his  fame  they  were  wont  to  adorn  with  all  tlie 
remarkable  exploits  that  they  could  in  any  nation 
I  hear  of.  It  is  not  improbable,  therefore,  tliat  the 
3k 


442 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


according  to  his  commission ;  where,  when 
ho  arrived,  getting  upon  an  eminence, 
that  he  might  be  more  generally  heard, 
he  foretold  that  the  empire  of  Asia  was 
near  at  an  end.  And  having  published 
this  prophetical  declaration,  he  departed. 

But  to  return  to  Jeroboam.  After  a 
prosperous  reign  of  forty  years,  he  was 
buried  at  Samaria;  Zechariah  his  son  suc- 
ceeding him,  as  Uzziah  succeeded  Ama- 
ziah  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  Jeroboam, 
to  the  government  of  the  two  tribes  at 
Jerusalem.  His  mother's  name  was  Je- 
coliah,  a  native  of  Jerusalem. 

Uzziah  was  a  man  of  great  courtesy 
and  justice;  brave,  provident,  and  indus- 
trious ;  he  made  war  upon  the  Philistines, 
and  took  Gath  and  Jabneh  from  them 
by  assault,  demolishing  their  walls.  He 
made  another  expedition  also  against  the 
Arabians,  who  bordered  upon  Egypt,  and 
built  a  town  near  the  Red  sea,  which  he 
guarded  by  a  strong  garrison.  After  this 
he  subdued  the  Ammonites,  and  laid  them 
under  contribution,  reducing  the  whole 
country  as  far  as  the  frontiers  of  Egypt. 


adventure  of  his  jumping  down  the  throat  of  the 
sea-dog  which  Neptune  had  sent  to  devour  him, 
and  there  concealing  himself  for  three  days,  with- 
out any  manner  of  hurt,  save  the  loss  of  a  few 
hairs  which  came  off  by  the  heat  of  the  creature's 
Stomach,  was  founded  upon  some  blind  tradition 
which  these  people  might  have  of  what  happened 
to  Jonah.  Nor  can  the  known  story  of  Arion, 
thrown  overboard  by  the  seamen,  but  taken  up  by 
a  dolphin,  and  carried  safe  to  Corinth,  be  justly 
referred  to  any  other  original ;  since,  besides  some 
resemblance  in  their  names,  and  no  great  disparity 
in  the  times  wherein  they  lived,  (which  are  both 
circumstances  that  make  for  this  hypothesis)  the 
supposed  difference  in  their  respective  callings  can 
be  no  manner  of  objection  to  it,  because  the  same 
word  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  signifies  both  a  pro- 
phet and  a  musician.  And  therefore  it  is  remark- 
able that,  as  Arion  played  the  tune  wherewith  he 
charmed  and  allured  the  fish  to  save  him  before  he 
jumped  overboard;  so  Jonah,  when  he  found  him- 
self safely  landed,  uttered  what  is  called  a  prayer 
indeed,  but  is  in  reality  a  lofty  hymn,  in  commem- 
oration of  his  great  deliverance,  as  appears  by 
this  specimen  :  '  The  waters  compassed  me  about, 
even  to  the  soul  ;  the  depth  closed  me  round 
about,  and  weeds  were  wrapped  about  my  head. 
I  went  down  to  the  bottoms  of  the  mountains  ; 
the  earth,  with  her  bars,  was  about  me  for  ever ; 
yet  hast  thou  brought  up  my  life  from  the  pit,  O 
Lord  my  bod.' — Home  and  Stackhouse. 


He  then  applied  himself  to  the  rebuild- 
ing and  repairing  of  the  parts  of  the  walls 
of  the  city,  which  were  decayed  by  age  or 
the  neglect  of  former  governors ;  as  well 
as  that  breach  which  the  king  of  the  Israel- 
ites had  made,  when  Amaziah  was  his 
prisoner,  at  his  triumphant  entrance  into 
the  city.  He  erected  also  several  towers 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cebits  in  height, 
and  built  castles  and  several  strong  forts 
for  the  security  of  the  open  country,  be- 
sides many  aqueducts,  cisterns,  and  ba- 
sons, for  the  relief  of  his  herds  and  cattle, 
whereof  the  number  was  incredible,  the 
country  being  naturally  disposed  for  pas- 
ture. He  was  himself  a  great  lover  of 
tillage,  planting,  gardening,  nurseries, 
and  all  sorts  of  husbandry. 

As  to  military  affairs,  he  had  an  army 
of  three  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
select  men,  under  the  command  of  two 
thousand  brave  experienced  officers,  all 
well-armed,  with  swords,  bucklers,  brazen 
corselets,  bows,  slings,  and  trained  to  the 
exercise  of  arms  after  the  most  accurate 
method  of  martial  discipline.  He  had 
several  machines   and  engines*  also   for 

*  This  is  the  first  time  we  read  of  any  machine, 
either  for  besieging  or  defending  towns  ;  which  is 
plainly  the  reason  why  sieges  were  of  so  long  a 
continuance  before  the  invention  of  these.  Ho- 
mer, who  is  the  most  ancient  Greek  writer  we 
know  of  that  treats  of  sieges,  describes  a  kind  of 
intrenchment,  (though  a  poor  one,)  some  lines  of 
circumvallation,  and  a  ditch  with  pallisades  ;  but 
we  hear  not  one  word  of  any  machines,  such  as 
the  balistae,  and  the  catapultae,  which  were  used 
for  hurling  stones,  and  throwing  darts;  and  there- 
fore we  need  less  wonder  that  the  famous  siege 
of  Troy  continued  so  long.  Sardanapalus,  king  of 
Assyria,  maintained  himself  in  Nineveh  for  seven 
years,  because  the  besiegers  (as  Diodorus  observes, 
lib.  ii.)  wanted  such  engines  as  were  fit  for  de- 
molishing and  taking  of  cities,  they  being  not 
then  invented.  Shalmaneser  lay  three  years  be- 
fore Samaria,  2  Kings  xvii.  5,  6  and,  as  some  say, 
Psammetichus  lay  twenty  before  Azoth.  Now  of 
Uzziah  it  is  said,  '  that  he  made  in  Jerusalem  en- 
gines, invented  by  cunning  men,  to  be  on  the 
towers,  and  upon  the  bulwarks,  to  shoot  arrows 
and  great  stones,'  2  Chron.  xxvi.  15.,  so  that  it 
must  needs  be  a  mistake,  to  attribute  the  inven- 
tion of  the  balista,  the  scorpio,  or  the  onager, 
whereof  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  lib.  xxiii.  c.  2., 
has  given  us  the  description,  to  the  Greeks  or 
Komans,  because  we  find  them  made  use  of  in  the 
Jiast  before  ever  the  Grecians  hud  brought  the 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


413 


battery,  and  casting  of  stones  and  darts, 
beside  grappling-hooks,  and  other  instru- 
ments of  war. 

But  his  mind  was  so  elated  with  the 
vanity  of  these  preparations  and  designs, 
that  his  ambition  for  a  transitory  and 
earthly  glory  diverted  his  attention  from 
blessings  everlasting,  and  the  worship  and 


service  of  the  Almighty ;   insomuch  that   and  obeyed ;  and  when  he  had  lived  for 


he  deviated  from  his  integrity,  after  the 
example  of  his  father,  from  a  weakness  of 
mind,  that  was  not  able  to  bear  up  against 
the  tide  of  prosperity  and  success. 

Uzziah,  upon  a  solemn  festival,  dressed 
himself  in  a  sacerdotal  habit,  and  went 
into  the  holy  temple   to  offer  up  incense 


When  the  priests  found  the  king  was 
leprous,  and  that  the  Lord  had  smitten 
him,  they  admonished  him  to  depart  the 
city,  as  an  unclean  person,  and  not  fit  for 
common  society. 

The  shame  of  lying  under  such  a  ca- 
lamity had  by  this  time  in  some  measure 
humbled  his  pride;  so  that  he  submitted 


some  time  a  private  life  out  of  the  city, 
Jotham  his  son  taking  upon  him  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  his  grief 
brought  him  at  last  to  his  grave,  in  the 
sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the 
fifty-second  of  his  reign;  his  body  was 
buried  in  the  field  which  contained  the 
royal  sepulchres,    but   at   some    distance 


to  the  Lord  upon  the  golden  altar;  but 

Azariah  the  high-priest,  with  a  train  of  j  from  them,  because  he  was  a  leper.f 

fourscore  priests  with    him,   rushed    into 


the  temple,  to  the  king,  exclaiming  against  j  parted  this  world,  and  (as  the  Psalmist  expresses 
the  wickedness  of  his  usurpation,  ill  break-    >0  become  •  free  among  the  dead,'  Psal.  lxxxviii. 
II-  ,.     .       5.      But,   besides   the    infliction    of  tins   disease 

ing  in  upon  an  office  belonging  peculiarly  I  josephus  tells  us,  "That,  the  very  moment  that 
to  the  priests  of  the  race  of  Aaron  ;  SO  Uzziah  was  going  to  burn  incense,  there  happened 
.»    .    .        "liji'      •  j-i.ii.j        a  terrible  earthquake,   and,   as   the   roof  of  the 

that  Azariah  bade  him  immediately  to  de-  ' 


part,  and  not  provoke  the  wrath  of  God 
by  those  indignities  any  longer. 

The  king  felt  indignant  at  this  faithful 
remonstrance  of  the  priests,  and,  burning 
with  anger,  threatened  them  with  death  if 
they  should  interpose.  God,  however, 
condescended  to  vindicate  the  sacredness 
of  the  sacerdotal  office;  for,  the  moment  he 
lifted  the  censer,  and  was  about  to  burn 
incense,  he  was  struck  with  a  leprosy,* 
which  no  art  of  man  could  ever  after  cure. 


temple  opened  with  the  shock  of  it,  there  passed 
a  beam  of  the  sun  through  the  cleft,  which  struck 
directly  upon  the  face  of  this  sacrilegious  prince, 
whereupon  he  instantly  became  a  lep»r:  nay,  that 
this  earthquake  was  so  very  violent,  that  it  lore 
asunder  a  great  mountain,  towards  the  west  of 
Jerusalem,  and  rolled  one  half  of  it  over  and  over 
a  matter  of  four  furlongs,  till  at  length  it  was 
stopped  by  another  mountain,  which  stood  over 
against  it,  but  choked  up  the  highway,  and  cover- 
ed the  king's  gardens  all  over  with  dust."  But  all 
this  may  be  justly  suspected.  That  there  was  a 
great  earthquake  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah,  is  evident 
from  the  testimony  of  two  prophets,  Amos  and 
Zechariah,  but,  that  it  happened  exactly  when 
Uzziah  attempted  this  invasion  of  the  priesthood, 
is  far  from  being  clear:  on  the  contrary,  if  we  will 
abide  by  Bishop  Usher's  computation,  the  Jewish 
historian  must  be  sadly  mistaken.  For,  since  the 
prophet  Amos  tells  us,  that  he  began  to  prophesy 
two  years  before  this  earthquake  happened,  in  the 
reigns  of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  and  Jeroboam 
the  II.,  king  of  Israel;  and  since  we  may  gather 
from  the  sacred  history,  that  Jeroboam  died  two 
years  before  the  birth  of  Jotham,  the  son  of  Uz- 
ziah; that  Jeroboam  died  in  the  six  and  twentieth 


military  art  to  any  great  perfection.  Uzziah  was 
certainly  the  first  inventor  of  them  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  said,  that  for  these,  and  other  warlike  pre- 
parations, '  his  name  was  spread  abroad.'  From 
this  time  they  began  to  be  employed  both  in  at- 
tacking and  defending  towns  ;  and  therefore,  we 
find  the  prophet  Ezekiel  describing  the  future 
sieges  of  Jerusalem  and   Tyre,  where  he  makes 

mention  of  battering-rams,  and  engines  of  war,  or,  !  year  of  the  said  Uzziah,  and  Jotham  his  son  was 
as  it  should  be  rendered  machines  of  cords,  which,  born  in  the  three  and  twentieth  year  thereof,  and 
in  all  probability,  were  what  later  ages  called  their  yet  was  of  age  sufficient  to  be  made  regent  of  the 
balistae  and  catapultaj. —  Calmet.  kingdom  when  his  father  was  thus  struck  with  a 

*  The  punishment  for  such,  as  would  intrude  leprosy,  (which  must  have  been  several  years  after 
into  divine  ministrations,  was  capital,  we  see  ;  and  Jeroboam's  death,)  it  must  needs  follow,  that  this 
therefore  God  smote  Uzziah  with  such  a  disease  earthquake  could  not  happen  at  the  time  which 
as  was  a  kind  of  death  ;  because  it  separated  the  Josephus  assigns,  but  must  have  been  much  earlier 
person  that  was  afflicted  with  it  from  the  com-  Jewish  Antiq.  and  Calmet' s  Commentary. 
meice  and  society  of  men,  even  as  if  he  were  de-        t  While  the  chosen  people  of  Giod  were  accua- 


444 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


Zechariah,  the  king  of  the  Israelites,  and 
the  son  of  Jeroboam,  in  the  seventh  month 
of  his  reign  was  murdered  by  the  treach- 
ery of  one  of  his  own  domestics,  named 


tomed  to  honour,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  me- 
mory of  those  kings  who  had  reigned  over  them 
with  justice  and  clemency,  they  took  care  to  stamp 
some  mark  of  posthumous  disgrace  upon  those 
who  had  left  the  world  under  their  disapprobation. 
The  sepulchres  of  the  Jewish  kings  were  at  Jeru- 
salem :  where,  in  some  appointed  receptacle,  the 
remains  of  their  princes  were  deposited ;  and  from 
the  circumstance  of  these  being  the  cemetery  for 
successive  rulers,  it  was  said  when  one  died  and 
was  buried  there,  that  he  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers.  But  several  instances  occur  in  the  history 
of  the  house  of  David,  in  which,  on  various  ac- 
counts, they  were  denied  the  honour  of  being  en- 
tombed with  their  ancestors,  and  were  deposited 
in  some  other  place  in  Jerusalem.  To  mark,  per- 
haps, a  greater  degree  of  censure,  they  were  taken 
to  a  small  distance  from  Jerusalem,  and  laid  in  a 
private  tomb.  Uzziah,  who  had,  by  his  presump- 
tuous attempt  to  seize  the  office  of  the  priesthood, 
which  was  reserved  by  an  express  law  for  the 
house  of  Aaron,  provoked  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
and  being  punished  for  his  temerity  with  a  loath- 
some and  incurable  disease,  'was  buried  with  his 
fathers  in  the  field  of  the  burial  which  belonged 
to  the  kings  ;  for  they  said.  He  is  a  leper.'  It 
was  undoubtedly  with  a  design  to  make  a  suitable 
impression  on  the  mind  of  the  reigning  monarch, 
to  guard  him  against  the  abuse  of  his  power,  and 
teach  him  respect  for  the  feelings  and  sentiments 
of  thflt  people  for  whose  benefit  chiefly  lie  was 
raised  to  the  throne,  that  such  a  stigma  was  fixed 
upon  the  dust  of  his  offending  predecessors.  He 
wa«,  h>  this  manner,  restrained  from  evil,  and 
excited  to  good,  according  as  he  was  fearful  of  be- 
inir  execrate  J,  or  desirous  of  being  honoured  after 
his  decease.  This  public  mark  of  infamy  was  ac- 
cordingly put  on  the  conduct  of  Ahaz;  *  They 
buried  him  in  the  city,  even  in  Jerusalem,  but 
they  brought  him  not  into  the  sepulchres  of  the 
kings  of  Israel.'  The  Egyptians  had  a  custom,  in 
some  measure  similar  to  t.is,  only  it  extended  to 
persons  of  every  rank  and  condition.  As  soon  as 
a  man  died,  he  was  ordered  to  be  brought  to  trial; 
the  public  accuser  was  heard  ;  if  he  proved  that 
the  deceased  had  led  a  bad  life,  his  memory  was 
condemned,  and  he  was  deprived  of  the  honours 
of  sepulture.  Thus  were  the  Egyptians  affected 
by  laws  which  extended  even  beyond  the  grave, 
and  evcrv  one,  struck  with  the  disgrace  inflicted 
on  the  dead  person,  was  afraid  to  reflect  dishonour 
on  his  own  memory,  and  that  of  his  family.  But 
what  was  singular,  the  sovereign  himself  was  not 
exempted  from  this  public  inquest  when  he  died. 
Th*  whole  kingdom  was  interested  in  the  lives  and 
administration  of  frheir  sovereigns,  and  as  death 
terminated  all  their  actions,  it  was  then  deemed 
for  the  welfare  of  the  community  that  they  should 
suffer  an  impartial  scrutiny,  by  a  public  trial,  as 
well  as  the  meanest  of  their  subjects.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  solemn  investigation,  tome  of  them 


Shallum,  the  son  of  Jabesh,  who  took 
possession  of  the  government.  It  wss  ill 
got,  and  he  lost  it  as  ill,  on  the  thirtieth 
day  after  seizing  it. 

Menahem  had  all  that  time  the  com- 
mand of  an  army  that  was  at  Tirzah,  and 
upon  the  news  of  what  had  befallen  Ze- 
chariah,  he  marched  with  his  tioops  to  Sa- 
maria, where  he  fought  and  overthrew 
Shallum,  put  him  to  the  sword,  and  after- 
ward by  his  own  authority  took  all  the  en- 
signs of  royalty  to  himself,  and  exercised 
sovereign  power.  With  this  victorious  ar- 
my he  marched  to  Tirzah,  but  the  citizens 
having  shut  their  gates  upon  him,  and  re- 
fused to  admit  him,  he  was  so  incensed 
against  them,  that  he  laid  waste  the  whole 
country,  and  in  the  end  took  the  town  by 
assault,  and  put  all  to  the  sword  without 
regard  to  age,  sex,  or  condition ;  for  he 
exercised  that  merciless  rigour  upon  his 
own  countrymen,  that  would  have  been 
unpardonable  even  towards  the  worst  bar- 
barians ;  indeed,  his  government  was  a 
constant  scene  of  horror  and  confusion  for 
the  whole  ten  years  of  his  reign  over  Is- 
rael. 

lie  was  threatened  after  this  with  an 
invasion   by   Pul,*   the  king  of  Assyria ; 

were  not  ranked  among  the  honoured  dead,  and 
consequently  were  deprived  of  public  burial.  The 
custom  was  singular:  the  effect  must  have  been 
powerful  and  influential.  The  most  haughty  des- 
pot, who  might  trample  on  laws  human  and  di- 
vine in  his  life,  saw  by  this  rigorous  inquiry,  that 
at  death  he  also  should  be  doomed  to  infamy  and 
execration.  "  What  degree  of  conformity,"  says 
Mr  Burder,  "  there  was  between  the  practice  of 
the  Israelites  and  the  Egyptians,  and  with  whom 
the  custom  first  originated,  may  be  difficult  to  as- 
certain and  decide  :  but  the  latter  appears  to  be 
founded  on  the  same  principle  as  that  of  the  for- 
mer ;  and  as  it  is  more  circumstantially  detailed, 
affords  us  an  agreeable  explanation  of  a  rite  but 
slightly  mentioned  in  the  scriptures." — Script. 
Must. 

*  This  is  the  first  time  that  we  find  any  mention 
made  of  the  kingdom  of  Assyria,  since  the  days  of 
Nimrod,  who  erected  a  small  principality  there, 
Gen.  x.  1 1,  and  Pul,  or  Phul,  is  the  first  monarch 
of  that  nation  who  invaded  Israel,  and  began 
their  transportation  out  of  their  country.  Some 
are  of  opnion,  that  he  was  the  same  with  Belesis, 
the  governor  of  Babylon,  who,  together  with  Ar- 
baces  the  Medc,  slew  Sardanupalus,  the  last  of  the 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

but  not  daring  to  hazard  an  engage- 
ment, he  came  to  a  timely  agreement  with 
him,  compounding  for  a  thousand  talents 
of  silver,  which  he  raised  upon  the  people 
at  fifty  shekels  a  head. 

He  died  soon  after,  and  was  buried  at 
Samaria,  leaving  Pekahiah  his  son  to  suc- 
ceed him.  This  prince  inherited  the  in- 
humanity and  ill-nature  of  his  father,  as 
well  as  the  government ;  but  his  time  was 
short;  for,  after  two  years'  reign,  he  was  cut 
to  pieces,  together  with  several  of  his 
friends,  at  a  public  feast,  by  the  treasonous 
practice  of  Pekah  the  son  of  llemaliah, 
one  of  his  tribunes ;  who  seized  upon  the 
government,  and  reigned  twenty  years  : 
leaving  it  a  matter  of  doubt,  whether  he 
was  more  remarkable  for  his  impiety  to 
God  or  injustice  towards  men. 

In  the  days  of  Pekah,  Tiglath-pileser,* 
king  of  the  Assyrians,  invaded  the  Israel- 


445 


Assyrian  monarchs,  and  translated  the  empire  to 
the  Chaldeans.  Patrick  seems  to  be  confident  in 
this  :  but  according  to  Prideaux,  Belesis  was  one 
generation  later,  and  therefore  it  is  supposed,  that 
this  Pul  was  the  father  of  Sardanapalus,  who  was 
called  Sardan,  with  the  annexation  of  his  father's 
name  Pul,  in  the  same  manner  as  Merodach,  king 
of  Babylon,  was  called  Merodach-baladan,  because 
he  was  the  son  of  Baladan.  This  Pul  therefore 
was  the  same  king  of  Assyria,  who,  when  Jonah 
preached  against  Nineveh,  gave  great  tokens  of  his 
humiliation  and  repentance.  The  only  difficulty 
is,  that  he  seems  to  have  marched  his  army  from 
Babylon,  and  not  from  Nineveh,  and  yet  his  son 
and  successor,  we  find,  lived  at  Nineveh:  but 
then  it  is  suggested,  that,  as  the  kings  of  Assyria 
resided  sometimes  at  Babylon  and  sometimes  at 
Nineveh,  it  is  not  improbable  that  Pul,  to  avoid 
the  judgments  which  Jonah  threatened  against  the 
latter,  might  remove  to  Babylon,  where  he  resided 
the  remaining  part  of  his  reign  ;  and  this  made  it 
so  convenient  for  him  to  attack  the  Israelites  on 
the  other  side  of  Jordan. — Prideaux's  Connection, 
and  Bedford's  Scripture  Chronology. 

*  He  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  son 
and  successor  of  Sardanapalus,  who  restored  the 
kingdom  of  Assyria,  and  possessed  it,  after  it  had 
been  dismembered  by  Belesis,  and  Arbaces  ;  but 
Prideaux  makes  him  to  be  the  same  with  Ar- 
baces, by  iElian  called  Thilgamus,  and  by  Castor, 
Ninus  Junior ;  who,  together  with  Belesis,  head- 
ed the  conspiracy  against  Sardanapalus,  and  fixed 
his  royal  seat  at  Nineveh,  the  ancient  residence  of 
the  Assyrian  kings,  as  Belesis  (who  in  scripture  is 
likewise  called  Baladan,  Isaiah  xxxix.  1.)  did  his  at 
Babylon,  and  there  governed  his  new-erected  em- 
pire for  nineteen  years. — Prideaux's  Connection. 


ites;  and  after  subduing  the  land  of  Gi- 
lead,  and  the  country  beyond  Jordan,  to- 
gether with  that  part  of  Galilee  that  lies 
next  it,  as  also  all  the  land  of  Naphtaii, 
he  took  the  inhabitants  prisoners,  and  car- 
ried them  away  into  his  own  country. 

Jotham,  the  son  of  Uzziah,  reigned  in 
Jerusalem  over  the  tribe  of  Judah ;  his 
mother  was  a  native  of  that  city,  whose 
name  was  Jerusha.  He  was  a  prince  fa- 
mous for  all  excellent  qualities  and  virtues, 
exemplary  for  his  reverence  to  God,  for 
his  justice  to  men,  and  for  the  care  he 
took  of  the  commonwealth  ;  making  it  his 
business  to  keep  all  things  in  order,  and 
to  rectify  what  he  found  amiss.  He  re- 
paired the  porches  and  galleries  in  the 
temple ;  made  good  the  city  walls,  where 
they  were  falling  to  ruin ;  erected  large 
and  strong  towers ;  brought  the  Ammon- 
ites under  the  contribution  of  a  hundred 
talents  a  year,  ten  thousand  measures  of 
wheat,  and  as  many  of  barley,  and  ad- 
vanced the  kingdom  also  to  such  a  State, 
that  the  people  were  both  happy  at  home, 
and  formidable  abroad. 

In  the  reign  of  this  prince  there  ap- 
peared a  prophet,  whose  name  was  Na- 
hum  ;f  and  he  foretold  the  destruction  of 


f  Nahum  describes  himself  as  an  Klkcshite  ; 
which  some  have  considered  as  a  patronymic  ex- 
pression, conceiving  it  to  imply  his  being  a  de- 
scendant of  Elkosha  ;  but  which  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  intimate  that  he  was  born  at  Elkosh,  or 
Elkosha,  a  small  village  in  Galilee,  of  which  St 
Jerome  professes  to  have  seen  the  ruins.  The 
illustrious  prophecy  foretelling  the  future  down- 
fall of  the  Assyrian  empire,  remarkably  accom- 
plished in  little  more  than  a  century  alter  it  was 
delivered,  affords  a  signal  evidence  of  the  inspira- 
tion of  Nahum  ;  and  a  striking  lesson  of  humility 
to  human  pride.  It  must  have  furnished  much 
consolation  to  the  tribes  who  were  carried  away 
captive  by  the  king  of  Assyria,  as  well  as  to  those 
of  Benjamin  and  Judah  ;  and  all  must  have  re- 
joiced with  the  hope  of  deliverance,  to  hear  that 
their  conquerors  should  in  time  be  conquered, 
their  city  levelled  to  the  dust,  and  their  empire 
overturned.  The  book  in  which  these  interesting 
prophecies  are  contained,  is  justly  considered  by 
Bishop  Lowth  as  a  complete  and  perfect  poem,  of 
which  the  conduct  and  imagery  are  truly  admirable. 
The  lire,  spirit,  and  sublimity  of  Nahum,  are  un- 
equalled. His  scenes  are  painted  with  great 
variety  and  splendour.  The  opening  of  his  work* 
in  which  he  desciibes  the  attiibutes  of  Cod,  is  au- 


446 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   Vi, 


Nineveh,  and  the  subversion  of  the  As- 
Byrian  empire,  in  the  following  manner: 
"  The  condition  of  Nineveh  shall  be  like 
that  of  a  fish-pool,  in  a  violent  agitation 
of  the  waters  before  a  great  wind.  The 
people  shall  fly  away  before  the  storm,  in 
trouble  and  confusion  ;  calling  out  one  to 
another,  Stay  and  take  your  gold  and  your 
silver  with  you,  and  nobody  shall  mind 
it;  for  their  lives  shall  be  much  dearer  to 
them  than  their  treasure.  They  shall 
have  desperate  factions  and  divisions 
among  themselves;  weeping  and  wailing, 
with  the  knocking  of  their  knees,  and 
death  in  their  faces.  What  will  become 
of  the  habitation  of  the  lions  and  the 
dams  of  the  lions'  whelps?  Nineveh, 
says  the  Lord,  I  will  strike  thee  out  from 
off  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  outrages  of  the  wild  beasts  that 
thou  hast  sent  into  the  world." 

This  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the 
prophet's  predictions  concerning  Nineveh, 
which  were  punctually  fulfilled  at  the  ex- 
piration of  about  a  hundred  and  fifteen 
years. 

Jotham  died  in  the  forty-first  year  of 
his  life,  and  the  sixteenth  of  his  reign ; 
and  Ahaz  in  the  course  of  hereditary  right 
succeeded  him.  He  was  the  most  im- 
pious prince  that  ever  sat  upon  that  throne, 
both  for  his  deviation  from  the  laws  of  his 
country,  and  his  idolatry  in  imitation  of 
the  kings  of  Israel.  He  built  altars  in 
Jerusalem  ;  sacrificed  to  idols  upon  them, 
and  his  own  son  among  the  rest  for  a 
burnt-offering,   after  the   manner   of  the 


gust  ;  and  the  preparations  for  the  attack,  as  well 
as  the  destruction  of  Nineveh,  are  represented 
with  singular  effect.  The  art,  with  which  the  im- 
mediate destruction  of  the  Assyrians  under  Sen- 
nacherib is  intermingled  with  the  future  ruin  of 
the  empire,  affords  a  very  elegant  specimen  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  prophets  delight  to  introduce 
present  and  distant  events  under  one  point  of 
view.  The  allegorical  pictures  in  his  prophecy 
are  remarkably  beautiful.  Neither  history  nor 
tradition  furnishes  us  with  any  account  of  Nahum, 
or  of  the  period  of  his  death.  His  tomb,  or  pre- 
tended tomb,  was  formerly  shown  in  a  village 
named  Bethogabra,  now  called  Giblin,  near  Em- 
aiaus. — Dr  Gray. 


Canaanites,*  and  committed  many  offences 
as  enormous  as  these. 

While  Ahaz  persisted  in  these  wicked 
courses,  Rezin  the  king  of  Damascus,  and 
Pekah  the  king  of  the  Israelites,  being 
joined  in  a  league,  marched  together, 
with  their  united  forces,  and  invested  that 
famous  city  of  Jerusalem.     But  the  place 


*  Few  things  are  more  shocking  to  the  ears  of 
humanity  than  the  frequent  mention,  in  the  sa- 
cred scriptures,  of  the  custom  of  causing  children, 
&c.  to  pass  through  fire,  in  honour  of  iVIolech ;  a 
custom,  the  antiquity  of  which  appears  from  its 
being  repeatedly  forbidden  by  Moses ;  as  Lev. 
xviii.  21,  and  afterwards  in  chapter  xx,  where  the 
expression  is  very  strong  of  '  giving  his  seed  to 
Molech.'  The  Kabbins  have  histories  of  the 
manner  of  passing  through  the  fires,  or  between 
the  fires,  or  into  caves  of  fire.  Arid  there  is  an 
account  of  an  image,  which  received  children  into 
its  arms,  and  let  them  drop  into  a  fire  beneath  ; 
and  of  the  shouts  of  the  multitude,  the  noise  of 
drums,  &c.  to  drown  the  shrieks  of  the  agonizing 
infant,  and  the  horrors  of  the  parents'  mind 
Waving  all  allusion  to  these  at  present,  the  follow- 
ing extract  may  give  us  a  good  idea,  in  what  man- 
ner the  passing  through  or  over  fire  was  anciently 
performed  :  "  A  still  more  astonishing  instance  of 
the  superstition  of  the  ancient  Indians,  in  respect 
to  their  venerated  fire,  remains,  at  this  day,  in  the 
grand  annual  festival,  holden  in  honour  of  I)arm;t 
Rajah,  and  called  the  feast  of  fire ;  in  which,  as 
in  the  ancient  rites  of  Molech,  the  devotees  walk 
barefoot  over  a  glowing  fire,  extending  forty  feet. 
It  is  called  the  feast  of  fire,  because  they  then 
walk  on  that  element.  It  lasts  eighteen  days, 
during  which  those  who  make  a  vow  to  keep  it, 
must  fast,  lie  on  the  bare  ground,  and  walk  on  a 
brisk  fire.  The  eighteenth  day  they  assemble, 
with  the  sound  of  instruments,  their  heads  crown- 
ed with  flowers,  the  body  bedaubed  with  saffron  ; 
and  follow  in  cadence  the  figures  of  Darma  Ra- 
jah, and  of  Drobede  his  wife,  who  are  carried 
there  in  procession  ;  when  they  come  to  the  fire, 
they  stir  it,  to  animate  its  activity,  and  take  a 
little  of  the  ashes,  with  which  they  rub  their  fore- 
heads ;  and  when  the  gods  have  been  three  times 
round  it,  they  walk  either  fast  or  slow,  according 
to  their  zeal,  over  a  very  hot  fire,  extended  to 
about  forty  feet  in  length.  Some  carry  their 
children  in  their  arms  ;  and  others  lances,  sabres, 
and  standards" — Sonnerat's  Travels.  This  ex- 
tract accounts  for  several  expressions  used  in 
scripture ;  such  as,  causing  children  (very  young 
perhaps)  to  pass  through  fire,  as  we  see  they  an: 
carried  over  the  fire,  by  which  means  they  were 
not  destroyed  or  injured,  except  by  being  profaned, 
Nevertheless  it  might,  and  probably  did,  happen, 
that  some  of  those,  who  thus  passed,  were  hurt  or 
maimed  in  the  passing;  or,  if  not  immediately 
slain  by  the  tire,  might  actually  be  burnt  in  this 
superstitious  pilgrimage,  so  as  to  contract  fata) 
diseases. — Fragments,  Appendix  to  CalrneL 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


447 


was  so  well  fortified,  that  they  were  forced 
to  raise  the  siege,  and  quit  it. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  king  of  Syria 
possessed  himself  of  the  city  of  Elath  by 
the  Red  sea,  put  all  the  inhabitants  to  the 
sword,  and  introduced  a  colony  of  Syrians 
into  their  places.  He  possessed  himself 
after  this  of  several  castles  and  strong 
holds;  did  terrible  execution  upon  the 
Jews,  and  so,  with  a  prodigious  booty, 
marched  his  army  back  again  to  Damas- 
cus. 

When  the  king  of  Jerusalem  came  to 
understand  that  the  Syrians  were  depart- 
ed, he  thought  himself  able  to  cope  with 
the  king  of  Israel,  and  drew  out  an  army 
against  him  ;  but  his  wickedness  was  so 
great,  that  God  in  just  indignation  gave 
the  victory  to  his  enemy,  with  the  loss  of  a 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  of  his  men. 

In  the  same  battle,  Zichri,  the  general 
of  the  Israelites,  killed  Maaseiah,  the  son 
of  Ahaz,  in  a  single  encounter,  and  slew 
also  Azrikam  the  captain  of  the  guards ; 
taking  Elkanah,  the  general  of  the  Jew- 
ish troops,  prisoner;  beside  an  infinite 
number  of  captives  of  the  Benjamites, 
whom  they  carried  away  together  with  the 
spoil  to.  Samaria. 

There  was  at  that  time  a  prophet  in 
Samaria,  whose  name  was  Obed,  who 
went  out  of  the  town  to  meet  the  army  in 
their  return,  crying  out  to  them  with  a 
loud  voice,  that  they  were  not  to  look 
upon  this  victory  as  gained  by  their  own 
virtue  and  valour,  but  as  a  judgment  from 
heaven  upon  king  Ahaz.  The  prophet 
therefore  told  them,  they  were  to  blame 
not  to  rest  satisfied  with  the  success  of 
their  undertaking,  without  making  slaves 
of  their  kindred  and  relations  of  the  two 
tribes ;  advising  them  by  all  means  to  set 
them  at  liberty,  and  send  them  home 
again,  without  offering  any  indignity  to 
their  persons,  upon  the  peril  of  falling 
under  God's  displeasure. 

The  Israelites  upon  this  occasion  called 
a  council  to  deliberate  on  the  best  mea- 
sures  that   could    be    pursued,  in  conse- 


quence of  the  prophet's  warning,  when 
Berechiah,  a  man  of  great  authority  in 
the  assembly,  with  three  more,  declared 
themselves  utterly  against  the  bringing 
any  of  the  prisoners  into  the  town,  for 
fear  God's  vengeance  should  fall  upon  all 
the  rest.  Adding,  moreover,  that  they  al- 
ready had  many  heinous  transgressions 
alleged  against  them,  and  therefore  need- 
ed not  to  aggravate  the  charge. 

The  soldiers  were  so  far  wrought  upon 
by  this  consideration,  that  they  gave  their 
prisoners  liberty  to  go  whither  they 
would,  and  take  what  they  would  with 
them ;  whereupon  four  persons  were  ap- 
pointed to  set  them  free,  take  care  of  their 
persons,  furnish  them  with  provisions  for 
their  journey,  and  bear  them  company  be- 
yond Jericho.  When  they  had  brought 
them  on  their  way  within  a  little  of  Jeru- 
salem, they  returned  to  Samaria. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Cruelty  and  impiety  of  Ahaz,  who  dies,  and  is 
succeeded  by  his  son  Hezekiah. — Restoration 
of  the  true  worship,  and  defeat  of  the  Philis- 
tines.— Samaria  taken  by  assault. — Idolatry 
punished  by  a  dreadful  pestilence. — A  new 
colony  is  planted  in  Samaria. 

The  fatal  overthrow  Ahaz  sustained  from 
the  Israelites,  obliged  him  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  foreign  powers.  Accordingly  he 
sent  an  embassy  to  Tiglath-pileser,  the 
king  of  the  Assyrians,  with  promises  of 
great  sums  of  money,  and  magnificent 
presents,  desiring  succours  from  him 
against  the  Israelites,  and  those  of  Syria 
and  Damascus. 

This  prince  no  sooner  heard  the  desire 
and  proposal  of  Ahaz,  than  he  marched 
directly  to  his  aid,  laying  the  country  of 
Syria  waste,  taking  Damascus  by  assault, 
and  putting  king  Rezin  to  the  sword. 

The  people  of  Damascus  he  transplant- 
ed to  the  Upper  Media,  and  supplied  their 
places  at  Damascus  with  colonies  of  his 
own  people.  He  then  depopulated  great 
part  of  the  land  of  Israel,  carrying  away 
vast  numbers  of  them  prisoners. 


448 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI 


Having  thus  harassed  the  Syrians,  Ahaz 
took  all  the  gold  and  silver  out  of  the 
king's  treasury,  and  that  likewise  out  of 
the  temple,  with  all  the  rich  donations, 
and  carried  the  whole  along  with  him  to 
Damascus;  which,  according  to  his  agree- 
ment, he  delivered  up  to  the  king  of  As- 
syria, with  acknowledgments  for  the  fa- 
vour of  his  relief,  and  then  returned  to 
Jerusalem. 

Now  this  king  had  so  little  sense,  either 
of  honour  or  reason,  that  the  mortal  en- 
mity between  him  and  the  Syrians  did  not 
hinder  him  from  worshipping  their  gods, 
and  joining  in  their  ceremonies;  vainly 
persuading  himself,  from  his  blind  zeal  in 
idolatrous  worship,  that  they  would  be 
propitious  to  his  arms;  and  then,  when 
he  was  overcome,  on  the  other  hand,  his 
business  was  to  make  friends  of  the  gods 
of  the  Assyrians  ;  indeed,  he  was  prone  to 
fall  into  every  idolatrous  abomination  by 
the  neglect  of  the  worship  of  the  true  God, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  profession  and 
practice  of  his  ancestors. 

This  apostasy  drew  down  the  wrath  and 
vengeance  of  God  upon  him.  Nay,  the 
contempt  and  aversion  that  he  had  for  the 
honour  and  service  of  God,  were  so  extra- 
vagant, that  after  he  had  rifled  the  temple 
he  commanded  the  very  doors  to  be  kept 
shut,  out  of  enmity  to  God  and  goodness, 
and  to  prevent  the  celebrating  of  any  act 
of  religious  worship  in  that  holy  place. 
But  at  last,  after  a  constant  course  of  im- 
piety, he  departed  this  life  at  thirty-six 
years  of  age,  and  in  the  sixteenth  of  his 
reign,  leaving  his  son  Hezekiah  his  suc- 
cessor to  the  government. 

About  this  time  Pekah  king  of  Israel 
lost  both  his  government  and  his  life  by 
the  treachery  of  a  court-confidant,  called 
Hoshea,*  who  enjoyed  the   fruit  of  his 


*  After  he  had  murdered  his  predecessor  Pe- 
kah, the  elders  of  the  land  seem  to  have  taken  the 
government  into  their  own  hands  ;  for  he  had  not 
the  possession  of  the  kingdom  till  the  latter  end  of 
the  twelfth  year  of  Ahaz,  i.e.  about  nine  years 
after  he  had  committed  the  fact.  Me  came  to  the 
j-own,  it  must  be  owned,  in  a  very  wicked  man- 


'  violence  and  usurpation  for  the  space  of 
nine  years.      He  was  one  of  the  worst  of 
men,    that    in    his    life  and    conversation 
|  showed  not  the  least  thought  or  belief  of 
a   God.      Shalmaneser,    the    king   of   the 
I  Assyrians,  led  an  army  against  him,   and 
|  being  cast  off  by  God,  whom  he  himself 
|  had  rejected  and  despised,  he  was  easily- 
overcome,  and   forced  to  submit    to    the 
terms  of  a  tributary. 

In  the  third  year  of  Hoshea's  reign, 
Hezekiah  came  to  be  king  of  Jerusalem. 
He  was  a  person  endowed  with  an  excel- 
lent understanding,  and  a  lover  and  prac- 
tiser  of  piety  and  justice:  the  first  thing 
he  did  upon  his  coming  to  the  throne,  was 
to  provide  for  the  comfort  of  his  people, 
introducing  the  religion  of  the  only  true 
God;  to  this  end,  he  immediately  sum- 
moned a  meeting  of  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites,  and  addressed  them  to  this  effect' 
"  I  need  not  remind  you  of  the  many  arx1 
great  calamities  that  have  befallen  you  foi 
the  iniquities  of  my  father,  in  not  render- 
ing to  God  the  honour  due  to  him,  and 
for  the  madness  of  your  being  prevailed 
upon  to  pay  divine  adoration  to  his  idols ; 
wherefore  being  now  taught  by  woful 
experience  how  dangerous  a  thing  it  is  to 
prevaricate  with  the  Almighty,  it  is  my 
advice,  that  all  past  miscarriages  may  be 
forgotten,  and  that  you  purify  and  purge 
yourselves,  together  with  the  priests  and 
Levites,  from  all  your  former  pollutions; 
and  after  that  preparation,  that  you  set 


ner,  and  yet  his  character  in  scripture  is  not  so 
vile  as  many  of  his  predecessors,  2  Kings  xvii.  2. 
For,  whereas  the  kings  of  Israel  had  hitherto  main- 
tained guards  upon  the  frontiers  to  hinder  their 
subjects  from  going  to  Jerusalem  to  worship, 
Hoshea  took  away  these  guards  and  gave  free 
liberty  to  all  to  go  and  pa)'  their  adorations  where 
the  law  had  directed.  And  therefore,  when  Heze- 
kiah invited  all  Israel  to  come  to  his  passover,  this 
prince  permitted  all  that  would  to  go  ;  and  when, 
upon  their  return  from  that  festival,  they  destroyed 
all  the  monuments  of  idolatry  that  were  found  in 
the  kingdom  of  Samaria,  instead  of  forbidding  them, 
in  all  probability  he  gave  his  consent  to  it  ;  be- 
cause without  some  tacit  encouragement  at  least, 
they  durst  not  have  ventured  to  do  it. — Pridcauz's 
Connection. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

open  the  doors  of  that  holy  place;  and 
when  you  shall  have  restored  it  to  its 
original  purity,  by  consecrations,  expia- 
tory lustrations,  and  sacrifices  in  form,  we 
>juiy  then  promise  ourselves  that  God  will 
pardon  our  impieties,  and  prosper  us  in 
all  our  undertakings. 

The  priests  were  so  encouraged  by  this 
advice  of  the  king,  that  they  presently 
opened  the  temple,  cleared  it  of  all  im- 
purities, made  ready  the  holy  vessels,  and 
laid  their  sacrifices  upon  the  altar,  accord- 
ing to  the  Jewish  manner. 

The  king,  in  the  mean  time,  sent  mes- 
sengers throughout  all  his  dominions  to 
summon  the  people  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread;  which 
had  been  then  a  long  time  intermitted, 
through  the  impious  neglect  of  former 
kings;  exhorting  and  inviting  the  Israel- 
ites also  to  forsake  the  practice  of  their 
idolatrous  superstitions,  and  return  to  the 
exercise  of  the  true  religion,  and  to  the 
worship  of  the  true  God;  promising  them 
that  they  should  have  liberty  to  come  and 
go,  and  to  celebrate  this  festival  in  com- 
mon with  his  own  people.  The  king  ob- 
served, that  it  was  not  for  his  own  sake,  but 
for  theirs,  that  he  gave  them  this  invitation; 
and  that  they  themselves  should  reap  the 
benefit,  if  they  followed  his  counsel. 

But  when  the  Israelites  heard  the  mes- 
sage, they  were  so  fur  from  giving  any 
heed  to  it,  that  they  held  the  messengers 
in  derision,  and  treated  the  prophets  with 
contempt,  for  the  good  office  of  advising 
them  to  return  to  their  duty,  and  foretell- 
ino-  them  the  miseries  that  should  befall 
them,  without  a  timely  repentance.  Thus 
they  proceeded  from  one  wickedness  to 
another,  till  God  in  his  wrath  avenged 
himself  upon  them  for  their  impiety,  by  de- 
livering them  up  into  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies. But  there  were  great  numbers  yet 
of  the  tribes  of  Manasseh,  Zebulun,  and 
Issachar,  whose  hearts  were  touched  with 
this  advice  of  the  prophets,  and  who  went 
up  to  Ilezekiah  at  Jerusalem,  to  worship. 

When    the    multitude    was    assembled 


449 


there,  the  king  went  up  to  the  temple, 
together  with  the  princes  and  the  people, 
where  he  sacrificed  for  himself  seven  bulls, 
seven  rams,  and  as  many  goats;  and  when 
he  had  first  laid  his  hands  upon  the  heads 
of  the  victims,  both  the  king  and  the 
princes  left  the  execution  to  the  priests, 
who  cut  the  throats  of  the  sacrifices,  and 
burnt  them  whole,  the  Levites  standing 
in  a  ring  about  them,  singing  hymns,  and 
accompanying  their  voices  with  musical 
instruments,  as  David  had  prescribed 
them  of  old,  the  rest  of  the  priests  joining 
in  the  concert.  When  this  was  over,  the 
king  and  the  people  cast  themselves  pros- 
trate, and  worshipped  the  Lord. 

Hezekiah  sacrificed,  after  this,  seventy 
bullocks,  a  hundred  rams,  and  two  hun- 
dred lambs;  bestowing  also  six  hundred 
bullocks,  and  three  thousand  other  cattle, 
as  a  bounty  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
people;  and  when  the  priests  had  perform- 
ed their  office,  according  to  the  customary 
method,  the  king  himself  feasted  with  the 
people,  and  joined  with  them  in  praises 
and  thanksgivings. 

The  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  now 
coming  on,  and  in  the  time  of  tlieir  pre- 
parations for  the  feast  of  the  passover, 
they  offered  up  a  course  of  other  sacrifices, 
for  seven  days  successively,  and  the  king 
bestowed  upon  the  people,  out  of  his  own 
bounty,  two  thousand  bulls,  and  seven 
thousand  of  other  cattle,  over  and  above 
their  own  number.  The  princes  likewise, 
after  Hezekiah's  example,  super-adding  a 
thousand  bulls,  and  a  thousand  and  forty 
other  beasts;  insomuch,  that  from  the 
days  of  Solomon  down  to  that  time,  there 
was  never  such  a  solemnity  known  to  be 
so  splendidly  celebrated.  As  soon  as  this 
festival  was  over,  they  made  it  their  next 
work  to  purge  the  whole  country,  having 
first  purified  Jerusalem  itself  from  the 
abomination  of  their  idols. 

Nay,  there  was  one  thing,  namely,  the 

brazen  serpent,*  which  might  have  been 

i  —  . 

*  The  reason,   which  the  scripture  assigns  f6f 
3l 


450 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI 


of  innocent  use,  and  served,  in  the  same 
manner  as  did  the  pot  of  manna,  and  Aa- 
ron's rod,  for  a  monument  of  God's  mir- 
aculous mercy  to  the  Israelites  in  their 
passage  through  the  wilderness;  but  be- 
cause the  preceding  times  o#  iniquity  had 
made  it  an  object  of  idolatrous  worship, 
Hezekiah  thought  proper  to  destroy  it,  in 
order  to  take  away  all  occasion  of  the  like 
abuse  for  the  future. 

The  king  then  appointed   daily  sacri- 

Hezekiah's  destroying  this  brazen  serpent,  is, 
•Because,  unto  this  day,  the  children  of  Israel  had 
burnt  incense  to  it,'  2  Kings  xviii.  4.  We  are  not 
however  to  suppose,  that,  all  along  from  the  days 
of  Moses,  this  brazen  serpent  was  made  an  object 
of  religious  worship  :  this  is  what  neither  David, 
nor  Solomon,  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  would 
have  allowed  of;  nor  can  we  think,  but  that  either 
Asa,  or  Jehoshaphat,  when  they  rooted  out  ido- 
latry would  have  made  an  end  of  this,  had  they 
perceived  that  the  people  at  that  time  either  paid 
worship  or  burnt  incense  to  it.  The  commence- 
ment of  this  superstition  therefore  must  be  of  a 
later  date,  and  since  the  time  that  Ahab's  famihy, 
by  being  allied  to  the  crown  of  Judah  by  marriage, 
introduced  all  kinds  of  idolatry.  Now  one  false 
inducement  to  the  worship  of  this  image  mi»ht  be 
a  mistake  of  the  words  of  Moses.  For,  whereas 
it  is  said, that  'whosoever  looketh  upon  it,  shall 
live,'  Numb.  xxi.  8.  some  might  thence  fancy,  that, 
by  its  mediation  they  might  obtain  a  blessing,  and 
»o  make  it  the  object  of  their  superstition  at  first. 
However,  we  may  imagine  that  their  burning  in- 
cense, or  any  other  perfumes  before  it,  was  de- 
signed only  in  honour  to  the  true  God,  by  whose 
direction  Moses  made  it  ;  but  then,  in  process  of 
their  superstition,  they  either  worshipped  the  God 
of  Israel  under  that  image,  or  (what  is  worse)  sub- 
stituted a  heathen  god  in  his  room,  and  wor- 
shipped the  brazen  serpent  as  his  image ;  which 
they  might  more  easily  be  induced  to  do,  because 
the  practice  of  some  neighbouring  nations  was  to 
worship  their  gods  under  the  form  of  a  serpent. 
Upon  this  account  Hezekiah  wisely  chose  rather 
to  lose  this  memorial  of  God's  wonderful  mercy  to 
liis  people  in  the  wilderness,  than  to  suffer  it  any 
longer  to  be  abused  to  idolatry,  and  therefore  he 
brake  it  in  pieces,  i.  e.  as  the  Talmudists  explain 
it,  he  ground  it  to  powder,  and  then  scattered  it  in 
the  air,  that  there  might  not  be  the  least  remains 
of  it.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  the  care 
which  he  took  to  destroy  it,  Sigonius,  in  his  history 
of  Italy,  tells  us,  that,  in  the  church  of  St  Ambrose, 
in  Milan,  they  show  to  their  devotees  a  brazen 
serpent  which  they  pretend  to  be  the  very  same 
which  Moses  erected  in  the  wilderness,  and,  upon 
this  belief,  an  idolatrous  devotion  is  there  paid  to  it 
as  gross  as  was  that  of  the  Jews;  though,  it  must  be 
owned,  that,  among  their  learned  men  there  are 
tome  who  acknowledge  the  cheat,  and  disclaim  it. 
— Le  Clerc's  Commentary,  and  Prideaux's  Con- 
gestion. 


fices,  according  to  the  law,  to  be  supplied 
out  of  his  own  stores,  and  commanded  the 
people  to  present  the  priests  and  Levites 
with  their  tenths  and  first-fruits,  that  they 
might  not  be  taken  off  by  any  common 
business  from  their  attendance  upon  the 
altar. 

By  this  means  they  were  abundantly 
furnished  with  all  sorts  of  fruits  and  pro- 
visions. The  king  also  ordered  the  build- 
ing of  granaries  and  store-houses,  for  the 
common  use  and  service  of  themselves, 
their  wives,  and  children,  to  be  distributed 
in  proportion  to  their  shares;  so  that  by 
these  degrees,  the  ancient  discipline  came 
in  some  measure  to  be  restored. 

Having  thus  revived  the  worship  of 
God,  and  extirpated  idolatry  throughout 
his  dominions,  the  king  made  war  upon 
the  Philistines,  and  over-ran  their  country, 
subduing  all  their  cities,  from  Gath  to 
Gaza,  which  he  added  to  his  territories. 

When  the  king  of  Assyria  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  him  to  demand  the  tribute  from 
him,  which  was  formerly  paid  him  by  his 
father,  with  a  menace,  in  case  of  refusal, 
to  take  his  country  from  him ;  Hezekiah, 
depending  upon  the  goodness  of  God,  the 
consciousness  of  his  integrity,  and  the 
veracity  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  from  whom 
he  was  sure  to  be  forewarned  of  the  event 
of  things,  that  he  gave  no  heed  to  the 
menaces  of  the  Assyrians. 

Upon  intelligence  being  given  to  Shal- 
maneser,  king  of  Assyria,  that  the  king  of 
Israel  was  entered  into  a  secret  treaty  with 
So,*  king  of  Egypt,  to  join  in  an  alliance 
against  him,  the  Assyrian,  in  a  furious 
indignation,  immediately  marched  with 
his  army  against  Samaria. 

In  the  third  year  of  the  siege,  and  in 
the  ninth  of  the  reign  of  that  king,  he 


*  This  So,  with  whom  Hoshea  entered  into 
confederacy,  is  in  profane  authors  called  Sabacon, 
that  famous  Ethiopian,  mentioned  by  Herodotus, 
and  Diodorus  Siculus,  who  in  the  beginning  of 
Hezekiah's  reign  invaded  Egypt,  and  having  taken 
Bocharis,  the  king  thereof,  prisoner,  had  him,  in 
great  cruelty,  burnt  alive,  and  then  seized  on  his 
kingdom.— Prideaux's  Connection. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


451 


took  it  by  assault,  in  the  seventh  year  of 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah  king  of  Jerusalem. 
The  loss  of  this  place  was  the  final  ruin 
of  the  kingdom  of  Israel;  the  people  were 
all  transplanted  into  Media  and  Persia, 
and  Hoshea  the  king  taken  with  them 
alive;  while  the  king  of  Assyria  brought 
others  from  thence  in  exchange,  as  far  as 
Cuthah,  a  river  of  Persia,  to  re-people  the 
land  of  the  Israelites  and  plant  them  in 
Samaria.* 


*  Sir  William  Jones  inclines  to  the  opinion  that 
the  ten  trihes  migrated  to  India,  about  Thibet, 
Cashmire,  and  such  opinion  derives  support 
several  circumstances.  In  the  year  1828  the 
following  statement  appeared  in  the  German 
papers.  "  Leipsig,  June  30. — After  having  seen 
for  some  years  past  merchants  from  Tiflis,  Persia, 
and  Armenia,  among  the  visitors  at  our  fair,  we 
have  had,  for  the  first  time,  two  traders  from 
Bucharia,  with  shawls,  which  are  there  manufac- 
tured of  the  finest  wool  of  the  goats  of  Thibet  and 
Cashmire,  by  the  Jewish  families,  who  form  a 
third  part  of  the  population.  In  Bucharia,  for- 
merly the  capital  of  Sogdiana,  the  Jews  have  been 
very  numerous  ever  since  the  Babylonian  captivity, 
and  are  there  as  remarkable  for  their  industry  and 
manufactures  as  they  are  in  England  for  their 
money  transactions.  It  was  not  till  last  year  that 
the  Russian  government  succeeded  in  extending 
its  diplomatic  missions  far  into  Bucharia.  The 
above  traders  exchanged  their  shawls  for  coarse 
and  fine  woollen  cloths  of  such  colours  as  are  most 
esteemed  in  the  East."  The  number  of  these 
Jews  must  be  very  great,  if  this  account  be  at  all 
correct,  as  to  the  proportion  which  they  bear  to 
the  whole  population,  this  being  stated  by  the 
most  accurately  informed  writers  to  be  from 
15,000.000,  to  18,000,000.  But  this  information 
is  confirmed,  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner,  from 
other  sources.  In  the  year  1822,  a  Mr  Sargon, 
one  of  the  agents,  we  believe,  to  the  London 
Society  for  converting  the  Jews,  communicated  to 
England  some  interesting  accounts  of  a  number  of 
persons  resident  at  Bombay,  Cannanore,  and  the 
vicinity,  who  were  evidently  the  descendants  of 
Jews,  calling  themselves  Beni-Israel,  and  bearing, 
almost  uniformly,  Jewish  names,  but  with  a  Persian 
termination.  Feeling  very  desirous  to  obtain  all 
possible  knowledge  of  their  condition,  Mr  Sargon 
undertook  a  mission  to  Cannanore  for  this  purpose, 
>nd  the  result  of  his  inquiries  was  a  conviction, 
«.nat  they  were  not  Jews  of  the  one  tribe  and  a 
half,  being  of  a  different  race  from  the  white  and 
black  Jews  at  Cochin,  and  consequently  that  they 
were  a  remnant  of  the  long  lost  ten  tribes.  He 
also  concluded,  from  the  information  obtained 
respecting  the  Beni-Israel,  that  they  existed  in 
great  numbers  in  countries  between  Cochin  and 
Bombay,  the  north  of  Persia,  among  the  hordes  of 
Tartary,  and  in  Cashmire  ;  the  very  countries  in 
which  the  German  accounts  state  the  recent  dis- 
covery to  have  been   made.     So  far,  then,  these 


This  transportation  of  the  ten  tribes 
from  the  place  of  their  abode,  fell  out  nine 
hundred  and  forty-seven  years  from  the 
coming  of  their  forefathers  out  of  the  land 


accounts  confirm  each  other,  and  there  is  every 
probability  that  the  Beni-Israel,  resident  on  the 
west  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  had  originally  pro- 
ceeded from  Bucharia.  It  will  therefore  be  inter- 
esting to  know  something  of  their  moral  and 
religious  character ;  and  we  have  collected  the 
following  particulars  from  Mr  Sargon's  accounts  : 

I.  In  dress  and  manners  they  resemble  the  na- 
tives so  as  not  to  be  distinguished  from  them,  but 
by  attentive  observation  and  inquiry.  2.  They 
have  Hebrew  names  of  the  same  kind,  and  with 
the  same  local  termination,  as  the  Sepoys  in  the 
9th  regiment  Bombay  native  infantry.  3.  Some 
of  them  read  Hebrew,  and  they  have  a  faint  tradi- 
tion of  the  cause  of  their  original  exodus  from 
Egypt.  4.  Their  common  language  is  the  Hin- 
doo. 5.  They  keep  idols  and  worship  them,  and 
use  idolatrous  ceremonies  intermixed  witli  He- 
brew. 6.  They  circumcise  their  own  children.  7. 
They  observe  the  Kippoor,  or  great  expiation  day 
of  the  Hebrews,  but  not  the  sabbath,  or  any  feast 
or  fast-days.  8.  They  call  themselves  Gorah 
Jehudi,  or  white  Jews ;  and  they  term  the  black 
Jews,  Collah  Jehudi.  9.  They  speak  of  the 
Arabian  Jews  as  their  brethren,  but  do  not 
acknowledge  the  European  Jews  as  such,  because 
they  are  of  a  fairer  complexion  than  'themselves. 
10.  They  use  on  all  occasions,  and  at  the  most 
trivial  circumstances,  the  usual  Jewish  prayer, 
'  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord.' 

I I.  They  have  no  cohen  (priest)  Levite,  or  kasi, 
among  them,  under  those  terms,  but  they  have  a 
kasy,  (reader,)  who  performs  prayers  and  conducts 
their  religious  ceremonies,  and  they  appear  to 
have  elders  and  a  chief  in  each  community,  who 
determine  in  their  religious  concerns.  12.  They 
expect  the  Messiah  soon  to  arrive,  and  rejoice  in 
the  belief  that  at  Jerusalem  they  will  see  their 
God,  worship  him  only,  and  be  despised  no  more. 
This  is  all  the  information  that  can  be  collected 
from  Mr  Sargon's  accounts,  but  the  very  region  in 
which  these  people  have  been  discovered,  has  been 
described  by  the  celebrated  Oriental  geographer, 
Ibn  Haukal,  with  great  minuteness,  under  the 
appellation  oi  Mawer-al-na.hr .  He  speaks  of  it 
as  one  of  the  most  flourishing  provinces  within  (he 
regions  of  Islam,  and  describes  its  inhabitants  as  a 
people  of  probity  and  virtue,  averse  from  evil,  and 
fond  of  peace.  "  Such  is  their  liberality,  that  no 
one  turns  aside  from  the  rites  of  hospitality;  >o 
that  a  person  contemplating  them  in  this  light, 
woirld  imagine  that  all  the  families  in  the  laud 
were  but  one  house.  When  a  traveller  arrives 
there,  every  person  endeavours  to  attract  him  to 
himself,  that  he  may  have  opportunities  of  per- 
forming kind  offices  for  the  stranger;  and  the  hist 
proof  of  their  hospitable  and  generous  disposition 
is,  that  every  peasant,  though  possessing  but  a  bate 
sufficiency,  allows  a  portion  of  his  cottage  .for  the 
reception  of  his  guest.  Thus  in  acts  of  hospitality 
they  expend  their  income.  Never  have  I  heard  of 
such  things  in  any  other  country     .  .  Yqu  cannot 


452 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VL 


of  Egypt,  to  their  taking  possession  of 
that  land  before,  by  force  of  arms;  eight 
hundred  years  from  the  days  of  Joshua, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  years,  seven 
months,  after  the  revolt  from  Rehoboam, 
the  grandson  of  David,  to  Jeroboam.* 

This  was  the  miserable  end  of  that  stiff- 
necked  people,  that  would  neither  be  sub- 
ject to  laws,  nor  hearken  to  the  voice  and 
precautions  of  their  prophets,  though  they 
foretold  them,  that  their  certain  destruc- 
tion was  at  hand,  unless  they  departed 
from  their  evil  ways. 

These  calamities  arose  from  that  sedi- 
tious revolt  from  Rehoboam,  in  advancing 
a  servant  over  the  head  of  his  master; 
who,  in  contempt  of  God,  and  his  holy 
laws,  drew  the  indignation  of  heaven  upon 
the  people,  by  drawing  them  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  same  abominations  by  his  ex- 
ample ;  but  he  escaped  not  the  just  judg- 
ment of  God. 

The  king  of  Assyria  carried  all  before 
him,  and  extended  his  victorious  arms 
throughout  Syria  and  Phoenicia.! 


sec  any  town  or  stage,  or  even  desert,  without  a 
convenient  inn  or  stage-house,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  travellers,  with  every  thing  necessary.  I 
have  heard  that  there  are  above  2000  nebats  or 
inns  where  as  many  persons  as  may  arrive  shall 
rind  sufficient  forage  for  their  beasts,  and  meat  for 
themselves." — See  Calmet. 

*  Here  ended  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  af- 
ter it  had  subsisted  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  years 
and  seven  months  :  for  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Ne- 
bat,  reigned  22  years,  in  which  2  years  of  Nadab 
are  comprehended,  Baasha  reigned  24  years,  Elah 
2,  Omri  12,  in  which  7  days  of  Zimri  are  contain- 
ed, Ahnb  22,  Ahaziah  2,  Jehoram  12,  Jehu  28,  Je- 
hoahaz  17,  Joash  16,  Jeroboam  II.  41,  the  throne 
vacant  II,  Zechariah  6  months,  Shallum  1  month, 
Menahem  10  years,  Pekah  20,  the  kingdom  admi- 
nistered by  elders  8  years,  and  Hoshea,  the  son  of 
Elah  reigned  9  years.  The  particulars  are  evident 
from  the  above  history,  and  the  whole  makes  up 
the  duration  of  this  kingdom  256  years  7  months. 

t  In  Menander's  Tyrian  annals, some  account  is 

fiven  of  this  expedition  of  the  Assyrian  king  into 
'hoenicia.  It  appears  that  Elulacus,  who  was  then 
king  of  Tyre,  seeing  the  Philistines  brought  low  by 
the  war  which  Hezekiah  had  lately  made  upon 
them,  laid  hold  of  this  opportunity  of  reducing 
Ciath  again  under  his  ob<  dience,  which  had  some 
time  before  revolted  from  him.  Whereupon  the 
Gitlites,  applying  themselves  to  Shalmaneser,  en- 
gaged him  in  their  cause  ;  so  that  he  matched 
with  his  wlwle  army  against  the  Tyrians.     Conse- 


The  new-comers  in  Samaria  were  call- 
ed Cuthites,  from  a  country  of  Persia  of 
that  name,  and  from  the  river  Cuthah, 
from  whence  they  had  their  original. 
There  were  five  nations  of  them,  and 
they  brought  as  many  of  their  own  coun- 
try gods  with  themfJ  highly  provoking  the 


quent  on  this  expedition,  Sidon,  Akko,  (afterward 
called  Ptolemais.andnow  Acre),  and  the  other  mari- 
time towns  of  Phoenicia  which  had  till  then  been 
subject  to  the  Tyrians,  revolted  from  them,  and 
submitted  to  Shalmaneser.  But  the  Tyrians  hav- 
ing, in  a  sea-fight  with  twelve  ships  only,  beaten  the 
Assyrian  and  Phoenician  fleets  both  joined  together, 
which  consisted  of  sixty  ships,  this  gave  them  such 
a  reputation  in  naval  affairs,  and  made  their  name 
so  terrible  in  this  sort  of  war,  that  Shalmaneser 
would  not  venture  to  cope  with  them  any  more  at 
sea;  but  turning  the  war  into  a  siege,  left  an  army  to 
block  up  the  city,  and  returned  into  Assyria.  The 
forces  which  he  left  there  much  distressed  the 
place,  by  stopping  their  aqueducts,  and  cutting  off 
all  the  conveyance*  of  water  to  them.  To  relieve 
themselves  in  this  exigency,  they  digged  wells,  and 
by  this  supply  they  were  enabled  to  hold  out 
five  years  ;  at  the  end  of  which,  Shalmaneser  dy> 
ing,  the  siege  was  raised,  and  the  place  relieved.— 
Prideaux. 

\  The  false  deities  brought  into  Samaria,  are 
thus  mentioned  in  the  sacred  volume  :  '  The  men 
of  Babylon  made  Succoth-benoth,  and  the  men  of 
Cuth  made  Nergal,  and  the  men  of  Hamath  made 
Ashima,  and  the  Avites  made  Nibhaz  and  Tartak, 
and  the  Sepharvites  burnt  their  children  in  fire  to 
Adrammelech  and  Anammelech,  the  gods  of  Se- 
pharvaim.'  Little  can  with  certainty  be  known 
about  these  impure  gods  except  their  names  ;  and 
therefore  it  is  difficult,  and  has  afforded  a  large 
field  for  conjecture,  to  give  any  satisfactory  account 
of  them. — Succoth-benoth  properly  signifies  the 
•  tabernacles  of  daughters.*  Benoth  or  Venoth, 
and  Venus  have  a  great  affinity,  the  initial  letter 
being  easily  interchanged  ;  and  there  is  no  room 
to  doubt  that  these  Succoth  were  tents  or  booths, 
wherein  young  women  exposed  themselves  to  pro- 
stitution in  honour  of  the  Babylonish  goddess  ivly- 
litta,  or  Venus.  Herodotus  gives  us  a  particular 
account  of  this  detestable  service.  "  There  is,'* 
says  he,  "an  abominable  custom  among  the  Babylo- 
nians that  ail  their  women  are  obliged  once  in  their 
life  to  prostitute  themselves  to  strangers  at  the 
temple  of  Venus.  Those  who  are  rich,  and  so  dis 
dain  to  mingle  with  the  crowd,  present  themselves 
before  the  temple  in  covered  chariots,  attended  by 
a  numerous  train  of  domestics,  But  the  generali- 
ty of  the  women  sit  in  the  temple,  having  garlands 
upon  their  tieads,  and  holding  a  cord,  some  coming 
out,  others  going  in.  The  cords  are  held  by  them 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  afford  a  free  passage  among 
the  women,  that  tiie  strangers  may  choose  whom 
they  like.  A  woman  who  has  once  seated  herself 
in  this  place  must  not  return  home  till  some 
stranger  has  thrown  a  piece  of  money  into  her  lap, 
and  led  her  from  the  temple  and  defiled  her.     it 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

true  and  great  God  against  tliem,  for  the 
worship  they  paid  to  the  idols;  so  that 
they  were  visited  with  so  dreadful  a 
plague,  that  the  place  was  almost  depo- 
pulated. 


453 


is  usual  for  the  stranger  who  gives  the  money  to 
say  *  May  the  goddess  Mylitta  be  auspicious  to 
thee.'  It  is  unlawful  to  refuse  the  money, 
however  small  the  sum  may  be,  because  it  is  ap- 
plied to  sacred  uses.  The  woman  must  follow  the 
first  stranger  that  offers  her  money,  having  no  li- 
berty to  reject  him  ;  and  having  duly  honoured 
the  goddess,  she  returns  to  her  own  house." 
These  passages  may  explain  what  we  read  in  the 
book  of  Baruch  respecting  the  idolatry  of  the 
Chaldeans  and  Babylonians:  'the  women,  sur- 
rounded with  lines,  sit  in  the  way  burning  their 
chaff,  and  when  anv  of  them  is  pitched  on  by  a 
passenger  to  lie  with  him,  she  upbraids  her  neigh- 
bour that  she  had  not  the  same  honou-  done  her, 
and  that  her  line  was  not  broke.'  Thus  they 
gloried  in  their  shame.  The  same  impure  rites 
were  also  practised  in  other  parts,  as  at  Sicca  Ve- 
neria.  the  name  of  a  city  in  Numidia,  not  far  from 
the  borders  of  Africa  Propria  ;  and  at  Corinth, 
where  was  a  temple  of  Venus,  at  which  the 
Corinthians  had  consecrated  a  thousand  courte- 
sans, who  sold  themselves  at  a  dear  rate.  This 
was  the  Succoth-benoth,  the  daughters  of  the  ta- 
hcrnacles  among  the  heathens,  or  the  Babylonian 
Venus,  and  these  the  abominable  rites  of  their  su- 
perstition.— Nergal  seems  to  have  been  the  sun, 
as  the  causer  of  the  diurnal  and  annual  revolu- 
tions of  the  planets;  the  word  being  derived  from 
Ner,  which  signifies  light,  and  Gal,  signifying  to  re- 
volve. The  Kabbins  tell  us  that  this  idol  was  repre- 
sented in  the  shape  of  a  cock;  and  though  their  au- 
thoritv  is  not  always  satisfactory,  in  this  instancethey 
seem  to  be  correct.  Among  the  latter  heathens, 
we  find  the  cock  was  sacred  to  Apollo  or  the  sun ; 
"  because,"  says  Heliodorus,  speaking  of  the  times 
when  cocks  crow,  "  by  a  natural  sensation  of  the 
sun's  revolution  to  us,  they  are  incited  to  salute 
the  god."  And  perhaps  under  the  name  Nergal 
they  meant  to  worship  the  sun,  not  only  for  the 
diurnal  return  of  its  light  upon  the  earth,  but  also 
for  itsannual  return  orrevolution.  We  mayobserve 
the  emblem,  a  cock,  is  affected  by  the  latter  as 
well  as  by  the  former,  and  is  frequently  crowing 
both  day  and  night,  when  the  days  begin  to 
lengthen. — Ashima,  the  idol  of  the  men  of  Ha- 
math,  is  represented  by  some  of  the  Rabbins  in 
the  shape  of  an  ape  ;  others,  in  that  of  a*  lamb,  a 
goat,  or  a  satyr.  Jurieu  thinks  it  may  be  derived 
from  Esh-maja,  the  fire  of  heaven,  or  Esh-joma,  a 
daily  fire  ;  both  of  which  signify  the  sun,  of  which 
the  fire  is  an  emblem  ;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
die  sun  and  fire  were  the  emblems  of  those  coun- 
tries from  which  these  men  had  been  removed, — 
having  come  from  Emesa,  a  province  of  Syria 
which  lies  upon  the  river  Orontes.  Others  again 
derive  the  word  from  the  Persian  Asuman,  the 
name  of  an  angel  or  geni,  who,  according  to  the 
ancient  Magi  of  Persia,  presides  over  the  27th  day 
of  every  solar  month  in  the  Persian  year;  which 


Having  used  divers  means  to  avert  this 
dreadful  judgment,  they  were  at  length 
advised  by  the  oracle  to  have  recourse  to 
the  worship  of  the  great  God,  as  the  only 
means  of  finding  relief  for  their  calamity. 

therefore  is  called  by  the  name  of  this  genl.  The 
Magi  believe  Asuman  to  be  the  angel  of  death, 
which  separates  the  souls  of  men  from  their  bo- 
dies.— Nibhaz,  according  to  the  Rabbins,  is  repre- 
sented in  the  form  of  a  dog,  somewhat  resembling 
the  Anubis  of  the  Egyptians.  Pierius,  in  his  Hi- 
eroglyphics, shows  us  that  the  cunocephalus,  (a 
kind  of  ape,  with  the  head  of  a  dog,  standing  upon 
his  hinder  feet,)  was  an  animal  eminently  sacred 
amongst  the  Egyptians,  hieroglyphical  of  the  moon, 
and  kept  in  their  temple  to  inform  them  of 
the  moon's  conjunction  with  the  stm,  at  which 
time  this  animal  is  strangely  affected,  being  depriv- 
ed of  sight,  refusing  food,  and  lying  sick  on  the 
ground  ;  but,  on  the  moon's  appearance,  seeming 
to  return  thanks,  and  congratulate  the  return  of 
light  hoth  to  himself  and  her.  This  being  ob- 
served, the  word  nibchaz  gives  us  reason  to  con- 
clude, that  this  idol  was  in  the  shape  of  a  dog  look- 
ing, barking,  or  howling  at  the  moon. — Parkhurst 
is  of  opinion  that  Tartah  is  compounded  of  Tar, 
*  to  go  round,'  and  Kathak,  '  to  chain,  tether  ;'  and 
plainly  denotes  the  heavens,  considered  as  confining 
the  planets  in  their  respective  orbits,  as  if  they 
were  tethered.  The  Jews  have  a  tradition  that  the 
emblem  of  this  idol  was  an  ass  ;  which,  considering 
the  propriety  of  that  animal,  when  tethered,  to  re- 
present this  idol,  is  not  improbahle;  and  from  this 
idolatrous  worship  of  the  Samaritans,  joined  per- 
haps with  some  confused  account  of  the  cherubim, 
seems  to  have  sprung  that  stupid  story  of  the  hea- 
thens, that  the  Jews  had  an  ass  s  head  in  their  holy  of 
holies,  to  which  they  paid  religious  worship.  Jurieu 
is  of  opinion  that  as  the  word  Nibhaz,  both  in  the 
Hehrewand  Chaldee.witha  small  variation, denotes 
quick,  swift,  rapid ;  and  Tartak  in  the  same  lan- 
guage signifies  a  chariot,  these  two  idols,  when 
conjoined,  may  denominate  the  sun  mounted  on  his 
car. — Adrammelech,  the  Rabbins  say,  was  repre- 
sented under  the  form  of  a  mule  ;  but  Calmet 
thinks  there  is  much  more  reason  to  believe  that  he 
represented  the  sun.  Mr  Taylor  supposes  the 
name  to  be  derived  from  the  gorgeous  robe  which 
adorned  his  image  ;  if  it  be  not  rather  an  epithet 
given  first  by  poetical  imagination,  and  afterwards 
adopted  by  the  royal  worshippers,  as  well-express- 
ing the  god  adored  in  their  sumptuous  palace, 
where  he  might  be  superbly  lodged,  q.  d.  '  the  king 
of  splendours.'  Taylor  further  suggests  that  as 
Adrammelech  signifies  the  sun,  so  Aiiammelech 
may  indicate  the  moon  or  gentle  king.  The 
name,  he  remarks,  may  be  composed  of  Onan, 
a  cloud,  and  Melek,  a  king  ;  '  the  king  of  clouds. 
Perhaps  the  distinguishing  symbol  of  this  idol  was 
a  cloud  of  gold,  or  some  other  splendid  material, 
annexed  to  its  statue.  Locke  is  of  opinion  that 
the  names  of  these  two  idols  were  expressive  of 
one  and  the  same  deity  ;  and  as  the  children  were 
offered  to  him,  it  appears  he  was  the  same  with 
the  Moloch  of  the  Ammonites. — See  Dr  A. 
Clarke,  Millar,  Calmet,  and  Parkhurst. 


454 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


The  people  immediately  upon  this  sent 
for  commissioners  to  attend  the  king  of 
Assyria  with  a  petition  that  he  would  be 
pleased  to  send  them  some  of  the  priests 
that  were  carried  away  captives  with  the 
Israelites. 

This  being  granted  as  they  desired, 
they  had  the  law  of  Moses  read,  with  an 
explication  upon  the  practice,  and  the 
reason  of  their  religion  and  discipline, 
which  had  so  wonderful  an  effect  upon 
them,  that  they  gave  themselves  wholly 
up  to  the  study  and  exercise  of  it ;  and 
soon  after  this  the  pestilence  ceased.* 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Sennacherib  king  of  Assyi-ia  makes  war  upon 
Hezekiah  ;  receives  conditions  from  him  to 
withdraw  his  army. — Breaks  his  articles. — 
Hezekiah  is  distressed. — Applies  to  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah,  who  promises  him  relief. — Blas- 
phemy of  Sennacherib. — Prayer  of  Hezekiah. 
— He  receives  a  message  of  his  death,  obtains 
a  reprieve  by  a  signal  from  heaven,  and  after- 
wards pays  the  debt  of  nature. 

In  the  fourteenth  year  of  Hezekiah  king 
of  the  two  tribes,  Sennacherib  the  king  of 
Assyria  marched  against  him,  with  a 
powerful  and  well-disciplined  army.  Hav- 
ing taken  all  the  cities  of  Judah  and  Ben- 
jamin by  assault,  he  was  now  ready  to 
advance  towards  Jerusalem,  when  an  em- 
bassy came  to  him  with  an  offer  of  sub- 
mission and  paying  him  tribute. 

Sennacherib  gave  the  ambassadors  au- 
dience, resolved  immediately  to  desist 
from  the  war,  and  to  treat  upon  the  king's 
terms,  promising  upon  oath,  that  upon  the 
receipt  of  three  hundred  talents  of  silver, 

*  The  people  of  that  country  retained  long 
since  the  name  of  Cnthites,  among  the  Hebrews  ; 
but  the  Greeks  call  them  Samaritans.  They  were 
a  people  unfixed  and  changeable  in  their  opinions 
and  inclinations,  accommodating  themselves  to  the 
present  time  and  occasion.  So  long  as  the  Jews 
were  prosperous,  '  We  are  all  of  one  blood,'  they 
cried, '  and  of  the  lineage  of  Joseph  ;'  but  if  they 
happened  to  fall  under  any  affliction,  or  adversity, 
•Alas!'  said  they,  'we  have  nothing  to  do  with 
them,  they  are  strangers  to  us  ;  we  came  a  great 
way  oft*.' 


and  thirty  of  gold,  he  would  depart  wit) 
his  army,  without  attempting  any  act  t 
hostility.  Hezekiah,  upon  this  assurance, 
emptied  all  the  treasuries,  and  sent  him 
the  money,  in  confidence  of  the  enemy's 
departure,  according  to  his  oath,  and  that 
he  might  reign  afterward  without  any 
difficulty  or  danger.  The  king  of  Assyria 
took  the  money,  but  broke  his  word ;  for 
he  marched  himself  with  his  troops  against 
the  Egyptians,  and  left  Rabshakeh  lieu- 
tenant-general, with  Tartan,  and  Rabsa- 
ris,f  to  carry  on  the  war  against  Jerusa- 
lem. 

Upon  the  drawing  up  of  the  army,  they 
pitched  their  camp  within  sight  of  the 
walls  of  the  town ;  and  by  a  messenger 
summoned  Hezekiah  out  to  a  parley. 
Hezekiah  was  not  willing  to  trust  himself 
out;  and  therefore  sent  three  of  his  par- 
ticular friends  to  supply  his  place :  Elia- 
kim,  his  deputy  governor ;  and  Shebnah 
and  Joah,  keepers  of  the  records. 

Upon  their  coming  out  of  the  town, 
and  presenting  themselves  before  the 
officers  of  the  Assyrian  army,  Rabshakeh, 
with  an  imperious  tone,  bade  them  carry 
their  master  this  message :  "  That  the 
great  king  Sennacherib  would  fain  know 
what  confidence  he  valued  himself  upon, 
that  he  should  dare  to  make  any  great 
difficulty  of  owning  that  great  king  for  his 


f  Tartan,  Rabsaris,  and  Rabshakeh  are  not 
the  proper  names  of  these  men,  but  rather  denote 
their  employments  and  offices.  Tartan  signifies 
the  president  of  the  customs  ;  Rabsaris,  the  chiel 
eunuch;  and  Rabshakeh,  the  principal  cup-bear- 
er ;  and  because  he  spake  Hebrew  with  some' 
fluency,  the  Rabbins  are  generally  of  opinion  that 
he  was  either  an  apostate  Jew,  or  one  of  the  cap- 
tivity of  Jsrael.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  a  very 
eloquent  man,  and  his  speech  tery  excellently 
calculated  to  raise  sedition  or  defection  among 
the  besieged  ;  but  that  a  person  of  his  education 
should  be  versed  in  the  Phoenician,  which  is,  in  a 
manner,  the  same  with  the  Hebrew  language,  is  no 
wonder  at  all.  Moreover,  had  he  been  a  Jew, 
(though  an  apostate)  he  should  have  known  better, 
one  would  think,  than  to  have  upbraided  Heze- 
kiah with  acting  according  to  the  law,  under 
which  he  lived,  in  destroying  the  groves  and  altars' 
of  idols,  and  in  requiring  his  subjects  to  worship 
(Jod  in  Jerusalem  only. — Le  Clerc's  Commentary. 


Chap.  VI. J 


THE  BIBLE. 


455 


master,  ani  u  fuse  entrance  to  his  army 
into  the  city  ?  Does  he  flatter  himself 
with  hope  of  relief  from  Egypt,  as  if  they 
were  in  a  condition  to  cope  with  the  ar- 
my of  my  master?  It  is  the  height  of 
frenzy  to  imagine  it,  and  thereby  trust 
for  success  to  that  which  will  prove  inevi- 
tably his  very  bane  and  ruin.  You  should 
inform  your  master,  that  this  expedition 
is  not  attempted  without  God's  holy  will 
and  direction,  who  will  as  certainly  give 
the  king  of  Assyria  victory  over  Heze- 
kiah  and  his  subjects,  as  he  hath  given 
him  victory  over  the  Israelites." 

Rabshakeh  delivered  himself  in  He- 
brew, being  a  language  he  was  versed  in. 
But  Eliakim,  fearing  the  effect  such  a 
discourse  in  a  known  tongue  might  have 
upon  the  multitude,  desired  him  rather  to 
speak  Syriac.  Rabshakeh,  understanding 
the  cause  of  Eliakim's  fear,  raised  his 
roice,  and  continued  his  discourse  in  He- 
brew to  this  purpose:  "Let  your  people 
hear,  and  understand  the  commands  of 
my  master ;  for  it  concerns  them  so  to  do, 
and  to  render  themselves  subservient.  It 
is  the  business,  I  know,  both  of  yourselves 
and  of  your  king,  to  seduce  your  people 
with  vain  and  empty  hopes  of  defending 
themselves  by  force;  but  if  you  have 
courage  to  put  it  to. a  hazard,  or  any  sort 
of  pretence  to  beat  off  this  army  from 
your  walls,  I  am  ready  to  furnish  you 
with  two  thousand  horse,  if  you  will  un- 
dertake to  find  riders.  But  you  have  no 
riders  to  try  the  experiment.  If  it  be  soj 
why  are  you  then  so  long  deliberating 
upon  a  thing  you  will  be  compelled  to  do 
in  the  conclusion?  especially  in  a  case 
where  you  are  safe  if  you  do  it  willingly, 
and  in  which  you  run  the  most  imminent 
hazard  if  you  stay  till  compelled ;  as  the 
weaker  must  of  necessity  yield  at  last  to 
the  stronger." 

This  was  spoken  in  the  hearing,  as  well 
of  the  people  as  of  the  deputies ;  and  no 
sooner  was  it  brought  to  the  king's  ear, 
than  he  divested  himself  of  his  royal  robes, 
and  put  on  sackcloth,  after  the  custom  of 


the  country,  in  token  of  his  humiliation, 
casting  himself  prostrate  upon  the  ground, 
and  imploring  the  aid  and  favour  of  Al- 
mighty God,  being  persuaded  that  1«? 
could  derive  relief  from  no  other  source 
than  the  divine  protection. 

He  sent  likewise  some  of  his  particular 
friends,  together  with  others  of  the  priest- 
hood, to  the  prophet  Isaiah,  desiring  that 
he  would  intercede  with  the  Lord,  by 
prayers  and  sacrifices,  for  the  common  safe- 
ty, and  for  the  interposition  of  Providence 
in  behalf  of  his  people. 

The  prophet  complied  with  the  king's 
request,  and  succeeded  so  far  in  his  media- 
tion, that  he  was  authorized  by  a  divine 
revelation  to  bid  the  king  and  his  friends 
be  of  good  courage ;  for  the  enemy  should 
be  overcome  without  a  battle,  and  abandon 
his  design  with  loss  and  disgrace ;  that 
his  pride  should  be  humbled,  and  that  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty  should  be  upon 
him  to  his  ruin  ;  that  Sennacherib  himself 
should  miscarry  in  his  Egyptian  expedi- 
tion, and  upon  that  disappointment  return 
home,  where  he  should  fall  by  the  sword. 
Immediately  after  these  encouraging 
declarations  of  the  prophet,  Hezekiah  re- 
ceived letters  from  the  king  of  Assyria, 
with  insolent  expostulations  on  his  folly 
and  presumption,  in  thinking  himself  ca- 
pable of  maintaining  his  liberty  against 
the  power  of  a  prince  who  had  already 
subjected  so  many  warlike  nations  to  his 
obedience,  concluding  with  a  menace  of 
putting  man,  woman,  and  child  to  the 
sword,  if  they  did  not  without  delay  set 
open  their  city  gates,  and  give  a  free  en- 
trance to  his  army. 

Hezekiah,  relying  upon  the  truth  of  the 
divine  word,  and  the  power  of  an  Almighty 
arm,  paid  no  regard  to  the  threats  of  his 
enemy ;  but  betook  himself  to  prayer  and 
supplication  for  the  protection  of  the  city, 
till  the  prophet  Isaiah  returned  him 
an  answer,  that  his  petition  was  heard, 
and  that  the  danger  was  over  for  any 
harm  the  Assyrians  should  do  them  upon 
that  undertaking.     He  told  them  likewise, 


456 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VI. 


that  there  were  happier  times  at  hand, 
wherein  they  should  live  in  peace  and 
security  upon  their  own  lands  and  posses- 
sions, without  fear  of  an  enemy.  In 
process  of  time  the  king  of  Assyria,  find- 
ing all  his  attempts  frustrated,  and  that 
nothing  succeeded  with  him,  withdrew  his 
army,  and  went  back  to  Nineveh. 

He  had  spent  much  time  before  Pelu- 
sium ;  and  at  last,  when  he  had  brought 
up  his  platforms  within  a  little  of  the  top 
of  the  walls,  and  was  upon  the  very  point 
of  giving  the  assault,  news  was  brought 
him,  that  Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  was 
upon  his  march,  and  approaching  with  a 
great  reinforcement  to  assist  the  Egyptians; 
and  that  he  took  his  route  through  the 
desert,  with  a  design  to  fall  upon  the 
Assyrians  by  surprise.  Sennacherib  was 
so  alarmed  at  this  report,  that  he  imme- 
diately drew  off  his  army. 

Sennacherib,  at  his  return  from  the 
Egyptian  war,  found  his  army  that  he 
had  left  under  the  command  of  Rabshakeh 
almost  destroyed  by  a  judicial  pestilence, 
which  swept  away,  in  general,  officers, 
tribunes,  and  common  soldiers,  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
thousand  men,  the  first  night  they  sat 
down  before  the  city.* 


This  dreadful  mortality  so  alarmed  the 
king  of  Assyria,  as  an  awful  stroke  cf 
divine  vengeance,  that,  lest  the  remaining 
part  of  his  army  should  undergo  the  same 


ten,  we  left  El  Mont.  At  eleven  o'clock,  while 
we  contemplated  with  great  pleasure  the  nigged 
top  of  Chiggre  to  which  we  were  fast  approaching, 
and  where  we  were  to  »olace  ourselves  with  plenty 
of  good  water,  our  guide  cried  out,  *  Fall  upon  your 
faces,  for  here  is  the  s-imoomf  I  saw  from  the 
S.  E.  a  haze  come,  in  colour  like  the  purple  part 
of  the  rainbow,  but  not  so  compressed  or  thick. 
It  did  not  occupy  twenty  yards  in  breadth,  and 
was  about  twelve  feet  high  from  the  ground.  It 
was  a  kind  of  blush  upon  the  air,  and  it  moved 
very  rapidly,  for  1  scarce  could  turn  to  fall  upon 
the  ground,  with  my  head  to  the  northward,  when 
1  felt  the  heal  of  its  current  plainly  upon  my  face. 
We  all  lay  flat  upon  the  ground,  as  if  dead,  till 
our  guide  told  us  it  was  blown  over.  The  meteor. 
or  purple  haze,  which  I  saw,  was  indeed  passed,  but 
the  light  air  that  stiil  blew  was  of  heat  to  threaten 
sutfocation.  For  my  part,  I  found  distinctly  in 
my  breast  that  I  had  imbibed  a  part  of  it,  nor  was 
1  free  of  an  asthmatic  sensation,  till  1  had  been 
some  months  in  Italy,  at  the  baths  of  Poretta,  near 
two  years  afterwards.  A  universal  despondency 
liad  taken  possession  of  our  people.  They  ceased 
to  speak  to  one  another,  and  when  they  did,  it  was 
in  whispers,  by  which  I  easily  guessed  that  they 
were  increasing  each  other's  fears,  by  vain  sugges- 
tions, calculated  to  sink  each  other's  spirits  still 
further.  This  phenomenon  of  the  Simoom,  unex- 
pected by  us,  though  foreseen  by  our  guide,  caused 
us  all  to  relapse  into  our  former  despondency.  It 
still  continued  to  blow,  so  as  to  exhaust  us  entire- 
ly, though  the  blast  was  so  weak  as  scarcely  would 
have  raised  a  leaf  from  the  ground.  At  twenty 
minutes  before  rive  the  simoom  ceased,  and  a  com- 
fortable and  cooling  breeze  came  by  starts  from 
the  north."  Delia  Valle  mentions  the  melancholy 
late  of  two  gentlemen,  who  were  travelling  with 
him,  and  who  having  gone  during  the  middle  of 
the  day  into  a  khan  to  rest,  fell  asleep  at  the  open 
window,  and  were  found  dead,  and  their  bodies 
very  black  and  disfigured,  in  consequence  of  a 
blast  of  the  simoom  having  passed  over  them 
while  they  lay,  unconscious  of  their  danger,  in 
that  exposed  situation.  Another  traveller  men- 
tions, that  the  water  in  their  skins  was  dried  up 
in  a  moment,  and  that  his  companion,  who  had 
been  bathing  in  the  Tigris,  having  on  a  pair  ot 
Turkish  drawers,  showed  them,  on  his  return, 
perfectly  dried  in  an  instant  by  this  hot  wind 
having  come  across  the  river.  '1  he  most  circum- 
stantial, however,  as  well  as  the  most  recent  ac- 
count of  a  dreadful  destruction  occasioned  by  this 
hot  wind  ia  the  year  1813,  is  given  in  the  news- 
papers of  that  day.  The  caravan  from  Mecca  to 
Aleppo  consisted  of  2000  souls,  merchants  and 
travellers,  pilgrims  returning  from  performing  their 
devotions  at  Mecca,  and  a  numerous  train  ol  at- 
tendants, the  whole  escorted  by  400  military. 
The  march  was  in  three  columns.  On  the  loth 
wonderful  natural  phenomenon  affords  some  very  of  August  they  entered  the  great  Arabian  desert, 
interesting  particulars:  "On  the  16th,  at  half  past     in  which  they  travelled  seven  days,  and  were  near- 


*  The  Babylonian  Talmud  affirms  that  lightning 
was  the  agent  employed  on  this  occasion  ;  and 
some  of  the  Targums  are  quoted  as  asserting  the 
same  thing.  Other  writers  believe  that  the  Assy- 
rians perished  by  means  of  a  hot  wind,  which  (Jod 
caused  to  blow  against  them, — a  wind  very  com- 
mon in  those  parts,  and  which  makes  great  ravages, 
stifling  thousands  of  persons  in  a  moment,  as  often 
happens  to  those  great  caravans  of  Mahometans 
which  go  on  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  In  one  pas- 
sage this  destruction  is  attributed  to  an  angel  of 
the  Lord;  but  in  another  part  of  the  same  history, 
and  also  by  Isaiah,  it  is  said  to  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  a  blast,  which  is  generally  and  on  good 
grounds  supposed  to  mean  the  Simoom.     The  ap- 

F >roach  ot  this  pestilential  wind  is  indicated  by  a 
taze  in  the  atmosphere,  in  colour  like  the  purple 
pait  of  the  rainbow,  and  passes  along  with  silent, 
and  incredible  velocity.  The  moment  it  is  per- 
ceived by  the  natives  and  the  camels,  who  are 
well  acquainted  with  its  fatal  power,  they  instant- 
ly fall  to  the  ground,  and  bury  their  mouth  and 
nostrils  in  the  sand. —  Mr  Bruce's  account  of  this 


Chap.  VI.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


457 


calamity;  he  retired  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cipitation to  his  palace  of  Nineveh,  where, 
after  a  while,  he  was  cut  off  by  his  two 
eldest  sons,  Adrammelech  and  Sharezer,* 


ly  approaching  its  boundary.  A  few  hours  more 
would  liaye  placed  them  beyond  the  reach  of  dan- 
ger, when,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  just  as  they 
had  struck  their  tents,  and  begun  their  march,  a 
wind  rose  and  blew  with  tremendous  rapidity. 
They  pushed  on  as  fast  as  their  beasts  of  burden 
could  carry  them,  to  escape  the  threatened  danger, 
when  the  fatal  simoom  set  in  suddenly,  the  sky  was 
overcast,  dense  clouds  appeared,  whose  extremity 
darkened  the  horizon,  and  shot  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning  across  the  desert.  They  approached 
the  columns  of  the  caravan.  Both  men  and  beasts, 
overcome  by  a  sense  of  common  danger,  uttered 
piercing  cries,  and  the  next  moment  fell  beneath 
its  pestilential  influence.  Of  '2000  souls  compos- 
ing the  caravan,  not  more  than  twenty  escaped 
the  calamity,  and  these  owed  their  preservation  to 
the  swiftness  of  their  dromedaries.  Such,  in  all 
probability;,  was  the  terrible  agent  which  heaven 
employed'  for  the  destruction  of  the  prodigious 
army  fed  on  by  the  king  of  Assyria.  Herodotus 
gives  us,  froui  the  relation  of  the  Egyptian  priests, 
some  kind  of  a  disguised  account  of  this  deliver- 
ance from  the  Assyrians  in  a  fabulous  application 
of  it  to  the  city  of  Pelusium,  instead  of  Jerusalem, 
and  to  Scthon  the  Egyptian  king,  instead  of 
Hezekiah  ;  by  whose  piety  he  saith  it  was  obtain- 
ed, t licit  while  the  king  of  Assyria  laid  siege  to 
Pelusium,  a  jjreat  number  of  rats  were  miraculous- 
ly sent  into  his  army,  which  in  one  night  did  eat 
all  their  shield-straps,  quivers,  and  bow-strings; 
so  that,  on  (heir  rising  the  next  morning,  finding 
themselves  without  arms  tor  the  carrying  on  of  the 
war,  they  were  forced  to  raise  the  siege  and  be 
gone.  And  it  is  particularly  to  be  remarked,  that 
Herodotus  calls  the  king  of  Assyria,  to  whom  he 
saith  this  happened,  by  the  same  name  of  Sen- 
nacherib, as  the  scriptures  do,  and  the  time  in 
both  doth  a!>o  well  agree  :  which  plainly  shows, 
that  it  is  the  same  fact  that  is  referred  to  by 
Herodotus,  although  much  disguised  in  the  rela- 
tion ;  which  may  easily  be  accounted  for,  when 
we  consider  that  it  comes  to  us  through  the  hands 
of  such  as  had  the  greatest  aversion  both  to  the 
nation  and  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  and  therefore 
would  relate  nothing  in  such  manner  as  might 
give  any  reputation  to  either. — Bruce,  Jamieson, 
and  Prideaux. 

*  When  Sennacherib  returned  to  Nineveh,  after 
the  destruction  of  so  great  an  army,  being  en- 
raged for  his  great  loss  and  disappointment,  he 
grew  thenceforth  very  cruel  and  tyrannical  in  the 
management  of  his  goverumei  t,  especially  toward 
the  Jews  and  Israelites,  abundance  of  whom  he 
caused  every  day  to  be  slain,  and  cast  into  the 
streets;  by  which  savage  humour  he  made  himself 
so  intolerable  that  he  could  be  no  longer  borne  by 
his  own  family.  It  has  been  asserted  that  he  de- 
manded of  some  about  him  what  the  reason  might 
be  that  the  irresistible  God  of  heaven  so  fa- 
voured the  Jewish  nation?      To  which   he  was 


in  the  very  temple  of  Nisroch,f  his  darling 
idol.  The  people  of  the  country,  detest- 
ing the  inhumanity  of  the  action,  banished 
them  out  of  their  dominions,  whereupon 
litey  fled  into  Armenia,  Esarhaddon,  the 
third  son,  succeeding  to  the  government: 
thus  ended  this  mighty  expedition. 

Hezekiah  being  now  delivered  beyond 
all  expectation  from  any  farther  apprehen- 
sion of  trouble  or  danger,  and  likewise 
thoroughly  convinced  that  it  was  the  im- 
mediate hand  of  God  that  wrought  his 
preservation,  as  well  by  the  blast  that 
destroyed  one  part  of  the  Assyrian  army, 
as  by  the  terror  of  that  judgment  that 
dismayed  the  rest;  he,  together  with  the 
people,  offered  up  praises  and  thanks- 
givings for  the  mercies  received;  he  was 
seized   with   so  dangerous  a  distemper,}. 


answered,  that  Abraham,  from  whom  they  were 
descended,  by  sacrificing  his  only  son  to  him,  had. 
purchased  his  protection  to  his  progeny  ;  where- 
upon the  king  replied,  *  If  that  will  win  him,  I 
will  spare  him  two  of  mine  to  gain  him  to  my 
side ;'  which,  when  his  two  sons,  Sharezer  and 
Adrammelech  heard,  they  resolved  to  prevent 
their  own  death  by  sacrificing  him.  But  for  all 
this  fiction  there  is  no  other  foundation  than  the 
authority  of  the  Kabbins,  and  scarce  any  tiling 
else  can  be  thought  of  that  can  afford  any  excuse 
for  so  wicked  a  parricide. — Prideaux1  s  Connection 

f  Some  take  this  god  to  be  the  figure  of  NoahV 
ark :  others  of  a  dove,  which  was  worshipped 
among  the  Assyrians ;  and  others  of  an  eagle. 
The  Hebrew  of  Tobit,  published  by  Monster, 
calls  it  Dagon  ;  but  Seldeu  acknowledges,  that,  in 
all  his  reading,  he  never  met  with  any  thing  that 
could  help  him  to  explain  it.  Jurieu  however 
seems  to  be  more  lucky  in  his  inquiries  ;  for,  by 
several  arguments  he  has  made  it  appear,  that  this 
idol  was  Jupiter  Belus,  the  founder  of  the  Baby- 
lonish empire,  who  was  worshipped  under  the 
form  of  an  eagle ;  and  therefore,  he  observes 
farther,  that,  as  this  Belus  in  profane  history  was 
the  same  with  the  JSimrod  of  Moses,  between 
Nimrod  and  Nisroth  the  dissimilitude  is  not  gnat, 
nor  is  it  improbable  that,  to  perpetuate  his  lion 
our,  his  votaries  might  change  the  name  of  Nim- 
rod, which  signifies  a  rebel,  into  that  of  Nisroch, 
which  denotes  a  young  eagle. — Patrick's  Com- 
mentary and  Jurieu. 

J  Dr  Mead  is  of  opinion  that  the  malady  was  a 
fever  which  terminated  in  an  abscess;  and  for  pro- 
moting its  suppuration  a  cataplasm  of  tigs  was 
admirably  adapted.  The  case  of  Hezekiah,  how- 
ever, indicates  not  only  the  limited  knowledge  oi 
the  Jewish  physicians  at  that  time,  but  alsothat 
though  God  can  cure  by  a  miracle,  yet  he  also 
gives  sagacity  to  discover  and  apply  the  most 
natural  remedies. — Home. 

3m 


458 


HISTORx'  OF 


[Book  VI 


that  his  physicians  and  the  rest  of  his 
friends  despaired  of  his  life.* 

In  this  distress,  nothing  so  sensibly  af- 
flicted the  king,  as  the  consideration,  that 
on  his  dying  without  issue,  the  succession 
of  the  family  would  be  at  an  end,  and  the 
kingdom  absolutely  left  without  a  legiti- 
mate heir. 

The  anxiety  arising  from  this  circum- 
stance so  affected  the  pious  king,  that  he 
addressed  himself  to  God  with  supplica- 
tions and  tears  f  for  the  prolonging  of  his 
life,  till  he  might  have  a  successor  out  of 
his  loins,  and  not  to  take  him  out  of  the 
number  of  the  living  till  he  might  be  the 
father  of  a  son  to  preserve  his  memory  to 
succeeding  times. 

God  took  compassion  on  him,  and  the 
rather  because  he  was  not*  so  much  trou- 


*  In  the  course  of  the  sacred  history,  this  sick- 
ness of  Hezekiah's  is  placed  immediately  after  the 
defeat  and  death  of  Sennacherib;  whereas  it  plainly 
happened  before  that  time,  because  in  the  message 
which  God  sent  him  upon  his  bed  of  sickness  by 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  he  promises  to  deliver  Jerusa- 
lem out  of  the  hands  of  the  king  of  Assyria, 
2  Kings  xx.  6.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is, 
Hezekiah  reigned,  in  all,  nine  and  twenty  years, 
2  Kings  xviii.  2.  He  had  already  reigned  fourteen 
years  when  Sennacherib  invaded  him,  2  Kings 
xviii.  18.  and  after  his  sickness  he  continued  to 
reign  fifteen  years,  2  Kings  xx.  6.  so  that  his  sick- 
ness must  have  happened  in  the  very  same  year 
that  the  king  of  Assyria  invaded  his  kingdom;  but 
the  sacred  penman  deferred  the  account  he  was  to 
give  of  that,  until  he  had  finished  the  history 
of  Sennacherib,  which  he  was  willing  to  give  the 
reader  at  one  view;  and. this  is  the  true  reason  of 
the  mislocation. —  Cabnet's  Commentary. 

f  The  love  of  life  is  natural  to  us,  and  the  fear 
of  decth  is  so  strongly  implanted  in  our  very  frame 
and  constitution,  that  it  requires  no  small  share  of 
fortitude  to  receive  the  sentence  of  our  dissolution 
with  a  proper  serenity  and  composure  of  mind: 
human  infirmity  there  was  a  sufficient  apology  for 
Hezekiah's  behaviour ;  but  there  is  somewhat 
more  to  be  alleged  in  his  behalf.  He  saw  in 
himself  the  royal  family  of  David  extinct  (he  being 
as  yet  childless)  and  consequently  all  hopes  of  the 
Messiah's  being  born  of  his  race  were  become 
abortive.  He  saw  the  impending  storm  that 
threatened  his  country  with  ruin  and  desolation, 
and  that  as  there  were  none  of  his  family  to  suc- 
ceed him  in  the  throne,  all  things  were  in  danger 
of  running  into  anarchy  and  confusion.  Having 
this  dismal  prospect  therefore  before  his  eyes,  he 
might  well  melt  into  tears  at  the  apprehension  of 
his  approaching  death,  which  would  extinguish  all 
his  hopes,  and  consummate  all  his  feart,  in  making 
him  go  down  childless  to  the  grave. 


bled  for  being  deprived  of  his  kingdom 
by  death,  as  for  the  want  of  a  successor  in 
his  own  line  of  descent. 

Upon  this  the  prophet  Isaiah  was  sent 
to  him,  with  the  comfortable  assurance, 
that  in  three  days  his  disease  should  leave 
him,  that  he  should  live  fifteen  years 
longer,  and  that  the  kingdom  should  de- 
scend at  last  to  his  own  son  and  heir. 

When  the  prophet  had  delivered  this 
message  to  the  king,  according  to  his  or- 
der, the  disease  was  so  desperate,  and  the 
news  so  surprising,  that  Hezekiah  could 
not  persuade  himself  into  a  belief  of  it, 
without  some  sign  from  Isaiah,  in  confirm- 
ation of  his  authority  and  commission. 

The  prophet  asked  him  what  sign  or 
token  wpuld  give  him  satisfaction  ?  so  he 
propounded,  that  the  shadow  upon  his 
dial X  might  go  ten  degrees  backward  from 
the  place  where  it  stood. 

J  Whether  the  people  on  the  east  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, or  the  Jews  or  Phoenicians,  first  invented 
this  instrument,  we  know  not.  The  Greeks  knew 
nothing  of  dials  till  the  time  of  Anaximander,  the 
contemporary  of  Cyrus.  Nor  in  history  do  we 
find  a  dial  more  ancient  than  that  of  Ahuz.  Nor 
is  there  any  mention  of  hours,  till  the  time  of 
Daniel's  captivity  in  Babylon,  chap.  iv.  9.  Some 
learned  men  suppose,  that  the  word,  which  our 
version  renders  a  dial,  was  no  more  than  a  night 
of  stairs,  and  the  degrees  were  the  steps  of  the 
stair.  Others  contend  it  was  a  real  dial ;  but  of 
what  form,  horizontal  or  vertical,  or  of  what  other 
form,  they  are  not  agreed.  It  is  certain,  a  real 
miracle  on  this  dial  or  stair,  marked  the  certainty 
of  Hezekiah's  future  restoration  to  health :  but 
whether  the  sun,  or  only  his  shadow,  went  back- 
ward the  ten  degrees,  is  still  controverted.  Those 
who  maintain  that  only  tht  shadow  went  back, 
observe,  that  in  2  Kings  mention  is  only  made  of 
the  going  back  of  the  shadow,  and  that  in  Isaiah's 
account  of  tin's  matter,  the  sun  may  be  put  for  his 
shadow  ;  that  the  shadow  might  go  back  by  an  in- 
flection of  the  rays  of  the  sun  :  that  if  the  sun 
had  gone  back  gradually,  the  day  would  have  been 
10  or  20  hours  longer  than  ordinary,  and  so  one 
part  of  the  world  scorched,  and  the  other  half 
freezed  ;  or  if  it  had  gone  back  instantaneously, 
the  frame  of  nature  must  have  felt  an  insufferable 
shock,  which  the  astronomers  of  these  times  could 
not  have  failed  to  observe :  and  that  it  was  need- 
less for  God  to  put  himself  to  the  expense  of  so 
great  a  miracle,  when  the  inflection  of  the  solar 
rays  might  as  well  serve  the  turn.  To  me  the 
whole  of  this  reasoning  appears  rather  showy  than 
solid.  In  favour  of  the  sun's  going  back,  it  is  easy 
to  observe,  that  no  miracle  is  more  difficult  to  God 
than  another  ;  that  we  are  expressly  told  that  the 
sun  went  back ;  that  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how  the 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


459 


The  king,  on  seeing  this  miracle 
wrought  by  the  prayers  of  the  prophet, 
was  restored  to  health,  and  went  immedi- 
ately up  to  the  temple  to  return  thanks  to 
God,  his  gracious  deliverer. 

About  this  time  Merodach-baladan,  the 
son  of  Baladan  king  of  Babylon,  having 
sent  ambassadors*  with  presents  to  Heze- 
kiah,  invited  him  into  a  league  of  amity 
and  alliance. 

Hezekiah  received  them  with  great 
courtesy;  entertained  them  sumptuously, 
showed  them  his  treasure  and  his  armoury, 
and  whatever  else  he  had  that  was  magni- 
ficent and  valuable,  either  in  gold  or  pre- 
cious stones,  and  sent  them  back  with  rich 
presents  to  their  master. 

Upon  this  Isaiah  came  to  him,  and  ask- 
ed him  who  those  men  were,  and  whence 
they  came  ?  He  told  the  prophet,  that 
they  were  sent  from  the  king  of  Babylon, 
and  that  he  had  showed  them  all  the  riches 
and  curiosities  of  his  palace,    that   they 


shadow  could  go  back  without  the  sun  ;  that  if  all 
had  been  done  by  a  mere  inflection  of  the  rays  of 
the  sun,  it  would  have  been  a  private  affair,  and  not 
alarmed  the  Chaldeans,  as  it  seems  it  did  ;  that  the 
Chinese  annals  inform  us,  that  the  planet  Mars 
wont  back  several  degrees,  for  the  sake  of  one  of 
their  kings,  about  this  same  time. — Brown. 


might  gather  from  thence  how  great  a 
prince  he  was,  and  thereby  possess  the 
king  with  a  just  apprehension  of  his  power 
and  importance. 

The  prophet,  by  way  of  reproof,  thus 
addressed  him :  "  Know  then,  that  it  will 
not  be  long  before  this  treasure  of  yours 
shall  be  carried  to  Babylon ;  several  of 
your  posterity  shall'  be  degraded,  and 
serve  the  court  of  Babylon  in  the  quality 
of  eunuchs.  This  you  will  find  to  be  a 
truth  ;  for  God  himself  hath  foretold  it." 

This  prediction  pierced  the  very  soul  of 
Hezekiah,  and  extorted  from  him  this 
declaration :  "  Though  I  cannot  but  be 
much  troubled  at  the  thought  of  the 
misery  that  attends  my  family,  yet  since 
it  is  God's  pleasure,  I  have  no  more  to 
beg  from  heaven  than  that  I  may  enjoy 
the  small  remainder  of  my  miserable  life 
in  peace." 

Hezekiah,  according  to  his  humble  re- 
quest, lived  during  the  residue  of  his 
reign  in  peace,  and  died  in  the  four  and 
fiftieth  year  of  his  life,  and  the  nine  and 
twentieth  of  his  reign,  and  was  buried 
with  great  solemnity  in  the  most  honour- 
able place  of  the  sepulchres  of  the  sons  of 
David. 


THL 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EIBLE. 


BOOK    VII. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  HEZEKIAH  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  NEHEMIAH. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  flagitious  reign  of  the  kings  of 
Judah,  from  Manasseh  to  Zedekiah,  under 
whose  government  the  Jews  were  carried 
into  captivity  to  Babylon,  occupy  the  first 
portion  of  the  period  on  which  we  now 
enter.  Among  these  seven  remaining 
kings,  only  one  is  found  to  imitate  the  ex- 
ample of  his  father  David, — good  Josiah, 
who  appeared  like  a  benignant  star  in  the 
Jewish  horizon.  His  reign  is  strikingly 
contrasted  with  those  of  the  idolatrous  and 
infatuated  kings  that  immediately  preceded 
and  those  who  followed  him.  In  God's 
dealings  with  the  Jews  are  clearly  deline- 
ated his  long-suffering  towards  his  people, 
and  his  severe  chastisements  for  their  in- 
iquitous abuse  of  his  mercy  :  at  the  same 
time  they  mark  most  decidedly  his  vera- 
city, both  in  his  promises  and  his  threat- 
enings,  and  show  the  utter  vanity  of  trust- 
ing in  an  arm  of  flesh,  and  the  instability 
of  kingdoms  from  which  piety  and  justice 
are  banished.  The  invasion  of  their  coun- 
try by  the  hostile  armies  of  the  Babylo- 
nians, and  the  consequent  calamities  which 
befell  the  chosen  people  previous  to  their 
being  carried  away  captives  into  a  foreign 
country,  as  well  as  the  miseries  attendant 
on  their  exile,  are  topics  which  frequently 
employed  the  pens  of  the  prophets;  and  in 


predicting  those  impending  judgments  we 
find  them  soaring  into  the  boldest  flights 
of  imagination,  and  depicting  the  terrible 
events  that  were  coming  upon  the  land  in 
strains  of  unrivalled  pathos  and  sublimity. 
The  images  under  which  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  represents  the  approaching  deso- 
lation as  foreseen  by  him,  are  such  as  were 
familiar  to  the  Hebrew  poets  on  similar 
occasions,  who,  when  they  would  express 
the  happiness,  prosperity,  and  advance- 
ment of  states,  kingdoms,  and  potentates, 
make  use  of  similitudes  taken  from  the 
most  striking  parts  of  nature,  from  the 
heavenly  bodies,  from  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  which  they  describe  as  shining  with 
increased  splendour,  and  never  setting; 
the  moon  becomes  like  the  meridian  sun, 
and  the  light  of  the  sun  is  augmented 
seven-fold ;  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth 
are  created,  and  a  brighter  age  commences. 
On  the  contrary,  when  the  overthrow 
and  destruction  of  kingdoms  are  repre- 
sented,— the  stars  are  obscured,  the 
moon  withdraws  her  light,  and  the  sun 
shines  no  more ;  the  earth  quakes  and 
the  heavens  tremble,  and  all  things  seem 
tending  to  their  original  chaos;  a  frightful 
solitude  reigns  all  around,  even  the  birds 
themselves  have  deserted  the  fields,  un- 
able to  find  in  then  any  longer  their  usual 
food.     The   face   of  the   country   in   the 


Chap.  I.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


461 


once  most  fertile  parts  of  it,  now  over- 
grown with  briars  and  thorns,  assumes  the 
dreary  wildness  of  the  desert.  The  cities 
and  villages  are  either  thrown  down  and 
demolished  by  the  hand  of  the  enemy,  or 
crumble  into  ruins  for  want  of  being  in- 
habited. 

To  a  people  so  highly  favoured  of  hea- 
ven as  they  had  in  general  hitherto  been, 
the  condition  of  the  chosen  tribes,  during 
their  captivity,  must  have  been  truly  hu- 
miliating. For  though  in  their  exiled 
state  they  had  judges  and  elders  of  their 
own  who  governed  them,  and  judicially 
decided  their  disputes  according  to  their 
own  laws,  a  proof  of  which  we  find  in  the 
story  of  Susannah,  who  was  condemned 
to  death  by  the  elders  of  her  own  nation, 
yet  they  were  evidently  in  a  state  of  de- 
gradation, precluded  altogether  from  the 
worship  of  their  temple,  and  subject  to 
the  continual  taunts  and  reproaches  of  their 
conquerors.  This  is  abundantly  apparent 
from  that  beautiful  and  affecting  ode,  the 
hundred  and  thirty-seventh  Psalm,  in 
which  we  seem  to  read  the  very  language 
of  their  souls:  "By  the  rivers  of  Babylon, 
there  we  sat  down ;  yea,  we  wept  when 
we  remembered  Zion :  we  hanged  our 
harps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst 
thereof.  For  there  those  that  carried  us 
away  captive  required  of  us  a  song,  and 
they  that  wasted  us  required  of  us  mirth, 
saying,  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion. 
How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a 
strange  land?  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jeru- 
salem, let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cun- 
ning; if  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth ; 
if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief 
joy."  The  years  of  their  captivity,  how- 
ever, drew  to  a  close,  and  when  Cyrus 
had  made  himself  master  of  Babylon,  the 
morning  dawned,  and  a  flood  of  light  burst 
in  upon  them.  A  proclamation  was  issued 
allowing  the  Jews  to  return  to  their  be- 
loved city,  with  permission  to  rebuild  the 
temple  and  the  walls  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  he  also 


gave  them  the  vessels  of  their  sanctuary 
to  take  back  with  them.  Nevertheless 
the  entire  completion  of  the  prophecies 
relating  to  the  captivity  does  not  seem  to 
have  taken  effect  until  Artaxerxes  Longi- 
manus  commissioned  Nehemiah  to  return 
to  Jerusalem,  and  carry  into  execution 
what  Cyrus  had  commenced, — Jehovah 
thus  making  the  ministry  of  heathen 
princes  subservient  to  his  gracious  de- 
signs towards  his  chosen  people. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Hezekiah  is  succeeded  by  Manasseh,  whose 
country  is  ravaged  by  the  king  of  Babylon, 
fur  his  wickedness. — He  is  takgn  prisoner,  but 
upon  his  repentance  set  at  liberty. — His  son 
Amon  is  soon  cut  off,  and  succeeded  by 
Jnsiah,  a  prince  of  exemplary  piety. — Instance 
of  his  zeal  for  the  true  worship  of  God.— His 
death  by  an  extraordinary  incident. — Is  suc~ 
ceeded  by  an  impious  son,  ivho  is  deposed  by 
the  king  of  Egypt,  and  dies  in  exile. 

Manasseh,  the  son  of  Hezekiah  by 
Hephzibah,  a  native  of  Jerusalem,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  in  the  government,  but 
deviated  from  his  pious  example  in  every 
instance  that  was  practicable,  committing 
all  those  abominations  that  in  former 
reigns  had  brought  such  judgments  on  the 
Israelites. 

He  was  so  daring  a  libertine  as  to  pro- 
fane the  holy  temple  itself,  and  conse- 
quently the  whole  city,  and  every  part  of 
his  dominions,  with  his  detestable  idolatries. 
He  began  his  reign  with  a  contempt 
of  God,  and  proceeded  to  a  barbarous 
and  bloody  persecution  of  holy  and  good 
men,  dipping  his  hands  in  the  blood  of 
the    very    prophets    themselves;*     inso- 


*  The  prophets  who  are  supposed  to  have  been 
living  in  this  king's  reign,  were  Hoshea,  Joel, 
Nahum,  Habakkuk,  some  say  Obadiah,  and,  who 
was  the  greatest  prophet  of  them  all,  Isaiah.  In 
the  late  reign  he  was  in  great  esteem  at  court,  and 
being  himself  of  the  blood  royal,  and,  as  some  say, 
the  king's  father-in-law,  he  thought  it  more  incum- 
bent upon  him  to  endeavour  to  reclaim  him  from 
his  degenerate  wicked  courses :  but  this  so  exas- 
perated him  against  Isaiah,  that  instead  of  heark- 
ening to  his  remonstrances,  he  caused  him  to  be  up- 


462 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


much,  that  hardly  a  day  passed  without 
putting1  some  of  them  to  death,  so  that  the 
very  streets  of  Jerusalem  ran  down  with 
blood.  The  cry  of  these  impious  and  in- 
human outrages  called  so  loudly  to  hea- 
ven for  vengeance,  that  God  was  highly 
incensed  at  his  daring  impiety,  and  sent 
sundry  prophets,  one  after  another,  both 
-  to  the  king  and  to  the  people,  with  cau- 
tions to  them  to  repent  in  time  of  their 
neglect  of  God's  worship,  and  to  return  to 
their  duty,  upon  the  peril  of  suffering  the 
same  calamities  for  the  same  sins  that  had 
been  inflicted  upon  their  brethren  the  Is- 
raelites before  them. 

But  they  regarded  not  the  voice  of  God 
by  his  servants;  till  they  found  their  in- 
attention and  negligencies  followed  with 
most  awful  tokens  of  the  divine  wrath; 
for,  upon  their  impiously  persisting  in 
their  disbelief  and  contempt  of  the  divine 
word,  God  stirred  up  Esarhaddon,  the 
king  of  Babylon  and  Chaldea,  to  make 
war  upon  them ;  who  sent  an  army  into 


prehended,  and  to  make  his  torture  both  more 
lingering  and  more  exquisite,  had  him  sawn 
asunder  with  a  wooden  saw,  to  which  the  author  of 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  en.  xi.  37.  may  be 
thought  to  allude.  Many  instances  occur  in  an- 
cient writers,  of  this  method  of  executing  crimi- 
nals ;  and  from  Dr  Shaw  and  other  modern  travel- 
lers we  learn,  that  it  is  still  in  use  among  some  na- 
tions,  particularly  the  western  Moors  in  Barbary. 
It  is  thought  to  have  come  originally  from  Persia 
or  Chaldea  ;  and  it  certainly  corresponds  with  the 
barbarous  dispositions  which  those  bitter  and  hasty 
nations  too  much  indulged.  Calmet  informs  us, 
that  not  many  years  ago,  the  Swiss  executed  this 
terrible  punishment  in  the  plain  of  Grenelles, 
near  Paris,  on  one  of  their  own  countrymen  who 
had  been  guilty  of  a  great  crime.  They  put  him 
into  a  coffin  and  sawed  him  at  length,  beginning 
at  the  head,  as  a  piece  of  wood  is  sawn.  Parisates 
the  king  of  Persia,  caused  Hoxana  to  be  sawn  in 
two  alive.  According  to  Windus,  the  same  dread- 
ful punishment  is  often  inflicted  in  Morocco,  where 
the  criminal  is  put  between  two  boards,  and  sawn 
from  the  head  downwards  till  the  body  fall  in  two 
pieces.  The  laws  of  the  twelve  tables,  which  the 
Romans  borrowed  from  the  Greeks,  condemned 
certain  malefactors  to  the  punishment  of  the  saw  ; 
but  the  execution  of  it  was  so  rare,  that,  accord- 
ing to  Aulus  Gellius,  none  remembered  to  have 
seen  it  practised.  But  in  the  time  of  Caligula  the 
emperor,  many  people  of  rank  and  fortune  were 
condemned  to  be  sawn  in  two  through  the  middle. 
—Calmet  and  Paxton. 


Judea,  that  over-ran  and  destroyed  the 
whole  country,  surprised  Manasseh,  and 
carried  him  away  prisoner. 

This  miserable  prince  was  now  by  woful 
experience  rendered  sensible  of  his  fault ; 
and  upon  that  reflection  earnestly  besought 
God,  so  fa*r  to  soften  the  hearts  of  liis  ene- 
mies, as  might  move  them  to  treat  him 
with  some  degree  of  tenderness  and  hu- 
manity. God  was  not  inexorable,  but  in 
pity  gave  ear  to  his  supplication  ;  so  that 
the  king  of  Babylon,  after  some  time, 
gave  Manasseh  his  liberty,  and  restored 
him  to  his  former  government. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  by  the 
permission  and  clemency  of  the  conqueror, 
he  made  all  possible  efforts  to  atone  for 
his  former  miscarriages,  evincing  the  prin- 
ciples and  practices  of  a  new  man,  and  be- 
coming, from  the  most  impious  profaner 
of  sacred  things,  a  most  zealous  promoter 
of  true  religion ;  for  he  purged  the  city, 
and  consecrated  the  temple  afresh,  making 
it  his  whole  business  to  express  his  grati- 
tude and  reverence  toward  God,  and  to 
preserve  to  himself  his  blessing  and  favour 
all  the  days  of  his  life.  He  took  care, 
both  "by  example  and  authority,  to  instruct 
the  people  in  their  duties,  being  conscious 
to  himself  that  his  former  maladministra- 
tion contributed  not  a  little  to  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  public.  He  caused  an  altar 
to  be  erected  after  the  prescription  and 
appointment  of  Moses,  and  offered  daily 
sacrifices  upon  it. 

When  he  had  restored  religion,  and  the 
discipline  of  it,  to  its  original  state  and 
purity,  he  made  it  his  business  to  fortify 
Jerusalem;  repairing  the  old  walls,  and 
encompassing  them  with  new  ones.  He 
built  several  high  and  strong  towers,  and 
furnished  all  the  out-works  with  provi- 
sions of  all  sorts.  His  conversion  to  God 
was  attended  with  such  auspicious  circum- 
stances, that  from  the  first  date  of  it  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  he  was  looked  upon 
to  be  one  of  the  happiest  of  princes.  He 
died  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age, 
in  the  five  and  fiftieth  of  his  reign,  and 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


463 


was  buried  in  his  own  garden,  called  the 
garden  of  Uzzah.*  His  son  Amon  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  government. 

This  prince,  following  the  loose  exam- 
ple of  his  father's  youth,  and  practising 
the  same  abominations,  was  quickly  called 
to  an  account  for  his  miscarriages,  by 
some  of  his  familiar  friends  and  domestics, 
who  cut  him  off  in  the  four  and  twentieth 
year  of  his  life,  and  the  second  of  his 
reign.  The  people  brought  the  murderers 
to  condign  punishment,  and  laid  his  body 
in  the  monument  of  his  father,  delivering 
up  the  government  to  his  son  Josiah,  who 
was  at  that  time  a  youth  of  but  eight  years 
of  age. 

Josiah,  who  was  a  young  prince  of  an 
excellent  disposition,  seems  to  have  pro- 
posed the  example  of  holy  David  as  the 
grand  directory  of  his  whole  life.  In  the 
sixteenth  year  of  his  age,  he  gave  an 
eminent  instance  of  an  innate  piety  and 
justice,  in  the  reformation  of  the  people 
from  their  erroneous  persuasions  concern- 
ing false  gods,  and  gaining  them  over  to 
reverence  the  religion  of  their  country. 

He  repealed  several  of  the  ordinances 
of  his  forefathers ;  corrected  whatever  he 
found  amiss,  and  applied  such  remedies, 
where  the  case  required  any  such  expe- 
dient, as  the  most  mature  and  consummate 
wisdom  and  experience  could  have  sup- 
plied. He  regulated  his  life  in  exact 
conformity  to  the  laws  of  God,  and  this 
he  seems  to  have  done  partly  from  a  pious 
disposition,  and  partly  from  the  admoni- 
tion and  advice  of  the  council ;  who  re- 
minded him,  that  while  he  reigned  with 
true  regard  to  the  interest  of  his  country, 
and  in  strict  obedience  to  the  Divine  will, 


*  This  garden,  as  some  think,  was  made  in  that 
very  spot  of  ground  where  Uzzah  was  striiflf 
dead  for  touching  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  2  Sam.  vi. 
7.  but  others  imagine  that  this  was  the  place 
where  Uzziah,  who  died  a  leper,  was  buried,  2 
Chron.  xxvi.  23.  and  that  Manasseh  chose  to  be 
buried  here,  as  unworthy,  because  of  his  manifold 
sins,  (whereof  he  nevertheless  repented,)  to  be  laid 
in  any  of  the  royal  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of  Ju- 
dah -Patrick's  and  CalmeCs  Commentaries. 


success  would  crown  his  undertakings ; 
and  set  before  him  the  terrible  judgment 
that  had  been  inflicted  on  his  predecessors 
for  their  apostasy :  wherefore  he  caused 
all  the  groves  to  be  cut  down  that  were 
dedicated  to  false  gods ;  their  altars  to  be 
demolished,  and  all  the  donations  that  had 
been  consecrated  by  their  ancestors  to  the 
worship  of  false  gods  to  be  taken  away, 
and  treated  with  derision. 

The  demolition  of  idols,  and  all  that 
was  erected  to  the  honour  of  false  gods, 
was  general  throughout  his  dominions; 
by  which  means  the  true  worship  was  in- 
troduced with  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
appertaining  to  the  same. 

He  appointed  also  certain  magistrates 
and  commissioners,  for  the  regulation  of 
manners  and  the  order  of  matters  in  pri- 
vate cases,  that  no  less  care  might  be 
taken  for  the  distribution  of  particular 
justice  than  for  the  government  of  life  it- 
self. 

He  likewise  despatched  messengers 
throughout  all  his  dominions,  with  orders 
to  receive  contributions  of  gold  and  silver 
toward  the  repairing  of  the  temple,  from 
those  that  were  willing  to  advance  that 
work ;  leaving  all  people  at  liberty  that 
they  might  have  no  cause  of  complaint. 

The  money  collected  and  brought  in, 
was  committed  to  the  care  and  disposal  of 
Maaseiah,  the  governor  of  the  city;  Sha- 
phan,  the  scribe;  Joah,  the  recorder;  and 
Hilkiah,  the  high-priest;  with  orders  im- 
mediately to  enter  upon  the  work,  and 
provide  artificers,  and  all  materials  ne- 
cessary for  the  reparation. 

By  this  means  the  temple  was  repaired, 
and  a  lasting  monument  erected  to  pos- 
t<  rit  -    c '  the  *<ing  r  p  eV  and  bounty. 

Josiah,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his 
reign,  ordered  Hilkiah  the  priest  to  have 
.he  surplus  of  the  gold  and  silver  that  re 
mained  over  and  above  the  charge  of  the 
fabric,  cast  into  cups,  chalices,  and  other 
vessels,  for  the  use  and  service  of  the 
temple;  ordering  likewise,  that  all  the 
gold   and    silver   remaining   still    in    the 


4fi4 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


treasury,  should  be  brought  out,  and  ap- 
plied lo  the  same  purposes. 

But  the  high-priest,  upon  removing  the 
gold,  happened  to  discover  the  sacred 
books  of  Moses,  as  they  were  deposited 
in  the  temple,  whieh  he  took  out  and  gave 
to  Shaphan  to  peruse;  who,  upon  reading 
them  over,  went  to  the  king,  and  told  him 
they  had  executed  all  his  commands;  but 
withal,  they  had  just  now  found  the  books 
of  Moses, — which  he  read  over  to  Jo- 
siali. 

Upon  the  reading  of  these  books,  the 
king  rent  his  garment,  and  calling  some 
of  his  particular  friends  about  him,  with 
the  scribe  himself,  and  Hilkiah  the  high- 
priest,  he  sent  them  to  the  prophetess 
Huldah,*  the  wife  of  Shallum,  a  man  of 
great  eminence,  to  desire  her  intercession 
with  God  on  their  behalf,  to  implore  his 
mercy  for  him  and  his  people;  for  it  was 
much  to  be  feared,  that  some  heavy  judg- 
ment should  befall  that  people  for  their 
ancestors'  neglect  and  contempt  of  the 
laws  of  Moses,  and  that  they  should  be 
forced  from  their  native  soil,  to  live  like 
vagabonds,  dispersed  over  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  end  their  days  in  misery,  with- 
out obtaining:  a  reconciliation  from  God. 


*  Tliis  is  the  only  mention  we  have  of  this  pro- 
phetess, and  certainly  it  makes  much  to  her  re- 
nown, that  she  was  consulted  upon  this  weighty 
occasion,  when  hoth  Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah 
were  at  that  time  prophets  in  Judah.  But  Zepha- 
niah perhaps  at  that  time  might  not  have  com- 
menced a  prophet ;  because,  though  we  are  told 
that  he  prophesied  in  the  days  of  Josiah,  yet  we 
are  no  where  informed  in  what  part  of  his  reign 
he  entered  upon  the  prophetic  office.  Jeremiah, 
too,  might  at  that  time  be  absent  from  Jerusalem, 
at  his  house  at  Anathoth,  or  some  more  remote 
part  of  the  kingdom  ;  so  that,  considering  Josiah's 
haste  and  impatience,  there  might  be  no  other 
remedy  at  hand  to  apply  (o,  but  this  woman. 
*  Great  is  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  that  is  kindled 
against  ns,'  says  the  king  to  his  ministers,  2  Kings 
xxii.  13.  and  therefore  his  intent  in  sending  them 
might  be  to  inquire,  whether  there  were  any  hopes 
of  appeasing  his  wrath,  and  in  what  manner  it 
was  to  be  done.  Being  therefore  assured  of  this 
woman's  fidelity  in  delivering  the  mind  and  coun- 
sel of  tiod,  the  ministers,  who  went  to  inquire, 
concluded  rightly,  that  it  was  much  more  con>ider- 
ahlc,  what  message  Hod  sent,  than  by  whose  hand 
it  was  that  he  conveyed  it — Poole's  Annotations. 


The  prophetess,  upon  hearing  the 
king's  orders  and  instructions,  bade  them 
return  him  this  answer: 

"  That  the  sentence  was  already  pro- 
nounced, and  not  to  be  recalled,  upon  any 
supplication  or  intercession  whatsoever; 
that  the  people  were  to  be  banished  their 
own  country,  and  punished  for  their  dis- 
obedience, with  the  loss  of  all  the  com- 
forts of  human  life;  and  that  this  judg- 
ment was  irrevocable,  for  their  obstinacy 
in  their  superstitious  impieties,  notwith- 
standing so  many  earnest  exhortations  to 
a  timely  repentance,  and  the  prophets' 
menacing  predictions  of  all  these  judg- 
ments, if  they  persisted  in  their  wicked- 
ness." 

This  unchangeable  decree  was  to  con- 
vince them  by  the  event,  that  there  is  a 
just  and  over-ruling  God*;  and  that  the 
predictions  which  he  delivered  by  the 
mouth  of  his  prophets  are  infallibly  true, 
and  the  certain  indications  of  his  holy 
pleasure  to  mankind. 

"  But,  however,"  says  the  prophetess, 
"tell  the  king,  that  out  of  a  regard  to  his 
piety  and  goodness,  God  would  yet  be  so 
gracious  as  not  to  bring  this  judgment 
upon  the  people  in  his  days;  but  that  the 
day  of  his  death  shall  be  the  eve  of  their 
final  destruction." 

Josiah,  upon  the  report  of  this  answer 
from  Huldah,  sent  messengers  throughout 
all  the  cities;  commanding  all  the  priests 
and  Levites,  and  men  of  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions, to  come  up  to  Jerusalem. 

The  first  thing  he  did  upon  the  meet- 
ing was  to  read  the  holy  books  of  Moses 
to  them.  After  which,  raising  himself 
upon  an  eminence  in  the  middle  of  the 
throng,  he  administered  to  them  an  oath 
of  obedience  to  the  laws  and  precepts  of 
Moses,  and  the  observance  of  God's  holy 
worship,  which  was  taken  by  the  whole 
multitude  with  great  alacrity  and  univer- 
sal consent.  This  sacred  oath  was  fol- 
lowed with  sacrifices  and  prayers  to  God 
for  his  favour  and  blessing. 

In  the  next  place  he  laid  a  strict  charge 


Chap.  1.] 


Tttfi  BIBLE. 


4G5 


upon  the  high-priest  to  take  a  particular  . 
account  of  the  plate  and  vessels  in  the 
temple,  and  to  cast  out  so  many  of  them 
as  he  should  find  to  have  been  dedicated  I 
by  any  of  his  ancestors  to  the  worship  of 
idols. 

There  were  many  pieces  of  that  kind, 
that  were  reduced  to  dust,  and  the  powder 
thrown  into  the  air;  all  the  priests  were 
likewise  put  to  death  that  were  not  of  the 
stock  of  Aaron. 

Having  thus  introduced  a  general  re- 
formation in  Jerusalem,  the  king  took  a 
tour  through  his  whole  dominion,  where 
he  destroyed  all  the  relicts  of  Jeroboam's 
superstition  and  idolatry,  and  burnt  the 
bones  of  the  false  prophets  upon  the  very 
altar  that  Jeroboam  had  set  up.* 

Nor  did  Josiah's  zeal  rest  here  ;  for  he 
sent  and  went  in  person  to  several  other 
Israelites  that  had  escaped  the  servitude 
and  bondage  of  the  Assyrians,  to  persuade 
them  at  last  to  forsake  the  superstitious 
vanities  of  foreign  religions,  and  to  cleave 
wholly  to  the  worship  of  the  great  God  of 
their  fathers,  according  to  the  rites  and 
customs  of  their  religion,  and  serve  him 
alone. 

He  likewise  caused  a  strict  search  to  be 
made  in  all  towns  and  villages  for  the  dis- 
covery of  any  remainders  of  idolatrous 
practices  that  might  lie  concealed,  even 
to  the  very  figures  of  the  horses  over  the 
porch  of  the  temple,  that  their  forefathers 
had  dedicated    to    the    sun;f   and    every 


*  The  prophet  foretold,  in  the  hearing  of  all  the 
people,  at  the  very  time  when  Jeroboam  was  offer- 
ing sacrifices,  that  one  of  the  race  of  David,  Josiah 
by  name,  was  to  do  this,  whose  prediction  was 
made  good  lay  the  event,  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  years  after  the  thing  was  foretold. 

f  It  is  certain,  that  all  the  people  of  the  East 
worshipped  the  sun,  and  consecrated  horses  to  it, 
because  thry  were  nimble  and  swift  in  their  course, 
even  as  they  supposed  the  sun  to  be.  But  then 
the  question  is,  whether  the  people  of  Judali  sacri- 
ficed these  horses  to  the  sun,  as  it  is  certain  the 
Armenians,  Persians,  and  other  nations  did,  or 
only  led  then,  out  in  state  every  morning,  to  meet 
and  salute  the  sun,  at  his  rising.  The  ancients 
had  a  notion  that  the  sun  itself  was  carried  about 
in  a  chariot ;  and  therefore  chariots,  as  well  as  i 
horses,  were  dedicated  to  it.     Since  then  we  find  I 


figure  and  monument,  to  which  the  com- 
mon people  had  ignorantly  ascribed  divine 
honours  Josiah  caused  to  be  taken  away 
and  destroyed. 

Having  purged  the  whole  nation  from 
every  kind  of  idolatry,  he  convened  all 
the  people  at  Jerusalem,  to  celebrate  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread,  otherwise  called 
the  passover,  and  gave  the  multitude  out 
of  his  own  store,  thirty  thousand  young 
kids  and  lambs,  and  three  thousand  oxen. 

The  heads  of  the  priests  contributed 
likewise  to  their  order  upon  the  same 
occasion,  two  thousand  six  hundred  lambs, 
and  three  hundred  oxen;  as  did  the  chief 
of  the  Levites  to  their  tribe  five  thousand 
lambs,  and  five  hundred  bullocks:  this  pro- 
digious number  of  victims  was  offered  up  in 
sacrifice  according:  to  the  laws  of  Moses. 

From  the  time  of  Samuel  the  prophet, 
to  that  day,  there  had  never  been  so 
solemn  a  festival; J  for  every  thing  was 


these  horses  and  chariots  standing  so  near  together, 
the  horses,  we  may  suppose,  were  designed  to  draw 
the  chariots,  and  the  chariots  to  carry  the  king, 
and  his  other  great  officers,  who  were  idolaters  of 
this  kind,  out  at  the  east  gate  of  the  city,  every 
morning,  to  salute  and  adore  the  sun  at  its  com- 
ing above  the  horizon. — Bochart. 

i  The  words  of  the  text  are,  'Surely  there  was  not 
held  such  a  passover  from  the  days  of  the  judges, 
nor  in  all  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  and  of 
the  kings  of  Judah,'  2  Kings  xxiii.  22.  which,  taken 
in  a  literal  sense,  must  denote,  that  this  passover, 
which  was  celebrated  by  two  tribes  only,  was  more 
numerous,  and  more  magnificent,  than  all  those 
that  were  observed  in  the  days  of  David  and  Solo- 
mon, in  the  most  happy  and  flourishing  state  of  the 
Jewish  monarchy,  when  all  the  tribes  were  met  to- 
gether to  solemnize  that  feast.  It  may  not  be 
amiss  therefore  to  allow,  that  in  these  expressions, 
there  is  a  kind  of  auxesis  or  exaggeration,  not  un- 
usual in  sacred,  as  well  as  in  profane,  authors.  For 
nothing  is  more  common  than  to  say,  'never  was 
so  much  splendour  and  magnificence  seen,'  when 
we  mean  no  more  than  that  the  thing  we  speak 
of  was  very  splendid  and  magnificent:  unless  we 
suppose  with  some,  that  a  preference  is  given  to 
this  passover  above  all  the  rest,  in  respect  of  the 
exact  observation  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  be- 
longing to  it,  which,  at  other  times,  were  perform- 
ed according  to  custom,  and  several  things  either 
altered  or  omitted;  whereas  at  this,  every  thin<» 
was  performed  '  according  to  the  prescribed  form 
of  the  law,'  from  which,  since  the  finding  of  this 
authentic  copy  of  it,  Josiah  enjoined  them  not  to 
vary  one  tittle. —  CalmeCs  and  Le  Clerc's  Com- 
mentaries. 

8a 


4fifl 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


done .  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
law,  and  the  prescriptions  of  ancient 
custom. 

Josiah,  after  this  blessed  regulation, 
enjoyed  his  government  in  peace,  honour, 
and  plenty ;  till  he  met  his  death  in  the 
following  manner. 

Pharaoh-Necho,*  king  of  Egypt,  march- 
ed with  a  powerful  army  toward  Euphrates, 
against  the  Medes  and  Babylonians,  who 
had  subverted  the  Assyrian  empire,  with  a 
design  to  make  himself  master  of  Asia. 

When  he  had  advanced  as  far  as  Me- 
giddo,f  a  town  under  the  jurisdiction  of  j 
Josiah,  that  prince  absolutely  refused  him 
any  passage  against  the    Medes   through  i 
his  country. 


*  Pharaoh  signifies  no  more  in  the  Egyptian 
language  than  king,  and  was  therefore  given  to 
any  one  that  sat  upon  that  throne:  but  Necho, 
according  to  Herodotus,  was  his  proper  name, 
though  some  will  have  it  to  be  an  appellative, 
which  signifies  lame,  because  this  Pharaoh,  as  they 
suppose,  had  a  lameness  which  proceeded  from 
some  wound  he  had  received  in  the  wars.  The 
s4me  historian  tells  us,  that  he  was  the  son  and 
successor  of  Psammetichus,  king  of  Egypt,  and  a 
man  of  a  bold  enterprising  spirit.  He  made  an 
attempt  to  join  the  Nile  and  the  Red  sea,  by 
drawing  a  canal  from  one  to  the  other  ;  but  after 
he  had  consumed  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men  in  the  work,  he  was  forced  to  abandon  his 
design.  But  he  had  better  success  in  another 
undertaking  ;  for  by  sending  a  fleet  from  the  Red 
sea  through  the  straits  of  Babel-mandel,  he  dis- 
covered the  coasts  of  Africa,  and,  in  this  his  expe- 
dition to  the  Euphrates,  resolved  to  bid  fair,  by 
destroying  the  united  force  of  the  Babylonian  and 

Medes,  for  the  whole  monarchy  of  Asia Pri- 

deaux  and  Marsham. 

■f  Megiddo  was  a  city  in  the  half  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  not  far  from  the  Mediterranean  sea,  which 
way  Necho  was  to  pass  with  his  army,  in  order  to  go 
into  Svria,  and  thence  to  the  Euphrates.  In  the 
valley  adjoining  to  this  place  Josiah  was  slain 
while  he  was  at  the  head  of  his  army.  This  action 
Herodotus  makes  mention  of,  when  he  tells  us, 
that  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  having  fallen  upon  the 
Syrians  near  the  city  Magdol,  obtained  a  great  vic- 
tory, and  made  himself  master  of  Cadytis  :  where 
the  author  plainly  mistakes  the  Syrians  for  the 
Jews;  Magdolum,  a  city  in  Lower  Egypt,  for  Me- 
giddo; and  Cadytis,  for  Kadesh,  in  Upper  Galilee, 
by  which  he  was  to  pass  in  his  way  to  Carchemish, 
or  rather  for  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  which,  in  Hero- 
dotus's  time,  might  be  called  by  the  neighbouring 
nations  Cadyta,  or  Cadyscha,  I.  e.  '  the  holy  city ; ' 
since,  even  to  this  day,  it  is  called  by  the  Eastern 
people  Al-kuds,  which  is  plainly  both  of  the  same 
signification  and  original. —  Caimet  and  Prideaux. 


Pharaoh  upon  this  sent  a  herald,  to 
give  Josiah  to  understand  that  he  had  no 
thought  of  hostility  toward  him;  nor  any 
design,  but  to  have  made  a  hasty  march 
towards  Euphrates;  desiring  him  withal 
not  to  put  him  upon  any  necessity  of  mak- 
ing his  way  by  force,  as  that  was  very 
much  against  his  inclination. 

This  message  of  the  Egyptian  had  so 
little  effect  upon  Josiah,  that  lie  persisted 
in  the  denial  of  his  passage.    His  obstinacy 
soon  proved  fatal  to  him ;  for  as  he  was 
at  the  head  of  his  army,  riding  up  and 
down  to  give   orders  from   one  wing  to 
another,   an   Egyptian  pierced  him  with 
an  arrow,  and  by  that  means  decided  the 
matter  in  dispute  between  the  two  con- 
tending kings.     Finding  himself  in  great 
agony  from  the  stroke   he  had  received, 
he  commanded   his  army  to  retire ;   and 
returning  to  Jerusalem,  there  died  of  the 
wound.t     He  was  buried  with  a  magnifi- 
cent solemnity,   in   the   sepulchre   of  his 
ancestors,  in  the  nine  and  thirtieth  year 
of  his  age,  and  in  the  one  and  thirtieth  of 
his  reign  ;  the  people  mourning  for  him 
several  days  with  great  sorrow  and  lamen- 
tation^ 


\  With  Josiah  perished  all  the  glory,  honour, 
and  prosperity  of  the  Jewish  nation.  For  after 
that  nothing  else  ensued  but  a  dismal  scene  of 
God's  judgments  on  the  land,  till  at  length  all 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  were  swallowed  up  by  them 
in  a  woful  destruction.  The  death  of  so  excellent 
a  prince  was  deservedly  lamented  by  all  his  people, 
and  by  none  more  than  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  who 
had  a  thorough  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  loss, 
and  also  a  full  foresight  of  the  great  calamities  that 
were  afterwards  to  follow  upon  the  whole  people 
of  the  Jews ;  and  therefore,  while  his  heart  was 
full  with  the  view  of  both,  he  wrote  a  song  of 
lamentation  upon  this  doleful  occasion,  as  he  after- 
wards did  another  upon  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem.— Dean  Prideaux. 

§  The  Jews  were  used  to  make  lamentations,  or 
mournful  songs,  upon  the  death  of  great  men, 
princes,  and  heroes,  who  had  distinguished  them 
selves  in  arms,  or  by  any  civil  arts  had  merited 
well  of  their  country.  By  an  expression  in  2 
Chron.  xxxv.  25.  '  Behold  they  are  written  in  the 
Lamentations,'  one  may  infer  that  they  had  certain 
collections  of  this  kind  of  composition.  The  au- 
thor of  the  book  of  Samuel  has  preserved  those 
which  David  made  upon  the  death  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  of  Abner,  and  Absalom :  but  thi3 
mournful  poem,  which  the  disconsolate  prophet 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


467 


After  the  death  of  Josiah,  his  son  Je- 
hoahaz  took  the  government  upon  him  in 
the  three  and  twentieth  year  of  his  age, 
and  kept  his  court  at  Jerusalem. 

He  was  a  man  of  an  impious  and  im- 
moral disposition,  and  his  mother's  name 
was  Hamutal. 

The  king  of  Egypt,  upon  his  return 
from  the  war,  sent  for  Jehoahaz  to  come 
to  him  to  Hamath,  a  city  of  Syria,  where 
he  put  him  in  fetters,  and  delivered  up 
the  government  to  Eliakim,  his  elder 
brother,  by  the  same  father,  but  changed 
his  name  to  Jehoiakim;*  and  imposing  a 
tax  upon  the  country  of  a  hundred  talents 
of  silver  and  one  talent  of  gold,  by  this 
means  he  rendered  him  tributary. 

As  for  Jehoahaz,  he  carried  him  along 
with  him  into  Egypt,  where  he  ended  his 
life,  after  he  had  reigned  three  months 
and  ten  days. 

This  prince  trode  in  the  steps  of  his 
abandoned  ancestors,  and  followed  their 
example  of  impiety,  injustice,  and  idolatry. 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Egyptians  defeated  by  the  king  of  Babylon. 
Predictions  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah. — In- 
stance of  the  cruelty  and  perfidy  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who  deposes  Jehoiachin,  and  sets  up 
Zedekiah  vpon  his  throne. — Second  defeat  of 
the  Egyptians  by  the  same  king. — Zedekiah's 
obstinate  contempt  of  the  prophet's  counsel. 


made  upon  the  immature  death  of  good  Josiah, 
we  nowhere  have  ;  which  is  a  loss  the  more  to 
be  deplored,  because,  in  all  probability,  it  was  a 
master-piece  in  its  kind  ;  since  never  was  there  an 
author  more  deeply  affected  with  his  subject,  or 
more  capable  of  carrying  it  through  all  the  tender 
sentiments  of  sorrow  and  compassion. —  Calmet. 

*  It  was  a  usual  thing  for  conquerors  to  change 
the  names  of  the  persons  they  vanquished  in  war, 
in  testimony  of  their  absolute  power  over  them. 
Thus  we  find  the  king  of  Babylon  changing  the 
name  of  Mattaniah  into  Zedekiah,  when  he  con- 
stituted him  king  of  Judah,  2  Kings  xxiv.  17. 
But  Usher  has  farther  remarked,  that  the  king  of 
Egypt  gave  Eliakim  the  name  of  Jehoiakim, 
thereby  to  testify  that  he  ascribed  his  victory  over 
the  Babylonians  to  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  by 
whose  excitation  (as  he  pretended,)  he  undertook 
the  expedition. — Patrick's  and  Calmefs  Com- 
mentaries. 


In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim's  reign, 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  of  Babylon  ad- 
vanced with  a  mighty  army  to  Carche- 
mish,  a  city  situate  upon  the  Euphrates 
with  a  resolution  to  make  war  upon  Pha- 
raoh-necho,  who  at  that  time  Md  all  Sy- 
1  ria  under  his  command. 

The  Egyptian  well  knowing  that  the 

I  Babylonian  was  no  contemptible  enemy, 

;  took  the  field  with  a  strong  and  numerous 

army,  and  so  marched  to  the  Euphrates, 

j  with  a  resolution   to  oppose  him;   but  the 

|  two  armies  engaging,  the  Egyptian  was 

forced   to  retire   with   the  loss   of  many 

thousands  of  his  men. 

The  Babylonians,  getting  over  the 
Euphrates,  subdued  the  whole  country  of 
Syria  as  far  as  Pelusium,f  Judea  only  ex- 
cepted. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  the  eighth  of  Jehoiakim,  the  Babylo- 
nians broke  in  furiously  upon  Judea, 
threatening  them  with  devastation,  unless 
they  would  content  themselves  with  the 
condition  of  tributaries,  as  the  rest  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Syria  were. 

Upon  this  menace,  Jehoiakim  submit- 
ted to  purchase  his  peace  with  a  sum  of 
money;  and  for  the  space  of  full  three 
years,  he  made  due  payment  of  his  con- 
tribution ;  but  the  year  following,  upon 
the  credit  of  an  idle  report  that  the 
Egyptian  was  advancing  upon  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  king  of  Babylon,  Jehoia- 
kim refused  to  pay  him  his  tribute,  though 
he  quickly  found  himself  miserably  dis- 
appointed in  his  expectation,  for  the 
Egyptians  durst  not  look  the  Babylonians 
in  the  face. 


f  A  town  of  Egypt,  situate  at  the  entrance  of 
the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  called  from  it  Pelusian. 
It  is  about  twenty  stadia  from  the  sea,  and  it  has 
received  the  name  of  Pelusium  from  the  lakes  and 
marshes  which  are  in  its  neighbourhood.  It  was 
the  key  of  Egypt  on  the  side  of  Phoenicia,  as  it 
was  impossible  to  enter  the  Egyptian  territories 
without  passing  by  Pelusium  ;  and  therefore,  on 
that  account,  it  was  always  well  fortified  and  gar- 
risoned, as  it  was  of  such  importance  for  the  se- 
curity of  the  country.  It  is  now  in  ruins. — Lcm- 
priere. 


458 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


This  the  prophet  Jeremiah  had  many 
times  foretold,  and  warned  him  of,  adding, 
moreover,  that  he  would  find  the  Egyp- 
tians n  broken  reed  to  trust  to. 

He  presaged  likewise  the  fate  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  that  it  was  suddenly  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  Babylonians,  and  Jehoia- 
kim  himself  to  be  made  prisoner. 

But  these  warnings  were  not  only  un- 
observed, but  treated  by  the  generality 
of  the  people  with  the  utmost  contempt. 
There  were  some  that  exhibited  formal 
accusations  against  the  prophet  to  the 
king,  and  woidd  have  had  him  punished 
as  a  mover  of  sedition. 

The  cause,  in  fine,  was  brought  before 
the  council;  and  the  majority  were  for 
putting  him  to  death;  but  the  reason  of 
things  is  not  always  determined  by  a 
plurality  of  voices;  so  that  some,  better 
advised  than  the  rest,  were  for  discharging 
him  the  court,  and  diverting  the  blow; 
observing,  that  Jeremiah  was  not  the  only 
man  that  had  foretold  these  calamities  to 
the  city,  but  that  Micah  had  prophesied 
to  the  same  purpose  before  him,  as  well 
as  several  others,  without  being  called  to 
account  for  it  by  the  government;  nay, 
that  they  were  rather  had  in  honour  and 
esteem  for  their  predictions,  as  the  pro- 
phets of  the  Lord. 

By  this  gentle  method  of  reasoning, 
the  council  was  wrought  upon  to  change 
their  minds,  and  to  recall  the  sentence. 

The  prophet  committed  his  predictions 
to  writing,  and  upon  a  day  of  fasting, 
when  the*  people  were  met  together  in  the 
temple,  in  the  ninth  month  of  the  fifth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  he  read 
the  book  to  the  congregation;  wherein 
was  contained  the  whole  history  of  what 
was  to  befall  the  temple,  the  city,  and  the 
people. 

The  princes,  upon  the  hearing  of  this 
book,  took  it  away  from  the  prophet, 
commanding  both  himself  and  his  scribe 
Baruth,*  immediately  to  depart,  without 

*  Baruch,  the  ton  of  Neriah,  and  grandson  of 


letting    any   bodyr   know    where   to   find 
them. 

Then  they  carried  the  book  to  the  king, 
who  ordered  the  secretary  to  read  it  to  him, 


Maaseiah,  was  of  illustrious  birth,  and  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah.     Seraiah,  his  brother,  had  a  considerable 
employment  in  the  court  of  Zedekiah,  but  himselt 
kept  close  to  the  person  of  Jeremiah,  and  was  his 
most  faithful  disciple,  though  his  adherence  to  his 
master  drew  upon  him  several  persecutions,  atid  a 
great  deal  of  bad  treatment.     After  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  Baruch  and  his 
master   were   permitted   to  stay   in    the   land   of 
Judea ;  but  when  the  remains  of  the  people,  which 
were  left  behind  after  having  slain  their  governor 
Gedaliah,  were  for  retiring  into  Egypt,  they  com- 
pelled Jeremiah  and  his  disciple  to  go  along  with 
them,  where  the  prophet  died,  and  Baruch  soon 
after  made  his  escape  to  his  brethren  in   Babylon, 
where,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  Rabbins, 
he  likewise  died  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  captivi- 
ty.    But  of  what  authority  the  book,  which  goes 
under  his  name,  is,  or  by  whom  it  was  written,  and 
whether  any  thing  related  therein  be  historically 
true,  or  the  whole  of  it  a  fiction,  is  altogether  un- 
certain.     Grotius,   in    his   commentary   upon    it, 
thinks   it  an  entire  fiction  of  some    Hellenistical 
Jew,  nuder  the  name  of  Baruch:  and  St  Jerome, 
long  before  him,  tells  us,  that  the  reason  why  lie 
did  not  make  a  comment  on  this  book  (though,  in 
the  edition  of  the  Sepluagint,  it  be  joined  with 
Jeremiah)  was,  because  it  was  not  deemed  canoni- 
cal among  the  Hebrews,  and  contains  an  epistle 
•vhich  falsely  bears  the  name  of  Jeremiah.     This 
epistle  is  annexed  to  the  book,  and,  in  the  common 
division  of  it,  makes  the  last  chapter-,  but  the  main 
subject  of  the  book   itself  is  likewise  an  epistle, 
either  sent,  or  feigned  to  be  sent  by  kirn*  Jehoia- 
kim, and   the  Jews,  who  were  in  captivity  with 
him  in  Babylon,  to  their  brethren  the  Jews  who 
were  still  left  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem :  wherein 
they   recommend    to   their   prayers   the   emperor 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  children,  that  under  his 
dominion    they   may   lead   quiet    and    peaceable 
lives;  wherein  they  confess  their  sins,  and  ask  par- 
don for  what  is  past,  take  notice  of  the  threats  ot 
the  prcphets,  which   they  had  so  long  despised, 
and   acknowledge   the   righteousness  of  God,   in 
what  he  had   brought  upon  them ;  "wherein  they 
remind  them  of  the  advantages  which  the  Jews 
had  in  their  knowledge  of  the  law  of  God,  and  of 
true  wisdom,  above  all  other  nations,  and  there- 
upon exhort  them  to  reform  their  manners,  and 
forsake  their  evil  customs,  which   would  lie  the 
only  means  to  bring  about  their  deliverance  from 
the  captivity,  under  which  they  groaned.      The 
whole  is   introduced   with   an    historical   preface, 
wherein  it  is  related,  that  Baruch,  being  then  at 
Babylon,  did,  in  the  name  of  the  captive  king  and 
his  people,  draw  up  the  same  epistle,  and  after- 
wards read  it  to  them  for  their  approbation  ;  and 
that,  together  with  it,  they  sent  a  collection  ol 
money   to   the    high-priest  at    Jerusalem    for    the 
maintenance  of  the  daily  sacrifices.     This  is   the 
substance  of  the  book  itself:   and,   in   the   letter 
annexed  to  it,  which  goes  under  Jeremiah's  name, 


Cuap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

and  his  friends  about  him.  The  king  was 
so  greatly  alarmed  when  he  heard  the  aw- 
ful contents,  that  he  tore  the  book,  threw 
it  into  the  fire,  and  ordered  Jeremiah  and 
Baruch  to  be  immediately  brought  to  him 
and  punished.  But  they  were  already 
withdrawn  out  of  the  way. 

Soon  after  this  event,  Jehoiakim  being 
affrighted  with  so  many  dismal  predictions 
received  the  king  of  Babylon  with  his  ar- 
my into  the  city;  and  thinking  himself  se- 
cure from  any  danger,  had  made  no  pre- 
parations for  the  defence  of  the  right  of 
his  crown.  But  the  Babylonian,  upon  his 
admittance,  broke  his  conditions,  and  put 
the  flower  of  the  youth  of  Jerusalem,  to- 
gether with  the  king  himself,  to  the  sword; 
commanding  his  body  to  be  cast  into  the 
fields  without  the  walls  of  the  city,  and 
constituting  his  son  Jehoiachin  king,  both 
of  the  city  and  country,  in  his  father's 
stead.    ' 

He  carried  away  near  three  thousand 
men  of  note  and  quality,  captives  to  Ba- 
bylon ;  in  which  number  was  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  being  at  this  time  a  youth. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  king  Jehoia- 
kim, who  lived  six  and  thirty  years,  and 
reigned  eleven  ;  and  his  son  Jehoiachin 
succeeded  him.  His  mother's  name  was 
Nehufdita,  of  Jerusalem ;  and  the  time  of 
his  reign  was  three  months  and  ten 
days. 

When  Nebuchadnezzar  came  to  a  seri- 
ous review  of  his  late  transactions,  he 
could  not  approve  his  placing  Jehoiachin 
upon  the  throne,  as  it  appeared  reasonable 
to  him  that  the  young  prince  would  en- 
deavour to  revenge  the  perfidy  he  had 
practised  towards  his  deceased  father,  by 
exciting  rebellion. 

the  vanity  of  the  Babylonish  idols  and  idolatry  is 
Bet  forth  at  large,  and  with  liveliness  enough.  Of 
the  whole  there  are  but  three  copies;  one  in 
Greek,  and  the  other  two  in  Syriac,  whereof  one 
agreeth  with  the  Greek,  though  the  other  very 
much  differs  from  it;  but  in  what  language  it  was 
originally  written,  or  whether  one  of  these  be  not 
the  original,  or  which  of  them  may  he  so,  it  is 
next  to  inipossihle  to  tell. — Prideaux's  Connec- 
tion, and  CalmeVs  preface  to  Baruch. 


469 

Upon  this  consideration  he  sent  away 
an  army  to  Jerusalem.  Now  Jehoiachin, 
being  a  just  and  humane  prince,  could  not 
endure  to  see  the  city  in  danger  of  being 
utterly  destroyed  for  his  sake;  and  there- 
fore entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  king  of 
Babylon's  deputies,  surrendered  the  city 
on  condition  of  the  inhabitants  being  ex- 
empt from  any  kind  of  violence,  and  de- 
liveied  hostages  for  the  performance  of  all 
the  articles  specified. 

But  before  the  expiration  of  the  year, 
the  king  of  Babylon  breaking  his  faith 
with  them,  commanded  his  officers  to  se- 
cure all  the  youth  of  the  city,  and  all 
kinds  of  articles,  and  to  bring  them  to  him 
bound  and  fettered ;  so  that  ten  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-two  persons 
(among  whom  were  Jehoiachin  himself, 
his  mother,  and  his.  kindred)  by  the  king's 
command,  were  all  kept  in  custody. 

Nebuchadnezzar  having  thus  deprived 
Jehoiachin  of  his  crown  and  dignity,  ad- 
vanced Zedekiah,  his  father's  brother,  to 
the  government  in  his  place ;  obliging  him 
by  oath  neither  to  attempt  any  innovations 
'In  that  country  nor  directly  or  indirectly 
join  with,  or  assist  the  Egyptian.  He 
was  one  and  twenty  years  of  age  when  he 
entered  upon  the  government;  and  he  and 
Jehoiakim  were  brothers  by  the  mother's 
side.  Zedekiah  on  his  elevation  discover- 
ed no  regard  to  the  laws  of  God,  nor  the 
interest  of  the  people,  but  gave  loose  to 
the  immediate  sallies  of  a,  vicious  inclina- 
tion, and  mixed  with  the  herd  in  the  ido- 
latry and  depravity  of  the  age,  insomuch 
that  the  prophet  Jeremiah  often  exhorted 
him  to  change  his  course  of  life,  and  be- 
take himself  to  the  exercise  of  piety  and 
justice,  regardless  of  what  his  courtiers,  or 
his  false  prophets  told  him ;  a  lewd  people 
who  had  abused  him  in  their  promises  and 
predictions,  when  they  told  him  the  Baby- 
lonians should  never  besiege  Jerusalem 
again  ;  and  that  whenever  they  encount- 
ered, the  Egyptians  should  overcome 
them. 

As  this  was  all  false,  and  would  appear 


470 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


so  to  be  by  the  event,  Zedekiah  could  not 
for  the  present  but  acknowledge  the  advice 
of  the  prophet  to  be  reasonable,  and  that 
it  was  his  interest  to  believe  it;  but  when 
he  attended  to  the  counsels  of  mercenary 
sycophants,  the  prophet's  address  vanish- 
ed from  his  mind. 

At  this  very  juncture,  Ezekiel  being  at 
Babylon,  foretold  the  destruction  of  the 
temple,  and  sent  the  prediction  of  it  to 
Jerusalem.  Now  the  two  prophets  agreed 
exactly  in  the  particular  circumstances  of 
the  town's  being  taken  by  force,  and  Ze- 
dekiah carried  away  captive ;  but  the 
thing,  and  the  only  thing  that  staggered 
Zedekiah  in  the  belief  of  the  prophecy, 
was  this;  Ezekiel  foretold  that  Zedekiah 
should  not  see  Babylon.  And  Jeremiah 
affirmed  that  the  king  himself  should 
carry  him  prisoner  thither. 

This  seeming  inconsistency,  or  at  least 
diversity  of  expression,  gave  Zedekiah 
some  sort  of  colour  for  doubting  the  truth 
of  the  other  circumstances  wherein  they 
agreed,  though  the  following  events  made 
good  every  thing  that  had  been  foretold. 

After  an  alliance  of  eight  years  be- 
tween the  two  kings,  Zedekiah  shamefully 
broke  his  contract,  and  went  over  to  the 
interest  of  the  Egyptians,  assured  that 
their  power  united  would  be  able  to  crush 
the  king  of  Babylon.  But  the  Babylo- 
nian, upon  the  first  notice  of  this  treachery, 
marched  his  army  toward  Zedekiah,  laid 
his  country  desolate,  forced  his  castles  and 
strong  holds,  and  so  advanced  to  the  at- 
tack, even  of  Jerusalem  itself. 

The  Egyptian  being  given  to  under- 
stand with  what  difficulties  his  friend  and 
ally  Zedekiah  was  surrounded,  advanced 
immediately  to  his  relief,  with  a  resolu- 
tion to  attempt  the  raising  the  siege. 

Now  the  Babylonian,  upon  intelligence 
cf  his  march  and  design,  instead  of  wait- 
ing for  his  arrival,  withdrew  from  the 
siege,  and  advancing  towards  his  army,  a 
general  engagement  ensued,  and  the 
Egyptians  were  totally  routed. 

The  siege  being  raised,  or  rather  re- 


spited upon  this  occasion,  the  false  pro- 
phets suggested  a  thousand  delusions  to 
Zedekiah  ;  such  as  the  folly  of  apprehend- 
ing any  danger  from  the  Babylonians,  or 
fearing  that  they  should  drive  the  He- 
brews from  their  habitations,  or  carry 
them  captive  to  Babylon  ;  whereas  it  was 
rather  to  be  expected,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  their  prisoners  that  were  already  ex- 
ported should  be  called  back  again,  and 
all  the  plate  and  treasure  that  the  king 
had  carried  away,  restored  to  the  tem- 
ple.* 

But  Jeremiah,  on  the  contrary,  assured 
the  king,  that  events  would  turn  out  in 
direct  contrariety  to  what  his  flatterers 
had  falsely  insinuated,  positively  charging 
them  with  imposture  and  delusion,  and 
affirming,  that  there  was  no  good  to  be 
expected  from  the  Egyptians ;  but  that 
they  should  first  be  overcome,  and  the 
Babylonian  army  return  back  to  besiege 
Jerusalem ;  and  that  as  many  of  them  as 
should  survive  the  sword  and  famine, 
should  be  carried  away  captive,  their 
houses  pillaged,  their  goods  taken  away, 
the  temple  and  city  plundered,  and  laid 


•  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  away  the  vessels  and 
rich  furniture  of  the  temple  at  three  different 
times.  1st,  In  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Je- 
hoiakim,  when  he  first  took  Jerusalem,  he  carried 
part  of  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  God  awjiy  into 
the  land  of  Shinar,  and  put  them  into  the  house 
of  his  god,  Dan.  i.  2.  These  were  the  vessels 
which  his  son  Belshazzar  profaned,  Dan.  v.  2. 
and  which  Cyrus  restored  to  the  Jews,  (Ezra  i.  7.) 
to  be  set  up  again  in  the  temple  when  rebuilt. 
2dly,  In  the  reign  of  Jehoiachin  he  took  the  city 
again,  and  cut  in  pieces  a  great  part  of  the  vessels 
of  gold  which  Solomon  had  made,  2  Kings  xxiv. 
13.  and,  by  some  chance  or  other,  had  escaped  his 
former  plunder.  3dly,  In  the  eleventh  year  of 
Zedekiaii,  he  pillaged  the  temple  once  more, 
when  he  brake  in  pieces  the  pillars  of  brass,  and 
the  bases,  and  the  brazen  sea,  and  took  along  with 
him  all  the  vessels  of  silver  and  gold  that  he 
could  find,  and  carried  them  to  Babylon,  2  Kings 
xxv.  13,  &c.  It  is  somewhat  strange,  that,  among 
all  this  inventory,  we  hear  no  mention  made  of 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  which,  of  all  other  things, 
was  held  most  sacred  ;  but  it  is  very  probable, 
that  it  was  burnt  together  with  the  temple  in  this 
last  desolation.  For,  what  some  say  of  its  being 
hidden  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  ii.  a  certain  cave 
in  mount  Nebo,  is  a  mere  table. — Patrick's  and 
Calmet's  Commentaries. 


CUAP.  II.] 


THE  BlhLE. 


471 


waste  by  fire  and  sword,  without  any  dis- 
tinction of  age,  sex,  or  condition. 

The  terms  of  the  prophecy  were:  "We 
are  condemned  to  serve  these  people  and 
their  posterity  for  seventy  years;  and 
the  Medes  and  Persians,  at  the  seventy 
years'  end,  shall  deliver  us  from  that  bon- 
dage, by  the  utter  extinction  of  the  Baby- 
lonian empire.  After  which  time,  being 
set  at  liberty  by  their  assistance,  we  shall 
return  hither  again,  rebuild  the  temple, 
and  restore  the  city  to  its  former  state." 

These  words  of  the  prophet  gained 
the  belief  of  the  major  part  of  the  people; 
but  the  leading  men,  and  the  licentious, 
atheistical  multitude,  looked  upon  what 
he  said  as  the  discourse  of  a  madman,  and 
treated  him  accordingly. 

As  Jeremiah  was  going  toward  Ana- 
thoth,  the  place  of  his  birth,  about  twen- 
ty furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem,  he  was 
met  upon  the  way  by  a  busy  magistrate, 
who  apprehended  him,  and  took  him  into 
custody,  upon  a  pretence  that  he  was  a  de- 
serter, and  going  over  to  the  king  of  Ba- 
bylon. 

The  prophet  denied  the  accusation,  and 
declared  in  his  own  defence  that  he  was 
going  to  the  place  of  his  nativity.  But 
the  other  would  not  believe  him,  and 
therefore  carried  him  away  to  the  ministers 
of  state,  and  officers  of  justice;  where, 
after  a  formal  examination,  they  set  him 
aside  as  a  malefactor  condemned  to  die ; 
and  in  this  miserable  condition,  he  contin- 
ued for  a  considerable  space.* 


*  There  were  two  prisons  in  Jerusalem  ;  of 
which  one  was  called  the  king's  prison,  which  had 
a  lofty  tower  that  overlooked  the  royal  palace, 
with  a  spacious  court  before  it,  where  state  prison- 
ers were  confined.  The  other  was  designed  to 
secure  debtors  and  other  inferior  offenders  :  and 
in  both  these  the  prisoners  were  supported  by  the 
public  on  bread  and  water.  Suspected  persons 
were  sometimes  confined  under  the  custody  of  state 
officers,  in  their  own  houses  ;  or  rather  a  part  of 
the  house  which  was  occupied  by  the  great  officers 
of  state,  was  occasionally  converted  into  a  prison. 
This  seems  to  be  a  natural  conclusion  from  the 
statement  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  in  which  he 
gives  an  account  of  his  imprisonment  :  "  Where- 
fore, the  princes  were  wroth  with  Jeremiah,  and 


But  in  the  ninth  year  of  Zedekiah'g 
reign,  the  tenth  month,  and  the  tenth  day 
of  that  month,  the  king  of  Babylon  camo 
once  again  with  his  army  to  Jerusalem ; 
and  laying  siege  to  it,  attempted,  by  the 
exertion  of  all  his  strength  and  artifice, 
during  the  space  of  eighteen  months,  to 
subdue  it.  But  it  still  held  out,  not  only 
against  a  powerful  enemy  before  it,  but  a 
raging  pestilence  and  famine  in  the  midst 
of  it,  Jeremiah  being  in  prison  all  this 
while,  and  crying  out  to  the  multitude  to 
set  open  the  gates,  and  receive  the  Baby- 
lonians into  the  city ;  as  they  had  no  other 
way  to  save  themselves,  their  families, 
and  the  town,  from  a  certain  and  an  in- 
evitable ruin ;  assuring  them  also,  that 
those  who  staid  in  the  city  must  expect 
to  perish,  either  by  the  sword  or  by 
famine;  whereas  those  who  fled  out  to 
the  enemy  would  save  their  lives.  But  the 
princes,  in  the  depth  of  their  extremity, 
were  so  far  from  giving  ear  to  the  pro- 
phet's presage  and  advice,  that  they  re- 
presented him  to  die  king  as  a  turbulent 
man,  a  mutineer,  and  a  discourager  of  the 
people,  with  his  idle  stories  of  misery  and 
desolation ;  suggesting  that  the  garrison 
was  hearty  and  resolute  enough  to  defend 


smote  him,  and  put  him  in  prison,  in  the  house  of 
Jonathan  the  scribe  ;  for  they  had  made  that  tha 
prison."  This  custom,  so  different  from  the 
manners  of  our  country,  has  descended  to  modern 
times  ;  for  when  Chardin  visited  the  East,  their 
prisons  were  not  public  buildings  erected  for  that 
purpose,  but,  as  in  the  days  of  the  prophet,  a  part 
of  tiie  house  in  which  their  criminal  judges  reside. 
"  As  the  governor,  or  provost  of  a  town,"  says  our 
traveller,  "  or  the  captain  of  the  watch,  imprison 
such  as  are  accused,  in  their  own  houses,  tliey  set 
apart  a  canton  of  them  for  that  purpose,  when 
they  are  put  into  these  offices,  and  choose  for  the 
jailer  the  most  proper  person  they  can  find  of 
their  domestics."  The  royal  prison  in  Jerusalem, 
and  especially  the  dungeon,  into  which  the  prison- 
er was  let  down  naked,  seems  to  have  been  a  most 
dreadful  place.  The  latter  cannot  be  better  de- 
scribed than  in  the  words  of  Jeremiah  himself, 
who  for  his  faithfulness  to  God  and  his  country, 
in  a  most  degenerate  age,  had  to  encounter  all  its 
horrors:  "Then  took  they  Jeremiah,  and  cast 
him  into  the  dungeon  that  was  in  the  court  of  the 
prison  :  and  they  let  him  down  with  cords  :  and 
in  the  dungeon  there  was  no  water,  but  mire  ; 
and  his  feet  sunk  in  the  mire." — Paxton. 


472 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


the  place  to  the  last  extremity,  if  he  did  ,  wretch,  and  are  at  this  instant  in  a  con- 
not,  with  his  iil-boding  menaces  of  slavery  spiracy  to  destroy  me ;  and  where  are 
and    destruction,    damp    their    zeal    and    those    impostors    now,    that   deluded    the 


courage. 

The  king  was  not  by  disposition  rash 
or  cruel,  but  at  this  critical  juncture,  fear- 
ing the  effects  of  opposing  the  leading 
and  principal  persons  of  the  city,  he  re- 
signed the  prophet  to  their  disposal; 
wherefore  they  went  in  all  haste  to  the 
prison ;  took  out  the  prophet,  and  let  him 
down  by  a  rope  into  a  filthy  pit,  where 
he  continued  up  to  the  neck  in  mud,  as 
they  intended  to  choke  him. 

As  he  was  in  this  condition,  a  favourite 
servant  of  the  king's,  an  Ethiopian*  born, 
went  and  told  Zedekiah  how  they  had  treat- 
ed the  prophet ;  giving  it  as  his  opinion, 
that  his  great  men  and  favourites  had  not 
done  well  in  the  aggravation  of  his  mis- 
fortune, by  exposing  him  to  death,  so 
much  more  grievous  than  that  which  he 
was  reasonably  to  expect  in  his  chains. 

This  conduct  of  the  servant  inducing 
the  king  heartily  to  repent  his  having  left 
the  prophet  to  the  discretion  of  his  enemies, 
he  ordered  the  Ethiopian  to  take   thirty 


people  into  a  belief  that  they  were  out  of 
danger  from  the  Babylonians?  So  that 
by  telling  you  the  very  truth,  I  may  en- 
danger my  life." 

The  king,  upon  this,  promised  the  pro- 
phet upon  oath,  that  he  would  neither 
take  away  his  life  himself  nor  suffer  any 
of  his  people  to  do  it. 

Jeremiah  took  his  word  and  honour  for 
it,  and  advised  him  by  all  means  to  deliver 
up  the  city  into  the  hands  of  the  king  of 
Babylon ;  this  was  the  only  way  in  the 
world  to  be  safe  in  his  own  person,  to 
avoid  the  imminent  danger  he  was  in ; 
preventing  the  burning  of  the  temple, 
and  the  laying  of  the  city  level  with  the 
ground.  He  assured  him,  moreover,  by 
the  special  direction  of  God  himself,  that 
if  he  pursued  any  other  measures,  all  the 
calamities  that  should  ensue  upon  his  mis- 
carriages, with  the  utter  ruin  of  himself, 
his  family,  and  his  people,  would  be 
charged  to  his  account. 

The  king  then  told  him,  that  he  had  a 


trusty  men  out  of  his  family,  with  ropes,  I  great  inclination  to  take  his  counsel  for 
and  whatever  he  should  find  necessary  for  I  the  common  good;  but  was  afraid  lest 
saving  of  him,  and  to  join  with  them  in  J  some  of  his  friends  that  were  already  gone 
getting  him  out  of  the  pit  with  all  possible  !  over  to  the  Babylonians,  should  accuse 
expedition.  him  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  put  him  in 

The  servant  did  as  he  was  ordered,  and    danger   of  his   life.     The    prophet   bade 
set  the  prophet  at  liberty;  who  was  soon  |  him  not  fear  on  that  account;  for  if  he 


after  this  brought  privately  to  the  king, 
and  had  this  question  put  to  him ;  whether 
or  no  he  could  procure  him  from  heaven 
any  present  relief  under  his  miserable  cir- 
cumstance? The  prophet  answered  him 
that  he  could;  but  that  people  would 
neither  believe  him,  nor  follow  his  coun- 
sels, adding  in  words  to  this  effect:  "All 
your  pretended  friends  are  my  mortal 
enemies:   they  look  upon  me  as  a  false 

*  Josephus  mentions,  that  Solomon,  amongst 
other  merchandise,  brought  slaves  from  Ethiopia  ; 
which  was  afterward  the  practice  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  Such  a  slave  probably  Ebed-melech 
was  ;  called  an  eunuch,  or  officer  of  the  king's 
house. 


delivered  up  the  city,  neither  himself,  nor 
his  wives,  his  children,  or  the  temple  it- 
self, should  suffer  any  thing. 

After  these  words  the  king  dismissed 
the  prophet,  with  a  charge  not  to  make 
any  discovery,  even  to  the  princes  them- 
selves, of  what  had  passed  in  this  confer- 
ence; but  if  any  come  to  have  a  hint  that 
there  had  been  such  a  meeting,  and  in- 
quire into  the  business,  it  might  be  pre- 
tended that  the  prophet  came  to  move  the 
king  for  his  liberty. 

The  prophet  did  as  he  was  ordered, 
and  gave  that  answer  to  all  the  people  that 
asked  him  his  business  with  Zedekiidi. 


CllAP    III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


473 


CHAPTER  HI. 


The  taking  of  Jerusalem. —  Cruelties  exercised 
upon  Zedekiah. —  Conquest  and  captivity  of 
the  Egyptians. — Miraculous  story  of  Daniel, 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego. — Prefer- 
ment of  Daniel  for  interpreting  dreams. — 
Death  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

During  these  transactions  the  king  of 
Babylon  went  on  vigorously  with  the 
siege ;  his  works  were  finished,  and  his 
towers  carried  up  so  high  as  to  command 
the  town  and  beat  the  defendants  from 
the  walls;  and  these  preparations  were 
made  round  the  city  in  order  for  a  general 
assault.  The  place  was  as  resolutely  de- 
fended as  it  was  vigorously  assailed,  the 
besieged  having  plague  and  famine  to  con- 
tend with  in  the  town,  as  well  as  enemies 
and  other  difficulties  without.  They 
stood  firm  against  all  stratagems  and 
machines,  opposing  one  instance  to  ano- 
ther, as  if  the  dispute  had  been  matter  of 
skill  and  art,  as  well  as  force;  the  be- 
siegers' business  being  to  take  the  city, 
and  the  safety  of  the  besieged  consisting 
in  eluding  or  diverting  the  plots  and  en- 
deavours of  the  enemy. 

This  contest  lasted  eighteen  months; 
but  in  the  end,  for  want  of  provisions 
within  the  town,  and  of  numbers  to  main- 
tain it,  against  the  multitudes  of  besiegers, 
furnished  with  all  manner  of  arms  and 
warlike  instruments,  they  were  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  delivering  it  up. 

It  was  taken  in  the  eleventh  year,  and 
the  ninth  day  of  the  fourth  month  of  the 
reign  of  Zedekiah,  by  the  commanders  to 
whom  the  care  of  the  siege  was  committed 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  at  that  time  was 
at  Kiblah.*     The  captains,  with  the  rest 


•'Riblah  was  a  city  of  Syria,  in  the  country  of 
Hamatl),  which  country  is  the  nearest  to  Judea,  and 
which  city,  according  to  St  Jerome,  was  the  same 
with  what  was  afterwards  called  Antioch;  and,  as 
it  was  the  most  pleasant  place  in  all  Syria,  here 
NebuchadnrzKar  lay,  to  attend  the  success  of  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  to  send  his  army  proper  sup- 
plies, and  to  intercept  any  relief  that  might  come 
to  the  besieged. — Pat.  ick's  Commentary. 


of  the  soldiery,  went  into  the  temple, 
which  king  Zedekiah  perceiving,  he  took 
his  wives,  children,  commanders,  and 
friends,  and  they  all  fled  away  privately 
by  a  narrow  passage  toward  the  desert.f 
But  the  Babylonians  getting  intelligence 
of  this  escape,  by  means  of  deserters, 
they  made  after  them  early  the  next  morn- 
ing, and  overtook  and  surrounded  them  at 
a  place  not  far  from  Jericho. 

Zedekiah's  friends  and  companions  in 
his  flight,  seeing  the  enemy  advance  to- 
ward them,  quitted  their  master,  and  ran 
several  ways  to  avoid  personal  danger. 
The  king  being  in  a  manner  abandoned, 
with  his  wives  and  children,  and  a  small 
number  of  his  company,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  who  presently  earned  them 
to  the  king  of  Babylon. 


-f-  It  is  a  hard  matter  to  conceive  how  the  be- 
sieged could  make  their  escape,  seeing  that  the 
Chaldeans  had  begirt  the  city  round  about.  Jose- 
phus  indeed  gives  us  this  account :  "  that,  as  the 
city  was  taken  about  midnight,  the  captains  with 
the  rest  of  the  soldiers,  went  directly  into  the  tern-  ' 
pie  ;  which  king  Zedekiah  perceiving,  he  took  his 
wives,  children,  commanders,  and  friends,  and  they 
slipt  all  away  together,  by  a  narrow  passage,  to- 
wards the  wilderness."  But  then  what  this  pas- 
sage was,  is  still  the  question.  The  Jews  indeed 
think,  that  there  was  a  subterraneous  passage  from 
the  palace  to  the  plains  of  Jericho,  and  that  the 
king  and  his  courtiers  might  endeavour  to  make 
their  escape  that  way.  Dion,  it  is  true,  tells  us, 
that  in  the  last  siege  of  Jerusalem,  the  Jews  had 
covert  ways,  which  went  under  the  walls  of  the  city, 
to  a  considerable  distance  into  the  country,  out  of 
which  they  were  wont  to  sally  and  fall  upon  the 
Unmans  that  were  straggling  from  their  camp ;  but 
since  neither  Josephns  nor  the  sacred  historian 
takes  notice  of  any  such  subterraneous  conduit  at 
this  siege,  we  may  suppose  that  the  Chaldeans  hav- 
ing made  a  breach  in  the  wall,  the  besieged  got 
away  privately  between  the  wall  and  the  outworks, 
in  a  passage  which  the  enemy  did  not  suspect.  The 
words  in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings  are  : — '  They 
went  by  the  way  of  the  gate,  between  the  two 
walls,  which  is  by  the  king's  garden,'  which  in  Jere- 
miah are  |lius  expresstd  : — '  'J  hey  went  by  the  way 
of  the  king's  garden,  by  the  gate  between  the  two 
walls ;'  so  that,  as  the  king's  garden  faced  the 
country,  very  likely  there  was  some  very  private 
and  imperceptible  gate,  through  which  they  might 
attempt  to  escape,  and  the  besiegers  perhaps  might 
not  keep  so  strict  watch  at  that  part  of  the  town, 
(especially  in  the  hurry  of  storming  it,)  because  it 
led  to  the  plain,  and  made  their  escape  in  a  man- 
ner impracticable. — Jewish  Hist.,  Patrick's,  Lt 
Clerc's,  and  Calmet's  Commentaries. 

So 


4  74 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


Nebuchadnezzar  no  soonei  beheld  him 
than  he  upbraided  him  with  perfidy  and  in- 
gratitude, in  words  to  the  following  effect : 
"  Did  not  you  promise  me  to  manage  the 
power  and  authority  that  I  put  you  in  pos- 
session of,  for  my  advantage,  for  making 
you  a  king  in  room  of  Jehoiachin  ?  where- 
as you  have  employed  the  credit  and 
interest  that  I  gave  you  in  opposition  to 
your  patron  and  benefactor.  But  God, 
who  is  great  and  just,  for  the  punish- 
ment of  your  treachery  and  ingratitude, 
hath  now  made  you  my  prisoner." 

When  the  king  had  thus  severely  re- 
proached him,  he  immediately  caused  his 
children  and  his  friends  to  be  put  to  death 
before  his  face,  and  in  the  sight  of  the  rest 
of  the  captives ;  after  which  he  ordered 
Zedekiah's  eyes  to  be  put  out,*  and  his 


*  Cutting  out  one  or  both  of  the  eyes  has  been 
frequently  practised  in  Persia  and  other  parts  of 
the  East,  as  a  punishment  for  treasonable  offences. 
It  is  mentioned  by  Bruce  as  one  of  the  capital 
punishments  used  in  Abyssinia  ;  it  does  not  often 
prove  fatal,  though  performed  in  the  coarsest  man- 
ner with  an  iron  forceps,  or  pincers.  Xenophon 
tells  us  that  Cyrus  was  accustomed  to  inflict  this 
penalty  on  certain  offenders  ;  and  Ammianus  Mar- 
cellinus  mentions,  that  Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  ban- 
ished Arsaces,  whom  he  had  taken  prisoner,  to  a 
certain  castle  after  having  pulled  out  his  eyes.  In 
1820,  Mr  Rae  Wilson  met  at  Acre  with  numerous 
individuals  who  exhibited  marks  of  the  vengeance 
of  the  lute  pacha  Hadjee  Achmet,  from  his  sangui- 
nary cruelties  fitly  snrnamed  Djezzar,  or  the  But- 
cher. They  were  disfigured  in  various  ways,  by  a 
hand  amputated,  an  eye  torn  out,  or  a  nose  which 
had  been  split,  or  partly  or  totally  cut  off.  In  the 
Missionary  Register  for  1827  we  are  told  that  in  the 
winter  of  1826  two  emirs  had  their  eyes  burnt 
out,  and  their  tongues  in  part  cut  off,  by  the  emir 
Bechir,  the  prince  of  Mount  Lebanon,  their  un- 
cle, on  account  of  their  having  been  concerned  in 
some  disturbances  against  his  government.  Other 
instances  might  be  adduced  as  exemplifications  of 
this  barbarous  punishment  inflicted  by  Oriental 
despots, — the  recital  of  which  is  calculated  to  rouse 
the  indignant  feelings  of  the  human  bosom.  We 
shall  merely  mention  the  following  as  given  by 
Chardin  of  a  king  of  Imiretta,  who  lived  in  this 
condition.  Hearing  a  complaint  of  continual 
wars,  "  I  am  sorry  for  it,"  replied  the  king,  "  but 
I  cannot  help  it :  for  I  am  a  poor  blind  man  ;  and 
they  make  me  do  what  they  themselves  please.  I 
dare  not  discover  myself  to  any  one  whatever;  I  mis- 
trust all  the  world  ;  and  yet  I  surrender  myself  to 
all,  not  daring  to  offend  any  body,  for  fear  of  be- 
idl'  assassinated  by  every  body."  This  poor  prince, 
says  Chardin,  is  young  and  well  sliapcd  :  and  he 


person  to  be  carried  away  in  chains  to  Ba- 
bylon. • 

This  proceeding  verified  the  two  pro- 
phecies of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel ;  which 
Zedekiah  so  little  regarded  because  there 
appeared  something  of  a  contradiction  be- 
tween them ;  the  former  foretelling  that 
he  should  be  taken  captive,  and  being 
carried  to  Babylon,  should  speak  with  the 
king  himself,  and  see  him  face  to  face: 
but  Ezekiel's  prediction  was,  that  he 
should  be  carried  away  to  Babylon,  and 
should  not  see  him;  which  he  could  not 
do  there,  after  he  was  deprived  of  his 
sight.f  Thus  was  rendered  extinct  the 
kings  of  the  race  of  David,  after  a  suc- 
cession of  one  and  twenty  kings,  during 
the  space  of  five  hundred  and  fourteen 
years,  six  months,  and  ten  days,  including 
the  twenty  years'  reign  of  Saul,  who  was 
of  another  tribe. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  after  obtaining  this 
great  victory,  sent  Nebuzar-adan,  his  com- 
mander-in-chief, to  Jerusalem,  with  orders 
to  pillage  the  temple  and  burn  it;  to  do 
the  like  to  the  palace ;  and  after  lay- 
ing the  city  level  with  the  ground,  to  car- 
ry away  the  people  captive  to  Babylon. 
In  the  eleventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Ze- 
dekiah, Nebuzar-adan  put  his  instructions 
into  execution  ;  and  took  away  out  of  the 
temple  all  the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
Solomon's  great  laver,  with  the  brazen  pil- 
lars, and  their  chapiters,  with  the  golden 
tables  and  candlesticks;  and  after  this  gen- 
eral plunder,  he  first  set  the  temple  on  fire, 


always  wears  a  handkerchief  over  the  upper  part  of 
his  face,  to  wipe  up  the  rheum  that  distils  from 
the  holes  of  his  eyes  ;  and  to  hide  such  a  hideous 
sight  from  those  who  come  to  visit  him. — -See 
Bruce,  Paxton,  and  Calmet. 

f  This  may  serve  to  convince  even  the  most  ig- 
norant, of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  and  of 
the  constancy  of  his  counsels,  through  all  the  va- 
rious ways  of  his  operations;  it  may  likewise  show 
us  that  God's  foreknowledge  of  things  is  certain, 
and  his  Providence  regular,  in  the  ordering  of 
events ;  besides,  it  holds  forth  a  most  exemplary  in- 
stance to  us,  of  the  danger  of  giving  way  to  the  mo- 
tions of  incredulity  and  folly  that  take  from  us  the 
means  of  discerning  the  judgments  that  threat* 
I  >  en  us. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


475 


and  then  laid  the  palace  and  the  city  in 
ashes. 

This  happened  on  the  first  day  of  the 
fifth  month;  the  eleventh  of  Zedekiah, 
and  the  eighteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.  The  temple  was  burnt 
four  hundred  and  seventy  years,  six 
months,  and  ten  days  from  the  building  of 
it;  one  thousand  and  sixty- two  years,  six 
months,  and  ten  days,  from  the  Israelites' 
coming  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt;  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  fifty  years,  six 
months,  and  ten  days  from  the  deluge;  and 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirteen 
years,  six  months,  and  ten  days  from  the 
creation  of  the  world. 

Upon  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  transportation  of  the  people,  Nebuzar- 
adan  took  the  following  persons  prisoners 
with  him. 

There  was  the  high-priest  Seraiah,  * 
and  after  him,  Zephaniah,  who  was  the 
next  priest  in  dignity;  three  head  keepers 
of  the  temple;  the  first  eunuch  of  the  bed- 
chamber, with  seven  of  the  king's  friends, 
beside  the  king's  secretary,  and  other 
men  of  note,  to  the  number  of  sixty; 
which  were  brought  altogether  to  the 
king,  who  was  then  at  Riblah,  a  city  of 
Syria. 

The  king  caused  the  heads  of  the  high- 
priest,  and  the  great  men,  to  be  struck  off 
in  that  city ;  but  the  multitude  of  the  pri- 
soners, together  with  Zedekiah  himself, 
he  ordered  to  be  bound,  and  carried  cap- 
tive to  Babylon,  together  with  Jehozadak, 
the  high-priest,  to  be  taken  and  bound 
along  with  them. 

Having  gone  through  the  royal  line, 
and  the  succession  of  kings,  from  father 
to  son,  it  will  be  necessary  to  observe  the 
same  method  with  the  high-priests,  who, 
from  time  to  time,  in  a  continued  succes- 
sion under  those  kings,  exercised  the 
sacerdotal  office. 


*  The  person  whom  Jeremiah  had  desired  to 
read  an  account  of  his  prophecies  to  the  Jews,  then 
ki  captivity,  and  for  which  he  was  properly  calcu- 
lated from  the  nature  of  his  office. 


The  first  pontifex  after  the  building  of 
Solomon's  temple  was  Zadok.  After  him 
came  his  son  Ahimaaz;  and  after  Ahi- 
maaz,  Azariah ;  and  so  forward.  Joram, 
Phinehas,  Sudeas,  Julus,  Jotham,  Urias, 
Nerius,  Oseas,  Saddumus,  Elcius,  Sare- 
as,  and  Jehozadak,  who  was  carried  away 
to  Babylon.  All  these  handed  down  the 
pontificate  in  a  continued  succession  in 
their  families,  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. 

Upon  the  king's  return  to  Babylon, 
Zedekiah  was  committed  to  prison,  where 
he  died,  and  afterward  had  the  honour  of 
a  royal  sepulchre. 

The  holy  vessels  the  king  took  out  of 
the  temple,  he  dedicated  to  his  idols ;  al- 
lotted habitations  to  the  people  in  Baby- 
lon, and  set  Jehozadak  at  liberty. 

Now  Nebuzar-adan,  the  general  that 
brought  away  the  people  prisoners,  left 
the  poorer  sort  of  people,  and  the  desert- 
ers, under  the  command  of  Gedaliah,  the 
son  of  Ahikam,  an  eminent  person  both 
for  generosity  and  justice,  who  allotted 
his  prisoners  such  a  proportion  of  ground 
to  improve  and  live  upon,  on  condition  of 
paying  a  certain  tribute  to  the  king. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  was  also  dis- 
charged from  his  imprisonment  ;f  and  the 
king  having  given  order  to  the  governor 
to  take  a  particular  care  of  him,  Gedaliah 
proposed  to  the  prophet  to  go  with  him  to 
Babylon,  as  it  was  but  reasonable  that  the 
king  should  be  at  the  charge  of  his  jour- 
ney; or  if  he  did  not  approve  of  that  place, 
desired  he  would  nominate  any  other,  and 
he  would  write  to  the  king  about  it. 

The  prophet's  answer  was,  that  he  had 
no  mind  to  remove  at  all,  but  rather  stay 
where  he  was,  and  take  his  part  in  the 
miserable  ruins  of  his  native  country. 

Nebuzar-adan,  being  informed  how  the 
prophet  stood  affected,   gave  Gedaliah  a 


f  The  prophet  was  treated  in  this  respectful 
manner  hy  the  Chaldeans,  on  account  of  the  re- 
peated predictions  he  had  made  in  the  favour  of 
that  people,  and  the  many  exhortations  he  had 
given  the  Jews  to  submit  to  their  authority. 


476 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


Btrict  charge  to  see  him  well  provided  for; 
made  liim  several  considerable  presents 
himself,  and  so  left  him,  and  returned  to 
Babylon. 

Jeremiah  upon  this  made  choice  of 
Mizpah  *  for  the  place  of  his  abode,  hav- 
ing first  obtained  of  Nebuzar-adan  Ba- 
ruch's  liberty,  as  well  as  his  own,  whom 
he  took  for  his  companion. 

Baruch  was  the  son  of  Neriah,  a  person 
nobly  born,  and  perfectly  well  skilled  in 
the  language  of  his  country. 

The  burning  and  the  sacking  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  the  return  of  the  Babylonians 
into  their  own  country,  was  by  this  time 
made  known  to  all  the  deserters  that  had 
left  the  city  in  the  time  of  the  siege ;  and 
so  they  gathered  together  from  all  places 
in  throngs  to  Gedaliah  at  Mizpah. 

The  principal  men  among  them  were 
Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah ;  Jezaniah, 
and  Seraiah,  with  some  others.  And  be- 
sides these,  there  was  Ishmael,  a  person 
of  royal  blood,  but  of  a  false  and  malicious 
disposition. 

This  man,  in  the  time  of  the  siege,  fled 
to  Baalis,  king  of  the  Ammonites,  for 
sanctuary,  where  he  had  continued  ever 
since. 

Upon  the  application  of  these  people 
to  Gedaliah,  he  gave  them  an  invitation 
to  continue  there,  and  to  plant;  for  they 
might  live  quietly,  and  at  ease,  without 
any  danger  from  the  Babylonians;  binding 
himself  by  an  oath  to  stand  by,  and  assist 
them,  if  any  man  should  offer  to  molest 
or  trouble  them.  And  for  their  farther 
encouragement  he  thus  addressed  them. 

■  Do  but  you  resolve  among  yourselves 
what  town  or  place  you  would  settle  in, 
and  you  shall  have  some  of  my  people 
with  you  to  assist  you  in  preparing  and 
fitting  up  habitations;  only  you  must  take 

*  This  city,  to  which  Jeremiah  thought  proper 
to  retire,  had  been  a  place  of  great  estimation  in 
the  time  of  the  Judges,  but  falling  to  decay,  was 
rebuilt  many  years  after  their  time  by  king  Asa. 
It  was  situated  on  the  borders  of  Judah  and  Ben- 
jamin, and  was,  at  this  time,  the  residence  of 
Geda'val). 


care  not  to  slip  the  season  of  providing 
for  the  next  vintage  and  harvest,  that  you 
may  not  want  corn,  wine  or  oil  next  win- 
ter for  your  subsistence." 

When  he  had  given  them  this  encour- 
agement and  assurance,  he  left  every  man 
at  liberty  to  dispose  of  himself  at  his  own 
discretion,  and  to  choose  for  his  residence 
what  place  he  pleased. 

The  report  of  Gedaliah's  generosity, 
humanity,  and  tenderness,  towards  the 
fugitives,  who  had  applied  themselves  to 
him  for  refuge,  gained  him  so  great  a 
reputation  with  all  the  neighbouring  na- 
tions, that  they  repaired  to  hirn  from  all 
parts,  and  quickly  made  up  a  considerable 
plantation;  for  they  had  lands  assigned 
them,  upon  condition  only  of  paying  a 
certain  acknowledgment  to  the  king  of 
Babylon. 

Johanan  and  the  rest  of  the  great  men 
had  a  very  high  esteem  for  the  courtesy 
of  Gedaliah  to  the  planters,  and  therefore 
i i.  formed  him  in  friendship  and  respect,  that 
there  was  a  conspiracy  carried  on  against 
him,  between  Baalis,  the  king  of  the 
Ammonites,  and  Ishmael;  that  Ishmael 
was  to  assassinate  him  in  a  treacherous 
manner;  who,  being  a  branch  of  the  royal 
family,  intended  to  assume  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Israelites.! 

•f-  That  Ishmael,  who  was  of  the  blood-royal  of 
Judah,  should  attempt  to  take  away  the  life  of 
Gedaliah.  is  no  wonder  at  all.  His  envy  of  the 
other'>  promotion,  and  his  ambition  to  make  him- 
self a  king,  might  be  strong  incitements  to  what 
he  did  ;  but  why  Baalis  should  have  any  hand  in 
so  black  a  design,  we  can  hardly  imagine  any  other 
reason  than  the  ancient  and  inveterate  hatred 
which  the  Ammonites  always  had  against  the 
Hebrews,  and  therefore  this  king  of  theirs,  seeing 
that  the  Jewish  nation  was.  at  this  time,  in  a  man- 
ner brought  to  nothing,  was  minded  to  take  re- 
venue for  all  the  injuries  that  his  ancestors  had 
received  from  them,  and  to  give  the  finishing 
stroke  to  their  ruin,  by  cutting  off  their  governor, 
and  so  dispersing  the  remains  of  that  unhappy  peo- 
ple, which  was  now  gathered  together  at  Mizpah. 
But,  whatever  their  views  might  he,  it  is  certain 
that  they  put  their  design  in  speedy  execution;  for 
the  murder  of  Gedaliah  happened  but  two  months 
after  the  destruction  of  tlie  city  and  temple  of 
Jerusalem,  viz.  in  the  seventh  month,  which  is 
Ti>ri,  and  answers  in  part  to  our  September  and 
October,  and  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  the  mouth  • 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


477 


They  gave  it  as  their  opinion,  that  the 
ready  way  to  secure  Gedaliah  against  this 
practice,  would  be  for  them  privately  to 
despatch  Ishmael ;  which,  with  his  leave, 
they  would  undertake,  as  they  were  afraid, 
if  this  mischief  was  not  timely  prevented, 
it  would  prove  inevitably  the  ruin  of  all 
the  Israelites  in  the  end. 

Gedaliah  informed  them,  that  he  could 
not  believe  it  possible  for  any  man  to  be 
so  barbarous  and  ungrateful,  that  lay  un- 
der so  many  obligations  to  the  contrary; 
neither  could  it  enter  into  his  head,  that  a 
man  who  was  never  known  to  do  any 
such  thing  under  the  provocation  of  his 
necessities,  should  now  be  in  a  plot  to  de- 
stroy that  person  himself,  whom,  by  all 
the  ties  of  honour  and  hospitality,  he  was 
obliged  to  defend  and  preserve,  though 
with  the  hazard  of  his  own  life,  if  it  should 
have  been  attempted  by  any  other  man 
whatsoever. 

To  sum  up  the  affair,  he  told  them, 
that,  admitting  the  information  to  be  true, 
he  had  much  rather  lose  his  own  life  than 
take  away  the  life  of  any  man  that  had 
committed  himself  to  his  trust. 

Johanan,  and  his  companions,  finding, 
from  this  declaration,  that  all  they  said 
was  to  no  purpose,  they  went  their  way. 

About  thirty  days  after,  Ishmael,  with 
ten  of  his  friends,  paid  a  visit  to  Gedaliah 
at  Mizpah,  where  they  were  received  with 
all  the  freedom  and  respect  imaginable. 
They  drank  very  plentifully,  till  Gedaliah 
and  his  companions  were  intoxicated ; 
which  the  other  party  observing,  they 
took  the  opportunity  of  falling  upon  them, 
and  without  any  difficulty  killed  the  mas- 
ter of  the  house,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
guards. 

It  was  now  the  dead  of  the  night,  and 
all  the  people,  as  well  soldiers  as  others, 
securely  asleep  ;  so  that  they  made  the 
same  havoc  in   the   streets  as  they  had 


for  that  day  the  Jews  have  kept  as  a  fast,  in  com- 
memoration of  this  calamity  (which  indeed  was  the 
completion  of  their  ruin)  ever  since  —  Calmet's 
Commentary,  and  Prideaux's  Connection. 


done  at  Gedaliah's  just  before,  destroying 
and  murdering  all  they  could  find,  whether 
Jews  or  Babylonians,  without  any  dis- 
tinction. 

The  next  day  there  came  up  to  the 
city  a  company  of  about  fourscore  men 
out  of  the  country,  with  presents  for  Ge- 
daliah, knowing  nothing  as  yet  of  the 
massacre.  As  soon  as  Ishmael  saw  them, 
he  called  them  into  Gedaliah's,  shut  the 
doors  upon  them,  and  cut  their  throats  in 
the  palace,  and  caused  their  bodies  after- 
ward to  be  thrown  into  a  pit,*  where  they 
might  lie  concealed. 

There  was  not  a  man  of  that  number 
that  escaped,  except  a  few  that  promised 
to  make  discovery  of  goods,  clothes,  and 
corn,  that  were  concealed  under  ground, 
upon  their  condition  of  being  reprieved. 

Some  of  them  were  spared  upon  these 
terms ;  but  the  common  people  of  Mizpah, 
men,  women,  and  children,  were  all  carried 
away ;  and  among  the  rest,  the  daughters 
of  Zedekiah,  which  Nebuzar-adan  had  left 
under  the  care  of  Gedaliah. 

Ishmael  immediately  went  away  with 
the  news  of  this  exploit  to  the  king  of 
the  Ammonites ;  but  Johanan,  with  the 
rest  of  the  leading  men,  hearing  of  the 
horrid  massacre  at  Mizpah,  and  the  death 
of  Gedaliah,  were  so  incensed,  that,  rais- 
ing all  the  men  they  could  muster  by 
their  respective  influence,  they  joined  in 
the  pursuit  of  Ishmael,  whom  they  over- 
took at  the  fountain  of  Hebron. 

The  very  sight  of  the  pursuers  rejoiced 
the  hearts  of  the  prisoners  that  Ishmael 


*  The  word  rendered  '  pit,'  signifies  a  bason, 
cistern,  or  reservoir  ;  a  large  pit  for  receiving  rain 
water,  which  Asa,  who  built  and  fortified  Mizpah 
at  the  time  he  was  at  war  with  Baasha  king  of 
Israel,  caused  to  be  made  in  the  midst  of  the  city, 
in  order  that  the  people  might  not  be  in  want  of 
so  necessary  an  article  in  case  of  a  siege.  Re- 
servoirs of  this  kind  were  much  in  use  in  Pales- 
tine, as  St  Jerome  tells  us  in  his  Commentary 
upon  Amos  iv.  7,  8.  Each  private  family  seems 
to  have  had  one  of  these  pits  or  reservoirs  for  its 
own  use.  '  Drink  ye  every  one  the  waters  of  his 
own  cistern,'  his  pit  or  reservoir,  says  Kabshakeli 
to  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  Is.  xxxvi.  16. — Dr 
Blayney. 


478 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


was  carrying  away  with  him ;  for  suspect- 
ing them  at  first  sight  to  be  friends,  com- 
ing to  their  assistance,  they  went  over 
immediately,  one  and  all,  to  the  party  of 
Johanan  ;  but  Ishmael,  with  only  eight  of 
his  companions,  fled  to  the  king  of  the 
Ammonites. 

Johanan,  in  the  mean  time,  with  the 
people  he  had  taken  from  Ishmael,  march- 
ed to  a  place  that  is  called  Cliimham,* 
and  there  they  staid  one  day,  thinking  to 
fly  into  Egypt,  lest  the  Babylonians,  in  a 
rage  for  the  murder  of  their  governor, 
should  fall  upon  them ;  however,  for  their 
better  security,  they  took  up  a  resolution 
to  consult  Jeremiah  what  course  to  take.f 
Accordingly  they  put  the  question  to  him; 
promising  upon  oath  to  act  in  strict  con- 
formity with  his  advice. 

The  prophet  assured  them  he  would  do 
his  utmost  for  their  satisfaction;  and  upon 
the  tenth  day  after  this  application,  God 
appeared  to  him,  and  bade  him  go  and  tell 
Johanan,  and  the  rest  of  the  commanders, 
that  if  they  continued  where  they  were, 
he  would  assist  and  secure  them  against 
any  harm  from  the  Babylonians,  of  whom 
they  were  so  much  afraid;  but  if  after  this 
warning  they  went  into  Egypt,  they  might 


*  This  place  may  be  supposed,  from  2  Sam.  xix. 
38.  to  liave  been  anciently  given  by  king  David  to 
Cliimliam,  the  son  of  old  Barzillai  the  Gileadite, 
and  which,  at  this  time,  bore  his  name,  though 
near  five  hundred  years  after  the  first  donation. 
It  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bethlehem,  about 
two  leagues  from  Jerusalem,  and  hither  the  poor 
people  betook,  themselves,  because  it  was  at  a 
much  farther  distance  from  Babylon  than  Mizpah, 
and  in  their  straight  way  to  Egypt,  in  case  they 
should  determine  to  go  thither,  as  they  seemed 
inclinable  to  do,  because  there  they  supposed  they 
should  have  no  war,  nor  hear  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  nor  have  hunger  of  bread,  Jer.  xlii.  14. 
— Stackhouse. 

f  Sufficiently  humbled  by  the  destruction  of 
their  country,  and  struck  with  the  captivity  of 
their  brethren,  the  remnant  of  the  Jews,  who  were 
not  carried  into  Babylon,  were  awakened  into  a 
sense  of  Almighty  power,  and  an  humble  supplica- 
tion of  his  mercy.  Adversity  is  the  best  school 
for  wisdom,  and  the  mind,  though  so  hardened  in 
error,  naturally  looks  up  to  the  Divine  Being,  as 
its  only  support  on  the  appearance  of  calamity ; 
tin  observation  which  the  behaviour  of  the  Jews 
upon  this  occasion  sufficiently  verified. 


expect  the   same    fate   that  had   befallen 
their  brethren  before  them. 

This  was  the  message  the  prophet  de- 
livered them  by  God's  express  direction, 
though  they  could  hardly  believe  it  to  be 
the  will  of  God  that  they  should  continue 
where  they  were;  taking  it  rather  for  an 
invention  of  the  prophet's,  in  favour  of 
Baruch  his  disciple,  in  order  to  expose 
them  to  the  wrath  of  the  Babylonians;  so 
that  Johanan  and  the  rest  of  the  people, 
in  contempt  of  God's  word  by  his  prophet, 
went  away  into  Egypt,  and  carried  Jere 
miah  and  Baruch  along  with  them. 

Upon  their  arrival  thither,  it  was  re- 
vealed from  heaven  to  the  prophet,  that 
the  king  of  Babylon  should  bring  an  army 
into  Egypt,  and  Jeremiah  was  commanded 
to  tell  the  people  that  Egypt  should  be 
taken, $  when  part  of  them  should  be 
killed,  and  afterwards  the  rest  should  be 
carried  away  captives  to  Babylon.§     For, 


\.  The  Almighty  wisdom  having  determined  to 
settle  the  Jews  among  the  Chaldeans  for  some 
time,  till  the  captivity  had  brought  them  to  a 
proper  knowledge  of  their  sins,  here  expresses  his 
particular  disapprobation  of  their  having  any  con- 
nection with  the  Egyptians,  whom  they  might  in 
reality  consider  as  the  source  of  all  they  had  suffer- 
ed, since  the  superstitious  ceremonies  of  that 
people  was  the  principal  cause  of  their  corruption, 
and  consequently  of  their  being  forsaken  by  their 
divine  protector.  From  this  it  must  not,  however  be 
inferred,  that  the  Chaldeans  were  not  an  idolatrous 
people;  for,  on  the  contrary,  they  were  equally 
remarkable  with  the  Egyptians  for  the  number  of 
their  idols ;  but  the  Jews  having  been  before  un- 
der subjection  to  the  Egyptian  empire,  the  Lord 
thought  it  most  proper,  if  it  may  be  presumed  to 
judge  of  unerring  wisdom,  to  give  them  a  change 
of  masters,  to  make  a  deeper  impression  of  their 
disobedience,  and  to  manifest  his  own  power,  in 
redeeming  them  out  of  the  hands  of  the  two  most 
mighty  empires  at  that  time  in  being 

9  After  this  we  have  no  further  notice  of  the 
prophet  Jeremiah.  St  Jerome,  in  the  Life  of  this 
prophet,  and  Dorotheus,  in  his  Synopsis  of  the 
lives  and  deaths  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  tell 
us  that  he  was  stoned  to  death  in  Egypt  by  his 
own  renegado  countrymen,  the  Jews,  for  preach- 
ing against  their  idolatry  ;  it  appears  indeed  by 
the  account  we  have  of.  their  behaviour,  Jer.  xliy 
16.  that  they  were  bent  both  against  him  and  his 
reproofs;  and  therefore  it  was  the  more  likely  that 
they  were  the  authors  of  his  death,  than,  as 
some  say,  the  Egyptians  were,  for  his  prophesy- 
ing against  them  and  their  king  Pharaoh-hophra. 
For  the  Egyptians,  according  to  the  same  tradi* 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


479 


in  the  fifth  year  after  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  and  the  three  and  twentieth  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  he  made  an  inroad  into 
Coelo-syria;  and  upon  subduing  it,  car- 
ried his  victorious  army  into  the  country 
of  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites ;  whom 
when  he  had  subjected,  he  made  a  furious 
incursion  into  Egypt,  killed  the  reigning 
king,  set  up  another  in  his  place,  and  the 
Jews  whom  he  found  there  were  carried 
away  a  second  time  prisoners  to  Babylon. 

Such  was  the  wretched  fate  of  the 
Hebrews,  who,  in  consequence  of  their 
disobedience  of  the  divine  will,  were  twice 
carried  away  beyond  the  Euphrates ;  for 
the  ten  tribes  were  first  transported  by  the 
Assyrians  out  of  Samaria,  in  the  reign  of 
Hoshea ;  and  the  other  two,  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, king  of  the  Chaldeans  and  the 
Babylonians,  upon  the  taking  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

Now  Shalmaneser  transplanted  the  Cu- 
thites  into  the  country  of  the  Israelites, 
out  of  the  heart  of  Media  and  Persia ;  and 
they  were  called  Samaritans  from  the 
name  of  the  place  into  which  they  were 
transplanted;  but  the  king  of  Babylon 
carried  away  the  other  two  tribes,  without 
introducing  any  other  in  their  stead. 

And  this  was  the  reason  that  Judea, 
with  Jerusalem,  and  the  temple,  lay 
wholly  abandoned  for  the  space  of  seventy 
years. 

The  time  betwixt  the  captivity  of  the 
ten  tribes,  and  the  transmigration  of  the 
other  two,  was  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  six  months,  and  ten  days. 

The  king  of  Babylon  appointed  a  select 


tion,  having,  by  the  prophet's  prayers,  been  freed 
from  the  crocodiles,  which  very  much  infested  them, 
had  him  in  such  great  honour  and  esteem,  that  in 
testimony  thereof  they  buried  him  in  one  of  their 
royal  sepulchres.  The  truth  is,  Jeremiah  was,  all 
his  life-time,  exposed  to  the  ill  treatment  of  the 
Jews,  whose  irregularities  and  sad  apostasy  he  was 
always  reproving  ;  and  therefore  the  author  of  the 
book  of  Ecclesiasticus,  in  the  encomium  which  he 
gives  of  this  prophet,  seems  to  draw  his  character 
from  the  persecutions  he  endured  ;  •  They  entreat- 
ed him  evil,  who  nevertheless  was  a  prophet  sanc- 
tified in  his  mother's  womb.' 


number  of  Jewish  youths,  who  were  emi- 
nent for  their  birth  and  beauty,  to  be 
trained  up  for  the  service  of  his  court. 

To  this  end  he  procured  them  the  best 
tutors  that  could  be  found,  and  ordered 
divers  of  them  to  be  set  apart  for  the  prac- 
tice of  music,  vocal  and  instrumental. 

He  sent  them  their  meat  from  his  own 
table,  and  took  great  care  to  have  them 
instructed  in  the  Chaldean  discipline  and 
learning,  in  which  they  made  a  very  con- 
siderable progress  in  a  short  time. 

There  were  four  of  Zedekiah's  relations 
in  the  number,  whose  names  were  Daniel, 
Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah  ;  but  the 
Babylonians  changed  their  names,  and 
called  Daniel,  Belteshazzar ;  Hananiah, 
Shadrach ;  Mishael,  Meshach ;  and  Aza- 
riah, Abednego.* 

The  king  had  a  greaUesteem  for  them 
all,  both  on  account  of  the  sweetness  ot 
their  disposition,  and  the  extraordinary 
force  of  their  understanding. 

Daniel  thinking  the  voluptuous  fare  of 
the  Babylonish  court  improper  for  persons 
in  the  condition  of  himself  and  his  coun- 
trymen, they  entreated  the  eunuch  that 
had  the  care  of  them,  to  use  those  deli- 
cacies which  the  king  sent  them  from  his 
own  table,  for  the  service  of  himself  and 
his  family  ;  as  pulse,  or  dates,  or  any  or- 
dinary food,  would  be  to  them  full  as  sat- 
isfactory. The  eunuch  told  them  that  he 
would  willingly  gratify  them ;  but  if  they 
should  grow  lean,  upon  such  an  abste- 
mious way  of  living,  look  less  amiable,  or 


*  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  as  all  their  former 
names  related  to  the  true  God,  so  all  the  names, 
which  on  this  occasion  were  imposed  upon  these 
four  Jewish  youths,  had  some  reference  or  other  to 
Babylonish  idols.     Daniel,   in    Hebrew,   signifies 

•  God  is  my  judge  ;'  Belteshazzar,  in  Chaldee,  is 
1  the  treasure  of  Baal  ;'  Hananiah,  in   Hebrew,  is 

*  well-pleasing  to  God ;'  Shadrach,  in  Chaldee, 
the  *  inspiration  of  tlie  sun  :'  Mishael,  in  Hebrew, 
'  proceeding  from  God  ;'  Meshach,  in  Chaldee, 
'  belonging  to  the  goddess  Sheshach  :'  Azariah,  in 
Hebrew,  '  God  is  my  help  ;'  and  Abednego,  in 
Chaldee,  the  'servant  of  Nego,'  i.  e.  the  sun,  or 
morning  star,  both  deities  among  the  Babylonians, 
and  so  called  because  of  their  brightness. —  CaU 
rnet's  Commentary. 


480 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


appear  in  a  less  agreeable  habit  of  body, 
he  was  afraid  the  king  might  have  some 
suspicion  of  the  matter,  and  take  offence 
at  it;  which  would  endanger  his  life, 
especially  as  those  who  lived  upon  daintier 
food  would  appear  more  ruddy  and  healthy 
than  themselves. 

As  they  found  the  eunuch  not  so  ob- 
stinate in  opposing  their  request  as  they 
imagined  he  would  have  been,  they  press- 
ed him  to  make  the  experiment  only  for 
ten  days;  and  after  that  time,  if  he  found 
the  change  did  not  so  well  agree  with 
them  as  their  former  allowance,  and  that 
they  did  not  keep  their  health,  colour,  and 
habit  of  body  that  they  had  before,  he 
might  bring  them  back  again  to  the  king's 
prescribed  method  of  living. 

The  eunuch  was  prevailed  upon  to 
make  trial  of  it ; '  and  when  he  found  them 
so  far  from  being  the  worse  for  the  altera- 
tion,  that  they  grew  more  vigorous  upon 
it,  both  in  the  disposition  of  their  bodies 
and  minds,  he  made  no  longer  a  scruple 
of  complying  with  their  desires,  but  he 
gave  them  what  they  demanded,  and  kept 
the  king's  allowance  to  himself. 

This  change  agreed  so  well  with  Daniel 
and  his  friends,  that  comparatively  they 
seemed  to  be  better  provided  for  than  the 
rest,  and  all  their  faculties  were  better 
adapted  either  for  study  or  labour;  being 
neither  surfeited  with  variety,  nor  ren- 
dered effeminate  by  luxury. 

By  this  temperate  way  of  living,  their 
spirits  were  kept  clear  and  active,  as  ap- 
peared by  their  wonderful  improvement 
in  the  Hebrew,  as  well  as  the  Chaldean 
learning ;  but  Daniel's  progress  was  amaz- 
ing, for  he  had  got  such  an  insight  into 
the  arts,  that  he  took  upon  him  the  ex- 
pounding of  dreams,  and  had  many  times 
visions  of  his  own  to  work  upon. 

About  two  years  after  the  destruction 
of  Egypt,  Nebuchadnezzar  had  a  vision, 
and  a  revelation  from  God  in  his  sleep  of 
the  meaning  of  it;  but  afterwards,  when 
he  came  to  rise  from  his  bed,  he  had  ut- 
terly forgot  it.     Upon  which  he  imme- 


diately sent  for  his  learned  men,  ns  Chal- 
deans, Magi,  prophets,  and  told  them,  that 
he  had  a  strange  dream,  but  it  was  now 
utterly  out  of  his  head,  and  therefore  re- 
quired them  to  tell  him  what  it  was,  und 
whut  was  the  signification  of  it? 

They  made  him  answer,  that  as  to  the 
first  part  of  his  proposition,  it  was  a  thing 
not  to  be  done.  But  if  he  would  be 
pleased  to  tell  them  the  dream,  they 
would  be  answerable  to  give  him  the  in- 
terpretation of  it. 

The  king  in  a  rage  commanded  them, 
without  farther  ceremony,  to  tell  him  his 
dream,  or  they  should  die  for  it;*  but  as 
they  could  not  undertake  it,  they  were  or- 
dered to  be  put  to  death.f 

*  Though  the  Chaldeans  were  remarkably  ex- 
pert in  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  which  they 
undertook  to  discover  by  some  particular  marks, 
as  well  as  to  foretell  future  events  by  the  revo- 
lution of  the  heavenly  bodies,  yet  here  they  declar- 
ed the  impossibility  of  knowing  a  dream  which 
they  never  heard  of,  and  the  unreasonableness  of 
requiring  an  interpretation  of  what  the  king  had 
utterly  forgot  ;a  circumstance  which,  they  told  the 
king,  was  entirely  unprecedented,  and  never  de- 
manded by  any  of  the  preceding  princes,  on  ac- 
count of  its  impossibility. 

f  The  king  of  Persia  was  then,  as  he  is  still,  an 
absolute  monarch,  having  the  lives  and  property 
of  his  subjects  entirely  at  his  disposal.  His  will 
is  the  only  law  ;  every  word  that  emanates  from 
the  throne  is  implicitly  obeyed,  let  it  be  ever  so 
unjust,  capricious,  or  bad.  His  passive  subjects 
have  neither  the  opportunity  nor  the  desire  of 
appeal;  and  let  him  once  resolve  on  taking  the 
life  or  possessions  of  any,  even  the  greatest  per- 
sonages in  his  kingdom,  neither  loyalty  to  his 
person,  nor  eminent  merit,  are  of  any  avail  to 
arrest  the  execution  of  the  despot's  wishes.  Sel- 
jook,  who  sat  on  the  throne  of  Persia,  was  a 
prince  of  great  reputation,  but  he  fell  into  habits 
of  the  greatest  intemperance,  insomuch  that,  on 
one  occasion,  in  a  fit  of  intoxication,  he  ordered 
his  queen  to  come  into  his  presence,  and,  on  her 
refusal,  commanded  one  of  his  slaves  to  bring  her 
head.  The  cruel  mandate  was  obeyed,  and  the 
head  of  the  beautiful,  but  ambitious  princess,  was 
presented  in  a  golden  charger  to  her  drunken 
husband,  as  he  sat  carousing  with  his  dissolute 
companions.  Some  officers,  who  were  present, 
expressing  their  feelings  at  the  horrid  deed,  were 
instantly  put  to  death  by  the  arbitrary  prince. 
In  a  manner  still  more  summary  did  Sori,  another 
king  of  Persia,  punish  an  astrologer  who  seemed 
to  reflect  on  the  royal  proceedings.  VYrheii  that 
Shah  and  all  his  great  men  were  assembled  to  see 
some  criminals  cut  in  pieces — a  punishment  very 
common  in  that  country,  and  the  chief  of  the 
astrologers  was  there  among  the  rest,  the  Shah 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


481 


When  Daniel  came  to  understand  that 
the  wise  men  were  all  to  be  put  to  death, 
and  to  reflect,  that  he  and  his  relations 
were  also  in  danger,  upon  the  same  ac- 
count, he  went  to  Arioch,  the  captain  of 
the  king's  guards,  to  learn  what  crime 
they  were  condemned  for. 

The  captain  informed  him,  that  the 
king  had  a  dream,  which  he  himself  had 
forgotten,  and  that  they  were  to  die  be- 
cause they  could  not  tell  him  what  it  was. 

Daniel  made  answer,  that  if  he  could 
procure  them  a  reprieve  for  one  night 
only  he  would  not  despair  of  giving  him 
the  satisfaction  he  required;  for  he  had 
some  hope  that  God  would  that  very 
night  be  prevailed  upon  to  enable  him  to 
do  it. 

The  captain  gave  the  king  an  account 
of  this  proposal;  whereupon  the  execu- 
tion was  respited,  to  try  what  good  was  to 
be  done  upon  that  experiment. 

Daniel,  with  his  companions,  went  into 
his  bed-chamber,  and  spent  that  whole 
night  in  prayer  to  God,  for  the  means  of 
resolving  the  question,  and  for  the  deli- 
vering those  people  from  death  that  were 
now  fallen  under  the  king's  displeasure, 
by  laying  before  him  the  particulars  of 
the  last  night's  dream,  which  was  now  out 
of  his  memory. 

God  was  pleased,  upon  the  intercession 
of  Daniel,  both  in  compassion  to  the  mi- 
serable, and  out  of  tenderness  for  the  pru- 
dence of  Daniel's  mediation,  to  make 
known,  not  only  the  dream  itself,  but  the 
signification  of  it;  to  the  end  that  he 
might  communicate  the  whole  matter  to 
the  king. 

Daniel  was  so  transported  with  this  re- 
velation, that  he  got  up  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, gave  his  brethren  a  word  of  comfort, 


viewing  attentively  the  countenances  of  his  cour- 
tiers, observed  that  the  principal  astrologer  shut 
his  eyes  at  every  stroke  of  the  sabre,  as  not  able 
to  behold  so  horrible  a  slaughter ;  he  thereupon 
called  to  the  governor  who  sat  near  him  to  put 
out  the  eyes  of  that  dog  who  was  at  his  left  hand, 
since  he  did  not  use  them  ;  which  was  executed  in 
an  instant  on  the  unhappy  astrologer.— Jamieson. 


being  now  brought  to  the  last  point  of 
despair,  and  thinking  of  nothing  but  death, 
bade  them  take  courage,  and  hope  the 
best,  for  that  all  things  were  now  secure. 

When  they  had  given  God  thanks  to- 
gether for  his  fatherly  care  and  pity  over 
them,  Daniel  went  to  Arioch  by  break  of 
day,  to  carry  him  to  the  king,  with  assur- 
ance he  should  now  have  all  the  particu- 
lars laid  before  him  of  his  late  dream. 

Upon  Daniel's  admittance  to  the  king, 
he  first  informed  him,  "  That  it  was  not 
conceit  he  entertained  of  his  own  wisdom, 
as  if  he  knew  more  than  the  Chaldeans 
and  the  Magi;  or  any  design  of  a  re- 
proach upon  them,  for  not  being  able  to 
resolve  a  question  which  he  could  explain, 
that  made  him  engage  in  this  matter;  for, 
said  he,  I  am  not  a  person  to  pretend  to 
more  skill  and  understanding  than  my 
neighbours,  but  it  is  purely  the  work  of 
God,  in  pity  to  the  miserable,  and  in 
mercy  to  my  prayers,  for  the  lives  and 
safety  of  myself  and  my  friends,  that  he 
hath  revealed  this  dream  to  me,  and  laid 
open  the  meaning  of  it. 

"  I  have  not  been  so  solicitous  for  the 
safety  of  myself,  and  my  companions  un- 
der your  displeasure,  as  for  your  honour 
and  glory;  in  case  of  putting  so  many 
good  and  worthy  men  to  death,  contrary 
to  right  and  justice,  merely  for  not  being 
able  to  do  a  thing  which  is  utterly  im- 
possible for  flesh  and  blood  to  do ;  or  for 
any  but  a  supernatural  power  to  accom- 
plish. 

"  You  were  thinking  with  yourself  what 
would  become  of  the  empire  of  the  world 
when  you  were  gone,  and  who  should  suc- 
ceed to  it.  Now  the  dream  you  had  was 
a  kind  of  a  resolution  upon  that  inquiry ; 
for  God  showed  you  in  your  sleep  those 
that  were  to  rule  after  you.  You  dreamt 
you  saw  a  large  image,*  or  statue,  stand- 


*  Grotius  accurately  observes,  that  the  image 
appeared  with  a  glorious  lustre  in  the  imagination 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  whose  mind  was  wholly  taken 
up  with  admiration  of  worldly  pomp  and  splen- 
dour ;  whereas  the  same  monarchies  were  repre- 
3p 


482 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


ing  upright;  the  head  was  gold;  the 
shoulders  and  arms  silver ;  the  belly  and 
the  thighs  brass;  the  legs  and  the  feet 
iron.  You  saw  then  a  stone  broken  off 
from  a  mountain  that  fell  upon  this  image, 
overthrew  it,  and  broke  it  so  small,  that 
the  dust  of  the  gold,  silver,  brass,  and  iron, 
was  as  light  as  chaff,  and  carried  away  by 
a  blast  of  wind  to  the  furthermost  parts  of 
the  earth;  the  stone  growing  so  large 
during  this  time,  that  it  lay  like  a  moun- 
tain on  the  face  of  the  earth.*  This  was 
your  dream,  and  I  come  now  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  it.     By  the  golden  head  is 

sented  to  Daniel  under  the  shape  of  fierce  and 
wild  beasts,  (chap,  vii.)  as  being  the  great  support- 
ers of  idolatry  and  tyranny  in  the  world. — Lowth. 
*  By  these  different  emblems  of  metals  and 
stone,  God  intended  to  signify  to  Nebuchadnezzar 
the  several  empires  that  were  to  be  in  the  world. 
The  Assyrian  or  Chaldean  is  represented  by  gold, 
because  it  was  the  first,  and  the  most  magnificent, 
if  not  the  most  extensive,  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
being  then  upon  the  throne,  is  said  to  be  head  of 
it.  That  of  silver  is  the  Persian,  founded  by  Cy- 
rus, upon  the  ruins  of  the  Chaldean,  but  inferior 
to  the  Chaldean  in  its  duration  at  least,  if  not  in 
its  extent.  That  of  brass  is  the  Grecian,  founded 
by  Alexander,  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Persian,  and 
its  character  is,  that  it  should  bear  rule  over  all  the 
earth,  Dan.  ii.  39.  which  was  verified  in  its  great 
founder  ;  for,  upon  his  return  from  India  to  Baby- 
lon, the  ambassadors  of  almost  all  the  known  parts 
of  the  world  resorted  thither  to  pay  their  homage 
and  acknowledgment  of  his  dominion.  That  of 
iron  is  the  Roman  empire,  which  is  distinguished 
by  its  breaking  in  pieces,  and  subduing  all  things, 
ver.  40.  For,  whilst  it  was  in  its  full  strength  and 
vigour,  under  its  consuls  and  first  emperors,  it 
brought  under  its  dominion  all  the  kingdoms  and 
states  that  were  then  subsisting  in  Europe,  Africa, 
and  a  great  part  of  Asia  ;  but,  from  that  time,  it 
became  a  mixture  of  iron  and  clay.  Its  emperors 
proved  most  of  them  vicious  and  corrupt,  either 
by  their  tyranny,  making  themselves  hateful  to 
their  subjects,  or,  by  their  follies  and  vices,  con- 
temptible. Lastly,  that  of  the  stone  cut  out  of  the 
mountain  is  the  fifth  monarchy,  or  the  lurifzdom  of 
the  Messias ;  which,  against  all  the  power  and 
policy  of  the  Roman  empire,  prevailed,  not  by  an 
external  force,  but  by  the  powerful  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  to  the  suppression  and  defeat  of  wicked- 
ness and  impiety,  idolatry  and  superstition,  and  it 
shall  stand  for  ever,  and  never  be  destroyed,  Dan. 
ii.  44.  which  can  be  said  of  no  other  kingdom  but 
that  of  Jesus  Christ,  which,  for  these  seventeen 
hundred  years  and  upwards,  has  withstood  the 
violence  of  persecutions,  and  all  other  contrivances 
formed  against  it,  and  has  the  sure  promises  of  its 
Almighty  founder  on  its  side,  that  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it,  Matt.  *vi.  18. — 
Calmed  Commentary 


signified  yourself,  and  other  kings  of 
Babylon  before  you :  the  two  hands  and 
shoulders  portend  that  two  kings  shall  de- 
stroy your  empire;  and  afterward,  their 
empire  will  be  subverted  by  another  king 
coming  from  the  west  in  armour  of  brass ; 
and  he  is  to  be  subdued  afterward  by 
another  in  iron ;  which,  in  its  nature,  is 
stronger  than  gold,  silver,  or  brass,  and 
not  to  be  resisted." 

Nebuchadnezzar  with  astonishment  ac- 
knowledged this  to  be  his  dream,  and  fall- 
ing upon  his  face,  adored  Daniel  like  a 
god,  and  appointed  divine  honours  to  be 
paid  him :  nay,  he  was  not  satisfied  with- 
out giving  him  the  name  of  God ;  he  also 
made  him  ruler  over  the  whole  province, 
joining  several  of  his  kindred  with  him 
in  the  same  commission.  This  promotion 
was  followed  with  such  envy  upon  Daniel 
and  his  relations,  that  it  had  like  to  have 
cost  them  all  their  lives  by  a  disgust  the 
king  took  upon  the  following  occasion. 

He  had  caused  to  be  made  an  image  of 
gold,  sixty  cubits  in  height,  and  six  in 
breadth,  and  placed  it  in  the  great  plain  of 
Babylon.f  He  called  together,  upon  the 
dedication  of   it,   the  princes,    the  great 


f  Grotius  is  of  opinion,  that  the  image,  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  set  up,  was  the  figure  of  his 
father  Nabopolassar,  whom  by  this  means  he  in- 
tended to  deify;  but  others  think  that  it  was  his 
own  statue,  which  he  erected  to  gain  the  adora- 
tions of  his  people  in  this  form.  We  cannot  how- 
ever, in  what  we  find  Nebuchadnezzar  saying  to 
Daniel's  friends,  perceive  that  he  any  where  up- 
braids them  with  contempt  offered  either  to  his 
person  or  his  statue,  but  only  that  they  would  not 
serve  his  gods,  nor  worship  the  image  which  he 
had  set  up,  Dan.  iii.  14.  and  therefore  others  have 
imagined,  that  this  was  neither  his  own  nor  his 
father's  statue,  but  that  of  Jupiter,  which  was 
afterwards  found  in  the  temple  of  Belus,  when 
Xerxes  plundered  it  of  its  immense  riches,  among 
which  were  several  images  of  massy  gold,  but  one 
more  especially  fifty  feet  high,  which  might  be  the 
same  that  Nebuchadnezzar  consecrated  in  the 
plains  of  Dura.  For,  though  that  is  said  to  have 
been  sixty  cubits,  i.  e.  ninety  feet  high,  yet  we  may 
suppose,  that  it  stood  upon  a  pedestal  of  fifty  feet 
high,  and  so  the  image,  and  the  pedestal  together, 
might  make  ninety,  otherwise  there  would  be  no 
proportion  between  its  height  and  its  breadth, 
according  to  the  description  we  have  of  it  in  Dau. 
iii.  1. — Prideaux's  Connection. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


483 


men  and  officers  out  ot  all  his  dominions ; 
making  proclamation,  that  immediately 
upon  hearing  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  they 
should  all  fall  down  to  worship  his  image;* 
and  that  whoever  refused  it,  should  be  cast 
into  the  fiery  furnace.f  Upon  the  sound- 
ing of  this  trumpet,  all  the  people  fell 
down  and  worshipped,  except  the  three 
friends  of  Daniel,  who,  refusing  to  do  it,  from 
a  reverence  to  the  laws  of  their  country, 
and  the  religion  of  the  true  God,  were 
informed  against,  and  cast  into  the  fire ; 
but  by  a  merciful  Providence,  and  beyond 
all  human  imagination,  their  lives  were 
preserved  as  if  the  flame  itself  had  been 
conscious  of  the  injustice  of  the  sentence, 
and  suspended  its  natural  effect  in  favour 
of  the  innocent;  for  they  were  not  so 
much  as  scorched  with  it. 


*  When  weconsider  the  strictness  observed,  even 
in  the  superstitious  worship  of  the  ancients,  and 
the  punishments  decreed  for  the  least  inattention 
to  it,  we  have  a  melancholy  retrospect  to  make 
upon  our  own  times,  where,  though  we  have  been  so 
highly  blessed  with  the  benefits  of  the  gospel,  we 
not  only  act  in  manifest  contradiction  to  its  tenets, 
but  presume  to  ridicule,  controvert,  and  despise 
them.  The  merits  of  a  suffering  Saviour  are 
treated  with  contempt,  and  his  very  existence  dis- 
puted by  some  members  of  his  church,  who  should 
be  the  first,  from  the  nature  of  their  office,  to 
adore  his  mission,  and  propagate  his  laws. 

f  This  kind  of  punishment  was  pretty  common 
in  these  parts  of  the  world,  so  that  some  will  have 
it,  that  Abraham,  before  he  departed  from  Chal- 
dea,  was  made  to  undergo  it,  but  escaped  by  a  mir- 
aculous preservation.  Of  this  furnace  in  particu- 
lar, it  is  related  that  the  king's  servants  having  re- 
ceived the  command  to  heat  it  seven  times  hotter, 
'ceased  not  to  make  the  oven  hot  with  rosin, 
pitch,  tow,  and  small  wood  ;  so  that  the  flame 
streamed  forth  above  the  furnace  forty  and  nine 
cubits;  and  passed  through,  and  burnt  the  Chalde- 
ans it  found  about  the  furnace.'  This  mode  of 
punishment  was  not  uncommon  in  the  East  so 
lately  as  the  seventeenth  century.  Chardin  in  his 
travels,  after  speaking  of  the  most  common  modes 
of  punishing  with  death,  says,  "  But  there  is  still  a 
particular  way  of  putting  to  death  such  as  have 
transgressed  in  civil  affairs,  either  by  causing  a 
dearth,  or  by  selling  above  the  tax  by  a  false 
weight,  or  who  have  committed  themselves  in  any 
other  manner.  The  cooks  are  put  upon  a  spit  and 
roasted  over  a  slow  fire,  (see  Jeremiah  xxix.  22.), 
bakers  are  thrown  into  a  hot  oven.  During  the 
dearth  in  1688,  I  saw  such  ovens  heated  on  the 
royal  square  in  Ispahan,  to  terrify  the  bakers,  and 
deter  them  from  deriving  advantage  from  the  gen- 
eral distress." 


This  extraordinary  interposition  of  di- 
vine providence  in  their  behalf,  enhanced 
them  greatly  in  the  esteem  of  the  king, 
who  afterwards  conferred  on  them  many 
signal  tokens  of  his  favour. 

Soon  after  this  amazing  event,  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  another  dream,  as  surpris- 
ing as  the  former;  the  substance  of  which, 
as  interpreted  by  Daniel,  was,  that  "  he 
should  be  driven  from  his  kingdom,  live 
seven  years  amongst  the  beasts  of  the  for- 
est, and  be  afterwards  restored  to  his  for- 
mer state  and  dignity." 

•  The  king  had  put  the  question  again  to 
the  Magi  upon  this  vision  also ;  but  Da- 
niel was  the  only  person  who  could  ex- 
pound it;  and  according  to  his  prediction, 
it  succeeded  in  the  event.  His  cessation 
from  war  (in  which  he  had  been  long  en- 
gaged) had  by  this  time  given  him  an  op- 
portunity of  finishing  his  stately  buildings 
at  Babylon  ;  and  from  the  roof  of  his  pa- 
lace ;J  taking  a  survey  of  these,  as  well 
as  other  monuments  of  his  greatness,  he 
became  so  intoxicated  with  pride  and  ar- 
rogance, that  God,  in  punishment  of  his 
haughty  mind,  deprived  him  of  his  senses, 
and,  for  exalting  himself  above  the  state 
of  men,  reduced  him  to  the  condition  of  a 
beast.§ 

J  If  Nebuchadnezzar  walked  in  some  apartment 
of  his  palace,  as  we  have  it  in  our  translation,  it 
is  not  easy  to  account  for  the  proud  and  rap- 
turous exclamation  which  suddenly  burst  from  his 
mouth — we  can  see  no  proper  excitement,  no 
adequate  cause  ;  but  if,  according  to  the  true  sense 
of  the  original,  we  suppose  him  walking  upon  the 
roof  of  his  palace,  which  proudly  rose  above  the 
surrounding  habitations,  and  surveying  the  vast 
extent,  the  magnificence,  and  the  splendour,  of 
that  great  city,  the  mistress  of  the  world — its  walls 
of  prodigious  height  and  thickness — its  hanging 
gardens,  reputed  one  of  the  most  astonishing 
efforts  of  art  and  power — its  glittering  palaces — 
the  Euphrates  rolling  his  majestic  flood  through 
the  middle  of  the  place,  shut  in  on  both  sides  by 
strong  bulwarks  and  doors  of  brass ;  it  was  quite 
natural  for  such  a  man  to  feel  elated  with  the 
sight,  and  indulge  his  pride  and  arrogance  in  the 
manner  described  by  the  prophet Paxton. 

§  Origen,  who  was  for  resolving  every  thing 
that  he  could  not  comprehend  in  scripture,  into 
allegory,  was  of  opinion,  that,  under  the  name  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  Daniel  intended  to  give  us  a  re- 
presentation of  the  fall  of  Lucifer;  but  the  ao 


484 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  Vfl 


For  seven  years  he  lived  abroad  in  the 
fields,  eating  grass  like  an  ox,  and  taking 
up  his  lodging  on  the  ground  in  the  open 
air.      But  at  the  expiration  of  this  time, 


count  of  the  punishment  which  befell  this  prince, 
is  so  often  inculcated  in  the  same  chapter  :  fore- 
told in  the  dream  explained  by  the  prophet ;  re- 
peated by  the  voice  from  heaven  ;  and  all  this 
published  in  a  solemn  declaration  by  the  king  him- 
self after  the  recovery  of  his  senses,  that  there  is 
no  manner  of  grounds  to  think  of  any  figure,  or 
allegory,  in  this  piece  of  history.  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's real  metamorphosis  into  an  ox,  both  as  to 
1 1  is  outward  and  inward  form,  is  a  notion  too  gross 
for  any  but  the  vulgar,  who  may  be  taken  perhaps 
with  such  fictions  of  the  poets  ;  and  what  we  have 
do  need  to  recur  to  (thereby  to  multiply  miracles 
to  no  purpose)  from  any  words  in  the  text,  which 
will  fairly  admit  of  another  interpretation.  The 
metempsychosis  of  an  ox's  soul  into  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's body,  thereby  to  communicate  the  same 
motions,  taste,  and  inclinations,  that  are  observable 
in  that  animal,  is  a  notion  unknown  to  all  anti- 
quity ;  for,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Pythago- 
ras, such  a  transmigration  was  never  made,  until 
the  body  was  actually  dead  ;  besides  the  manifest 
incongruity  of  supposing  two  souls,  a  rational  and 
a  brutal,  animating  the  same  prince,  or  the  prince's 
soul  departed  from  him,  and  become  the  substitute 
to  a  brute.  A  fascination,  both  in  the  eyes  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  subjects  and  in  his  own  fancy 
and  imagination,  which  might  make  them  both  be- 
lieve that  he  was  really  changed  into  an  ox,  and 
had  the  figure  of  one,  is  a  notion  every  whit  as 
liable  to  exception.  For,  besides  that  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive,  how  a  deception  of  this  kind  could 
abide  upon  a  whole  nation  for  the  space  of  seven 
years,  the  scripture  takes  notice  of  no  evil  spirit 
in  this  whole  transaction,  but  imputes  all  to  the 
sole  power  of  God,  who  can  humble  the  proud, 
and  chastise  the  wicked,  as  he  pleases.  The  most 
general,  therefore,  and  most  probable  opinion  is, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar,  by  the  judgment  of  God, 
was  punished  with  hypochondriacal  madness,  which 
so  disordered  his  imagination,  that  he  fancied  him- 
self transformed  into  a  beast,  and  was  prompted 
to  act  like  one.  There  is  a  distemper  (not  a  very 
common  one  indeed,  but  what  has  befallen  several) 
which  naturalists  and  physicians  call  lycanthropy, 
when,  by  the  power  of  a  depraved  imagination, 
and  a  distempered  brain,  a  man  really  thinks  that 
he  is  a  wolf,  an  ox,  a  dog,  or  the  like,  and  accord- 
ingly, in  nis  inclinations,  motions,  and  behaviour, 
cannot  forbear  imitating  the  particular  creature 
which  he  fancies  himself  to  be.  In  this  manner 
Nebuchadnezzar,  imagining  that  he  was  become 
an  ox,  walked  upon  all  four,  fed  upon  grass,  went 
naked,  lowed  with  his  voice,  and  butted  (as  he 
thought,)  with  his  horns  ;  and,  in  short,  did  all 
the  actions,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  that  a  real  ox  is 
known  to  do.  Hereupon  his  subjects,  perceiving 
this  change  in  him,  took  him,  and  bound  him,  (as 
madmen  are  wont  to  be  treated)  but,  at  last,  he 
escaping  out  of  their  hands,  fled  to  the  fields, 
where  he  herded  with  the  cattle,  exposed  to  the 
dew  of  heaven,  and  the  other  inclemencies  of  the 


when  he  became  sensible  of  God's  superior 
power  and  dominion,  his  senses  returned 
to  him  again.  His  kingdom  was  restored, 
and  he  re-instated  in  his  former  majesty ; 
whereupon  he  made  this  solemn  and 
grateful  acknowledgment :  "  And  now  I, 
Nebuchadnezzar  praise,  and  extol,  and 
honour  the  King  of  heaven,  all  whose 
works  are  truth,  and  his  ways  judgment, 
and  those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is  able 
to  abase,  when  he  pleases." 

This  king  appears,  from  a  review  of  his 
life,  to  have  been  an  active  prince,  and 
much  more  fortunate  than  any  of  his  an- 
cestors. He  died  in  the  three  and  fortieth 
year  of  his  age.  Berosus,  in  the  third 
book  of  his  Chaldean  History,  makes 
mention  of  it  in  these  words  : 

"  Nebuchodonosor  the  father  under- 
standing that  a  certain  great  officer  of  his, 
to  whom  he  had  committed  the  govern- 
ment of  Egypt,  Ccelo-syria,  and  Phoe- 
nicia, was  fallen  off  from  his  allegiance, 
and  not  being  in  a  condition  of  body  him- 
self to  bear  the  fatigues  of  the  war  in  his 
own  person,  he  sent  his  son  Nebuchod- 
onosor, with  part  of  his  army,  to  reduce 
him  to  his  obedience.  He  found  him 
out ;  fought  and  overcame  him,  and  so  re- 
duced the  revolted  provinces  to  their  duty. 
The  father  in  the  mean  time  was  taken 
away  by  a  sickness  at  Babylon,  in  the  one 
and  twentieth  year  of  his  reign.  The 
young  prince  was  no  sooner  informed  of 
the  death  of  his  father,  than  he  took  imme- 
diate care  for  the  settling  of  his  affairs  in 
Egypt,  and  the  rest  of  the  provinces ;  re- 


weather  ;  where  his  neglected  body  became  horrid 
and  dreadful  to  behold  ;  where  his  hair,  and  his 
nails,  in  process  of  time,  grew  in  the  hideous  man- 
ner that  the  prophet  had  described  them  ;  and 
where  his  heart,  that  is,  his  apprehension,  appe- 
tite, and  inclinations,  by  the  continuance  of  his 
distemper,  became  quite  brutal,  and  of  the  same 
cast  with  the  beasts  that  graze.  Schenkius  recon  $ 
a  remarkable  instance  of  this  disease  in  a  husband- 
man of  Padua,  who,  imagining  that  he  was  a  wolf, 
attacked,  and  even  killed  several  persons  in  the 
fields  ;  and  when  at  length  he  was  taken,  Ik-  per- 
severed in  declaring  himself  a  real  wolf,  and  that 
the  only  difference  consisted  in  the  inversion  of 
his  skin  and  hair. — Stackhouse. 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


485 


commending  to  some  particular  friends 
the  charge  of  conveying  his  prisoners, 
Jews,  Syrians,  Phoenicians,  and  Egypt- 
ians, to  Babylon,  with  the  army  and  bag- 
gage ;  whilst  he  himself,  with  a  small  reti- 
nue, took  his  way  thither  over  the  desert. 
The  government  was  reserved  for  him  in 
the  mean  while,  by  the  Chaldeans;  and 
by  the  great  men  among  them,  in  his 
absence,  secured  till  his  return  ;  so  that 
when  he  came  to  enter  upon  the  admin- 
istration, he  was  established  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  paternal  empire.  The 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  make  a  commo- 
dious distribution  of  his  captives  into 
colonies;  and  after  that,  to  adorn  and 
illustrate  the  temple  of  Belus,  and  other 
religious  places,  with  the  spoils  of  war. 
He  repaired  and  enlarged  the  ancient 
edifices  of  the  city,  and  raised  works  upon 
the  banks  of  the  river,  to  prevent  all  ap- 
proaches that  way.  He  erected  three 
walls  within  the  bounds  of  the  city,  and 
as  many  without,  all  brick  work;  and  when 
he  had  fortified  the  town  after  this  remark- 
able manner,  he  beautified  the  gates  with 
a  curious  frontispiece,  like  the  finishing 
of  the  temple  work ;  and  erected  another 
palace  contiguous  to  that  of  his  father, 
with  great  art  and  magnificence.  In  this 
building  there  were  vast  stones  supported 
upon  arches,  that  looked  like  mountains 
hanging  in  the  air ;  and  they  were  plant- 
ed on  the  top  with  several  sorts  of  trees, 
in  a  compliment  to  the  queen,  "  who,  be- 
ing a  Median,  had  a  passionate  desire  to 
see  some  artificial  resemblance  of  the 
gardens  and  rarities  of  her  own  country."* 


*  To  the  above  notice  of  Babylon,  extracted  from 
Berosus,  we  subjoin  some  additional  particulars 
descriptive  of  this  once  stupendous  and  wealthy 
place.  This  magnificent  city,  the  capital  or  be- 
ginning of  Nimrod's  kingdom,  stood  on  a  large 
plain,  in  a  deep  and  rich  soil,  of  a  quadrangular 
form,  and  divided  almost  into  two  equal  parts  by 
the  river  Euphrates,  The  walls  were  built  of 
brick,  cemented  with  bitumen,  with  which  the  soil 
seems  to  have  been  saturated ;  their  height  was 
fifty  cubits,  and  the  breadth  so  great,  that  chariots, 
drawn  by  four  horses,  might  pass  one  another  on 
the  top  of  them  without  danger.  These  prodi- 
gious walls  embraced  a  circuit  of  sixty  miles  ;  and 


Megasthem.s,  in  the  fourth  book  of  his 
History  of  India,  speaks  of  these  garden 
works,  and  sets  forth  this  king,  both  for 
his  enterprise,   and   his   performance,   to 


are  said  to  have  been  finished  in  one  year  by  the 
hands  of  two  hundred  thousand  workmen.  They 
were  strengthened  with  two  hundred  and  fifty 
towers,  ten  feet  higher  than  the  walls.  Twenty- 
five  gates  of  solid  brass  on  every  side  of  the  great 
square,  terminated  an  equal  number  of  streets, 
which  ran  in  straight  lines  from  one  side  of  the  city 
to  the  other  ;  so  that  the  whole  number  of  the 
streets  were  fifty,  each  fifteen  miles  long,  of  which 
twenty-five  went  one  way,  and  twenty-five  the 
other,  directly  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles. 
On  each  side  of  the  river  was  a  quay,  and  a  high 
wall  built  of  brick  and  bitumen,  of  the  same  thick- 
ness as  the  walls  that  went  round  the  city.  In 
these  walls,  over  against  every  street  that  led  to  the 
river,  were  gates  of  brass,  and  from  them  descents, 
by  steps  to  the  river,  for  the  conveniency  of  the 
inhabitants  who  were  obliged  to  pass  the  river  in 
boats  before  the  building  of  the  bridge.  These 
brazen  gates  were  always  open  in  the  day  time,  and 
shut  in  the  night. 

A  beautiful  and  magnificent  bridge  was  in  pro- 
cess of  time  constructed  across  the  river,  a  fur- 
long in  length  and  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  adorned 
at  each  end  with  a  splendid  palace.  But  the  most 
wonderful  effort  perhaps  of  imperial  wealth  and 
power,  was  the  lake  which  the  monarchs  of  Baby- 
lon caused  to  be  dug  near  Sippara,  to  the  west  of 
the  city,  to  secure  it  from  the  dreadful  effects  of 
the  periodical  inundations.  This  immense  artifi- 
cial bason  was  forty  miles  square,  one  hundred  and 
sixty  in  compass,  and  thirty-five  feet  deep,  accord- 
ing to  Herodotus,  and  seventy-five  according  to 
Megasthenes.  Into  this  lake  was  the  whole  river 
turned  by  a  canal  cut  from  the  west  side  of  it,  till 
they  had  finished  two  artificial  channels  at  a  very 
considerable  distance  above  the  town,  to  receive 
the  inundations  of  the  river,  occasioned  by  the  pe- 
riodical melting  of  the  snow  on  the  mountains  of 
Armenia,  which  turned  the  course  of  these  wa- 
ters into  the  Tigris,  before  they  reached  Ba- 
bylon. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  within  the  city, 
near  the  new  palace,  rose,  in  majestic  grandeur, 
the  celebrated  pensile  gardens,  terrace  above  ter- 
race, sustained  by  vast  arches  raised  upon  other 
arches,  till  they  equalled  in  height  the  walls  of  the 
city.  These  terraces  were  crowned  with  trees  of 
the  largest  size,  vigorously  flourishing  on  the  deep 
mould  with  which  the  arches  were  covered,  and 
beautified  with  every  plant  and  flower  that  was 
proper  for  a  garden  and  pleasure. 

Near  the  old  palace,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  stood  the  temple  of  Belus  ;  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  prodigious  tower  of  a  quadrangular 
form,  half  a  mile  in  circuit,  and  a  furlong  in 
height.  This  astonishing  structure  is  supposed  by 
many  writers  to  have  been  the  celebrated  tower  of 
Babel,  the  building  of  which  was  interrupted  by 
the  confusion  of  tongues.  The  riches  of  this  temple, 
in  statues,  tables,  censers,  cups,  and  other  sacred 
vessels,  all  of  massy  gold,  were  immense.     Among 


486 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


have  been  much  superior  to  Hercules 
himself,  having  subdued  the  greatest  part 
of  Libya,  and  likewise  Iberia.  Diocles 
makes  mention  of  this  king  in  the  second 


other  images,  was  one  of  forty  feet  high,  which 
weighed  a  thousand  Babylonish  talents.  Accord- 
ing to  the  calculation  of  Diodorus,  this  temple 
contained  six  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty 
Attic  talents  of  gold,  which  amounts  to  more  than 
twenty-one  millions  sterling. 

Such  was  ancient  Babylon,  over  the  splendour, 
and  magnificence,  and  extent  of  which,  the  heart 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  exulted,  while  he  looked  down 
upon  it  from  the  highest  turret  of  his  palace, 
and  his  lips  exclaimed,  '  Is  not  this  great  Ba- 
bylon which  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the 
kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the 
honour  of  my  majesty  ?'  Exactly  according  with 
the  truth  of  ancient  history,  are  the  accounts  which 
the  prophets  of  the  Lord  have  left  us  of  the  great- 
ness and  strength  of  that  haughty  mistress  of  the 
nations,  and  oppressor  of  the  whole  earth.  Isaiah 
pronounces  her  '  the  glory  of  kingdoms;  the  beau- 
ty of  the  Chaldees'  excellency  ;  the  golden  city  ; 
the  lady  of  kingdoms.'  Jeremiah  speaks  of  her 
'  broad  walls,'  and  her  '  brazen  gates  ;'  and  calls 
her,  by  a  most  significant  figure,  '  the  hammer  of 
the  whole  earth  ;'  and  a  '  destroying  mountain 
which  destroyed  all  the  earth  ;'  and  says  '  she  was 
abundant  in  treasures,  and  dwelling  on  many  wa- 
ters ;'  and  in  another  passage,  he  describes  her  as 
'  Jehovah's  battle-axe  and  weapons  of  war,  with 
which  he  brake  in  pieces  the  nations,  and  destroyed 
kingdoms.' 

This  great  and  powerful  city  was  so  strong,  both 
by  nature  and  art,  its  inhabitants  were  so  numer- 
ous and  warlike,  and  its  resources  so  many  and 
various,  that  it  was  considered  as  impregnable.  It 
seemed,  says  Orosius,  to  be  almost  equally  incre- 
dible, that  it  could  be  built  by  the  hands,  or  de- 
stroyed by  the  prowess  of  mortals.  The  Babyloni- 
ans themselves  were  of  the  same  opinion  ;  they 
boasted  that  Babylon  should  remain  the  mistress 
of  nations  till  the  end  of  all  things.  '  Thou 
saidst,  I  shall  be  a  lady  for  ever,  so  that  thou  didst 
not  lay  these  things  to  thy  heart,  neither  didst  re- 
member the  latter  end  of  it. — Thou  saidst  in  thine 
heart,  I  am,  and  none, else  beside  me  ;  I  shall  not 
sit  as  a  widow,  neither  shall  I  know  the  loss  of 
children.'  But  the  event  proved  that  the  pro- 
phets had  not  foretold  the  destruction  of  that 
splendid  and  powerful  city  in  vain.  The  dreadful 
calamities  which  Babylon  had  brought  upon  so 
many  cities  and  nations,  to  gratify  her  inordinate 
ambition,  burst  at  last  upon  her  own  head,  and  over- 
whelmed her  in  complete  and  irretrievable  ruin. 
The  fearful  threateningsof  the  prophet  were  liter- 
ally fulfilled  ;  '  Babylon,  the  glory  of  kingdoms, 
the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  excellency,  shall  be  as 
when  God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  :  it 
shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be  dwelt 
in  from  generation  to  generation  ;  neither  shall 
the  Arabian  pitch  his  tent,  there;  neither  shall  the 
shepherds  make  their  fold  there  :  but  wild  beasts 
of  the  desert  shall  lie  there  ;  and  their  houses  shall 
Lie  full  of  doleful  creatures;  and  owls  shall  dwell 


book  of  his  Persian  History;  and  Philo- 
stratus,  in  the  account  he  gives  of  the 
Phoenicians  and  the  Indians,  writes,  that 
this  prince,  in  the  days  of  Ithobal  king  of 


there,  and  satyrs  shall  dance  there;  and  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  islands  shall  cry  in  their  desolate 
houses,  and  dragons  in  their  pleasant  palaces  :  and 
her  time  is  near  to  come,  and  her  days  shall  not  be 
prolonged.'  The  Persians,  says  Strabo,  destroyed 
a  part  of  the  city ;  time,  and  the  carelessness  of 
the  Macedonians,  destroyed  another  part  ;  but  the 
principal  cause  of  its  decline  was,  the  building  of 
Seleucia,  about/nforty  miles  above  Babylon,  by  Se- 
leucus  Nicanor,  who  is  said  to  have  erected  this 
new  city  from  dislike  to  the  Babylonians,  and  to 
have  drawn  five  hundred  thousand  persons  from 
Babylon,  for  the  peopling  of  this  new  city. 

This  rival  seat  of  empire,  by  degrees  robbed 
Babylon  of  its  glory  and  greatness,  and  even  of  its 
very  name  ;  for  it  is  expressly  called  Babylon  in 
some  ancient  authors.  In  the  time  of  Curtius,  it 
had  declined  a  fourth  part  ;  it  was  reduced  to  de- 
solation in  the  days  of  Pliny  ;  and  when  Jerome 
flourished,  it  was  turned  into  a  park,  in  which  the 
kings  of  Persia  were  accustomed  to  take  the 
diversion  of  hunting. 

In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  ruins 
of  ancient  Babylon  were  visited  by  Rauwolf,  a 
German  physician,  who  gives  the  following  mourn- 
ful but  instructive  description  of  it.  By  a  small 
village  on  the  Euphrates,  called  Eulego,  or  Felu- 
go,  is  the  seat  of  the  old  Babylon,  a  day  and  a 
half's  journey  from  Bagdat.  The  lands  about  it 
are  so  dry  and  desolate,  that  one  may  justly  doubt 
the  fertility  of  it,  and  the  greatness  of  this  city,  if 
the  vast  ruins  still  to  be  seen  did  not  banish  all 
suspicion.  There  are  still  standing  some  arches  of 
a  bridge  over  the  river,  which  is  here  half  a  mile 
broad,  and  exceeding  deep  :  these  arches  are  built 
of  brick,  and  wonderfully  compacted.  A  quarter 
of  a  mile  beneath  the  village,  in  a  plain,  are  the 
fallen  ruins  of  a  castle,  and  beyond  that  the  ruins 
of  the  tower  of  Babel,  half  a  German  mile  in 
compass,  which  is  now  a  receptable  of  serpents 
and  venomous  creatures.  A  little  above  the  fall 
of  the  Tigris  into  the  Euphrates,  is  a  city  now 
called  Trax,  formerly  called  Apamea.  All  that 
travel  over  these  plains  will  find  vast  numbers  of 
the  ruins  of  very  ancient,  great,  and  lofty  buildings, 
arched  towers  and  other  similar  structures  of  won- 
derful architecture.  There  is  only  one  tower, 
which  is  called  Daniel's,  still  entire  and  inhabited, 
from  whence  may  be  seen  all  the  ruins  of  this  once 
vast  city  ;  which  sufficiently  demonstrate  the  truth 
of  what  ancient  writers  have  said  of  its  greatness, 
by  the  vastness  of  their  extent. — A  noble  Roman, 
Peter  Delle  Valle,  in  the  year  1616",  visited  what 
are  thought  to  be  the  ruins  of  ancient  Babylon. 
In  the  middle  of  a  vast  and  level  plain,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  league  from  the  Euphrates,  he  found 
a  heap  of  ruined  buildings,  like  a  huge  mountain, 
the  materials  of  which  are  so  confounded  together, 
that  he  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it.  Its  situa- 
tion and  form  correspond  with  that  pyramid  which 
Strabo  calls  the  tower  of  Belus,  and  is,  in  all  pro- 
bability, the  tower  of  Nimrod  in  Babylon,  or  Ba» 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Tyre,  maintained  a  siege  thirteen  year9 
against  that  town. 


487 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Nebuchadnezzar's  successor  releases  king  Jehoi- 
achin. — Babylon  is  besieged  by  Cyrus  and 
Darius. — Daniel  expounds  a  vision  to  king 
Belshazzar. —  Taking  of  Babylon. — Daniel 
obtains  the  favour  of  king  Darius. —  God 
works  many  deliverances  for  the  prophet,  and 
enables  him  to  perform  many  wonders. 


bel,  as  the  place  is  still  called.  No  marks  of  ruins 
appeared  without  that  huge  mass,  to  convince  him 
that  so  great  a  city  as  Babylon  had  ever  stood 
there ;  all  he  could  discover  within  fifty  or  sixty 
yards  of  it,  being  only  the  remains  here  and  there 
of  some  foundations  of  buildings  ;  and  the  coun- 
by  round  so  flat  and  level,  that  it  is  difficult  to  be- 
lieve it  should  be  chosen  for  the  situation  of  so 
great  and  noble  a  city  as  Babylon,  or  that  it  ever 
contained  any  remarkable  buildings.  Delia  Valle, 
however,  was  astonished  to  find  so  many  remains 
of  that  renowned  city,  after  the  lapse  of  four  thou- 
sand years  since  it  was  built,  and  that  Diodorus 
Siculus  tells  us  it  was  reduced  almost  to  nothing 
in  his  time.  Tavernier,  a  very  celebrated  travel- 
ler, discovered  at  the  parting  of  the  Tigris,  a  little 
way  from  Bagdat,  the  foundations  of  a  city  which 
seemed  to  be  a  large  league  in  compass.  Some  of 
the  walls  were  yet  standing,  upon  which  six  coach- 
es might  go  abreast ;  they  were  made  of  burnt 
brick,  ten  feet  square,  and  three  feet  thick.  The 
chronicles  of  the  country  say  they  are  the  remains 
of  ancient  Babylon;  but  Tavernier  imagined  they 
were  the  ruins  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  palace,  or  of 
the  tower  of  Babel.  He  adopts  the  opinion  of  the 
Arabs,  and  conceives  them  to  be  rather  the  remains 
of  some  tower  built  by  one  of  their  princes  for  a 
beacon  to  assemble  his  subjects  in  time  of  war  ; 
and  this  conjecture,  in  all  probability,  approaches 
nearest  to  the  truth. 

It  is  not  one  of  the  least  remarkable  circum- 
stances related  of  Babylon,  that  we  cannot  learn, 
cither  from  ancient  writers,  or  modern  travellers, 
where  this  renowned  city  stood,  only  in  general,  that 
it  was  situated  in  the  province  of  Chaldea,  upon 
the  Euphrates,  considerably  above  its  confluence 
with  the  Tigris.  Travellers  have  guessed,  from  the 
great  ruins  they  have  discovered  in  several  parts 
of  this  country,  that  in  this  or  that  place  Babylon 
once  stood  ;  but  when  we  come  to  examine  nicely 
the  places  they  mention,  we  only  learn  that  they 
were  certainly  in  the  wrong,  and  have  mistaken 
the  ruins  of  Seleucia,  or  some  other  great  town. 
Mr  Hanway  declares,  that  the  ruins  of  Babylon 
are  now  so  much  effaced,  that  hardly  any  vestiges 
of  them  remain  to  point  out  the  situation. 

By  these  accounts  we  see,  (to  use  the  words  of 
Newton,)  how  punctually  time  hath  fulfilled  the 
predictions  of  the  prophets  concerning  Babylon 
When  it  was  converted  into  a  chase  for  wild  beasts 
to  feed  and  breed  there,  then  were  exactly  accom- 
plished the  words  of  tlieprouhets,  that  'the  wild 


Evil-merodach,  who  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  Babylon  on  the  demise  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar his  father,  immediately  on 
his  accession  released  Jehoiachin,  honoured 
him  with  many  presents,  took  him  into 
his  confidence,  and  made  him  the  chief 
governor  of  his  palace.*  His  father  in- 
deed had  broken  his  faith  shamefully  with 


beasts  of  the  desert,  with  wild  beasts  of  the  islands, 
should  dwell  there,  and  cry  in  their  desolate 
houses.'  One  part  of  the  country  was  overflow- 
ed by  the  river's  having  been  turned  out  of  its 
course,  and  never  restored  again  to  its  former 
channel  and  thence  became  boggy  and  marshy,  so 
that  it  might  literally  be  said  to  be  'a  possession 
for  the  bittern,  and  pools  of  water.'  Another 
part  is  described  as  dry  and  naked,  and  barren  of 
every  thing,  so  that  thereby  was  also  fulfilled  ano- 
ther prophecy,  which  seemed,  in  some  measure,  to 
contradict  the  former.  '  Her  cities  are  a  desola- 
tion, a  dry  land,  and  a  wilderness,  a  land  wherein 
no  man  dwelleth,  neither  doth  any  son  of  man  pass 
thereby.'  The  place  thereabout  is  represented  as 
overrun  with  serpents,  scorpions,  and  all  sorts  of 
venomous  and  unclean  creatures  ;  so  that,  '  their 
houses  are  full  of  doleful  creatures,  and  dragons 
cry  in  their  pleasant  palaces ;  and  Babylon  is  be- 
come heaps,  a  dwelling-place  for  dragons,  an  as- 
tonishment and  an  hissing,  without  an  inhabitant.' 
For  all  these  reasons,  'neither  can  the  Arabian 
pitch  his  tent  there,  neither  can  the  shepherds 
make  their  folds  there.'  And  when  we  find  that 
modern  travellers  cannot  now  certainly  discover 
the  spot  of  ground  whereon  that  imperial  city  once 
was  situated,  we  may  very  properly  say,  How  is 
Babylon  become  a  desolation  among  the  nations  ? 
Every  purpose  of  the  Lord  hath  he  performed 
against  Babylon,  to  make  the  land  of  Babylon  a 
desolation  without  an  inhabitant;  and  the  expres- 
sion is  no  less  true  than  sublime,  that  '  the  Lord 
of  hosts  has  swept  it  with  the  besom  of  destruc- 
tion.'— Paxton. 

*  Jerome  tells  us,  from  an  ancient  tradition  of 
the  Jews,  that  Evil-me'rodach,  having  had  the 
government  of  the  Babylonish  empire  during  his 
father's  distraction,  administered  it  so  ill,  that,  as 
soon  as  the  old  king  recovered  from  his  malady, 
he  put  him  in  prison  for  it ;  and  that  the  place  of 
his  imprisonment  happening  to  be  the  same  where 
Jehoiachin  had  long  been  confined,  he  there  enter- 
ed into  a  particular  acquaintance  and  friendship 
with  him  ;  and  that  this  was  the  cause  of  the 
great  kindness  which  he  now  showed  him.  And 
since  the  old  historical  traditions  of  the  Jews  are 
often  quoted  in  the  New  Testament,  if  this  were 
such,  it  is  not  wholly  to  be  disregarded  ;  and  that 
especially  since  the  maladministrations  charged 
upon  Evil-merodach  after  his  father's  death,  give 
sufficient  reason  to  believe  that  he  could  not  go- 
vern without  them  before.  For  he  proved  a  very 
profligate  and  vicious  prince,  and  for  that  reason 
was  called  Evil-merodach,  that  is,  foolish  Mero- 
dach ;  his  proper  name  being  only  M^rodach.— 
Prideaux. 


488 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


this  prince,  in  making  him  a  prisoner  after 
he  had  so  frankly  delivered  up  himself, 
his  wife,  children,  and  all  his  relations, 
upon  honour  only,  for  the  saving  of  his 
country  from  utter  ruin. 

Evil-merodach  died  in  the  eighteenth 
month  of  his  reign.  His  brother-in-law 
Neriglissar  succeeded  him;  and  when  he 
had  reigned  four  years,  the  kingdom  fell 
by  succession  to  his  son  Laborosoarchod,* 
who  kept  it  only  nine  months  ;  and  after 
his  death,  it  devolved  on  Belshazzar,  f  the 
son  of  Evil-merodach,  by  the  Babylonians 
called  Naboandel. 


*  Laborosoarchod  was  in  every  tiling  the  re- 
verse of  his  father,  being  given  to  all  manner  of 
wickedness,  cruelty,  and  injustice  ;  to  which,  on 
his  advancement  to  the  throne,  he  let  himself 
loose  in  the  utmost  excess,  without  any  manner  of 
restraint,  as  if  the  re«al  office,  to  which  he  was 
now  advanced,  were  for  nothing  elso  but  to  give 
him  a  privilege  of  committing  without  control  all 
the  vile  and  flagitious  actions  that  he  pleased. 
Two  acts  of  his  tyrannical  violence  toward  two  of 
his  principal  nobility,  Gobrias  and  Gadates,  are 
particularly  mentioned.  The  only  son  of  the  for- 
mer he  slew  at  a  hunting  to  which  he  had  invited 
him,  for  no  other  reason  but  that  he  had  thrown 
his  dart  with  success  at  a  wild  beast  when  he  him- 
self had  missed  it ;  and  the  other  he  caused  to  be 
castrated,  only  because  one  of  his  concubines  had 
commended  him  for  a  handsome  man. — Prideaux. 

-f-  Great  is  the  difference  among  historians  and 
others  who  this  Belshazzar  (who  is  generally  be- 
lieved to  be  the  same  with  the  Nabonnedus  in 
Berosus,  and  the  Labynetus  in  Herodotus)  was. 
Some  will  have  him  to  be  of  the  royal  blood  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  others  imagine  that  he  was 
no  way  related  to  him.  Some  maintain  that  he 
was  a  Babylonian,  and  others  affirm  that  he  was  a 
Mede  ;  and  of  those  who  allow  him  to  be  of  the 
royal  family  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  some  will  have  it 
that  he  was  his  son,  and  others  that  he  was  his 
grandson  ;  and  therefore,  to  clear  this  matter,  we 
must  observe,  1st,  that  Belshazzar,  be  he  who  he 
will,  was  certainly  of  the  seed  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
because  he  is  expressly  called  his  son  in  several 
places  of  the  5th  chapter  of  Daniel,  and  in  2 
Chron.  xxxvi.  20.  it  is  said,  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
and  his  children,  or  offspring,  reigned  in  Babylon 
until  the  kingdom  of  Persia  commenced.  2dly, 
That  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  (chap. 
Sxvii,  7.)  the  nations  of  the  East  were  to  serve 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  his  son,  and  his  son's  son, 
and  therefore  he  must  have  had  a  son,  and  a  son's 
son,  successors  to  him  in  the  throne  of  Babylon. 
3dly,  That  as  Evil-merodach  was  Nebuchadnezzar's 
son,  of  all  the  kings  that  reigned  after  him  at 
Babylon,  none  but  Belshazzar  could  he  his  son's 
son  ;  for  Neriglissar  was  only  his  daughter's  hus- 
band, and  Laborosoarchod  was  Neriglissar's  son ; 
go  that  neither  of  them  was  either  son  or  grandson 
to   Nebuchadnezzar.     4thly,   That,  according  to 


Cyrus  the  king  of  the  Persians,  and 
Darius  the  king  of  the  Medes,  made  war 
upon  this  prince;  and  while  they  lay  be- 
fore Babylon,  there  appeared  to  Bel- 
shazzar an  extraordinary  vision.  As  he 
was  at  supper,  with  his  courtiers  and  con- 
cubines about  him,  together  with  all  the 
splendid  apparatus  of  a  princely  table,  he 
called,  in  a  frolic,  for  the  sacred  vessels 
out  of  his  own  temple,  which  Nebuchad- 
nezzar deposited  there,  upon  rifling  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  though  he  never  had 
put  them  to  any  profane  or  private  use.:]: 

Belshazzar  was  now  warm  in  his  cups, 
and  entertaining  himself  and  his  company 
with  profane  speeches  against  the  majesty 
of  the  true  God;  when  in  the  height  of 
his  jollity  there  appeared  a  hand,  writing 
certain  syllables  upon  the  wall;  which  put 
the  king  into  such  a  terror,  that  he  imme- 
diately called  a  council  of  cunning  men 
and  Chaldeans,  and  all  sorts  of  diviners, 
(who  among  those  barbarians  value  them- 
selves upon  a  faculty  of  disclosing  the 
meaning  of  prodigies,  and  the  interpreta- 
tion of  dreams,)  to  find  out  the  purport  of 
the  words  that  were  there  written  upon  the 


Herodotus,  the  last  king  of  Babylon  (who  without 
doubt  was  Belshazzar,  because,  immediately  after 
his  death,  the  kingdom  was  given  to  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  Dan.  v.  28,  30,  31.)  was  son  to  the 
great  queen  Nitocris;  but  now  Nitocris,  to  have  a 
child  that  was  grandson  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  could 
be  wife  to  no  other  than  Evil-merodach  ;  and 
therefore,  putting  all  this  together,  it  appears 
that  Belshazzar,  the  last  king  of  Babylon,  was  the 
son  of  Evil-merodach,  by  Nitocris  his  queen,  and 
consequently,  son's  son  to  Nebuchadnezzar :  nor 
must  it  seem  strange  that  we  find  him,  in  Dan.  v. 
called  Nebuchadnezzar's  son,  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
his  father,  because  it  is  the  usual  style  of  scripture 
to  call  any  ancestor  upward,  father,  and  any 
descendant  downward,  son. — Prideaux's  Connec- 
tion. 

%  Next  to  murder,  no  sin  is  so  remarkably 
punished  in  this  world  as  that  of  sacrilege.  This 
appears  from  innumerable  instances  taken  from 
all  histories,  both  sacred  and  profane.  But  in  the 
heathen  story,  remarkable  examples  of  this  kind 
are,  the  miserable  end  of  the  Phoceans,  who 
robbed  the  temple  of  Delphos,  and  were  the 
occasion  of  that  war  which  was  called  from  thence 
the  holy  war :  the  destruction  of  the  Gauls  in 
their  attempt  upon  the  same  temple,  and  of 
Crassus,  who  plundered  the  temple  of  Jerusalem, 
and  that  of  the  Syrian  goddess  ;  as  these  two  last 
stories  are  related  by  Prideaux. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


489 


plaster.  They  laid  their  heads  together, 
and  after  a  long  consultation,  frankly  de- 
clared they  knew  nothing  of  the  matter. 

Upon  this  the  king,  from  his  anxiety, 
caused  a  proclamation  to  be  published  all 
over  his  dominions,  with  promise  of  a 
golden  chain,  the  privilege  of  a  royal 
purple  robe,  and  the  third  place  of  rule  in 
his  kingdom,  to  any  man  that  should  give 
him  the  interpretation  of  that  writing.* 
In  consequence  of  this  proclamation,  the 
wise  men  assembled,  and  exerted  their 
utmost  efforts  to  obtain  the  proffered  re- 
ward, without  the  least  degree  of  success. 

While  the  king  was  under  the  greatest 
anxiety  concerning  this  perplexing  cir- 
cumstance, the  queenf  informed  him  for 


*  It  appears,  that  the  kings  of  Babylon  wore 
the  same  ornaments,  and,  in  rewarding  their  fa- 
vourites, gave  the  same  marks  of  honour,  that  the 
kings  of  Persia  and  their  successors  did.  For 
purple,  we  find,  in  several  Greek  authors,  was  the 
ordinary  habit  of  the  kings  of  Persia,  and  of  the 
princes  of  their  court,  that  were  in  the  highest 
posts  of  honour.  The  chain,  or  collar  of  gold,  was 
one  of  the  greatest  marks  of  distinction  that  the 
Persian  kings  could  bestow  upon  their  subjects  ; 
and  '  to  be  the  third  ruler  of  the  kingdom'  was 
the  same  sublime  office  that  Darius  the  Mede  put 
Daniel  in,  when  he  constituted  him  one  of  the 
presidents  over  the  hundred  and  twenty  princes, 
that  he  had  made  governors  over  provinces. 

f  In  the  sacred  history,  we  are  informed  that 
the  king,  his  princes,  his  wives,  and  his  concubines 
were  all  at  the  feast  which  he  made  for  them  ; 
and  yet  it  appears  that  the  queen,  upon  hearing 
the  news  of  the  hand-writing,  '  came  into  the  ban- 
quet-house.' To  elucidate  this  point  it  must  be 
observed  that  this  queen  was  not  one  of  Belshaz- 
zar's  wives,  but  Nitocris  his  mother,  and  she  is 
called  queen,  or  Iteghe,  by  way  of  eminence,  be- 
cause she  had  the  regency  of  the  kingdom  under 
her  son,  for  which  her  superior  understanding 
duly  qualified  her.  For  this  reason  Herodotus 
speaks  of  her  as  if  she  had  been  sovereign  of  the 
kingdom,  (in  the  same  manner  as  Semiramis  is 
said  to  have  been,)  and  attributes  to  her  all  those 
works  about  Babylon,  which  other  authors  ascribe 
to  her  son.  One  instance  of  her  ingenuity,  for 
which  she  is  celebrated,  may  be  here  noticed. 
She  caused  her  tomb  to  be  erected  over  one  of 
the  principal  gates  of  the  city,  and  so  situated  as 
to  be  obvious  to  universal  inspection  ;  it  was  thus 
inscribed  ; — "  If  any  of  the  sovereigns,  my  suc- 
cessors, shall  be  in  extreme  want  of  money,  let 
him  open  my  tomb,  and  take  what  money  he  may 
think  proper  ;  if  his  necessity  be  not  great,  let 
him  forbear,  the  experiment  will  perhaps  be  dan- 
gerous." The  tomb  remained  without  injury  till 
the  time  and  reign  of  Darius.     He  was  equally 


his  comfort,  that  there  was  a  certain  Jew 
among  the  prisoners  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
had  brought  away  with  him  upon  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  who  was  deemed  a 
man  of  great  wisdom,  and  so  wonderfully 
skilled  in  solving  of  difficulties  and  intri- 
cate questions,  that  he  appeared  to  be  un- 
der the  direction  of  a  divine  spirit. 

She  also  told  him  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
made  use  of  him  for  his  interpreter  in  the 
like  cases,  when  no  one  else  was  able  to 
resolve  him;  wherefore  she  desired  the 
king  by  all  means  to  send  for  Daniel,J 
inquire  of  him  about  that  writing,  and 
give  him  encouragement  to  speak  the 
truth,  though  it  should  portend  something 
dreadful  to  himself. 

Upon  this  advice  Belshazzar  caused 
Daniel  to  be  sent  for ;  professing  indeed, 
that  he  had  heard  of  the  penetration  and 


offended  at  the  gate  being  rendered  useless,  and 
that  the  invitation  held  out  to  become  affluent 
should  have  been  so  long  neglected.  The  gate,  it 
is  to  be  observed,  was  of  no  use,  from  the  general 
aversion  to  pass  through  a  place  over  which  a  dead 
body  was  laid.  Darius  opened  the  tomb  :  but, 
instead  of  finding  riches,  he  saw  only  the  dead 
body,  with  a  label  of  this  import :  "  If  your  avarice 
had  not  been  equally  base  and  insatiable,  yon 
would  not  have  intruded  on  the  repose  of  the 
dead."  Such,  observes  the  historian,  is  the  tradi- 
tion concerning  this  queen. — See  Herodotus. 

J  Chardin  informs  us  that  when  the  king  of 
Persia  dies,  his  physicians  and  astrologers  lose 
their  places  and  are  excluded  from  the  court ;  the 
first,  because  they  could  not  cure  their  sovereign, 
and  the  last,  because  they  did  not  give  previous 
notice  of  his  death.  This  whimsical  custom  he 
supposes  has  descended  to  modern  times  from  a 
very  remote  antiquity ;  and  to  have  been  the  true 
reason  that  Daniel  was  absent  when  Belshazzar 
saw  the  hand  writing  his  doom  on  the  wall.  If 
the  conjecture  of  that  intelligent  traveller  be  well 
founded,  the  venerable  prophet  had  been  forced 
by  the  established  etiquette  of  the  court  to  retire 
from  the  management  of  public  affairs  at  the  death 
of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  had  remained  in  a  pri- 
vate station  during  the  interval,  neglected  or  for- 
gotten, till  the  awful  occurrence  of  that  memor- 
able night  rendered  his  assistance  necessary,  and 
brought  him  again  into  public  notice.  This  ac- 
counts in  a  very  satisfactory  manner,  as  well  for 
the  ignorance  of  that  dissolute  and  thoughtless 
monarch,  as  for  the  recollection  of  Nitocris  the 
queen-mother,  who  had  long  known  his  character 
and  abilities  during  the  reign  of  her  husband. 
The  thought  is  at  least  ingenious,  and  furnishes 
the  best  solution  of  a  difficulty  w.iich  otherwise 
is  not  easy  to  remove. — Paxton,  Script.  Hlvst, 
3q 


490 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


understanding  of  that  man,  and  of  the 
spirit  of  divination  with  which  he  was 
possessed ;  and  that  he  took  him  to  be  the 
most  likely  person  in  the  world  to  divine 
the  truth  of  a  matter  which  nobody  else 
could  interpret. 

Upon  Daniel's  being  brought,  the  king 
put  him  the  question,  with  an  assurance 
that  all  the  promises  in  his  proclamation 
should  be  made  good  to  him,  upon  his 
solution  of  it;  which  would  make  him 
famous  all  over  the  world,  wherever  it 
should  be  known  that  he  had  these  hon- 
ours done  him  for  his  wisdom. 

Daniel  excused  himself  from  the  re- 
ceiving any  gifts  or  honours.*  "For  wis- 
dom," says  he,  "is  a  divine  faculty,  and 
not  to  be  corrupted  or  profaned  with 
bribes,  but  be  ever  ready  to  serve  those 
that  stand  in  need  of  it.  This  writing 
foretells  that  your  death  is  at  hand;  for 
you  should  have  taken  warning  by  the 
judgments  that  befell  your  great  ancestor, 
for  his  contempt  of  God,  and  have  applied 
yourself  to  a  religious 'course  of  life.  You 
knew  well,"  continued  he,  "  that  Nebuch- 
adnezzar was  banished  the  society  of  man- 
kind, and  condemned  to  the  condition  of  a 
beast;  but  that  afterwards  it  pleased  God, 
upon  his  earnest  prayers  and  repentance, 
to  restore  him  to  the  conversation  of  men, 
and  to  the  exercise  of  his  former  govern- 
ment, which  through  the  infinite  mercy 
and  providence  of  God  he  adored  and 
celebrated  afterward  all  the  days  of  his 
life.  But  for  your  part,  you  are  so  far 
from  being  wrought  upon  by  this  example 
in  your  family,  that  you  blaspheme  God 
to  his  face,  and  take  a  pride  in  profaning 
the  vessels  of  his  holy  altar,  in  your  de- 


*  Here  is  a  scripture  and  glorious  instance  of 
a  spirit  above  bribery  and  corruption.  Here 
was  none  of  Baalam's  spirit;  in  going  to  court 
and  humouring  and  gratifying  a  prince's  passion, 
or  entering  into  his  wicked  counsels  for  gifts  and 
promotion.  Daniel  served  him  disinterestedly, 
and  in  the  course  of  his  service,  his  eyes  not  being 
blinded  with  gifts,  he  faithfully,  courageously,  and 
honestly  pointed  out  to  him  the  faults  he  saw 
in  his  conduct,  and  what  were  the  occasion  of  his 
approaching,  as  of  his  predecessor's  misfortunes. 


bauches  with  your  harlots.  By  this  lewd 
course  of  impiety,  you  have  drawn  the 
wrath  of  God  upon  your  head  ;  and  the 
intent  of  this  writing  is  only  to  show  what 
you  are  to  come  to.  Mene,  which  is  as 
much  as  number,  signifies,  that  the  days 
both  of  your  life  and  of  your  reign  are 
numbered;  and  that  you  have  but  a  short 
time  to  live.  Tekel,  or  weight,  gives  you 
to  understand,  that  vour  reiirn  is  weighed 
in  the  balance,  and  drawing  to  a  conclu- 
sion. Peres,  or  a  division,  portends,  that 
your  kingdom  shall  be  divided,  and  given 
to  the  Medes  and  Persians." 

The  king  was  most  terribly  mortified 
with  this  interpretation;  yet  notwithstand- 
ing he  was  so  just  and  generous,  as  to 
make  good  to  Daniel  all  that  he  had  pro- 
mised him,f  though  the  foreteller  of  his 


•f-  The  text  informs  us,  that  •  They  clothed  him 
with  scarlet,  and  put  a  chain  of  gold  about  his 
neck,  and  made  proclamation  concerning  him,  that 
he  should  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom.' 
This  custom  of  changing  the  dress  of  a  person,  as 
a  mark  of  honour,  is  still  common  in  the  last. 
The  words  of  the  record,  although  not  quite  deci- 
sive, seem  to  favour  the  idea  that  the  change  of 
dress  was  a  part  of  the  ceremony  by  which  Daniel 
was  invested  with  official  authority,  and  not  a  dis- 
tinct honour.  In  Hindostan,  no  governor  or  other 
officer,  can  enter  upon  his  office,  without  receiving 
a  dress  of  honour  from  his  sovereign.  These 
dresses  are  conferred  by  a  superior  on  a  person  of 
humbler  condition,  when  he  is  raised  to  a  place  of 
power  and  trust,  or  as  a  mark  of  esteem  and 
approbation.  This  custom,  the  Hindoos  probably 
borrowed  from  the  Persians  ;  and.  if  so,  Daniel's 
change  of  dress  was  an  established  sign  of  his  ac- 
cession to  the  high  dignity  which  lie  so  well  de- 
served. In  ages  long  anterior  to  the  reign  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  Joseph  was  invested  with  the 
office  of  ruler  over  all  the  land  of»  Egypt  by  a 
similar  ceremony:  'Pharaoh  took  oft'  his  ring 
from  his  hand,  and  put  it  upon  Joseph's  hand,  and 
arrayed  him  in  vestures  of  tine  linen,  and  put  a 
gold  chain  about  his  neck.'  The  robes  of  office, 
with  which  Mordecai  the  Jew  was  arrayed  ><i 
the  court  of  Ahasuerus,  were  still  more  gorgeous, 
for  he  'went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  king  in 
royal  apparel  of  blue  and  white,  and  with  a  great 
crown  of  gold,  and  with  a  garment  of  Hue  linen 
and  purple.'  From  these  quotations  it  appears, 
that  the  jnvestiture  consisted  of  various  ceremonies; 
the  appointment  was  no  sooner  announced  than 
the  monarch  took  the  ring  from  his. hand,  and  put 
it  on  the  linger  of  the  minister,  then  he  changed 
his  dress,  then  put  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck, 
and  last  of  all  presented  him  with  an  equipage 
corresponding  with  his  dignity,  winch  completed 


Chap.  IV.]  THE  BIBLE. 

ruin;  considering  with  himself,  that  it  was 
not  the  prophet's  fault,  but  his  own  un- 
happy lot,  that  he  could  tell  him  no  better 
tidings;   neither  could  he  deny  but  that 


491 


the  investiture The  caffetan,  or  robe  of  honour, 

is  often  bestowed  as  a  mark  of  distinction,  without 
any  reference  to  office.  La  Roque,  and  three 
other  attendants  on  the  French  consul  at  Sidon, 
received  each  a  robe  of  honour  at  a  public  audi- 
ence, from  Ismael,  the  Turkish  basha.  In  China 
the  agents  of  foreign  powers  are  sometimes  invest- 
ed, by  order  of  the  emperor,  with  dresses  of 
honour.  Mr  Bruce  also  was  favoured  with  this 
mark  of  distinction  by  Osman,  one  of  the  beys  of 
Egypt,  on  his  return  from  Abyssinia  ;  which 
operated  an  immediate  and  important  change  to 
the  better  in  the  sentiments  and  conduct  of  the 
persons  to  whose  care  he  was  committed ;  the 
haughty  Mussulmans  no  sooner  beheld  him  retire 
from  the  presence  chamber  with  this  mark  of  their 
master's  regard,  than,  laying  aside  the  brutality  in 
which  they  indulged  before,  they  became  civil, 
attentive,  and  even  obsequious,  to  the  stranger, 
whom  they  still  secretly  hated  or  despised.  The 
kings  of  Persia  bestow  a  dress  of  honour  upon 
their  favourites,  particularly  on  occasion  of  their 
great  festivals.  Mr  Lowth  supposes,  in  his  com- 
mentary on  Daniel,  that  although  the  king  thought 
himself  bound  to  perform  his  promise  to  clothe  the 
venerable  seer  with  scarlet,  and  put  a  chain  of  gold 
about  his  neck,  and  make  him  third  ruler  in  the 
kingdom,  yet  it  was  likely  it  could  not  take  effect  at 
that  unseasonable  time  of  the  night :  and,  therefore, 
the  words  might  have  been  better  translated  :  '  Then 
commanded  Belshazzar  that  they  should  clothe 
Daniel  with  scarlet.'  But  this  is  an  unnecessary 
refinement ;  for  these  caffetans  are  always  in  readi- 
ness, and  are  commonly  put  on  as  soon  as  the 
command  is  given.  Mr  Bruce  received  the  caffe- 
tan in  the  middle  of  the  night :  and  the  following 
passage  from  Chardin  will  show  how  easy  it  is  for 
an  oriental  prince  to  put  a  garment  on  the  person 
he  intends  to  honour.  Having  observed,  that  in 
Persia  and  the  Indies,  they  not  only  give  a  vest- 
ment, but  even  a  complete  suit  of  clothes,  when 
they  would  distinguish  a  person  with  more  than 
ordinary  honour,  he  proceeds:  "  These  presents  of 
vestments  are  only  from  superiors  to  inferiors;  not 
from  equals  to  equals,  nor  from  the  mean  to  die 
great.  Kings  constantly  give  them  to  ambassadors, 
residents,  and  envoys  ;  and  send  them  to  princes 
who  are  their  tributaries,  and  do  them  homage. 
They  pay  great  attention  to  the  quality,  or  merit 
of  those  to  whom  these  vestments,  or  habits,  are 
given;  they  are  always  answerable  to  their  rank. 
Those  that  are  given  to  their  great  men  have,  rh 
like  manner,  as  much  difference  as  there  is  between 
the  degrees  of  honour  they  possess  in  the  state. 
The  kings  of  Persia  have  great  wardrobes,  where 
there  are  always  many  hundreds  of  habits  ready, 
designed  for  presents,  and  sorted.  The  intendant 
of  the  wardrobe  sends  one  of  them  to  the  person, 
as  the  great  master  orders,  and  of  that  kind  the 
order  directs.  In  Turkey,  they  pay  little  attention 
to  the  difference  of  the  cloth  of  which  the  vest- 
ments are  made ;  they  make  them  nearly  of  the 


Daniel  had  acted  the  part  of  a  just  and  a 
good  man,  in  letting  him  know  the  truth 
of  things,  though  deplorable  in  the  event. 
Soon  after  the  prophet's  interpretation, 
both  himself  and  the  city  fell  into  the 
power  of  Cyrus;*  for  Babylon  was  taken 


same  value,  but  they  give  more  or  fewer,  according 
to  the  dignity  of  the  person  to  whom  they  are 
presented,  or  the  degree  in  which  they  wish  to 
honour  him.  Some  ambassadors  have  received 
twenty-five  or  thirty  of  them,  for  themselves  and 
their  attendants  ;  and  one  person  sometimes  re- 
ceives a  number  for  himself,  according  to  his  rank." 
But  besides  the  caffetan,  an  Eastern  prince  some- 
times gives  his  own  garment  as  the  highest  token 
of  respect;  thus  Selim  gave  his  robe  to  the  iman 
of  the  mosque  at  Aleppo,  who  happened  to  please 
him  greatly ;  but  the  custom  existed  in  those 
countries  long  before  his  time,  for  Jonathan,  as  a 
proof  of  his  tender  affection,  and  the  strongest 
confirmation  of  his  unalterable  friendship,  'strip- 
ped himself  of  the  robe  that  was  upon  him,  and 
gave  it  to  David,  and  his  garments,  even  to  his 
sword,  and  to  his  bow  and  to  his  girdle.' — Paxton. 
*  The  siege  of  this  important  place  was  no  easy 
enterprise.  The  walls  of  it  were  of  a  prodigious 
height,  and  appeared  to  be  inaccessible,  without 
mentioning  the  immense  number  of  people  within 
them  for  their  defence.  Besides,  the  city  was 
stored  with  all  sorts  of  provisions  for  twenty  years. 
However,  these  difficulties  did  not  discourage 
Cyrus  from  pursuing  his  design:  but,  despairing  to 
take  the  place  by  storm  or  assault,  he  made  them 
believe  his  design  was  to  reduce  it  by  famine.  To 
which  end  he  caused  a  line  of  circumvallation  to 
be  drawn  quite  round  the  city,  with  a  large  and 
deep  ditch ;  and  that  his  troops  might  not  be  over- 
fatigued,  he  divided  his  army  into  twelve  bodies, 
and  assigned  each  of  them  its  month  for  guarding 
the  trenches.  The  besieged,  thinking  themselves 
out  of  all  danger,  by  reason  of  their  ramparts  and 
magazines,  insulted  Cyrus  from  the  top  of  their 
walls,  and  laughed  at  all  his  attempts,  and  all  the 
trouble  he  gave  himself,  as  so  much  unpro- 
fitable labour.  As  soon  as  Cyrus  saw  that  the 
ditch  was  finished,  he  began  to  think  seriously 
upon  the  execution  of  his  vast  design,  which  as 
yet  he  had  communicated  to  none.  He  had  in- 
vested the  town  to  little  purpose  for  the  space  of 
two  years,  when,  understanding  that  the  great 
annual  festival  was  approaching,  wherein  the 
Babylonians,  in  honour  of  their  idol  Shishak, 
were  accustomed  to  spend  the  whole  night  in 
revelling  and  debauchery,  he  thought  this  no 
improper  time  to  attempt  to  surprise  them.  For 
this  purpose  he  had  posted  one  part  of  his  men  at 
the  place  where  the  river  entered  into  the  city, 
and  another  where  it  came  out ;  and  had  com- 
manded them  to  enter  the  city  that  very  night, 
by  marching  along  the  channel  of  the  river  as 
soon  as  they  found  it  fordable.  Having  given  all 
necessary  orders,  and  exhorted  his  officers  to  follow 
him,  by  representing  to  them  that  he  marched  un- 
der the  guidance  of  the  gods,  towards  the  evening 
he  caused  the  sluices  or  dams  of  the  river  above 


492 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


in  the  seventeenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Belshazzar,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the 
last  king  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  family. 

Darius  was  sixty-two  years  of  age, 
when,  with  the  assistance  of  Cyrus,  his 
kinsman,  he  effected  the  subversion  of  the 
Babylonian  empire. 

This  Cyrus,  who  was  grandson  of  Asty- 
ages,  took  the  prophet  Daniel  with  him 


the  city  to  be  opened.  By  this  means  the  Eu- 
phrates was  quickly  emptied,  and  the  channel  left 
almost  dry.  Then  the  two  parties,  according  to 
their  orders,  entered  the  channel,  the  one  com- 
manded bv  Gobryas,  and  the  other  by  Gadates,  and 
advanced  without  meeting  any  obstacle.  Finding, 
through  the  negligence  and  disorder  of  that  riotous 
night,  that  the  brazen  gates  which  led  down  to  the 
river,  and  which  on  all  other  nights  were  shut, 
were  then  left  open,  they  ascended  through  them 
into  the  city;  and  both  parties  being  met  at  the 
palace,  according  to  their  agreement,  they  surpris- 
ed the  guards  and  cut  them  to  pieces.  Some  of 
the  company  in  the  palace  hearing  a  noise,  opened 
the  gates  to  know  what  occasioned  it,  when  the 
Boldiers  rushed  in,  and  quickly  made  themselves 
masters  of  it ;  where,  finding  the  king,  with  his 
sword  drawn,  at  the  head  of  those  who  were  at 
hand  to  assist  him,  they  slew  him,  and  put  all 
those  who  attended  him  to  the  sword.  Having 
entered  the  city  in  this  manner,  Cyrus  commanded 
the  citizens  to  bring  him  all  their  arms,  and  after- 
wards to  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses. 
The  next  morning,  by  break  of  day,  the  garrison 
which  kept  the  citadel  being  apprized  that  the 
city  was  taken,  and  their  king  killed,  immediately 
surrendered  themselves.  The  suddenness  of  the 
assault  and  capture  of  the  city  were  so  unexpected 
that  no  advantage  was  taken  of  the  means  of 
escape.  One  instance  may  be  recorded.  Nitocris 
had  caused  a  large  vault  or  gallery  to  be  construct- 
ed under  the  river,  leading  across  it  from  the  old 
palace  to  the  new,  twelve  feet  high  and  fifteen 
wide  ;  and  having  covered  it  over  with  a  strong 
arch,  and  over  that  with  a  layer  of  bitumen  six 
feet  thick,  she  turned  the  river  again  over  it; — for 
it  is  the  nature  of  that  bitumen  to  petrify  when 
water  comes  over  it,  and  grow  as  hard  as  stone, 
and  thereby  the  water  was  prevented  from  pene- 
trating into  the  gallery.  The  use  intended  by  this 
vault  was  to  preserve  a  communication  between 
the  two  palaces,  whereof  the  one  stood  on  one 
side  of  the  river,  and  the  other  on  the  opposite 
side,  that  in  case  one  of  them  were  distressed,  (for 
they  were  both  fortresses  strongly  fortified,)  it 
might  be  relieved  from  the  other;  or  in  case  either 
Were  taken,  there  might  be  a  way  to  retreat  from 
it  to  the  other.  But  all  these  precautions  were 
unavailing  when  the  city  was  taken  ;  for  in  the 
alarm  and  confusion  of  that  eventful  night  no  use 
could  be  made  of  it.  Babylon  never  recovered  its 
ancient  splendour  after  it  was  taken  by  Cyrus, 
but,  upon  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  empire  from 
thence  by  the  Persians,  by  degrees  decayed  till  it 
ras  at  last  reduced  to  an  utter  solitude. 


into  Media,  and  held  him  in  great  estima- 
tion; for  he  made  him  one  of  the  three 
chief  governors,  that  had  one  hundred  and 
twenty  more  under  them,  according  to  the 
original  constitution  of  Darius. 

Darius  had  so  great  a  reverence  for 
Daniel  that  he  consulted  him  upon  all 
occasions  as  an  oracle,  and  would  hardly 
resolve  upon  any  matter  of  moment  with- 
out his  advice.  But  it  fell  out  with 
Daniel  as  we  find  it  in  the  case  of  other 
princes'  favourites;  the  confidant  that  is 
most  in  credit  never  fails  of  drawing  upon 
himself  the  envy  of  all  the  rest. 

Daniel  was  so  well  aware  of  these  court 
stratagems,  and  kept  so  strict  a  guard  upon 
himself,  that  there  was  no  laying  hold  of 
any  opportunity  against  him. 

As  to  bribes,  he  had  a  soul  so  much 
above  any  temptation  of  that  kind,  that  he 
made  conscience  of  receiving  even  a  law- 
ful acknowledgment  for  a  good  office. 
But  this  did  not  hinder  his  enemies  from 
plotting  his  destruction,  which  they  en- 
deavoured to  effect  in  the  following  man- 
ner. 

Having  observed  that  Daniel  prayed  to 
God  constantly  thrice  a  day,  his  adversa- 
ries studied  how  they  should  avail  them- 
selves of  this  pious  practice  to  his  ruin. 
They  applied  themselves  to  Darius,  in  the 
name  of  his  council  and  state  officers ;  and 
requested  that  he  would  be  pleased  so  far 
to  indulge  his  people  as  to  pass  an  edict 
only  for  thirty  days,  that  whosoever  should 
presume  to  ask  any  thing  of  God  or  man, 
within  that  compass  of  time,  should  be 
cast  into  the  lions'  den. 

The  king  was  so  short-sighted  as  not  to 
see  through  the  malice  of  this  contrivance; 
and  that  the  very  proposal  struck  at  the 
life  of  Daniel :  so  that  he  assented  to  the 
motion,  promised  a  confirmation  of  it,  and 
ordered  the  publication  of  the  decree,  as 
an  act  passed  by  himself  and  his  council. 

This  decree,  so  severe  and  peremptory, 
greatly  alarmed  the  people,  who  all  de- 
sisted, even  from  the  duties  they  owed 
their  God.     But  Daniel,  regardless  of  all 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


498 


that  man  could  do,  continued  the  regular 
exercise  of  his  devotion,  and  submitted 
the  event  to  the  pleasure' and  direction  of 
an  all-wise  Providence. 

This  way  of  proceeding  furnished  his 
enemies  with  a  pretence  that  they  long 
waited  for;  therefore  immediately  they 
informed  the  king  that  Daniel  was  the 
only  man  who,  in  contempt  of  his  royal 
proclamation,  worshipped  contrary  to  the 
tenor  and  direction  of  the  decree,  and  that 
he  did  not  do  this  out  of  piety,  but  from 
a  spirit  of  contradiction  and  defiance  to 
the  authority  of  the  edict. 

The  envy  of  Daniel's  enemies  was  the 
more  outrageous,  upon  the  apprehension 
they  had  that  the  kind's  personal  respect 
for  him  might  incline  him  to  pass  over 
the  affront;  so  they  pressed  him  with 
clamours  and  outcries,  not  to  be  resisted, 
for  justice  upon  the  malefactor;  nay,  they 
insisted  that  he  should  be  immediately 
thrown  into  the  lions'  den. 

Darius  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  vio- 
lence of  these  importunities,  but  told 
Daniel  for  his  comfort  in  this  extremity, 
that  rather  than  so  good  a  man  should 
perish,  God  would  yet  work  some  miracle 
for  his  relief.  So  Daniel  was  cast  into 
the  lions'  den,  and  a  great  stone  laid  at 
the  mouth  of  it,  which  the  king  sealed 
with  his  own  signet,*  and  returned  to  his 
palace. 

He  passed  that  night  fasting  and  wak- 
ing, for  his  anxious  concern  for  Daniel 
would,  not  suffer  him  either  to  eat  or  sleep; 
but  early  in  the  morning  he  arose  and 
went  to  the  den,  where  he  found  every 
thing  as  he  had  left  it,  and  the  seal  un- 
touched. 

He  then  called  upon  Daniel  by  his 
name,  at  a  grate  that  looked  down  into 


*  Darius,  in  all  probability,  at  the  time  of  sign- 
ing this  decree,  either  forgot  that  he  exposed  his 
favourite,  Daniel,  to  the  machinations  of  his  ene- 
mies, or  was  ignorant  of  his  religious  principles  ; 
for  it  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  he  would  have 
consented  to  any  thing  prejudicial  to  the  interest 
of  a  man  for  whom  he  entertained  so  perfect  a 
friendship  and  esteem. 


the  den,  to  know  if  he  were  living;  to 
whom  he  made  answer,  that  he  was  safe 
and  well. 

Then  the  king  immediately  ordered 
him  to  be  taken  out.  But  his  inveterate 
enemies  insisted  on  his  continuance  in 
the  den.  However,  it  was  ordered  by 
divine  Providence  that  he  received  not 
the  least  hurt. 

The  king  was  so  incensed  at  the  ma- 
lignity of  those  people,  that  he  ordered  as 
much  meat  to  be  given  the  lions  as  they 
could  devour;  and  when  they  would  eat 
no  longer,  to  turn  Daniel's  accusers  in 
among  them,f  observing,  that  if  they  did 
not  devour  them,  it  would  be  because 
their  bellies  were  full.  But  if  they  did, 
it  must  be  allowed  to  be  the  immediate 
hand  of  God  that  preserved  Daniel. 

In  fine,  the  lions  tore  them  in  pieces 
in  an  instant,  and  with  as  much  eagerness 
as  if  they  had  been  starved  with  hunger; 
or  rather,  as  if  the  beasts  themselves  were 
become  the  ministers  of  God's  justice 
upon  those  workers  of  iniquity. 

Having  thus  made  the  enemies  of 
Daniel  a  dreadful  example  to  others, 
Darius  published  a  decree  through  his 
whole  empire,  commanding  his  people  to 
acknowledge  the  God  of  Daniel  to  be  the 
only  true  and  almighty  God;  and  at  the 
same  time  multiplied  honours  upon  the 
prophet  himself,  in  preference  to  all  the 
rest  of  his  friendsand  favourites. 

Daniel,  by  this  conduct,  gained  uni- 
versal esteem,  being  a  person  highly  in 
favour  both  with  God  and  man.  He  is 
said   to   have    erected    at    Ecbatan,^    the 


+  The  ancients  were  remarkably  rigid  in  their 
punishments,  and  condemned  the  near  relations  of 
any  criminal  to  death,  from  a  notion  that  so  ex- 
traordinary a  degree  of  severity  might  restrain  the 
commission  of  offences,  since  few  would  be  ready 
to  undertake  any  action  that  would  expose  their 
families  to  ruin,  however  regardless  they  might  be 
of  themselves.  This  cruel  law  had  been  abolished 
amongst  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Moses,  who  de- 
creed that  the  punishment  of  transgressions  should 
be  entirely  confined  to  the  offender. 

J  This  city,  Herodotus  says  expressly,  was  built 
bv  Dejoces,  the  first  king  of  the  Medes :  but  that 


494 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


capital  of  Media,  a  stately  palace  re- 
markable for  its  beauty  and  magnificence, 
which  was  famous  for  being-  the  royal 
mausoleum  of  the  kings  of  Media  and 
Persia. 


author  is  wrong,  in  ascribing  the  honour  of  the 
whole  work  to  him,  which  his  son  Phraortes,  at 
least,  finished  and  beautified  to  such  a  degree,  that, 
though  the  scripture  is  silent,  profane  authors  have 
given  us  a  very  advantageous  account  of  it.  The 
city,  according  to  them,  was  situate  on  a  spacious 
eminence,  and  into  it  Dejoces  had  brought  to- 
gether the  whole  nation  of  the  Medes,  who  never 
before  had  lived  in  any  thing  but  caves  and  huts, 
dispersed  up  and  down  in  the  country,  which  great 
concourse  of  people  made  it  very  large  and  popu- 
lous. It  was  encompassed  with  seven  walls,  at 
an  equal  distance  from  each  other.  The  first  was 
the  lowest,  and  equal  in  circumference  with  those 
of  Athens,  i.  e.  according  to  Thucydides,  an  hun- 
dred and  seventy  eight  furlongs.  The  rest  rose 
gradually,  and  overlooked  each  other,  about  the 
height  of  a  battlement.  The  battlements  were  of 
different  colours.  The  first  was  white ;  the  second 
black  ;  the  third  red  ;  the  fourth  blue  ;  the  fifth 
of  a  deep  red  ;  the  sixth  of  a  silver,  and  the  se- 
venth of  a  gold  colour ;  and  for  this  reason,  (as 
Bochart  has  observed)  this  city  was  usually  called 
by  the  ancients,  Agbata,  which,  in  the  Arabian 
language,  signifies  a  thing  of  different  and  distinct 
colours.  The  royal  palace  and  treasury  stood 
within  the  seventli  wall ;  and  the  palace  alone 
(according  to  Polybius,)  was  seven  furlongs  round, 
and  built  with  all  the  cost  and  skill  that  a  stately 
edifice  did  require;  for  some  of  its  beams  are 
said  to  have  been  of  silver,  and  the  rest  of  cedar, 
which  were  strengthened  with  plates  of  gold. 
Calmet  and  Wells. — Hamadan  now  occupies  the 
site  of  the  celebrated  ancient  city,  the  localities  of 
the  one,  as  proved  by  a  great  number  of  authori- 
ties, exactly  corresponding  to  those  of  the  other. 
The  plain  of  Hamadan  is  nine  miles  long  by  fif- 
teen broad,  and  is  one  continued  series  of  delight- 
ful gardens  and  orchards.  The  modern  city  lies 
on  the  declivity  of  Orontes  now  called  Alwend, 
on  its  eastern  side.  Alwend  abounds  in  rivulets 
of  the  finest  water,  a  blessing  of  inestimable  value 
in  the  arid  and  parched  region  of  Persia.  One  of 
these  runs  constantly  through  the  city  into  the 
plain,  and  renders  it  one  of  the  best  watered 
places  in  Persia.  Its  present  habitations  are  pro- 
fusely interspersed  with  trees,  which  give  variety 
and  beauty  to  the  scenery.  On  the  skirts  of  Al- 
wend, Morier  was  introduced  into  a  most  exten- 
sive garden,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  an  alley  of 
fioplar,  willow,  and  narwend  trees,  nearly  a  mile 
ong,  and  in  which,  besides  the  great  crowd  that 
followed  him  and  his  suite  through  curiosity,  were 
many  of  the  natives  singing  and  taking  their  plea- 
sure ;  among  whom  was  a  large  group  seated  un- 
der the  trees,  around  a  basin  of  the  coolest  and 
most  transparent  water.  The  extensive  plain  it- 
self is  varied  at  short  distances  with  numberless 
castellated  villages  rising  from  amidst  groves  of 
the  noblest  trees,  and  seems  one  luxuriant  carpet 


There  are  other  passages  in  the  history 
of  Daniel,  which  are  yet  more  admirable 
and  particular,  and  demand  peculiar  atten- 
tion. He  had  this  singular  blessing  at- 
tending  him,  beside  his  excellent  gift  of 
prophecy,  that  he  lived  in  a  high  degree 
of  reputation,  both  with  king  and  people ; 
and  at  his  death  left  a  character  that  re- 
flects everlasting  honour  on  his  memory ; 
for  we  find  by  his  writing,  God  communed 
with  him  in  a  very  express  manner,  and 
revealed  to  him  not  only  the  sum  and 
substance  of  things  to  come,  (as  was  usual 
to  other  prophets,)  but  the  very  time 
when  such  or  such  an  event  should  come 
to  pass.  And  whereas  other  prophets 
were  more  exerciseH  in  the  forboding  of 
calamities,  and  consequently  drew  upon 
themselves  envy  and  ill-will,  both  from 
princes  and  people,  Daniel  conciliated  the 
esteem  of  both,  made  friends  of  both,  by 
the  good  things  he  told  them,  when  they 
took  delight  to  hear ;  and  then  as  to  the 
certainty  of  the  event,  all  are  agreed  that 
he  spoke  from  the  dictate  of  an  infallible 
spirit,  as  may  be  abundantly  gathered  also 
from  the  writings  which  this  great  prophet 
has  left  behind  him. 

To  justify  this  observation  we  cite  the 
particulars  of  a  vision,  as  related  by  him- 
self: "It  fell  out,  as  I  was  taking  the  air 
one  day,  with  some  of  my  companions  at 
Susa,*  the  metropolis  of  Persia,  that  we 


of  the  liveliest  verdure,  studded  with  hamlets,  and 
watered  with  numberless  rills.  Hamadan,  in 
short,  to  use  Morier's  own  words,  is  one  of  the 
most  delightful  places  in  the  East ;  and  wears  an 
air  of  prosperity,  even  amidst  the  ruin  that,  during 
the  long  continued  struggles  for  imperial  power 
that  have  desolated  Persia,  has  overtaken  its 
cities.  It  contains  about  40,000  inhabitants,  COC 
families  of  which  are  Jews  and  as  many  Armenians. 
Such  being  its  present  state,  we  may  rest  assured, 
that  every  thing  which  wealth  could  procure, 
power  command,  and  ingenuity  combined  with 
taste  could  devise,  would  be  done,  to  aid  and  to 
heighten  the  natural  beauties  of  such  a  site  during 
the  splendid  era  of  Persian  magnificence. 

*  Susa,  or  Shushan,  was  situated  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Ulai,  and  seems  to  have  had  its  name 
from  the  plenty  of  lilies  growing  about  it.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  built  by  Memnon  a  little  before 
the  Trojan  war.  It  was  the  winter  residence  of 
the  Persian  kings  from  the  time  of  Cyrus,  as  a 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


495 


were  surprised  all  on  a  sudden  with  an 
earthquake.  My  friends  ran  away  in  a 
fright,  and  left  me  alone,  fallen  prostrate 
on  the  ground,  in  consternation  and 
amazement.  While  I  was  in  that  posture, 
somebody,  methought,  came,  took  hold 
on  me,  bade  me  rise,  and  take  good  no- 
tice of  things ;  for  I  should  see  wonderful 
revolutions  that  would  befall  my  country- 
men several  ages  to  come.  Upon  my 
arising,  I  saw  a  large  ram,  with  two  horns, 
and  the  one  higher  than  the  other.  Turn- 
high  ridge  of  mountains  sheltered  it  from  the 
north-east  wind  :  but  the  bright  sun  so  scorched 
it  in  the  summer,  that  the  inhabitants  were  obliged 
to  cover  their  houses  with  earth  to  about  the 
depth  of  a  yard.  Ahasuerus,  or  Artaxerxes  Lon- 
gimanus,  exceedingly  adorned  this  place.  From 
hence  he  issued  his  decree  for  perfecting  the  re- 
building of  the  temple,  in  gratitude  for  which,  the 
Jews  called  the  eastern  gate  of  their  temple,  the 
gate  of  Shushan,  and  had  a  kind  of  resemblance 
of  it  carved  thereon.  Here  also  he  kept  his 
splendid  feast,  Esth.  i.  vi.  The  treasures  of  the 
kings  of  Persia  were  generally  kept  there,  and  the 
royal  palace  was  built  with  white  marble,  and  its 
pillars  were  covered  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 
When  Alexander  seized  this  city,  he  found  in  it 
50,000  talents  of  gold,  besides  jewels,  and  golden 
and  silver  vessels,  to  an  immense  value. — The 
present  Shouster,  the  capital  of  Shusistan,  is  gen- 
erally believed  to  be  the  ancient  Snsa;  but  Mr 
Kinnier  rather  thinks  the  ruins  about  thirty-five 
miles  west  of  Shouster  are  those  of  that  ancient 
residence  of  royalty,  "  stretching  not  less,  perhaps, 
than  twelve  miles  from  one  extremity  to  the  other. 
They  occupy  an  immense  space  between  the  rivers 
Kerah  and  Abzal  ;  and,  like  the  ruins  of  Ctesi- 
phon,  Babylon,  and  Kufa,  consist  of  hillocks  of 
earth  and  rubbish  covered  with  broken  pieces  of 
brick  and  coloured  tile.  The  largest  is  a  mile  in 
circumference,  and  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in 
height :  another,  not  quite  so  high,  is  double  the 
circuit.  They  are  formed  of  clay  and  pieces  of 
tile,  with  irregular  layers  of  brick  and  mortar, 
five  or  six  feet  in  thickness,  to  serve,  as  it  should 
seem,  as  a  kind  of  prop  to  the  mass.  Large 
blocks  of  marble,  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  are 
not  unfrequently  here  discovered  by  the  Arabs, 
when  digging  in  search  of  hidden  treasure  ;  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  most  elevated  of  the  pyramids 
(ruins)  stands  the  tomb  of  Daniel,  a  small  and 
apparently  a  modern  building,  erected  on  the  spot 
where  the  relics  of  that  prophet  are  believed  to 
rest."  Major  Kennel  coincides  in  the  opinion 
that  these  ruins  represent  the  ancient  Susa  ;  but 
Dr  Vincent  determines  for  Shouster.  The  site  of 
Susa  is  now  a  gloomy  wilderness,  infested  by 
lions,  hyaenas,  and  other  beasts  of  prey,  the  dread 
of  whom  compelled  Mr  Monteith  and  Mr  Kinneir 
to  take  shelter  for  the  night  within  the  walls  that 
encompass  what  is  called  Daniel's  tomb. — Brown 
and  Calmet. 


ing  my  face  then  toward  the  west,  I  saw 
a  goat  that  passed  through  the  air,  and 
encountering  the  ram,  struck  him  down 
twice,  and  trampled  him  under  his  feet. 
And  after  this  there  arose  a  large  horn 
out  of  the  forehead  of  the  goat ;  and  when 
it  was  broken,  there  sprung  up  four  more 
instead  of  it,  pointing  toward  the  four 
quarters  of  the  heavens." 

Daniel  writes  also,  "  That  from  one  of 
them  came  forth  a  little  horn,  which 
growing  up,  should  wage  war  with  the 
nation  of  the  Jews,  and  destroy  Jerusalem 
itself,  and  suppress  the  ceremonies  of  the 
temple,  and  all  sacrifices,  for  the  space 
of  twelve  hundred  and  ninety  six  days." 

This  was  the  vision  that,  as  Eavid 
writes,  he  saw  at  Susa,  which  was  first 
showed  by  a  revelation  from  God,  and 
then  interpreted  after  this  following  man- 
ner : 

"  By  the  ram  was  designed  the  king- 
doms of  the  Medes  and  Persians ;  by  the 
horns,  the  succeeding  kings  that  should 
rule  over  those  people,  and  the  last  of 
their  kings,  by  the  last  horn,  as  transcend- 
ing all  the  rest  in  wealth  and  power ;  by 
the  goat  was  signified  some  king  of  Greece, 
that  should  twice  totally  defeat  the  Per- 
sians, and  subdue  that  empire ;  by  the 
great  horn  upon  the  forehead  of  the  goat, 
was  meant  the  first  of  their  kings;  and  bv 
the  budding  out  of  four  horns  more, 
pointing  to  the  four  winds,  were  to  be 
understood  the  successors  to  those  kings, 
and  the  partition  of  their  dominions,  after 
the  death  of  the  first,  though  strangers  to 
the  blood ;  but  that,  however,  they  should 
reign  for  several  years,  and  in  process  of 
time,  out  of  these  should  come  a  king 
that  would  make  war  upon  the  Jewish 
nation,  and  utterly  extinguish  the  form  of 
the  commonwealth,  pillage  the  temple, 
and  prohibit  any  sacrifices  or  worship  in 
it  for  three  years." 

Daniel  wrote  also  about  the  Roman 
empire,  and  especially  of  the  desolation 
they  should  make  of  the  Israelites ;  all 
which  he  received  by  divine  revelation, 


4% 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


and  transmitted  in  writing  to  posterity,  to 
stand  as  a  testimony  upon  record  of  the 
agreement  betwixt  the  presage  and  the 
event, 

The  exact  fulfilment  of  the  predictions 
of  the  prophets  is  an  irrefragable  argu- 
ment of  the  superintendence  of  a  divine 
Providence  over  human  affairs,  and  refutes 
that  system  which  blindly  as  well  as 
impiously  inculcates,  that  the  whole  course 
of  sublunary  events  is  a  mere  huddle  of 
contingency,  without  any  primary  effec- 
tive cause.  The  distance  of  time  also 
from  the  predictions  in  general  to  their 
completion  plainly  indicates  that  they 
could  not  be  fabulous  or  casual,  and  de- 
monstrate? that  they  were  truly  delivered 
as  inspired  by  the  most  intuitive  know- 
ledge and  unerring  wisdom. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  restoration  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity. — Proclamation  of  Cyrus  to  rebuild 
the  temple. —  Cambyses  retards  the  progress  of 
that  pious  work. — Smerdis  the  Magian  rides 
for  the  space  of  seven  months,  after  which  Da- 
rius is  chosen  king. — Permits  the  continuance 
of  the  building,  and  promotes  the  design 
against  the  opposition  of  the  Samaritans. 

In  the  first  year  of  Cyrus,  and  the  seven- 
tieth of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  it  pleas- 
ed God,  in  compassion  to  a  wretched 
people,  according  to  what  he  had  foretold 
them  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  before  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  that  is  to  say, 
that  after  seventy  years'  bondage  under 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  successors,  they 
should  be  restored  to  their  own  coun- 
try, see  the  temple  rebuilt,  and  return 
to  their  former  state  of  eminence  and 
grandeur. 

This  was  accordingly  effected ;  for  God 
put  it  into  the  heart  of  Cyrus  to  send  his 
circular  letters  over  all  Asia,  to  this  effect, 
signing  them,  '  Cyrus  the  king:' — "  I  do 
fully  persuade  myself,  that  the  great  God, 
of  whose  gift  and  bounty  I  hold  my  em- 
pire, is  the  very  God  that  the  children  of 
Israel  adore ;  for  I  find  honourable  men- 


tion made  of  my  name  by  his  prophets  of 
ancient  date,  as  a  person  that  in  time  to 
come  should  rebuild  Jerusalem,  and  re- 
instate the  people." 

Cyrus,  it  seems,  had  seen  and  read  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah,  which  bore  date  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  before  he  was  born, 
wherein  he  gives  an  account  of  a  revela- 
tion he  had  from  God,  "  That  he  would 
raise  up  one  Cyrus,  to  be  a  king  of  many, 
and  of  powerful  nations,  who  should  re- 
establish the  Hebrews  in  their  native 
country." 

The  king  was  so  transported  upon  the 
reading  of  these  divine  predictions  con- 
cerning himself,  that  he  immediately  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  bringing  about  their 
accomplishment.  To  promote  this  pious 
design,  he  called  together  all  the  leading 
men  of  the  Jews  to  Babylon,  where  he 
told  them  that  so  many  of  them  as  were 
disposed  to  return  into  their  own  country, 
should  have  free  passports,  and  permission 
to  rebuild  the  temple  and  the  city  of  Jer- 
usalem, if  they  thought  fit,  as  he  made  no 
doubt  but  that  God  would  bless  them  in 
the  undertaking,  promising  over  and  above, 
that  he  would  send  his  orders  to  all  his 
officers  and  governors,  bordering  upon 
Judea,  to  furnish  them  with  gold  and  sil- 
ver, for  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and 
beasts  for  sacrifices.* 


*  It  is  a  good  deal  more  than  probable,  that 
this  decree  in  favour  of  the  Jews  was  in  a  great 
measure  owing  to  Daniel's  good  offices.  Cyrus, 
at  his  first  coming  into  Babylon,  after  he  had 
taken  the  city,  found  him  there  an  old  minister  of 
state,  famed  for  his  great  wisdom  over  all  the 
East,  and  in  many  things  for  a  knowledge  su- 
perior to  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  and  accordingly, 
we  find,  that  he  not  only  employed  him  as  such, 
but,  upon  the  settling  of  the  government  of  the 
whole  empire,  made  him  first  superintendent,  or 
prime  minister  of  state,  over  all  the  provinces  of  it. 
In  this  station  of  life,  Daniel  must  have  been  a 
person  of  great  authority  at  court,  and  highly  in 
the  esteem  of  his  prince,  and  therefore,  as  we  find 
him  earnest  in  his  prayer  to  God  for  the  restora- 
tion of  his  people,  Dan.  ix.  we  cannot  but  think, 
that  he  would  be  equally  warm  in  his  intercessions 
for  it  with  the  king.  To  which  purpose,  it  is  not 
improbable,  that  he  might  show  him  those  passages 
in  Isaiah,  which  speak  of  him  by  name,  (an  bun. 
dred  and  fifty  years  before  he  was  born,)  as  a  great 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


407 


kind's 


The  most  eminent  of  the  two  tribes  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  together  with  the 
priests  and  Levites,  immediately  upon 
this  declaration,  hastened  away  toward 
Jerusalem.  But  there  were  a  great  many, 
however,  that  chose  rather  to  stay  in 
Babylon,  than  to  quit  their  possessions.* 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Jerusulem,  all  the 
friends  and  officers  contributed 
largely  and  unanimously  toward  the  great 
work.  Some  gave  gold,  others  silver, 
and  some  cattle ;  others  attended  the  dis- 
charge of  their  vows,  and  the  solemnity 
of  oblations,  as  if  they  were  already  en- 
tered upon  the  business  of  re-erecting  the 
city,  and  in  the  exercise  of  their  ancient 
discipline. 

Now  Cyrus  had  sent  them  from  Baby- 
lon the  holy  vessels  and  utensils  that  Ne- 
buchadnezzar had  taken  away  from  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  which  were  delivered 
to  Mithredath,  the  king's  treasurer,  and 
by  him  to  be  deposited  with  Sheshbazzarf 


prince,  and  conqueror,  the  ruler  of  many  nations, 
and  the  restorer  of  his  people,  by  causing  his  tem- 
ple to  be  built,  and  the  city  of  Jerusalem  re-in- 
habited. For,  that  Cyrus  had  seen  those  pro- 
phecies, the  thing  is  plain,  not  only  from  the 
testimony  of  Josephus  ;  but  from  the  recital  that 
is  made  of  them  in  the  decree  itself,  Ezra  i-  2. 
and  if  so,  who  should  be  so  proper  to  show  them 
to  him,  and  to  recommend  the  accomplishment  of 
them  to  his  princely  care,  as  Daniel,  who  had  so 
great  credit  with  him,  and  so  passionate  a  concern 
for  the  restoration  of  Sion. — Prideaux's  Connec- 
tion. 

*  We  do  not  find  that  Daniel  took  the  advan- 
tage of  the  edict  which  Cyrus  made  in  favour  of 
the  Jews  ;  and  therefore  we  may  suppose,  that  as 
he  did  not  return  with  them  to  Jerusalem,  the 
king  might  require  his  continuance  with  him,  and 
Daniel  might  the  rather  consent  to  it,  as  having 
thereby  a  better  opportunity  to  befriend  his  coun- 
trymen upon  any  exigence.  To  this  purpose,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  he  attended  the  Persian 
court,  which,  after  the  taking  and  defacing  of 
Babylon,  resided  in  summer  at  Shushan,  or  Susa, 
and  "in  winter,  at  Ecbatana.  The  common  tra- 
dition is,  that  he  died  in  the  third  or  fourth  year 
of  Cyrus,  and  about  the  91st  year  of  his  age  : 
for  even  to  this  day  (as  we  learn  from  Benjamin's 
Itinerarium)  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  (at  pre- 
sent, called  Tuster)  show  his  monument. 

f  In  the  time  of  the  captivity,  it  was  a  common 
thing  for  the  great  men  of  Judah  to  have  two 
names  ;  one  of  their  own  country,  which  was  do- 
mestic, and  another  of  the  Chaldeans,  which  was 
used  at  court.    Zerubbabel  was  born  in  Babylon  ; 


till  the  temple  should  be  finished,  and 
then  immediately  to  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  priests  and  magistrates  for 
the  use  and  service  of  the  temple. 

Cyrus,  after  this,  wrote  another  letter 
to  the  governor  of  Syria,  in  the  following 
manner : 

"  Cyrus  the  king,  to  Sysina  and  Sara- 
basan,  greeting. — Be  it  known  unto  you, 
that  I  have  given  leave  to  all  the  Jews 
that  are  in  my  dominions,  to  return  into 
their  own  country,   and  there  to  rebuild 
their  capital  city,   with  the   holy  temple 
at  Jerusalem,  in  the  same  place  where  it 
stood  before.     I  have    likewise   sent  my 
treasurer,  Mithredath,  and  Zorobabel,  the 
governor   of  Judea,    to   superintend    the 
building,  and  to  see  it  raised ;  sixty  cubits 
upwards  from  the  ground,   and  as  many 
over;  the  walls  to  be  three  rows  of  polish- 
ed stone,   and  one   of  the  wood  of  the 
country,   together  with  an  altar  for  the 
sacrifices ;  and  all  this  to  be  done  at  my 
charge.     I  have  also  appointed  my  own 
treasurer  Mithredath,  and  Zorobabel,  the 
prince  of  Judea,  to  cause  all  utensils  and 
vessels  that  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  away 
from  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  to  be  sent 
back,  and  restored.     That  is  to  say,  fifty 
golden    ewers,    and   four    hundred   silver 
ones.     Fifty  golden  vessels,  and  four  hun- 
dred   silver   ones.     Fifty   golden   lavers, 
and  five  hundred  silver  ones.     Thirty  gol- 
den   chalices,    and   three   hundred   silver 
ones.     Thirty    golden    phials,    and   two 
thousand  four  hundred  silver  ones.     Be- 
sides a  thousand  of  other  large  vessels  of 
different  sorts.     It  is  my  further  pleasure 
also,  that  they  receive  entire  to  themselves 
all  the  profits   and   revenues   that   were 
formerly  enjoyed  by  their  predecessors; 
and  that  they  have  an  allowance  paid  them 
of  two  hundred  and   fifty  thousand  five 


and  his  name,  which  signifies  an  exile,  or  stranger 
in  Babylon,  imports  the  misery  of  the  people  of 
Israel  at  that  time  ;  but  Sheshbazzar,  which  is  a 
compound  of  two  words,  signifying  fine  linen  and 
gold,  seems  to  be  a  name  of  a  better  omen,  and  to 
denote  their  future  more  flourishing  condition.— 
Patrick's  Commentary. 

8b 


498 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VLl 


hundred  drachmas  in  consideration  of 
beasts  for  sacrifices,  wine  and  oil ;  and  two 
thousand  five  hundred  measures  of  wheat, 
in  lieu  of  the  fine  flour, — and  all  this  to 
be  raised  upon  the  tribute  of  Samaria. 
The  priests  are  to  offer  up  the  sacrifices 
according  to  the  laws  and  ceremonies  of 
Moses ;  and  to  pray  daily  for  the  king  and 
the  royal  family,  and  for  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  Persian  empire.  Let  no 
man  presume  to  do  any  thing  contrary  to 
the  tenor  of  this  my  royal  will  and  pro- 
clamation, upon  pain  of  forfeiting  life  and 
estate." 

This  was  the  substance  of  the  king's 
letter.  And  the  number  of  those  that  re- 
turned out  of  captivity  to  Jerusalem,  upon 
this  encouragement  and  invitation,  was 
forty-two  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  persons. 

The  Jews,  upon  their  return  from  cap- 
tivity, had  no  sooner  entered  upon  the 
grateful,  though  arduous  employ  of  re- 
building the  temple,  than  the  neighbour- 
ing nations,  and  especially  the  Cuthites, 
which  Shalmaneser,  the  king  of  Assyria, 
had  formerly  transplanted  from  Persia  and 
Media  into  Samaria,  after  he  had  removed 
the  Israelites  into  other  habitations,  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  princes  and  gover- 
nors, to  whom  the  care  of  this  enterprise 
was  committed,  pressing  them  with  great 
importunity,  not  to  suffer  the  Jews,  upon 
any  terms,  to  proceed  upon  the  project  of 
rebuilding  the  city  and  temple. 

These  commissioners  were  prevailed 
upon,  by  bribes  and  fair  words,  to  slacken 
their  diligence  in  the  despatch  and  prose- 
cution of  their  orders;  and  during  the 
course  of  this  delay,  Cyrus  was  so  taken 
up  in  war  with  the  Massagetes,  that  he 
could  not  attend  to  the  execution  of  the 
work.  He  died  in  the  seventieth  year  of 
his  age.* 


*  It  is  generally  agreed  by  historians,  that  Cyrus 
was  much  about  seventy  years  old  when  he  died, 
but  then  they  widely  differ  among  themselves  as 
to  the  manner  of  his  death.  Some  say,  that  he 
was  taken  in  an  engagement,  and  hanged  ;  others, 


Upon  the  death  of  Cyrus,  Cambyses 
his  son,  whom  the  scripture  calls  Ahasue- 
rus,  (Ezra  iv.  6.)  succeeded  to  the  empire. 
He  had  no  sooner  assumed  the  govern- 
ment than  the  Samaritans  made  an  appli- 
cation to  him,  desiring  him  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  building  of  the  temple ;  and  their 
application  was  not  in  vain.  Indeed  he 
did  not  revoke  his  father's  decree,  perhaps 
out  of  some  remains  of  respect  for  his 
memory,  but  he  in  a  great  measure  frus- 
trated its  intent,  by  the  many  discourage- 
ments under  which  he  laid  the  Jews;  so 
that  the  work,  if  not  entirely  stopped, 
went  on  very  slowly  during  his  reign. 
He  was  notable  for  nothing  but  violence, 
foolishness,  and  cruelty;f  and  his  fits  of 


that  he  died  of  a  wound  which  he  received  in  his 
thigh  ;  and  others,  that  he  was  killed  in  a  battle 
with  the  people  of  Samos.  Herodotus,  Justin, 
and  Valerius  Maximus  relate,  that,  in  his  war 
against  the  Scythians,  falling  into  an  ambush 
which  queen  Thomyris  had  laid  for  him,  he  was 
taken  prisoner,  and,  with  insult  enough,  had  hi9 
head  cut  off  by  her  order  ;  but  Xenophon's  ac- 
count is,  that  he  died  peaceably  in  his  bed,  amidst 
his  friends,  and  in  his  own  country  ;  as  indeed 
there  is  little  reason  to  think  either  that  so  wise 
a  man  as  Cyrus  should,  in  his  advanced  years, 
engage  in  so  desperate  an  undertaking  as  this 
Scythian  expedition  is  represented  on  all  hands  ; 
or  that,  had  lie  died  in  Scythia,  his  mangled  body 
could  have  ever  been  got  out  of  the  hands  of  these 
barbarians  to  be  buried  at  Pasargada  in  Persia, 
as  most  authors  agree  it  was,  and  where  his  monu- 
ment was  to  be  seen  in  the  time  of  Alexander 
the  Great. —  CalmeVs  Dictionary  and  Prideaux's 
Connection. 

-J-  The  following  instances,  among  others,  evince 
the  cruelty  of  his  disposition.  He  had  a  brother, 
the  only  son  of  Cyrus  besides  himself,  and  born  of 
the  same  mother:  his  name,  according  to  Xeno- 
phon,  was  Tanaoxares,  but  Herodotus  calls  him 
Smerdis,  and  Justin,  Mergis.  He  accompanied 
Cambyses  in  his  Egyptian  expedition  ;  but  being 
the  only  person  among  all  the  Persians  that  could 
draw  the  bow  which  had  been  brought  from  the 
king  of  Ethiopia,  Cambyses  from  hence  conceived 
such  a  jealousy  against  him,  that  he  could  bear 
him  no  longer  in  the  army,  but  sent  him  back 
into  Persia.  And  not  long  after,  dreaming  that  a 
messenger  had  arrived  to  inform  him  that  Smerdis 
sat  on  the  throne,  he  conceived  a  suspicion  that 
his  brother  aspired  to  the  kingdom,  and  sent  after 
him  into  Persia  Prexaspes,  one  of  his  chief  confi- 
dants, with  orders  to  put  him  to  death,  which 
were  accordingly  executed.  This  murder  was  the 
cause  of  another  still  more  criminal.  Cambyses 
had  with  him  in  the  camp  his  youngest  sister, 
whose  name  was  Meroe.     Herodotus  acquaints  us 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


499 


passion  often  hurried  him  into  almost 
downright  madness.  After  a  reign  of 
seven  years  and  five  months  he  came  to 
an  untimely  end,  which  was  occasioned  by 


after  what  a  strange  manner  this  sister  became  his 
wife.  As  the  princess  was  exceedingly  beautiful, 
Cambyses  absolutely  resolved  to  marry  her.  To 
that  end  he  called  together  all  the  judges  of  the 
Persian  nation,  to  whom  belonged  the  interpreta- 
tion of  their  laws,  to  know  of  them  whether  there 
was  any  law  that  would  allow  a  brother  to  marry 
a  sister.  The  judges  being  unwilling  on  the  one 
hand  directly  to  authorize  such  an  incestuous 
marriage,  and  on  the  other,  fearing  the  king's  vio- 
lent temper  should  they  contradict  him,  endea- 
voured to  find  out  a  salvo,  and  gave  him  this 
crafty  answer :  that  they  had  no  law  which  per- 
mitted a  brother  to  marry  his  sister,  but  they  had 
a  law  which  allowed  the  king  of  Persia  to  do  what 
he  pleased.  And  this  answer  serving  his  purpose 
as  well  as  a  direct  approbation,  he  solemnly  mar- 
ried her,  and  hereby  gave  the  first  example  of  that 
incest  which  was  afterwards  practised  by  most  of 
his  successors,  and  by  some  of  them  carried  so  far 
as  to  marry  their  own  daughters,  how  repugnant  so- 
ever it  be  to  modesty  and  good  order.  This  prin- 
cess he  carried  with  him  in  all  his  expeditions,  and 
from  her  he  gave  the  name  of  Meroe  to  an  island 
in  the  Nile,  between  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  so  far 
he  advanced  in  his  wild  march  against  the  Ethio- 
pians. The  circumstance  that  gave  occasion  to 
his  murdering  this  princess  was  as  follows.  One 
day  Cambyses  was  diverting  himself  in  seeing  a 
combat  between  a  young  lion  and  a  young  dog; 
the  lion  having  the  better,  another  dog,  brother  to 
him  that  was  engaged,  came  to  his  assistance,  and 
helped  him  to  master  the  lion.  This  incident 
highly  delighted  Cambyses,  but  drew  tears  from 
Meroe,  who  being  obliged  to  tell  her  husband  the 
reason  of  her  weeping,  confessed,  that  this  combat 
made  her  call  to  mind  the  fate  of  her  brother 
Smerdis,  who  had  not  the  same  good  fortune  as 
that  little  dog.  There  needed  no  more  than  this 
to  excite  the  rage  of  this  brutal  prince,  who  im- 
mediately gave  her,  notwithstanding  her  being  with 
child,  such  a  blow  with  his  foot  on  the  belly,  that 
she  died  of  it.  So  abominable  a  marriage  deserv- 
ed no  better  an  end.  He  caused  also  several  of 
the  principal  of  his  followers  to  be  buried-alive, 
and  daily  sacrificed  some  or  other  of  them  to  his 
wild  fury.  He  had  obliged  Prexaspes,  one  of  his 
principal  officers  and  his  chief  confidant,  to  declare 
to  him  what  his  Persian  subjects  thought  and  said 
of  him,  "They  admire,  Sir,"  says  Prexaspes,  "a 
great  many  excellent  qualities  which  they  see  in 
you,  but  they  are  somewhat  mortified  at  your  im- 
moderate love  of  wine." — "  I  understand  you,"  re- 
plied the  king ;  "  that  is,  they  pretend  that  wine 
deprives  me  of  my  reason:  You  shall  be  judge  of 
that  immediately."  Upon  which  he  began  to  drink 
excessively,  pouring  it  down  in  larger  quantities 
than  ever  he  had  done  at  any  time  before.  Then 
ordering  Prexaspes's  son,  who  was  his  chief  cup- 
bearer, to  stand  upright  at  the  end  of  the  room, 
with  his  left  hand  upon  his  head,  he  took  his  bow, 
and  levelled  it  at   him ;  and  declaring  that  he 


his  sword  falling  from  the  scabbard,  and 
wounding  his  thigh,  when  he  was  mount- 
ing his  horse  in  a  precipitate  rage. 

Immediately  previous  to  the  death  of 
Cambyses,  the  government  was  usurped 
by  Smerdis  the  Magian.*    He  was  placed 


aimed  at  his  heart,  let  fly,  and  actually  shot  him 
in  the  heart.  He  then  ordered  his  side  to  be 
opened,  and  showing  Prexaspes  the  heart  of  his 
son,  which  the  arrow  had  pierced,  asked  him  in  an 
exulting  and  scoffing  manner,  if  he  had  not  a 
steady  hand?  The  wretched  father,  who  ought 
not  to  have  had  either  voice  or  life  remaining 
after  a  stroke  like  this,  was  so  mean-spirited  as  to 
reply,  "  Apollo  himself  could  not  have  shot  better." 
Seneca,  who  copied  this  story  from  Herodotus, 
after  having  shown  his  detestation  of  the  barbar- 
ous cruelty  of  the  prince,  condemns  still  more  the 
cowardly  and  monstrous  flattery  of  the  father. — 
Rollin. 

*  The  manner  in  which  Smerdis  the  Magian 
came  to  usurp  the  Persian  throne,  is  thus  related 
by  most  historians :  Cambyses  had  a  brother,  the 
only  son  of  Cyrus  besides  himself,  and  born  of  the 
same  mother.  His  name,  according  to  Xenophon, 
was  Tanaoxares,  but  Herodotus  calls  him  Smerdis 
and  Justin,  Margis.  He  accompanied  him  in  his 
wars  for  some  time;  but,  upon  a  pique  of  jealousy, 
the  king  sent  him  back  into  Persia,  and  there 
caused  him  to  be  murdered  privately.  The  king, 
when  he  went  upon  the  Egyptian  expedition,  had 
left  the  supreme  government  of  his  affairs  in  the 
hands  of  Patizithes,  one  of  the  chief  of  the  Magi- 
ans,  (for  the  king  was  addicted  to  that  sect  of  re- 
ligion,) who  had  a  brother,  that  did  very  much 
resemble  Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  and  was,  for 
that  reason  perhaps,  called  by  the  same  name. 
Patizithes,  hearing  of  the  young  prince's  death, 
and  supposing  that  this,  and  some  other  extrava- 
gancies of  Cambyses  had  made  him  odious  to  his 
subjects,  placed  this  brother  of  his  on  the  throne, 
pretending  that  he  was  the  true  Smerdis,  the  son 
of  Cyrus,  and  so  sent  heralds  through  the  empire 
to  proclaim  him  king.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
Eastern  princes,  in  those  days,  to  live  retired  in 
their  palaces,  and  there  transact  all  their  affairs  by 
the  intercourse  of  their  eunuchs,  without  admitting 
any  else,  unless  those  of  the  highest  confidence,  to 
have  access  to  them.  This  conduct  the  pretended 
Smerdis  exactly  observed  :  but  Otanes,  a  Persian 
nobleman,  having  a  daughter,  (whose  name  was 
Phedyma)  who  had  been  one  of  Cambyses's  wives, 
and  was  now  kept  by  Smerdis  in  the  same  quality, 
and  being  desirous  to  know  whether  he  was  the 
real  son  of  Cyrus  or  not,  sent  her  instructions,  that, 
the  first  night  she  lay  with  him,  she  should  feel 
whether  he  had  any  ears,  (because  Cyrus,  for  some 
crime  or  other,  had  cut  off  this  Magian's  ears) 
and  she  acquainting  her  father  that  he  had  none, 
he  immediately  took  six  others  of  the  Persian 
quality  with  him,  (among  whom  Darius  was  one,) 
and  entering  the  palace,  slew  both  the  usurper 
and  his  brother,  who  had  been  the  contriver  of  the 
whole  plot. — Prideaux's  Connection. 

It  may  not  in  this  place  be  impertinent,  to 


500 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


on  the  throne  by  his  brother  Patizithes, 
who  pretended  that  he  was  Smerdis  the 
brother  of  Cambyses,  The  history  of 
Ezra  calls  him  Artaxerxes,  chap.  iv.  7. 


give  a  succinct  account  of  the  Magi  or  Magians, 
as  selected  from  various  writers  on  the  subject. 
This  sect  originating  in  the  East,  and  abominating 
all  images,  worshipped  God  only  by  fire.  Their 
chief  doctrine  was,  that  there  were  two  principles, 
one  of  which  was  the  cause  of  all  good,  the  other 
the  cause  of  all  evil.  The  former  is  represented 
by  light,  the  other  by  darkness,  and  that  from  these 
two  all  things  in  the  world  were  made.  The  good 
god  they  named  Yazdan  or  Ormund ;  the  evil  god, 
Ahraman  ;  the  former  is  by  the  Greeks  named 
Oromasdes,  the  latter  Arimanius.  Concerning 
these  two  gods,  some  held  both  of  them  to  have 
been  from  eternity  ;  others  contended  the  good 
being  only  to  be  eternal,  the  other  created :  both 
agreed  in  this,  that  there  will  be  a  continual  oppo- 
sition between  these  two  till  the  end  of  the  world, 
when  the  good  god  shall  overcome  the  evil  god; 
and  that  afterwards  each  shall  have  his  world  to 
himself,  the  good  god  have  all  the  good  men  with 
him,  the  evil  god  all  wicked  men.  Of  this  system, 
Zoroaster  was  the  first  founder,  whom  Hyde  and 
Prideaux  make  contemporary  with  Darius  Hystas- 
pes,  but  whose  era,  as  appears  from  Moyle.the  Greek 
writers  of  the  age  of  Darius  make  many  hundred 
years  before  their  own  time.  After  giving  a  concise 
but  animated  account  of  the  theology  of  Zoroaster, 
Gibbon  has  this  foolish  remark;  "Every  mode  of 
religion,  to  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on 
the  human  mind,  must  exercise  our  obedience,  by 
enjoining  practices  of  devotion  for  which  we  can 
assign  no  reason ;  and  must  acquire  our  esteem  by 
inculcating  moral  duties,  analogous  to  the  dictates 
of  our  own  hearts."  The  religion  of  Zoroaster 
was  abundantly  provided  with  the  former,  and 
possessed  a  sufficient  portion  of  the  latter.  At 
the  age  of  puberty  the  faithful  Persian  was  invest- 
ed with  a  mysterious  girdle,  from  which  moment 
the  most  indifferent  action  of  his  life  was  sanctified 
by  prayer,  ejaculations,  and  genuflexions,  the  omis- 
sion of  which  was  a  grievous  sin.  The  moral 
duties,  however,  were  required  of  the  disciple  of 
Zoroaster,  who  wished  to  escape  the  persecution 
of  Arimanius,  or,  as  Mr  Gibbon  writes  it,  Ahriman, 
and  to  live  with  Ormund,  or  Ormusd  in  a  blissful 
eternity,  where  the  degree  of  felicity  will  be  exactly 
proportioned  to  the  degree  of  virtue  and  piety.  In 
the  time  of  Theodosius  the  younger,  the  Christians 
enjoyed  a  full  toleration  in  Persia  ;  but  Abdas  in- 
discreetly pulling  down  a  temple,  in  which  the 
Persians  worshipped  fire,  a  persecution  against  the 
Christians  was  excited,  and  prosecuted  with  un- 
relenting cruelty.  The  Magi  are  still  known  in 
Persia  under  the  name  of  Parsi  or  Parses ;  their 
superstition  is  contained  in  three  books,  named 
Zend,  Pazend,  and  Vestna,  said  by  themselves  to 
be  composed  by  Zerdascht,  whom  they  confound 
with  the  patriarch  Abraham.  The  oriental  Chris- 
tians pretend,  that  the  Magi  who  adored  Jesus 
Christ,  were  disciples  of  Zoroaster,  who  predicted 
to  them  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  newstar 
ffhich  appeared  at  his  birth.     Upon  this  latter  sub- 


His  reign  was  of  short  continuance,  being 
little  more  than  five,  or  according  to  others, 
seven  months.  As  soon  as  he  was  set 
upon  the  throne,  the  inhabitants  of  Sama- 
ria, in  like  manner  addressed  a  memorial 
to  him,  the  tenor  of  which  is  as  follows: — 

"This  is  to  give  you,  great  Sir,  to 
understand,  that  the  Jews  who  were 
carried  away  to  Babylon,  are  now  re- 
]  turned  to  their  former  seats,  and  into  our 
country,  where  they  are  busy  upon  the 
|  rebuilding  of  a  city  that  was  most  deserv- 
i  edly  destroyed  for  seditious  practices. 
They  are  setting  up  markets,  and  places 
of  commerce;  repairing  the  walls,  and 
renewing  the  temple;  and  if  they  persist 
in  these  works,  you  may  assure  yourself 
that  they  will  never  submit  to  serve,  if 
they  once  get  it  into  their  power  to  com- 
mand. We  account  it  our  duty,  Sir,  in 
this  heat  and  zeal  for  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple,  to  lay  before  you  the  true 
state  of  the  case,  before  it  is  too  late. 
Review  the  history  of  your  predecessors, 
and  you  shall  there  find  the  Jews  from 
generation  to  generation,  to  be  the  ene- 
mies of  all  crowned  heads;  and  that  this 
very  city  was  justly  laid  waste  and  deso- 
late, for  the  crime  of  rebellion,  And  we 
are  further  to  lay  before  you,  that  it  ap- 
pears to  us,  from  divers  concurring  cir- 
cumstances, that  if  they  are  permitted  to 
carry  their  present  designs  into  execution, 
you  will  find  your  communication  cut  off 
with  Phcenice  and  Coelo-syria." 

Artaxerxes,  by  nature  turbulent  and 
impetuous,  was  incensed  beyond  degree 
at  these  representations;  and  therefore 
returned  the  states  the  following  answer : 

"  King  Artaxerxes  to   Rathumus,  his 


ject,  a  modern  writer  has  ingeniously  remarked, 
that  the  presents  which  the  Magi  made  to  Christ, 
indicated  their  esteeming  him  a  royal  child,  not- 
withstanding his  mean  situation  and  appearance  : 
they  gave  him  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh,  such 
as  the  queen  of  Sheba  presented  to  Solomon  in  his 
glory.  It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  add,  that 
from  these  Magi  or  Magians  the  English  word 
magic  is  derived: — See  Prideaux,  Gibbon,  Bayle, 
Bibliotheque  Orientale,  and  Harmer's  Observa- 
tions.— Beloe. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


501 


historiographer;  Beeltethmus  and  Semel- 
lius  the  scribes,  and  other  inhabitants  of 
Samaria  and  Phoenice,  greeting. — Upon 
the  reading  of  your  letter  of  address,  I 
have  caused  a  diligent  search  to  be  made 
into  the  history  of  former  times,  accord- 
ing to  your  request,  and  I  find  your  re- 
marks upon  the  city  of  Jerusalem  to  be 
true,  and  that  the  Jews  have  ever  been  a 
rebellious  and  anti-monarchical  sort  of 
people;  turbulent  and  restless,  and  natu- 
rally addicted  to  innovations.  I  find 
likewise,  that  their  kings  have  ever  been 
fierce  and  violent,  and  extortionate  in  their 
taxes  and  impositions,  to  the  highest  de- 
gree of  oppression,  as  Phoenice  and  Coelo- 
syria  may  witness  against  them.  Where- 
fore I  do  command  you  to  oppose  them 
with  all  your  might,  in  the  rebuilding  of 
the  city ;  for  as  they  grow  in  power  they 
will  certainly  increase  in  malice  and  be- 
have themselves  as  seditiously  to  the  pre- 
sent governors,  as  they  have  done  in 
times  past  to  former  kings." 

Rathumus  and  Semellius,  the  king's 
scribes,  had  no  sooner  read  this  mandate 
than  they  set  out,  with  many  others,  for 
Jerusalem;  whither  having  arrived  with 
the  utmost  expedition,  they  put  an  abso- 
lute stop,  both  to  the  rebuilding  the  city 
and  the  temple ;  so  that  it  was  retarded 
from  that  period  to  the  second  year  of 
Darius  Hystaspes.* 


*  There  are  some  who  take  the  Darius  here 
mentioned,  not  to  be  Darius  the  II.  who  was  the 
6on  of  Hystaspes,  but  the  Darius  who  is  commonly 
called  Nothus;  but  then  they  are  pressed  with 
this  difficulty,  which  may  well  be  called  insur- 
mountable. For,  from  the  first  year  of  Cyrus, 
who  gave  orders  for  the  building  of  the  temple,  to 
the  sixth  year  of  Darius  Nothus,  in  which  they 
suppose  that  it  was  finished,  there  were,  at  least, 
an  hundred  and  thirteen  years  ;  according  to  some, 
an  hundred  and  seventeen  ;  and,  according  to 
others,  an  hundred  and  forty-two.  But  now,  if  all 
this  time  Zerubbabel  was  in  the  government  of 
Judea,  and  Joshua  in  the  high-priesthood,  so  long 
an  authority  in  church  or  state  was  never  heard  of 
in  any  age  before.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten, 
what  the  prophet  Haggai,  cb.  ii.  3.,  supposes,  viz. 
that  some,  then  alive,  remembered  the  glory  of  the 
first  temple,  and  compared  it  with  the  glory  of  the 
«ecoud  ;  which,   upon  the  supposition  that  this 


The  Magian  being  cut  off,  the  govern- 
ment was  afterwards  translated  by  the 
seven  satrapse,  or  eminent  families  of  the 
Persians,  and  by  common  consent  confer- 
red on  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes.f 

Darius,  before  he  arrived  at  the  regal 
dignity,  made  a  solemn  vow  to  the  Lord, 
that  if  ever  he  came  to  the  throne,  he 
would  send  all  the  holy  vessels  that  were 
at  Babylon  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem ; 
and  it  happened  about  that  time  that 
Zerubbabel,  who  was  declared  the  prince 
or  captain  of  the  Jewish  captives,  came 
from  Jerusalem  to  Darius. 

Zerubbabel  was  admitted  into  the  king's 
peculiar  favour  and  confidence,  and,  to- 
gether with  two  other  great  officers,  vested 
with  the  highest  offices  of  state. 

Darius,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign, 
gave  a  splendid  and  magnificent  entertain- 
ment, not  only  to  his  own  courtiers,  but 
to  the  princes  and  nobility  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  the  general  officers  of  all 
India  and  Ethiopia,  and  the  commanders 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces. 

Upon  the  breaking  up  of  the  company, 


was  in  the  sixth  year  of  Darius  Nothus,  will  make 
them  at  least  an  hundred  and  fourscore  years  old, 
a  thing  almost  incredible.  And  therefore  the  most 
probable  opinion  is,  that  the  Darius  here  meant 
was  Darius  Hystaspes,  whose  second  year  was  the 
eighteenth  after  the  first  of  Cyrus,  as  Huetius 
reckons. — Patrick's  Commentary. 

\  The  seven  princes,  who  had  slain  the  usurper 
Smerdis,  (Artaxerxes,)  and  his  brother,  consulting 
together  about  the  settling  of  government,  came  at 
length  to  this  resolution,  that  the  monarchy  should 
continue  in  the  same  manner  that  it  had  been 
established  by  Cyrus;  and  that,  to  determine 
which  of  them  should  ascend  the  throne,  they 
should  all  meet  at  a  certain  place  the  next  morn- 
ing, against  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  that  he 
whose  horse  first  neighed  shoiiid  be  appointed 
king.  For  as  the  sun  was  the  great  deity  of  all 
the  Persians,  they  seemed  by  this  method  to  refer 
their  election  to  it :  but  Darius's  groom,  being 
informed  of  this,  tied  a  mare,  on  the  night  before 
the  election,  to  the  place  where,  the  next  morning, 
they  were  to  meet,  and  brought  his  master's  horse 
to  cover  her.  As  soon  therefore,  as  the  princes 
met  together  at  the  time  appointed,  Darius's  horse 
remembered  the  place,  ran  immediately  thither, 
neighing  and  prancing  all  along;  whereupon  the 
rest  dismounting,  saluted  him  as  their  king,  and 
accordingly  placed  him  on  the  throne. — Prideauz's 
Connection. 


502 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


when  the  entertainment  was  over,  they  j  It  changes  and  elevates  the  spirits,  where- 
retired,  every  man  to  his  own  quarter,  j  ver  it  takes  possession.  It  enlivens  the 
And  Darius,  in  the  mean  while,  finding,  j  heavy  hearts  of  the  miserable ;  pays  all 
after  a  short  slumber,  that  he  could  not  j  debts;  and  relieves  men  in  all  manner  of 
compose  himself,  fell  into  discourse  on  j  necessities.  It  makes  the  mean,  pusilla- 
different  topics  with  his  three  favourite  :  nimous  wretch,  affect  the  air  of  the  brave 
officers,  telling  them  in  the  end,  "  That  and  noble,  without  respect  to  things  or 
he  had  some  questions  to  ask  them;  and  persons.  It  makes  men  forget  their  most 
for  their  encouragement,  he  that  should  intimate  familiars  and  friends,  and  un- 
give  him  the  most  reasonable  and  satis-  gratefully  treat  their  nearest  relations,  as 
factory  answer  should  have  the  honour  to 
be  clothed  in  purple,  drink  in  a  golden 
cup,  sleep  upon  gold,  ride  in  a  chariot 
with  harness  of  gold,  wear  a  silk  tiara,* 
and  a  golden  chain;  have  the  next  place 
to  himself  in  council,  and  be  accounted  as 
one  of  the  royal  blood." 

After  this,  he  put  his  questions  to  them 
in  order.  To  the  first,  if  there  was  any 
thing  stronger  than  wine  ?  To  the  second, 
the  same  question  again,  of  the  strength  of 
kings  ?  And  to  the  third,  what  he  thought 
of  the  strength  of  women  ?  Or,  finally, 
of  truth,  perhaps,  above  all  the  rest  ? 

Upon  the  putting  of  these  queries  to 
them,  he  left  his  officers  to  consider  of  the 
matter. 

Early  in  the  morning  he  called  together 
all  the  princes  of  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
with  the  chief  officers  and  governors, 
placed  himself  upon  the  seat  of  justice, 
and  caused  the  guards  of  his  body  to  be 
sent  for  immediately,  to  give  their  opinions 
severally  and  publicly  upon  what  he  had 
proposed. 

The  first  began  upon  the  subject  of  the 
strength  of  wine ;  thus  addressing  the 
assembly : — "I  take  upon  me  to  pronounce 
wine  superior  to  all  other  powers  whatso- 
ever. For  it  overthrows  the  minds  and 
understandings  of  all  those  that  drink  too 
plentifully  of  it.  It  puts  the  greatest 
prince  into  the  condition  of  a  child.  It 
sets  the  slave  at  liberty,  even  to  the  for- 
getting of  his  chains ;  and  makes  the  beg- 
gar as  rich  and  as  great  as  an  emperor. 


*  This  was  a  rich  ornament  for  the  head,  worn 
by  emperors,  kings,  and  great  personages  among 
the  Eastern  people  in  former  times. 


if  they  were  the  most  hateful  strangers; 
and  then  when  a  person  has  recovered 
from  a  debauch,  he  remembers  not  what 
he  did  in  the  heat  of  liquor.  For  which 
reason  I  cannot  but  look  upon  wine  as 
strongest  in  its  effect." 

When  the  first  had  finished  his  discus- 
sion of  the  power  of  wine ;  the  second 
stood  up  for  the  power  of  kings,  in  pre- 
ference to  all  other,  which  he  endeavoured 
to  prove  after  this  manner  :  "  It  is  beyond 
dispute,  that  God  has  made  man  master 
of  all  things  under  the  sun,  so  far  as  to 
command  them  to  make  use  of  them,  and 
apply  them  to  necessary  purposes  of  life; 
but  whereas  men  have  only  a  dominion 
over  other  sublunary  creatures,  kings  have 
an  authority  even  over  men  themselves, 
and  a  right  of  ruling  them,  superior  to 
those  that  are  masters  of  all  things  else, 
hath  a  just  title  to  precedence,  and  to  be 
accounted  supreme,  having  no  earthly 
thing  above  him.  When  princes  find  it 
convenient  to  expose  the  persons  of  their 
subjects  to  wars  and  dangers,  they  obey 
them  without  any  reluctance,  let  the 
hazard  be  what  it  will ;  whether  bodies  to 
bodies,  or  in  the  attack  of  walls  or  works, 
forcing  of  passes,  or,  as  it  often  happens, 
in  contending  with  nature  itself.  We  see 
how  frankly  they  offer  themselves  either 
to  kill  or  be  killed,  in  the  execution  of 
their  princely  orders ;  and  then  in  case  of 
a  victory  at  last,  the  honour  and  profit  of 
the  whole  redounds  to  the  king.  Thus- 
much  for  the  military  part;  and  the  same 
reason  holds  good  in  the  common  business 
of  life,  whether  the  countryman  ploughs, 
sows,  digs  and  sweats,  to  supply  the  king's 


Chap.  V. 


THE  BIBLE. 


603 


stores  out  of  his  toil  and  labour,  or  what- 
soever he  commands,  it  must  be  obeyed, 
without  expostulation  or  delay.  The 
king,  while  the  people  are  thus  labouring 
for  him,  takes  his  fill  of  every  delicate 
pleasure,  sleeps  in  security,  with  his 
guards  about  him,  under  an  indispensable 
obligation  of  the  closest  and  most  watch- 
ful attendance ;  nor  dares  a  man  amongst 
them  close  his  eyes  while  his  master  is  at 
rest;  for  the  king's  business  is  theirs, 
without  any  sort  of  liberty  to  attend  to 
any  other ;  so  that  nothing  certainly  can 
be  stronger  than  the  force  of  that  power 
which  the  whole  multitude  obeys  to  all 
intents  and  purposes." 

After  this  declamation  upon  the  power 
of  kings,  Zerubbabel  stood  up  in  vindica- 
tion of  women  and  truth,  and  thus  en- 
forced his  argument :  "  The  power  of 
wine  is  not  to  be  denied,  neither  is  that 
of  kings,  that  ties  up  so  many  millions  of 
men  in  one  common  bond  of  allegiance ; 
but  the  supereminence  of  women,  not- 
withstanding, exceeds  all  this ;  for  the 
mother  of  the  king  was  before  the  king 
himself,  and  kings  are  but  the  gifts  of  the 
women,  who  brought  them  into  the  world ; 
and  women  were  likewise  the  mothers  and 
nurses  of  those  that  cultivate  our  vineyards, 
and  dress  our  vines.  There  is  not  any 
thing  we  can  pretend  to,  but  what  we 
either  directly  or  indirectly  receive  from 
them.  They  have  a  hand  in  the  govern- 
ment of  our  domestic  affairs ;  nay,  in  the 
dress  and  ornament  of  our  bodies ;  and, 
in  fine,  God  hath  made  them  so  necessary 
to  us,  that  we  cannot  live  without  them. 
The  siofht  of  a  beautiful  woman  constrains 
a  man  to  sacrifice  his  property,  and  his 
most  darling  attachments  to  the  possession 
of  her  charms.  Women  have  the  power 
to  make  us  abandon  our  very  country  and 
relations,  and  frequently  to  forget  the  best 
friends  we  have  in  the  world ;  and  forsake 
every  other  comfort,  to  live  and  die  with 
them. 

"  I  may  further  add,  that  when  we  have 
compassed  sea  and  land,  for  every  thing 


that  is  rich  and  curious  in  nature,  do 
not  we  resign  all  to  the  disposal  of  some 
woman,  who  reigns  sole  mistress  of  our 
hearts  ?  How  have  I  seen  a  king,  in  the 
very  meridian  of  his  glory,  submit  to 
the  highest  indignity  from  the  hand  of 
his  concubine?  Nor  was  this  all.  She 
would  take  the  crown  from  the  king's 
head,  and  set  it  upon  her  own ;  and  he, 
weak  man,  was  so  infatuated  with  her 
beauty,  as  to  condescend  to  any  foolery, 
in  order  to  please  her;  or  suffer  himself 
to  be  treated  just  as  her  caprice  might 
direct." 

The  princes  and  nobility  were  not  a 
little  amazed  at  the  freedom  used  by 
Zerubbabel  in  vindication  of  his  argument; 
however,  he  proceeded  to  the  discussion 
of  the  last  point,  which  was  the  article  of 
truth.  "  I  have  delivered  my  opinion 
upon  the  subject  of  women.  But  after 
all,  neither  they  nor  kings  are  comparable 
to  the  irresistible  force  of  truth.  For 
allowing  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  earth, 
the  height  of  the  heavens,  and  the  un- 
speakable swiftness  of  the  sun,  and  that 
all  this  is  ordered  by  a  divine  hand,  it 
must  be  granted  withal,  that  God  is  just 
and  true ;  and  consequently  that  truth  is 
of  all  things  imaginable  the  most  powerful, 
since  neither  error  nor  injustice  can  pre- 
vail against  it.  As  for  every  thing  else 
that  passes  for  great  in  the  world,  they 
are  mortal  and  short-lived,  but  truth  alone 
is  unchangeable  and  everlasting;  the 
benefits  we  receive  from  it  are  subject  to 
no  variations  or  vicissitudes  of  time  and 
fortune,  but  righteous  and  warrantable, 
and  without  any  stain  of  iniquity  or  re- 
proach." 

Zerubbabel  had  the  universal  acclama- 
tion of  the  audience,  for  the  excellent 
things  he  delivered ;  and  they  all  agreed 
with  him,  that  truth  was  incorruptible, 
and  the  only  blessing  under  the  sun  that 
was  not  liable  to  alteration  and  decay ;  so 
that  the  king,  as  an  instance  of  his  full 
satisfaction  in  this  answer  to  the  question, 
bade  him  take  his  choice  out  of  what  he 


504 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


lad  promised  him,  and  he  would  freely 
grant  it  him. 

For,  says  he,  addressing  himself  to 
Zerubbabel,  "  You  shall  have  the  prefer- 
ence in  my  esteem  above  all  other  men, 
in  consideration  of  the  superiority  of 
your  wisdom  and  understanding  above 
that  of  your  companions.  And  from  this 
time  forward  you  shall  have  the  first 
place  of  honour  next  to  my  own  person, 
and  stand  adopted  into  the  royal  family." 

Zerubbabel  embraced  this  opportunity 
to  remind  the  king  of  a  former  vow  he 
had  made;  which  was,  that  if  he  ever 
came  to  the  crown,  he  would  immediately 
apply  himself  to  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  holy  temple  there,  and  or- 
der a  restitution  to  be  made  of  all  the  sa- 
cred vessels  and  utensils  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  taken  away  from  thence,  and 
carried  to  Babylon. 

"  Now,"  says  he,  "  since  your  majesty 
has  done  me  the  honour  of  reputing  me  a 
wise  man,  and  given  me  the  preference  on 
thjis  occasion,  my  humble  request  is,  that 
you  will  now  discharge  your  vow,  and 
fulfil  your  promise." 

The  king,  upon  this  challenge,  raised 
himself  from  his  throne,  embraced  his 
adviser,  and  despatched  mandates  to  his 
governors  and  great  officers  to  conduct 
Zerubbabel,  and  those  to  go  along  with 
him,  to  their  journey's  end,  and  to  assist 
him  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple. 

He  wrote  letters  also  to  the  magistrates 
of  Phcenice  and  Syria,  to  provide  carriages 
for  the  transporting  of  the  cedar  to  Jeru- 
salem, that  was  cut  down  in  Lebanon,  and 
to  afford  them  all  possible  assistance  in 
their  undertaking. 

The  king  likewise  gave  charge  to  ex- 
empt all  the  Jews  that  should  now  return 
out  of  this  captivity,  from  the  burden  of 
any  public  tax  or  duty,  and  to  leave  them 
at  liberty  in  their  persons,  as  well  as  in 
their  estates,  without  either  restraint  or 
tribute. 

Also  he  commanded  the  Edomites,  Sa- 
maritan^ and  the  people  of  Coelo»syria, 


to  restore  all  those  lands  to  the  Jews  that 
had  been  formerly  in  their  possession,  and 
to  contribute  fifty  talents  over  and  above, 
toward  the  erecting  of  the  temple;  and 
assigned  them  out  of  his  own  bounty 
whatever  should  be  found  necessary,  either 
in  sacerdotal  habits  or  otherwise,  for  the 
due  regulation  of  every  part  and  branch 
of  that  important  work. 

He  moreover  assigned  them  organs  also 
to  accompany  the  voices  of  the  Levite8, 
and  ordered  a  certain  proportion  of  land 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  officers  and 
keepers  both  of  the  city  and  the  temple, 
by  way  of  an  annual  pension ;  confirming 
every  thing,  in  fine,  that  Cyrus  had  for- 
merly resolved  upon  respecting  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Jews,  and  their  holy  vessels. 

Zerubbabel  having  thus  obtained  the 
summit  of  his  wishes  at  the  hand  of  king 
Darius,  he  no  sooner  had  left  his  presence, 
than  he  addressed  the  throne  of  divine 
grace,  to  return  God  unfeigned  thanks 
for  the  honour  he  had  received  from  the 
king,  in  the  reputation  of  his  wisdom, 
beyond  the  rest  of  his  competitors,  which 
he  acknowledged  to  be  only  the  distin- 
guishing effect  of  his  goodness ;  concluding 
his  thanksgiving  with  a  prayer  for  the 
success  of  his  undertaking;  and  then 
went  his  way  to  his  countrymen  at  Baby- 
lon, with  the  joyful  news  of  their  deliver- 
ance. 

Upon  these  tidings  they  joined  imme- 
diately in  a  universal  thanksgiving  for 
the  promise  of  this  restoration  to  their 
native  country.  And  after  the  solemnity 
was  over,  they  devoted  seven  successive 
days  to  feasting,  and  indicated  such  tokens 
of  general  joy,  that  the  day  of  their  re- 
demption and  return  seemed  as  the  first 
day  of  a  new  life  to  them. 

The  heads  of  the  tribes  made  choice  of 
those  that  were  to  go  upon  this  expedition, 
providing  horses,  and  other  beasts  of  bur- 
den, and  carriages  for  their  wives  and 
children,  and  taking  those  troops  along 
with  them  which  Darius  had  appointed 
for  a  convoy. 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE.  505 

In  tins  manner  they  passed  their  time  !  This  was  the  order  and  manner  of  the 
cheerfully  upon  the  way,  with  pipes  and  :  march  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  and  that 
cymbals    playing    before    them,   and    the  |  part  of  the  people  that  went  along  with 

rejoicing 


whole   multitude    dancing    and 
after  the  music. 

There  was  a  select  number  chosen  out 
from  every  tribe ;  but  as  the  mentioning 
them  singly  would  rather  tire  than  in- 
struct the  reader,  we  shall  only  mention 
the  distinct  tribes. 

There  were  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin  forty-two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty. 

After  these  came  four  thousand  and 
seventy  Levites ;  and  a  promiscuous  mul- 
titude of  women  and  children,  to  the  num- 
ber of  forty  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-two. 

Of  the  stock  of  the  Levites  there  were 
an  hundred  and  twenty-eight  singers;  a 
hundred  and  ten  porters.  And  of  others 
that  served  and  assisted  in  the  sanctuary 
three  hundred  and  twenty-two. 

There  were  also  six  hundred  and  fifty 
two,  that  called  themselves  Israelites,  but 
could  not  prove  their  extraction. 

There  were  others  that  had  taken 
wives,  whose  genealogy  could  not  be 
made  out,  either  from  the  Levites  or  sacer- 
dotal records ;  and  these  were  accounted 
unqualified  for  the  holy  function,  to  the 
number  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-five. 

The  train  of  servants  that  attended  them 
was  reckoned  at  seven  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven ;  single  men  and 
women,  two  hundred  and  thirty-five; 
camels,  four  hundred  and  thirty-five ;  and 
other  beasts  of  carriage,  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five. 

The  leader  of  this  multitude  was  Zerub- 
babel,  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  and  the  race  of  David ;  and  with 
him  Jeshua,  the  son  of  Jozadak,  and  Mar- 
dochseus,  and  Serebseus,  which  two  were 
chosen  to  the  command  by  the  suffrage  of 
the  tribes,  and  contributed,  at  their  own 
charge,  a  hundred  pounds  of  gold,  and 
five  thousand  pounds  of  silver,  towards  the 
expense  of  this  expedition. 


them  in  their  return  from  Babylon  to 
Jerusalem,  the  rest  following  after  by  de- 
grees, till  in  the  end  they  all  went  back 
to  their  own  habitations. 

In  the  seventh  month  after  their  de- 
parture from  Babylon,  Jeshua  the  high- 
priest,  and  Zerubbabel  their  prince,  sent 
messengers  throughout  the  land,  to  sum- 
mon the  people  to  a  general  meeting  at 
Jerusalem,  in  consequence  of  which  they 
gathered  together  with  great  cheerfulness. 

Upon  this  meeting  there  was  erected 
an  altar  to  sacrifice  upon,  according  to 
the  appointment  of  God  by  his  servant 
Moses,  and  it  was  raised  upon  the  same 
place  where  it  stood  before.  This  pro- 
ceeding gave  great  offence  to  the  neigh- 
bouring nations,  who  had  a  mortal  aver- 
sion both  to  the  people  and  to  what- 
ever they  did.  It  fell  out  just  upon  the 
feast  of  tabernacles,  according  to  the 
Mosaical  institution ;  after  that  came  the 
daily  oblations,  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
sabbaths,  and  of  the  new  moons,  and  of 
all  holy  feasts ;  all  those  that  had  made 
any  vow  came  likewise  to  perform  it,  from 
the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month. 

They  entered  then  npon  the  building 
of  the  temple,  and  expended  vast  sums  of 
money  upon  workmen  and  builders  of  all 
sorts ;  and  upon  provisions  for  those  that 
assisted  in  the  carriage  of  materials.  The 
Sidonians  contributed  liberally  towards 
this  work,  bringing  down  cedar-trees  in 
abundance  from  Lebanon,  and  framing 
them  into  boats,  which  they  brought  into 
the  port  of  Joppa,  as  they  had  been  or- 
dered, first  by  Cyrus,  and  after  him  by 
Darius. 

It  was  now  the  second  month  of  the  se- 
cond year  after  the  return  of  the  Jews, 
when  the  foundations  of  the  temple  being 
already  laid,  they  began  on  the  first  day  of 
December  with  the  superstructure,  com- 
mitting the  care  of  the  building  to  the 
whole  family  of  the  Levites,  of  twenty 
3s 


506 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


years  of  age  and  upward,  and  likewise  to 
Jeshua,  with  his  sons  and  brothers ;  and 
to  Kadmiel,  the  brother  of  Judah,  and  the 
son  of  Aminadab,  and  to  his  sons,  who 
were  all  so  diligent  and  industrious  in  the 
discharge  of  their  commissions,  that  the 
fabric  went  forward  beyond  expectation. 

When  they  were  advanced  thus  far,  the 
priests  came  and  officiated  in  their  habits, 
with  musical  instruments ;  and  the  Le- 
vites,  and  the  sons  of  Asaph,  sung  some  of 
the  hymns  of  David  to  the  honour  of  God, 
according  to  the  first  institution.  But  the 
priests  and  Levites,  and  the  elders  of  their 
families  who  had  seen  the  glory  and  mag- 
nificence of  the  former  house,  observing 
how  inferior  this  was  when  compared  with 
the  other,  broke  out  into  tears  and  lamen- 
tations.* 

The  common  people,  however,  that  had 
never  seen  the  former,  and  consequently 
could  not  be  troubled  at  the  disproportion, 
contented  themselves  with  the  present 
state  of  things,  though  the  passion  of  the 

*The  old  men,  who  had  seen  the  glory  of  the 
first  temple,  and  had  no  expectation  that  this,  which 
was  now  building  by  a  few  poor  exiles  lately  re- 
turned into  their  country,  could  ever  equal  the  for- 
mer, which  had  all  the  riches  of  David  and  Solo- 
mon, two  of  the  wealthiest  princes  of  the  East,  ex- 
pended in  its  erection,  wept  at  the  remembrance 
of  that  which  was  gone,  while  others  rejoiced  at 
the  foundation  of  the  new  one.  Indeed  the  dif- 
ference between  the  former  temple,  and  this  which 
was  now  beginning  was  so  great,  that  God  himself 
tells  the  prophet  Haggai,  (chap.  ii.  8.)  that  the  lat- 
ter was  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  former. 
It  is  true  that  the  dimensions  of  the  two  temples 
were  the  same ;  but  in  its  ornaments,  materials, 
and  workmanship,  Solomon's  temple  was  farsuperi- 
or  to  the  second  temple  ;  and,  what  was  more  im- 
portant, the  second  temple  entirely  wanted  that 
which  constituted  the  main  glory  of  Solomon's  tem- 
ple, the  extraordinary  marks  of  the  divine  favour ; 
consisting  especially  in  the  holy  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  the  mercy  seat  which  was  upon  it,  in  the 
Shechinah  or  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  in  the 
Urim  and  Tlmmmim,  and  in  the  holy  fire  on  the 
altar  :  but  all  these  wants  and  defects  were  after- 
wards abundantly  supplied  in  the  second  temple, 
when  the  Desire  of  all  nations  came  to  this  temple, 
when  Christ  our  Savour,  who  was  the  most  true 
Shechinah  of  the  divine  majesty,  honoured  it  with 
his  presence ;  in  this  respect  the  glory  of  the  lat- 
ter house  did  far  exceed  the  glory  of  the  former  ; 
and  the  prophecies  of  Haggai,  who  foretold  that  it 
should  be  so,  had  a  full  completion. — Dean  Pri- 
deuux.  i 


priests  and  elders  was  so  great  at  the  same 
time,  that  their  very  sighs  and  cries  were 
almost  as  loud  as  the  music. 

The  report  of  this  noise  of  trumpets, 
with  a  confused  clamour  and  mixture  of 
joy  and  sorrow,  being  brought  to  the  Sa- 
maritans, they  hastened  in  great  multi- 
tudes to  learn  the  cause  of  it;  and  finding 
that  it  was  occasioned  by  the  return  of  the 
Jews  from  the  captivity  at  Babylon,  and 
that  they  were  now  at  work  upon  the  re- 
building of  their  temple,  they  went  im- 
mediately to  Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua,  with 
the  chief  of  the  tribes,  and  desired  that 
they  themselves  might  likewise  be  admit- 
ted to  assist  in  the  undertaking,  upon 
terms  in  common  with  the  rest.f     "  For," 

f  The  Jews  steadily  rejected  the  proposal  made 
by  the  Samaritans,  to  join  with  them  in  rebuild- 
ing the  temple  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  celebrat- 
ing his  worship  ;  and  we  can  discern  important 
reasons,  in  consequence  of  which  this  rejection  ap- 
pears to  have  been  subservient  to  the  purposes  of 
the  divine  economy.  The  intermixture  of  the 
Samaritans  with  the  Jews,  might  have  rendered 
the  accomplishment  of  the  prophecies  concerning 
the  family  and  birth  of  the  Messiah  less  clear  ; 
might  have  introduced  again  idolatry  among  the 
restored  Jews,  now  completely  abhorrent  from  it, 
and  in  various  ways  defeated  the  grand  objects  of 
Providence  in  selecting  and  preserving  a  peculiar 
people.  In  consequence  of  this  rejection,  and  the 
alienation  it  produced,  the  Jews  probably  became 
more  vigilant  in  preserving  the  strictness,  and  the 
Samaritans  more  zealous  in  emulating  the  purity 
of  the  Mosaic  ritual.  They  became  hostile  and 
therefore  unsupected  guardians  and  vouchers  of 
the  integrity  of  the  sacred  text,  particularly  of  the 
Pentateuch.  And  while  the  Jews,  in  general 
blinded  by  their  national  prejudices,  could  see  in 
the  promised  Messiah  only  a  national  and  tempor- 
al deliverer  ;  the  Samaritans  appear  to  have  judg- 
ed of  his  pretensions  with  more  justice  and  suc- 
cess. And  though  our  Lord  visited  them  only  as 
it  were  incidentally,  yet  he  was  able  to  declare  to 
them  his  character,  and  avow  his  dignity,  without 
that  mysterious  reserve  and  jealous  caution  which 
the  proneness  of  the  Jewish  multitude  "  to  take 
him  by  force  and  make  him  a  king  "  constantly  re- 
quired. And  it  seems  evident,  that  the  Samari- 
tans were  predisposed  and  prepared  to  receive  and 
diffuse  the  light  of  the  gospel  more  than  any  other 
description  of  men,  the  pious  and  reflecting  part 
of  the  Jewish  nation  only  excepted.  And  thus 
this  circumstance,  in  the  progress  of  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation, which  at  first  view  might  seem  to  prove 
it  was  peculiarly  partial  or  confined,  appears  in  its 
final  result  to  have  materially  facilitated  the  diffu- 
sion of  true  religion  in  the  world,  and  thus  to  have 
been  subservient  to  the  general  advantage  of  man- 
kind.— Dr  Graves. 

I 


CuAr.  V.] 

said  they,  "we  worship  the  same  God, 
value  ourselves  upon  the  glory  of  the  same 
profession,  and  upon  the  love  and  practice 
of  the  same  religion,  from  the  very  days 
of  Shalmaneser,  the  king  of  Assyria,  who 
transported  us  out  of  Media  into  this 
land." 

The  answer  to  the  request  was,  with  one 
voice,  that  they  could  not  take  them  into 
a  partnership  in  the  building,  because  for- 
merly Cyrus,  and  after  him  Darius,  had  as- 
signed the  building  of  it  to  their  particu- 
lar care  ;  but  that  they  should  have  liber- 
ty, if  they  thought  fit,  to  worship  there, 
without  exception  to  any  man,  and  that  it 
should  be  open  to  all  people  indifferently, 
who  were  disposed  to  serve  God  in  it. 

The  Cuthites  (for  so  were  the  Samari- 
tans called)  were  so  offended  at  this  refus- 
al, that  they  stirred  up  the  Syrians  to  ap- 
ply themselves  to  the  great  men  as  they 
did  at  first,  under  Cyrus,  and  afterward 
under  Artaxerxes,  that  a  stop  might  be  put 
to  the  progress  of  the  building,  by  abating 
the  diligence  of  those  that  were  intrusted 
with  the  despatch  of  the  work. 

There  went  up  to  Jerusalem  at  this 
time,  Sisinnes,  the  governor  of  Syria  and 
Phoenice,  and  Sathrabuzanes  with  some 
others,  and  demanded  of  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal men  by  what  authority  this  temple 
was  to  be  built,  as  it  resembled  a  castle  ra- 
ther than  a  temple,  and  to  what  end  the 
walls  of  the  city  were  made  so  thick  and 
strong,  and  the  gates  so  fortified  ?  Zerub- 
babel  and  Jeshua  made  answer,  that  they 
were  the  servants  of  the  most  high  God, 
to  whose  honour  this  temple  was  built, 
and  to  his  service  it  was  dedicated  by  the 
greatest,  and  happiest,  and  the  wisest  prince 
that  ever  sat  upon  that  throne,  and  that  it 
had  stood  for  many  ages,  till  in  the  end,  for 
the  wickedness  of  their  forefathers,  the 
city,  by  God's  permission,  was  taken,  and 
;  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  of 
|  Babylon  and  Chaldea,  the  temple  pillag- 
ed and  laid  in  ashes,  and  the  people  car- 
ried away  captive  into  Babylon ;  but  that 
when  Cyrus  came  to  the  government  of 


THE  BIBLE. 


507 


Persia  and  Babylon,  he  ordered  by  his 
royal  proclamation  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple,  and  restoring  of  all  the  donations 
and  vessels  that  had  been  taken  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, which  were  delivered  to  Zer- 
ubbabel,  and  his  treasurer,  to  be  transport- 
ed to  Jerusalem,  and  deposited  there  again 
in  the  temple;  that  by  the  command  of 
the  same  king,  Sisinnes  was  sent  to  that 
city  to  attempt  the  speedy  execution  of  the 
work ;  that  upon  receipt  of  the  king's  let- 
ters, he  came  in  all  haste,  and  immediate- 
ly laid  the  foundation  ;  and  that  from  that 
time  forward  their  enemies  had  been  still 
endeavouring  by  all  the  means  their  ma- 
lice could  suggest  to  impede  and  obstruct 
the  prosecution  of  their  designs.  As  by 
an  application  to  Darius,  they  might  have 
been  assured  of  the  truth  of  what  they 
told  them ;  and  as  they  did  not  think  it 
expedient  to  interrupt  their  progress  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  king,  they  there- 
fore agreed  among  themselves  to  write  to 
him  immediately  about  this  matter.  The 
Jews  were  not  a  little  solicitous  and  appre- 
hensive, lest  the  king,  upon  this  applica- 
tion, should  countermand  the  orders  he  had 
given,   till  Haggai  and  Zechariah,*   two 


*  Zechariah  was  the  son  of  Barachiah,  and 
grandson  of  Iddo,  but  the  time  and  place  of  his 
birth  are  unknown.  Some  will  have  him  to  be 
born  at  Babylon,  during  the  captivity  ;  but  others 
think  that  he  was  born  at  Jerusalem,  before  the 
tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  were  carried  away. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  returned  from  Ba- 
bylon with  Zerubbabel,  and  very  probable,  that  he 
began  to  prophesy  in  the  second  year  of  Darius, 
the  son  of  Hystaspes.  The  number,  excellency, 
and  preciseness  of  his  prophecies,  made  him  be  styl- 
ed the  sun  among  the  lesser  prophets,  and,  as  he 
began  his  predictions  about  two  months  after  Hag- 
gai, with  him  he  encouraged  the  Jews  in  rebuild- 
ing of  their  temple,  and  gave  them  assurance  of 
the  divine  protection.  But  these  prophecies  were  in- 
considerable in  comparison  of  those  which  foretell 
the  Messias  in  the  plainest  terms;  the  cruel  war 
which  Antiochus  Epiphanes  waged  with  the  Jews, 
and  God's  severe  judgments  against  this  tyrant^ 
the  Jewish  war  with  the  Romans,  and  the  siege  of 
Babylon  by  Darius  ;  the  dissolution  of  the  old 
covenant,  and  the  substitution  of  a  new  one  under 
Christ ;  the  glorious  state  of  the  Christian  church, 
and  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles ;  the  persecu- 
tions which  the  Christians  should  endure,  and  the 
severe  punishment  of  their  persecutors  ;  and  other 


508 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


prophets  among  them  atthat  time,  bade  them  |  sixty  cubits  in  height,  and  as  many  in 
beof  good  cheer,  and  fear  nothing  from  the  I  breadth,  and  the  altar  in  it;  that  there 
Persians,  for  they  were  certainly  informed  should  be  in  the  walls  three  rows  of 
of  God's  holy  will  and  pleasure  touching  polished  marble,  and  one  of  wood,  of  the 
that  affair.     The  people  so  absolutely  de-    growth  of  the  country,  and  the  charge  of  it 


pended  upon  this  encouragement,  that 
they  laboured  more  incessantly,  without 
the  intermission  so  much  as  of  one  single 
day. 

When  the  Samaritans  had  laid  an  ac- 
cusation against  the  Jews  before  Darius, 
objecting  against  them  the  fortifying  of 
the  city,  and  the  erecting  of  a  strong  place 
that  looked  more  like  a  citadel  than  a 
temple,  setting  forth  that  this  was  not  at 
all  for  the  king's  service,  and  showing  also 
the  epistle  of  Artaxerxes,  by  which  he 
had  forbidden  and  hindered  it  before,  as  a 
practice  that  was  neither  profitable  nor 
safe  for  the  public;  when  they  had  repre- 
sented all  this,  and  the  king  had  received 
and  considered  of  these  letters,  he  ordered 
the  royal  memorials  to  be  consulted  upon 
this  subject;  and  upon  the  search  there 
was  found  at  Ecbatana  a  certain  book, 
wherein  was  written  to  this  effect: 

"  It  was  ordained  by  king  Cyrus,  in 
the  first  year  of  his  reign,  that  the  temple 
of   God  should  be  rebuilt  at  Jerusalem, 


such  like  events,  contained  in  the  ninth,  and  fol- 
lowing chapter  of  his  prophecies. — Contemporary 
with  him  was  the  prophet  Haggai,  who,  in  all 
'  probability,  was  born  at  Babylon,  and  returned 
with  Zerubbabel  to  Jerusalem.  They  both,  with 
united  zeal,  encouraged  the  people  to  go  on  with 
the  work  of  the  temple,  which,  by  the  envy  of 
the  Samaritans,  who  were  their  enemies,  and 
the  ill  offices  of  some  at  the  court  of  Cyrus  and 
Cambyses,  whom  they  influenced,  was  discon- 
tinued for  some  time  ;  but,  upon  the  accession  of 
Darius  to  the  throne,  Haggai.  in  particular,  by 
reproaching  the  people  with  their  indolence  and 
insensibility,  by  telling  them  that  they  were  care- 
ful enough  to  lodge  themselves  very  commodiously, 
while  the  house  of  the  Lord  lay  buried  in  its  own 
ruins,  and  by  putting  them  in  mind,  that  the 
calamities  of  drought  and  famine,  wherewith  God 
had  afflicted  them  since  their  return,  were  owing 
to  their  neglect  in  repairing  the  temple,  prevailed 
with  them  to  set  about  the  work  in  good  earnest ; 
60  that,  by  virtue  of  these  reproofs,  as  well  as  some 
encouragements  which  God  occasionally  authorized 
him  to  give  them,  they  brought  the  whole  to  a 
conclusion  in  a  short  time. —  Calmet's  Dictionary, 
and  Universal  History, 


to  be  defrayed  out  of  the  king's  treasury; 
that  the  holy  vessels  which  Nebuchadnez- 
zar had  taken  out  of  the  temple,  should 
be  carried  back  to  Jerusalem,  and  restor- 
ed; that  the  superintendence  of  this  work 
should  be  committed  to  Sisinnes,  the 
governor  of  Syria  and  Phoenice,  and  to 
his  companions,  with  orders  not  to  appear 
at  Jerusalem  themselves,  but  to  leave  the 
building  of  the  temple  to  the  Jews,  the 
servants  of  God,  and  to  the  chief  of  their 
tribes;  but  to  supply  them,  however,  out 
of  the  taxes  upon  the  province,  and  to 
furnish  them  for  their  sacrifices,  with 
bulls,  rams,  &c.  and  whatever  else  the 
priests  should  desire,  who  were  to  pray  to 
God  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the 
king  of  Persia,  and  of  his  people,  and  that 
whosoever  should  presume  to  act  contrary 
to  this  mandate,  should  be  forthwith  taken 
and  hanged  up,  and  his  goods  confiscated, 
with  the  addition  of  a  curse  over  and 
above,  that  whoever  should  dare  to  oppose 
or  forbid  the  progress  of  this  work,  God 
would  strike  him  with  a  vengeance  as  a 
judgment  upon  him  for  his  iniquity." 

When  Darius,  upon  a  search  into  the 
transactions  of  Cyrus,  had  informed  him- 
self upon  the  matter  of  fact  in  question, 
he  wrote  back  to  Sisinnes  and  his  col- 
leagues to  this  effect: 

"  King  Darius  to  Sisinnes,  the  master 
of  his  horse ;  and  to  Sathrabuzanes,  and 
the  other  magistrates  with  him,  greeting: — 
I  send  you  a  copy  of  Cyrus's  letter,  tran- 
scribed out  of  his  records,  and  it  is  my 
will  and  pleasure  that  all  things  may  be 
done  according  to  the  direction  of  that 
appointment.     Fare  you  well." 

This  letter  gave  them  to  understand 
how  the  king  stood  disposed;  so  that 
Sisinnes,  and  the  rest,  agreed  among 
themselves  to  comply  in  all  respects  with 
the  king's  orders  and  command ;  and  un- 


Chap.  V.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


509 


dertaking  the  care  of  the  fabric,  they  as- 
sisted the  Jews  and  their  magistrates,  and 
carried  on  the  work  so  unanimously,  that 
the  building  was  erected  according  to  the 
command  of  Cyrus  and  Darius,  and  finish- 
ed within  the  compass  of  seven  years ;  the 
prophets  Haggai  and  Zechariah  in  the 
mean  time  prophesying. 

In  the  sixth  year  of  Darius,  and  three 
and  twentieth  day  of  the  eleventh  month, 
which  the  Jews  called  Adar,  the  Macedo- 
nians, the  priests  and  Levites,  with  the 
people  of  Israel,  offered  in  sacrifice  a 
hundred  bullocks,  two  hundred  rams,  four 
hundred  lambs,  and  twelve  goats,  as  sin- 
offerings,  for  the  twelve  tribes,*  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  blessing  of  their 
deliverance  from  captivity,  into  their  for- 
mer state,  and  to  his  holy  worship  in  the 
new  temple. 

The  priests  and  Levites  had  their  por- 
ters at  every  gate,  according  to  the  law, 
the  Jews  having  built  galleries  round 
about  the  temple. 

The  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  now 
drawing  on,  and  in  the  first  month  which 
the  Macedonians  called  Xanthicus,  and 
the  Jews  Nisan,  the  people  flocked  from 
all  places  to  the  city,  where  they  cele- 
brated that  festival,  together  with  their 
wives  and  children,  after  the  practice  of 
their  forefathers,  with  all  the  solemnity 
usual  on  the  occasion. 

Upon  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first 
month,  they  had  the  passover,  and  kept 
together  rejoicing  for  seven  days  after ; 


*  We  are  here  supplied  with  an  additional 
proof  that,  on  the  return  of  the  tribes  of  Judali 
and  Benjamin  from  the  Babylonish  qpptivity, 
many  also  of  each  of  the  other  tribes  returned  with 
them  from  Assyria,  Babylonia,  and  Media,  whither 
they  had  been  carried  ;  and,  joining  with  them  in 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  partook  in  the  so- 
lemnity of  the  dedication  ;  otherwise,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  sin-offering  should  now  be  offered 
in  behalf  of  all  the  twelve  tribes.  Since,  how- 
ever, the  greater  part  of  those  who  returned  con- 
sisted of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  their  name  swallowed 
up  the  names  of  all  the  rest  ;  for,  from  this  time, 
the  whole  people  of  Israel,  of  what  tribe  soever 
they  were,  began  to  be  called  Jews,  and  by  that 
name  they  have  been  known  ever  since  all  the 
world  over. — Dean  Prideaux. 


offering  up  sacrifices  and  thanksgiving  to 
God,  for  restoring  them  to  the  possession 
and  enjoyment  of  their  native  country, 
their  ancient  laws  and  religion,  and  for 
disposing  the  heart  and  inclination-  of  the 
king  so  favourably  toward  them. 

They  spared  no  cost  in  the  celebration 
of  this  festival,  and  so  replanted  them- 
selves in  Jerusalem,  where  they  erected 
an  aristocracy ;  for  the  sovereign  power 
was  lodged  in  the  high-priest  till  the 
Asmonean  family,  upon  a  turn  of  affairs, 
entered  upon  tfee  government,  and  turned 
it  into  a  monarchy. 

Before  the  captivity,  and  for  the  space 
of  five  hundred  thirty-two  years,  six 
months,  and  ten  days,  from  the  time  of 
Saul  and  David,  they  were  governed  by 
kings ;  as  they  were  likewise  before, 
though  under  the  name  of  judges,  and 
that  form  of  government  continued  up- 
wards of  five  hundred  years,  after  the  ad- 
ministration of  Moses  and  Joshua.  This 
was  the  state  of  the  Jews  at  the  time  of 
the  restoration  under  Cyrus  and  Darius. 
But  the  Samaritans,  who  were  an  en- 
vious people,  put  them  to  much  trouble ; 
for  they  were  powerful  and  wealthy,  and 
claiming  kindred  with  the  Persians,  valued 
themselves  upon  the  credit  of  their  ori- 
ginal. They  murmured  at  the  taxes  that 
were  laid  upon  them  by  way  of  contribu- 
tion to  the  sacrifices,  made  an  interest  to 
the  superintendent  of  the  works;  and, 
in  short,  either  by  themselves,  or  others, 
improved  all  opportunities  of  annoying  the 
Jews.  This  disorder  prevailed  so  far,  that 
the  senate  and  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
drew  up  a  complaint  against  the  Samari- 
tans, and  sent  Zerubbabel  with  four  more 
of  his  colleagues  upon  an  embassy  with  it 
to  Darius. 

When  the  king  came  to  consider  the 
crimes  that  were  charged  upon  the  Samar- 
itans, he  gave  them  a  letter,  addressed  to 
the  officers  and  lieutenants  of  that  pro- 
vince, and  the  senate  of  Samaria,  in  words 
to  this  purport : 

"  King  Darius  to  Tangar  and  Samba- 


510 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


ba,  the  master  of  the  horse  at  Samaria, 
and  to  Sadrack,  Bobelon,  and  the  rest  of 
their  subjects  there,  sendeth  greeting.- — 
Whereas  I  am  given  to  understand  by 
•Zerubbabel,  Ananias,  and  Mardochseus, 
on  the  part  of  the  Jews,  that  you  stand  ac- 
cused of  interrupting  and  discouraging  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  of  refusing 
to  bear  part  in  the  charge  of  the  sacrifices, 
which  by  my  order  and  command  you 
ought  to  have  done, — this  is  to  require 
you,  upon  the  sight  of  this  letter,  forth- 
with to  supply  them  out  oj£  my  treasury  in 
Samaria,  with  whatsoever  they  shall  want 
for  the  use  of  their  sacrifices  and  wor- 
ship, to  the  end  that  they  may  offer  up 
daily  prayers  and  oblations,  both  for  my- 
self and  for  the  people." 

This  put  a  full  end  to  all  contest  about 
the  matter,  and  was  the  last  good  office  we 
find  recorded  in  scripture  that  Darius  did 
the  Jews.  For  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of 
his  reign  he  died,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Xerxes,  the  eldest  of  his  sons  by  Atossa,* 


*  Darius  had  three  sons  by  his  first  wife,  the 
daughter  of  Gobrias,  all  born  before  his  advancement 
to  the  throne,  and  four  others  by  Atossa,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Cyrus,  who  were  all  born  after  it.  Of  the 
former,  Artabazanes  was  the  eldest ;  of  the  latter, 
Xerxes  :  and,  as  Darius  advanced  in  years,  be- 
tween these  two  was  the  competition  for  the  suc- 
cession. Artabazanes  urged,  that  as  he  was  the 
eldest  son,  according  to  the  custom  and  usage  of  all 
nations,  he  ought  to  be  preferred  before  any  that 
was  younger.  But  Xerxes  replied  to  this,  that  he 
was  the  son  of  Darius  by  Atossa,  the  daughter  of 
Cyrus,  who  was  the  first  founder  of  the  Persian 
empire  ;  for  which  reason  he  held  it  just  and  rea- 
sonable, that  the  crown  of  Cyrus  should  rather 
come  to  a  descendant  of  Cyrus,  than  to  one  that 
was  not;  and  to  this  he  added,  that  though  Arta- 
bazanes was  the  eldest  son  of  Darius,  yet  he  was 
not  the  eldest  son  of  a  king;. that  he  was  born 
when  he  was  only  a  private  person,  and  could 
therefore  claim  no  more  than  to  be  heir  of  his 
private  fortunes  ;  but  that,  as  to  himself,  he  was 
the  first-born  after  his  father  was  king,  and  had 
therefore  the  best  right  to  succeed  him  in  the  king- 
dom. Whereupon  he  was  nominated  to  the  suc- 
cession, but  not  so  much  for  the  strength  of  his 
plea  as  for  the  influence  which  his  mother  Atossa 
had  over  the  inclinations  of  her  husband. — Pri- 
deaux's  Connection,  Anno  486. — The  account 
given  of  this  affair  by  Plutarch,  in  his  treatise  of 
brotherly  love,  differs  materially.  "When  Darius 
died,"  he  informs  us,  "  some  contended  that  Aria- 
ineties  should  succeed  him,  as  being  eldest;  others 
recommended  Xerxes,  because  Atossa,  daughter  of 


daughter  to  Cyrus,  the  great  founder  of 
the  Persian  monarchy. 

It  is  recorded  of  Xerxes,  that  he  con- 
firmed to  the  Jews  all  the  privileges  that 
his  Father  Darius  had  granted  them,  and 
particularly  that  which  assigned  them  the 
tribute  of  Samaria,  for  the  charge  of  the 
sacrifices,  that  were  to  be  offered  in  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  of  him  that 
the  words  of  the  prophet  Daniel  are 
meant ;  '  Behold  there  shall  stand  up  yet 
three  kings  in  Persia,'  (which  were  Cyrus, 
Cambyses,  and  Darius  Hystaspes,)  'and 
the  fourth  shall  be  far  richer  than  they  all; 
and  by  his  strength,  through  his  riches,  he 
shall  stir  up  all  against  the  realm  of  Gre- 
cia:'  for  the  story  is  well  known,  with  what 
a  prodigious  armament,  both  by  sea  and 
land,  he  set  out  against  the  Greeks,f  and 


Cyrus,  was  his  mother,  and  he  was  bom  whilst 
Darius  was  actually  king.  Ariamenes,  accordingly, 
went  to  Media,  not  with  any  hostile  views,  but 
peaceably  to  have  the  matter  determined.  Xerxes, 
who  was  on  the  spot,  exercised  the  royal  func- 
tions: but  as  soon  as  his  brother  arrived,  he  laid 
aside  his  crown  and  kingly  ornaments',  and  hasten- 
ed to  salute  him.  He  sent  him  various  presents,  and 
words  to  this  effect :  *  Xerxes  your  brother  sends 
you  these  presents,  to  show  how  much  he  honours 
you.  If  the  Persians  shall  elect  me  king,  you  shall 
be  next  to  myself.'  The  reply  of  Ariamenes  was, 
1  I  accept  your  presents  ;  the  crown  I  believe  to 
be  my  right  :  I  shall  honour  all  my  brethren,  and 
Xerxes  in  particular.'  When  the  day  of  decision 
arrived,  the  Persian  selected  as  judge  Artabanus.the 
brother  of  Darius.  Xerxes,  who  depended  on  the 
multitude,  objected  to  him,  for  which  lie  was  cen- 
sured by  his  mother  Atossa :  *  Why,'  she  observ- 
ed, "  should  you  refuse  to  have  your  uncle  as 
judge,  one  of  the  worthiest  mtn  in  Persia?  and 
why  dread  a  contest,  where  if  inferior  you  will 
still  be  next  to  the  king?'  Xerxes  suffered  him- 
self to  be  persuaded,  and  after  hearing  the  argu- 
ments of  both,  Artabanus  adjudged  the  crown  to 
Xerxes.  Ariamenes  on  this  hastily  arose,  made 
obeisance  to  his  brother,  and  taking  him  by  the 
hand,  conducted  him  to  the  throne." — Beloe. 

f  After  he  had  passed  over  the  Hellespont,  his 

land-army  upon  the  muster,  was  found  to  be  one 

million,  and  seven   hundred   thousand  foot,  and 

fourscore  thousand  horse,  besides  his  chariots  and 

camels,  for  which  allowing  twenty  thousand  more, 

the  whole  w.ll  amount  to  one  million,  and  eight 

hundred  thousand  men.     His   fleet  consisted  of 

twelve  hundred  and  twenty  ships  of  the  line  of 

]  battle,  besides  galleys,  transports,  victuallers,  and 

j  other  sorts  of  vessels  that  attended,   which  were 

|  three  thousand  more ;  and  on  board  of  all  these 

|  were  reckoned  to  be  five  hundred  and  seventeen 

;  thousand,  six  hundred  and  ten  men  ;  so  that  the 


Chap.  VI.]  THE  BIBLE. 

with  what  foul  disgrace  he  returned  home 
from  the  inglorious  expedition,  when  fall- 
ing into  contempt  with  his  own  subjects, 
not  a  long  while  after,  he  was  murdered 
by  the  captain  of  his  guard.* 


511 


whole  number  of  forces,  by  sea  and  land,  which 
Xerxes  brought  with  him  out  of  Asia  to  invade 
Greece,  amounted  to  two  millions  three  hundred 
and  seventeen  thousand,  six  hundred  and  ten  men. 
After  his  passing  the  Hellespont,  the  nations  on 
the  other  side,  that  submitted  to  him,  added  to 
his  land-army  three  hundred  thousand  men  more, 
and  two  hundred  and  twenty  ships  to  his  fleet,  on 
board  of  which  were  twenty-four  thousand  men  ; 
and  the  servants,  eunuchs,  women,  suttlers,  and 
all  such  other  people  as  followed  the  camp,  were 
computed  to  be  no  less  than  as  many  more.  So 
that  the  whole  number  of  the  persons  of  all  sorts 
that  followed  Xerxes  in  this  expedition,  were,  at 
least,  rive  millions.  This  is  Herodotus's  account 
of  that  armament :  and,  considering  that  he  is  the 
most  ancient  author  that  has  written  of  this  war  ; 
was  himself  alive  when  it  happened  ;  and  has 
treated  of  it  with  greater  appearance  of  exactness 
than  any  other  ;  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
his  computation  is  the  truest. — Prideaux's  Con- 
nection. 

*  The  circumstances  connected  with  his  death 
are  thus  related  :  On  his  return  from  his  ill-fated 
expedition,  he  renounced  all  thoughts  of  war  and 
conquest,  and  abandoned  himself  entirely  to  luxury 
and  ease,  being  studious  of  nothing  but  his  plea- 
sures. Artabanus,  a  native  of  Hyrcania,  captain 
of  his  guards,  who  had  long  been  one  of  his  chief 
favourites,  found  that  his  dissolute  conduct  had 
drawn  upon  him  the  contempt  of  his  subjects. 
He  therefore  imagined  that  this  would  be  a  favour- 
able opportunity  to  conspire  against  his  sovereign  ; 
and  he  carried  his  ambitious  views  so  far  as  to 
flatter  himself  with  the  hopes  of  succeeding  him 
iu  the  throne.  It  is  very  likely,  that  he  was 
excited  to  the  commission  of  this  crime  from 
another  motive.  Xerxes  had  commanded  him  to 
murder  Darius,  his  eldest  son,  but  for  what  cause 
history  is  silent.  As  this  order  had  been  given  at 
a  banquet,  and  when  the  company  was  heated 
with  wine,  he  did  not  doubt  but  that  Xerxes 
would  forget  it,  and  therefore  was  not  in  haste  to 
obey  it ;  however,  he  was  mistaken,  for  the  king 
complained  of  his  disobedience,  which  made  Arta- 
banus dread  his  resentment,  and  therefore  he  re- 
solved to  prevent  him.  Accordingly  he  prevailed 
upon  Mithridates,  one  of  the  eunuchs  of  the  palace, 
and  high  chamberlain,  to  engage  in  his  conspiracy  ; 
and  by  his  means  entered  the  chamber  where  the 
king  lay,  and  murdered  him  in  his  sleep.  He  then 
went  immediately  to  Artaxerxes,  the  third  son  of 
Xerxes.  He  informed  him  of  the  murder,  charg- 
ing Darius  his  eldest  brother  with  it  ;  as  if  impa- 
tience to  ascend  the  throne  had  prompted  him  to 
that  execrable  deed.  He  added,  that  to  secure 
the  crown  to  himself,  he  was  resolved  to  murder 
him  also,  for  which  reason  it  would  be  absolutely 
necessary  for  him  to  keep  upon  his  guard.  These 
words  having  made  the  impression  on  Artaxerxes, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Xerxes  is  succeeded  by  his  son  Artaxerxes.— 
Story  of  Esther,  Human,  and  Mordecai. 

On  the  demise  of  Xerxes,  the  king  of 
Media  and  Persia,  the  government  de- 
volved on  his  son  Ahasuerus,  otherwise 
Artaxerxes,f   in  whose    reign    over    the 


who  was  still  a  youth,  which  Artabanus  desired, 
he  went  immediately  into  his  brother's  apartment, 
where,  being  assisted  by  Artabanus  and  his  guards, 
he  murdered  him.  Hystaspes,  Xerxes's  second 
son,  was  next  heir  to  the  crown  after  Darius  ;  but 
as  he  was  then  in  Bactriana,  of  which  he  was 
governor,  Artabanus  seated  Artaxerxes  on  the 
throne,  with  the  design  of  suffering  him  to  enjoy 
it  no  longer  than  till  he  had  formed  a  faction 
strong  enough  to  drive  him  from  it,  and  ascend  it 
himself.  His  great  authority  had  gained  him  a 
multitude  of  dependents  ;  besides  this,  he  had 
seven  sons,  who  were  tall,  handsome,  strong, 
courageous,  and  raised  to  the  highest  employments 
in  the  empire.  The  aid  he  hoped  to  receive  from 
them,  was  the  chief  motive  of  his  raising  his  views 
so  high.  But  whilst  he  was  attempting  to  com- 
plete his  design,  Artaxerxes  being  informed  of 
this  plot  by  Megabyzus,  who  had  married  one  of 
his  sisters,  endeavoured  to  anticipate  him,  and 
killed  him  before  he  had  an  opportunity  of  putting 
his  treason  into  execution.  His  death  established 
this  prince  in  the  possession  of  the  kingdom.— 
Rollin. 

+  Usher  is  of  opinion,  that  Darius  Hystaspes 
was  the  king  Ahasuerus,  who  married  Esther,  viz. 
that  Atossa  was  the  Vashti,  and  Artystona  the 
Esther  of  the  holy  scriptures.  But  Herodotus 
positively  tells  us,  that  Artystona  was  the  daughter 
of  Cyrus,  and  therefore  could  not  be  Esther,  and 
that  Atossa  had  four  sons  by  Darius,  besides  daugh- 
ters, all  born  to  him  after  he  was  king,  and  there- 
fore she  could  not  be  that  queen  Vashti  who  was 
divorced  from  the  king  her  husband  in  the  third 
year  of  his  reign,  Esther  i.  3.  nor  he  that  Ahasue- 
rus that  divorced  her.  Joseph  Scaliger  is  like- 
wise of  opinion,  that  Xerxes  was  the  Ahasuerus, 
and  Hamestris  his  queen,  the  Esther  of  the  holy 
scriptures  :  but,  whatever  seeming  similitude  there 
may  be  in  the  names,  (and  this  is  the  whole  foun- 
dation of  his  conjecture,)  it  is  plain  from  Herodo- 
tus, that  Xerxes  had  a  son  by  Hamestris,  who  was 
marriageable  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  and 
therefore  it  is  impossible  that  he  should  be  Esther's, 
because  Esther  was  not  married  to  Ahasuerus 
until  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  (Esther  ii.  16.) 
and,  considering  that  the  choice  of  virgins  was 
made  for  him  in  the  fourth  of  his  reign,  and  a 
whole  year  employed  in  their  purifications,  the 
soonest  that  she  could  have  a  son  by  him,  must 
be  in  the  sixth,  and  therefore  we  may  conclude, 
(with  Josephus,  tile  Septuagint,  and  the  Apocry- 
phal additions  to  the  Book  of  Esther,)  that  the 
Ahasuerus  in  scripture  was  Artaxerxes  Longi- 
manus,  and  Esther  an  Hebrew  virgin,  as  she  is  ail 
along  represented. — Pridcaux's  Connection. 


RSITY1 


fil2 


HISTORY  OF 


rBooK  VII. 


Persians  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  were  in 
great  danger  of  being  utterly  destroyed. 

When  Artaxerxes  had  ascended  the 
throne,  and  settled  the  governors  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces  be- 
tween India  and  Ethiopia,  he  made  a  most 
magnificent  and  sumptuous  feast  at  Susa, 
in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  where  he 
treated  his  friends  and  officers  as  became 
the  dignity  of  so  great  a  prince ;  and  the 
solemnity  lasted  a  hundred  and  fourscore 
days.  There  were  several  other  nations 
also,  and  their  ambassadors,  that  assisted 
at  the  ceremony  of  the  entertainment 
seven  whole  days  successively ;  it  was  or- 
dered after  this  manner : 

There  was  a  tent  erected  upon  gold 
and  silver  pillars,  covered  with  fine  linen 
and  purple,  and  large  enough  to  receive 
some  thousands  of  people.  The  wine  was 
served  up  in  cups  of  gold  and  precious 
stones,  that  were  made  both  for  curiosity 
and  delight.  There  were  orders  given  to 
the  waiters,  after  the  Persian  manner, 
that  no  man  should  be  forced  to  drink  any 
more  than  he  had  a  mind  to,  and  procla- 
mation made  all  over  his  dominions,  that 
they  should  set  some  certain  number  of 
days  apart  for  the  celebration  of  a  festival 
for  the  prosperity  and  safety  of  the  king- 
dom. Queen  Vashti  had  her  apartment 
also  in  the  palace  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  women.* 

As  she  was  a  woman  of  great  beauty, 
the  king  was  desirous  of  showing  her  to 
his  guests,  and  sent  for  her  to  come  into 
his  presence;  but  as  the  laws  of  Persia 


*  The  women  do  not  eat  with  the  men  in  the 
Eastern  feasts  :  it  is  however  usual  for  them  to 
feast  at  the  same  time  by  themselves.  Thus 
Maillet,  after  having  given  an  account  of  the  ex- 
traordinary feasting  at  the  castle  of  Grand  Cairo, 
upon  the  circumcision  of  the  son  of  the  bashaw  of 
Egypt,  tells  us,  that  he  was  assured  that  the  ex- 
pense which  was  incurred  at  the  same  time  in  the 
apartments  of  the  women  of  the  bashaw,  was  not 
much  less  considerable  than  what  appeared  in 
public  ;  there  being  there  the  same  liberalities,  the 
same  pleasures,  the  same  abundance,  and  the  same 
magnificence,  that  appeared  out  of  those  apart- 
ments.— Harmer. 


allowed  not  wives  to  be  seen  by  any  men 
except  their  domestics,  she  refused  to  go 
to  the  king,  and  upon  several  orders 
brought  her  by  the  eunuchs  to  the  same 
purpose,  she  persisted  still  in  the  denial,  f 
The  king  was  so  incensed  at  her  ob- 
stinacy, that  after  the  festival  was  over, 
he  called  for  the  seven  commissioners 
that  were  expressly  appointed  for  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  Persian  laws,  to  advise 
with,  what  was  to  be  done  in  this  case  of 
his  wife's  contumacy  and  disobedience; 
complaining  that  it  was  not  only  once, 
but  over  and  over  that  she  refused  to  come 
to  him ;  and  therefore  desired  to  know 
what  the  law  directed  in  that  case.  One 
of  them,  whose  name  was  Memucan,  gave 
his  opinion,  "  That  it  was  not  only  an 
affront  to  himself  in  the  matter  of  fact, 
but  a  precedent  of  dangerous  consequence 
to  his  subjects  in  general,  whose  wives 
would  be  apt  to  despise  their  husbands  too, 
and  by  that  contempt  provoke  them  to 
lewd  courses,  if  this  exemplary  contumacy 


f  And  much  should  she  be  commended  for  it. 
What  woman,  possessing  even  a  common  share 
of  prudence  and  modesty,  could  consent  to  expose 
herself  to  the  view  of  such  a  group  of  drun- 
ken Bacchanalians?  Her  courage  was  equal  to 
her  modesty  :  she  would  resist  the  royal  man- 
date, rather  than  violate  the  rules  of  chaste  deco- 
rum. Her  contempt  of  worldly  grandeur,  when 
brought  in  competition  with  what  every  modest 
woman  holds  dear  and  sacred,  is  worthy  of  obser- 
vation. She  well  knew  that  this  act  of  disobe- 
dience would  cost  her  her  crown,  if  not  her  life 
also :  but  she  was  regardless  of  both,  as  she  con- 
ceived her  virtue  and  honour  were  at  stake.  Her 
humility  was  greatly  evidenced  in  this  refusal.  She 
was  beautiful  ;  and  might  have  shown  herself  to 
great  advantage,  and  have  had  a  fine  opportunity 
of  gratifying  her  vanity,  if  she  had  any :  but  she 
refused  to  come.  Hail,  noble  woman  !  be  thou  a 
pattern  to  all  thy  sex  on  every  similar  occasion  ! 
Surely,  every  thing  considered,  we  have  few  women 
like  Vashti  ;  for  some  of  the  highest  of  the  land 
will  dress  and  deck  themselves  with  the  utmost 
splendour,  even  to  the  selvedge  of  their  fortunes, 
to  exhibit  themselves  at  balls,  plays,  galas,  operas, 
and  public  assemblies  of  all  kinds  (nearly  half 
naked,)  that  they  may  be  seen  and  admired  of  men, 
and  even,  to  the  endless  reproach  and  broad  sus- 
picion of  their  honour  and  chastity,  figure  away  in 
masquerades  !  Vashti  must  be  considered  at  the 
top  of  her  sex  ; — 

"  Rara  avis  in  terris,  nigroque  simillima  cygno." 
A  black  swan  is  not  half  so  rare  a  bird. 

Dr  A.  Clarke.     , 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


513 


of  the  queen's  against  so  mighty  a  king 
should  pass  unpunished ;  concluding,  that 
as  it  was  a  heinous  offence,  so  it  ought  to 
be  treated  with  severity;  and  that  nothing 
less  would  satisfy  than  the  banishing  of 
Vashti  from  the  king's  court  and  presence 
for  ever.  And  this  to  be  done  by  procla- 
mation, and  another  taken  in  her  place." 

The  king  was  so  divided  between  the 
love  he  had  for  the  queen,  and  the  respect 
he  had  for  the  law,  the  one  being  against 
their  parting,  and  the  other  against  their 
living  together,  that  he  was  distracted  by 
this  difficulty  of  acting  against  his  inclina- 
tion. 

While  he  was  in  the  anxiety  of  mind, 
his  friends  plied  him  with  good  offices  and 
counsel,  to  divert  him  from  the  weakness 
of  making  himself  miserable  for  the  un- 
profitable love  of  one  woman,  when  he 
might  have  the  greatest  beauties  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  at  his  devotion,  if  he 
thought  fit  to  command  them  ;  so  that  he 
had  no  more  to  do,  but  to  get  sight  of  her, 
and  take  her  for  his  wife,  out  of  the  whole 
sex.  Variety,  and  a  new  love,  would 
quickly  wear  out  the  fondness  of  a  former, 
and  a  little  custom  and  conversation  would 
bring  him  to  himself  again. 

The  king,  upon  second  thought,  was 
well-pleased  with  the  advice,  and  sent  com- 
missioners immediately  over  all  his  domin- 
ions, to  take  a  view  of  the  most  celebrat- 
ed beauties  they  could  find,  and  bring  them 
to  him. 

They  were  punctual  and  diligent  in  the 
execution  of  their  charge ;  and,  among 
others,  they  found  a  maid  in  Babylon, 
whose  name  was  Esther.* 

Her  father  and  mother  were  both  dead, 


*  This  woman  was  born  in  Babylon,  and  there- 
fore, in  analogy  to  that  language,  they  gave  her 
the  name  of  Hadassah,  which,  in  Chaldee,  signi- 
fies a  myrtle  ;  but  her  Persian  name  was  Esther, 
which  some  (a  little  incongruously)  derive  from 
Aster,  a  star,  and  others  from  Satar,  which  signi- 
fies hidden,  because  she  was  concealed  in  Morde- 
cai's  house ;  or  rather,  because  her  nation  was 
concealed,  and  she  not  known,  until  Mordecai's 
merit  and  services  to  the  crown  came  to  be  re- 
garded.— Patrick's  Commentary. 


and  she  was  brought  up  under  the  care  oi 
her  uncle  Mordecai,  who  was  one  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  a  capital  man 
among  the  Jews. 

This  virgin  was  so  much  beyond  all  the 
rest,  for  the  graces  of  her  person,  that  she 
was  the  admiration  of  every  one  who  saw 
her. 

She  was  committed  to  the  care  of  one  of 
the  eunuchs,-)-  where  she  was  treated  with 
all  possible  delicacy  and  respect ;  that  is, 
according  to  the  custom  of  Eastern  nations, 
endowed  with  the  richest  of  essences  and 
perfumes,  and  all  other  ornamental  curio- 
sities, that  were  made  use  of  by  great  la- 
dies, to  render  them  more  agreeable  and 
charming. 

In  this  manner  vvas  Esther  treated  for 
the  space  of  twelve  months,:}:  in  company 
with  four  hundred  virgins;  after  which 
time,  being  thus  prepared  for  the  king's 
bed,  he  had  every  day  one  of  them  brought 
him,  whom  he  received  into  his  arms,  and 
then  sent  back  again  to  the  care  of  the 
same  eunuch. 

But  when  it  came  to  Esther's  turn,  he 
was  so  transported  with  her  company  and 
conversation  that  he  took  her  to  himself 
for  his  lawful  wife,  and  celebrated  the  nup- 
tials in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  and 


f  In  the  courts  of  Eastern  kings,  the  care  of  the 
beds  and  apartments  is  generally  committed  to 
eunuchs.  The  Hebrew  sa?-is  signifies  a  real 
eunuch,  whether  naturally  born  such  or  rendered 
such ;  but  in  scripture  this  word  often  denotes  an 
officer  belonging  to  a  prince,  attending  his  court, 
and  employed  in  the  interior  of  his  palace. 

%  The  reason  is  assigned  by  the  sacred  histo- 
rian, for  their  being  kept  so  long  in  this  course, 
namely,  that  for  six  months  they  might  be  anoint- 
ed with  the  oil  of  myrrh,  which,  besides  the  fra 
grancy  of  its  smell,  was  good  to  make  the  skin 
soft  and  smooth,  and  clear  it  from  all  manner 
of  scurf ;  and  for  six  more,  with  sweet  odours, 
which  in  these  hot  countries  were  necessary  to  take 
away  all  ill  scents,  and  (as  some  think)  to  make  the 
body  more  vigorous.  But,  besides  this,  there 
might  be  something  of  state  in  making  those  vas- 
sals (for  such  they  were  accounted)  wait,  before 
they  were  admitted  to  the  honour  of  the  kind's 
bed;  and  something  of  precaution  too,  in  keeping 
them  secluse  for  so  long  a  time,  that  the  king 
might  be  satisfied  that  he  was  not  imposed  upon 
by  a  child  begotten  by  any  other  man. — Patrick's 
Commentary  and  Poole's  Annotations. 
3t 


514 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


the  twelfth  month,  which  was  called  Adar, 
sending  his  messengers  throughout  his 
dominions  to  proclaim  the  solemnity  of  a 
marriage  festival. 

As  for  the  Medes  and  Persians,  and  the 
great  men  of  other  nations,  the  king  him- 
self entertained  them  at  the  wedding- 
feast  for  the  space  of  one  whole  month. 
And  upon  his  wife's  entering  into  the  pa- 
lace, he  placed  the  crown  upon  her  head, 
and  so  lived  with  her  without  inquiring 
concerning  her  country,  or  her  extrac- 
tion. 

Her  uncle  removed  from  Babylon  to 
Susa,  where  he  would  be  often  waiting  at 
the  king's  gate,  and  still  inquisitive  after 
Esther's  welfare,  who  was  equally  dear  to 
him  as  his  own  child. 

The  king  at  this  time  passed  an  order, 
that  none  of  his  domestics  should  presume, 
while  he  was  sitting  upon  his  royal  throne, 
to  come  to  him,  unless  they  were  called, 
or  sent  for,'  upon  pain  of  losing  their 
heads ;  and  there  were  officers  with  their 
axes  always  at  hand,  to  do  the  execu- 
tion. 

The  king  in  the  mean  time  had  a  gold- 
en sceptre  in  his  hand,  and  whensoever 
he  had  a  mind  to  save  any  of  those  that 
came  uncalled,  he  held  that  sceptre  forth, 
and  upon  their  touching  it,  they  were  ex- 
empted from  the  penalty. 

There  broke  out  about  this  time  a 
i  conspiracy  that  was  formed  between  Big- 
thana  and  Teresh,*  two  of  the  chamber- 
lains, or  eunuchs,  against  the  person  of 
the  king. 

Barnabazus,  a  servant  of  one  of  them, 
and  a  Jew  by  extraction,  discovered  this 
treachery  to  Mordecai,  the  queen's  uncle ; 
and  he,  by  the   hands  of  Esther,  to  the 


*  These  were  two  great  men,  who  perhaps  kept 
the  door  of  the  king's  bed-chamber,  and  being 
either  incensed  at  the  divorce  of  Vashti,  (whose 
creatures  they  were)  or  at  the  advancement  of  Es- 
ther, who,  in  all  probability,  would  raise  her  kins- 
man Mordecai  to  a  superiority  over  them,  took  dis- 
gust thereat,  and  so  resolved  to  revenge  themselves 
on  the  king  for  it.— Prideaux's  Connection  and 
Patrick's  Commentary 


king  himself,  who  relied  so  much  on  her 
affection  and  loyalty,  that  he  put  the  cri- 
minals to  the  question;  and  upon  convic- 
tion, they  were  both  delivered  up  to  jus- 
tice. 

The  king  gave  Mordecai  no  other  re- 
ward for  his  discovery  than  by  appoint- 
ing the  service  and  deliverance  to  be  re- 
gistered upon  the  record,  and  allowing  him 
admittance  into  the  palace,  with  the  same 
freedom  and  privilege  as  one  of  his  do- 
mestics. 

Haman,  the  son  of  Hammedatha,  an 
Amalekite,  being  now  advanced  by  the 
king,  and  coming  frequently  to  court,  the 
Persians,  as  well  as  strangers,  paid  him 
the  greatest  reverence;  and  it  was  the 
king's  pleasure  and  command  that  it 
should  be  so.  Mordecai  was  the  only  per- 
son that  did  not  bow  to  him,  being  a  cere- 
mony contrary  to  the  practice  of  his  coun- 
try.f 


f  Haman,  we  read,  was  an  Amalekite,  one  of 
that  nation  against  which  God  pronounced  a  curse; 
and,  therefore,  upon  this  consideration,  Mordecai 
might  think  himself  not  obliged  to  pay  him  the 
reverence  which  he  expected  ;  if  the  rest  of  the 
Jews  had  the  li'ke  notion  of  him,  this  might  be  rea- 
son sufficient  for  his  extending  his  resentment 
against  the  whole  nation.  But  there  seems  to  be 
something  more  in  the  reverence  which  the  people 
were  commanded  to  pay  him  than  what  is  the 
effect  of  civil  respect.  The  king  of  Persia,  we 
know,  expected  a  kind  of  divine  adoration  from 
all  that  approached  his  presence  ;  as  we  read-  of 
one  Timagoras,  upon  whom  the  people  of  Athens 
passed  sentence  of  death,  for  his  worshipping  of 
Darius,  accounting  the  honour  of  their  whole  city 
debased  by  this  mean  submission  of  one  of  then- 
citizens,  though  at  that  time  Darius  was  one  of 
the  greatest  monarchs  upon  earth.  And  as  the 
kings  of  Persia  did  arrogate  this  to  themselves,  so 
they  sometimes  imparted  it  to  their  chief  friends  and 
favourites,  as  it  seems  at  this  time  to  have  been  the 
case  with  Haman.  For  we  can  hardly  conceive 
why  the  king  should  give  a  particular  command, 
that  all  his  servants  should  reverence  him,  if  by 
this  reverence  no  more  is  intended,  than  that  they 
should  show  him  a  respect  suitable  to  his  station  : 
but  now,  if  we  suppose  that  the  homage  expected 
from  them  was  such  as  came  near  to  idolatry,  we 
need  not  wonder  that  a  Jew  should  deny  that  hon- 
our, or  the  outward  expressions  of  it  to  any  man, 
since  the  wise  and  sober  Grecians  did  positively 
refuse  to  give  it  to  the  very  kings  themselves. 
And,  that  this  was  the  case  before  us,  the  author 
of  the  apocryphal  additions  to  the  book  of  Esther 
seems  to  imoly,  when  he  introduces  Mordecai  as 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


51", 


Haman,  taking  notice  of  this  singulari- 
ty, asked  him  what  countrymen  he  was? 
And  finding  him  to  be  a  Jew,  broke  out 
into  a  violent  exclamation  at  the  inso- 
lence of  such  a  miscreant,  that  when  all 
this  natives,  and  the  free-born  Persians, 
with  the  greatest  willingness  did  him  that 
honour,  this  Jew,  who  was  no  better  than 
a  slave,  should  presume  to  affront  him. 

In  this  rage  he  took  a  resolution  to  be 
revenged  upon  Mordecai ;  *  and  the  hatred 
he  had  for  the  Jews  was  so  mortal,  that  it 
was  not  sufficient,  he  thought,  to  wreak 
his  vengeance  upon  the  person  of  Morde- 
cai alone,  without  destroying  the  whole 
race  at  once ;  calling  to  mind,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  Amalekites,  his  countrymen, 
had  been  formerly  driven  out  of  their  land, 
and  utterly  exterminated  by  that  people. 


praying  in  these  words, — '  Thou  knowest,  O  Lord, 
that  it  is  not  contumacy,  nor  pride,  nor  desire  of 
vain  glory,  that  makes  me  not  worship  Haman  ; 
for  I  would  willingly  kiss  his  feet  for  the  safety  of 
Israel.  But  I  do  it,  that  I  may  not  prefer'the  glo- 
ry of  a  man  to  the  glory  of  God.  nor  adore  %ny 
one  but  thee,  my  Lord  alone.' — Stackhouse. 

*  The  conduct  of  Haman  presents  a  very  lively 
picture  of  a  proud  grandee  of  the  East  at  the 
present  day,  and  of  the  revenge  which  he  always 
meditates  against  any  who  neglect  to  pay  him  the 
customary  tokens  of  respect.  The  name  and  place 
of  residence  of  the  offender  will  be  immediately 
inquired  after,  and  the  first  opportunity  taken  to 
let  him  feel  the  consequences  of  his  presumption. 
The  case  of  Muttoo-Chadde-appa,  related  by  Mr 
Roberts,  is  illustrative  of  this  disposition.  A 
Moorman  of  high  bearing  and  great  riches,  had 
purchased  the  rent  of  the  pearl  fishery  of  the  Bay 
of  Ondachy,  and  in  consequence  was  a  person  of 
great  influence  amongst  the  people.  The  proud 
Mordelian  was  one  day  passing  along  the  road, 
where  was  seated  on  his  carpet  the  renter  of  the 
pearl  fishery.  He  arose  not,  bowed  not  to  him, 
when  passing  by,  and  the  Mordelian's  soul  was 
fired  with  indignation  ;  he  forthwith  resolved  upon 
his  ruin,  and  by  deeply  formed  intrigues  too  well 
succeeded.  The  rent  was  taken  from  the  Moor- 
man— his  estates  were  sold,  and,  to  make  up  the 
deficiency,  he  himself  was  disposed  of  by  auction, 
for  the  payment  of  his  debts,  and  the  Mordelian 
became  his  purchaser.  Such  are  the  ways  in  which 
offended  pride  takes  its  revenge  in  the  East.  The 
case  of  this  modern  grandee  is  a  specimen  of  all 
his  class  ;  and  although  the  proceedings  of  Haman 
against  the  bold  Jew  who  ventured  to  refuse  the 
customary  submission  to  the  favourite,  were  not 
consummated,  yet  we  may  consider  them  as  an  ex- 
hibition of  the  determined  revenge  with  which  2 
great  man  in  the  East  will  resent  any  indignity 
offered  to  his  honour. — Jamieson. 


In  the  heat  of  his  indignation,  he  has 
tened  to  the  king,  and  accosted  him  with 
a  complaint  against  the  Jews,  as  a  vile 
generation  of  people  in  every  respect, 
unsociable  in  their  disposition,  singular  in 
their  manners,  given  up  to  superstitious 
laws  and  ceremonies,  scattered  up  and 
down  in  all  quarters  of  his  dominions,  and 
men  that  showed  themselves  in  their  prac- 
tices and  conversation  the  common  ene- 
mies of  mankind. 

"  Now,"  says  Haman,  "  if  you  would 
lay  the  greatest  obligation  of  loyalty  upon 
your  subjects,  you  must  order  this  sort  of 
men  to  be  rooted  out  from  among  your 
people,  without  sparing  so  much  as  one 
captive,  or  one  servant.  And,  for  our 
security,  that  you  shall  not  suffer  by  it  in 
your  revenue,  I  will  be  answerable  for  ten 
thousand  talents  of  silver,f  to  be  paid  into 


■j-    Haman   was   outrageously  bent  against   the 
Jews,  and  what  he  offered  to  the  king  in  lieu  of 
the  damage  which  his  revenues  might  sustain  by 
the  destruction  of  so  many  of  his  subjects,  is  a 
prodigious  sum  for  any  private  man  to  be  owner 
of;  but  we  read  of  several  such  persons  in  history, 
who,  in   those  ancient  times,  were  possessors  of 
much  greater.     Pithius  the  Lydian,  for  instance, 
when  Xerxes  passed  into  Greece,  was  possessed  of 
two  thousand  talents  of  silver,  and  four  millions  of 
daricks  in  gold,  which  together  amounted  to  near 
five  millions  and  a  half  of  our  sterling  money: 
and    Marcus   Crassus,   the   Roman,  after   he  had 
consecrated  the  tenth  of  what  he  had  to  Hercules, 
feasted  all  the  people  of  Rome  at  ten  thousand 
tables,   and   given   a   donative  of  corn    to   every 
citizen,  as  much  as  would  last  him  three  months, 
found   the  remainder   of  his  estate  to   be  seven 
thousand    one    hundred    Roman    talents,   which 
amount   to  above   a   million  and  a  half  of  our 
money.     This  may  seem  a  little  strange  to  us  at 
present,  but  our  wonder  will  cease,  if  we  consider, 
that,  from  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon,  and 
for  fifteen  hundred  years  afterwards,  the  riches  of 
this  kind  were  in  much  greater  plenty  than  they 
are  now.     The  prodigious  quantities  of  gold  and 
silver  which  Alexander  found  in  the  treasures  of 
Darius  ;  the  vast  loads*of  them,  which  were  often 
carried    before   the   Roman   generals   when   they 
returned  from  conquered  provinces;  and  the  ex- 
cessive   sums   which    certain   of   their    emperors 
expended  in  donatives,  feasts,  shows,  and  other 
instances  of  luxury  and  prodigality,  are  of  this 
proof  sufficient:  but,  at  length,  the  mines  of  the 
ancient   Ophir,  which   furnished  all  this   plentv, 
being  exhausted,  and,  by  the  burning  of  cities,  and 
devastation  of  countries,  which  followed  upon  the 
eruptions  of  the  Goths,  Vandals,  and  Huns,  and 
other  barbarous  nations  in  the  west,  and  of  the 


516 

your  treasury,  out  of  my  own  estate;  for 
I  shall  not  value  any  diminution  of  my 
particular  fortune,  provided  that  your  do- 
minions may  be  cleared  of  this  people." 

The  king  told  Haman,  upon  this  pro- 
posal, that  he  would  leave  the  Jews  to  be 
dealt  with  according  to  his  discretion,  and 
remit  the  money  over  and  above. 

Haman  immediately  upon  this  publish- 
ed an  edict  in  the  king's  name,  and  seal- 
ed it  with  his  ring,*  and  sent  it  abroad 
through  all  his  dominions,  to  this  effect: 

"  The  great  king  Artaxerxes,  to  the 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  governors  of 
the  provinces,  between  India  and  Ethiopia, 
greeting. — Whereas  it  hath  pleased  God 
to  give  me  the  command  of  many  nations, 
and  a  dominion  over  the  rest  of  the  world, 
as  large  as  I  can  desire, — being  resolved 
to  do  nothing  that  may  be  either  tyranni- 
cal or  grievous  towards  my  people,  and  to 
bear  a  gentle  and  an  easy  rule  over  them, 
with  an  eye  to  the  preserving  of  their 
peace  and  liberties,  in  the  first  place,  and 
the  settling  them  in  a  state  of  tranquillity 
and  happiness,  not  to  be  shaken. 

Saracens,  Turks,  and  Tartars,  in  the  east,  a  great 
part  of  the  gold  and  silver,  which  the  world  then 
abounded  with,  being  wasted  and  destroyed  by  this 
means,  the  great  scarcity  of  both,  which  afterwards 
ensued,  was  occasioned  ;  nor  have  the  mines  of 
Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil  been  as  yet  able  fully  to 
repair  it. — Stackhouse. 

*  The  very  ancient  custom  of  sealing  despatches 
with  a  seal  or  signet  set  in  a  ring  is  still  retained 
in  the  East.  Thus  in  Egypt,  Dr  Pococke  says, 
they  make  the  impression  of  their  name  with  their 
seal,  generally  of  cornelian,  which  they  wear  on 
their  finger,  and  which  is  blacked  when  they  have 
occasion  to  seal  with  it.  And  Mr  Hanway  re- 
marks, that  the  Persian  ink  serves  not  only  for 
writing,  but  for  subscribing  with  a  seal :  indeed, 
many  of  the  Persians  in  high  office  could  not 
write.  In  their  rings  they  wear  agates,  which 
serve  for  seals,  on  which  is  frequently  engraved 
their  name,  and  some  verse  from  the  Koran.  So 
also  Dr  Shaw: — As  few  or  none  of  the  Arab 
Sheiks,  or  of  Turkish  and  Eastern  kings,  princes, 
or  bashaws,  know  to  write  their  own  names,  all 
their  letters  and  decrees  are  stamped  with  their 
proper  rings,  seals,  or  signets,  which  are  usually  of 
silver  or  cornelian,  with  their  respective  names 
engraved  upon  them  on  one  side,  and  the  name  of 
their  kingdom  or  principality,  or  else  some  sen- 
tence of  the  Koran,  on  the  other.  The  art  and 
practice  of  engraving  names  on  a  signet  is  as  old 
as  Moses. — Parhhurst. 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  VII. 

"  All  this  I  have  taken  into  mature  con- 
sideration; and  being  given  to  understand, 
by  my  truly  and  well-beloved  friend  and 
counsellor,  Haman,  a  person  of  approved 
fidelity,  prudence,  and  justice,  and  whom 
I  esteem  above  all  others,  that  there  is  a 
mixture  of  an  inhuman  kind  of  people 
among  my  subjects,  who  take  upon  them 
to  govern  by  their  own  laws,  and  to  pre- 
scribe ways  to  themselves  in  contempt  of 
public  order  and  government;  men  de- 
praved both  in  their  customs  and  manners; 
and  enemies,  not  only  to  monarchy,  but 
to  methods  of  our  royal  administration; 
this  is  therefore  to  will  and  require 
you,  that  upon  notice  given  unto  you  by 
Haman,  (who  is  to  me  as  a  father,)  of  the 
persons  intended  by  this  proclamation, 
you  put  all  the  said  persons,  men,  women, 
and  children,  to  the  sword,  without  any 
favour  or  regard  to  person  or  sex,  in  a 
strict  pursuance  of  my  decree. 

"  And  it  is  farther  commanded,  that 
you  put  tliis  in  execution  upon  the  thir- 
teenth day  of  the  twelfth  month  of  this 
present  year;  to  complete  in  one  day  the 
destruction  of  all  mine  and  your  enemies, 
in  order  to  a  future  peace  and  security 
during  the  remainder  of  our  lives." 

This  edict  was  quickly  spread  from 
town    to   town,f    throughout   the    whole 


•J-  The  first  institution  of  posts  is  generally  as- 
cribed to  the  Persians:  for  the  kings  of  Persia,  (as 
Diodorus  Siculus,  lib.  xix.  observes.)  that  they 
might  have  intelligence  of  what  passed  in  all  the 
provinces  of  their  vast  dominions,  placed  sentinels 
on  eminences,  at  convenient  distances  where 
towers  were  built,  and  these  sentinels  gave  notice 
of  public  occurrences  to  one  another,  with  a  very 
loud  and  shrill  voice,  by  which  means  news  was 
transmitted  from  one  extremity  of  the  kingdom  to 
the  other,  with  great  expedition.  But  as  this 
could  be  practised  only  in  the  case  of  general 
news,  which  might  be  communicated  to  the  whole 
nation,  Cyrus  (as  Xenophon  relates,  Cyropaed. 
lib.  viii.)  set  up  couriers,  places  for  post-horses  on 
all  high-roads,  and  offices  where  they  might  de- 
liver their  packets  to  one  another.  This,  says  our 
author,  they  did  night  and  day ;  so  that  no  rain 
or  hard  weather  being  to  stop  them,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  many,  they  went  faster  than  cranes  could 
fly.  The  like  is  said  by  Herodotus,  lib.  viii.  And 
he  acquaints  us  farther,  that  Xerxes,  in  his  famous 
expedition  against  Greece,  planted  posts  from  the 
/Egcan  sea  to  Shushan,  at  certain  distances,  as  far 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


517 


empire,  and  the  people  prepared  them- 
selves accordingly  to  execute  the  bloody 
design  upon  the  Jews  at  the  day  appoint- 
ed. And  there  was  the  same  disposition 
to  mischief  at  Susa,  the  king's  place  of 
residence,  as  at  all  other  parts. 

The  king  and  Haman  all  this  while 
passed  their  time  in  drinking,  feasting, 
and  merry-making.  But  the  people  of 
the  town  were  under  very  dismal  appre- 
hensions at  the  thought  of  the  barbarous 
massacre. 

As  soon  as  Mordecai  came  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  tenor  and  intent  of  this 
proclamation,  he  rent  his  garments,  put 
on  sackcloth,  and  went  up  and  down  the 
town  with  ashes  on  his  head,  exclaiming 
against  the  horrid  injustice  of  so  bloody 
a  design  upon  the  Jews. 

In  this  inconsolable  plight,  he  roved 
about  till  he  came  at  last  to  stop  before 
the   gate    of  the   king's   palace.*       The 


as  a  horse  could  ride  with  speed,  that  thereby  he 
might  send  notice  to  his  capital  city  of  whatever 
might  happen  in  his  army.  The  Greeks  borrowed 
the  use  of  posts  from  the  Persians.  Among  the 
Romans,  Augustus  was  the  person  who  set  up 
public  posts,  who  at  first  were  running  footmen, 
but  were  afterwards  changed  into  post-chariots, 
and  horses,  for  the  greater  expedition.  Adrian 
improved  upon  this;  and,  having  reduced  the  posts 
to  great  regularity,  discharged  the  people  from  the 
obligation  they  were  under  before,  of  furnishing 
horses  and  chariots.  With  the  empire,  the  use  of 
posts  declined.  About  the  year  807,  Charle- 
maigne  endeavoured  to  restore  them,  but  his  de- 
sign was  not  prosecuted  by  his  successors.  In 
France,  Lewis  XI.  set  up  posts  at  two  leagues 
distance  through  the  kingdom.  In  Germany, 
Count  Taxis  set  them  up,  and  had,  for  his  recom- 
pense, in  1616,  a  grant  of  the  office  of  post-master 
general,  to  himself  and  hi6  heirs  for  ever.  Above 
eight  hundred  years  ago,  couriers  were  set  up  in 
the  Ottoman  empire  ;  and,  at  this  time,  there  are 
Borne  among  the  Chinese  ;  but  their  appointment 
is  only  to  carry  orders  from  the  king  and  the 
governors  of  provinces,  and,  in  a  word,  for  public 
affairs,  and  those  of  the  greatest  consequence. — 
Calmet. 

*  It  is  evident  that  the  anxiety  of  Mordecai  for 
Esther  was  extreme  ;  but  we  cannot  fully  enter 
into  the  circumstance  of  his  walking  day  after  day, 
for  a  long  period  of  time,  probably  upwards  of  a 
year,  without  recollecting  the  extreme  vigilance 
with  which  the  harems  of  the  hast  are  guarded. 
On  this  subject  Chardin  says:  "The  place  where 
the  women  are  shut  up  is  sacred,  especially  among 
persons  of  condition ;  and  it  is  a  crime  for  any 


resentment  and  behaviour  of  the  Jews 
was  the  same  in  all  other  places,  as  at 
court,  upon  the  issuing  of  the  king's  or- 


person  whatever  to  be  inquiring  what  passes  with- 
in those  walls.     The  husband  has  there  an  abso- 
lute authority,  without  being  obliged  to  give  any 
account  of  his  actions.     And  it  is  said,  that  there 
are  most  bloody  doings  in  those  places  sometimes, 
and  that  poison   despatches  a  world  of  people, 
which  are  thought  to  die  a  natural  death."    Again 
he  says,  "  1  could  not  learn  what  was  done  more 
the  rest  of  the  night ;  for  I  have  already  informed 
you  how  difficult  it  is  to  be  informed  of  the  trans- 
actions in  those  habitations,  that  seem  to  be  re- 
gions of  another   world.      There   are   none  but 
women  that  can  approach  within  a  league  of  it,  or 
some  black  eunuchs,  with  whom  a  man  may  as 
well  converse  as  with  so  many  dragons,  that  can 
discover  those  secrets  ;  and  you  may  as  well  tear 
out  their  hearts  as  a  syllable  upon  that  text.    You 
must  use  a  great  deal  of  art  to  make  them  speak  ; 
just  as  we  tame  serpents  in  the  Indies,  till  they 
make   them   hiss  and  dance   when   they  please." 
He  likewise  observes  in  another  place,  "  What  is 
done  in  the  woman's  apartment  is  a  mystery  con- 
cealed even  from  the  grandees  and  prime  ministers. 
Or,  if  they  know  any  tiling,  it  is  merely  upon  the 
account  of  some  particular  relation  or  dependence 
which  the  secret  has  to  some  peculiar  affair  which 
of  necessity,  must  be  imparted  to  their  knowledge. 
A  man  may  walk  a  hundred  days  one  after  another 
by  the  house  where  the  women  are,  and  yet  know 
no  more  what  is  done  therein,  than  at  the  further 
end  of  Tartary."     These  hints  may  account  for 
the  conduct  of  Mordecai,  who,  (1.)  walked  every 
day  before  the  court  of  the  women's  house,   to 
gather  any  intelligence  that  might  chance  to  come 
within  his  cognizance,  respecting  his  niece.     An 
English  reader  is  apt  to  say,  "  Why  did  he  not 
visit  her  at  once?"  or,  "To  be  sure,  when  he 
walked   before  the  court,  he  inquired  of  the  ser- 
vants, and  they  told  him  as  a  matter  of  course." 
No  :  he  walked,  day  after  day,  if  perchance  he 
might  make  some  of  these  "  dragons"  in  any  de- 
gree   tractable.     In    like    manner,    the    English 
reader  may  suppose,  that  when   "  Mordecai  told 
Esther  the  queen"  of  the  treason   of  the  king's 
chamberlains,  he  spoke  to  her  personally.     This 
however,  is  not  probable  :  he  sent  her  the  intelli- 
gence by  intervening  agents.     And  when   Morde- 
cai, in  the  utmost  distress,  wished  to  communicate 
with  Esther,  "  he  cried  with  a  loud  and  bitter  cry, 
even  before  the  king's  gate,"  which  was  the  only 
mean  left  him  of  gaining  attention  from  the  at- 
tendants of  the  place  ;  some  of  whom,  coming  out 
to  him,  returned  and  told  Esther,  who  was  too  tar 
off  to  hear  him.     Esther  sent  her  own  chamber- 
lain, Hatach,  (a  confidential  person,  no  doubt,)  to 
inquire  from   Mordecai  himself  the  cause  of  his 
lamentation  :  and,  by  means  of  Hatach,  messages 
passed   between   them,  which   agrees   with  what 
Chardin  says,  that  it  is  possible  on  urgent  occa- 
sions to  make  these  officers  "speak."     We  learn 
also,.that  there  are  "  bloody  doings"  in  the  liarem; 
this  agrees  with  the  remark  of  Mordecai,  "  Think 
not  that  thou  shall  escape  in  the  king's  house, 


518 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   VII. 


ders, — they  were  every  where  overwhelm- 
ed with  lamentations  and  despair. 

When  it  came  to  the  queen's  ear,  that 
Mordecai  was  before  the  gate  of  the  palace 
in  that  forlorn  habit,  she  was  troubled  at 
the  report,  and  sent  an  attendant  out  to 
him  to  change  his  garment;  but  his  an- 
swer was,  that  he  could  not  do  it,  till  the 
cause  was  first  removed  for  which  he  as- 
sumed it. 

It  happened  that  Hatach,  one  of  the 
king's  eunuchs,  was  at  that  time  in  the 
queen's  presence ;  she  therefore  called 
him  to  her,  and  sent  him  out  to  learn  the 
cause  of  Mordecai's  assuming  that  dress, 
and  why  he  should  refuse  to  quit  it  at  her 
request. 

The  eunuch  put  these  questions  to 
Mordecai,  who  related  to  him  the  whole 
story  at  length,  how  the  king,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Haman, .had  issued  out  his 
royal  proclamation  throughout  all  his  do- 
minions, for  the  extirpating  of  the  Jews, 
and  also  how  vast  a  sum  of  money  Haman 
had  offered  by  way  of  composition,Vbr  to 
do  it. 

Mordecai  gave  him  a  true  copy  of  the 
edict,  from  the  original,  to  be  delivered  to 
the  queen ;  desiring  farther,  that  she 
would  make  an  humble  application  to  the 
king  upon  this  matter,  and  intercede  with 
him  on  their  behalf;  representing  to  her 
the  necessity  of  an  immediate  interposi- 
tion, as  the  lives  of  the  whole  nation  were 
in  question ;  and  as  Haman,  who  was  at 
the  king's  right  hand,  would  never  leave 
calumniating  the  Jews,  and  exasperating 
the  king  against  them,  till  he  had  gained 
his  point. 

Upon  the  eunuch's  giving  the  queen 
this  account  of  the  matter,  she  sent  Mor- 
decai word,  "  That  it  was  a  capital  crime 
to  break  in  upon  the  king  when  he  was 
upon  his  throne  of  state,  without  being 
called   to  attend  him,   unless  he   should 


more  than  alt  the  Jews."  He  certainly  means  that 
Haman  would  procure  her  death,  even  in,  the 
harem. —  Calmet. 


vouchsafe  to  hold  forth  his  golden  sceptre 
in  token  of  his  pardon."* 

When  he  heard  this,  he  pressed  the 
queen  again,  by  the  same  messenger, 
telling  her,  that  it  was  not  her  own  per- 
sonal safety  that  was  now  in  question,  but 
the  security  of  the  whole  race ;  advisjng 
her  likewise,  by  no  means  to  neglect  the 
present  opportunity  of  doing  so  necessary 
and  charitable  an  office,  and  assuring  her, 
that  God  himself  would  relieve  them,  even 
if  she  should  neglect  to  do  it.  And  that 
she  and  her  family  might  live  to  be  at  the 
mercy  of  those  whom  she  now  despised.  • 

Esther,  by  the  same  messenger,  desired 
her  uncle  to  call  an  assembly  of  the  Jews 
at  Susa,  and  hold  a  three  days'  fastf  for 
the  safety  of  the  queen ;  informing  him, 
that  she  and  her  servants  would  do  the 
like ;  and  that  after  this  preparation,  she 
was  resolved  to  go  to  the  king,  in  despite 


*  Ever  since  the  reign  of  Dejoces,  king  of  Me- 
dia, Herodotus  informs  us,  that,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  royal  majesty,  it  was  enacted,  "  That  no 
one  should  be  admitted  into  the  king's  presence ; 
but  that,  if  he  had  any  business  with  him,  he 
should  transact  it  by  the  intercourse  of  his  minis- 
ters." The  custom  passed  from  the  Medes  to  the 
Persians,  and  therefore  we  find  it  in  the  same  his- 
torian, lib.  iii.  that, after  the  seven  Persian  princes 
had  killed  the  Magian,  who  had  usurped  the  throne, 
they  came  to  this  agreement,  that  whoever  should 
be  elected  king,  should  allow  the  others  to  have 
at  all  times  a  ready  access  to  his  presence,  (which 
is  an  implication  that  they  had  it  not  before,) 
whenever  they  should  desire  it,  except  only  when 
he  was  accompanying  with  any  of  his  wives.  This 
therefore  was  the  ancient  law  of  the  country,  and 
not  procured  by  Haman,  as  some  imagine;  though 
it  cannot  be  denied,  but  that  the  reason  of  the 
law  at  first  might  be,  not  only  the  preservation  of 
the  majesty,  and  safety  of  the  king's  person,  but  a 
contrivance  likewise  of  the  great  officers  of  state, 
that  they  might  engross  the  king  to  themselves, 
by  allowing  admittance  to  none  but  whom  they 
should  think  proper  to  introduce. — Poole's  Anno- 
tations, and  Le  Clercs  Commentary. 

•f-  This  is  not  to  be  understood,  as  if  the  peo- 
ple were  to  take  no  manner  of  sustenance  for  three 
days,  because  few  or  none  could  undergo  that; 
but  only,  either  that  they  should  abstain  from  all 
delicacies,  and  content  themselves  with  coarse  fare, 
as  Josephus  expounds  it,  or  that  they  should  make 
no  set  meals  of  dinner  or  supper  in  their  families, 
but  eat  and  drink  no  more  than  would  suffice  to 
sustain  nature,  and  support  them  in  prayer  to  God 
for  a  blessing  upon  her  undertaking. — Patrick's 
and  Le  Clerc's  Commentaries. 


Chap.  VL] 

of  all  prohibition  and  danger ;  as  she  must 
die,  she  would  frankly  resign  her  life  in 
the  service  of  her  country. 

Mordecai,  in  compliance  with  the 
queen's  order,  appointed  a  public  fast,  and 
humbled  himself  in  supplications  to  Al- 
mighty God,  to  defeat  the  malice  of  their 
enemies;  and,  according  to  his  wonted 
goodness,  extend  his  mercy  to  penitent 
oifenders,  and  finally  to  deliver  them 
from  the  destruction  denounced  against 
them.  Representing,  "  That  it  was  not 
for  any  fault  of  their  own  that  they  were 
exposed  to  this  extremity,  but  through 
the  pride  of  Hainan's  heart,  who  thought 
it  an  indignity  offered  to  himself  in  being 
denied  that  adoration  to  him,  which  was 
due  to  God  alone.  And  that  a  whole 
nation  was  not  to  be  rooted  out,  because 
they  would  not  be  corrupted  into  a  viola- 
tion and  contempt  of  the  divine  laws." 

The  devotion  of  the  whole  multitude 
was  to  the  same  effect;  desiring  God  to 
vouchsafe  them  his  protection,  and  avert 
that  dreadful  judgment  from  the  Israel- 
ites, that  now  hung  over  their  heads. 
The  queen  worshipped  likewise  with  her 
face  prostrate  on  the  ground,  after  the 
manner  of  her  country,  ill  her  mourning 
garment,  and  imposing  upon  herself  a 
three  days'  abstinence  from  either  meat  or 
drink,  or  any  other  sensual  gratification, 
beseeching  God  to  move  the  king's  heart, 
m  favour  of  her  mediation  for  a  miserable 
and  persecuted  people,  by  rendering  both 
her  words  and  her  person  more  acceptable 


THE  BIBLE. 


519 


upon  the  sight  of  the  king  mounted  on 
his  throne,  and  the  effulgence  of  his  robes, 
that  were  embroidered  with  gold  and 
precious  stones,  she  suddenly  was  seized 
with  a  trembling.  And  upon  fancying 
(which  affected  her  more  than  all  his  splen- 
dour) that  the  king  looked  upon  her  as  if 
he  was  discomposed,  and  out  of  humour, 
she  fell  into  the  arms  of  one  of  her  maids 
in  a  swoon.*  This  accident,  by  the  in- 
tervention of  God's  holy  will  and  provi- 
dence, alarmed  the  king,  who,  fearing  she 
might  not  recover,  hastily  descended  from 
his  throne,  took  her  into  his  arms,  and, 
with  the  kindest  words,  gave  her.  this  com- 
fort, that  no  advantage  should  be  made  of 
the  law  to  her  prejudice,  though  she  came 
without  calling-;  for  that  was  a  decree  that 
extended  only  to  the  subjects,  wherein  she 
was  not  at  all  concerned,  whom  he  looked 
upon  as  his  companion  and  partner  in  the 
empire. 

With  these  words  he  put  his  golden 
sceptre  into  her  hands,  and  laying  it  gent- 
ly upon  her  neck,  secured  her  from  any 
further  fear  or  danger. 

This  instance  of  tenderness  both  of 
love  and  assurance,  revived  the  affrighted 
queen,  who  thus  addressed  the  king  : — 
"  Sir,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  express 
the  manner  of  this  sudden  seizure  ;  but, 
I  had  no  sooner  the  awful  appearance  of 
your  sacred  person  and  majesty  in  my 
view,  than  my  heart  failed  me." 

She  accompanied  these  words  with  so 
languishing  an  accent,  and  so  weak  a  voice, 


than  ever,  upon  this   fatal  extremity,  to    that  the  lively  representation  of  what  she 


the  confusion  of  their  enemies,  and  of  all 
their  malicious  designs  upon  her  poor  dis- 
tressed countrymen. 

After  three  days  spent  in  fervent  and 
pious  importunity  for  mercy  and  compas- 
sion from  the  throne  of  divine  grace,  the 
queen  put  on  her  royal  apparel ;  and  with 
her  two  handmaids  bearing  up  her  train, 
advanced  towards  the  king ;  her  face  being 


felt  made  the  king  more  solicitous  to 
comfort  her,  which  he  did  in  terms  so  ex- 
plicit, that  he  bade  her  ask  him  any  thing, 
to  the  one  half  of  his  kingdom,  and  that 
it  should  be  given  her. 

Esther  replied,  that  her  only  request 


*    This  circumstance  of  the  queen's  swooning  is 
,  not  mentioned  in  any  of  the  canonical  chapters' of 
covered  with   such    a   blush  as  expressed  \  the  book  of  Esther,  but  in  the  fifteenth  of  the 


both  grace  and  majesty,  but  at  the  same 
time    some    doubtful   apprehension;    for 


Apocryphal  ;  and  in  the  sixteenth,  the  kins  J3 
called  Artaxerxes,  but  in  the  book  of  Esther  he  18 
called  Ahasuerus. 


520 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


was  this,  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  take 
\part  of  an  entertainment  with  her  that 
day,  which  she  had  provided  for  him,  and 
permit  Haman  to  come  with  him. 

Her  suit  was  gran  ted,  and  they  both  came. 
So  when  the  king  was  in  his  cups,  and 
in  good  humour,  he  called  upon  his  wife 
as  before,  to  ask  what  she  pleased  within 
that  compass,  and  it  should  be  granted  her. 

The  queen  begged  the  king's  favour 
for  the  same  honour  again  the  day  follow- 
ing at  another  entertainment,*  and  to  bring 
Haman  along  with  him  again ;  and  inform- 
ed him,  she  would  then  take  the  freedom 
to  present  her  petition. 

The  king  was  well  pleased  with  the  pro- 
position; and  Haman  was  overjoyed  to  find 
himself  the  only  man  that  was  singled  out 
upon  so  honourable  an  occasion,  to  bear 
king  company  at  a  royal  banquet,  f 

In  his  return  home,  he  happened  to  see 
Mordecai  the  Jew  in  the  king's  palace ; 
and  taking  notice  that  he  paid  him  no 
sort   of  reverence,    he    went  to  his  wife 

*  Her  intention,  in  desiring  thus  to  entertain  the 
Icing  twice  at  her  banquet,  before  she  made  known 
her  petition,  was,  that  thereby  she  might  the  more 
endear  herself  to  him,  and  dispose  him  the  better 
to  grant  her  request ;  for  which  reason  she  thought 
it  a  piece  of  no  bad  policy  to  invite  his  first  fa- 
vourite to  come  along  with  him.  But,  in  the  whole 
matter,  the  singular  providence  of  God  is  not  a  lit- 
tle conspicuous,  which  so  disposed  her  mind,  that 
the  high  honour,  which  the  king  bestowed  upon 
Mordecai  the  next  day,  might  fall  out  in  the  mean 
time,  and  so  make  way  for  her  petition,  which 
would  come  in  very  seasonably  at  the  banquet  of 
wine :  for  as  then  it  was  most  likely  for  the  king 
to  be  in  a  pleasant  humour,  so  it  was  most  usual 
for  the  Persians  to  enter  upon  business  of  state, 
when  they  began  to  drink. — Le  Clerc's  and  Pa- 
trick's Commentaries,  and  Prideaux's  Connec- 
tion. 

-f-  Athenaeus  mentions  it  as  a  peculiar  honour, 
which  no  Grecian  ever  had  before  or  after,  that 
Artaxerxes  condescended  to  invite  Timagoras  the 
Cretan  to  dine  even  at  the  table  where  his  rela- 
tions ate,  and  to  send  sometimes  a  part  of  what 
was  served  up  at  his  own  ;  which  some  Persians 
looked  upon  as  a  diminution  of  his  majesty,  and  a 
prostitution  of  their  national  honour.  In  the  life 
of  Artaxerxes,  Plutarch  tells  us,  that  none  but  the 
king's  mother,  and  his  real  wife,  were  permitted  to 
sit  at  his  table  ;  and  therefore  he  mentions  it  as  a 
condescension  in  that  prince,  that  he  sometimes  in- 
vited his  brothers  ;  so  that  this  particular  favour 
was  a  matter  that  Haman  had  some  reason  to 
value  himself  upon.— Xe  Clerc's  Commentary. 


Zeresh,  with  a  company  of  his  friends 
about  him,  and  there  told  them  the  story 
how  much  he  was  in  the  good  graces  of 
the  king  and  the  queen;  how  he  had  sup- 
ped with  them  that  day,  upon  a  particular 
invitation,  and  was  to  be  with  them  to- 
morrow again  upon  the  same  account. 

"  But,"  says  he,  "  the  insolent  stiffness 
of  the  Jew  Mordecai,  gives  me  no  small 
uneasiness.'* 

Upon  which  his  wife  gave  him  this 
counsel:  Order  a  gallows  of  fifty  cubits 
high  to  be  immediately  set  up,  and  ob- 
tain the  king's  permission  to-morrow  morn- 
ing to  hang  up  Mordecai  upon  it. 

Haman  took  his  wife's  counsel,  and 
commanded  his  people  to  erect  such  a 
gallows  in  his  own  palace,  which  he  de- 
signed for  the  execution  of  the  Jews;  and 
the  gibbet  was  set  up  accordingly.  But 
God,  who  foresees  and  orders  all  events, 
disappointed  wicked  Haman  in  all  his  im- 
pious hopes  and  purposes;  for  that  very 
night,  the  king,  finding  he  could  not  sleep, 
and  accounting  it  time  lost  to  lie  idle  and 
waking,  chose  rather  to  employ  his  thoughts 
upon  some  subject  that  might  turn  to  the 
advantage  of  his  government,  and  there- 
fore commanded  his  secretary  to  bring  him 
his  memorials  and  papers  of  state,  modern 
as  well  as  ancient,  and  to  read  the  accounts 
of  them.J 


%  It  may  be  well  asked,  why  should  the  king,  in 
such  a  perturbed  state  of  mind,  wish  such  a  dry 
detail,  as  chronicles  afford,  to  be  read  to  him  ? 
But  the  truth  is,  as  chronicles  were  composed 
among  the  Persians,  he  could  not  have  brought 
before  him  any  work  more  instructive,  and  more 
entertaining,  because  they  were  all  written  in  verse, 
and  were  generally  the  work  of  the  most  eminent 
poets  in  the  empire.  They  are  written  in  this 
way  to  the  present  time;  and  the  famous  epic 
poem  of  the  finest  Persian  poet,  Ferdusi,  the 
Homer  of  India,  is  nothing  else  than  a  collection 
of  chronicles  brought  down  from  the  creation  to 
the  reign  of  Mohammed  Ghezny,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  tenth  century.  After  thirty  years'  labour, 
he  finished  this  poem,  which  contained  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  lines  ;  and  presented  it 
to  the  Sultan  Mahmoud,  who  had  promised  to 
give  him  a  dinar  (eight  shillings  and  sixpence)  for 
every  line.  The  poem  was  finished  A.  D.  984  ; 
and  was  formed  out  of  compositions  of  a  similar 
nature  made  by  former  poets.     This  chronological 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


521 


The  king  found,  upon  the  reading  of 
them,  the  name  of  a  person  that  had  great 
honours  and  possessions  given  him,  as  a 
reward  for  a  glorious  and  a  remarkable 
action:  and  so  likewise  of  another,  that 
made  his  fortune  by  the  bounties  of  his 
prince  for  his  fidelity:  coming  at  last  to 
the  particular  story  of  the  conspiracy  of 
the  two  eunuchs,  Bigthana  and  Teresh, 
against  his  own  person,  and  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  treason  by  Mordecai,  the 
secretary  reads  it  over,  and  was  passing 
forward  to  the  next;  but  the  king  bade 
him  hold,  and  inquired  if  that  person  had 
any  reward  given  him  for  his  service. 
The  secretary  replied,  that  there  was  no 
reward  mentioned  in  the  relation,  and 
then  the  king  bade  him  stop  there,  and 
inquire  of  the  attendants  what  time  of 
night  it  was;  answer  being  brought  that 
it  was  break  of  day,  he  was  commanded 
to  see  if  there  were  any  of  his  friends  at 
the  palace  gate,  and  bring  him  word;  when 
he  came  to  look  he  found  Haman,  who 
was  earlier  up  than  ordinary,  for  fear  of 
being  too  late  with  his  petition  to  the  king 
against  the  life  of  Mordecai.  Word  be- 
ing brought  to  the  king  that  Haman  was 
at  the  gate,  he  ordered  him  to  be  called 
in;  and  upon  his  entrance  into  the  cham- 
ber, spoke  to  him  after  this  manner:   "I 

poem  is  written  in  all  the  harmony,  strength,  and 
elegance  of  the  most  beautiful  and  harmonious 
language  in  the  universe ;  and  what  adds  greatly 
to  its  worth  is,  that  it  has  few. Arabic  words,  with 
which  the  beautiful  Persian  tongue  was  loaded, 
and  in  my  opinion  corrupted,  after  the  conquest 
of  the  major  part  of  Asia  by  the  Mohammedans. 
The  pedants  of  Hindostan,  whether  they  speak  or 
write,  in  prose  or  in  verse,  affect  this  commixture 
of  Arabic  words;  which,  though  they  subjugate 
them  to  Persian  rules,  are  producing  a  ruggedness 
in  a  language,  which,  in  Ferdusi,  flows  deep  and 
strong,  like  a  river  of  oil,  over  every  kind  of  chan- 
nel. Such,  I  suppose,  was  the  chronicle  that  was 
read  to  Ahasuerus,  when  his  distractions  prevented 
his  sleep,  and  his  troubled  mind  required  that 
soothing  repose  which  the  gentle  though  powerful 
hand  of  poetry  is  alone,  in  such  circumstances, 
capable  of  affording.  Even  our  rough  English 
ancestors  had  their  poetic  chronicles;  and  among 
many,  the  chronicle  of  Robert  of  Gloucester  is 
proof  in  point.  I  need  not  add  that  all  that  is 
real  in  Ossian  is  of  the  same  complexion. — Dr  A. 
Clarke. 


know  that  you  are  the  kindest  friend  to 
me  in  the  world;  and  therefore  I  would 
ask  your  counsel,  what  mark  of  honour 
you  would  advise  me  to  bestow  upon  the 
person  that  I  have  the  greatest  obligation 
to  imaginable;  and  I  will  do  it  with  a 
respect  to  my  own  royal  dignity,  as  well 
as  for  my  affection  to  my  subjects."* 

Haman  made  no  doubt  of  finding  his  own 
interest  in  his  resolving  this  question,  and 
presumed  that  this  character  could  not  be 
intended  to  any  other  than  himself:  he 
therefore  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the 
king  should  clothe  the  man  whom  he  desir- 
ed to  honour  with  his  own  royal  apparel, 
mount  him  upon  his  own  horse,  make  him 
a  present  of  a  golden  chain,  and  then 
cause  some  one  or  other  of  his  particular 
confidants  and   friends    to    march  before 


*  In  conferring  marks  of  their  favour,  the  kings 
of  Persia  do  not  at  once,  and  as  it  were  by  their 
own  will  determine  the  kind  of  honour  that  shall 
be  bestowed,  but  they  turn  round  to  the  man  that 
stands  next  in  rank  to  themselves,  and  ask  him 
what  shall  be  done  to  the  individual  who  has  ren- 
dered the  service,  which  they  specify  ;  and  accord- 
ing to  the  answer  of  the  favourite,  and  sometimes 
of  the  individual  himself,  the  royal  mandate  is 
issued.  Looft  Ali  Khan  said  to  a  courtier,  whom 
he  had  good  grounds  to  suspect  of  being  the 
murderer  of  the  late  king,  his  father  ;  "  What 
does  that  man  deserve  who  should  behave  ill  to 
his  sovereign  and  benefactor  ? "  "  To  be  burnt 
alive,"  was  the  reply.  "  You  are  the  man,"  said 
he,  and  instantly  ordered  him  to  be  thrown  into  a 
fiery  furnace.  Sir  Robert  Shirley  mentions  an- 
other instance  to  the  same  purport.  On  a  person 
being  reported  to  the  king  as  having  rendered 
some  important  public  service,  the  monarch  turned 
to  Shirley,  who  happened  to  be  nearest  the  royal 
person,  and  said,  "  What  shall  be  done  to  the  man 
who  has  done  this  thing  ?  "  Shirley  named  a  piece 
of  money,  and  a  robe  of  honour,  and  the  king 
ordered  them  to  be  given.  According  to  this 
custom,  the  appeal  was  made  to  Haman,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  meritorious  Jew,  and  that  haughty 
minister,  vainly  supposing  the  honour  could  be 
intended  for  none  but  himself,  was  made  the  un- 
conscious instrument  of  conferring  on  the  indi- 
vidual whom,  of  all  men,  he  most  detested,  the 
highest  honour  which  a  Persian  king  could  bestow 
— a  coat  which  had  been  worn  by  the  monarch 
himself — one  of  the  royal  horses,  which  it  was 
unlawful  for  any  but  the  king  to  bestride  without 
special  permission — the  crown,  which,  however, 
was  put  on  the  head  not  of  the  rider,  but  of  the 
steed,  and  in  this  royal  state  to  be  led  by  th"e 
greatest  subject  through  the  principal  streets  of 
the  city, — a  ceremony  which  is  said  to  occupy 
several  hours. — Jamieson. 
3u 


522 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


liim  as  a  heralil,  and  make  proclamation 
all  over  the  city :  Thus  shall  it  be  done 
to  the  man  whom  the  king  vouchsafes  to 
honour." 

Now  Haman  suggested  this  counsel  to 
the  king:,  in  confidence  that  he  would  ad- 
judge  this  honour  to  himself,  and  no  other; 
and  the  king  was  highly  pleased  with  the 
motion:  "Whereupon  go,"  says  he,  "and 
take  the  horse,  the  apparel,  and  the  chain, 
and  when  you  have  found  out  Mordecai 
the  Jew,  equip  him  in  these  accoutre- 
ments ;  and  when  he  is  mounted,  do  you 
march  before  him  in  quality  of  an  officer, 
to  make  the  proclamation ;  for  you,  being 
my  particular  friend,  are  the  fittest  man 
both  to  advise  with,  and  to  execute  your 
own  counsel.  I  will  do  this  honour  to 
Mordecai,  because  I  am  indebted  to  him 
for  my  life." 

This  order,  being  entirely  unexpected, 
struck  Haman  with  amazement  and  sur- 
prise :  but,  notwithstanding  his  confusion, 
he  durst  do  no  other  than  execute  it;  and 
was  obliged  to  go  with  the  horse,  habit,  and 
the  gold  chain  to  Mordecai.  Therefore 
finding  him  at  the  palace-gate  in  his  rags 
of  humiliation,  he  bade  him  strip  himself 
of  his  sackcloth,  and  put  on  that  purple. 
Now  the  Jew,  knowing  nothing  of  the 
matter,  took  the  whole  ceremony  for  a 
farce,  and  treated  Haman  in  plain  terms, 
as  a  mean  insolent  wretch,  to  insult  the 
miserable:  but  upon  a  farther  reasoning 
of  the  matter,  Haman  convinced  him  at 
last,  that  the  king  had  ordered  this  honour 
to  be  done  him  in  recompence  of  the  ser- 
vice he  had  rendered  him,  in  saving  his 
life  from  the  conspiracy  of  the  two  eu- 
nuchs :  and  being  thus  convinced,  he  put 
on  the  royal  purple,  and  the  golden  chain, 
mounted  the  king's  horse,  and  took  the 
tour  of  the  city;  Haman  making  proclam- 
ation before  him,  "Thus  shall  it  be  done 
unto  him  that  the  king  honours." 

Mordecai,  after  this,  went  to  the  king, 
and  Haman  departed  to  his  own  house, 
where  he  related  to  his  sorrowful  wife  and 
friends   the  lamentable   account  of  what 


had  passed.  Upon  hearing  these  circum- 
stances, they  found  there  was  no  revenging 
themselves  upon  Mordecai,  for  God  had 
taken  him  into  his  protection. 

As  they  were  in  the  middle  of  this 
discourse,  the  king's  eunuchs  came  from 
Esther  to  call  Haman  to  supper.  One  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Harbonah,  taking 
notice  of  a  gibbet  that  was  erected  in  the 
oourt,  asked  one  of  the  servants  the  mean- 
ing of  it;  and  understanding  it  was  prepared 
for  Mordecai,  the  queen's  uncle,  for  whose 
execution  Haman  had  designed  to  inter- 
cede with  the  king,  he  passed  on  to  his 
duty.  As  they  were  at  supper,  and  all 
parties  pleased  with  the  entertainment, 
the  king  put  the  former  day's  proposal 
again  to  the  queen,  with  an  assurance,  that 
let  her  ask  what  she  pleased,  it  should  not 
be  denied  her. 

Thus  encouraged,  she  represented,  in 
the  most  melting  strain,  the  unhappy  fate 
to  which  the  Jewish  nation  was  destined, 
and  gave  the  king  to  understand,  that  this 
was  the  subject  she  desired  to  lay  before 
him ;  observing,  "  That  she  would  by  no 
means  interrupt  his  affairs  of  state ;  or  if 
it  had  been  so  ordered  that  her  country- 
men might  have  only  been  sold  for  slaves, 
this  calamity  might  have  been  tolerable : 
so  that  she  had  only  this  suit  to  move, 
that  he  would  be  pleased  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  imminent  destruction  that  was  other- 
wise to  be  executed  upon  the  whole  race." 

The  king  called  out  presently  to  know 
who  it  was  that  had  any  such  design  on 
foot.  The  queen  made  answer,  "  That 
Haman  was  the  author  of  that  advice,  and 
that  he  did  it  out  of  an  impulse  of  pure 
malice  to  that  people."  This  discourse 
put  the  king  out  of  humour,  and  rising 
from  the  banquet,*  he  withdrew  into  the 
garden. 


*  The  rising  of  the  king  from  the  table,  was  not 
a  mere  involuntary  act,  done  under  the  impulse  of 
vehement  emotion,  but  it  was  the  usual  way  in 
which  the  Persian  kings  intimated  their  will  to 
their  attendants,  that  any  individual  who  had  of- 
fended them  was  to  be  put  to  death.  When  the 
king  of  Persia,  says  Tavernier,  orders  a  persou 


HAP.   VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


523 


Human  by  tins  time  found  the  storm 
approaching,  and  began  to  apply  himself 
to  the  queen,  with  acknowledgments  of 
his  mistakes,  and  desire  of  pardon;  and 
cast  himself  upon  the  bed  by  her  in  a 
way  of  humiliation  and  respect.  The 
king  returning  at  the  same  time,  and  see- 
ing Haman  in  that  posture  upon  the  bed, 
was  more  irritated  by  that  circumstance 
than  by  all  the  rest,  calling  him  the  basest 
and  wickedest  of  men,  for  so  insolent  an 
attempt  upon  the  honour  of  his  wife.* 
These  words  were  accompanied  with  such 
a  fierceness  of  tone  and  action,  that  Ha- 
man was  struck  dumb  at  their  utterance. 

Upon  this  the  eunuch  before  mentioned 
told  the  king  of  a  gibbet  of  fifty  cubits  in 
height,  that  Haman  had  set  up  for  Mor- 
decai  in  his  own  court,  as  he  understood 
by  one  of  his  servants,  when  he  was  there 
to  give  him  an  invitation  to  supper.  The 
king  immediately  took  up  a  resolution  of 
inflicting  the  same  punishment  therefore 
upon  Haman,  that  he  had  prepared  for 
Mordecai,  and  ordered  him  immediately 
to  be  hanged  upon  the  same  gibbet.-f- 

This  was  the  end  of  Haman,  the  wick- 


to  be  executed,  and  then  rises  and  goes  into  the 
women's  apartment,  it  is  a  sign  that  no  mercy  is 
to  be.  hoped  for.  Even  the  sudden  rising  of  the 
king  in  anger  was  the  same  as  if  he  had  pronounc- 
ed sentence.  Shah  Sefi  was  once  greatly  offended 
by  some  unseasonable  jokes  which  one  of  his 
favourites  allowed  himself  in  the  royal  presence. 
The  king  immediately  rose  and  retired,  upon 
which  the  favourite  saw  that  his  life  was  forfeited. 
He  went  home  in  confusion,  and  in  a  few  hours 
afterwards  the  king  sent  for  his  head. — Jamieson. 
*  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Persians,  as  well 
ns  other  nations,  to  sit,  or  rather  to  lie  upon  beds, 
when  they  ate  or  drank ;  and  therefore  when 
Haman  fell  down,  as  a  suppliant  at  the  feet  of 
Esther,  and  (as  the  manner  was  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  and  not  improbably  among  the 
Persians)  embraced  her  knees,  the  king  might  pre- 
tend, that  he  was  offering  violence  to  the  queen's 
chastity.  •  Not  that  he  believed  that  this  was  his 
intention,  but,  in  his  furious  passion,  he  turned 
every  thing  to  the  worst  sense,  and  made  use  of  it 
to  aggravate  his  crime. —  Calmefs  Commentary. 
|  f  We  cannot  pass  over  this  wonderful  concur- 
f  rence  of  providence,  without  a  remark  upon  the 
almighty  power  and  the  admirable  justice  and 
wisdom  of  God,  not  only  in  bringing  Haman  to 
this  deserved  punishment,  but  entrapping  him 
in  the  very  snare  he  had  laid  for  another,  and 


ed  abuser  of  the  king's  goodness  and 
bounty.  His  body  was  delivered  up  to- 
justice,  and  his  estate  given  to  the  queen. 
The  queen  had  by  this  time  made  it 
known  to  the  king  that  Mordecai  was  her 
kinsman ;  so  that  he  sent  for  him,  and  de- 
livered him  the  same  ring  that  Haman  had 
been  intrusted  with  before.  The  posses- 
sions of  Haman,  that  the  king  had  granted 
to  the  queen,  she'  bestowed  upon  Morde- 
cai, and  then  made  it  her  request  to  his 
majesty,  that  he  would  deliver  the  Jews 
out  of  that  apprehension  for  their  lives, 
under  which  they  yet  laboured,  reminding 
him  of  the  letters  that  Haman  the  son  of 
Hammedatha  had  dispersed  in  his  name 
throughout  the  empire,  making  declara- 
tion that  her  own  life  depended  upon  the 
safety  of  her  countrymen  and  her  relations. 

The  king  assured  her,  on  his  royal 
word,  that  nothing  should  be  done  to  the 
Jews  without  her  knowledge  and  approba- 
tion; and  he  gave  her  liberty  to  write 
what  she  thought  fit,  concerning  the  Jews, 
in  his  name,  and  declared  that  the  letters 
should  be  signed,  sealed,  and  dispersed  by 
his  orders  throughout  all  his  dominions; 
adding,  that  when  they  should  be  confirm- 
ed by  the  royal  signature,  their  authority 
would  pass  without  dispute  or  contradic- 
tion; wherefore  the  king  appointed  his 
scribes  and  secretaries  to  attend  him, 
commanding  them  to  write  letters  on  the 
behalf  of  the  Jews  to  the  magistrates  of 
all  the  nations  that  lie  between  India  and 
Ethiopia,  under  the  command  of  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  governors.  Of 
which  letter  the  following  is  a  copy: 

"  Artaxerxes,  the  great  king,  to  our 
trusty  magistrates,  greeting. — Whereas  it 
is  a  common  practice  in  the  world  for 
men  that  are  advanced  rfther  upon  favour 
than  merit,  not  only  to  insult  their  in- 
feriors, but  to  requite  their  benefactors 
with  ingratitude,  as  much  as  in  them  lies, 
to  extinguish   all   sense   of  gratitude   or 


turning  a  malicious  device  upon  the  head  of  the 
contriver. 


524 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


good  nature  in  human  society;  pervert- 1 
ing  also,  out  of  pride  and  weakness  of 
mind,  the  power  and  credit  that  are  re- 
posed in  them,  to  the  dishonour  of  their 
patrons  from  whom  they  received  it;  and 
under  such  an  appearance  too,  as  if  they 
thought  God  himself  could  not  see  through 
the  disguise. 

"  Besides  that,  it  is  no  new  thing  for 
state  minions  to  gratify  Iheir  own  private 
passion,  to  the  prejudice  of  their  masters, 
by  misrepresenting  the  innocent,  and  by 
these  ill  offices  with  the  prince,  to  put 
honest  men  in  danger  of  their  lives. 

"  I  speak  not  this  upon  mere  report, 
but  upon  the  certainty  of  what  I  have 
seen  with  my  own  eyes,  upon  proof,  not 
rumour.  Wherefore,  let  no  regard  be 
paid  for  the  future  to  bare  accusations,  or, 
in  truth,  slanders  rather;  but  let  the  fact 
be  strictly  examined,  and  the  person 
accused  either  acquitted  or  punished  as 
he  shall  be  found  innocent  or  guilty. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  Haman  was  by 
extraction  an  Amalekite,  and  not  a  Per- 
sian, and  with  what  tenderness  of  affec- 
tion and  hospitality  I  received  him;  what 
jionours  I  conferred  upon  him,  even  to 
the  degree  of  calling  and  esteeming  him  as 
my  father,  and  commanding  all  my  sub- 
jects to  pay  him  a  reverence  next  in  order 
to  what  they  owed  to  my  own  person. 

"  Now  this  man  was  so  intoxicated 
with  vanity  and  arrogance,  that,  passing 
all  the  measures  of  sobriety  and  duty,  he 
improved  the  power  I  gave  him,  so  far  as 
in  him  lay,  toward  the  supplanting  of  me 
in  my  kingdom,  and  the  destroying  of 
that  person  by  treacherous  practices,  to 
whom  I  stand  indebted  for  my  life  and 
government.  I  speak  of  Mordecai,  my 
benefactor  and  preserver;  and  of  my  dear- 
est wife  the  queen  likewise,  whom  I  es- 
teem as  the  one  half  of  my  own  soul,  and 
my  partner  in  the  empire.  His  plot  be- 
ing in  the  first  place  perfidiously  to  at- 
tempt the  lives  of  my  most  loyal  friends 
and  then  to  seize  upon  my  crown  and 
government. 


"  Now  forasmuch  as  the  lewd  designs 
of  this  wicked  man  are  unquestionably 
notorious,  and  particularly  his  bloody  and 
barbarous  contrivance  for  the  total  extir- 
pation of  the  Jews,  this  is  to  notify  and 
declare,  that  I  find  these  people  so  far 
from  being  troublesome  or  seditious,  as  he 
represented  them,  that,  on  the  contrary,  I 
highly  approve  of  their  institutions,  ways, 
and  manners,  as  a  people  worshipping  the 
same  God,  to  whose  bounty  and  protec- 
tion our  family  stands  indebted  both  for 
the  possession  and  preservation  of  our 
empire. 

"  It  is  therefore- our  royal  pleasure,  by 
these  presents,  not  only  to  discharge  the 
same  people  of  all  the  pains  and  penalties 
to  which  they  were  made  liable  by  our 
letters  communicated  to  you  by  the  hand 
of  Haman,  but  likewise  that  you  treat 
them  with  all  manner  of  gentleness  and 
respect;  having  caused  the  author  of  this 
malicious  persecution  to  be  put  to  death 
upon  a  gibbet,  and  his  family  slain  by  the 
sword  before  the  gates  of  Susa,  as  a  most 
necessary  sacrifice  to  divine  justice. 

"  This  is  also  farther  to  will  and  require 
you,  that  you  forthwith  despatch  copies  of 
these  our  letters  throughout  all  our  do- 
minions, permitting  the  Jews  to  live  in  a 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  own  laws, 
and  that  you  give  them  your  aid  and  as- 
sistance toward  vindicating  of  themselves 
upon  those  that  despitefully  and  injurious- 
ly oppressed  them  in  their  adversity. 

"  And  whereas  the  precise  time  ap« 
pointed  for  the  utter  extermination  and 
destruction  of  these  people  was  to  have 
been  upon  the  thirteenth  day  of  the 
twelfth  month,  it  is  our  pleasure  that  you 
pitch  upon  the  same  month  and  day  for 
the  work  of  their  deliverance,  as  a  circum- 
stance the  most  agreeable  to  the  methods 
of  God's  power  and  justice,  not  doubting 
but  that  his  way  of  proceeding  will  be 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  our  friends, 
and  the  example  of  it  stand  upon  record 
to  posterity,  for  a  monumental  caution  to 
all  traitors  for  the  time  to  come. 


Chap.  VI. J 


THE  BIBLE. 


525 


"  And  be  it  also  known  to  all  our  cities, 
towns,  and  people,  herein  concerned,  that 
what  person  soever  shall  presume,  either 
by  disobedience,  or  neglect,  to  act  any 
ways  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  this  our 
royal  command,  he  shall  be  liable  to  mili- 
tary execution  by  fire  and  sword,  whereof 
all  our  subjects  are  to  take  warning,  and 
the  Jews  to  be  in  readiness  at  the  time 
assigned,  to  do  themselves  right  upon  their 
enemies." 

Messengers  were  immediately  despatch- 
ed with  these  letters  to  all  quarters.  Mor- 
decai,  in  the  mean  time,  coming  forth  out 
of  the  palace,  dressed  in  royal  robes,  with  a 
crown  and  golden  chain,  the  Jews  soon  in- 
terpreted his  appearance  into  a  common 
blessing  to  them  all ;  and  the  publication 
of  the  king's  letter  throughout  all  the 
towns  and  cities  of  his  dominions,  diffused 
such  a  universal  joy  among  them,  that  a 
grateful  complacency  appeared  in  every 
countenance;  nay,  and  this  grace  of  the 
king  had  so  powerful  an  influence  and  ef- 
fect, even  upon  other  nations,  that  many 
of  them  circumcised  themselves,  in  hopes 
they  might  escape,  under  the  disguise  of 
Jews,  who  were  highly  elevated  by  the 
king's  assigning  them  the  same  day  for 
their  revenge  that  had  been  designed  for 
their  execution,  that  is  to  say,  the  thir- 
teenth day  of  the  twelfth  month,  which 
the  Hebrews  call  Adar,  and  the  Macedo- 
nians, Dystrus. 

Upon  the  obtaining  of  this  mandate, 
the  princes,  governors,  magistrates,  and 
lieutenants,  all  paid  a  more  than  ordinary 
reverence  to  the  Jews,  for  fear  of  the 
power  of  Mordecai. 

Upon  the  publishing  of  this  edict,  the 
Jews  put  five  hundred  of  their  enemies  to 
the  sword  at  Susa,  and  the  king  showed 
the  queen  the  number  of  them;  but  there 
was  no  account  taken  of  those  that  were 
slain  elsewhere ;  so  he  proposed  it  to  her, 
if  she  would  require  any  thing  more,  for 
he  was  resolved  to  deny  her  nothing. 

Her  request  was  then,  that  the  Jews 
might  have  one  day's  revenge  more  upon 


their  enemies ;  and  that  the  ten  sons  of 
Haman  might  be  hanged  upon  the  gal- 
lows,* which  the  king  also  granted  for  the 
day  following,  without  the  least  hesita- 
tion ;  so  that  they  gathered  in  troops  to- 
gether upon  the  fourteenth,  and  killed 
near  three  hundred  more  of  their  adver- 
saries, without  so  much  as  touching  any  of 
their  goods ;  but  in  other  places,  up  and 
down  the  empire,  they  destroyed  seventy- 
five  thousand  of  those  whom  they  reputed 
to  be  their  enemies. 

This  slaughter  was  made  upon  the  thir- 
teenth, and  the  day  following  they  kept  as 
a  festival ;  and  also  at  Susa  they  celebrat- 
ed the  fourteenth  of  the  following  month 
in  a  similar  manner.f 

Mordecai,  upon  this,  sent  his  orders  to 
all  the  Jews,  under  the  dominion  of  Ar- 
taxerxes,  requiring  them  to  observe  those 
days  as  festivals  ;  and  to  transmit  the  ob- 
servance of  them  to  posterity,  and  thereby 
perpetuate  its  memory  ;  as  it  was  but  rea- 
sonable to  celebrate  their  deliverance  by  a 
solemnity  of  rejoicing  upon  the  same  day 
that  was  by  the  treachery  of  Plaman  ap- 
pointed for  the  massacre,  and  to  make  it  a 
day  of  thanksgiving,  in  memory,  as  well 
of  their  being  freed  from  their  enemies,  as 
of  having  them  given  up  entirely  and  se- 
curely into  their  hands. 


*  We  are  already  told  that  these  ten  sons  were 
slain  by  the  sword,  but  the  reason  why  Esther  ap- 
pears to  be  so  solicitous  to  have  their  dead  bodies 
hung  upon  the  gallows,  miglft  be  because  they  had 
shown  more  malice  and  indignation  against  the 
Jews,  and  on  the  day  when  the  cruel  edict  came  to 
take  place,  had  made  more  desperate  attacks  upon 
them  than  any  ;  though  the  reason  of  state  in  this 
severity,  was  doubtless  to  expose  the  family  01 
Haman  to  greater  infamy,  and  to  deter  other  coun- 
sellors from  abusing  the  king  by  false  misrepre- 
sentations. The  Jews  indeed  suffered  none  to 
hang  on  the  tree  (as  they  called  the  gallows)  longer 
than  till  the  evening  of  the  day  whereon  they  were 
executed  ;  but  other  nations  let  them  hang  until 
they  were  consumed  by  crows,  vultures,  or  other 
ravenous  creatures,  as  appears  from  the  story  of 
the  Gibeonites,  (2  Sam.  xxi.  9,  10.)  and  from  that 
vulgar  saying  among  the  Romans,  *  Pascere  in 
cruce  corvos.' 

f  These  days  were  long  after  this  observed  by  the 
Jews  with  the  same  solemnity,  regaling  one  ano- 
ther by  way  of  compliment,  with  some  present  of 
portion  of  the  entertainment. 


526 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII. 


Upon  this  account  it  is,  that  those  days 
are  observed  which  they  call  Purim  or 
lots  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  feast  of  lots.* 

Mordecai   was   now  a  man   of    great 


*  The  feast  of  Purim,  or  lots,  is,  to  this  very 
day,  celebrated  by  the  Jews,  with  some  peculiar 
ceremonies,  but  most  of  them  reduceable  to  these 
three  things,  reading,  resting,  and  feasting.  Before 
the  reading,  which  is  performed  in  the  synagogue, 
and  begins  in  the  evening  as  soon  as  the  stars  ap- 
pear, they  make  use  of  three  forms  of  prayer  ;  in 
the  first  of  these,  they  praise  God  for  counting 
them  worthy  to  attend  this  divine  service  ;  in  the 
second,  they  thank  him  for  the  miraculous  preser- 
vation of  their  ancestors  ;  and  in  the  third,  they 
bless  his  holy  name  for  having  continued  their 
lives  to  the  celebration  of  another  festival  in  com- 
memoration of  it.  Then  they  read  over  the  whole 
history  of  Haman  from  the  beginning  to  the  end, 
but  not  out  of  any  printed  book,  (for  that  is  not 
lawful,)  but  out  of  an  Hebrew  manuscript,  writ- 
ten on  parchment.  There  are  five  places  in  the  text, 
wherein  the  readerraises  his  voice  with  all  his  might : 
when  he  comes  to  the  place  that  mentions  the  names 
of  the  ten  sons  of  Haman.  he  repeats  them  very 
quick,  to  show  that  they  were  all  destroyed  in  a 
moment ;  and  every  time  that  the  name  of  Ha- 
man is  pronounced,  the  children  with  great  fury 
strike  against  the  benches  of  the  synagogues,  with 
the  mallets  that  they  bring  for  that  purpose.  Af- 
ter that  the  reading  is  finished,  they  return  home 
and  have  a  supper,  not  of  flesh,  but  of  spoon- 
meat  ;  and  early  next  morning  they  arise  and  re- 
turn to  the  synagogue;  where,  after  they  have  read 
that  passage  in  Exodus  which  makes  mention  of 
the  war  of  Amalek,  they  begin  again  to  read  the 
book  of  Esther  with  the  same  ceremonies  as  be- 
fore;  and  so  conclude  the  service  of  the  day,  with 
curses  against  Haman  and  his  wife  Zeresh,  with 
blessings  upon  Mordecai  and  Esther,  and  with 
praises  to  God  for  preserving  his  people.  Their 
resting  on  this  day  is  observed  so  religiously,  that 
they  will  not  so  much  as  set,  or  sow  any  thing  in 
their  gardens,  with  full  persuasion  that  it  would 
not  come  up  if  th§p  did ;  and  therefore,  they 
either  play  at  chess  and  such  like  games,  or  spend 
the  time  in  music  and  dancing,  until  it  be  proper 
to  begin  their  feasting,  wherein  they  indulge  them- 
selves to  such  an  immoderate  degree,  that  their 
feast  of  Purim  has,  with  great  justice,  been  called 
the  Bacchanals  of  the  Jews.  They  allow  them- 
selves to  drink  wine  to  excess,  nay,  even  to  such 
a  pitch  as  not  to  be  able  to  distinguish  between 
the  blessing  of  Mordecai,  and  the  curse  of  Haman, 
as  themselves  speak  ;  and  amidst  the  other  sports 
and  diversions  of  the  day,  •they  used  formerly  to 
erect  a  gibbet,  and  burn  upon  it  a  man  made  of 
straw,  whom  they  called  Haman  ;  but  herein  it 
was  thought  that  they  might  have  a  design  to  in- 
sult Christians,  upon  the  death  of  our  crucified 
Saviour,  and  therefore,  Theodosius  the  II.  (Anno 
Dom.  408.)  forbade  them  to  use  this  ceremony,  un- 
der the  penalty  of  forfeiting  all  their  privileges. 
We  have  only  farther  to  remark  concerning  this 
festival,  that  it  is  always  kept  for  two  days  toge- 
ther, and  the  reason  hereof  is  this  : — the  Jews  at 


power  with  the  king-,  both  in  respect  of 
his  administration,  being-  near  his  person, 
and  as  an  assistant  and  companion  to  the 
queen;  so  that  tho  affairs  of  the  Jews 
were,  by  their  means,  better  than  they 
could  ever  have  hoped  for. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Artaxerxes  favours  the  cause  of  the  Jews — Ne- 
hemiah  superintends  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem. 

In  the  beginning-  of  the  seventh  year  of 
Artaxerxes,  Ezra,  (a  priest  descended  from 
Seraiah,  the  high-priest,  who  was  slain  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  when  he  burnt  the  tem- 
ple and  city  of  Jerusalem,)  a  man  of  great 
learning,  and  excellently  skilled  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  scriptures,  who  had 
hitherto  continued  in  Babylon,  with  others 
of  the  captivity,  obtained  a  very  ample 
commissionf  from  the  king  to  go  to  Jeru- 


Shushan  had  two  days  allowed  them  to  revenge 
themselves  of  their  enemies,  Esther  ix.  13.  but 
the  rest  of  the  Jews  for  other  nations  had  but  one. 
This  caused,  at  first,  some  difference  in  their  time 
of  feasting  ;  for  the  Jews,  in  all  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  having  done  execution  on  their  enemies 
on  the  thirteenth  day,  kept  their  rejoicing  feast  on 
the  fourteenth  ;  but  the  Jews  at  Shushan,  being 
engaged  in  this  work  both  on  the  thirteenth  ami 
fourteenth  days,  kept  their  festival  for  their  deliver- 
ance on  the  fifteenth.  When  Mordecai,  however, 
had  made  a  record  of  this  great  deliverance,  he 
sent  letters  to  all  the  Jews  throughout  the  domin- 
ions of  Ahasuerus,  to  establish  it  as  a  standing  or- 
dinance among  them,  that  they  should  keep  both 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  of  the  month  Adar 
every  year,  as  the  days  whereon  the  Jews  rested 
from  their  enemies:  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the 
festival  continues  for  two  days,  though  the  former 
of  them  is  only  kept  with  great  solemnity. — Pa- 
trick's Commentary,  HoicelVs  History  in  the 
notes,  and  Calmefs  Dictionary. 

f  It  can  hardly  be  imagined,  but  that  some 
more  than  ordinary  means  were  used  to  obtain  so 
great  a  favour  from  the  king,  as  this  commission 
was  ;  and  therefore  we  may  suppose,  that  it  was 
granted  at  the  solicitation  of  Esther,  who  was  be- 
come the  best  beloved  of  the  king's  concubines, 
though  not  as  yet  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  queen : 
for,  it  being  usual  for  the  kings  of  Persia,  on  some 
particular  days  and  occasions,  to  allow  their  women 
to  ask  what  boons  they  pleased,  it  is  not  unlikely, 
that,  by  the  direction  of  Mordecai,  upon  some 
such  time  and  occasion  as  this,  Esther  (though  she 
had  not  discovered  her  kindred  and  nation)  might 
make  this  the  matter  of  her  request. — Prideaux's 
Connection. 


Chap.  VII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

salem,  and  to  take  as  many  of  his  own 
nation  with  him  as  were  willing  to  accom- 
pany him  thither.  The  purport  of  the 
commission  runs  thus : — "  Whereas  it  is 
decreed  by  me  and  my  seven  counsellors, 
that  what  Israelites  soever  within  my  do- 
minions, with  their  priests  and  Levites, 
shall  think  fit  to  bear  you  company  to 
Jerusalem,  I  have  granted  them  free 
leave  to  go  to  Judea,  to  worship  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  their  country ;  and  like- 
wise to  take  along  with  them  all  the  gold 
and  silver  that  your  people  throughout 
Babylon  shall  contribute  toward  that  ser- 
vice, for  the  buying  of  sacrifices  to  offer 
upon  the  altar  to  your  God,  and  for  mak- 
ing such  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  as  you 
and  your  brethren  shall  judge  meet.  It 
is  also  my  desire,  that  what  is  thus  given 
you  be  dedicated  to  your  God.  And  if 
you  should  have  occasion  for  any  thing 
else,  use  your  own  discretion,  and  supply 
yourself  out  of  the  public  treasure;  to 
which  end  I  have  already  written  to  the 
officers  that  have  the  custody  of  it,  in  Syria 
and  Phcenice,  expressly  commanding  them 
to  furnish  whatsoever  Ezra  the  priest  and 
reader  of  the  law  of  God  shall  desire, 
without  any  delay.  And  to  the  end  that 
God  may  prosper  both  me  and  mine,  I 
will  have  an  hundred  cores  of  wheat  de- 
dicated to  God,  according  to  the  provision 
of  the  law.  And  I  do  strictly  charge  and 
require  of  the  magistrates,  that  they  exact 
nothing  from  the  priests,  or  Levites,  holy 
singers,"  porters,  or  other  offices  of  the 
temple ;  and  that  they  lay  no  burdens 
upon  them.  And  for  yourself,  Ezra,  I  do 
hereby  give  you  full  authority,  according 
to  the  wisdom  you  have  received  from 
God,  to  constitute  judges,  that  may  see 
justice  done  to  the  people  through  Syria 
and  Phcenice,  that  understand  the  law, 
and  are  conscientious  in  their  duty.  And 
at  the  same  time,  that  no  plea  of  ignorance 
may  be  urged  for  violating  the  law,  do 
you  instruct  the  ignorant,  that  all  trans- 
gressors may  be  punished  according  to 
their  demerit.     Farewell." 


527 


Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  Ezra 
worshipped  God,  and  gave  thanks,  as- 
cribing to  his  gracious  providence  all  the 
benefits  and  favours  he  had  received  from 
the  king,  who  served  but  as  the  instru- 
ment of  communicating  the  divine  bless- 
ings. 

The  Jews  in  Babylon  were,  upon  this 
occasion,  summoned  to  a  general  meeting, 
where  the  letter  was  read ;  then  a  copy  of 
it  was  taken,  and  sent  away  to  be  com- 
municated to  all  the  Jews  of  Media;  but 
Ezra  kept  the  original  himself. 

This  instance  of  the  king's  piety  to- 
wards God,  and  of  the  respect  and  kind- 
ness he  had  for  Ezra,  was  an  agreeable 
surprise  to  the  people,  insomuch  that 
great  numbers  of  them  packed  up  their 
effects,  and  hastened  away  to  Babylon, 
with  a  full  purpose  to  return  to  Jerusalem; 
but  there  were  then  another  sort  of  Israel- 
ites, who,  being  accustomed  to  the  place, 
and  settled  in  their  habitations,  chose 
rather  to  continue  where  they  were. 
This  seems  to  be  the  reason  that  there 
were  two  tribes  to  be  found  in  Asia  and 
Europe,  under  the  Roman  emperor. 

As  for  the  ocher  ten  tribes,  they  were 
all  planted  beyond  the  Euphrates,  and  so 
prodigiously  increased  that  their  number 
was  scarcely  to  be  computed. 

The  publication  of  this  recommendatory 
testimonial  brought  over  multitudes  to 
Ezra,  not  only  priests  and  Levites,  but 
temple  porters,  singers,  and  other  officers 
and  servants. 

Ezra  appointed  those  that  were  dis- 
posed to  return  out  of  captivity,  a  rendez- 
vous at   the  river   Ahava,*  where,   after 

*  This  was  a  river  of  Assyria,  and  very  probably, 
that  which  ran  along  the  Adiabene,  where  the 
river  Diava,  or  Adiava,  is  known  to  be,  and  upon 
which  Ptolemy  places  the  city  of  Abane,  or  Aavane. 
Here  some  imagine  was  the  country  which  in 
the  second  Book  of  Kings,  xvii.  24.  is  called  Ava, 
from  whence  the  king  of  Assyria  translated  the 
people  called  Avites,  into  Palestine,  and,  in  their 
room, -settled  some  of  the  captive  Israelites.  It 
was  a  common  thing  for  those  that. travelled  from 
Babylon  to  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
scorching  heat  of  the  desert  of  Arabia,  to  shape 
their  course  northward  at  first,  and  then,  turning 


523 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


three  days'  fast,*  and  the  solemnity  of 
offering  vows  and  prayers  for  a  safe  and 
prosperous  voyage,  they  entered  on  their 
journey  on  the  twelfth  day  of  the  first 
month,  in  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign 
of  Artaxerxes,  and  got  to  Jerusalem  in  the 
fifth  month  of  the  same  year,  where  Ezra 
immediately  delivered  out  the  money  he 
brought,  to  the  priests  that  had  the  cus- 
tody of  the  holy  treasure;  six  hundred 
and  fifty  talents  of  silver,  a  hundred 
talents  of  silver  vessels,  twenty  talents  of 
vessels  of  gold,  and  twelve  talents  of  fine 
brass,  that  was  even  more  precious  than 
gold  itself. 

These  were  the  bounties  of  the  king 
and  his  friends,  and  of  the  Israelites  that 
continued  in  Babylon. 

When  Ezra  had  acquitted  himself  of 
this  trust,  he  offered  unto  God  burnt- 
offerings,  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
law,  twelve  bulls  for  the  whole  people  of 
Israel,  seventy-two  sheep  and  lambs,  and 
twelve  goats  for  a  sin-offering. 

He  delivered  also  the  king's  letter  to 
the  stewards  and  governors  of  Phcenice 
and  Coelo-syria,  who  held  the  Israelites 
in    great    esteem,   and    readily   supplied 

to  westward,  to  pass  through  Syria  into  Palestine ; 
but  Ezra  had  a  farther  reason  for  his  taking  this 
rout :  for,  as  he  intended  to  get  together  a3  many 
Israelites  as  he  could,  to  carry  along  with  him  to 
Jerusalem,  he  took  his  course  this  way,  and  made 
a  halt  in  the  country  of  Ava,  or  Ahava,  from 
whence  he  might  send  emissaries  into  the  Caspian 
mountains,  to  invite  such  Jews  as  were  there  to 
come  and  join  him. — Le  Clerc's  Commentary, 
and  Calmet's  Dictionary. 

*  This  they  had  the  greater  reason  to  do,  be- 
cause they  carried  things  of  considerable  value 
along  with  them ;  were  apprehensive  of  enemies 
that  lay  in  wait  for  them  ;  and  were  ashamed  to 
ask  any  guard  of  the  king,  who,  being  not  much 
instructed  in  divine  matters,  might  possibly  think, 
that  what  they  said  of  God's  favour  towards  them, 
and  the  prophecies  concerning  their  restoration, 
were  but  vain  boasts,  in  case  they  should  seem  to 
distrust  his  power  and  favour,  (of  whom  they  had 
spoken  so  magnificently,)  by  making  application  to 
the  king  for  his  protection  and  defence.  Rather 
therefore  than  give  any  such  umbrage,  they  were 
resolved  to  commit  themselves  entirely  to  God  : 
but  then  it  was  necessary,  that  they  should  be- 
seech that  of  him,  which,  without  giving  offence, 
they  could  not  request  of  the  king. — Patrick's 
Commentary. 


them  with  whatever  they  wanted,  whose 
undertaking  and  counsel,  in  every  respect, 
seemed  to  have  been  distinguished  by 
peculiar  tokens  of  the  divine  blessing. 

Having  composed  and  regulated  their 
affairs,  Ezra  received  information  that 
some  of  the  priests  and  Levites  had  de- 
parted from  the  law  and  their  duty,  by 
marrying  into  foreign  families,  and  there- 
by confounding  the  sacerdotal  race. 

Application  was  therefore  made  to  him, 
that  he  would  assert  the  observation  of  the 
laws,  lest  God,  in  his  wrath  for  the  ini- 
quity of  a  few,  should  avenge  himself 
upon  the  whole  body  of  the  people. 

Ezra,  upon  this  complaint,  rent  his 
clothes  for  very  grief,  tearing  the  hair 
from  his  head  and  beard,  and  casting  him- 
self  upon  the  ground  in  despair ;  for  there 
were  so  many  great  men  concerned  in 
this  crime,  that  he  thought  it  would  be  to 
no  purpose  to  lay  any  injunction  upon 
them  to  part  with  their  wives  and  children, 
so  that  he  continued  still  desponding,  with 
his  face  upon  the  earth. 

However,  all  the  people  that  retained 
any  reverence  for  the  laws  of  God  and 
their  country,  gathered  together  about 
him,  to  condole  with  him,  and  to  sympa- 
thize in  his  sorrows. 

Ezra,  in  the  mean  time,  holding  up  his 
hands,  said,  "  Thou,  O  God,  knowest  I 
am  ashamed  to  lift  up  my  eyes  to  heaven 
on  the  behalf  of  these  people,  when  I  con- 
sider, that  after  all  the  dreadful  judgments 
upon  their  ancestors  for  their  disobedience, 
they  do  yet  go  on  in  the  steps  of  their 
forefathers.  But,  Lord,  thy  mercy  is  in- 
finite; wherefore  have  pity,  I  beseech 
thee,  upon  this  miserable  remnant  of  thy 
distressed  servants.  And  as  thou  hast 
been  graciously  pleased  to  bring  them 
home  again,  perfect  the  work  of  thy  re- 
demption, in  the  pardon  of  their  present 
transgression.  It  is  confessed,  that  they 
deserve  to  die  for  their  iniquity ;  but  their 
trust  is  in  thy  goodness." 

While  the  pious  priest  was  addressing 
the  throne  of  divine  grace  in  behalf  of  his 


Chap.  VII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

nation  and  people,  amidst  a  throng  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  there  came  to 
him  one  Shechaqiah,  a  man  of  quality  in 
Jerusalem,  who  made  a  public  confession 
and  declaration  of  the  sin  they  were  all 
guilty  of,  that,  contrary  to  the  law,  they 
had  married  strange  women,  and  advised 
him  to  impose  an  oath  upon  all  that  had 
so  done,  to  turn  away  all  their  wives  and 
the  children  they  had  by  them,  and  en- 
join a  severe  punishment  on  those  that 
should  refuse  to  submit  to  that  decree. 

Ezra  approved  the  counsel,  and  took 
an  oath  of  the  chief  priests  and  Levites, 
and  of  all  Israel,  to  obey  the  proposed  de- 
cree. 

After  this  transaction,  he  went  from  the 
temple  to  the  chamber  of  Johanan,  the  son 
of  Eliashib,  where  he  spent  that  whole 
day  without  eating  any  thing,  through  the 
great  anxiety  of  his  mind. 

He  then  commanded,  by  proclamation, 
all  those  people  that  were  returned  out 
of  captivity,  to  meet  at  Jerusalem  in  two 
or  three  days;  and  in  case  of  any  failure, 
either  through  neglect  or  contempt,  an- 
nexed, as  a  penalty,  excommunication, 
and  confiscation  of  their  goods  to  the  holy 
treasure. 

Within  three  days  the  two  tribes  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin  assembled,  on  the 
twentieth  day  of  the  ninth  month,  which 
the  Hebrews  call  Thebeth,  and  the  Mace- 
donians Apelleius.  And  when  they  had 
placed  themselves  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  temple,  the  elders  being  there  pre- 
sent, Ezra  stood  up  and  informed  them, 
saying,  "  That  whereas  they  were  all 
guilty  of  a  grievous  sin,  who  in  contempt 
of  their  country's  laws  had  entered  into 
marriage  with  strangers,  they  had  no 
way  to  recover  God's  favour,  and  to  se- 
cure themselves  from  his  vengeance,  but 
by  utterly  casting  off  the  women  they 
had  so  taken." 

After  this  declaration  of  Ezra,  they 
unanimously  signified  their  approbation 
of  his  counsel,  and  readiness  to  comply 
with  it ;  but  the  number  being  very  great, 


529 


the  season  extremely  cold,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  great  importance,  they  looked  up- 
on it  as  a  thing  that  required  time  and 
consideration  to  accomplish :  so  that  upon 
this  reflection  it  was  proposed  that  a  com- 
mission of  inquiry  might  be  issued  out 
to  a  select  number  of  eminent  men  and 
elders,  who  were  free  from  the  general 
charge. 

This  motion  was  unanimously  received 
and  approved,  and  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  tenth  month  they  entered  upon  the 
inquiry,  which  continued  till  the  first  day 
of  the  month  following.  Upon  the  scru- 
tiny, they  found  great  numbers  of  the  re- 
lations of  Jeshua,  the  high  priest,  as  well 
as  of  other  priests  and  Levites,  and  the 
rest  of  the  Israelites,  who,  being  in  the 
common  transgression,  joined  immediately 
in  the  abandoning  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, preferring  the  solemn  injunction  of 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  God  to  all  the 
ties  of  paternal  affection. 

In  the  seventh  month  was  the  feast  of 
tabernacles,  and  almost  the  whole  multi- 
tude of  the  Israelites  were  now  met  to- 
gether upon  the  occasion,  in  that  part  of 
the  temple  which  looks  towards  the  east, 
where  Ezra  at  their  request  read  the  law 
of  God  unto  them  as  he  stood  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  crowd. 

This  lecture  continued  from  morning 
to  mid-day,  to  the  great  edification  of  all 
the  hearers;  for  they  were  thereby  not 
only  given  to  understand  the  rules  and 
measures  of  truth  and  righteousness,  pre- 
sent and  future ;  but  their  thoughts  were 
also  carried  back  to  reflections  upon  things 
past,  by  a  recital  of  the  calamities  that 
their  forefathers  had  endured,  only  for  the 
violation  of  those  laws,  in  the  observance 
whereof  they  might  have  been  secure  and 
happy. 

This  consideration  drew  tears  from  their 
eyes ;  and  Ezra,  observing  the  pious  effect 
it  had  upon  their  minds,  bade  them  go 
home,  and  set  their  hearts  at  rest,  for  it 
was  a  kind  of  profanation  of  the  holy 
solemnity  to  weep  upon  a  festival;  where- 
3x 


530 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VII 


fore  he  advised  them  to  be  rather  free  and 
merry,  and  to  eat,  drink,  and  rejoice,  in 
honour  of  the  day,  exhorting  them  not  to 
make  their  repentance  a  mortification  any 
further  than  to  secure  them  for  the  future 
from  a  relapse  into  the  same  errors. 

The  people  were  willing  therefore  to 
follow  his  counsel,  and  celebrated  the 
feast  as  they  ought  to  do ;  so  that  after 
eight  days  spent  in  mirth  and  feasting, 
they  returned  every  man  to  his  own  habi- 
tation, but  not  without  thankful  acknow- 
ledgments to  Ezra  for  the  reformation 
he  had  wrought  in  the  government. 

By  this,  meritorious  service  he  gained 
infinitely  upon  the  hearts  and  affections 
of  the  people,  so  that  he  lived  with  hon- 
our, and  died  at  Jerusalem  in  an  advanced 
age,  where  he  had  also  a  most  magnificent 
burial.* 

Jehoiakim,  the  high-priest,  died  also 
about  the  same  time,  and  Eliashim  his 
son  succeeded  him. 

There  was  among  the  Jewish  captives 
a  certain  person,  whose  name  was  Nehe- 
miah,! the  butler  or  cupbearer  to  Arta- 


*  The  great  business  effected  by  Ezra  was  his 
collecting  and  setting  forth  a  correct  edition  of  the 
holy  scriptures,  in  which  he  laboured  much,  and 
which  he  brought  to  considerable  perfection.  Of 
this,  both  Jews  and  Christians  allow  him  the 
honour.  The  principal  services,  which  he  per- 
formed in  this  important  work,  were  these:  1. 
He  corrected  all  the  errors  which  had  crept  into 
these  copies,  through  the  negligence  or  mistakes 
of  transcribers.  2.  He  collected  together  all  the 
books  of  which  the  holy  scriptures  then  consisted, 
and  disposed  them  in  their  proper  order,  thus  set- 
tling the  canon  of  scripture.  3.  He  added  in 
several  places  throughout  the  books  of  this  edi- 
tion, what  appeared  necessary  for  their  illustration, 
connexion,  or  completion,  in  which  he  was  assisted 
by  the  same  Spirit  by  which  they  were  at  first 
written.  4.  He  changed  the  old  names  of  several 
places,  that  were  grown  out  of  use,  putting  in  their 
stead  the  new  names  by  which  the  places  were 
then  known,  that  the  people  might  the  better  un- 
derstand them.  In  conducting  this  great  work, 
and  in  restoring  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  law 
according  to  the  ancient  usages  before  the  captivity, 
he  had  the  assistance  of  the  principal  elders  who 
lived  in  his  time  :  but  the  main  conduct  of  the 
work,  and  the  glory  of  accomplishing  it,  was  by 
the  Jews  chiefly  attributed  to  him,  under  whose 

presidency,  as  they  inform  us,  it  was  done Dean 

Prideauz. 

+  We  are  nowhere  told  of  what  tribe  or  family 


xerxes.  As  he  was  walking  one  day  before 
Susa,  the  capital  of  Persia,  he  happened 
to  hear  some  travellers t that  had  cornea 
long  journey  together  into  the  city,  talk- 
ing Hebrew  one  to  another.  Upon  which 
occasion  he  asked  them  from  what  quarter 
they  came?  As  they  answered,  from 
Judea,  he  proceeded  to  divers  other  ques- 
tions concerning  the  Jews,  and  the  state 
of  theif*  city.  They  informed  him,  that 
affairs  were  in  a  bad  situation ;  that  their 
walls  were  pulled  down,  and  their  country 
laid  open  to  the  outrages  and  incursions 
of  their  malicious  neighbours;  themselves 
carried  away  into  captivity,  and  the  high- 
ways strewed  with  dead  bodies. 

Nehemiah  could  not  forbear  weeping 
at  this  deplorable  state  of  his  countrymen 
and  kindred,  and  with  his  eyes  toward 
heaven,  he  cried  out  to  alnnVhtv  God : 
"  Lord,  how  long  wilt  thou  suffer  thy 
people  to  be  trampled  upon,  and  exposed 
as  a  prey  to  mankind  !" 

While  Nehemiah  was  at  the  gate,  and 
in  the  middle  of  his  lamentations,  one  of 
the  attendants  brought  him  word  that  the 
king  was  ready  to  go  to  supper ;  so  that 
he  hastened  away  in  confusion  and  disor- 
der to  his  duty. 

The  king,  after  supper,  being  somewhat 
more  cheerful  than  usual,  and  observing  a 
heaviness  of  countenance  in  Nehemiah, 
inquired  the  cause.  "  Alas !  Sir,"  says 
Nehemiah  after  a  short  ejaculatory  prayer 
that  God  would  give  energy  and  persua- 
sion to  his  words,  "  how  is  it  possible  for 
me  to  be  otherwise  than  overwhelmed  with 
grief  and  heaviness  of  heart,  when  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  are  made  a  heap  of 
rubbish,  and  the  gates  consumed  by  fire. 
Now,   Sir,    I  have  to  request  the  favour 


Nehemiah  was.  His  father  Hachaliah  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  those  Jews  who,  having  obtained 
a  good  settlement  in  the  land  of  their  captivity, 
chose  rather  to  remain  there  than  to  return  to 
their  own  country  when  leave  was  given.  It  is 
probable  that  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  city  of 
Shushan,  which  circumstance  gave  him  the  oppor- 
tunity of  procuring  the  advancement  of  his  son  to 
the  office  of  king's  cupbearer. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


531 


that  I  may  have  your  royal  leave  to  take 
a  journey  to  the  city  of  my  fathers'  sepul- 
chres, to  help  forward  the  rebuilding  of 
it." 

The  king  granted  his  petition,  and  pro- 
mised him  recommendatory  letters  to  the 
governors,  through  whose  provinces  he 
was  to  pass,  with  orders  to  treat  him  with 
all  manner  of  respect,  and  to  supply  him 
with  whatever  he  wanted  toward  the  work 
he  was  about.  Wherefore  the  king  en- 
couraged him  to  set  his  heart  at  ease,  and 
go  on  cheerfully  in  his  service. 

Upon  this  assurance  Nehemiah  revived, 
and  blessed  God  and  the  king  upon  find- 
ing so  gracious  a  disposition  in  his  favour. 

On  the  day  following,  the  king  sent  for 
Nehemiah,  and  gave  him  letters  of  credit 
to  Adeus,  the  governor  of  Syria,  Phoenicia, 
and  Samaria,  with  orders.and  instructions 
to  receive  and  assist  him,  as  he  had  pro- 
mised. 

He  went  first  to  Babylon,  and  from 
thence,  with  as  many  of  his  friends  and 
companions  as  voluntarily  offered  them- 
selves to  bear  him  company,  he  proceeded 
to  Jerusalem,  where  he  arrived  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes. 
And  having  first  given  his  friends  the 
sight  of  his  credentials,  he  delivered  them 
to  Adeus  and  his  colleagues,  according  to 
the  address. 

After  this,  he  summoned  a  general 
meeting  of  the  people  to  Jerusalem,  and 
harangued  them  in  the  temple,  after  the 
following  manner: 

"You  cannot  but  see  and  understand, 
ye  men  of  Judea,  that  we  are  at  this  day 
under  the  power  and  providence  of  the 
same  almighty  and  merciful  God,  that 
did  so  many  great  things  for  our  fore- 
fathers, Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  out 
of  a  gracious  regard  to  their  piety  and 
virtue;  and  it  is  by  the  favour  of  that 
God  that  I  have  now  obtained  leave  from 
the  king  to  enter  upon  the  rebuilding  of 
your  walls,  and  the  completing  of  the 
work  of  the  temple,  that  is  yet  unfinished. 
But  as  you  well  know  that  the  neighbour- 


ing nations  are  enemies  to  your  undertak- 
ing, and  will  do  all  that  is  in  their  power 
to  obstruct  your  design,  when  they  once 
see  you  heartily  intent  upon  the  work,  I 
therefore  recommend  it  to  you  in  the  first 
place  to  take  courage,  and  cast  yourselves 
upon  God,  who  will  most  certainly  defeat 
all  the  practices  of  your  enemies.  And 
secondly,  that  you  apply  to  your  business 
day  and  night,  without  intermission,  this 
being  the  proper  season  for  it." 

Upon  this  exhortation,  Nehemiah  im- 
mediately ordered  the  magistrates  to  survey 
the  ground,  and  take  measure  of  the  walls; 
and  according  to  that  computation,  to  make 
an  equal  distribution  of  the  work  among 
the  people,  promising  at  the  same  time 
the  assistance  of  himself,  and  of  all  that 
belonged  to  him,  in  the  service;  and  with 
these  words  he  dismissed  the  assembly. 

The  authority  of  Nehemiah  made  such 
an  impression  upon  the  Jews,*  that  they 
immediately  applied  themselves  to  their 
business. 

The  rumour  of  this  enterprise  was  no 
sooner  brought  to  the  Ammonites,  the  Mo- 
abites,  Samaritans,  and  the  Ccelo-syrians, 
than  they  were  inflamed  with  envy  and  re- 
sentment, and  employed  every  method  to 
counteract  it.  They  also  laid  in  wait  for 
the  Jews  up  and  down  in  ambushes,  and 
destroyed  a  great  many  of  them  by  sur- 
prise. They  kept  ruffians  in  pay  to 
attempt  the  person  of  Nehemiah  himself, 
and  so  alarmed  the  people  with  rumours 
of  invasion,  that  the  multitude,  terrified 
thereat,  were  ready  to  desist  from  the 
undertaking.  But  Nehemiah  firmly  per- 
severed, and  under  the  security  of  a  slender 
guard  wrought  on  without  weariness  or 
apprehension  of  danger. 

It  was  not  for  the  sake  of  his  own 
safety  or  from  the  fear  of  death  that  he 
made  this  provision;  but  he  was  well  as- 
sured, that  if  he  should  be  cut  off,  his 


*  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  people  were 
ever  called  Jews,  or  their  country  Judea ;  and  it 
was  so  called  from  the  tribe  of  Judali,  that  were 
formerly  possessed  of  that  quarter. 


532 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


[Book  VI I. 


countrymen  would  never  finish  the  build- 
ing. So  he  gave  orders  for  the  future, 
that  all  the  carpenters,  masons,  and  other 
labourers,  should  work  with  their  swords 
by  their  side,  and  their  bucklers  within  a 
convenient  distance,  in  order  to  be  ready 
upon  occasion. 

He  appointed  trumpeters  also  to  be 
posted  within  five  hundred  feet  one  from 
another,  and  upon  any  appearance  of  an 
enemy,  to  give  the  alarm,  that  the  people 
might  have  time  to  stand  to  their  arms, 
without  danger  of  a  surprise. 

He  went  every  night  the  round  of  the 
city,  being  never  discouraged  about  the 
work  itself,  nor  about  his  own  diet  and 
sleep,  for  he  made  no  use  of  those  things 
for  his  pleasure,  but  out  of  necessity. 

Upon  the  perfecting  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, which  were  completed  in  fifty-two 
days,  Nehemiah  and  the  people  offered 
up  their  sacrifice,  and  continued  together, 
for    eight   days,    feasting   and   rejoicing, 


*  Artaxerxes  died  about  the  beginning  of  the 
forty-first  year  of  his  reign.  Xerxes,  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  was  the  only  son  which  the  queen  his 
wife  brought  him  ;  but  he  had  seventeen  others 
by  his  concubines,  among  whom  was  Sogdianus, 
(who  is  called  Secondianus  by  Ctesias,)  Ochus,  and 
Arsites.  Sogdianus,  in  concert  with  Pharnacias, 
one  of  Xerxes's  eunuchs,  came  insidiously,  one 
festival  day,  to  the  new  king,  who,  after  drinking 
too  immoderately,  was  retired  to  his  chamber,  in 
order  to  give  the  fumes  of  the  wine  he  had  drunk 
time  to  evaporate  ;  where  he  killed  him  without 
any  difficulty,  after  he  had  reigned  but  forty-five 
days  ;  and  was  declared  king  in  his  stead.  He 
was  scarce  on  the  throne,  when  he  put  to  death 
Bagorazus,  the  most  faithful  of  all  his  father's 
eunuchs.  It  was  he  who  had  been  appointed  to 
superintend  the  funeral  obsequies  of  Artaxerxes, 
and  of  the  queen,  Xerxes's  mother,  who  died  the 
same  day  as  her  husband.  After  having  deposited 
the  two  bodies  in  the  mausoleum  where  the  kings 
of  Persia  were  interred,  he  found,  at  his  return, 
Sogdianus  on  the  throne,  who  did  not  receive  him 
favourably,  upon  account  of  some  difference  with 
him  during  the  lifetime  of  his  father.  But  the 
new  king  did  not  stop  here  :  not  long  after  he 
took  an  opportunity  to  quarrel  with  him,  on  some 
trifling  circumstance  relating  to  the  obsequies  of 
his  father,  and  caused  him  to  be  stoned.  By 
these  two  murders,  that  of  his  brother  Xerxes  and 
of  Bagorazus,  he  became  the  horror  of  the  army 
and  nobility,  so  that  he  did  not  think  himself  safe 
on  a  throne  to  which  he  had  forced  his  way  by 
such  enormous  crimes.      He  suspected  that  his 


which  was  very  unwelcome  news  to  the 
Syrians,  when  they  came  to  understand  it. 

Nehemiah,  reflecting  that  the  city  at 
that  time  was  thin  of  inhabitants,  he  per- 
suaded all  the  priests  and  Levites  there- 
abouts to  take  up  their  habitations  in  the 
city,  and  he  would  be  at  the  charge  of 
providing  them  houses. 

He  ordered  likewise  the  people  in  the 
country,  that  followed  husbandry,  to  carry 
their  tithes  into  the  city  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  priests  and  Levites,  that  they 
might  not  be  diverted  by  worldly  cares 
from  attending  the  duty  of  their  office. 

To  this  plan  they  readily  agreed  on  all 
sides,  by  which  means  the  city  was,  by 
degrees,  better  peopled. 

After  this,  and  many  other  actions, 
worthy  of  commendation,  Nehemiah  de- 
parted this  life ;  and  it  may  with  justice 
be  recorded  of  him,  that  he  was  a  man  of 
virtue  and  strict  honour,  of  eminent  boun- 
ty and  extensive  charity.* 


brothers  harboured  the  like  design  ;  and  Ochus, 
to  whom  his  father  had  left  the  government  of 
Hyrcania,  was  the  chief  object  of  his  suspicion. 
Accordingly  he  sent  for  him,  with  the  intention  of 
getting  him  murdered  as  soo§  as  he  arrived. 
However,  Ochus,  who  saw  through  his  design, 
delayed  coming  upon  various  pretences  ;  which 
he  continued  till  he  advanced  at  the  head  of  a 
strong  army,  which  he  openly  declared  he  would 
employ  to  revenge  the  death  of  his  brother  Xerxes. 
This  declaration  brought  over  to  him  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  nobility,  and  several  governors  of  the 
provinces,  who  were  justly  dissatisfied  at  Sogdi- 
anus's  cruelty  and  ill  conduct.  They  put  the 
tiara,  which  was  the  mark  of  regal  dignity,  on 
Ochus's  head,  and  proclaimed  him  king.  Sogdi- 
anus, seeing  himself  abandoned  in  this  manner, 
was  as  mean  and  cowardly  in  the  slight  defence  he 
made  to  maintain  his  crown,  as  he  had  before 
been  unjust  and  barbarous  in  usurping  it.  Con- 
trary to  the  advice  of  his  best  friends,  and  the 
wisest  of  those  who  still  adhered  to  him,  he  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  his  brother,  who,  getting  him 
into  his  hands,  caused  him  to  be  thrown  into 
ashes,  where  he  died  a  cruel  death.  This  was  a 
kind  of  punishment  peculiar  to  the  Persians,  and 
exercised  only  on  great  criminals.  One  ol  the 
largest  towers  was  filled  to  a  certain  height  with 
ashes.  The  criminal  then  was  thrown  headlong 
from  the  top  of  the  tower  into  them  ;  after  which, 
the  ashes  were  by  a  wheel  turned  perpetually 
round  him,  till  he  was  suffocated.  Thus  this 
wicked  prince  lost  his  life  and  empire,  which  he 
enjoyed  only  six  months  and  fifteen  days. — liollin. 


tag 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    VIII. 


FROM  THE  PONTIFICATE  OF  JOHN  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JUDAS  MACCABEUS. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  history  of  the  Jews,  as  related  in  the 
sacred  oracles,  terminates  at  this  period; 
and  the  long  interval  from  this  time  to 
the  incarnation  of  our  Saviour  has  been 
necessarily  filled  up  from  other  sources. 
Jewish  affairs,  however,  are  so  intimately 
connected  with  those  of  foreign  nations, 
that  the  chain  of  their  history  is  almost 
unbroken;  and  the  great  outlines,  as  well 
as  many  of  the  more  minute  incidents, 
not  a  few  of  which  are  of  a  painful  nature, 
are  left  on  record  in  the  works  of  Philo 
Judseus,  Josephus,  the  Apocryphal  books, 
&c.  It  is  true  the  Apocryphal  books 
have  no  title  to  be  considered  as  inspired 
writings;  nor  are  they  to  be  received  as 
oracles  of  faith,  to  sanctify  opinions,  or  to 
determine  religious  controversies; — but,  as 
a  collection  of  very  ancient  Jewish  works 
[interior  to  Christianity,  as  documents  of 
history,  and  as  lessons  of  prudence,  and 
of  (en  of  piety,  they  are  highly  deserving 
of  notice.  I  hey  are  likewise  valuable  as 
occasionally  illustrating  the  accomplish- 
ment of  prophecy,  and  explaining  the  man- 
ners, sentiments,  and  history  of  the  Jews. 
These  books  are  all  curious,  and  some  of 
them  extremely  worthy  of  regard.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  their  just  rejection 
from  the  scriptural  canon  by  the  reform- 


ed churches  has  occasioned  the  opposite 
extreme  of  an  entire  disregard  to  them  in 
the  minds  of  many  serious  and  studious 
Christians.  "  The  first  book  of  Macca- 
bees," says  Home,  "  is  a  most  valuable 
historical  monument,  written  with  great 
accuracy  and  fidelity,  on  which  more  re- 
liance may  be  placed  than  on  the  writings 
of  Josephus,  who  has  borrowed  his  ma- 
terials from  it,  and  has  frequently  mista- 
ken its  meaning."  It  contains  a  collection 
of  historical  particulars  relative  to  the 
Jews  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  in  the  year  of  the 
world  3829,  to  the  death  of  Simon  the 
high-priest,  3869.  The  author  is  by  some 
thought  to  have  been  John  Hyrcanus,  the 
son  of  Simon;  who  was  a  prince  and  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews  near  thirty  years. 
Josephus  indeed  informs  us,  that  the  high- 
priests  were  intrusted  with  the  care  of 
writing  the  annals  of  their  country;  and 
at  the  period  of  the  Maccabees  great  at- 
tention seems  to  have  been  paid^to  pre- 
serve them.  The  writer,  who  was  proba- 
bly some  person  publicly  appointed  to 
digest  the  history,  appears  to  have  had 
recourse  to  the  national  records,  and 
sometimes  refers  to  them.  In  this  period 
of  our  history  the  incidents  are  recorded 
as  having  happened  under  the  pontificates 
of  the  high-priests.     Among  other  events 


534 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII 


are  related  the  history  of  Mattathias  and 
his  family,  and  of  the  wars  which  they  at 
the  head  of  their  countrymen  maintained 
against  the  kings  of  Syria  in  the  defence 
of  their  religion  and  laws.  From  the 
death  of  Alexander,  who  had  conquered 
Persia  and  the  countries  dependent  on 
that  empire,  Judea  followed  the  fate  of 
Syria;  and  for  the  space  of  'one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  was  exposed  to  all  the 
ambitious  contests  which  prevailed  be- 
tween the  kings  of  Syria  and  Egypt. 
After  various  revolutions,  and  alternate 
subjugation  to  each  of  these  kingdoms; 
and  after  having  occasionally  suffered  all 
the  oppressions  and  exactions  that  tyranny 
could  enforce  by  means  of  the  high-priests, 
and  those  princes  who  were  appointed  by 
the  interest  and  subject  to  the  control  of 
the  conquerors,  Judea  became  a  tributary 
province  of  Syria  under  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes,  and  was  cruelly  harassed  and 
pillaged  by  him.  The  severe  persecution 
which  he  exercised,  and  his  avowed  de- 
signs, which  tended  to  exterminate  the 
religion,  and  indeed  the  whole  nation  of 
the  .lews,  inflamed  the  zeal  of  Mattathias 
to  resentment  and  revolt;  and  upon  his 
death  excited  Judas,  in  compliance  with 
the  dying  injunctions  of  his  father,  to 
attempt  the  deliverance  of  his  country. 
The  successive  victories  and  prudent  con- 
duct of  Judas  and  his  brethren,  which 
effected  the  accomplishment  of  their  de- 
signs, constitute  a  chief  subject  of  the 
present  book.  The  relation  affords  a 
lively  picture  of  a  nation  inspired  by 
the  patriotic  heroism  of  its  leaders,  and 
struggling:  with  enthusiasm  for  civil  and 
religious  liberty;  and  if  we  except  some 
apostasies  occasioned  by  persecutions,  or 
the  ambition  of  some  of  their  high-priests, 
we  shall  find  them  in  the  sequel  more 
averse  to  idolatry,  and  to  all  heathenish 
superstitions,  than  eyer  their  forefathers 
had  been  prone  to  them  before  the  capti- 
vity ;  such  strict  observers  of  the  sabbath, 
as  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  murdered  by 
whole  armies,   rather   than  violate   it  by 


standing  on  their  defence;  in  a  word,  so 
zealous  for  their  religion,  and  such  strict 
observers  of  their  oaths,  whether  of  alle- 
giance or  confederacy,  as  to  suffer  the 
most  bloody  persecutions,  and  horrid  but- 
cheries, with  the  utmost  courage  and  con- 
stancy,  rather  than  violate  their  fidelity  to 
their  laws. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Jcsh.ua  is  slain  by  John  the  high-priest. — Alex- 
ander the  Great  transfers  the  seat  of  war 
from  Europe  into  Asia. — Breaks  the  Persian 
empire,  but  treats  the  Jews  with  amazing  leni- 
ty, and  many  tokens  of  respect. 

After  the  death  of  Eliashib  the  high-priest, 
his  son  Judas,  by  hereditary  right,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  office,  and  after  his  decease 
the  pontificate  devolved  on  his  son  John, 
who  was  the  occasion  of  the  violation  and 
profanation  of  the  temple  afterward  by 
Bagoses,  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops 
of  Artaxerxes,  and  of  imposing  a  tribute 
upon  the  Jews,  obliging  them  to  allow  out 
of  the  public  treasure,  fifty  drachmas  per 
day  for  every  lamb  they  sacrificed,*  before 


*  This,  if  extended  only  to  the  ordinary  sacri- 
fices which  were  offered  every  day,  amounted  to 
36,500  drachmas  for  the  whole  year,  which  is  no 
more  than  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds,  twelve  shillings,  and  six-pence  of  our 
money  :  but,  if  it  extended  also  to  the  extraordin- 
ary sacrifices,  which  on  solemn  days  were  added  to 
the  ordinary,  it  will  come  to  about  half  as  much 
more.  For  the  ordinary  sacrifices  which  were  of- 
fered every  day,  and  therefore  called  the  daily  sa- 
crifices, were  a  lamb  in  the  morning  and  another 
in  the  evening,  which  are  called  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifices  ;  and  these,  in  the  whole  year, 
came  to  seven  hundred  and  thirty.  But,  besides 
these,  there  were  added  on  every  sabbath  two  lambs 
more,  Numb,  xxviii.  9,  10.  on  every  new-moon 
seven,  Numb,  xxviii.  11.  on  each  of  the  seven  days 
of  the  paschal  solemnity,  seven,  Numb,  xxviii.  16 
— 24.  besides  one  more  on  the  second  day,  when 
the  wave-sheaf  was  offered.  Levit.  xxiii.  12.  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  seven,  ver.  17,  18.  on  the  feast 
of  trumpets,  seven,  Numb,  xxviii.  27.  on  the  great 
day  of  expiation,  seven,  chap.  xxix.  8.  on  each 
of  the  seven  days  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  four- 
teen, chap.  xxix.  13.  and  on  the  eighth  day  seven, 
Numb.  xxix.  36.  so  that  the  additional  lambs  be- 
ing three  hundred  seventy  and  one,  these,  if  reck- 
oned to  the  other,  make  the  whole  number,  annu- 
ally offered  at  the  morning  and  evening  sacrifices. 


Chap.  L]  THE  blBLE. 

they  entered  upon  their  daily  offerings, 
which  imposition  was  thus  brought  on. 

John  had  a  brother  whose  name  was 
Jeshua;  and  Bagoses,  being  very  much 
his  friend,  took  upon  him  the  advancing" 
of  Jeshua  to  the  pontificate.  Jeshua  de- 
pended so  much  upon  his  assurance,  that 
he  took  the  libe* ty  to  enter  into  a  dispute 
with  his  brother  in  the  temple  itself,- upon 
this  subject;  and  the  contest  proceeded  so 
far,  that  his  brother  in  a  rage  set  upon 
him  and  killed  him. 

This  was  the  greatest  affront  to  religion 
that  ever  was  committed,  more  especially 
by  a  priest ;  and  for  the  farther  aggrava- 
tion of  the  scandal,  it  was  beyond  all  pre- 
cedent, either  among  the  Greeks,  or  bar- 
barians. But  God  would  not  suffer  so 
audacious  an  affront  to  escape  unpunished. 
For  the  people  lost  their  liberty  for  it,  and 
the  Persians  profaned  the  temple. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  it  came  to  Ba- 
goses, that  the  high-priest  had  spilt  the 
blood  of  his  brother  in  the  very  temple, 
he  called  out  to  the  Jews  in  contempt  and 
indignation,  "  Profane  wretches,  to  make 
slmmbles  of  the  place  of  your  worship  !" 
at  the  same  time  pressing  to  get  into  the 
temple;  but  being  opposed  in  his  passage, 
he  said  unto  them,  "  What !  do  you  look 
upon  my  living  body  to  be  fouler  than  the 
carcase  that  lies  here  within  ?"  And  with 
these  words  he  forced  his  way* 

Upon  this  occasion  he  kept  a  severe 
hand  over  the  Jews  for  seven  years.     But 


5*5 

after   the  death  of  John,  his  son  Jaddus 
came  to  the  priesthood. 

This  Jaddus  had  a  brother,  whose  name 
was  Manasseh,  to  whom  Sanballat,  under- 
standing Jerusalem  to  be  a  famous  city, 
and  that  the  kings  of  it  had  put  the  Syri- 
ans and  Assyrians  to  many  difficulties, 
frankly  gave  his  tUii^avei  ^icasa  in  mar- 
riage as  a  test  and  earnest  of  the  amity 
he  propounded  to  himself  with  the  Jews. 
This  was  that  Sanballat  that  governed 
Samaria  under  the  last  Darius,  a  Cuthite 
born,  from  whence  the  Samaritans  had  their 
orio-inal.* 


*  If  we  believe  their  chronicle,  (which  they  tell 
us  is  of  great  antiquity,  though  others  who  have 
examined  it  will  not  allow  it  to  be  as  old  as  Con- 
stantine's  days,)  they  give  us  an  account  of  their 
origin  quite  different  to  what  we  gather  from  sa- 
cred writ.  They  pretend  to  be  descended  from 
Joseph  by  Ephraim,  in  a  direct  line  ;  and  that 
when  Joshua  entered  into  the  promised  land,  he 
caused  a  temple  to  be  built  upon  mount  Gerizim, 
and  appointed  one  Buz  of  the  seed  of  Aaron  to 
officiate  as  high-priest,  from  whom  they  have  an 
exact  genealogy,  and  uninterrupted  succession 
ever  since.  They  neither  own  Jerohoam's  schism, 
nor  tiie  transmigration  of  the  ten  tribes,  but  give 
this  account  of  their  leaving  their  country,  and  re- 
turning to  it  again  : — that  when  the  kings  of  Jeru- 
salem and  Syria  had  revolted  against  Bachtnezzar, 
(so  they  call  Nebuchadnezzar)  he  came  with  an  ar- 
my and  took  Jerusalem,  and  thence  marching  to 
the  Shechemites  (for  that's  the  name  they  give 
themselves)  ordered  them  to  leave  their  country  in 
seven  days,  upon  pain  of  military  execution,  which 
they  readily  did  :  that  when  he  sent  Persians  to 
inhabit  the  cities  which  they  had  left,  they  could 
not  live  there  ;  because  the  fruits  which  seemed 
fair  to  the  eye  were  tainted  with  poison,  and  so 
destroyed  them:  that  upon  complaints  of  this,  the 
king  consulted  with  some  of  the  ancient  inhabi- 
tants of  these  provinces,  who  informed  him,  that 
the  only  remedy  was  to  send  the  Hebrews  back 
again  into  their  own  country,  which  when  lie  con- 
to  be  eleven  hundred  and  one  :  and  therefore,  if  j  sented  to,  a  place  was  appointed  for  their  general 
the  mulct  of  fifty  drachmas  a  lamb  were  paid  for  |  rendezvous :  that  when  they  came  to  this  place,  a 


them  all,  it  would  make  the  whole  of  it  to  amount 
to  55,050  drachmas,  which  comes  to  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  twenty-pounds,  six  shillings  and  three 
pence  of  our  money.  But  even  this  sum  being 
too  small  for  a  national  mulct,  it  seems  most  pro- 
bable, that  all  the  lambs  which  were  offered  in  the 
temple  iti  any  sacrifice,  and  upon  any  account  what- 
ever, were  taken  into  the  reckoning.  We  may  ob- 
serve, however,  that  whatever  this  mulct  was,  the 
payment  of  it  lasted  no  longer  than  seven  years; 
for  on  the  death  of  Artaxerxes,  the  changes  and 
revolutions,  which  then  happened  in  the  empire, 
made  a  change  in  the  government  of  Syria,  and  he 
that  succeeded  Bagoses  in  that  province,  no  far- 
ther exacted  it. — Prideaux's  Connection. 


dispute  arose  between  them,  whether  they  should 
go  and  rebuild  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  or  that  of 
Gerizim,  and  when  Zerubbabel  was  for  the  for- 
mer, and  Sanballat  for  the  latter,  each  pleading 
the  sanction  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  each  pretend- 
ing that  the  copy  of  his  opponent  was  corrupt, 
they  resolved  to  end  the  controversy  by  a  fiery 
frial  :  that  Zerubbabel's  copy  being  thrown  into 
the  tire  was  immediately  consumed,  but  then,  San- 
ballat's  endured  the  flames  three  times  together, 
and  received  no  manner  of  liarm  ;  whereupon  the 
king  honoured  the  Shechemites  with  rich  presents, 
and  sent  Sanballat  at  the  head  of  the  ten  tribes  to 
take  possession  of  mount  Gerizim.  But  who 
sees  not  that  this  whole  history  (full  of  falsities 


536 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


Philip  king  of  Macedon  being  treach- 
erously murdered  about  this  time,  by  Pau- 
sanias, in  the  city  of  iEgea;*  Alexander 

and  absurdities  as  it  is)  was  only  invented  to  wipe 
off  the  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  Samaritans,  for 
being  the  offspring  of  proselytes  and  a  medley  of 
foreign  nations  ? — Basnage's  History  of  the  Jews, 
and  Universal  History. 

*  The  day  after  the  nuptials  of  Cleopatra,  Philip's 
daughter,  with  Alexander,  king  of  Epirus,  games 
and  shows  were  solemnized.  As  these  formed 
part  of  the  religious  worship,  there  were  carried 
in  it,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  twelve  sta- 
tues of  the  gods,  carved  with  inimitable  art.  A 
thirteenth,  that  surpassed  them  all  in  magnificence, 
was  that  of  Philip,  which  represented  him  as  a 
god.  The  hour  for  his  leaving  the  palace  being 
arrived,  he  went  forth  in  a  white  robe  ;  and  ad- 
vanced with  a  majestic  air,  in  the  midst  of  accla- 
mations, towards  the  theatre,  where  an  infinite 
multitude  of  Macedonians,  as  well  as  foreigners, 
waited  his  coming  with  impatience.  His  guards 
marched  before  and  behind  him,  leaving,  by  his 
order,  a  considerable  space  between  themselves 
and  him,  to  give  the  spectators  a  better  oppor- 
tunity of  surveying  him  ;  and  also  to  show  that  he 
considered  the.  affection  which  the  Grecians  bore 
him  as  his  safest  guard.  But  all  the  festivity  and 
pomp  of  these  nuptials  ended  in  the  murder  of 
Philip ;  and  it  was  his  refusal  to  do  an  act  of  jus- 
tice that  occasioned  his  death.  Some  time  before, 
Attains,  inflamed  with  wine  at  an  entertainment, 
had  insulted,  in  the  most  shocking  manner,  Pau- 
«anias,  a  young  Macedonian  nobleman.  The  lat- 
ter had  long  endeavoured  to  revenge  the  cruel  af- 
front, and  was  perpetually  imploring  the  king  to 
interpose  his  power.  But  Philip,  unwilling  to 
disgust  Attalus,  uncle  to  Cleopatra,  whom  he  had 
married  after  haying  divorced  Olympias,  his  first 
queen,  would  never  listen  to  Pausanias's  com- 
plaints. However,  to  console  him  in  some  mea- 
sure, and  to  express  the  high  esteem  and  the  great 
confidence  he  reposed  in  him,  he  made  him  one  of 
the  chief  officers  of  his  life-guard.  But  this  was 
not  what  the  young  Macedonian  required,  whose 
anger  now  swelling  to  fury  directs  itself  against 
his  judge,  and  he  forms  the  design  of  wiping  out 
his  shame,  by  imbruing  his  hands  in  a  most  horrid 
murder.  When  once  a  man  is  determined  to  die, 
he  is  vastly  strong  and  formidable.  Pausanias, 
the  better  to  put  his  bloody  design  into  execution, 
chose  the  instant  of  that  pompous  ceremony, 
when  the  eyes  of  the  whole  multitude  were  fixed 
on  the  prince ;  doubtless  to  make  his  vengeance 
more  conspicuous,  and  proportion  it  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  injury  which  he  had  received,  and  for 
which  he  conceived  he  had  a  right  to  make  the 
king  responsible,  as  he  had  long  solicited  that 
prince  in  vain  for  the  satisfaction  due  to  him. 
Seeing  him  therefore  alone,  in  the  space  which 
his  guards  left  round  him,  he  advances  forwards, 
stabs  him  with  a  dagger,  and  lays  him  dead  at  his 
feet.  Diodorus  observes,  that  he  was  assassinated 
the  very  instant  his  statue  entered  the  theatre. 
The  assassin  had  prepared  horses  ready  for  his 
escape,  and  would  have  got  off,  had  not  an  acci- 


his  son  succeeded  to  the  government,  and 
crossing  the  Hellespont,  gave  Darius  a 
total  overthrow  at  the  river  Granicus.f 
After  which  he  subdued  Lydia  and  Ionia, 
and  passing  his  army  through  Caria,  he 
entered  into  Pamphylia. 

The  elders  of  Jerusalem  were  at  this 
time  very  much  dissatisfied  with  the  bro- 
ther of  Jaddua,  the  high-priest,  for  tak- 
ing to  wife  a  strange  woman,  insomuch 
that  the  disgust  had  almost  occasioned  a 
tumult,  as  it  looked  like  a  step  toward  the 
abolition  of  their  country's  laws  about 
marriages;  because,  if  they  had  suffered 
it  to  go  on,  it  would  by  degrees  become  a 
custom.  Nor  had  they  forgotten  that 
this  very  thing  was  the  cause  of  their  for- 
mer captivity,  and  of  all  the  calamities 
that  had  ensued  upon  it ;  that  is,  the 
transgression  that  drew  those  judgments 
upon  them,  was  the  marrying  of  women 
that  were  not  of  their  own  extraction ; 
and  therefore  they  positively  required; 
that  Manasseh  should  either  dismiss  his 
wife,  or  serve  no  more  at  the  altar. 

But  the  high-priest  and  the  people, 
being  moved  with  indignation,  after  this, 
would  not  suffer  Manasseh  to  officiate  at 
the  altar ;  whereupon  he  sent  to  Sanballat, 
his  father-in-law,  with  a  profession  of  the 
great  affection  he  had  for  his  daughter; 
but  assured  him  at  the  same  time,  that  he 
could  not  submit  to  lose  his  priesthood, 
and  the  honour  that  was  annexed  to  his 
family,  as  the  highest  of  all  others  in 
esteem  among  the  Jews,  for  the  sake  of  a 
wife,  though  never  so  excellent. 

Sanballat  told  him,  that  he  would  un- 
dertake not  only  to  secure  him  the  exer- 


dent  happened  which  stopped  him,  and  gave  the 
pursuers  time  to  overtake  him.  Pausanias  was 
immediately  est  to  pieces  upon  the  spot. — Rollin* 
f  The  Granicus  is  a  narrow,  deep,  and  rapid 
stream,  originating  in  the  northern  slope  of  the 
range  of  Ida,  and  running  a  north-east  course  of 
forty  geographical  miles  to  the  Propontis.  Its 
western  banks  are  reported  by  travellers  to  be 
high,  steep,  and  rugged.  This  river  is  famous  for 
the  defeat  of  Darius  there  with  an  army  of 
1 10,000  or  as  some  say,  600,000  Persians,  by 
Alevnnder  with  35.000  Macedonians. 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

cise  of  the  function,  but  advance  him  to 
the  pontificate,  and  establish  him  prince 
of  the  whole  country,  upon  condition  of 
owning  his  daughter  for  his  wife,  and  that 
he  would  build  a  temple  for  him  upon 
mount  Gerizim,  that  overlooked  Samaria 
and  the  rest  of  the  mountains  thereabouts, 
not  inferior  to  that  of  Jerusalem.  And 
this  he  took  upon  him  to  see  it  effected 
by  the  consent  of  Darius. 

Manasseh  depended  so  absolutely  upon 
this  assurance,  that  he  made  no  doubt  at 
all  of  the  performance,  and  so  continued 
with  his  father. 

Sanballat  was  now  advanced  in  years, 
and  finding  many  priests  and  Israelites 
entangled  in  such  matches,  the  state  of 
Jerusalem  was  much  troubled  at  it :  for 
all  those  irregular  people  went  over  to 
Manasseh,  Sanballat  furnishing  them  with 
money,  houses,  land  and  stock,  to  main- 
tain the  ambition  of  his  son-in-law. 

Upon  the  news  of  Alexander's  passing 
the  Hellespont,  and  the  famous  victory  he 
had  obtained  at  the  river  Granicus,  Da- 
rius, to  prevent  his  farther  progress,  as- 
sembled all  the  troops  he  could  levy,  to 
obstruct  his  passage,  with  a  resolution  to 
give  the  Macedonians  battle  before  they 
should  overrun  the  whole  of  Asia,  which 
they  intended  to  do  ;  so  that  having  pass- 
ed the  Euphrates  with  his  army,  and  also 
Taurus,*  a  mountain  in   Cilicia,  he  made 


*  Taurus  is  the  largest  mountain  of  Asia  as  to 
extent.  One  of  its  extremities  is  in  Caria,  and  it 
extends  not  only  as  far  as  the  most  eastern  ex- 
tremities of  Asia,  but  it  also  branches  in  several 
parts,  and  runs  far  in  the  north.  It  approaches  so 
near  to  the  Mediterranean  as  in  some  places  to 
leave  only  narrow  passes.  It  is  in  many  places 
very  rugged,  and  covered  with  vast  pine  forests. 
In  summer  it  is  traversed  by  Turcoman  shep- 
herds, who  in  winter  descend  and  take  up  their 
residence  in  the  towns.  This  mountain  was  well 
known  by  several  names,  particularly  in  different 
countries.  In  Cilicia,  where  it  reaches  as  far  as 
the  Euphrates,  it  is  called  Taurus. — Cilicia  is  a 
country  of  Asia  Minor,  on  the  sea-coast,  at  the 
north  of  Cyprus,  the  south  of  mount  Taurus,  and 
the  west  of  the  Euphrates.  The  inhabitants  en- 
1  ithed  themselves  by  piratical  plunder  till  they 
were  conquered  by  Pompey.  The  country  was 
opulent,  and  governed  by  kings,  under  some  of 


537 

necessary  preparations,  with  a  resolution 
to  fight  the  enemy. 

Sanballat  was  not  a  little  comforted 
with  this  advance  of  Darius;  and  in  a  full 
confidence  of  success,  told  Manasseh,  that 
every  thing  should  be  made  good  that  he 
had  promised  him,  as  soon  as  the  king 
should  return  ;  for  he  was  fully  persuaded, 
(and  all  the  Asiatics  were  of  his  opinion 
too,)  that  the  Macedonians,  with  their 
handful  of  men,  would  never  stand  the 
first  shock.  But  in  the  event  they  found 
their  mistake ;  for  upon  the  armies  join- 
ing, Darius  was  totally  routed,  a  great 
part  of  his  army  lost,  his  mother,  wife, 
and  children,  made  prisoners,  and  himself 
forced  to  fly  into  Persia.f 

Alexander,  in  the  mean  time,  marched 
into  Syria,  took  Damascus  and  Sidon,J 


the  Roman  emperors  ;  but  was  reduced  into  a  pro- 
vince by  Vespasian.  It  received  its  name  from 
Cilix,  the  son  of  Agenor. — See  Lempriere. 

■f  Darius's  consort  was  the  most  lovely  princess 
in  the  world,  as  Darius  himself  was  the  most 
beautiful  of  princes,  and  of  a  very  tall  and  most 
majestic  shape  ;  and  the  princesses  their  daughters 
resembled  them.  They  were,  says  Plutarch,  in 
Alexander's  camp,  not  as  in  that  of  an  enemy,  but 
as  in  a  sacred  temple,  and  a  sanctuary  assigned  for 
the  asylum  of  chastity  and  modesty,  in  which  all 
the  princesses  lived  so  retired,  that  they  were  not 
seen  by  any  person,  nor  did  any  one  dare  to  ap- 
proach their  apartments.  He  treated  these  prin- 
cesses with  such  humanity,  that  nothing  but  the 
remembrance  that  they  were  captives,  could  have 
made  them  sensible  of  their  calamity  ;  and  of  all 
the  advantages  they  possessed  before,  nothing  was 
wanting  with  regard  to  Alexander,  but  that  trust 
and  confidence,  which  no  one  can  repose  in  an 
enemy,  how  kindly  soever  he  behaves. — Rollin. 

%  Sidon,  or  Zidon,  was  a  celebrated  city  of 
Palestine,  reputed  to  have  been  founded  by  Sidon 
the  eldest  son  of  Canaan,  from  whom,  according 
to  Josephus,  it  derives  its  name  ;  but  other  au- 
thorities derive  the  name  Sidon  from  the  Hebrew 
or  Syrian  word  n*V2S,  which  signifies  fishing.  If 
the  primitive  founder  was  a  fisherman,  the  two 
accounts  may  be  easily  reconciled.  Joshua  calls 
it  Sidon  the  Great,  by  way  of  eminence  ;  whence 
some  have  taken  occasion  to  say,  that  in  his  time 
there  were  two  Sidons,  a  greater  and  a  lesser  :  but 
no  geographer  has  mentioned  any  other  Sidon 
than  Sidon  the  Great.  It  is  situated  on  the  Medi- 
terranean, one  day's  journey  from  Paneas,  or  from 
the  fountains  of  Jordan,  in  a  fine  level  tract  of 
land,  the  remarkably  simple  air  of  which  suits  with 
that  touching  portion  of  the  Gospel,  which  records 
the  interview  of  Jesus  Christ  on  this  very  spot, — 
the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon, — with  the  Syro- 
3  Y 


538 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


and  laid  siege  to  Tyre,  writing  to  the  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews,  that  he  expected  the 
same  assistances  from  them  which  they 
before  had  allowed  to  Darius;  and  that 
they  should  provide  a  market  for  the  sup- 
ply of  his  army,  where  he  might  have 
necessaries  for  his  money,  assuring  them 
that  they  should  have  no  reason  to  repent 
the  respect.    * 

The  answer  the  high-priest  returned 
was  briefly  this,  that  they  had  bound  them- 
selves by  an  oath  to  Darius,  never  to  bear 
arms  against  him;  and  that  they  were  tied 
up  by  that  obligation  for  life. 

Alexander  was  highly  incensed  at  this 
reply,  but  went  on  with  the  siege  of  Tyre,* 


Phoenician  woman.  Abulfeda  places  it  sixty-six 
miles  from  Damascus.  This  city  lias  been  always 
famous  for  its  great  trade  and  navigation.  Its  in- 
habitants were  the  first  remarkable  merchants  in 
the  world,  and  were  very  early  celebrated  on  ac- 
count of  their  luxury  ;  for,  in  the  days  of  the 
judges  of  Israel,  the  inhabitants  of  Laish  are  said 
to  have  dwelt  careless  and  secure  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Zidonians.  The  men  of  Sidon  being 
great  shipwrights,  were  particularly  eminent,  above 
all  other  nations,  for  hewing  and  polishing  timber, 
there  being  '  none  who  were  skilled  how  to  hew 
timber  like  the  Sidonians.'  This  place  is  now 
called  Seideor  Saide :  its  port  is  small,  and  near- 
ly filled  up  with  the  accumulation  of  mud.  The 
city,  as  it  exists  at  present,  rises  immediately  from 
the  strand  ;  and,  when  seen  from  a  slight  distance, 
presents  a  rather  imposing  appearance.  The  in- 
terior, however,  is  most  wretched  and  gloomy. 
*'  About  half-way  between  Saide  (or  Sidon)  and 
Tsour  (or  Tyre),"  Jowett  informs  us,  "are  very 
extensive  ruins  of  towns  which  once  connected 
these  two  cities  ;  but  of  these  ruins  there  is  now 
6carcely  one  stone  left  upGn  another  They  con- 
sist chiefly  of  lines  which  show,  rased  even  with 
the  soil,  the  foundation  of  houses — many  stones 
irregularly  scattered — a  few  cisterns  with  half  de- 
faced sculpture  on  them;  and,  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  path,  there  are  at  one  spot 
several  low  columns  either  mutilated  or  consider- 
ably sunk  in  the  earth.  These  reliques  show, 
what  it  needed  no  such  evidence  to  prove,  that  in 
peaceable  and  flourishing  times,  on  this  road  be- 
tween two  such  considerable  cities  as  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  there  must  have  been  many  smaller  towns 
for  business,  pleasure,  and  agriculture,  delightfully 
situated  by  the  sea-6ide;  but  peaceful  security  has 
long  been  a  blessing  unknown  to  these  regions ; 
and  we  may  apply  to  them  the  language  of  Judges 
v.  7. — '  The  villages  ceased ;  they  ceased  in  Israel.'" 
— Home. 

*  This  celebrated  city  and  sea-port  of  Phoenicia 
was  twofold,  insular  and  continental.  Insular 
Tyre  was  certainly  the  most  ancient,  for  it  was 
ooticed  by  Joshua:  the  continental  city,  however, 


not  doubting  of  reducing  it  in  a  short  time, 
and  emboldened  by  this  prospect  declared 
that  on  the  surrender  of  the  city,  he  would 
march  against  the  high-priest  himself,  and 


as  being  more  commodiously  situated,  first  grew 
into  consideration,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Palae- 
tyrus,  or  Old  Tyre.  Insular  Tyre  was  confined  to 
a  small  rocky  island  eight  hundred  paces  long  and 
four  hundred  broad,  and  could  never  exceed  two 
miles  in  circumference.  But  Tyre,  on  the  oppo- 
site coast  about  half  a  mile  from  the  sea,  was  a  city 
of  vast  extent,  since,  many  centuries  after  its  de- 
molition by  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  scattered  ruins 
measured  nineteen  miles  round,  as  we  learn  from 
Pliny  and  Strabo.  Of  these  the  most  curious  and 
surprising  are,  the  cisterns  of  Ras-el-Ain,  designed 
to  supply  the  city  with  water  ;  of  which  there  are 
three  still  entire,  about  one  or  two  furlongs  from 
the  sea  ;  so  well  described  by  Maundrell,  for  their 
curious  construction  and  solid  masonry.  "  The 
fountains  of  these  waters,"  says  he,  after  the  de- 
scription, "are  as  unknown  as  the  contriver  of 
them.  According  to  common  tradition,  they  are 
filled  from  a  subterraneous  river,  which  king  Solo- 
mon discovered  by  his  great  sagacity ;  and  he 
caused  these  cisterns  to  be  made  as  part  of  his 
recompence  to  king  Hiram,  for  the  materials  fur- 
nished by  that  prince  towards  building  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  It  is  certain,  however,  from  their 
rising  so  high  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  that 
they  must  be  brought  from  some  part  of  the  moun- 
tains, which  are  about  a  league  distant  ;  and  it  is 
as  certain  that  the  work  was  well  done  at  first ; 
seeing  it  performs  the  office  so  well,  at  so  great  a 
distance  of  time  ;  the  Turks  having  broken  an 
outlet  on  the  west  side  of  the  cistern,  through 
which  there  issues  a  stream  like  a  brook,  driving 
four  corn  mills  between  it  and  the  sea."  From 
these  cisterns  there  was  an  aqueduct  which  led  to 
the  city,  supported  by  arches,  about  six  yards  from 
the  ground,  running  in  a  northerly  direction,  about 
an  hour,  when  it  turns  to  the  west,  at  a  small 
mount,  where  anciently  stood  a  fort,  but  now  a 
mosque,  which  seems  to  ascertain  the  site  of  the 
old  city;  and  thence  proceeds  over  the  isthmus 
that  connects  Insular  Tyre  with  the  main,  built  by 
Alexander,  when  he  besieged  and  took  it.  Old 
Tyre  withstood  the  mighty  Assyrian  power,  having 
been  besieged  in  vain,  by  Shalmaneser,  for  five 
years,  although  he  cut  off'  their  supplies  of  water 
from  the  cisterns,  which  they  remedied  by  digging 
wells  within  the  city.  It  afterwards  held  out  for 
thirteen  years  against  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of 
Babylon,  and  was  at  length  taken;  but  not  until 
the  Tyrians  had  removed  their  effects  to  the  insu- 
lar town,  and  left  nothing  but  the  bare  walls  to 
the  victor,  which  he  demolished.  What  completed 
the  destruction  of  the  city  was,  that  Alexander 
afterwards  made  use  of  these  materials  to  build 
a  prodigious  causeway,  or  isthmus,  above  half  a 
mile  long,  to  the  insular  city,  which  revived,  as  the 
phoenix,  from  the  ashes  of  the  old,  and  grew  to 
great  power  and  opulence,  as  a  maritime  state  ; 
and  which  he  stormed  after  a  most  obstinate  siege 
of  five  months.  Bp.  Pococke  observes,  that  "there 
are  no  signs  of  the  ancient  city ;  and  as  it  is  a 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

give  all  people  to  understand,  liow  far  oaths 
were  to  be  broken  or  kept.  Alexander,  who 
waatindefatigable,  took  Tyre  by  assault;* 


539 


sandy  shore,  the  face  of  every  thing  is  altered,  and 
the  great  aqueduct  is  in  many  parts  almost  buried 
in  the  sand."  The  fate  of  Insular  Tyre  has  been 
no  less  remarkable.  It  received  a  great  blow  from 
Alexander,  not  only  by  his  taking  and  burning  the 
city,  but  much  more  by  his  building  of  Alexandria 
in  Egypt,  which  in  time  deprived  it  of  much  of  its 
trade,  and  thus  effectuated  more  rapidly  its  ruin. 
It  had  the  misfortune  afterwards  of  changing  its 
masters  often,  being  sometimes  in  the  hands  of  the 
Ptolemies,  kings  of  Egypt,  and  sometimes  of  the  Se- 
leucidae,  kings  of  Syria,  till  at  length  it  fell  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Romans.  It  was  taken  by  the 
Saracens  about  the  year  of  Christ  639,  in  the  reign 
of  Omar  their  third  emperor.  It  was  retaken  by 
the  Christians  during  the  time  of  the  holy  war,  in 
the  year  1 124,  Baldwin,  the  second  of  that  name, 
being  then  king  of  Jerusalem,  and  assisted  by  a 
fleet  of  the  Venetians.  From  the  Christians  it 
■was  taken  again,  in  the  year  1289,  by  the  Mame- 
lukes of  Egypt,  under  their  Sultan  Alphix,  who 
sacked  and  rased  this  and  Sidon,  and  other  strong 
towns,  in  order  that  they  might  never  afford  any 
harbour  or  shelter  to  the  Christians.  From  the 
Mamelukes  it  was  again  taken  in  the  year  1516, 
by  Selim,  the  ninth  emperor  of  the  Turks  ;  and 
under  their  dominion  it  continues  at  present.  But, 
alas,  how  fallen,  how  changed  from  what  it  was 
formerly  !  For,  from  being  the  centre  of  trade, 
frequented  by  all  the  merchant  ships  of  the  east 
and  west,  it  is  now  become  a  heap  of  ruins,  visited 
only  by  the  boats  of  a  few  poor  fishermen. 

How  utterly  this  once  flourishing  city  is  now  de- 
stroyed, agreeably  to  the  divine  predictions,  every 
traveller  attests  who  has  visited  its  site.  We  select 
two  or  three  of  the  most  striking.  Dr  Shaw,  who 
travelled  in  the  former  part  of  the  last  century, 
says,  "  I  visited  several  creeks  and  inlets,  in  order 
to  discover  what  provision  there  might  have  been 
formerly  made  for  the  security  of  their  vessels. 
Yet  notwithstanding  that  Tyre  was  the  chief  mari- 
time power  of  this  country,  I  could  not  observe 
the  least  token  of  either  cothon  or  harbour  that 
could  have  been  of  any  extraordinary  capacity. 
The  coasting  shfps,  indeed,  still  find  a  tolerably 
good  shelter  from  the  northern  winds  under  the 
southern  shore,  but  are  obliged  immediately  to 
retire,  when  the  winds  change  to  the  west  or 
south:  so  that  there  must  have  been  some  better 
station  than  this  for  their  security  and  reception. 
In  the  N.  N.  E.  part  likewise  of  the  city,  we  see 
the  traces  of  a  safe  and  commodious  basin,  lying 
within  the  walls;  but  which  at  the  same  time  is 
very  small,  scarce  forty  yards  in  diameter.  Neither 
could  it  ever  have  enjoyed  a  larger  area,  unless  the 
buildings  which  now  circumscribe  it  were  encroach- 
ments upon  its  original  dimensions.  Yet  even 
I  this  port,  small  as  it  is  at  present,  is  notwithstand- 
I  ing  so  choked  up  with  sand  and  rubbish,  that  the 
boats  of  those  poor  fishermen,  who  now  and  then 
visit  this  once  renowned  emporium,  can  with  great 
difficulty  only  be  admitted."  "  This  city,"  says 
Maundrell,  who  travelled  nearly  about  the  same 
time,  "  standing  in  the  sea  upon  a  peninsula,  pro- 


from  whence  he  proceeded,  to  besiege 
Gaza,  a  city  in  Palestine  of  which  one  of 
Darius's  eunuchs,  named  Betis,  was  the 

mises  at  a  distance  something  very  magnificent. 
But  when  you  come  to  it,  you  find  no  similitude 
of  that  glory,  for  which  it  was  so  renowned  in 
ancient  times,  and  which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  de- 
scribes, chap,  xxvi,  xxvii,  xxviii.  On  the  north 
side  it  has  an  old  Turkish  ungarrisoned  castle  ; 
besides  which  you  see  nothing  here,  but  a  mere 
Babel  of  broken  walls,  pillars,  vaults,  &c.  there 
being  not  so  much  as  one  entire  house  left  :  its 
present  inhabitants  are  only  a  few  poor  wretches, 
harbouring  themselves  in  tne  vaults,  and  subsisting 
chiefly  upon  fishing,  who  seem  to  be  preserved  in 
this  place  by  Divine  Providence,  as  a  visible  argu- 
ment how  God  has  fulfilled  his  word  concerning 
Tyre,  viz.  that  '  it  should  be  as  the  top  of  a  rock, 
a  place  for  fishers  to  dry  their  nets  on.'"  "Of 
this  once  powerful  mistress  of  the  ocean,"  Mr 
Jolliffe,  informs  us,  "  there  now  exist  scarcely  any 
traces.  Some  miserable  cabins,  ranged  in  irregular 
lines,  dignified  with  the  name  of  streets,  and  a  few 
buildings  of  a  rather  better  description,  occupied 
by  the  officers  of  government,  compose  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  town.  It  still  makes,  indeed,  some 
languishing  efforts  at  commerce,  and  contrives  to 
export  annually  to  Alexandria  cargoes  of  silk  and 
tabacco,  but  the  amount  merits  no  consideration. 
— *  The  noble  dust  of  Alexander,  traced  by  the 
imagination  till  found  stopping  a  beer-barrel,' 
would  scarcely  afford  a  stronger  contrast  of  gran- 
deur and  debasement  than  Tyre,  at  the  period 
when  that  city  was  besieged  by  the  conqueror, 
and  the  modern  town  of  Tsour  erected  on  its 
ashes." — Home. 

*  As  soon  as  he  had  taken  the  town,  he  burnt 
it  down  to  the  ground,  and  destroyed  and  enslaved 
all  the  inhabitants.  Eight  thousand  he  slew  in 
the  sackage  of  the  town  ;  and  two  thousand  of 
those,  whom  he  took  prisoners,  he  caused  to  be 
crucified  ;  a  piece  of  cruelty  this,  highly  unbecom- 
ing a  generous  conqueror.  But,  to  palliate  the 
matter,  he  gave  out,  that  it  was  done  by  way  of 
just  revenge  upon  them,  for  their  murdering  their 
masters,  and  that,  being  originally  but  slaves,  cruci- 
fixion was  the  proper  punishment  for  them.  But 
this  depended  upon  an  old  story.  Some  ages 
before,  the  slaves  of  Tyre,  having  made  a  conspir- 
acy against  their  masters,  murdered  them  all  in 
one  night,  (except  only  Strato,  whom  his  slave 
secretly  saved,)  and,  having  married  their  mistresses, 
continued  masters  of  the  town,  and  from  them  the 
present  Tyrians  were  descended.  So  that  Alex- 
ander pretended,  on  this  occasion,  to  revenge  on 
them  the  murder  that  was  committed  by  their  pro- 
genitors so  many  ages  before  ;  though,  in  reality, 
it  was  to  gratify  his  rage  for  being  so  long  detain- 
ed before  the  place,  and  there  so  valiantly  resisted. 
Recovering  however  its  beauty  and' riches  a"ain, 
it  was  invested  with  the  privileges  of  a  Roman  city 
for  its  fidelity,  and,  in  the  flourishing  times  of 
Christianity,  was  the  metropolitan  see  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Phoenicia  ;  but  now  that  it  is  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks,  there  is  not  the  least 
similitude  of  that  glory  for  which  it  was  once 
renowned. — Prideaux. 


540 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


governor,  and  which  he  took  after  a  siege 
of  two  months.  * 

When  Sanballat  found  that  Alexander 
was  before  Tyre,  he  took  that  opportunity 
of  going  over  with  eight  thousand  of  his 
own  men,  to  the  enemy's  camp,  delivering 
up  his  trust,  and  transferring  his  allegiance 
from  Darius  to  Alexander,  who  received 
him  with  open  arms,  and  desired  to  know 
his  pleasure.  So  when  Alexander  had 
received  him  kindly,  Sanballat  told  him, 
that  he  had  a  son-in-law,  whose  name  was 
Manasseh,  the  brother  of  Jaddua,  the  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews,  who,  together  with 
great  numbers  of  that  people  following  him, 
desired  nothing  more  than  leave  to  build 
a  temple  in  that  province;  setting  forth 
also,  that  it  would  be  Alexander's  interest 
to  permit  it,  if  it  were  but  to  divide  the 
power  of  the  Jews,  and  to  prevent  com- 
motions, for  that  they  were  numerous, 
and  as  likely  to  be  troublesome  to  other 
kings,  as  they  were  formerly  to  the  Sy- 
rians. 

This  favour  was  no  sooner  granted,  than 
they  all  applied  themselves  to  the  building 
of  the  temple ;  Manasseh  was  ordained  to 
-be  the  high-priest,  and  the  honour  to  de- 
scend to  the  posterity  of  Sanballat's  daugh- 
ter, as  he  promised  to  himself;  but  after 
several  months  spent  before  Tyre,  and  two 
more  at  Gaza,  Sanballat  died.  Alexander, 
upon  the  taking  of  Gaza,  advanced  to  Jer- 

*  This  place  being  an  inlet  to  Egypt,  Alexander 
could  not  march  thither  till  he  had  taken  it :  and 
it  cost  him  and  all  his  army  two  months'  time 
before  he  could  be  master  of  it.  This  stop,  with 
two  dangerous  wounds  which  he  got  during  the 
6iege,  provoked  him  out  of  measure  :  so  that  when 
the  city  was  taken,  he  killed  ten  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  sold  the  rest,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  into  slavery.  He  dragged  Betis  alive  by 
the  heels  behind  a  chariot  about  the  city  till  he 
was  killed,  instead  of  treating  him  for  his  valour 
and  fidelity  as  a  generous  conqueror  ought  to  have 
done,  boasting,  that  in  this  he  imitated  Achilles 
his  progenitor*  who,  according  to  Homer,  dragged 
Hector  round  the  walls  of  Troy.  Plutarch  tells 
ns,  that  he  got  so  great  spoils  in  the  sackage  of 
this  city,  that  besides  other  considerable  compli- 
ments to  his  friends,  he  sent  500  talents  weight  of 
frankincense,  and  100  talents  weight  of  myrrh  to 
Leontdas  his  governor,  bidding  him  no  more  be  a 
Diggard  to  the  gods Millar. 


usalem,  which  greatly  perplexed  Jaddua 
the  high-priest,  who  knew  not  how  to  deport 
himself  before  a  prince  whom  he  ha#so 
highly  provoked  by  a  refusal  to  comply 
with  his  orders;  wherefore  he  appointed 
public  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  be  offered 
up  to  God  for  his  assistance  and  protec- 
tion, and  for  the  common  welfare  of  the 
people. 

On  the  night  following  God  appeared 
to  the  high-priest  in  a  dream,  bidding  him 
be  of  good  courage,  adorn  the  city,  and 
without  ceremony  open  the  gates,  and 
cause  the  people  to  march  out  in  white 
garments  to  meet  Alexander,  together 
with  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  priests 
in  the  habits  of  their  order,  depending 
upon  providence  for  the  rest. 

Jaddua,  upon  waking,  told  the  citizens 
with  great  joy  the  substance  of  this  reve- 
lation, and  put  every  thing  in  order  to 
attend  the  approach  of  the  king.  Re- 
ceiving intelligence  soon  after,  that  he 
was  drawing  near  toward  the  city,  Jaddua 
advanced,  together  with  his  priests  and 
the  citizens,  in  pomp  and  solemnity,  to  a 
place  called  Sapha,  an  eminence  or  watch- 
tower  which  commanded  a  view  both  of 
the  city  and  temple.  The  Phoenicians 
and  Chaldeans  determined  on  a  general 
plunder  and  massacre,  and  vowed  every 
instance  of  revenge  that  indignation  could 
suggest  to  a  victorious  prince,  under  the 
sense  and  provocation  of  the  affront  he 
had  received.  But  in  the  event  they 
found  their  expectations  disappointed ; 
for,  when  Alexander  saw,  from  a  distance, 
the  order  of  the  procession,  the  people  in 
white,  with  the  priests  at  the  head  of 
them  in  their  robes  of  fine  linen,  and  the 
high  priest  himself  in  his  purple  and  scar- 
let clothing,  his  mitre  upon  his  head,  and 
a  golden  plate  upon  his  forehead,  with  the 
name  of  God  engraven  upon  it,  the  ma- 
jesty of  the  spectacle  struck  him  with 
such  profound  awe,  that  he  advanced  to 
him  in  person,  adored  the  sacred  inscrip- 
tion, and  saluted  the  high-priest  himself; 
all  the  Jews,  at  the  same  time,  with  one 


Ch*p.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

heart  and  voice  saluting  Alexander  with 
loud  acclamations,  and  gathering  in  mul- 
titudes about  him. 

The  kings  of  Syria,  and  the  rest  that 
were  there  present,  were  so  amazed  at 
Alexander's  behaviour,  that  they  could 
hardly  think  he  enjoyed  his  reason.  Par- 
menio*  alone  took  the  freedom  to  ask  him, 
in  a  familiar  way,  how  it  came  to  pass  that 
he  should  descend  to  bow  to  a  Jewish 
priest  ?  Alexander  replied,  "  I  do  not 
idore  the  man,  but  the  God  whom  he 
erves.  For,  some  time  past,  when  I  was 
it  Dium  in  Macedonia,  I  saw  this  man  I 
emember,  and  in  this  very  habit.  I  was 
hen  deliberating  what  course  I  should 
_ake  to  conquer  Asia;  and  this  very  per- 
son bade  me  pass  my  army  over  the  river, 
and  be  confident,  that  if  I  would  take  his 
counsel,  I  should  make  myself  master  of 
the  Persian  empire.  Upon  the  view  of 
this  man,  and  in  this  habit,  I  call  to  mind 
my  dream  at  Dium,  and  that  this  is  the 
lively  figure  of  \fhat  I  saw  there  in  a 
vision,  and  of  the  person  that  encouraged 
me  to  this  expedition ;  so  that  it  is  not 
without  a  divine  impulse  that  I  under- 
take this  war;  and  I  make  no  doubt  of 
gaining  my  point  upon  the  Persians,  and 
succeeding  in  all  things  to  my  wish." 

After  this  discourse  to  Parmenio,  the 
king  embraced  Jaddua,  and  was  conducted 

*  Parmenio  was  a  celebrated  general  in  the 
armies  of  Alexander,  who  enjoyed  the  king's  con- 
fidence, and  was  more  attached  to  his  person  as  a 
man  than  as  a  monarch.  When  Darius  king  of 
Persia  offered  Alexander  all  the  country  which 
lies  at  the  west  of  the  Euphrates,  with  his  daugh- 
ter Statira  in  marriage,  and  ten  thousand  talents 
of  gold,  Parmenio  took  occasion  to  observe,  that 
he  would  without  hesitation  accept  of  these  con- 
ditions if  he  were  Alexander  ;  '  So  would  I,  were  I 
Parmenio,'  replied  Alexander.  This  friendship,  so 
true  and  inviolable,  was  sacrificed  to  a  moment  of 
resentment  and  suspicion  ;  and  Alexander,  who 
had  too  eagerly  listened  to  a  slight  and  perhaps  a 
false  accusation,  ordered  Parmenio  and  his  son  to 
be  put  to  death,  as  if  guilty  of  treason  against  his 
person.  Parmenio  was  in  the  70th  year  of  his 
age,  B.  C.  330.  He  died  in  the  greatest  popu- 
larity ;  and  it  has  been  judiciously  observed,  that 
Parmenio  obtained  many  victories  without  Alex- 
ander, but  Alexander  not  one  without  Parmenio. 
i — Lempriere. 


541 

into  the  city  by  the  rest  pf  the  priests, 
where  he  went  up  to  the  temple,  and 
sacrificed  in  form,  according  to  order, 
paying  also  a  singular  veneration  to  the 
high-priest  himself,  who  showed  the  king, 
when  the  ceremony  was  over,  the  book  of 
Daniel,f  and  in  it  the  prediction  of  a  cer- 
tain Greek,  in  time  to  come,  that  should 
make  himself  master  of  the  Persian  em- 
pire, which  Alexander  interpreted  of  him- 
self; and  then  with  great  satisfaction  he 
discharged  the  multitude,  till  the  day 
following,  at  which  time  he  called  them 


f  Namely,  what  is  written  of  the  ram,  and  the 
he-goat,  chap.  viii.  where  that  he-goat  i3  interpreted 
to  be  the  king  of  Grecia,  who  should  conquer  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  ver.  20  ;  as  likewise  what  is 
written  by  the  same  prophet,  of  the  same  Grecian 
king,  chap.  xi.  3 ;  for  both  these  prophecies  foretold 
the  destruction  of  the  Persian  king.  Prideaux's 
Connection. — The  figure  of  a  ram,  sculptured  on 
the  staircase  leading  up  to  the  palace  of  Persepolis, 
may  be  seen  in  the  drawings  of  its  majestic  ruins, 
taken  on  the  spot,  by  Chardin,  Le  Bruyn,  and  Sir 
Robert  Ker  Porter.  We  learn  from  ancient  au- 
thors, that  the  figure  of  a  goat  was  represented  in 
the  royal  standard  of  the  Macedonian  king3.  The 
origin  of  this  device  commenced  with  Caranus,  the 
first  of  the  Macedonian  sovereigns.  The  reason 
why  he  did  so,  is  thus  given.  Caranus,  it  seems, 
was  a  native  of  Argos,  and  a  remote  descendant  of 
the  renowned  Hercules.  Why  he  quitted  his  na- 
tive city,  is  not  said  ;  but  all  authors  agree,  that 
he  left  it,  accompanied  by  a  considerable  body  of 
Greeks,  in  search  of  a  foreign  settlement.  Con- 
sulting the  oracle,  where  he  should  proceed,  and 
what  measures  he  ought  to  take,  in  establishing 
his  colony,  he  was  answered,  that  he  should  be 
guided  in  his  measures  by  the  direction  of  the 
goats.  It  is  very  probable  that  Caranus,  when  he 
received  this  response,  did  not  understand  it.  He, 
however,  in  pursuance  of  his  first  intention,  enter- 
ed the  country,  since  known  by  the  name  of  Ma- 
cedonia, and  particularly  the  small  principality  of 
^Emathia,  then  governed  by  a  prince  called  Midas, 
and  drew  near  to  its  capital,  which  was  then  called 
Edessa.  The  sky  being  suddenly  overcast,  and  a 
great  storm  coming  on,  Caranus  observed  a  herd 
of  goats  running  for  shelter  to  the  city.  Imme- 
diately recollecting  the  response  of  the  oracle,  he 
commanded  his  men  to  follow  them  closely,  and 
entering  the  city  by  surprise,  he  possessed  himself 
of  it,  and  afterwards  of  the  kingdom.  In  gratitude 
to  his  conductors,  the  goats,  he  changed  the  name 
of  the  place  into  Mgea,  or  the  city  of  goats,  and 
called  his  people  iEgeates.  He  likewise  made  use 
of  a  goat  in  his  standard,  in  order  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  this  extraordinary  event.  We 
hence  clearly  see,  that  as  a  ram  was  the  symbol  of 
the  Medo-Persian  empire,  so  that  of  a  goat  was 
symbolical  of  Alexander  the  Great,  king  of  Mace- 
don—  Bell 


543 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


together  again*  to  know  what  request  they 
had  to  make  him. 

The  high-priest  made  answer,  that  they 
only  desired  his  leave  to  enjoy  the  free- 
dom of  their  own  laws,  and  that  they 
might  be  exempted  from  the  seventh 
year's  tribute,  which  was  readily  granted 
tli  em. 

They  also  besought  him  farther,  to  al- 
low the  same  freedom  to  the  Jews  in 
Babylon  and  Media, — which  was  likewise 
granted  ;  offering  them,  moreover,  that  if 
any  of  them  were  disposed  to  take  up 
arms  in  his  service,  they  should  be  re- 
ceived into  his  army,  and  enjoy  the  liber- 
ty of  exercising  their  religion  as  before, 
which  generosity  brought  great  numbers 
over  to  him. 

Affairs  being  thus  settled  at  Jerusalem, 
Alexander  marched  with  his  army  from 
place  to  place  among  the  neighbouring 
cities,  and  wherever  he  came  he  was  well 
received. 

The  Samaritans,  whose  capital  at  that 
time  was  Shechem,  and  peopled  by  Jew- 
ish deserters,  observing  how  honourably 
Alexander  treated  the  Jews,  began  to 
think  themselves  of  acknowledging  his 
government,  and  returning  to  their  former 
profession ;  for  these  people  were  ever 
disposed  to  change  with  the  revolution  of 
success ;  who,  when  they  found  the  Jews 
in  distress,  thus  argued :  "  They  are 
strangers  to  us ;  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them."  But  as  soon  as  ever  fortune 
smiled  upon  them,  they  claimed  kindred, 
and  valued  themselves  upon  the  very  her- 
aldry of  their  descent  from  Joseph  and 
his  sons,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim. 

Alexander  was  hardly  out  of  the  city 
when  the  Shechemites,  in  great  pomp  and 
parade,  and  wonderful  joy  in  their  looks, 
'presented  themselves  before  him  in  com- 
pany with  the  troops  that  Sanballat  had 
sent  over  to  him;  requesting  the  king, 
that  he  would  vouchsafe  to  honour  their 
city  and  temple  with  his  presence. 

The  king  spoke  them  fair,  and  promis- 
ed to  visit  them;  but  upon  their  desiring 


an  immunity  of  the  seventh  year's  tri- 
bute, as  they  did  not  sow  that  year,  Alex- 
ander asked  what  countrymen  the  piti- 
tioners  were.  They  told  him  they  were 
Hebrews,  but  that  they  were  called  She- 
chemites by  the  Sidonians. 

The  question  was  put  to  them  again, 
whether  they  were  Jews  or  not?  They 
answered,  they  were  not.  Whereupon, 
Alexander  said,  "  I  have  granted  this  to 
the  Jews.  But,  however,  when  I  come 
back  again,  I  shall  do  what  I  think  rea- 
sonable, upon  a  fuller  information  of  the 
matter." 

The  Shechemites  were  dismissed;  but 
he  took  Sanballat's  men  along  with  him 
into  Egypt,  allotting  them  a  distribution 
of  lands  to  live  upon  there,  which  they 
had  afterwards  in  Thebes,  where  they 
were  put  in  garrison. 

After  the  death  of  Alexander,  who  did 
not  long  survive  the  unfortunate  Darius,* 
the  empire   was  parted  among  the  chief 


*  After  the  battle  of  Arbela,  wherein  lie  was 
sore  discomfited,  lie  made  his  escape  into  Media, 
and  having  got  some  few  forces  together,  thought 
to  have  tried  his  fate  in  one  battle  more  ;  when 
Bessus,  his  governor  of  Bactria,  and  Nabazanes, 
another  Persian  nobleman,  conspired  together,  and 
having  seized  the  poor  king,  and  made  him  their 
prisoner,  bound  him  in  chains  of  gold,  and  shut 
him  up  in  a  covered  chariot,  and  so  carried  him 
with  them  towards  Bactria,  intending,  if  Alexan- 
der pursued  them,  to  purchase  their  peace  by  de- 
livering him  up  into  his  hands  ;  but  if  he  did 
not,  to  kill  him  and  seize  his  kingdom,  and  so  re- 
new the  war.  Alexander  having  heard  what  these 
traitors  had  done,  made  all  the  haste  he  could  to 
rescue  Darius  out  of  their  hands  ;  but  when,  alter 
several  days'  march,  he  came  up  with  them,  (be- 
cause Darius  refused  to  mount  on  horseback,  for 
his  more  speedy  flight  with  them,)  they  gave  him 
several  mortal  wounds  and  left  him  dying  in  the 
chariot.  He  was  dead  before  Alexander  came  ; 
but  when  he  saw  his  corpse,  he  could  not  forbea; 
shedding  tears  at  so  melancholy  a  spectacle  :  and 
having  cast  his  cloak  over  it,  he  ordered  that  it 
should  be  wrapped  up  therein,  and  carried  to  his 
mother  Sisygamhis,  at  Shushan,  (where  he  had  left 
her,  with  the  other  captive  ladies,)  to  be  buried 
there  with  a  royal  funeral  (for  which  himself  al- 
lowed the  expense)  in  the  sepulchre  of  the  kings 
of  Persia.  The  traitor  Bessus  met  with  a  due 
punishment  from  the  conqueror,  who  continued 
his  kindness  to  the  unfortunate  family  of  Darius. 
In  Darius  the  empire  of  Persia  was  extinguished 
228  years  after  it  had  been  founded  by  Cyrus  the 
Great Prideaux's  Connexion. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


543 


commanders  of  his  army,  only  the  tem- 
ple near  Gerizim  remained  untouched. 
And  if  at  any  time  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem 
were  found  guilty  of  the  violation  of  their 
laws,  as  in  eating  of  the  forbidden  meats, 
the  breach  of  the  sabbath,  or  the  like,  they 
took  sanctuary  with  the  Shechemites,  upon 
a  pretence  that  they  were  unjustly  ac- 
cused. 

About  this  time  the  high-priest  Jaddua 
died;  and  Onias  his  son  succeeded  him  in 
that  dignity. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Jerusalem  is  surprised  by  Ptolemy,  ivho  trans- 
plants divers  colonies  of  the  inhabitants 
into  Egypt,  and  honours  many  of  them  with 
places  of  trust  and  importance. — Perpetual 
wars  between  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
Samaritans. — Divers  instances  of  regard  and 
respect  shown  to  the  Jews  by  king  Ptolemy. 

When  Alexander  king  of  Macedon  had 
made  himself  absolute  master  of  the  Per- 
sian empire,  and  settled  the  affairs  of  the 
Jews,  he  departed  this  life,*  and  left  the 


*  It  is  not  well  agreed  among  historians,  how 
this  great  conqueror  of  the  world  died.  Some  of 
them  are  of  opinion,  that  he  was  poisoned  by  the 
procurement  of  Antipater,  whom  he  had  left 
governor  of  all  his  dominions  in  his  absence,  and 
who,  for  his  maladministration,  had  been  lately 
dismissed  ;  and  therefore,  fearing  to  be  called  to 
an  account,  did  by  the  hands  of  his  sons,  who 
were  about  the  person  of  the  king,  and  one  of 
them  his  cupbearer,  execute  this  treason  upon  his 
master's  life,  in  order  to  save  his  own :  but,  in  the 
judgment  of  other  historians,  lie  died  by  nothing 
but  excessive  drinking  ;  and  thus  they  relate  the 
story  :  "  One  day,  after  he  had  been  sacrificing  to 
the  gods  for  the  many  victories  he  had  obtained, 
lie  made  an  entertainment  for  his  friends,  wherein 
lie  drank  very  hard,  and  continued  the  debauch 
till  late  at  night;  when,  returning  from  the  feast, 
he  and  his  company  were  invited  by  a  physician  of 
Thessalia,  to  come,  and  drink  a  little  more  at  his 
house.  Alexander  accepted  of  the  offer  :  and,  as 
there  were  twenty  in  company,  he  first  drank  to 
each  of  them  in  their  order,  and  so  pledged  them 
again,  and  then  called  for  the  Herculean  cup. 
There  was. in  company  one  Prodeas,  a  Macedonian, 
but  a  terrible  drinker,  and  to  him  the  king  drank 
this  Herculean  brim-full,  (which  they  tell  us  held 
six  of  our  bottles,)  and  not  long  after,  pledged  him 
in  the  same  ;  but,  immediately  after  the  second 
rup,  he  dropped  down  upon  the  place,  and  then 
fell  into  a  violent  fever,  of  which  he  died,  in  the 


empire  broken,  and  parcelled  out  into 
many  principalities.  Asia  fell  to  Anti- 
gonus.  Babylon,  with  the  countries  bor- 
dering upon  it,  to  Seleucus.     The  Ilel- 


thirty-third  year  of  his  age,  after  a  reign  of  twelve 
years,  six  years  as  king  of  Macedon,  and  six  moe 
as  monarch  of  Asia."  He  was  a  man  of  a  bold 
enterprising  spirit,  but  fuller  of  fire  than  discretion. 
His  actions,  though  they  were  attended  with  suc- 
cess, were  carried  on  with  a  furious  and  extrava- 
gant rashness  ;  and  the  few  virtues  that  he  had 
were  obscured  with  much  greater  vices.  When 
he  had  conquered  Darius,  he  ordered  himself  to 
be  worshipped  as  a  god;  and  Caliisthenes,  who 
refused  to  do  it,  was  shamefully  put  to  death. 
He  murdered,  at  a  banquet,  his  friend  Clitus,  who 
had  once  saved  his  life  in  a  battle,  because  he 
enlarged  upon  the  virtues  and  exploits  of  Philip, 
and  preferred  them  to  those  of  his  son;  and  he  is 
said  to  have  set  on  tire  the  town  of  Persepolis,  in 
a  fit  of  madness  and  intoxication,  encouraged  by 
the  courtesan  Thais.  Vain-glory  was  the  pre- 
dominagt  passion  of  his  soul ;  and  the  fables  of  the 
ancient  Greek  heroes  the  only  charts  by  which  he 
steered  his  conduct.  This  was  the  reason  that  he 
dragged  Betis  round  the  walte  of  Gaza,  in  the 
same  manner  as  Achilles  had  used  Hector;  that  he 
undertook  that  hazardous  expedition  into  India, 
as  Hercules  had  done  before  him  ;  that  he  made  a 
drunken  procession  through  Caramania,  because 
Bacchus  is  said  to  have  done  the  like  in  the  same 
place  ;  and  that  he  affected  to  be  called  the  son  of 
Jupiter,  because  most  of  the  ancient  heroes  pre- 
tended that  they  had  for  their  fathers  one  god  or 
other.  The  truth  is,  this  young  conqueror,  having 
the  Iliads  of  Homer  in  great  admiration,  always 
carried  them  with  him,  laid  them  under  his  pillow 
when  he  slept,  and  read  in  them  on  all  leisure 
opportunities  ;  and  therefore  rinding  Achilles  to 
be  the  great  hero  in  that  poem,  he  thought  e\ery 
thing  said  of  him  worthy  of  imitation,  and  the 
readiest  way  to  become  a  hero  himself,  which  was 
the  main  impulsive  cause  of  all  his  undertakings  : 
but,  in  reality,  were  his  actions  to  be  duly  estimat- 
ed, he  could  deserve  no  other  character  than  that 
of  the  great  cut-throat  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 
The  folly  of  mankind,  however,  and  the  error  of 
historians  are  such,  that  they  usually  make  the 
actions  of  war,  bloodshed,  and  conquest,  the  sub- 
jects of  their  highest  encomiums,  and  those  their 
most  celebrated  heroes  that  most  excel  in  these  ; 
whereas,  those  only  are  the  true  heroes  who  most 
benefit  the  world,  by  promoting  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  mankind.  In  a  righteous  cause  indeed, 
and  the  just  defence  of  a  man's  country,  all  actions 
of  valour  are  just  reasons  of  praise;  but,  in  all 
other  cases,  victory  and  conquest  are  no  more 
than  murder  and  rapine,  and  those  who  thus  op- 
press the  world  with  the  slaughter  of  men,  the  de- 
solation of  countries,  the  burning  of  cities,  and  the 
other  calamities  which  attend  war,  are  the  scourges 
of  God,  the  Attilas  of  the  age  in  which  they  live, 
and  the  greatest  plagues  and  calamities  that  imp- 
pen  to  it;  and  therefore,  to  make  these  the  sub- 
ject of  praise  and  panegyric  is  to  lay  ill  examples 
before  princes,  as  if  such  oppressions  of  mankind 


544 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


lespont  to  Lysimachus,  Macedon  to  Cas- 
sander,  and  Egypt  to  Ptolemy,  the  son  of 
Lagus.  Upon  this  division  there  ensued 
a  long  war  between  these  several  princes, 
who  were  all  competitors  for  the  sovereign 
command,  to  the  ruin  of  several  consider- 
able cities,  and  the  loss  of  many  Uves. 

The  whole  tract  of  Syria  was  abundant- 
ly sensible  of  this  misery,  under  the  go- 
vernment of  Ptolemy,*  otherwise  called 
the  Saviour,  (though  never  any  man  had 
less  pretence  to  that  title  than  himself.) 
This  was  he  who  made  himself  master  of 
Jerusalem  by  a  stratagem;  upon  a  Sab- 
bath day,f  under  colour  of  devotion,  he 
treacherously  possessed  himself  of  t\\e  city 
without  the  least  apprehension  of  any 
danger,  which  made  his  entrance  easy. 
His  administration  afterwards  was. tyran- 
nical and  barbarous. 

But  Ptolemy  carried  away  many  cap- 
tives out  of  the  mountainous  part  of  Ju- 
dea,  from  about  Jerusalem,  Samaria,  and 
the  mountain  Gerizim,  which  he  trans- 
ported into  Egypt;  and  then  reflecting 
upon  the  solemn  nature  of  an  oath  among 
the  Jews,  by  their  fidelity  to  Darius,  even 
after  his  overthrow,  notwithstanding  the 
summons  and  the  invitation  of  Alexander 
to  come  over  to  him,  he  disposed  of  them 


were  the  truest  ways  to  honour  and  glory. — Diod. 
Sic.  Arrian,  Justin,  Q.  Curt.,  Plutarch,  and 
Prideaux. 

*  He  received  the  name  of  Soter,  or  Saviour, 
from  the  assistance  he  gave  the  people  of  Rhodes 
against  their  common  enemy,  Demetrius.  Ptole- 
my has  been  commended  for  his  abilities,  not  only 
as  a  sovereign,  but  as  a  writer  ;  and  among  the 
many  valuable  compositions  which  have  been  lost, 
we  have  to  lament  a  history  of  Alexander  by  the 
king  of  Egypt,  greatly  admired  and  valued  for 
elegance  and  authenticity.  All  his  successors  were 
called  Ptolemies  from  him. 

f  Agotharchides  the  Cnidian,  confirms  this  in 
his  history  of  the  successors  of  Alexander,  when 
he  imputes  the  loss  of  their  country  and  liberties 
to  their  vanity  and  superstition.  His  words  are 
these  : — "  There  are  a  people  that  are  known  by 
the  name  of  Jews,  and  have  their  habitation  in  a 
great  and  well  fortified  city  called  Jerusalem. 
These  men  fell  into  the  hands  of  Ptolemy,  and 
subjected  themselves  to  a  cruel  slavery  upon  a 
fantastical  scruple  of  conscience,  that  would  not 
suffer  them  to  take  up  arms  against  an  oppressor 
in  their  own  defence,  upon  that  day." 


into  strong-holds,  garrisons,  and  places  of 
trust,  upon  their  oath  of  fidelity  to  be 
true  to  him  and  his  successors ;  granting 
them  also  immunities  and  privileges  in 
Alexandria,  in  common  with  the  Macedo- 
nians; so  that  betwixt  the  temptation  of 
Ptolemy's  liberality  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  pleasure  and  convenience  of  a  fruitful 
country  on  the  other,  there  came  over  a 
great  number  of  Jews  into  Egypt  from 
other  parts. 

But  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans  could 
never  be  reconciled  concerning  their  an- 
cient laws  and  constitutions ;  the  one  in- 
sisting that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was 
the  only  holy  place,  and  that  the  Jews 
were  not  allowed  to  send  their  sacrifices 
any  where  else;  the  other  declaring  for 
the  temple  at  Gerizim, — insomuch  that 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  blood  spilt  upon 
the  occasion.^ 


X  The  Samaritans  maintained,  that  their  temple 
upon  Mount  Gerizim  was  the  only  true  temple  of 
the  Lord ;  and  the  Jews,  on  the  contrary,  affirmed, 
theirs  at  Jerusalem  was  the  only  true  one.  The 
dispute  was  brought  before  the  king  ;  advocates 
on  both  sides  were  named  ;  and  it  was  agreed, 
that  they  who  did  not  make  their  allegations 
good  should  be  condemned  to  death.  Both 
parties  promised  that  they  would  produce  all 
their  testimonies  from  the  law  only.  Andronicus, 
advocate  for  the  Jews,  spake  first,  and  proved  so 
very  evidently  from  the  scriptures  the  antiquity  of 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  the  succession  of  the 
high-priests,  and  the  value  which  the  Asiatic 
princes  always  had  for  that  holy  place,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  they  never  so  much  as  thought  of 
the  temple  at  Gerizim,  that  the  king  and  his 
assessors  declared  he  had  carried  his  cause,  and 
ordered  Sabbseus  and  Theodosius,  the  advocates 
for  the  Samaritans,  to  be  put  to  death.  Whether 
there  be  any  reality  in  this  account  of  Josephus, 
or  no,  it  is  certain,  that  the  Samaritans,  in  behalf 
of  Mount  Gerizim,  have  to  plead, — that  there 
Abraham,  (Gen.  xii.  6,  7.  and  xiii.  4.)  and  there 
Jacob,  (Gen.  xxxiii.  20.)  built  altars  unto  God, 
and,  by  their  offering  up  sacrifices  thereon,  con- 
secrated that  place  above  all  others  to  his  worship; 
that,  for  this  reason,  God  himself  appointed  it 
(Deut.  xxvii.  12.)  to  be  the  hill  ofblessing;  and 
that,  accordingly,  Joshua,  on  his  entrance  upon 
the  land  of  Canaan,  caused  the  blessings  of  (iod, 
to  such  as  would  observe  his  laws,  from  hence  to 
be  pronounced  ;  and  lastly,  that  when  he  passed 
the  Jordan,  he  built  here  an  altar  of  the  twelve 
stones  which  he  took  out  of  the  river  in  his  pas- 
sage, Deut.  xxvii.  2 — 7.  according  to  what  Uod 
had  commanded  him  by  Moses.  But  herein  the 
Samaritans-are  guilty  of  a  great  prevarication  ;  lor 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


545 


On  the  demise  of  Ptolemy  Soter, 
Philadelphus  his  son  succeeded  to  the 
government  of  Egypt,  and  pursued  his 
father's  example  in  continuing  the  Musse- 
um,*  or  college  of  learned  men,  which  he 
had  erected,  and  in  augmenting  the  noble 
library  f  which  he  had  left  behind  him  at 
Alexandria. 


they  have  changed  the  words  in  the  text  of  Deut- 
eronomy, and  instead  of  Ebal  (as  it  is  in  the  origi- 
nal) have  put  Mount  Gerizim,  the  better  to  serve 
their  cause.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  since 
Manasseh  was  resolved  to  make  a  schism  in  the 
Jewish  church,  and  Sanballat  to  build  a  temple 
for  him,  the  reasons  above  mentioned  might  be 
inducement  enough  for  them  to  make  choice  of 
that  place,  rather  than  any  other;  but  from  thence 
to  pretend  to  vie  with  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  is 
highly  arrogant  ;  because  the  Jews  have  authentic 
testimonies,  that  the  public  exercise  of  the  true 
religion  was  settled  among  them,  and  solemnized 
at  Jerusalem,  long  before  this  temple  at  Gerizim 
was  thought  of.  In  short,  the  religious  observan- 
ces of  the  Jewish  worship  did  always  attend  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  but  the  ark  was  never  once  at 
Gerizim,  nor  indeed  was  it  fixed  in  any  settled 
place,  until  David  took  it  to  his  palace  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  Solomon  had  built  a  temple  for  it  in  the 
same  city. — Prideaux  and  Calmet. 

*  This  was  a  large  edifice  in  Alexandria,  which 
stood  in  that  quarter  of  the  city  called  Brachium, 
and  was  designed  for  the  habitation  of  such  learn- 
ed men  as  made  it  their  study  to  improve  philo- 
sophy, and  all  useful  knowledge,  like  that  of  the 
Royal  society  at  London,  and  the  Royal  academy  of 
sciences  at  Paris.  This  building,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  surpassed  in  beauty 
and  magnificence  all  the  temples  in  the  world,  ex- 
cept the  capitol  at  Rome,  was  not  far  distant  from 
the  palace,  and  surrounded  with  a  portico,  or  piaz- 
za, where  the  philosophers  walked  and  conversed, 
and  had  in  it  a  common  hall  where  they  used  to 
eat  together.  The  members  of  this  society  were 
under  the  government  of  a  president,  whose  office 
was  of  that  consideration  and  dignity,  that  during 
the  reign  of  the  Ptolemies  lie  was  always  constitu- 
ted by  those  kings,  and  afterwards  by  the  Roman 
emperors.  The  revenues,  appointed  for  the  main- 
tenance of  this  college,  from  the  first  foundation 
of  it,  were  large.  From  it  did  proceed  men  of 
very  excellent  literature  ;  and  to  the  Musaeurn  it 
was  owing,  that  Alexandria,  for  a  great  many  ages 
together,  was  the  greatest  school  of  learning  in  all 
those  parts  of  the  world  ;  until,  in  the  war  which 
the  Alexandrians  had  with  Aurelian,  the  Roman 
emperor,  all  that  quarter  of  the  city,  where  the 
Musaeum  stood,  was  destroyed,  and  with  it  this 
college  of  learned  men  dissolved. — Prideaux. 

f  This  library  was  at  first  placed  in  the  Musaeum, 
but  when  it  was  filled  with  books  to  the  number 
of  four  hundred  thousand  volumes,  there  was 
another  library  erected  within  the  Serapeum  (or  the 
famous  temple  where  the  image  of  Serapis  was  set 
up,)  which  increased  in  time  to  the  number  of  th 


There  were  at  this  time  captives  in 
Egypt,  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  Jews,  which  Philadel- 
phus, (so  called  by  antiphrasis,  because  he 
killed  two  of  his  brothers,)  commanded 
to  be  set  at  liberty  upon  .the  following 
occasion. 

Demetrius  Phalereus  having  under  his 
care  and  trust  the  king's  library,  made  it 
his  business  to  make  a  collection  of  all 
books  that  were  extant. 

This  being  the  peculiar  bias  of  his  dis- 
position, he  bought  up  all  the  choicest 
books  which  he  deemed  worthy  of  the 
king's  perusal.  The  king  on  a  certain 
occasion  inquired  of  his  librarian  how 
many  thousand  volumes  he  thought  he  had 
got  ?  He  told  him,  two  hundred  thousand; 
but  that  he  hoped  in  a  short  time  to 
make  them  five  hundred  thousand:  as 
he  was  certainly  informed,  that  there 
was  a  great  number  of  choice  manuscripts 
among   the   Jews  concerning  their  laws, 


hundred  thousand  volumes,  and  these  two  put 
together,  made  up  the  number  of  seven  hundred 
thousand  volumes  in  the  whole,  of  which  the  royal 
libraries  of  the  Ptolemean  kings  at  Alexandria  are 
said  to  consist.  Their  manner  of  collecting  them 
was  not  so  very  honourable  ;  for  whatever  books 
were  brought  by  any  foreigner  into  Egypt,  these 
they  seized,  and,  sending  them  to  the  M>isaeum, 
(where  they  maintained  people  for  that  purpose,) 
they  caused  them  to  be  transcribed,  and  then  sent 
the  copies  to  the  owners,  but  laid  up  the  originals 
in  the  library.  When  Julius  Caesar  waged  war 
with  the  Alexandrians,  it  so  happened,  that  the 
libVary  in  the  Brachium  was  burnt,  and  the  four 
hundred  thousand  volumes,  that  were  laid  up 
there,  were  all  consumed.  But  that  of  the  Sara- 
peum  still  remained,  and  soon  grew  to  be  larger 
and  of  more  eminent  note  than  the  former;  but 
at  length,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  642,  when  the 
Saracens  made  themselves  masters  of  the  city, 
they  totally  destroyed  it.  For,  when  the  general 
of  the  army  wrote  to  Omar,  who  was  then  the  ca- 
liph, or  emperor  of  the  Saracens,  to  know  his  plea- 
sure concerning  it,  his  answer  was,  "That  if  these 
books  contained  what  was  agreeing  with  the  Alcor- 
an, there  was  no  need  of  them,  because  the  Alcor- 
an alone  was  sufficient  for  all  truth  ;  but  if  they 
contained  what  was  contrary  to  it,  they  were  not 
to  be  endured : "  In  consequence  of  this  answer, 
they  were  all  condemned  to  the  flames  without 
any  further  examination  ;  and  for  that  purpose 
were  distributed  among  the  public  baths,  where, 
for  the  space  of  six  months,  they  were  used  for 
fuel  instead  of  wood. — Prideaux. 
3z 


546 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


customs,  and  ceremonies  worthy  his  peru- 
sal, and  the  honour  of  a  place  in  the  royal 
library.  But  being  written  in  their  own 
language,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  great 
difficulty  to  translate  them  into  Greek;  for 
though  there. might  seem  to  be  some  re- 
semblance and  affinity  between  the  lan- 
guage and  writing  of  one  and  of  the  other, 
there  were  yet  idioms  peculiar  to  each, 
distinct  from  the  other. 

He  added  farther,  that  this  circumstance 
should  by  no  means  discourage  a  laudable 
attempt  to  translate  them  into  the  Greek, 
especially  as  there  was  money  in  the  trea- 
sury sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  in- 
cident to  the  undertaking. 

The  king  highly  commended  this  pro- 
ject of  Demetrius  ;*  and  wrote  to  the 
high-priest  of  the  Jews  to  give  him  his  as- 
sistance in  providing  these  copies. 

There  was  one  Aristaeus,  a  particular 
confidant  of  the  king's,  who,  on  account 
of  his  great  modesty,  had  his  master's  ear 
and  confidence.  This  person  had  been  a 
h||ig  time  very  desirous  of  procuring  the 
liberty  of  the  Jews;  and  embracing  this 
opportunity,  applied  first  to  Sosibius,  Tar- 
antinus,  and  Andreas,  three  captains  of 
the  guards,  to  try  how  they  stood  affected; 
and  upon  finding  them  well  disposed,  he 


*  Demetrius  Phalereus  was  a  disciple  of  Theo- 
phrastus,  who  gained  sflfch  an  influence  over  the 
Athenians,  by  his  eloquence  and  the  purity  of  his 
manners,  that  he  was  elected  decennial  archOn,  B. 
C.  317.  He  so  embellished  the  city,  and  rendered 
himself  so  popular  by  his  magnificence,  that  the 
Athenians  raised  360  brazen  statues  to  his  honour. 
Yet  in  the  midst  of  all  this  popularity,  his  enemies 
raised  a  sedition  against  him,  and  he  was  condemn- 
ed to  death,  and  all  his  statues  thrown  down,  after 
retaining  the  sovereign  power  for  ten  years.  He 
fled  without  concern  or  mortification  to  the  court 
of  Ptolemy  Lagus,  where  he  met  with  kindness  and 
cordiality.  The  Egyptian  monarch  consulted  him 
concerning  the  succession  of  his  children  ;  and 
Demetrius  advised  him  to  raise  to  the  throne  the 
children  of  Eurydice,  in  preference  to  the  offspring 
of  Berenice.  According  to  some,  this  counsel  so 
irritated  Philadelphu3  the  son  of  Berenice,  that 
after  his  father's  death  he  sent  the  philosopher 
into  upper  Egypt,  and  there  detained  him  in  strict 
confinement.  Demetrius,  tired  with  his  situation, 
put  an  end  to  his  life  by  the  bite  of  an  asp, 
214  years  before  Christ. — Lempriere. 


besought  them  earnestly  to  assist  him  with 
their  interest  toward  the  doing  of  so  good 
an  office;  upon  which  assurance  he  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  kino;  after  this 
manner: 

"  If  I  may  presume,  Sir,  to  lay  my 
thoughts  at  your  royal  feet,  in  all  simpli- 
city and  without  disguise,  since  it  is  your 
pleasure  that  the  laws  of  the  Jews  be  not 
only  transcribed  but  translated  to  answer 
your  present  purpose,  I  cannot  see  how  it 
can  be  fairly  done  while  so  many  of  that 
nation  are  in  bondage  under  your  govern- 
ment, from  whom  you  require  and  expect 
so  necessary  an  assistance  and  service.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  an  act  worthy  of  your 
magnificence  and  goodness,  to  set  these 
poor  people  at  liberty  from  their  present 
misery ;  for,  by  all  that  ever  I  could  un- 
derstand, the  same  God  that  overrules  your 
government,  is  the  author  of  their  laws ; 
and  both  we  and  they  worship  the  same 
Creator  and  Almighty  Power,  only  under 
the  name  of  Jupiter,  or  Jove,  {a  Juvando, 
from  helping,)  being  the  life  of  us  all. 
Wherefore  you  may  be  helping,  out  of  a 
reverence  to  that  God  whom  they  love  and 
worship  with  a  zeal  and  affection  beyond  all 
other  mortals,  to  restore  these  wretched 
exiles  to  their  own  country,  that  they  may 
end  their  days  where  they  have  received 
their  birth,  as  in  the  place  where  provi- 
dence had  assigned  them.  I  do  not  pre- 
sume, Sir,  to  interpose  on  their  behalf  out 
of  any  partiality  upon  the  account  of 
tribe  or  extraction,  but  in  consideration 
that  the  same  God  is  the  Creator  of  us  all, 
and  that  so  noble  an  act  of  your  royal  cle- 
mency would  be  acceptable  even  to  God 
himself." 

The  king  then  asked  him,  how  many 
thousands  there  were  that  would  stand  in 
need  of  this  indulgence  ?  Andreas,  be- 
ing present,  made  answer,  that  he  believ- 
ed there  might  be  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
thousand  souls. 

"  Well,"  says  the  king  to  Aristaeus, 
"and  dost  thou  take  this  for  so  moderate  a 
request?"   .  Sosibius,  and  the   rest  that 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

were  present,  observed,  "  that  it  would  be 
an  action  becoming  the  dignity  of  so  great 
a  prince,  to  be  merciful  to  others,  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  honour  that  he  him- 
self had  received  from  above." 

The  king  was  so  well  pleased  with  this 
proposal,  that  he  ordered  an  allowance 
of  twenty  drachmas  to  the  soldiers  for 
every  Jew  they  had  in  custody,  to  be 
made  good  to  them  on  the  next  pay- 
day, over  and  above  their  stipend,  with  a 
further  promise  to  answer  the  desire  of 
Aristseus,  (or,  in  truth,  the  appointment 
of  the  Almighty,)  in  all  points  to  ratify 
the  whole  by  a  public  edict,  wherein 
should  be  comprehended,  not  only  those 
which  his  father  or  his  army  had  carried 
away,  but  those  also  that  either  before  or 
since  that  time  had  been  taken  into  cap- 
tivity. 

His  friends  told  him,  that  at  this  rate 
these  people  would  stand  him  in  at  least 
four  hundred  talents.  But  the  king  scru- 
pled not  that  sum,  to  effect  so  glorious  an 
undertaking;  "for,"  said  he,  "the  thing 
shall  be  done." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  procla- 
mation : 

"It  is  our  royal  will  and  pleasure,  that 
all  the  Jews  whatsoever  that  have  been 
subdued,  or  taken  by  any  of  my  father's 
forces,  upon  their  incursions  jnto  Syria 
or  Phenice,  and  those  brought  away  or 
sold  into  any  of  my  dominions,  likewise 
those  that  either  before  or  since  that 
time  have  been  sold  or  enslaved,  be 
set  free,  upon  the  payment  of  twenty 
drachmas  for  every  such  slave;  the  sol- 
diers, to  receive  this  redemption  money, 
together  with  their  pay,  and  the  rest  out 
of  the  treasury;  for  the  forcing  many  peo- 
ple away  into  captivity,  and  the  revenging 
of  their  country  by  the  outrage  and  li- 
cense of  the  soldiers,  for  the  sake  purely 
of  the  pillage  and  booty,  was  a  course  that 
my  father  undoubtedly  neither  intended 
nor  approved,  and  a  thing  contrary  to  com- 
mon equity  and  reason ;  wherefore,  out 
of  a>everence  to  the  memory  of  my  fa- 


547 

ther,  and  a  commiseration  of  the  poor  and 
weak  that  suffer  under  the  power  of 
oppression  and  violence,  I  do  hereby 
expressly  charge  and  command,  that  all 
the  Jews  that  are  at  this  time  in  servitude, 
be  immediately  dismissed,  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  the  aforesaid  sum  to  their  -re- 
spective masters,  in  obedience  to  this  our 
mandate,  without  any  fraud  whatsoever. 
And  farther,  that  this  our  proclamation  be 
made  public  for  three  days  successively, 
after  the  receipt  of  it ;  and  in  the  mean 
time,  that  the  aforesaid  masters  bring  in 
a  list  of  their  prisoners  to  such  officers, 
and  in  such  a  manner  as  we  shall  find 
most  for  our  purpose.  And  all  this  to  be 
done  upon  the  peril  of  the  confiscation  of 
his  goods,  if  any  man  shall  be  found  act- 
ing contrary  to  the  tenor  hereof." 

Upon  the  first  sight  of  this  grant,  the 
king  observed,  that  the  provision  for  the 
liberty  of  those  that  were  taken  either  be- 
fore or  after,  was  not  so  particularly  ex- 
pressed, but  there  was  room  to  evade  it ; 
so  that  he  of  his  owh  curiosity  and  good 
pleasure,  superadded  a  latitude  of  indul- 
gence in  those  cases,  and  gave  positive  or- 
ders to  the  collectors  of  the  tribute,  and 
the  officers  of  his  treasury,  to  have  the 
money  in  readiness  for  the  ransom  of  the 
Jews. 

Within  seven  days  the  whole  work  was 
accomplished  at  the  king's  charge,  to  the 
value  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  talents; 
the  masters  insisting  upon  the  same  rate  for 
the  children  that  they  had  for  the  rest, 
though  the  king's  edict  extended  no  far- 
ther than  to  those  that  were  brought  away 
prisoners,  without  comprehending  such  as 
were  born  there. 

When  the  illustrious  design  was  thus 
far  executed,  with  the  strictest  justice  and 
honour,  the  king  commanded  Demetrius 
to  publish  his  royal  will  and  pleasure  con- 
cerning the  translation  of  the  Jewish  books 
and  records,  so  that  the  librarian  caused 
his  petition  to  be  registered,  setting  forth 
the  presents  that  were  made  towards  the 
promotion  of  the  great  work. 


548 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


Now  the  petition  aforesaid  ran  in  terms 
to  this  purpose : 

"Demetrius  to  the  great  king. — Since 
it  is  your  royal  will  and  command  that  I 
should  do  my  endeavour  to  supply  what 
may  be  yet  farther  added  toward  the  per- 
fection of  your  library,  and  to  find  out 
what  curious  and  useful  books  and  copies 
may  have  hitherto  escaped  my  search  and 
inquiry,  this  is  humbly  to  inform  your  ma- 
jesty, that,  after  much  study  and  thought 
upon  this  matter,  I  do  not  find  any  thing 
so  conducive  to  your  present  purpose  as 
the  history  of  the  Jewish  laws ;  for  being 
written  in  the  Hebrew  idiom,  it  will  be 
hard  for  us  to  understand  them.  Besides, 
the  version  we  have  already  of  them  is  not 
so  correct  as  it  should  be,  for  want  of  a 
royal  authority  and  encouragement  toward 
the  making  of  them  known;  so  that  it 
will  be  necessary  to  have  them  accurately 
translated,  as  being  a  body  of  the  wisest 
and  most  perfect  laws  that  are  extant, 
God  himself  having  been  the  author  of 
them.  For  this  reason  Hecateus  the  Ab- 
berite  observes,  that  we  find  in  none  of 
the  poets  or  historians  any  mention  of 
these  laws,  or  of  the  administration  of 
them  ;  the  original  and  institution  of  them 
being  sacred,  and  not  to  be  profaned  by 
unhallowed  lips.  Wherefore  your  majesty 
may  be  pleased,  if  you  should  judge  it 
meet,  to  write  to  the  high-priest  of  the 
Jews  only  to  send  you  out  of  every  tribe 
six  elders,  whom  he  shall  make  choice  of, 
as  men  best  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of 
their  constitutions  and  customs ;  and  by 
their  assistance,  in  the  interpreting  and 
expounding  of  their  writings,  we  may  be 
able  to  gather  something  from  them  to 
your  majesty's  satisfaction." 

The  king,  upon  this  motion,  gave  direc- 
tions for  letters  to  be  written  to  Eleazar 
the  high-priest,  according  to  the  proposal 
*  of  Demetrius ;  taking  notice  also  of  the 
general  release  of  all  the  Jews  that  were 
prisoners  in  Egypt. 

The  king  also  sent  a  present  of  fifty 
talents  of  gold,  for  cups  and  bowls,  and 


gifts  to  a  great  value  in  precious  stones, 
ordering  those  that  had  care  of  the  coffers, 
wherein  they  are  deposited,  to  let  the  la- 
pidaries choose  as  they  thought  fit;  and 
beside  all  this,  the  king  assigned  a  hun- 
dred talents  more  for  sacrifices,  and  other 
services  of  the  temple. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  high- priest 
Onias,  his  son  Simon  succeeded  to  the 
office ;  he  was  a  person  of  singular  piety 
towards  God,  and  exemplary  tenderness 
and  humanity  toward  mankind;  from 
which  character  he  was  surnamed  the  Just. 
Simon  lived  not  long,  and  leaving  behind 
him  only  one  son,  a  child,  whose  name 
was  Onias,  his  brother  Eleazar  entered 
upon  the  pontificate ;  and  it  was  to  this 
Eleazar  that  Ptolemy  wrote  the  following 
letter : — 

"  King  Ptolemy  to  Eleazar  the  high- 
priest,  sendeth  greeting. — Whereas  there 
were  great  numbers  of  Jews  in  my  domi- 
nions that  were  brought  captives  hither 
by  the  Persians  while  they  were  in  power; 
and  whereas  my  father  had  so  great  a 
value  for  them,  that  he  intrusted  several 
of  them  with  posts  in  his  armies,  and  in 
his  strong  holds  and  garrisons,  for  a  check 
upon  the  Egyptians,  with  the  allowance 
of  large  pensions  for  their  service ;  be  it 
known  unto  you,  that  I  myself  also  have 
been  well  disposed  towards  the  Jews, 
since  my  accession  to  the  throne  of  Egypt, 
havingf  set  above  an  hundred  thousand  of 
them  at  liberty,  and  paid  the  charge  of 
their  ransoms  out  of  my  own  coffers. 
Some  of  them  I  have  made  use  of  in  my 
army,  others,  as  I  found  them  discreet 
and  trusty,  T  have  entertained  about  my 
person,  and  in  the  court,  thinking  that  I 
can  do  nothing  more  acceptable  to  God 
than  good  offices  to  others  for  his  sake,  to 
whom  I  owe  my  government  and  being ; 
wherefore  out  of  a  desire  to  serve  the 
Jews  all  over  the  world  to  the  uttermost 
of  my  power,  I  have  proposed  translating 
the  books  of  your  law  into  Greek,  and 
giving  the  translation  a  place  in  my  own 
library.     In  order  to  the  compassing  this 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

design,  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if 
you  will  make  choice  of  six  elders  out  of 
each  of  your  several  tribes,  whom  you 
know  to  have  the  greatest  skill  and  under- 
standing in  the  laws,  and  send  them  to 
assist  me  in  this  translation  ;  for  I  promise 
myself,  if  I  succeed  in  this  undertaking, 
to  gain  immortal  honour  by  it.  The  per- 
sons I  employ  to  treat  with  you  about 
this  affair,  are  Andreas,  a  captain  of  guards, 
and  Aristseus,  two  of  my  trusty  and  well- 
beloved  friends,  whom  I  have  charged 
also  with  a  present  of  a  hundred  talents  of 
silver  for  you ;  which  I  send  towards  your 
sacrifices  and  your  temple.  Your  answer 
as  soon  as  possible  will  be  acceptable." 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  Eleazar, 
with  all  deference  and  respect,  returned 
the  following  answer : — 

"  Eleazar  the  high  priest  to  king  Pto- 
lemy, greeting. — If  it  be  well  with  your 
most  excellent  majesty,  with  your  queen 
Arsinoe,  and  with  your  illustrious  family, 
it  is  so  likewise  with  your  servants  the 
Jews.  Your  most  gracious  letter  is  come 
to  our  hands,  and  we  have  read  it  in  a 
full  congregation  with  infinite  joy  and 
satisfaction,  as  an  instance  not  only  of 
your  clemency  and  good-will  towards 
a  distressed  people,  but  as  a  token  also 
of  your  singular  reverence  for  the  wor- 
ship of  the  great  God.  We  have  re- 
ceived also  by  the  same  hands,  that  is  to 
say,  by  the  hands  of  Andreas  and  Aris- 
tseus (your  beloved  and  learned  friends), 
twenty  golden  cups,  thirty  silver  ones, 
five  goblets,  and  a  table  to  be  consecrated 
for  the  service  of  the  altar,  together  with 
a  hundred  talents  towards  the  charge  of 
sacrifices,  and  other  services  for  the  tem- 
ple; all  which  we  have  showed  and  re- 
presented unto  our  brethren,  in  the  most 
affectionate  terms  of  gratitude  and  respect; 
and  we  are  all  so  sensible  of  the  great  ob- 
ligations you  have  been  pleased  to  lay  upon 
us,  that  you  may  depend  upon  our  readi- 
ness to  serve  and  obey  you  in  all  things 
without  reserve,  to  the  uttermost  of  our 
power,  in  a  just  acknowledgment  of  your 


bid 

grace  and  goodness.  Pursuant  to  this 
sense  and  consciousness  of  our  duty,  we 
have  recommended  unto  God  in  our  pub- 
lic prayers  the  protection  of  your  royal 
person,  sister,  and  children,  together  with 
all  that  are  near  and  dear  to  you,  wishing 
peace  and  prosperity  to  yourself  and  peo- 
ple ;  and  beseeching  God,  that  the  work 
you  have  now  in  hand,  of  compiling  a 
collection  and  history  of  our  laws  and  an- 
tiquities, may  be  of  as  much  satisfaction 
and  advantage  to  you  as  your  own  heart 
can  desire.  In  order  to  this  end  I  have 
sent  six  elders  out  of  every  tribe,  with  the 
lav?,  to  attend  your  pleasure,  submitting 
ourselves  upon  the  whole  to  your  piety 
and  justice,  that  after  the  transcribing 
of  them,  they  may  be  returned  to  us  safe 
by  the  same  bearer ;  recommending  your 
majesty  to  the  providence  of  the  Al- 
mighty." 

This  was  the  high-priest's  answer  to 
the  king's  letter,  to  which  were  subjoined 
the  names  of  the  seventy  elders  that  were 
sent  by  Eleazar  upon  this  occasion,  which 
names  we  need  not  enumerate  in  this 
place.  But  it  would  be  doing  injustice  to 
the  character  and  memory  of  this  generous 
and  pious  prince,  to  omit  in  this  part  of 
our  history  the  many  and  valuable  pre- 
sents he  made  upon  the  occasion,  together 
with  the  extraordinary  diligence  and  ar- 
dour he  exerted  in  the  promotion  of  the 
magnificent  undertaking.  As  a  memorial 
therefore  of  the  same,  we  cite  the  follow- 
ing particulars,  beginning  with  the  golden 
table. 

As  to  the  dimensions,  the  king  sent  his 
artificers  to  learn  out  the  measure  of  the 
former  table  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  see 
whether  the  place  would  not  admit  of  a 
larger.  They  brought  him  word  that  he 
might  make  it  as  large  as  he  pleased; 
whereupon  he  proposed  to  himself  to 
make  this  five  times  larger  than  the 
other.  But  considering,  that  so  great 
a  bulk  might  possibly  make  it  too  cum- 
bersome and  unwieldy  for  daily  use,  ana 
look  more  like  a  work  of  ostentation  than 


550 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


for  service,  he  came  to  a  resolution  with 
respect  to  the  dimensions. 

Now  the  kintf  was  well  versed  in  the 
nature  and  reason  of  things,  and  enjoyed 
such  a  presence  of  thought  for  the  finding 
out  of  expedients  and  new  inventions,  that 
it  was  a  common  practice  with  him  to  form 
his  own  designs,  and  prescribe  to  the  very 
workmen  themselves  their  precise  rules 
and  measures;  so  that  for  the  proportions 
of  this  table,  he  ordered  it  to  be  two 
cubits  and  a  half  in  length,  and  one  and  a 
half  in  height;  all  of  solid  gold,  and 
round  about  it  a  border  to  be  made  of  a 
hand's  breadth,  set  out  on  three  sides  with 
curious  carving  of  flower  works,  twisted 
strings,  and  other  agreeable  figures;  which 
being  triangular,  were  likewise  so  equal 
and  just,  that  turn  it  which  way  you 
would,  (as  it  was  easily  transposed,)  the 
prospect  would  be  .the  same. 

This  table  was  delicately  wrought  all 
over,  but  the  part  of  it  especially  that  was 
most  in  sight;  with  an  intermixture  of 
precious  stones  looped  together  by  golden 
buckles,  to  the  string  work  before-men- 
tioned, at  equal  distances  one  from  an- 
other. The  outside  of  it  was  set  with 
other  rich  stones  of  an  oval  cut,  and  an 
embossed  work  of  twigs  and  branches 
creeping  round  the  table.  There  were 
also  several  sorts  of  fruits  wrought  to- 
gether under  the  figure  of  a  crown,  as 
bunches  of  grapes,  ears  of  corn,  pome- 
granates, &c,  all  in  their  proper  and 
natural  position,  and  expressed  by  stones 
set  in  gold,  bearing  the  native  colour  of 
what  they  represented.  Under  this  crown 
was  another  row  of  ovals;  which,  for  the 
matter,  the  order,  and  ornament,  was  so 
like  the  former,  and  so  exactly  uniform, 
that  there  was  no  distinguishing  one  part 
from  the  other.  Under  the  table  from 
side  to  side,  there  passed  a  golden  plate 
of  four  fingers'    breadth ;   and    into   this 


There  was  drawn  also  upon  this  table 
the  resemblance  of  a  meander,  the  course 
of  which  was  maiked  out  with  stones  of 
lustre  and  value;  rubies,  emeralds,  and 
whatever  else  was  most  precious  or  excel- 
lent in  their  kind.  Along  this  meander 
there  were  divers  pieces  of  sculpture  in 
bows  and  knots,  which  were  so  embellish- 
ed by  an  orderly  disposition  of  crystal 
and  amber,  for  the  advantage  of  the  view, 
that  it  made  altogether  one  of  the  most 
agreeable  spectacles  imaginable. 

The  cornices  of  the  feet  had  the  re- 
semblance of  a  lily  work;  the  stem  up- 
right, with  the  leaves  and  tendrils  winding 
under  the  table. 

The  basis  was  a  hand's  breadth  over, 
garnished  with  rubies,  and  a  border  round 
about  it;  and  two  hands  distance  between 
the  feet  that  rested  upon  it. 

The  graving  work  of  these  feet  was  in- 
comparable, being  the  fancy  of  a  foliage 
of  the  vine  and  the  ivy,  so  exquisitely 
executed,  with  grapes  and  berries,  that  it 
was  hard  to  distinguish  them.  But  upon 
the  least  breath  of  air,  the  leaves  would 
move  and  play,  as  if  it  had  been  the  work 
of  nature  rather  than  art. 

This  table  consisted  of  three  parts, 
which  were  so  artificially  put  together, 
that  there  was  no  joints  to  be  discerned, 
or  so  much  as  to  be  imagined  where  they 
met,  and  the  thickness  of  it  was  half  a 
cubit. 

This  great  prince  convinced  all,  by  the 
magnificence  of  his  present,  the  inestima- 
ble value  of  the  materials,  and  the  exqui- 
site curiosity  and  perfection  of  the  whole 
work,  that  what  he  abated  of  his  first  pro- 
ject in  size  and  proportion,  was  abundant- 
ly supplied  by  a  most  munificent  expense 
in  art  and  ornament. 

There  was  also  a  pair  of  large  golden 
cups,  wrought  half  way  to  the  bowl,  and 
inlaid  with  all  sorts  of  precious  stones, 


plate  the  feet  were  fastened  with  springs  orderly  ranged  into  the  resemblance  of  a 
and  hooks  to  keep  them  firm  and  steady,  J  meander  of  a  cubit  over,  with  delicate 
by  binding  the  cover  and  the  frame  to-    figures  of  twigs,  branching  out  into  a  kind 


gether. 


of  net-work,  up  to  the  brim,  and  interlaced 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


551 


with  several  curious  designs,  about  four 
fingers  broad,  and  adorned  with  stones  of 
value,  as  before ;  the  borders  were  also 
set  with  an  intermixture  of  lilies,  flowers, 
vines,  grapes,  and  the  like,  round  the  lips 
of  the  vessel. 

This  was  the  form  of  finishing  of  these 
goblets ;  and  for  the  contents,  they  held 
three  or  four  gallons  a  piece  ;  and  the  sil- 
ver pieces  were  so  glorious  and  radiant, 
that  no  ehrystal  was  comparable  to  them. 

The  king,  after  all  this,  furnished  thirty 
golden  vessels  more,  richly  adorned  with 
precious  stones,  and  overshadowed  with 
vine  and  ivy-leaves  in  curious  sculpture. 

Neither  was  the  excellency  of  these 
miraculous  pieces  wholly  ascribed  to  the 
design  and  mastery  of  the  artificer;  but 
the  king  himself  took  a  kind  of  pleasure 
in  contributing  to  the  perfection  of  this 
work,  making  it  a  great  part  of  his  care 
and  business  to  visit  the  shops,  and  su- 
perintend the  masters  themselves  in  the 
execution  of  their  charge,  which  rendered 
them  much  more  industrious  and  intent 
upon  their  business,  when  they  saw  the 
king  himself  had  a  more  than  ordinary 
regard  and  concern  for  the  prosecution  of 
the  glorious  undertaking. 

Upon  the  delivery  of  these  donations, 
and  the  dedication  of  them  to  the  use  and 
service  of  the  holy  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
Eleazar  treated  the  kind's  commissioners 
with  all  due  honour  and  acknowledgment, 
and  then  dismissed  them  with  good  wishes 
and  presents,  to  return  to  their  master. 

The  kin;r  had  no  sooner  heard  of  their 
arrival  at  Alexandria,*  and  that  they  had 


*  This  city,  which  was  built  by  Alexander  the 
Great  in  the  year  332  B.  C.  was,  after  his  death, 
made  the  capital  of  Egypt  by  Ptolemy  and  his 
successors  for  almost  three  hundred  years.  Dino- 
crates  (who  rebuilt  the  temple  01  Diana  at  Ephe- 
6us,  alter  it  had  been  burnt  by  Herostratus)  was 
the  architect,  who  drew  the  plan  of  it,  and  had  the 
chief  direction  of  the  work  ;  but,  to  have  it  carried 
on  with  more  expedition,  Alexander  appointed 
Cleomenes,  one  of  his  captains,  to  be  the  surveyor 
of  it ;  and  for  this  reason,  Justin,  lib.  xiii.  c.  -4. 
calls  him  the  founder  of  it.  The  happy  situation 
of  this  city,  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Red  sea,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  the  river 


brought  the  seventy  elders  with  them, 
than  he  sent  for  his  two  ambassadors, 
Andreas  and  Aristseus,  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived Eleazar's  letter,  and  particular  sa- 

Nile,  drew  thither  the  commerce  of  the  East  and 
West,  and  made  it,  in  a  very  little  time,  one  of 
the  most  flourishing  cities  in  the  world.  It  has 
still  some  small  repute  for  merchandise  ;  but  what 
has  occasioned  the  decay  of  its  trade,  is  the  dis- 
covery of  the  passage  to  the  East- Indies  by  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  on  the  south  of  Africa. 
Before  this  discovery,  the  whole  spice-trade  was 
carried  into  this  part  of  the  world  through  this  city  ; 
for  the  spices  were  brought  from  the  East- Indies, 
upthe  Red  sea,  to  Egypt,  and  from  thence  were 
carried  by  land  on  camels  to  Alexandria.  When 
Egypt  became  a  province  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire, this  city  continued  the  metropolis  of  it ; 
and  when  the  Arabians  took  it,  (which  was  about 
640  years  after  Christ,)  there  were  four  thousand 
palaces  still  standing  in  it,  four  thousand  bagnios, 
forty  thousand  Jews  paying  tribute,  four  hundred 
squares,  and  twelve  thousand  persons  that  sold 
herbs  and  fruit.  Here  (as  we  said)  was  the  famous 
Serapeum,  or  temple  of  Serapis,  for  beauty  ot 
workmanship,  and  magnificence  of  structure,  in 
ferior  to  nothing  but  the  Roman  capitol.  Here 
was  the  Musaeum,  or  college  of  philosophers  ;  and 
here,  that  noble  library,  which  was  erected  by 
Ptolemy  Philadelphia,  but  unhappily  burnt  in 
the  war  between  Caesar  and  Pompey.  But  not- 
withstanding all  its  former  splendour  and  magni- 
ficence, this  city  is  now  become  a  poor  village,  (by 
the  Egyptians  called  Rachot,)  without  any  thing 
remarkable  in  it,  except  its  ruins,  and  the  remains 
of  its  former  grandeur  ;  only,  without  the  city, 
Pompey's  pillar  (the  shaft  whereof  is  six  fathoms 
high,  all  of  one  piece  of  curious  granite)  is  justly 
admired,  as  one  of  the  first  columns  that  is  any 
where  to  be  seen.  Cahnet  and  Wells. — The  as- 
pect of  ancient  Alexandria  is  thus  described  by 
Volney  :  "  In  our  country,"  says  he,  "  ruins  are 
an  object  of  curiosity.  Scarcely  can  we  discover, 
in  unfrequented  places,  some  ancient  castle,  whose 
decay  announces  rather  the  desertion  of  its  master, 
than  the  wretchedness  of  the  neighbourhood.  In 
Alexandria,  on  the  contrary,  we  no  sooner  leave 
the  new  town,  than  we  are  astonished  at  the  sight 
of  an  immense  extent  of  ground  overspread  with 
ruins.  The  earth  is  covered  with  the  remains  of 
lofty  buildings  destroyed  ;  whole  fronts  crumbled 
down,  roofs  fallen  in,  battlements  decayed,  and 
the  stones  disfigured  and  corroded  by  saltpetre. 
The  traveller  passes  over  a  vast  plain,  furrowed 
with  trenches,  pierced  with  wells,  divided  by  walls 
in  ruins,  covered  with  ancient  columns  and  modern 
tombs,  amid  palm  trees  and  nopals,  and  where  no 
living  creature  is  to  be  met  with,  but  owls,  bats, 
and  jackals.  The  inhabitants,  accustomed  to  this 
scene,  behold  it  without  emotion  ;  but  the  stran- 
ger, in  whom  the  recollection  of  ancient  ages  is 
revived  by  the  novelty  of  the  objects  around  him, 
feels  a  sensation,  which  not  unfrequently  dissolves 
him  into  tears,  inspiring  reflections  which  fill  his 
heart  with  sadness,  while  his  soul  is  elevated  by 
their  sublimity."     From  the  ancient  we  turn  to 


552 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


tisfaction  to  many  questions  relating  there- 
unto. His  mind  was  so  bent  upon  an 
immediate  conference  with  the  seventy 
persons  that  were  sent  over  to  him  to 
interpret  the  laws,  that  no  person  had  ac- 
cess to  him  upon  any  particular  business, 
which  was  contrary  to  his  usual  custom  of 
giving  private  audience  once  in  five  days, 
and  public  once  a  month. 

Having  thus  secured  himself  from  any 
of  those  casual  interruptions,  he  waited 
the  arrival  of  Eleazar's  agents,  who  at- 
tended him  soon  after  with  presents  from 
the  high-priest,  and  certain  manuscripts 
of  the  Jewish  laws,  written  upon  parch- 
ment. 

Upon  the  king's  asking  for  the  books, 
they  were  produced  to  his  admiration  at 
the  curiosity  of  the  work ;  for  the  leaves 
were  so  artificially  put  together,  that  there 
was  no  discerning  where   one    skin  was 

the  new  Alexandria  ;  which,  even  in  its  state  of 
decay,  is  still  to  Europeans  the  most  interesting 
of  the  cities  of  Egypt.  It  is  built  chiefly  along 
the  coast,  and  has  been  surrounded  by  Ali  Pasha 
with  walls,  but  occupies  only  a  small  portion  of 
the  space  enclosed  within  the  Saracenic  walls. 
The  modern  town  is  thus  described  by  Dr  Richard- 
son, who  visited  Egypt  in  1816-18:  "Alexandria 
is  surrounded  with  a  high  stone  wall,  entered  by 
four  gates,  and  contains  about  14,000  inhabitants. 
The  streets  are  narrow,  dirty,  and  irregular.  The 
houses  are  from  three  to  four  stories  high,  strong 
and  substantial,  but  of  a  remarkably  dull  appear- 
ance, from  their  having  few  windows  to  the  streets. 
The  bazars  are  few,  but  are  amply  provided  with 
cloth,  tobacco,  sherbet,  and  vegetables.  The  wharf 
presents  an  active  scene  of  ships  building,  vessels 
taking  in  their  cargoes,  with  heaps  of  grain  and 
bales  of  goods  piled  up  along  the  shore.  But  the 
European  stranger  is  particularly  struck  with  the 
crowds  of  naked  porters  that  ply  their  busy  task, 
and  the  swarms  of  horrid  beggars  that  constantly 
importune  him  and  harrow  up  his  feelings.  Dur- 
ing the  season  of  filling  the  cisterns  (September,) 
the  traveller  can  hardly  stop  for  a  moment  with- 
out being  jostled  by  a  leathern  bag  of  water,  hang- 
ing on  the  lank  sides  of  a  raw-boned  camel,  tower- 
ing along  in  her  majestic  pace  to  deposit  it  in  the 
reservoirs.  One  troop  after  another  occupies  the 
streets  during  the  whole  of  the  day.  Crowds  of 
human  beings,  half  naked,  parade  the  streets  also, 
with  leathern  sacks  full  of  water,  suspended  from 
their  shoulders, and  resting  upon  their  naked  back 
and  breast.  Sometimes,  with  a  cup  in  their  hands, 
they  call  upon  you  to  purchase  a  draught  ;  at 
other  times,  they  pass  quietly  on  and  deposit  their 
burden  in  the  reservoir,  along  with  their  fellow- 
labourers  the  camels." — Bell's  Geog. 


joined  to  another:  his  majesty  at  the 
same  time  telling  them,  that  he  had  a 
great  respect  for  the  person  that  brought 
him  that  piece  of  exquisite  workmanship, 
and  a  greater  yet  for  him  that  sent  it; 
but  the  greatest  reverence  of  all  for 
the  Author  of  those  laws  that  were  now 
produced. 

The  writings  were  then  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  officers  that  were  to  have 
them  in  charge,  and  the  king  embracing 
the  deputies,  told  them,  that  he  would 
only  in  the  first  place  speak  a  word  or  two 
to  the  business  they  were  come  about,  and 
after  that  take  their  persons  into  his  pe- 
culiar care ;  as  he  looked  upon  the  day  oi 
their  arrival  as  so  great  a  providence  to 
him,  he  resolved  to  have  it  observed  all 
the  days  of  his  life,  as  an  anniversary 
festival  in  commemoration  of  the  blessing. 

The  king,  in  fine,  told  them  that  they 
should  be  his  guests,  and  ordered  them 
the  most  magnificent  apartments  in  his 
own  palace. 

The  care  of  entertaining  and  providing 
for  strangers  was  properly  Nicanor's  pro- 
vince, who  appointed  Dorotheus  under 
him  in  this,  as  in  other  cases,  to  see  that 
every  thing  was  conducted  with  decorum. 

It  was  a  maxim  with  this  prince  always 
to  entertain  strangers  according  to  the 
customs  and  manners  of  their  respective 
countries;  orders  were  therefore  given 
that  the  elders  should  be  strictly  treated 
according  to  this  rule. 

The  conduct  of  their  entertainment  was 
therefore  committed  to  Dorotheus,  as  a 
person  well  versed  in  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Jews. 

There  were  in  the  first  place  two  seats, 
one  on  the  king's  right  hand,  the  other  on 
his  left,  by  his  own  order,  with  all  be- 
coming deference  to  the  commissioners. 

When  the  guests  had  taken  their  places, 
the  king  bade  Dorotheus  serve  them  af- 
ter the  same  manner  as  he  had  formerly 
served  their  countrymen  upon  the  like  oc- 
casion ;  so  that  the  Egyptian  priests  and 
officers  that   usually   attended    the   king 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


553 


upon  these  occasions,  were  all  discharged; 
.one  of  their  own  deputies  and  priests, 
Elisa  by  name,  was  called  upon  by  the 
king  himself  to  pronounce  the  benedic- 
tion upon  die  table,  who  thereupon  stood 
up  to  give  God  thanks ;  after  which  so- 
lemnity, and  a  fervent  prayer  for  the  hap- 
piness of  the  king  and  his  people,  to  the 
infinite  satisfaction  of  all  that  were  present, 
the  company  fell  cheerfully  to  the  fare 
that  was  provided  for  them. 

The  king  took  occasion  while  they  were 
at  dinner,  to  start  several  philosophical 
questions  to  pass  from  one  subject  to  an- 
other, in  order  to  sound  their  judgment 
and  experience.  The  commissioners  were 
pertinent  to  every  point,  and  the  king  took 
such  delight  in  their  conversation,  that 
they  continued  feasting  and  rejoicing  for 
the  space  of  twelve  days. 

The  excellency  of  their  judgment  had 
a  wonderful  effect,  not  only  upon  the  king, 
but  over  Menedemus  the  philosopher,  who 
was  brought  to  acknowledge  an  over-rul- 
ing providence,  which  put  a  final  end  to 
that  controversy.  The  king  acknowledg- 
ed himself  to  be  so  exceedingly  edified  by 
conversing  with  these  people,  they  having 
instructed  him  in  the  very  art  of  govern- 
ment, that  he  ordered  them  a  gratuity  of 
three  talents  a  man ;  and  then  they 
were  conducted  to  their  respective  apart- 
ments. 

At  the  end  of  three  days,  Demetrius 
took  them  with  him  by  a  causeway  of 
seven  furlongs  in  length,  and  a  bridge  of 
communication  between  the  island  and  the 
continent,  and  advancing  from  thence 
northward,  settled  them  in  a  house  by  the 
sea-side,  where  they  might  be  free  from 
noise  or  disturbance, — the  retreat,  in  fine, 
being  very  commodious  for  men  of  study 
and  contemplation.  When  they  were  dis- 
posed of  in  this  commodious  manner,  he 
requested  of  them  that  they  would  imme- 
diately apply  to  the  interpretation,  bid- 
ding them  God's  speed  in  the  arduous  un- 
dertaking. 

They  spared  neither  care  nor  pains,  but 


kept  close  to  their  studies  from  day-break 
till  three  In  the  afternoon,  which  was  their 
time  of  refreshment, — Dorotheus  not  for- 
getting, according  to  the  king's  order,  to 
supply  them  with  delicacies  from  his  own 
table,  over  and  above  a  competency  ot 
provisions  at  the  king's  ordinary  allow- 
ance. 

It  was  their  custom  to  wait  upon  the 
king  every  morning  at  his  levee,  and 
thence  to  betake  themselves  to  their  task 
again,  washing  their  hands  with  sea  water 
before  they  entered  upon  their  business. 

This  version  of  the  law  was  finished 
within  the  compass  of  seventy-two  days 
at  the  expiration  of  which,  Demetrius 
called  all  the  Jews  together  into  the  place 
where  it  was  translated,  and  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  interpreters  read  over  the 
book,  the  assembly  unanimously  approv- 
ing of  the  interpretation,  and  extolling 
Demetrius  as  the  occasion  of  the  great 
advantages  they  had  received. 

He  also  desired  that  it  might  be  read 
by  the  eminent  men  of  the  nation.  And 
after  this  the  high-priest,  the  elders,  and 
the  magistrates  of  the  people  proposed, 
that  since  the  translation  was  so  happily 
finished,  the  authority  of  it  might  be  ra- 
tified, and  the  text  remain  unalterable  for 
ever. 

They  also  came  to  an  unanimous  resolu- 
tion, that  the  book  should  be  subjected  to 
a  farther  examination  and  revision,  and  if 
there  should  be  found  any  thing  in  it 
either  redundant  or  defective,  it  might, 
upon  mature  consideration,  be  rectified; 
but  that  upon  a  farther  approbation  it 
should  stand  good  for  ever. 

The  king  was  hereby  doubly  pleased ; 
first,  for  the  gaining  of  his  point ;  and  se- 
condly, that  it  succeeded  so  happily  to  the 
advantage  of  the  public. 

But  when  he  came  to  hear  it  read  to 
him,  he  was  transported  with  joy,  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  wisdom  of  the  law- 
giver, and  entered  into  a  discourse  with 
Demetrius,  in  which  he  declared  his  firm 
persuasion,  that  neither  any  historian  nor 
4  a 


554 


HISTORY  OF 


fBooK  VIII. 


poet  could  ever  frame  such  incomparable 
laws. 

Demetrius  made  answer,  that  the  form 
of  them  being  so  manifestly  divine,  and 
the  subject  of  them  so  venerable,  people 
were  afraid  of  meddling  with  them,  espe- 
cially considering  what  judgments  had  be- 
fallen several  people  for  their  temerity  in 
profaning  them  ;  as  Theopompus,*  acting 
the  part  of  a  plagiary,  in  publishing  texts  of 
holy  writ  as  his  own  invention,  was  struck 
with  a  fit  of  madness  that  held  him  thirty 
days ;  and  in  the  intervals  of  his  frenzy, 
was  conscious  of  the  sin,  and  asked  God 
forgiveness  for  it,  having  revelations  also 
in  his  ^leep  that  it  was  his  audacious  curi- 
osity, in  confounding  sacred  things  with 
profane,  that  brought  this  distemper  upon 
him.  But  in  fine,  upon  his  repentance, 
and  amendment,  he  was  restored  again  to 
his  riydit  mind.  And  so  it  fared  likewise 
with  Theodectesf  the  poet,  who,  being 
struck  blind  upon  the  intermixing  of  di- 
vine writ  with  tragedy,  was,  upon  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  sin,  restored  to  his 
sight  again. 

The  king,  upon  the  receipt  of  these 
books  from  Demetrius,  blessed  God  and 
worshipped,  giving  a  strict  command  for 
the  preserving  of  them  safe  and  entire ; 
desiring  the  interpreters  also,  that  he  might 
see  them  again  as  often  as  they  could 
upon  a  visit ;  assuring  them  that  it  should 
turn  to  their  honour  as  well  as  their  ad- 
vantage. 

*  A  famous  Greek  historian  of  Chios,  disciple 
of  Isocrates,  who  flourished  B.  C.  354.  All  his 
compositions  are  lost,  except  a  few  fragments  quot- 
ed by  ancient  writers.  He  is  compared  to  Thu- 
cydides  and  Herodotus  as  an  historian,  yet  he  is  se- 
verely censured  for  his  satirical  remarks  and  illi- 
beral reflections.  He  obtained  a  prize  in  which 
his  master  was  a  competitor,  and  he  was  liberally 
rewarded  for  composing  the  best  funeral  oration  in 
honour  of  Mausolus. — Lempriere. 

f  Tlieodectes  was  a  Greek  orator  and  poet  of 
Phaselis  in  Pamphylia,  son  of  Aristander,  and  dis- 
ciple of  Isocrates.  He  wrote  fifty  tragedies,  be- 
sides other  works  now  lost.  He  had  such  a  happy 
memory,  tliat  he  could  repeat  with  ease  whatever 
verses  were  spoken  in  his  presence.  When  Alex- 
ander passed  through  Phaselis,  he  crowned  with 
garlands  the  statue  which  had  been  erected  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased  poet. — Lempriere. 


He  was  obliged  at  present,  he  said,  to 
part  with  them;  but  whenever  they  should 
come  hereafter  for  their  pleasure,  they 
should  not  fail  of  such  an  acknowledg- 
ment as  might  become  wise  men  to  re- 
ceive, and  a  great  prince  to  give. 

Upon  this  the  king  dismissed  them  with 
a  present  to  each  of  them,  of  three  rich 
suits  of  raiment,  two  talents  of  gold,:}:  the 
value  of  one  talent  in  cups  ;  couches  to 
sit  and  eat  upon,  with  presents  likewise  for 
the  high-priest,  of  ten  beds  with  silver 
feet  and  suits  of  furniture  belonging  to 
them ;  a  chalice  of  thirty  talents,  ten  pur- 
ple robes,  a  glorious  crown  and  a  hundred 
pieces  of  fine  linen,  besides  cups  and  gob- 
lets of  several  sorts,  and  two  golden  ves- 
sels, dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  tem- 
ple ;  desiring  the  high-priest  by  letter,  that 
if  any  of  those  commissioners  should  be 
disposed  to  revisit  him  in  any  future  time, 
he  would  grant  them  his  permission,  as  he 
had  a  high  esteem  for  the  conversation  of 
learned  men,  and  could  not  think  his  fa- 
vour better  bestowed  than  upon  so  venera- 
ble a  body.§ 


\  Two  Egyptian  talents,  for  such  we  suppose  to 
be  here  meant,  in  gold  is  worth  seven  thousand 
three  hundred  pounds  English  money. 

§  Before  we  dismiss  Ptolemy  Philadelphia, 
whose  connection  with  this  history  terminates 
here,  we  shall  subjoin  a  few  particulars  relating  to 
his  death.  As  Ptolemy  was  curious,  to  an  un- 
common degree,  in  the  statues,  designs,  and  pic- 
tures, of  excellent  masters,  as  well  as  in  books;  he 
saw,  during  the  time  he  continued  in  Syria,  a 
statue  of  Diana,  in  one  of  the  temples,  with  which 
he  was  highly  pleased.  Antigonus  made  him  a 
present  of  it,  at  his  request,  and  he  carried  it  into 
Egypt.  Some  time  after  his  return,  Arsinoe  was 
seized  with  an  indisposition,  and  dreamed  that 
Diana  appeared  to  her,  and  acquainted  her,  that 
Ptolemy  was  the  occasion  of  her  illness,  by  his 
having  taken  her  statue  out  of  the  temple 
where  it  was  consecrated  to  her  divinity.  Upon 
this  the  statue  was  sent  back,  as  soon  as  possible, 
to  Syria,  in  order  to  be  replaced  in  the  proper 
temple.  It  was  also  accompanied  with  rich 
presents  to  the  goddess,  and  a  variety  of  sacrifices 
were  offered  up  to  appease  her  displeasure  ;  but 
they  were  not  succeeded  by  any  favourable  effect. 
The  queen's  distemper  was  so  far  from  abating, 
that  she  died  in  a  short  time,  and  left  Ptolemy  in- 
consolable at  her  loss ;  and  more  so,  because  he 
imputed  her  death  to  his  own  indiscretion,  in 
having  removed  the  statue  of  Diana  out  of  the 
temple.      Nothing  could   be  more  extraordinary 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE 


555 


CHAPTER  III 


Various  instances  of  respect  from  the  most 
potent  princes  of  the  East  towards  the  Jews. 
—  Their  cause  espoused  by  the  Romans. — 
Their  various  fortunes. — Joseph,  the  son  of 
Onias,  distinguishes  himself  on  divers  ac- 
counts, and  brings  his  countrymen  the  Jews 
into  great  repute  and  estimation. 

The  Jews  were  in  great  esteem  among 
the  kings  of  Asia,  both  for  their  fidelity 
and  skill  in  military  affairs,  insomuch  that 
Seleucus,*  surnamed-  Nicator  or  Victor  i- 

than  Uie  design  he  formed  of  erecting  a  temple  to 
Arsinoe,  at  Alexandria,  with  a  dome  rising  above 
it,  the  concave  part  of  which  was  to  be  lined  with 
adamant,  in  order  to  keep  an  iron  statue  of  the 
queen  suspended  in  the  air.     This  design  was  the 
invention    of  Dinocrates,   a   famous   architect   in 
those  times;  and  the  moment  he  proposed  it  to 
Ptolemy,  that  prince  gave  orders  for  beginning  the 
work  without  dela}'.     The  experiment,   however, 
remained   imperfect,  for  want  of  sufficient  time; 
for  Ptolemy  and  the  architect  dying  within  a  very 
short  time  after  this  resolution,  the  project  was 
entirely  discontinued.     It  has  been  said,  and  even 
believed,  that  the  body  of  Mahomet  was  suspended 
in  this  manner,  in  an  iron  coffin,  by  a  loadstone 
fixed  in  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  chamber  where  his 
corpse  was  deposited  after  his  death  ;  but  this  is  a 
mere  vulgar   error,  without  the  least  foundation. 
After   the   death   of   his   beloved    wife    Arsinoe, 
Ptolemy  did   not  long  survive  her  :  for,  being  of 
a  tender  constitution  himself,  and  having  farther 
weakened  it  by  a  luxurious  indulgence,  he  could 
not  bear  the  approach  of  age,  or  the  grief  of  mind, 
\    which  he  fell  under  on  this  occasion  ;  but,  sink- 
ing under  these  burdens,  he  died,  in  the  sixty-third 
year  of  his  life,  after  he  had  reigned  in  Egypt  38 
years.     As  he  was  a  learned  prince  himself,  and  a 
great  patron  of  learning,  many  of  those  who  were 
eminent  for  any  part  of  literature,  resorted  to  him 
from   all   parts,  and    partook   of  his   favour  and 
bounty.     Seven  celebrated  poets  of  that  age  are 
I    said  to  have  lived  at  his  court;  four  of  which,  viz. 
\     Theocritus,  Callimachus,  Lycophron,  and  Aratns, 
I    have   their   works    still    remaining ;    and,   among 
[    these,  the  first  of  them  has  a  whole  Idyllium,  and 
I    the   second,   part  of  two  hymns,   written    in    his 
praise.     Manetho,  the    Egyptian   historian,  dedi- 
j     cated  his  history  to  him ;  and  Zoilus,  the  snarling 
critic,  came  also  to  his  court.     But  how  great  so- 
I     ever  his  wit  was,  he  could  never  recommend  him- 
;     self   to    king   Ptolemy,   who   hated   him   for   the 
bitterness  and  ill  nature  of  it:  and,  for  the  same 
reason,  having  drawn  on   himself  the  odium  and 
J  aversion  of  all  men,  heat  length  died  miserably; 
|  for  some  say  that  lie  was  stoned,  others,  that  he 
was  burned  to  death,  and  others  again,  that  he 
was  crucified  by  king   Ptolemy,  for  a  crime  that 
deserved  that  punishment. — Prideaux's   Connec- 
tion, and  Rollin's  Ancient  History. 
*  Seleucus,  son  of  Antiochus,  was  one  of  the 


ous,  gave  them  the  privileges  of  freemen 
in  all  the  cities  he  built  throughout  Asia 
and  the  lower  Syria,  and  even  in  Antioeh,f 


captains  of  Alexander  the  Great.  After  the  king's 
death  he  received  Babylon  as  his  province  ;  but 
his  ambitious  views,  and  his  attempt  to  destroy 
Eumenus  as  he  passed  through  his  territories, 
rendered  him  so  unpopular,  that  he  fled  for  safety 
to  the  court  of  his  friend  Ptolemy,  king  of  Egypt. 
He  was  soon  after  enabled  to  recover  Babylon, 
which  Antigonus  had  seized  in  his  absence,  and 
he  increased  his  dominions  by  the  immediate  con- 
quest of  Media  and  some  of  the  neighbouring 
provinces.  When  he  had  strengthened  himself  in 
his  empire,  Seleucus  imitated  the  example  of  the 
rest  of  the  generals  of  Alexander,  and  assumed 
the  title  of  independent  monaich.  He  afterwards 
made  war  against  Antigonus,  with  the  united 
forces  of  Ptolemy,  Cassander,  and  Lysimachus ; 
and  after  this  monarch  had  been  conquered  and 
slain,  his  territories  were  divided  among  his  victo- 
rious enemies.  When  Seleucus  became  master  of 
Syria,  he  built  a  city  there,  which  he  called  Anti- 
ocll,  in  honour  of  his  father,  and  made  it  the 
capital  of  his  dominions.  He  also  made  war 
against  Demetrius  and  Lysim»chus,  though  he 
had  originally  married  Stratonice,  the  daughter  of 
the  former,  and  had  lived  in  the  closest  friendship 
and  amity  with  the  latter.  Seleucus  was  at  last 
murdered  by  one  of  his  domestics,  called  Ptolemy 
C#aunus,  a  man  on  whom  he  bestowed  the  great- 
est favours,  and  whom  he  had  distinguished  by  acts 
of  the  most  unbounded  liberality.  According  to 
Arrian,  Seleucus  was  the  greatest  and  most  power- 
ful of  the  princes  who  inherited  the  Macedonian 
empire  after  the  death  of  Alexander.  His  benevo- 
lence has  been  commended  ;  and  it  has  been  ob- 
served, that  he  conquered,  not  to  enslave  nations, 
but  to  make  them  more  happy.  He  founded  no 
less  than  34  cities,  in  different  parts  of  his  empire, 
which  he  peopled  with  Greek  colonies,  whose 
national  industry,  learning,  religion,  and  spirit, 
were  communicated  to  the  indolent  and  luxurious 
inhabitants  of  Asia.  Seleucus  was  a  great  bene- 
factor to  the  Greeks;  he  restored  to  the  Athenians 
the  library  and  the  statues  which  X*  rxes  had  car- 
ried away  from  their  city  when  he  invaded  Greece, 
and  among  them  were  those  of  Harmodius  and 
Aristogin.  Seleucus  was  murdered  280  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  in  the  32d  year  of  his  reign,  and 
the  78th,  or  according  to  others,  the  73d  of  his  age, 
as  he  was  going  to  conquer  Macedonia,  where  he 
intended  to  finish  his  days  in  peace  and  tranquilli- 
ty in  that  province  where  he  was  born. — Lem- 
priere. 

•J-  This  Syrian  city,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Orontes,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  place 
where  it  falls  into  the  Mediterranean,  was  built 
by  Seleucus  Nicator,  three  hundred  years  before 
the  birth  of  Christ.  It  was  called  Antioch,  in 
honour  of  Antiochus,  the  father  of  Seleucus,  and 
soon  became  the  metropolis  of  his  kingdom,  and 
the  usual  residence  of  the  Macedonian  princes. 
Seleucus  built,  in  the  same  country,  the  city 
Seieucia,  named  from  himself;  Apamea,  from  Ilia 
wife  Apamea;  Laodicea,  from  ins  mother  Laodice, 


o56 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


the  metropolis,  declaring  it  to  be  his  will  I  pie,  the  Jews  being  interdicted  the  use  of 
and  pleasure  that  they  should  enjoy  the    foreign  oil,  the  Olympic  officers  who  had 

the  ordering  of  that  affair,  were  obliged 
by  the  goverment  to  allow  them  so  much 


same    rights    and    immunities    with    the 
Greeks  and  Macedonians.      As  for  exam- 


and  these  three,  together  with  Antioch,  gave  to 
that  quarter  of  Syria  the  name  of  Tetrapolis,  or 
the  country  of  the  four  cities.  The  same  name 
was  afterwards  given  by  Strabo  to  Antioch  itself, 
because  it  consisted  of  four  distinct  divisions, 
built  at  different  times,  each  surrounded  with  its 
own  wall,  but  all  inclosed  by  one  common  line  of 
defence.  Daphne,  which  is  mentioned  in  the 
history  of  the  Maccabees,  and  which  stood  about 
five  miles  from  Antioch,  was  reckoned  one  of  the 
suburbs  of  that  city.  Here  Seleucus  planted  a 
grove,  about  ten  miles  in  circumference  ;  erected 
a  temple  in  the  centre  of  it  to  Apollo  and  Diana  ; 
and 'consecrated  the  whole  as  an  asylum  or  sanc- 
tuary. To  this  place  the  inhabitants  of  Antioch 
were  accustomed  to  resort  for  amusement,  as  the 
Romans  did  to  Baiae,  and  the  Alexandrians  to 
Canopus  ;  but,  in  process  of  time,  it  was  so  much 
frequented  by  the  votaries  of  Venus  and  Bacchus, 
rather  than  of  Apollo  and  Diana,  that  it  was 
avoided  as  infamofls  by  all  who  had  any  regard  to 
their  reputation  ;  and,  at  length,  Daphnicis  mori- 
bus  vivere,  '  to  live  after  the  manner  of  Daphne' 
became  a  proverbial  expression  to  denote  the  most 
dissolute  course  of  life.  It  was  indeed  the  general 
characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  Antioch.Tn 
almost  every  period  of  their  history,  to  live  after 
this  manner  :  and  to  this  their  voluptuous  dispo- 
sition may  be  ascribed  many  of  the  numerous 
calamities  which  befell  this  celebrated  city.  About 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  years  before  Christ,  the 
inhabitants  of  Antioch  were  so  exasperated  by  the 
licentious  and  tyrannical  conduct  of  their  sove- 
reign, Demetrius  Nicator,  that  he  applied  to  Jona- 
than, one  of  the  Maccabees,  for  three  thousand  men, 
to  keep  his  subjects  in  awe,  and  to  compel  them  to 
deliver  up  their  arms.  This  violent  measure  caus- 
ed a  general  insurrection  in  the  city.  The  citizens 
ran  to  arms,  and,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand,  surrounded  the  palace  of 
their  prince.  All  the  Jews  in  Antioch  hastened 
to  his  relief,  dispersed  the  insurgents  with  fire  and 
sword,  burnt  great  part  of  the  city,  killed  one  hun- 
dred thousand  of  the  inhabitants,  and  compelled 
the  rest  to  submit,  and  sue  for  pardon.  A  pardon 
was  granted  ;  but  nevertheless  their  tyrannical 
prince  afterwards  put  many  of  them  to  death, 
confiscated  their  estates,  and  subjected  them  to 
every  species  of  cruelty  and  oppression.  Upon 
the  reduction  of  Syria  by  the  Romans,  Antioch 
fell  under  their  dominion ;  was  besieged  by  the 
Partliians,  after  the  defeat  of  Crassus,  about  fifty 
years  before  Christ ;  and  was  one  of  the  cities 
which  declared  for  Caesar  against  Pompey.  In 
the  year  of  our  Lord  115,  it  was  almost  complete- 
ly destroyed  by  a  dreadful  earthquake,  which  con- 
tinued for  several  days  and  nights.  The  emperor 
Trajan,  accompanied  by  numerous  embassies,  by  a 
Jarge  army,  and  by  crowds  of  strangers  from  every 
liarter,  was  in  the  ciiv  of  Antioch  during  this 
ieasoo  of  destruction.     Such  a  concourse  of  peo- 


ple from  other  places,  added  to  the  confusion  of 
the  scene,  increased  the  number  of  the  sufferers, 
and  extended  the  calamity  to  distant  countries. 
"  The  whole  Roman  world,"  says  D.  Cussius, 
"  suffered  in  one  city  ;"  and  it  is  represented  by 
Eusebius,  Aurelius  Victor,  and  Evagrius,  as  one 
of  tiie  most  calamitous  events  recorded  in  history. 
In  the  year  155,  it  was  in  great  part  consumed  by 
fire,  but  was  soon  restored  to  its  former  grandeur, 
by  the  care  and  munificence  of  the  emperor  Anto- 
ninus. In  178,  the  inhabitants  of  Antioch  having 
taken  part  in  the  revolt  of  Avidius  Cassius,  the 
emperor  Aurelius  deprived  them  of  their  privi- 
leges, suppressed  their  public  assemblies,  and  pro- 
hibited their  shows  and  spectacles  ;  but  was  soon 
induced  to  revoke  his  edict,  and  to  restore  their 
liberties.  In  195,  they  were  again  degraded  by 
Septimius  Severus,  for  having  sided  with  Pescen- 
nius  Niger,  and  were  subjected,  as  a  mere  village, 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Laodicea  ;  but  afterwards,  at 
the  intercession  of  his  son,  he  restored  their  rights, 
upon  condition  of  their  supplying  him  with  four 
times  the  sum  which  they  had  contributed  to 
Niger.  When  the  Roman  power  began  to  decline, 
Antioch  suffered  more  than  any  other  city  in  the 
empire,  from  the  incursions  of  the  eastern  nations. 
In  242,  253,  ai.d  261,  it  was  repeatedly  taken  and 
pillaged  by  Sapor,  king  of  Persia.  In  333,  it  was 
afflicted  with  so  severe  a  famine,  that  a  bushel  of 
wheat  was  sold  for  four  bundled  pieces  of  silver ; 
but  was  relieved  by  Constantine  I.,  who  sent  to 
the  bishop  thirty  thousand  bushels  of  corn,  with 
an  immense  quantity  of  other  provisions.  In  3(i2, 
while  the  emperor  Julian  was  residing  at  Antioch, 
and  preparing  an  expedition  against  the  Persians, 
that  city  was  again  greatly  distressed  by  famine. 
The  ill-judged  attempts  of  the  emperor  to  remedy 
this  evil,  his  endeavours  to  re-establish  the  Pagan 
worship  in  the  grove  of  Daphne,  and  his  general 
character  as  an  enemy  to  Cliristianity,  excited,  in 
the  luxurious  and  turbulent  capital  of  Syria,  the 
most  seditious  murmurs  and  insolent  satires  against 
his  person  and  conduct.  Julian  contented  him- 
self with  composing,  in  his  turn,  under  the  title  of 
Misopogon,  or  the  enemy  of  the  beard,  a  satirical 
invective  against  the  licentious  and  effeminate 
manners  of  Antioch.  At  this  period,  indeed,  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city  seem  to  have  attained  the 
highest  extremity  of  luxury  .  and  dissipation. 
"  Fashion,"  says  Gibbon,  "  was  the  only  law,  plea- 
sure the  only  pursuit,  and  the  splendour  of  dress 
and  furniture  was  the  only  distinction  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Antioch.  The  arts  of  luxury  were  hon- 
oured ;  the  serious  and  manly  virtues  were  the 
subject  of  ridicule  ;  and  the  contempt  for  female 
modesty  and  reverent  age  announced  the  univer- 
sal corruption  of  the  capital  of  the  East.  The  love 
of  spectacles  was  the  taste,  or  rather  passion,  of 
the  Syrians;  a  considerable  share  of  the  revenue 
was  devoted  to  the  public  amusements  ;  and  the 
magnificence  of  the  games  was  considered  as  the 


Chap.  III.] 

money  in  lieu  of  it.  The  people  of  Anti- 
och  insisted  upon  the  abrogating  of  that 
custom  the  following  war,  but  Mutianus, 
who  was  then  governor  of  the  province  of 
Syria,  would  not  suffer  it. 


THE  BIBLE. 


557 


happiness  and  the  glory  of  Antioch."  In  384,  it 
was  desolated  by  a  famine  and  pestilence,  which 
gave  occasion  to  great  disturbances,  and  in  387, 
its  inhabitants,  amounting  to  about  half  a  million, 
had  nearly  occasioned,  by  their  riotous  proceedings, 
the  complete  destruction  of  their  city.  They  re- 
sisted the  edicts  of  taxation  issued  by  Theodosius 
the  Great ;  derided  and  defied  their  rulers  ;  threw 
down  the  statues  of  the  imperial  family ;  and 
treated  these  representations  of  majesty  with  the 
most  outrageous  contempt.  The  emperor  had  re- 
solved, in  the  first  moments  of  resentment,  to  level 
the  offending  city  with  the  ground,  and  to  mas- 
sacre the  inhabitants,  without  distinction  of  age 
or  sex.  Multitudes  sought  a  refuge  in  the  adja- 
cent mountains  and  deserts;  the  noblest  and  weal- 
thiest of  the  citizens  were  assembled,  in  chains, 
before  the  public  tribunals,  to  receive  their  sen- 
tence ;  a  bloody  execution  was  every  moment  ex- 
pected to  commence ;  and  after  a  long  and  awful 
suspense,  which  Chrysostom  has  represented  as  a 
lively  image  of  the  last  judgment  of  the  world,  a 
free  and  general  pardon  was  obtained,  by  the  in- 
tercession of  Flavian,  their  bishop,  and  of  Hilnrius, 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  their  senators.  In  395, 
Rufinus,  praefect  of  the  East,  under  Arcadius,  ex- 
asperated the  inhabitants  of  Antioch  to  such  a  de- 
gree, by  scourging  to  death  their  governor  Luci- 
amis,  that,  in  order  to  appease  their  fury,  lie 
ordered  a  magnificent  portico  to  be  built  in  the 
city,  which  was  deemed  the  most  stately  edifice  in 
all  Syria.  In  438,  the  empress  Eudocia,  on  her 
way  to  Jerusalem,  passed  through  Antioch;  pro- 
nounced a  speech  in  praise  of  the  city,  in  presence 
of  the  senate  and  the  people;  and  presented  the 
magistrates  with  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  for 
the  relief  of  the  indigent  citizens.  The  inhabitants 
expressed  their  gratitude  by  erecting  two  statues 
in  honour  of  their  benefactress.  In  447,  458,  525, 
it  suffered  greatly  from  earthquakes  ;  many  of  its 
finest  buildings  were  overturned;  and  great  num- 
bers of  its  inhabitants  perished.  Rebuilt  by  the 
emperor  Justin,  and  recovering  from  its  calamities, 
it  was,  in  540,  taken  by  Cosrhoes,  king  of  Persia, 
and  given  up  to  be  plundered  by  his  soldiers.  It 
was  completely  stripped  of  its  wealth  and  orna- 
ments; its  noble  buildings  were  laid  in  ashes;  and 
its  inhabitants  were  either  put  to  the  sword,  or 
carried  away  into  captivity.  In  590  it  was  deso- 
lated by  an  earthquake,  which  destroyed  thirty 
thousand  of  its  inhabitants  ;  and  in  614  it  was 
again  taken  by  the  Persians,  under  Cosrhoes  II. 
In  638  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Saracens,  and 
was  compelled  to  pay  three  hundred  thousand 
pieces  of  gold.  At  this  period,  notwithstanding 
ill  its  calamities,  it  was  more  than  twelve  miles  in 
circumference,  and  contained  such  a  profusion  of 
delights,  that  the  Saracen  commander  would  not 
permit  his  troops  to  remain  in  it  above  three  days, 
in  713,  however,  and  in  859,  it  was  almost  corn- 


In  the  reign  of  Vespasian,  and  his  son 
Titus,*  the  people  of  Alexandria  would 
have  had  the  Jews  disfranchised:  but. such 
was  the  honour  and  justice  of  the  Row- 
ans, and  especially  of  those  two  magnani- 


pletely  ruined  by  repeated  earthquakes  ;  and  in 
958,  after  having  been  frequently  attacked  by  the 
emperor  Nicephorus,  it  was  taken  by  his  general 
Burtzas.  In  969,  974,  977,  1075,  it  was  occupied 
by  the  Turks  and  the  Greeks.  In  1098,  after  a 
siege  of  eight  months,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
crusaders,  under  Baldwin  duke  of  Normandy ; 
and  in  1262,  after  having  stood  as  queen  of  the 
East  for  almost  one  thousand  six  hundred  years,  it 
was  finally  taken,  and  completely  overthrown,  by 
Bibaris,  the  sultan  of  Egypt.  Under  the  reign  of 
the  emperor  Theodosius  the  Great,  when  paganism 
was  proscribed  by  law,  there  were,  as  Mr  Gibbon 
tells  us,  one  hundred  thousand  persons  in  Antioch, 
who  professed  the  Christian  faith,  though  that  was 
only  one-fifth  of  its  whole  population.  Modern 
Antioch,  called  by  the  Arabs  Anthakia,  is  situated 
thirty  miles  south  of  Scanderoon,  forty  south-west 
of  Aleppo,  and  twenty  east  of  the  Mediterranean. 
It  is  described  by  Volney  as  now  no  more  than  a 
ruinous  town,  with  houses  built  of  mud  and  straw, 
and  with  narrow  miry  streets,  presenting  nothing 
that  can  interest  the  mind,  but  exhibiting  every 
appearance  of  misery  and  wretchedness.  It  stands 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Orontes,  which  is 
now  called  El-aasi,  or  the  rebel,  at  the  extremity 
of  an  old  decayed  bridge,  where  the  breadth  of  the 
river  is  not  above  forty  paces.  The  surrounding 
soil,  though  excellent,  is  almost  wholly  uncultivat- 
ed, except  a  few  plantations  of  figs,  olives,  vines, 
and  mulberry  trees. — Junes'  Bill.  Cycl. 

*  These  illustrious  Roman  emperors,  celebrated 
for  conducting  the  famous  but  ruinous  siege  of 
Jerusalem,  during  the  times  of  Josephus,  demand 
a  brief  notice  here.  Vespasian,  the  father  of  Titus, 
accompanied  Nero  into  Greece,  but  he  offended 
the  prince  by  falling  asleep  while  he  repeated  one 
of  his  poetical  compositions.  This  momentary 
resentment  of  the  emperor  did  not  prevent  Ves- 
pasian from  being  sent  to  carry  on  a  war  against 
the  Jews.  His  operations  were  crowned  with 
success;  many  of  the  cities  of  Palestine  surrender- 
ed and  Vespasian  began  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 
This  was,  however,  achieved  by  the  hands  of  his 
son  Titus,  and  the  death  of  Vitellius,  and  the 
affection  of  his  soldiers,  hastened  his  rise,  and  he 
was  proclaimed  emperor  at  Alexandria.  The 
choice  of  the  army  was  approved  by  every  pro- 
vince of  the  empire;  but  Vespasian  did  not  betray 
any  signs  of  pride  at  so  sudden  and  so  unexpected 
an  exaltation,  and  though  once  employed  in  the 
mean  office  of  a  horse-doctor,  he  behaved,  when 
invested  with  the  imperial  purple,  with  all  the 
dignity  and  greatness  which  became  the  successor 
of  Augustus.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Ves- 
pasian attempted  to  reform  the  manners  of  the 
Romans,  and  he  took  away  an  appointment  which 
he  had  a  few  days  before  granted  to  a  young  noble- 
man, who  approached  him  to  return  him  thanks, 
all  smelling  of  perfumes  and  covered  with  oint- 


558 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


mous  princes  before  mentioned,  that  they 
could  not  obtain  it,  not  that  they  wanted 
either  pretence  or  provocation  for  a  re- 
venge upon  a  people  who  had  long  ail- 


ment, adding,  '  I  had  ratlier  you  had  smelt  of  gar- 
lic' He  repaired  the  public  buildings,  embellished 
thecitv.and  made  the  great  roads  morespaciousand 
convenient.  After  he  had  reigned  with  great  popu- 
larity for  ten  years,  Vespasian  died  with  a  pain  in 
his  bowels,  A.  D.  79,  in  the  70th  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  the  first  Roman  emperor  that  died  a  natural 
death,  and  he  was  also  the  first  who  was  succeeded 
by  his  own  son  on  the  throne.  Vespasian  has  been 
admired  for  his  great  virtues.  He  was  clement,  he 
gave  no  ear  to  flattery,  and  for  a  long  time  refused 
the  title  of  father  of  his  country,  which  was  often 
bestowed  on  the  most  worthless  and  tyrannical  of 
the  emperors.  He  despised  informers,  and  rather 
than  punish  conspirators,  he  rewarded  them  with 
great  liberality.  His  ministers  were  the  most  avari- 
cious of  his  subjects,  and  the  emperor  used  very  pro- 
perly to  remark,  that  he  treated  them  as  sponges,  by 
wetting  them  when  dry,  and  squeezing  them  when 
they  were  wet. —  Titus  Vespasianus,  son  of  Vespa- 
sian and  Flavia  Domitilla,  became  known  by  his 
valour  in  the  Roman  armies,  particularly  at  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem.  In  the  79th  year  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  he  was  invested  with  the  imperial  purple, 
and  the  Roman  people  had  every  reason  to  expect 
in  him  the  barbarities  of  a  Tiberius,  and  the  de- 
baucheries of  a  Nero.  While  in  the  house  of 
Vespasian,  Titus  had  been  distinguished  for  his 
extravagance  and  incontinence  ;  his  attendants 
were  the  most  abandoned  and  dissolute,  and  it 
seemed  that  he  wished  to  be  superior  to  the  rest 
of  the  world  in  the  gratification  of  every  impure 
desire,  and  in  every  unnatural  vice.  From  such  a 
private  character,  which  still  might  be  curbed  by 
the  authority  and  example  of  a  father,  what  could 
be  expected  but  tyranny  and  oppression  ?  Yet 
Titus  became  a  model  of  virtue,  and  in  an  age  and 
office  in  which  others  wish  to  gratify  all  their 
appetites,  the  emperor  abandoned  all  his  usual 
profligacy,  he  forgot  his  debaucheries,  and  Bere- 
nice, whom  he  had  loved  with  uncommon  ardour, 
even  to  render  himself  despised  by  the  Roman 
people,  was  dismissed  from  his  presence.  When 
raised  to  the  throne,  he  thought  himself  bound  to 
be  the  father  of  his  people,  the  guardian  of  virtue, 
and  the  patron  of  liberty  ;  and  Titus  is  perhaps 
the  only  monarch  who,  when  invested  with  uncon- 
trollable power,  bade  adieu  to  those  vices,  luxuries, 
and  indulgences,  which,  as  a  private  man,  he  never 
ceased  to  gratify.  He  was  moderate  in  his  enter- 
tainments, and  though  he  often  refused  the  dona- 
tions which  were  due  to  sovereignty,  no  emperor 
was  ever  more  generous  and  more  magnificent  than 
Titus.  All  informers  were  banished  from  his 
presence,  and  even  severely  punished.  A  reform 
was  made  in  the  judicial  proceedings,  and  trials 
were  no  longer  permitted  to  be  postponed  for 
years.  The  public  edifices  were  repaired,  and 
baths  were  erected  for  the  convenience  of  the 
people.  To  do  good  to  his  subjects  was  the  am- 
bition of  Titus ;  and  it  was  at  the  recollection  that 
ae  liad  done  no  service,  or  granted  no  favour  one 


noyed  them  by  a  troublesome  war,  and 
so  obstinate  a  rebellion,  but  they  looked 
upon  their  rites  and  privileges  to  be  still 
sacred;  and  therefore  refused  to  gratify 
either  their  own  passions,  or  the  impor- 
tunity of  two  great  nations  with  any  vin- 
dictive act  of  injustice. 

They  laid  more  weight  upon  the  sense 
of  their  ancient  merits  than  upon  that  of 
their  present  misdemeanor,  and  would  not 
do  a-  mean  thing  to  promote  the  most  con- 
siderable interest. 

They  observed,  that  those  who  had 
taken  up  arms  against  the  Romans  had 
suffered  enough  by  the  calamities  of  war, 
without  any  other  forfeiture ;  and  that  to 
punish  those  who  had  not  offended,  would 
be  offering  violence  to  common  sense  and 
justice.* 

day,  that  he  exclaimed  in  the  memorable  words, 
'  My  friends,  I  have  lost  a  day!'  A  continual  wish 
to  be  benevolent  and  kind,  made  him  popular  • 
and  it  will  not  be  wondered,  that  he  who  could 
say  that  he  had  rather  die  himself,  than  be  the 
cause  of  the  destruction  of  one  of  his  subjects,  was 
called  the  love  and  delight  of  mankind.  Two  of 
the  senators  conspired  against  his  life,  but  the  em- 
peror disregarded  their  attempts  ;  he  made  them  his 
friends  by  kindness, and  like  another  Nerva,  present- 
ed them  with  a  sword  to  destroy  him.  During  his 
reign,  Rome  was  three  days  on  fire,  the  towns  of 
Campania  were  destroyed  by  an  eruption  of  Ve- 
suvius, and  the  empire  was  visited  by  a  pestilence 
which  carried  away  an  infinite  number  of  inhabi- 
tants. In  this  time  of  public  calamity,  the  emper- 
or's benevolence  and  philanthropy  were  conspicu- 
ous. Titus  comforted  the  afflicted  as  a  father,  he 
alleviated  their  distresses  by  his  liberal  bounties, 
and,  as  if  they  were  but  one  family,  he  exerted 
himself  for  the  good  and  preservation  of  the  whole. 
The  Romans,  however,  had  not  long  to  enjoy  the 
favours  of  a  magnificent  prince  ;  Titus  was  taken 
ill,  and  as  he  retired  into  the  country  of  the  Sa- 
bines  to  his  father's  house,  his  indisposition  was 
increased  by  a  burning  fever.  He  lifted  his  eves 
to  heaven,  and  with  modest  submission  complained 
of  the  severity  of  fate  which  removed  him  from  the 
world  when  young,  where  he  had  been  employed 
in  making  a  grateful  people  happy.  He  died  A.  D. 
61,  in  the  41st  year  of  his  age,  after  a  reign  of  two 
years,  two  months  and  20  days.  The  news  of  his 
death  was  received  with  lamentations  ;  Rome  was 
filled  with  tears,  and  all  looked  upon  themselves 
as  deprived  of  the  most  benevolent  of  fathers. — 
Lempricre. 

*  We  read  likewise  to  the  same  purpose  of  Mar- 
cus Agrippa's  good  affection  to  the  Jews,  for  when 
the  Ionians,  in  a  seditious  animosity  against  those 
people  went  to  them  with  a  remonstrance,  that 
their  city  being  singly  and  entirely  their  own,  by 


Chap.  ITT.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Under  the  reign  of  Antiochus  the 
Great,  Asia,  Judea,  and  Coelo-syria, 
were  involved  in  perpetual  broils ;  for 
Antiochus  being  at  that  time  in  actual 
hostility  with  Ptolemy  Philopater,  and  his 
son  Ptolemy,  surnamed  Epiplianes,  or  Illus- 
trious, the  Jews,  between  the  prosperous 
;m<l  adverse  fortune  of  Antiochus,  were 
still  sure  to  be  sufferers,  though  Antiochus 
in  the  end  prevailed,  and  made  himself 
master  of  Judea. 

In  process  of  time,  after  the  death  of 
Philopater,*   his  son  sent  a   great  army 


5i9 


the  gift  of  Antiochus  the  grandson  of  Seleucus, 
whom  the  Grecians  surnamed  the  god,  they  desir- 
ed to  be  put  in  possession  of  it  with  peculiar  privi- 
leges, exclusive  of  all  other  people;  demanding 
farther,  that  if  the  Jews  should  pretend  to  the 
same  immunities,  it  might  be  upon  condition  of 
their  worshipping  the  same  God.  The  Jews 
brought  the  question  to  an  issue,  Nicholaus  of  Da- 
mascus being  of  their  council,  who  obtained  judg- 
ment for  them  in  favour  of  the  right  they  claimed  to 
the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  their  own  laws 
and  customs;  Agrippa  pronouncing  upon  the  whole 
matter,  that  he  could  not  agree  to  any  innovation 
upon  that  point.  Those  who  would  be  farther  sa- 
tisfied in  the  series  of  this  transaction,  may  read 
the  whole  story  at  large  in  Nicholaus's  history, 
book  123,  124. 

*  lie  received  the  surname  of  Philopater  by  an- 
tiphrasis,  because,  according  to  some  historians,  he 
destroyed  his  father  by  poison.  He  began  his 
reign  with  acts  of  the  greatest  cruelty,  and  he  suc- 
cessfully sacrificed  to  his  avarice  his  own  mother, 
his  wife,  his  sister,  and  his  brother.  He  received 
the  name  of  Tiphon,  from  his  extravagance  and  de- 
bauchery, and  that  of  Gallus,  because  he  appear- 
ed in  the  streets  of  Alexandria,  like  one  of  the 
Bacchanals,  and  with  all  the  gestures  of  the  priests 
of  Cybele.  In  the  midst  of  his  pleasures,  Philo- 
pater was  called  to  war  against  Antiochus  king  of 
Syria,  and  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army  he  soon 
invaded  his  enemies  territories,  and  might  have 
added  the  kingdom  of  Syria  to  Egypt,  if  he  had 
made  a  prudent  use  of  the  victories  which  attend- 
ed his  arms.  In  his  return  he  visited  Jerusalem, 
but  the  Jews  prevented  him  forcibly  from  entering 
their  temple,  for  which  insolence  to  his  majesty  the 
monarch  determined  to  extirpate  the  whole  nation. 
He  ordered  an  immense  number  of  Jews  to  be  ex- 
posed in  a  plain,  and  trodden  under  the  feet  of 
elephants,  but  by  a  supernatural  instinct,  the  ge- 
nerous animals  turned  their  fury,  not  on  those  that 
had  been  devoted  to  death,  but  upon  the  Egyp- 
tian spectators.  This  circumstance  terrified  Philo- 
pater, and  he  behaved  with  more  than  common 
kindness  to  a  nation  which  he  had  so  lately  devot- 
ed to  destruction.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  reign, 
the  Romans,  whom  a  dangerous  war  with  Car- 
thage had  wakened  and  rendered  active,  renew- 
ed,  for  political   reasons,   the   treaty   of  alliance 


into  Coelo-syria,  under  the  command  of 
Scopas,  who  took  a  number  of  cities,  among 
which  was  that  of  Jerusalem.  Yet  it  was 
not  long  afterwards,  when  Antiochus  over- 
came Scopas,  in  a  battle  fought  at  the  head 
of  the  river  Jordan,  and  recovered  the 
places  in  Coelo-syria  and  Samaria  which 
Scopas  had  got  possession  of  before. 

The  Jews  upon  this  success  surrender- 
ed themselves  to  Antiochus,  received  the 
army  into  the  city,  provided  plentifully  f.:r 
the  elephants,  and  valiantly  assisted  in 
the  attack  of  the  castle,  where  Scopas  had 
left  a  body  of  men  in  garrison. 

Antiochus  thought  it  but  reasonable  to 
gratify  the  Jews  with  some  honourable  to- 
ken of  the  sense  he  had  of  their  good-will 
and  services  upon  this  occasion,  and  there- 
fore wrote  to  such  of  his  friends  and  officers 
as  were  witnesses  of  the  obligations  they 
had  laid  upon  him ;  giving  them  to  under- 
stand in  the  said  letters,  what  kind  of  re- 
quital he  intended  to  make  them. 

As  a  proof  of  the  esteem  which  Anti- 
ochus retained  for  the  Jewish  nation,  we 
deem  it  necessary  to  insert  the  following 
letter. 

"  King  Antiochus  to  Ptolemy,  greet- 
ing.— Whereas  we  have  received  several 
instances  of  the  good  disposition  and  af- 
fection of  the  Jews  toward  us  and  our 
service,  from  the  time  of  our  first  coming 
into  their  country,  which  they  have  ex- 
pressed by  their  magnificence,  and  the  re- 
spect shown  by  their  elders  and  magis- 
trates, in  attending  us  upon  the  way,  the 
splendid  reception  of  our  person  and  ar- 
my into  the  city,  and  the  ample  provision 
they  made  both  for  our  horses  and  ele- 
phants, assisting  us  likewise  against  the 
garrison  of  the  Egyptians  in  the  castle  : 


which  had  been  made  with  the  Egyptian  mon- 
archs.  Philopater  at  last,  weakened  and  enervated 
by  intemperance  and  continual  debauchery,  died 
in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  after  a  reign 
of  seventeen  years,  234  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era.  His  death  was  immediately  followed  by 
the  murder  of  the  companions  of  his  voluptuous- 
ness and  extravagance,  and  their  carcases  were 
dragged  with  the  greatest  ignominy  through  the 
streets  of  Alexandria. — Lempriere 


,560 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


these  good  offices  being  duly  considered, 
we  deem  ourselves  bound  in  honour  to 
bestow  upon  them  some  distinguishing 
marks  of  our  esteem,  by  contributing 
toward  the  repairing  of  their  city,  and 
restoring  it  to  its  former  state  of  magnifi- 
cence and  glory,  by  recalling  all  their  coun- 
trymen, wherever  distressed,  to  their  for- 
mer habitations.  In  order  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  these,  ends,  we  have  in  the 
first  place  assigned  twenty  thousand  pieces 
of  silver  towards  the  charges  of  their  sacri- 
fices, for  wine,  oil,  and  frankincense  ;  and 
for  fine  flour,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  place,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
sixty  measures  of  wheat,  and  three  hun- 
dred seventy-five  measures  of  salt.  And 
farther,  it  is  our  will  and  pleasure,  that  all 
this  may  be  made  good  according  to  our 
order.  And  then  for  any  thing  that  may 
be  wanted  toward  the  repairing  of  the 
temple,  porch,  or  galleries,  it  is  our  desire, 
that  the  timber  be  supplied,  whether  from 
Judea,  Libanus,  or  any  other  place,  without 
any  tax  or  duty.  And  we  do  also  grant 
the  same  immunity  for  other  materials 
that  may  be  made  use  of  for  the  holy  tem- 
ple, with  permission,  moreover,  of  a  uni- 
versal liberty  to  live  and  govern  them- 
selves according  to  the  laws  of  their  coun- 
try. And  we  do  hereby  respectively  dis- 
charge their  elders,  priests,  scribes,  and 
sacred  singers,  of  poll-taxes,  royal  duties, 
and  of  all  other  tributes  whatsoever.  And 
for  a  farther  encouragement  to  the  speedy 
repeopling  of  the  city,  we  do  by  our 
royal  authority  grant  unto  all-  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  same,  and  to  such  others  as 
may  come  to  reside  there  at  any  time  be- 
tween this  and  the  month  of  Hyperbere- 
tseus  next  ensuing,  a  total  exemption  from 
all  public  impositions  for  the  space  of 
three  years  to  come ;  and  so  likewise  from 
that  time  forward,  an  abatement  of  one 
third  part  of  all  taxes,  in  consideration  of 
their  past  damages  and  sufferings.  And 
finally,  whereas  great  numbers  of  those 
people  have  been  carried  away  captive, 
and  remain  to  this  day  in  bondage,  we  do 


farther  command  that  they  be  forthwith 
set  at  liberty,  with  ample  restitution  for 
what  had  been  taken  from  them." 

Nor  did  this  benevolent  prince  stop  here, 
but  followed  his  generous  declaration  in 
favour  of  the  people  with  another  edict, 
which  he  caused  to*  be  published  all  over 
his  dominions,  in  substance  as  follows : 
"  That  no  stranger  shall  presume  to  enter 
into  the  temple,  but  with  the  consent  of 
the  Jews,  and  without  being  purified  and 
qualified  before  his  admittance,  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  country :  that  no  man 
shall  dare  to  bring  into  the  city,  the  flesh 
either  of  horses  or  mules,  or  of  asses  wild 
or  tame ;  the  flesh  of  panthers,  foxes, 
hares,  or  of  any  other  creatures  that  the 
Jews  are  not  allowed  so  much  as  to  touch 
the  skins  of  any  o*f  them ;  nor  to  bring 
up,  or  feed  any  of  these  or  any  other 
creatures  in  the  city,  but  such  as  their 
forefathers,  according  to  God's  appoint- 
ment, made  use  of  for  sacrifices,  upon  the 
penalty  of  three  thousand  drachmas,  to 
be  levied  upon  every  offender  against 
the  said  orders,  for  the  use  and  benefit 
of  the  priests." 

This  king  also,  upon  another  eminent 
occasion,  gave  the  world  a  signal  proof  of 
the  high  esteem  he  had  for  the  Jews. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  a  commotion 
in   Phrygia*   and   Lydia,  Zeuxes  at  the 


*  Phrygia  is  generally  divided  into  Plirygia 
Major  and  Minor.  Its  boundaries  are  not  proper- 
ly or  accurately  defined  by  ancient  authors,  though 
it  appears  that  it  was  situated  between  Bithynia, 
Lydia,  Cappadocia,  and  Caria.  It  received  its 
name  from  the  Bryges,  a  nation  of  Thrace,  or 
Macedonia,  who  came  to  settle  there,  and  from 
their  name,  by  corruption,  arose  the  word  Phrygia. 
Cybele  was  the  chief  deity  of  the  country,  and'  Tier 
festivals  were  observed  with  the  greatest  solemnity. 
The  invention  of  the  pipe  of  reeds,  and  of  all 
sorts  of  needlework,  is  attributed  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, who  are  represented  by  some  authors  as 
stubborn,  imprudent,  effeminate,  servile,  and  vol- 
uptuous.  Lydia  was  a  celebrated  kingdom  of 

Asia  Minor,  whose  boundaries  were  different  at 
different  times.  It  was  at  first  bounded  by  Mysia 
Major,  Caria,  Phrygia  Major,  and  Ionia  ;  but  in 
its  more  flourishing  times,  it  contained  the  whole 
country  which  lies  between  the  llalys  and  the 
/Egean  sea.  It  was  anciently  called  lUiEonia,  and 
received  the  name  of  Lydia  from  Lydus,  one  of 
its  kings.     There  were  three  different  races  that 


Chap.  Ill] 


THE  BIBLE. 


561 


time  commanding  an  army  in  the  upland 
provinces,  the  king  presently  ordered  this 
general,  a  person  for  whom  he  had  a  sin- 
gular respect,  to  send  away  from  Babylon 
such  a  number  of  the  Jews  there,  into 
Phrygia,  giving  him  instructions  in  a  let- 
ter to  this  effect: 

"  The  king  Antiochus  to  Zeuxis,  his 
friend  and  father,  greeting. — Whereas  I 
am  given  to  understand,  that  there  are 
several  persons  who  strive  to  raise  sedi- 
tions and  make  innovations  in  Phrygia 
and  Lydia,  it  behoves  me  to  provide 
against  such  casualties ;  so  that  I  am  now 
to  acquaint  you  that  I  am  advised  by  my 
friends,  to  take  two  thousand  Jewish  fam- 
ilies out  of  Babylon  and  Mesopotamia, 
and  to  transport  them  into  Phrygia,  with 
their  goods  and  whatever  belongs  to  them, 
and  there  to  place  them  for  a  guard  in 
strong-holds  and  garrisons,  being  tho- 
roughly persuaded  of  their  zeal  and  fidelity; 
not  only  from  the  principles  of  their  re- 
ligion, but  from  the  proof  and  experience 
of  their  allegiance  to  my  ancestors. 
Wherefore,  it  is  my  pleasure  that  they  be 
forthwith  transplanted ;  giving  them  all 
assurance,  that  they  shall  still  enjoy  the 
freedom  of  their  own  laws  and  customs. 
Upon  their  arrival  there,  you  are  to  as- 
sign them  lands  and  possessions,  with  all 
conveniences  for  building,  planting,  and 
tillage;  with  an  immunity  also  from  all 
taxes  and  contributions,  out  of  the  profits 
for  ten  years  to  come.  In  the  meanwhile, 
till  they  may  be  able  to  support  them- 
selves out  of  the  fruits  of  their  own  in- 
dustry, you  are  to  allow  them  a  compe- 
tent provision  of  wheat,  for  the  mainten- 


reigned  in  Lydia,  the  Atyadae,  Heraclidae,  and 
Mermnadae.  The  history  of  the  first  is  obscure 
and  fabulous  ;  the  Heraclidae  began  to  reign  about 
the  Trojan  war,  and  the  crown  remained  in  their 
family  for  about  505  years,  and  was  always  trans- 
mitted from  father  to  son.  -Candaules  was  the  last 
of  the  Heraclidae  ;  and  Gyges  the  first,  and  Croesus 
the  last,  of  the  Mermnadae.  The  Lydians  were 
great  warriors  in  the  reign  of  the  Mermnadae. 
They  invented  the  art  of  coining  gold  and  silver, 
and  were  the  first  who  exhibited  public  sports, 
&c. — Lempriere. 


ance  of  themselves  and  their  families ;  by 
which  kind  usage  they  will  be  encouraged 
to  act  more  cheerfully  in  our  service. 
You  are  finally  to  take  care,  that  they  be 
not  exposed  to  any  sort  of  trouble  or  mo- 
lestation." 

This  is  to  show  what  esteem  Antiochus 
the  Great*  had  for  the  Jews ;  after  which, 
there  followed  a  league  of  amity  and  al- 
liance between  this  king  and  Ptolemy, 
upon  the  Iatter's  marriage  with  Cleopatra, 
the  daughter  of  Antiochus,  who  had  in 
lieu  of  a  portion,  Ccelo-syria,  Phoenicia, 
Judea,  and  Samaria.  The  revenue  was 
divided  between  the  two  kings,  and  farmed, 
to  some  of  the  principal  men  in  the  re- 
spective provinces,  who  took  care  of  the 
collections,  and  paid  their  proportions 
into  the  king's  treasury,  according  to  the 
contract. 

The  Samaritans  were  at  this  time 
haughty  and  powerful,  and  particularly 
troublesome  in  their  inroads  upon  the 
Jews,  carrying  several  of  them  away  cap- 
tives ;  and  this  ravage  was  committed  chief- 
ly in  the  time  of  the  high-priest  Onias : 
for  after  the  death  of  Eleazar,  his  uncle 


*  He  was  brother  to  Seleucus  Ceraunus,  and 
reigned  over  Syria  thirty-six  years.  After  the 
death  of  Ptolemy  Philopater,  he  endeavoured  to 
crush  his  infant  son  Epiphanes  ;  but  his  guardians 
solicited  the  aid  -of  the  Romans,  and  Antiochus 
was  compelled  to  resign  his  pretensions.  He  con- 
quered the  greatest  part  of  Greece,  of  which  some 
cities  implored  the  aid  of  Rome  ;  and  Hannibal, 
who  had  taken  refuge  at  his  court,  encouraged  him 
to  make  war  against  Rome.  He  was  gladto  find 
himself  supported  by  the  abilities  of  such  a  gen- 
eral ;  but  his  measures  were  dilatory,  and  not 
agreeable  to  the  advice  of  Hannibal,  and  he  was 
conquered  and  obliged  to  retire  beyond  mount 
Taurus,  and  pay  a  yearly  fine  of  2000  talents  to 
the  Romans.  His  revenues  being  unable  to  pay 
the  fine,  he  attempted  to  plunder  the  temple  of 
Belus  in  Susiana,  which  so  incensed  the  inhabit- 
ants, that  they  killed  him  with  his  followers,  187 
years  before  the  Christian  era.  In  his  character 
of  king,  Antiochus  was  humane  and  liberal,  the 
patron  of  learning,  and  the  friend  of  merit ;  and 
he  published  an  edict,  ordering  his  subjects  never 
to  obey  except  his  commands  were  consistent  with 
the  laws  of  the  country.  He  had  three  sons, 
Seleucus  Philopater,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and 
Demetrius.  The  first  succeeded  him,  and  the  two 
others  were  kept  as  hostages  by  the  Romans. 
' — Lempriere. 

4l 


.562 


HISTORY  OF 


TBook  VIII. 


Manasseh  assumed  the  pontificate;  and 
after  his  death,  succeeded  Onias,  the  son 
of  Simon  the  just;  which  Simon  was  the 
brother  of  Eleazar. 

This  Onias  was  weak  and  covetous,  to 
the  excessive  degree  of  refusing  the  king 
the  customary  tribute  of  twenty  talents, 
which  his  ancestors  had  paid  him,  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  their  allegiance.  This 
behaviour  of  Onias  incensed  Ptolemy 
Euergetes,  *  the  father  of  Philopater,  to 
such  a  degree,  that  he  sent  an  ambassador 
expressly  to  Jerusalem,  with  a  menace  to 
demand  the  payment  of  it,  upon  the  peril 
of  having  an  army  quartered  upon  their 
country  at  discretion,  and  a  new  plantation 
settled  there,  if  they  did  not  immediately 
comply.  This  message  gave  the  Jews 
most  terrible  apprehensions;  but  Onias 
braved  the  danger,  his  heart  being  wholly 
devoted  to  avarice  and  "only  set  upon 
money. 


*  This  Ptolemy  early  engaged  in  a  war  against 
Antiochus  Theus,  for  li is  unkindness  to  Berenice 
the  Egyptian  king's  sister,  whom  he  had  married 
witli  the  consent  of  Philadelphus.  With  the  most 
rapid  success  he  conquered  Syria  and  Cilicia,  and 
advanced  as  far  as  the  Tigris,  but  a  sedition  at  home 
stopped  his  progress,  and  he  returned  to  Egypt 
loaded  with  the  spoils  of  conquered  nations. 
Among  the  immense  riches  which  he  brought  he 
had  above  2500  statues  of  the  Egyptian  gods, 
which  Cambyses  had  carried  away  into  Persia 
when  lie  conquered  Egypt.  These  were  restored 
to  the  temples,  and  the  Egyptians  called  their 
sovereign  Euergetes,  in  acknowledgment  for  his 
attention,  beneficence,  and  religious  zeal  for  the 
gods  of  his  country.  The  last  years  of  Ptolemy's 
reign  were  passed  in  peace,  if  we  except  the  re- 
fusal of  the  Jews,  as  recorded  above,  to  pay  the 
tribute  of  twenty  silver  talents  which  their  ances- 
tors had  always  paid  to  the  Egyptian  monarchs. 
He  also  interested  himself  in  the  affairs  of  Greece, 
and  assisted  Cleomenes  the  Spartan  king  against 
the  leaders  of  the  Achaean  league  ;  but  he  had  the 
mortification  to  see  his  ally  defeated,  and  even  a 
fugitive  in  Egypt.  Euergetes  died  221  years  be- 
fore Christ,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-five  years,  and, 
like  his  two  illustrious  predecessors,  he  was  the 
patron  of  learning,  and  indeed  he  is  the  last  of 
the  Lngides  who  gained  popularity  among  his  sub- 
jects by  clemency,  moderation,  and  humanity,  and 
who  commanded  respect  even  from  his  enemies, 
by  valour,  prudence,  and  reputation.  It  is  said 
that  he  deposited  fifteen  talents  in  the  hands  of 
the  Athenians  to  be  permitted  to  translate  the 
original  manuscripts  of  iEschylus,  Euripedes,  and 
Sop  hocles. — Lempriere. 


Onias  had  a  nephew,  whose  name  was 
Joseph,  the  son  of  Tobias,  who,  though  a 
young  man,  acquired  great  reputation 
among  the  Jews  for  his  justice,  and  pru- 
dence, and  integrity.  Being  on  a  certain 
occasion  at  Phicola,  the  place  of  his  birth, 
his  mother  sent  him  an  account  of  the 
messenger  before-mentioned,  and  of  his 
business,  informing  him  that  he  had  in- 
veighed against  Onias  for  endangering 
the  public  peace,  and  not  attending  to  the 
interest  and  welfare  of  the  people,  to 
whom  he  stood  indebted  for  his  promotion, 
both  sacerdotal  and  civil. 

But,  however,  if  his  heart  was  so  pos- 
sessed by  avarice,  that  he  would  sacrifice 
his  country,  friends  and  all,  rather  than 
part  with  his  money,  he  advised  him  to 
make  a  dutiful  application  to  the  king 
about  it,  and  to  try  if  he  could  get  the 
whole,  or  at  least  some  part  of  it,  remitted. 
Onias  made  answer,  that  he  was  not  so 
fond  of  his  place  either  in  church  or  state, 
but  he  could  willingly  part  with  both,  if  it 
were  permitted  him,  rather  than  go  to  the 
king  upon  that  errand;  and  that  for  his 
part  he  would  not  concern  himself  in  the 
matter. 

Upon  the  refusal  of  Onias,  Joseph 
asked  permission  to  attend,  and  being 
granted  his  request,  he  went  up  to  the 
temple,  where  he  convened  an  assembly, 
and  bade  them  take  courage,  for  he  was 
in  hope  that  the  failure  of  his  uncle  would 
have  no  further  ill  consequence ;  telling 
them,  that  if  they  thought  fit,  he  would 
wait  upon  the  king  himself  in  their  name, 
and  do  his  utmost  to  reconcile  matters 
between  them.  The  whole  multitude 
gave  him  thanks  for  the  proposal,  and 
left  the  business  entirely  to  his  manage- 
ment. 

Joseph  upon  this  went  his  way  to  find 
out  the  king's  commissioner;  and  when  he 
had  treated  him  splendidly  for  some  cer- 
tain days,  and  made  him  rich  presents, 
dismissed  him  to  his  master,  with  an  assur- 
ance that  he  would  presently  follow  him. 

Joseph's  heart  was  now  set  more  and 


Chap.  III. J  THE  BIBLE. 

more  upon  the  expedition,  being  not  only 
encouraged  and  invited  to  it  by  the  king's 
messenger,  but  assured  also  of  the  best 
service  he  could  do  him ;  who  made  no 
doubt  at  all,  but  that  upon  such  an  appli- 
cation Joseph  might  probably  gain  his 
point. 

This  person  was  greatly  pleased  with 
the  address  of  the  young  man  ;  and  upon 
his  return  into  Egypt,  reflecting  upon  the 
ingratitude  of  Onias,  he  took  care  to  speak 
greatly  in  commendation  of  Joseph,  who 
had  generously  taken  the  office  upon  him- 
self, to  atone  for  the  indolence  and  inat- 
tention of  his  uncle. 

In  short,  this  minister  was  so  taken  up 
with  the  subjects  of  Joseph's  character, 
that  the  king  and  his  wife  Cleopatra  were 
in  a  manner  enamoured  with  him  before 
they  saw  him. 

Upon  this  occasion,  Joseph  sent  to  his 
friends  in  Samaria  to  take  up  money  for 
his  equipage ;  which  in  clothes,  horses, 
carriages,  plate,  and  other  necessaries, 
amounted  to  twenty  thousand  drachmas. 

He  happened,  in  his  journey  to  Alex- 
andria, to  fall  into  company  with  a  train 
of  the  princes  and  nobility  of  Syria  and 
Phoenicia,  who  were  at  that  time  on  their 
way  to  the  king,  in  order  to  treat  with  him 
about  his  revenue,  according  to  a  yearly 
custom  of  putting  it  up  by  way  of  auction 
to  the  highest  bidder. 

These  great  men  ridiculed  the  contemp- 
tible appearance  of  Joseph  and  his  retinue; 
but  he  proceeded  on  his  way  to  Alexan- 
dria; and  being  there  informed  that  the 
king  was  still  at  Memphis,*  prosecuted 

*  This  was  a  very  famous  city,  and,  till  the  time 
of  the  Ptolemies,  who  removed  to  Alexandria, 
the  place  of  residence  for  the  ancient  kings  of 
Egypt.  It  was  •ituated  above  the  parting  of  the 
river  Nile,  where  the  Delta  begins.  Towards  the 
south  of  this  city  stood  the  famous  pyramids,  two 
of  which  were  esteemed  the  wonders  of  the  world; 
and  whose  grandeur  and  heauty  still  astonish  the 
modern  traveller  ;  and  in  this  city,  in  one  of  its 
many  beautiful  temples,  was  fed  the  ox  Apis,  which 
Cambyses  slew  in  contempt  of  the  Egyptians  wor- 
shipping it  as  a  god.  The  kings  of  Egypt  took 
great  pleasure  in  adorning  this  city  ;  and  in  all 
its  beauty  it  continued  till  the  Arabians  made  a 


568 

his  journey,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to 
meet  him  sitting  in  his  chariot  with  the 
queen,  and  his  particular  confidant  Athe- 
nion,  in  his  return  to  Alexandria. 

This  Athenion  was  the  person  who 
carried  the  embassy  to  Jerusalem,  and  was 
so  honourably  treated  by  Joseph  in  that 
place.  He  therefore  no  sooner  cast  his 
eyes  upon  the  Hebrew,  than  he  informed 
the  king  that  he  was  the  very  person  of 
whom  he  had  spoken  so  many  excellent 
things  at  his  return  from  Jerusalem. 

Ptolemy  upon  this  stopped  and  saluted 
him,  and  took  him  into  his  chariot;  com- 
plaining upon  the  first  greeting,  how  ill 
he  had  been  used  by  Onias. 

"  Sir,"  said  Joseph,  by  way  of  apology, 
"an  old  man  is  the  second  time  a  child, 
and  I  hope  your  majesty  will  impute 
nothing  to  Onias  beyond  that  infirmity. 
But  for  the  young  men  that  are  in  their 
vigour  of  strength  and  understanding,  I 
dare  be  answerable  for  it,  that  you  shall 
not  find  any  one  of  us  wanting  in  his 
duty." 

The  king  was  so  delighted  with  this 
instance  of  Joseph's  discretion  and  respect, 
upon  this  first  interview,  that  he  gave  or- 
ders immediately  for  lodging  him  in  his 
own  palace,  and  entertaining  of  him  at  his 
own  table ;  which  singular  respect  gave  no 
small  disgust  to  the  envious  Syrian  noble- 
men, when  they  observed  at  Alexandria 
the  honour  that  was  done  to  Joseph. 

The  day  of  auction  now  arrived,  when 
the  several  branches  of  the  revenue  were 

conquest  of  Egypt  under  the  Caliph  Omar.  The 
general  who  took  it  built  another  city  just  by  it, 
which  was  called  Fustat,  because  his  tent  had  been 
a  long  time  set  up  in  that  place,  and  the  Caliph's 
Fatamites,  when  they  became  masters  of  Egypt, 
added  another  to  it,  which  is  known  to  us  at  this 
day  by  the  name  of  Grand  Cairo.  The  Mame- 
luke sultans,  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Carcassians, 
having  afterwards  built  a  strong  fort  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Nile,  did  by  degrees  annex  a  city  to 
it,  which  came  to  be  called  the  New  Cairo,  as 
what  the  Fatamites  had  built  was  called  the  Old  ; 
but  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  ancient  Memphis 
stood  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Nile,  whereas 
whatever  the  Arabians  have  there  built,  from  time 
to  time,  is  on  the  eastern  shore  of  that  river. — 
Calmet, 


564 


to  be  put  up,  and  the  nobility  of  each  re- 
spective province  to  bid  for  the  purchase. 
At  length  they  contracted  for  eight  thou- 
sand talents  upon  the  duties  of  Ccelo- 
syria,  Phoenice,  Judea,  and  Samaria, 

Joseph  blamed  the  contractors  for  un- 
dervaluing the  composition,  and  offered  to 
double  the  sum  proposed.  The  king, 
pleased  with  the  offer,  and  well-disposed 
toward  Joseph,  demanded  of  him  what  se- 
curity he  could  give  to  the  performance  of 
his  agreement  ? 

Joseph  replied,  that  he  could  give  him 
the  security  of  persons  beyond  all  excep- 
tion, and  upon  Ptolemy's  bidding  him 
name  them,  his  answer  was,  that  he  doubt- 
ed not,  but  his  majesty  and  the  queen 
would  be  mutually  bound  for  his  honesty. 
The  king  was  so  well  satisfied  with  this 
ingenious  answer,  that  he  intrusted  him 
with  his  revenue  upon  his  own  word  with- 
out any  other  security. 

This  surprising  preference  of  a  stran- 
ger greatly  chagrined  the  rest  of  the  con- 
tractors, who  were  much  displeased  at 
being  obliged  to  depart  without  their 
errand. 

Joseph,  upon  having  so  great  a  trust 
reposed  in  him,  desired  a  guard  of  two 
thousand  soldiers  to  support  him  in  the 
collecting  of  the  duty,  in  case  of  any  op- 
position; which  guard  was  granted  him. 
And  having  thereupon  borrowed  five  hun- 
dred talents  of  the  king's  friends  in  Alex- 
andria, he  went  into  Syria. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Askelon,  and  de- 
manding the  king's  tribute,  they  not  only 
refused  him  the  money,  but  insolently 
reviled  him,  so  that  he  presently  caused 
his  soldiers  to  take  up  twenty  of  the  ring- 
leaders ;  and  having  inflicted  exemplary 
punishment  upon  them,  he  raised  a  thou- 
sand talents  out  of  their  forfeited  estates, 
and  sent  the  treasure  to  the  king,  with  a 
particular  account  of  what  had  been  done. 
Euergetes  so  highly  approved  of  the 
wise  and  discreet  conduct  of  Joseph,  that 
he  intrusted  him  after  that  to  do  what- 
ever he  thought  fit.     This  recent  exam- 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  VIII. 

pie  of  his  severity  upon  the  people  of 
Askelon  wrought  so  effectually  upon  the 
rest  of  the  Syrians,  that  they  set  their 
gates  open  in  all  places  to  Joseph;  and 
without  any  difficulty  or  scruple  paid 
their  taxes. 

The  inhabitants  of  Scythopolis,  another 
city  of  Palestine,  followed  the  example  of 
Askelon,  in  obstinately  refusing  their  cus- 
tomary impositions,  and  contemning  the 
king's  officers  and  authority ;  so  that 
Joseph  was  forced  to  deal  with  the  ring- 
leaders there,  as  he  had  done  before  upon 
the  like  occasion,  accounting  it  a  point  of 
wisdom  to  secure  what  they  had  got,  and 
to  make  their  country  maintain  itself. 

At  length,  Joseph  having  done  great 
honour  to  his  country,  and  fully  evinced 
his  moderation,  piety,  and  justice,  paid 
the  debt  of  nature,  to  the  great  regret  of 
the  Jews,  for  whose  relief  and  welfare  he 
had  so  eminently  contributed. 

He  executed  the  commission  of  receiveT 
of  all  public  duties  in  Syria,  Phoenice  and 
Samaria,  for  the  space  of  two  and  twenty 
years. 

His  uncle  Onias  died  also  about  the 
same  time,  and  his  son  Simon  succeeded 
him  to  the  priesthood ;  and  upon  his  de- 
mise, was  succeeded  by  his  son,  who  was 
likewise  named  Onias. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  king  of Lacedemon  claims  kindred  with  tfie 
Jews,  and  seeks  alliance  with  Onias. —  Va- 
rious events  befall  the  nation  of  the  Jews.— 
Demolition  of  the  temple — Apostasy  of  great 
numbers  of  the  Jews. 

On  the  accession  of  Onias,  the  son  of 
Simon,  to  the  pontificate,  Areus,  king  of 
the  Lacedemonians,  sought*the  friendship 
and  alliance  of  the  Jews,  in  an  embassy 
couched  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Areus,  king  of  the  Lacedemonians, 
to  Onias,  health. — Whereas  there  is  come 
to  our  hand  an  ancient  manuscript,  setting 
forth  the  near  affinity  between  our  ances- 
tors and  yours,  and  the  relation  in  which 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


5G5 


we  stand  to  the  line  of  Abraham ;  it  is 
but  reasonable  for  brethren  so  nearly 
allied,  to  do  all  good  offices  one  toward 
another.  This  is  therefore  to  offer  you 
the  command  of  any  thing  within  our 
power  to  serve  you,  as  we  ourselves  shall 
take  the  freedom  in  looking  upon  your 
concerns  .as  our  own,  and  joining  in  one 
common  interest.  You  are  to  receive 
this  letter  from  our  trusty  subject  and  ser- 
vant Demoteles,  written  in  a  quarto  page, 
and  sealed  with  the  figure  of  an  eagle 
holding  a  dragon  in  her  talons." 

After  the  death  of  Joseph,  the  people 
broke  out  into  mutinies  and  seditions, 
upon  the  quarrel  of  the  sons  that  he  had 
left  behind  him  ;  the  elder  brother  making 
war  upon  the  younger;  the  major  part  of 
the  people  appearing  also  in  favour  of  the 
former,  and  among  the  rest,  Simon  the 
high-priest,  upon  account  of  his  relation. 

His  son  Hyrcanus*  did  not  think  fit  to 


*  The  history  of  the  birth  of  Hyrcanus,  as  re- 
corded by  Josephus,  is  somewhat  remarkable;  for 
he  tells  us  that  as  Joseph's  occasions,  in  his  less 
advanced  years,  called  him  frequently  to  Alexan- 
dria, one  night,  while  he  was  at  supper  with  the 
king,  he  fell  desperately  in  love  with  a  beautiful 
damsel  that  danced  before  him  ;  and  not  being  able 
to  master  his  inordinate  passion,  he  communicated 
it  to  his  brother  Salimius,  (who  had  accompanied 
him  in  his  journey,  and  carried  witli  him  a  daugh- 
ter of  his,  with  an  intent  to  marry  her  at  Alex- 
andria,) and  desired  of  him,  if  possible,  to  procure 
him  the  enjoyment  of  her ;  but  as  secretly  as  he 
could,  because  of  the  sin  and  shame  that  would 
jittend  such  an  act.  Salimius  promised  that  he 
would  :  but  instead  of  that,  he  conveyed  His  own 
daughter  into  his  bed,  and  the  next  morning  as 
secretly  conveyed  her  away,  so  that  his  brother 
never  discovered  the  deceit.  In  this  manner 
Joseph  accompanied  with  her  for  several  nights  ; 
till  every  time  growing  more  and  more  enamoured, 
he  made  his  complaint  one  day  to  his  brother  of 
his  hard  fate,  who,  by  the  laws  of  Ilia  religion,  was 
forbidden  to  marry  the  woman  that  he  loved,  be- 
cause slije  was  an  alien  :  whereupon  the  other  dis- 
covered the  whole  matter  to  him,  and  how,  instead 
of  the  admixed  dancer,  he  had  put  his  daughter  to 
bed  to  him,  as  thinking  it  more  eligible  to  wrong 
his  own  child,  than  to  suffer  him  to  join  himself 
to  a  strange  woman,  which  their  law  expressly 
forbade.  The  surprisingness  of  this  discovery,  and 
the  singular  instance  of  his  brother's  kindness,  so 
wrought  upon  Joseph's  heart,  that  he  immediately 
made  the  young  woman  his  wife,  and  of  her,  the 
next  year,  was  born  this  Hyrcanus. — Stachliouse 
mid  Millar. 


return  to  Jerusalem,  but  kept  himself  still 
beyond  Jordan,  where  he  maintained  a 
perpetual  war  with  the  Arabians,  killing 
great  numbers  of  them,  and  carrying 
others  into  captivity.  He  caused  a  mar- 
vellous strong  castle  to  be  erected  there ; 
the  walls,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top, 
being  all  of  white  stone,  with  figures  upon 
them  of  several  sorts  of  creatures,  of  an 
extraordinary  size  and  proportion. 

This  building  was  encompassed  with  a 
deep  ditch,  or  moat,  and  vaults  cut  out 
through  a  mountain  just  opposite  to  it,  of 
several  furlongs  in  length,  and  only  broad 
enough  at  the  mouth  for  one  man  to  en- 
ter at  a  time,  which  they  did  both  for  fear 
and  security. 

There  were  also  in  this  castle  places 
for  entertainment  and  lodging;  variety  of 
fountains,  both  for  pleasure  and  ornament; 
large  courts,  stately  buildings,  and  spacious 
gardens ;  to  this  place  thus  elegantly  com- 
pleted he  gave  the  name  of  Tyre,  which 
lies  upon  the  borders  of  Arabia  and  Judea 
beyond  Jordan.  Hyrcanus  held  this  go- 
vernment for  the  space  of  seven  years ; 
during  which  Seleucusf  reigned  in  Syria. 
After  his  death  his  brother  Antiochus, 
otherwise  called  Epiphanes,  succeeded 
him,  at  which  time  died  Ptolemy  also, 
king  of  Egypt,  who  was  likewise  called 
Epiphanes.:}: 


•f-  He  was  surnamed  Philopater,  or,  according 
to  Josephus,  Soter.  His  empire  had  been  weaken- 
ed by  the  Romans  when  he  became  monarch,  and 
the  yearly  tribute  of  a  thousand  talents  to  these 
victorious  enemies,  concurred  in  lessening  his 
power  and  consequence  among  nations.  Seleucus 
was  poisoned,  after  a  reign  of  twelve  years,  B.  C. 
1 75. — Lempriere. 

J  He  succeeded  his  father  Philopater  as  king 
of  Egypt,  though  only  in  the  4th  year  of  his  age. 
During  the  years  of  his  minority  he  was  under  the 
protection  of  Sosicius  and  Aristomenes,  by  whose 
prudent  administration  Antiochus  was  dispossessed 
of  the  provinces  of  Coelo-syria  and  Palestine, 
which  he  had  conquered  by  war.  The  Romans 
also  renewed  their  alliance  with  him  after  their 
victories  over  Hannibal,  and  the  conclusion  of  the 
second  Punic  war.  This  flattering  embassy  in- 
duced Aristomenes  to  offer  the  care  of  the  pa- 
tronage of  the  young  monarch  to  the  Romans,  but 
the  regent  was  confirmed  in  his  honourable  office, 
and  by  making  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  people 


566 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   VIII. 


This  Ptolemy  left  two  sons  behind  him, 
both  of  them  minors;  the  name  of  the 
elder  was  Philometor,  and  the  name  of  the 
other  Physcon.  Antiochus  was  at  that 
time  very  strong  and  powerful;  insomuch, 
that  Hyrcanus,  for  fear  of  being  called  to 
an  account  for  his  inroads  upon  the  Ara- 
bians, laid  violent  hands  upon  himself, 
and  Antiochus  took  possession  of  all  his 
goods  and  estate. 

Qnias  the  high-priest  dying  about  this 
time,  Antiochus  Epiphanes  advanced  his 
brother  Jesus  to  the  pontificate,  his  own 
son  being  at  that  time  a  minor.  This 
Jesus  fell  under  the  king's  displeasure, 
who  deposed  him  from  the  pontificate, 
and  transferred  it  afterward  to  Onias  the 
younger  brother.  Now  these  were  the 
three  sons  of  Simon,  and  they  all  arrived 
to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood :  but 
Jesus  chose  rather  to  take  upon  himself 


of  Achaia,  he  convinced  the   Egyptians   he   was 
qualified  to  wield  the  sceptre  and  to  govern  the 
nation.     But  now  that  Ptolemy  had  reached  his 
fourteenth  year,  according  to   the  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  Egypt,  the  years  of  his  minority  had  ex- 
pired.    He  received   the  surname  of  Epiphanes, 
or    illustrious,  and   was   crowned    at    Alexandria 
witll  the  greatest  solemnity,  and  the  faithful  Aris- 
tomenes  resigned  into  his  hands  an  empire  which 
he  had  governed  with  honour  to  himself,  and  with 
credit  to  his  sovereign.     Young  Ptolemy  was  no 
sooner  delivered  from  the  shackles  of  a  superior, 
than  lie  betrayed  the  same  vices  which  had  char- 
acterized his  father  ;  the  counsels  of  Aristomenes 
were   despised,   and    the    minister    who    for    ten 
years  had  governed  the  kingdom  with  equity  and 
moderation,  was  sacrificed  to   the  caprice  of  the 
sovereign,  who  abhorred  him  for  the  salutary  ad- 
vice which   his  own   vicious   inclinations  did  not 
permit  him  to  follow,     His  cruelties  raised  sedi- 
tions among  his  subjects,  but  these   were  twice 
quelled  by  the  prudence  and  the  moderation  of 
one  Polycrates,  the  most  faithful  of  his  corrupt 
ministers.     In  the  midst  of  his  extravagance  Epi- 
phanes did  not  forget  his  alliance  with  the  Ro- 
mans ;  above  all  others  he  showed  himself  eager 
to  cultivate  friendship  with  a  nation  from  whom 
he  could  derive  so  many  advantages,  and  during 
their  war  against    Antiochus  he  offered   to  assist 
them  with  money  against  a  monarch,  whose  daugh- 
ter Cleopatra  he  had  married,  but  whom  he  hated 
on  account  of  the  seditions  he  had  raised  in  the 
very  heart  of  Egypt^  After  a  reign  of  twenty-five 
years,  one  hundred  and  eighty  years  before  Christ, 
Ptolemy  was  poisoned  by  his  ministers,  whom  lie 
had  threatened  to  rob  of  their  possessions,  to  carry 
on  a  war  against  Seleucus  king  of  Syria. — Lent- 
nriere. 


the  name  of  Jason,  as  the  other  changed 
his  name  for  Meneluus. 

In  this  confused  state  of  things,  one 
brother  advanced  a  faction  against  the 
other,  and  the  people  divided  upon  it. 
The  son  of  Tobias  sided  with  the  new 
high-priest  Menelaus;  but  the  greater 
part  of  the  multitude  joined  with  Jason, 
and  so  much  overpowered  the  other,  that 
Menelaus  and  the  sons  of  Tobias  with  • 
drew  to  Antioch,  declaring  themselves 
that  they  would  no  longer  be  tied  up  to 
their  country's  laws  and  institutions,  but 
go  over  to  the  religion  of  their  king,  and 
the  Greek  way  of  worship  :  desiring  liber- 
ty to  erect  a  kind  of  academy,  or  place  for 
public  exercises  Ml  Jerusalem.  Upon  the 
obtaining  of  this  license,  they  so  disguised 
their  bodies,  that  even  naked,  there  was 
no  visible  difference  between  them  and 
the  Greeks,  at  the  same  time  casting  off 
all  regard  for  the  Jewish  laws  and  customs, 
and  betaking1  themselves  to  the  manners 
of  other  nations. 

Antiochus  Epiphanes,  finding  himself 
at  this  time  so  easy  at  home,  and  his  peo- 
ple so  well  settled,  resolved  to  try  an  ex- 
pedition into  Egypt,  partly  from  an  am- 
bition to  make  himself  master  of  the  coun- 
try, and  partly  from  a  reliance  on  the 
weakness  and  inability  of  Ptolemy's  sons 
to  manage  such  a  war;  so  that  he  advanc- 
ed with  a  mighty  army  to  Pelusium, 
where  he  circumvented    Philometor*  by 


*  He  succeeded  his  father  Epiphanes  on  the 
Egyptian  throne,  and  received  by  antiphrasis 
the  name  of  Philometor,  on  account  of  his  hatred 
against  his  mother  Cleopatra.  He  was  in  the 
sixth  year  of  his  age  when  lie  ascended  the  throne, 
and  during  his  minority  the  kingdom  was  governed 
by  his  mother,  and  U  her  death  by  an  eunuch  who 
was  one  of  his  favourites.  He  made  war  against 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  king  of  Syria,  to  recover 
the  provinces  of  Palestine  and  Ccelo-syria,  which 
were  part  of  the  Egyptian  dominions,  and  after 
several  successes  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemy,  who  detained  him  in  confinement.  Dur- 
ing the  captivity  of  Philometor,  the  Egyptians 
raised  to  the  throne  his  younger  brother  Ptolemy 
Euergetes,  or  Physcon,  also  son  of  Epiphanes, 
hut  he  was  no  sooner  established  in  his  power 
than  Antiochus  turned  his  arms  against  Egypt, 
drove  out  the  usurper,  and  restored  Philometor  to 
all  his  rights  and  privileges  as  king  of  Egypt* 


Chap.  IV.J 


THE  BIBLE. 


567 


craft,  and  advanced  into  Egypt,  and  from 
thence  to  Memphis  and  other  neighbour- 
ing places  which  he  likewise  reduced;  and 
then  proceeded  to  Alexandria,  with  a  de- 
sign to  reduce  at  once  both  the  king  and 
the  city  ;  but  upon  the  peremptory  com- 
mand of  the  Romans  to  withdraw  his  army 
immediately  at  his  peril,  he  gave  over  his 
design,  and  relinquishing  what  he  had 
taken,  returned  to  his  own  country. 

Antiochus  at  his  return  from  Egypt, 
from  whence  he  was  affrighted  by  the 
menaces  of  the  Romans,  marched  with  his 
army  to  Jerusalem,  and  entered  the  city 
in  the  hundred  and  forty  third  year  from 
the  time  that  the  kingdom  of  Syria  fell 
into  the  family  of  Seleucus. 

He  made  himself  master  of  it  without 
any  difficulty ;  for  the  gates  were  set 
open  to  him  by  the  treachery  of  a  party 

This  artful  behaviour  of  Antiochus  was  soon  com- 
prehended by  Pbilometor,  and  when  he  saw  that 
Pelusium,  the  key  of  Egypt,  had  remained  in  the 
bands  of  his  Syrian  ally,  be  recalled  his  brother 
Physcon,  and  made  him  partner  on  the  throne, 
and  concerted  with  him  bow  to  repel  their  com- 
mon enemy.  This  onion  of  interest  in  the  two 
royal  brothers  incensed  Antiochus ;  be  entered 
Egypt  with  a  large  army,  but  the  Romans  checked 
bis  progress,  and  obliged  him  to  retire.  No  soon- 
er were  they  delivered  from  the  impending  war 
than  Pbilometor  and  Physcon,  whom  the  fear  of 
danger  bad  united,  began  with  mutual  jealousy  to 
oppose  each  other's  views.  Physcon  was  at  last 
banished  by  tbe  superior  power  of  his  brother, 
and  as-he  could  find  no  support  in  Egypt,  he  im- 
mediately repaired  to  Home.  To  excite  more 
effectually  the  compassion  of  the  Romans,  and  to 
gain  their  assistance,  he  appeared  in  the  meanest 
dress,  and  took  his  residence  in  the  most  obscure 
corner  of  the  city.  He  received  an  audience  from 
the  senate,  and  tbe  Romans  settled  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  two  royal  brothers,  by  making  them  in- 
dependent of  one  another,  and  giving  tbe  govern- 
ment of  Libya  and  Cyrene  to  Physcon,  and  con- 
firming Pbilometor  in  the  possession  of  Egypt, 
and  the  island  of  Cyprus.  These  terms  of  accom- 
modation were  gladly  accepted,  but  Physcon  soon 
claimed  tbe  dominion  of  Cyprus,  and  in  this  he 
was  supported  by  the  Romans,  who  wished  to 
aggrandize  themselves  by  tbe  diminution  of  the 
Egyptian  power.  Pbilometor  refused  to  deliver 
up  tbe  island  of  Cyprus,  and  to  call  away  his  bro- 
ther's attention  be  fomented  the  seeds  of  rebel- 
lion in  Cyrene.  But  the  death  of  Pbilometor 
14-5  years  before  the  Christian  era,  left  Physcon 
master  of  Egypt,  and  all  the  dependent  provinces. 
Pbilometor  has  been  commended  by  some  his- 
torians for  bis  clemency  and  moderation. — Lem- 
priere. 


he  made  in  the  town,  where  he  exercised 
great  cruelty,  and  put  many  people  to  the 
sword,  without  regard  to  sex  or  age,  pil- 
laged the  city  and  carried  the  treasure 
away  to  Antioch. 

This  calamity  happened  in  the  second 
year  after  the  taking  of  the  city,  in  the 
hundred  and  fortieth  year  from  the  first 
Seleucus.  In  this  furious  outrage,  they 
did  not  spare  even  those  who  quietly 
opened  the  gates  to  them,  for  the  greater 
liberty  of  breaking  in  upon  the  riches  of 
the  temple,  where  the  spoil  was  so  consid- 
erable, that  the  value,  they  thought,  might 
in  some  degree  atone  for  the  treachery. 

In  short,  the  temple  was  wholly  strip- 
ped and  rifled,  all  the  holy  vessels  and 
utensils  were  taken  away  ;  nay,  the  very 
hiding-places,  where  they  concealed  an 
immense  treasure,  were  laid  open,  and  not 
so  much  as  any  relics  left  of  this  prodi- 
gious wealth.*  And  farther,  to  consum- 
mate the  misery  of  these  poor  people,  dai- 
ly sacrifices  were  forbidden,  the  city  level- 
led with  the  ground,  the  inhabitants  part- 
ly killed,  partly  carried  away  captives,  to- 
gether with  their  wives  and  children,  to 
the  number  of  ten  thousand,  their  walls 
demolished,  and  their  stately  edifices  con- 
sumed by  fire. 

He  erected  a  towerf  in  the  city,  that 
overlooked  and  commanded  the  temple  it- 

*  In  the  East,  where  revolutions  are  frequent, 

it  is  extremely  common  to  hide  treasures  in  the 
ground  ;  and  it  is  usual  for  conquerors  to  carry 
with  them  persons,  reputed  sorcerers,  whose  office 
it  is  to  find  concealed  treasures.  Thus,  says  Sir  J. 
Cbardin,  at  Surat,  when  Siragi  came  there,  there 
were  persons,  who,  with  a  stick  striking  on  the 
ground  or  against  walls,  found  out  those  that  had 
been  hollowed  or  dug  up,  and  ordered  such  places 
to  be  opened. — Hamper. 

f  This  citadel,  of  which  we  bave  such  frequent 
mention,  both  in  the  Maccabees  and  Josephus, 
seems  to  have  been  a  castle  built  on  a  bill,  lower 
than  mount  Zion,  though  upon  its  skirts, and  higher 
than  mount  Moriah,  but  between  them  both : 
which  bill  tbe  enemies  of  the  Jews  now  got  pos- 
session of,  and  built  upon  it  this  citadel,  and  forti- 
fied it,  till  a  good  while  afterwards  the  Jews  re- 
gained it,  demolished  it,  and  levelled  the  hill  itself 
with  the  common  ground ;  that  their  enemies 
might  no  more  recover  it,  and  thence  overlook  the 
temple  itself,  and  do  them  such  mischief  as  they 
bad  long  undergone  from  it. —  Whiston. 


568 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


self;  and  when  lie  had  supplied  and  forti- 
fied the  place,  put  a  strong  garrison  of  Ma- 
cedonians into  it,  but  not  without  a  mix- 
ture of  execrable  and  apostate  Jews,  that 
were  as  malicious  as  the  very  worst  of 
their  enemies.  He  raised  an  altar  in  the 
temple,  and  sacrificed  hogs  upon  it,  in  a 
most  spiteful  opposition  to  the  laws  and 
constitutions  of  the  Jews.  He  forced  all 
people  to  extremities  who  would  not  re- 
nounce the  true  God  and  worship  his  idols. 
And  so  in  all  other  cities  and  towns,  he 
built  temples  and  altars  for  the  daily  sa- 
crifice of  swine's  flesh.  He  made  it  a 
most  grievous  penalty  for  any  Jew  to  cir- 
cumcise their  children,  keeping  informers, 
either  to  prosecute,  or  extort  from  them 
an  obedience  by  terror  or  force,  so  that 
the  major  part  of  the  Jews,  either  by  their 
own  accord  or  fear  of  punishment,  com- 
plied with  these  orders,  though  some 
stood  bravely  against  all  trials  or  torment, 
and  death  itself,  rather  than  depart  from 
their    religion    and    laws.*       Some    had 


*  The  most  remarkable  martyrs  were  Eleazar,  an 
old  venerable  man,  who,  refusing  to  eat  swine's 
flesh,  was  stripped  naked,  beaten  and  tormented, 
and  at  last  cast  into  the  fire,  and  stinking  liquors 
poured  into  his  nostrils  ;  all  which  he  endured 
with  constancy  and  patience,  till  he  was  consumed 
in  the  flames.  Then  was  brought  forth  Solomona 
(whom  some  later  Jewish  historians  call  Hanna), 
a  venerable  aged  women,  with  her  seven  sons,  who 
could  not  be  moved  with  the  king's  promises,  nor 
by  bis  threats,  to  forsake  the  law  of  her  God  ; 
though  all  instruments  of  torture,  as  wheels,  rods, 
hooks,  caldrons,  cages,  gridirons,  and  the  like, 
were  laid  before  them.  Maccabaens,  the  eldest  son, 
was  beaten,  stripped,  and  stretched  on  a  rack, 
round  the  wheels,  till  his  sinews  and  bowels  burst- 
ed,  and  at  last  thrown  into  the  fire.  Aber,  the 
second  son,  was  bound  with  iron  chains,  his  skin 
flayed  off  to  his  knees,  and  then  cast  to  a  cruel 
leopard  which  would  not  touch  him,  and  at  last 
died,  by  the  hands  of  his  tormentors.  Machir, 
the  third  son,  endured  yet  worse,  being  tied  round 
a  globe,  till  his  bones  went  out  of  joint,  the  skin 
plucked  off*  his  head  and  face,  his  tongue  cut  out, 
and  then  cast  into  a  fiery  frying-pan,  where  he 
died.  Judas,  the  fourth  brother,  despising  the 
king's  commands,  and  the  persuasion  of  spectators, 
being  resolute  never  to  forsake  the  law  of  his 
God,  had  his  tongue  cut  out,  was  beaten  with 
ropes  at  a  stake,  racked  on  the  wheel,  and  died. 
Achas,  the  fifth  brother,  was  c:.st  into  a  brazen 
pot,  and  died  by  most  cruel  torments.  Areth, 
the  sixth,  had  his  tongue  cut  out,  and  died  in  the 
frying-pan,   Jacob,  the  youngest,  was  put  to  death 


their  bodies  cut  and  torn  with  whips,  and 
then  crucified  alive  with  their  wives,  and 
so  many  of  their  children  as  were  circum- 
cised hanging  about  their  necks,  accord- 
ing to  the  king's  order.  The  holy  scrip- 
tures were  destroyed  also  wherever  they 
were  found;  and  it  was  made  death  so 
much  as  to  entertain  them. 

The  Samaritans,  conformable  to  the 
character  we  have  before  given  of  them, 
when  they  found  the  Jews  reduced  to  so 
miserable  a  state  of  distress,  for  fear  of 
being  brought  to  bear  a  share  in  their  ca- 
lamities, immediately  disclaimed  all  kin- 
dred with  them,  disowning  the  temple  of 
Gerizim  for  the  temple  of  God ;  and  al- 
leging themselves  to  be  the  race  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians.  To  enforce  the  be- 
lief of  which,  and  in  order  to  take  off  the 
danger  apprehended  upon  this  occasion, 
they  sent  a  solemn  embassy  and  address 
to  Antiochus  in  these  terms : 

"To  king  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  il- 
lustrious god,  the  humble  petition  of  the 
Sidonians,  inhabitants  of  Shechem,  show- 
eth, — That  the  forefathers  of  your  peti- 
tioners, lying  under  the  affliction  of  many 
and  grievous  plagues  in  their  own  coun- 
try, were  partly  wrought  on  by  that  ca- 
lamity, and  in  part  prevailed  upon  by 
the  superstition  of  an  ancient  custom,  to 
join  in  the  religious  observance  of  a  cer- 
tain festival  which  the  Jews  called  the 
sabbath,  and  in  the  erecting  of  the  temple 
upon  the  mount  of  Gerizim,  where  sacri- 
fices were  offered  to  a  god  without  a  name. 


by  the  like  unspeakable  torments,  which  he  en- 
dured with  incredible  courage.  The  mother,  at 
last,  having  seen  all  her  sons  thus  put  to  death, 
and  having  encouraged  them  all  to  constancy  and 
fortitude  of  mind,  by  pious  speeches  in  the  He- 
brew tongue,  suffered  martyrdom  herself,  with 
the  like  heroic  spirit,  under  a  thousand  torments. 
The  acts  of  these  martyrs  and  their  dying  speeches 
are  more  fully  recorded  by  Josephus,  and  in  the 
hook  of  Maccabees  ;  and  out  of  them  by  Mr 
Fox,  Mr  Clarke,  and  many  other  writers  of  mar- 
tyrologies.  Their  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life,  and  the  holy  apostle  seems  to  make 
honourable  mention  of  them,  saying,  Heb.  xi.  35. 
*  Others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance, 
that  they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection.'— 
Millar. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


669 


Now,  that  your  majesty  hath  been  pleas- 
ed to  inflict  a  punishment  upon  this  wick- 
ed people,  suitable  to  the  heinousness  of 
their  offences,  and  to  appoint  officers, 
who,  upon  a  supposition  that  we  were  of 
the  same  stock,  are  thereby  induced  to 
involve  your  petitioners  with  the  Jews 
in  the  same  crime;  whereas  we  derive 
our  original  from  the  Sidonians,  as  we 
can  make  appear  by  record  extant  to 
this  day.  May  it  please  your  majesty,  to 
grant  such-  order  to  Apollonius  our  go- 
vernor in  favour  of  your  petitioners,  that 
they  may  not  be  any  farther  molested  for 
the  future,  upon  the  suspicion  of  any  cor- 
respondence with  the  Jews,  to  whom  we 
are  as  much  strangers  in  our  manners  as  in 
our  extraction.  And  we  do  farther  pray, 
that  the  temple  which  hath  stood  hitherto 
without  any  dedication,  may  from  this  time 
forward  he  called  the  temple  of  Jupiter  of 
Greece,  to  the  end  that  when  we  shall  live 
in  move  security  and  freedom,  as  to  the 
government  of  our  own  private  affairs,  we 
may  the  better  attend  those  duties  in  the 
advancement  of  your  service  and  revenue." 

In  answer  to  this  request  of  the  Sama- 
ritans, the  king  wrote  back  as  followeth: 

"King  Antiochus  to  Nicanor. —  Having 
received  a  petition  from  the  Sidonians  at 
Shechem,  which  we  have  here  annexed  to 
this  letter,  this  is  to  let  you  understand, 
that  it  appeareth  unto  us,  upon  the  infor- 
mation of  the  bearers  thereof,  that  the 
Sidonians  are  no  way  guilty  of  the  crimes 
charged  upon  the  Jews;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, that  they  govern  themselves  accord- 
ing to  the  way  and  fashion  of  the  Greeks. 
Wherefore  it  is  our  will  and  pleasure  that 
they  receive  no  further  trouble  about  the 
matter.  And  to  what  concerns  the  tem- 
ple, it  is  our  will  also,  that  from  this  time 
forward  it  may  be  known  and  distinguish- 
ed by  the  name  of  Jupiter  of  Greece. 
We  have  written  to  the  same  effect  also 
to  our  governor  Apollonius.  Dated  in 
the  forty-sixth  year,  and  the  eleventh  day 
of  the  month." 

There  lived  at  this  time  in  Modin,  a 


village  in  Judea,  one  Mattathias,  a  priest 
of  the  family  of  Joarib,  and  a  native  of 
Jerusalem.  This  person,  being  of  a  pious 
disposition,  would  frequently  condole  with 
his  sons  on  account  of  the  deplorable  state 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  their  city  being  laid 
desolate,  their  temple  pillaged  and  pro- 
faned, with  many  other  calamities.  He 
would  observe  how  much  more  glorious  it 
would  be  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  laws  and 
religion  of  their  country,  than  to  linger 
out  a  miserable  life  in  this  servile  manner. 

When  the  king's  officers  entered  the 
village,  to  enforce  the  execution  of  their 
master's  orders,  they  began  to  tamper 
with  Mattathias,  as  a  person  of  authority, 
and  one  who  might  be  a  leading  example 
to  all  the  rest. 

They  laid  before  him  the  danger  of 
disobeying,  with  the  advantages  and  re- 
wards he  should  receive  upon  his  compli- 
ance. And  upon  these  terms  charged 
him,  in  the  king's  name,  to  worship  as  he 
was  commanded,  which  he  not  only  refus- 
ed to  do,  but  told  them  positively,  "  That 
if  every  soul  within  their  master's  domin- 
ions should  yield  to  him  in  that  particular, 
he  would  never  submit  himself,  or  advise 
any  of  his  sons  to  abandon  the  religion  of 
their  country." 

Mattathias  stopped  here;  and  after  a 
short  silence,  a  Jew  came  forth  from  the 
multitude  to  sacrifice  according  to  the 
method  prescribed  by  the  officers;  but 
Mattathias  and  his  sons  were  so  inflamed 
at  the  indignity  of  this  affront,  that  in  a 
fury  they  not  only  killed  the  Jew,  but  the 
king's  officer  Apelles,  with  all  his  guard, 
as  they  were  forcing  the  people  to  that 
abominable  worship. 

In  the  violence  of  this  resentment,  they 
overturned  the  altar  also;  Mattathias  call- 
ing out  with  a  loud  voice  to  the  people 
about  him,  "  As  many  of  you  as  have  a 
zealous  regard  for  the  purity  of  your 
religion,  follow  me." 

The  father  and  the  sons  then  withdrew 
themselves   into    the   wilderness,    leaving 
their    goods   and    effects    behind    them. 
4  c 


570 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


They  were  soon  followed  by  a  number  of 
families  into  the  desert,  where  they  lived 
for  some  time  in  caves. 

When  this  came  to  the  ears  of  the 
king's  general  officers,  they  drew  the 
garrison  out  of  the  castle  at  Jerusalem, 
and  marched  after  the  Jews  into  the  wil- 
derness. Upon  coming  up  to  them,  they 
endeavoured  to  bring  them  over,  by  fair 
words,  advising  them  to  bethink  them- 
selves,  and  to  take  more  prudent  mea- 
sures, without  forcing  the  soldiers  upon 
the  necessity  of  a  military  execution. 
But  this  was  to  no  purpose;  so  that  when 
they  found  all  efforts  ineffectual,  they 
pitched  upon  the  sabbath-day  for  an 
attack  upon  them,  burning  and  destroying 
them  in  their  places  of  retirement,  without 
any  resistance,  or  so  much  as  stopping  the 
mouths  of  their  caves;  for  such  was  the 
reverence  they  had  for  the  observation  of 
that  day,  and  the  laws  that  commanded 
them  to  keep  it  holy,  that  they  chose 
rather  to  perish  than  profane  it. 

There  were  near  a  thousand  of  them, 
men,  women,  and  children,  who  were  thus 
suffocated  under  ground;  but  there  were 
also  great  numbers  that  escaped,  and  listed 
themselves  under  the  command  of  Mat- 
tathias. 

Mattathias  finding  the  dire  effect  of  this 
inactivity,  represented  to  them  the  legality 
of  defending  themselves,  when  their  lives 
were  in  danger  on  the  sabbath,  as  well  as 
upon    any    other    day;*    otherwise    that 

*  By  tlie  law  of  Moses,  the  Jews  were  com- 
manded to  do  no  manner  of  work  on  the  sabbath- 
day  ;  but  this  was  a  precept  which  would  admit 
of  some  exceptions,  and  what  some  people  took 
in  a  more  rigorous  sense  than  others.  The 
Samaritans,  for  instance,  thought  themselves  oblig- 
ed to  observe  it  to  such  a  degree  of  strictness,  as 
not  to  stir  out  of  their  places  on  that  day.  because 
the  law  is  literally  so  expressed,  Exod.  xvi.  29. 
but  the  Jews  were  of  opinion,  that  they  were  per- 
mitted to  make  their  escape  from  danger,  or  to 
walk  such  a  compass  of  ground,  (which  they  called 
a  sabbath-day's  journey.)  if  it  were  for  any  neces- 
sary occasion,  on  that  day.  .In  our  Saviour's  time 
it  was  allowable,  they  thought,  to  pull  any  animal 
out  of  a  pit,  or  a  ditch  on  that  day,  Mat.  xii.  11. 
but  the  Talmvidical  doctors  were  for  revoking  that 
permission,  and  found  fault  with  him  for  even 


scruple  would  be  their  total  destruction, 
their  enemies,  taking  advantage  of  that 
superstition,  would  be  sure  to  attack  them 
at  a  time  when  they  were  certain  they 
should  meet  with  no  resistance. 

The  propriety  of  this  remark  was  so 
evident,  that  they  were  all  convinced  of 
the  lawfulness  of  using  their  arms  on  the 
sabbath,  in  case  of  necessity ;  and  the 
practice  of  it  continued  ever  since. 

The  great  general  was  by  this  time 
master  of  a  considerable  force,  insomuch 
that  he  destroyed  their  altars,  and  put  all 
apostates  to  the  sword,  appointing  children 
to  be  circumcised,  which  was  before  for- 
bidden, and  expelling  the  king's  officers 
that  were  appointed  to  hinder  it,— having 
drawn  into  a  body  all  that  had  dispersed 
themselves  up  and  down  into  hiding-places 
for  fear  of  the  enemy. 

Mattathias  having  now  been  a  full  year 
in  this  command,  felt  himself  seized  with 
certain  symptoms  of  death ;  and  calling 
his  sons  about  him,  spoke  to  them  to  this 
purpose: 

"  My  dear  sons,  my  life  is  drawing  to 


healing  the  sick  and  the  lame  on  the  sabbath. 
Mattathias,  and  his  company,  by  sundry  experi- 
ences, were  convinced,  that  too  scrupulous  an 
observance  of  the  sabbath  had  brought  several 
calamities  upon  their  nation  ;  that  Ptolemy,  the 
son  of  Lagus,  the  first  king  of  Egypt  of  that  name, 
by  assaulting  Jerusalem  on  the  sabbath-day, 
(wherein  the  Jews  would  do  nothing  to  defend 
themselves,)  became  master  of  it  without  opposi- 
tion ;  and  that  (but  just  lately)  a  great  number  of 
their  brethren  had  been  passively  slain,  because 
they  would  not  so  much  as  handle  their  arms  on 
that  day  ;  and  thereupon  they  came  to  a  resolu- 
tion to  defend  themselves,  whenever  they  were 
attacked,  be  the  day  what  it  would  ;  but  we  do 
not  find  that  they  came  to  any  decision,  whether 
they  themselves  were  to  attack  the  enemy  on  the 
sabbath.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems,  as  if  they 
had  determined,  that  they  were  only  permitted  to 
repel  force  by  force;  and  therefore  we  read,  that, 
when  Pompey  besieged  the  temple,  observing  that 
the  Jews  did  barely  defend  themselves  on  the 
seventh  day,  he  ordered  his  men  to  offer  no  hos- 
tilities, but  only  to  raise  the  batteries,  plant  their 
engines,  and  make  their  approaches  on  that  day, 
being  well  assured,  that,  in  doing  of  this,  he  should 
meet  with  no  molestation  from  them ;  and,  by  this 
means,  he  carried  the  place  much  sooner  than  he 
otherwise  would  have  done. — Jewish  Antiq.  lib. 
xiv.  c.  8.  Jewish  Wars,  lib.  i.  c.  5.  and  Calmet't 
Commentary. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


571 


an  end;  but  I  am  now  to  charge  you 
upon  my  blessing,  before  I  leave  you, 
that  you  stand  firm  to  the  cause  that  your 
father  has  asserted  before  you  without  the 
least  deviation.  Remember  what  I  have 
told  you;  and  do  as  I  have  advised  you. 
Do  your  utmost  to  support  the  rights  and 
laws  of  your  country,  and  to  restore  the 
order  of  a  nation  that  is  almost  devoured 
by  its  own  corruptions  and  idolatries; 
shun  all  communication  with  those  that 
either  for  fear,  or  for  interest,  have  be- 
trayed it.  Show  yourselves  sons  worthy 
of  such  a  father,  in  defiance  of  all  op- 
position, and  in  defence  of  your  country ; 
esteeming  this  the  only  way  to  preserve 
you  in  God's  favour.  And  that  in  con- 
sideration of  so  unshaken  a  virtue,  he  will, 
in  time,  restore  you  to  your  former  life 
and  manners.  Our  bodies,  it  is  true,  are 
mortal,  but  great  and  general  actions  will 
make  us  immortal  in  our  memory,  and 
that  is  the  glory  to  which  I  would  have 
you  aspire.  ,  Be  sure  to  agree  among 
yourselves,  and  in  what  degree  soever  any 
of  you  hath  an  advantage  over  the  rest, 
resign  to  him  the  business  of  his  province. 
As  for  example,  it  being  Simon's  faculty 
t©  make  a  right  judgment  of  things,  I 
shall  advise  you  to  pay  the  same  regard 
to  his  counsels  as  those  of  a  father.  Mac- 
cabseus  excels  in  military  conduct  and 
bravery;  wherefore  choose  him  for  your 
general,  as  the  best  qualified  for  the  vin- 
dication of  your  friends,  and  for  the  crush- 
ing of  your  enemies." 

CHAPTER  V. 

Judas  succeeds  Mattathias  in  the  command  of 
the  Jewish  army. — Defeats  the  governors  of 
Samaria  ;  goes  to  Jerusalem. — Purifies  the 
temple,  and  regulates  the  confused  state  of  his 
countrymen. — Performs  many  gallant' exploits 
in  conjunction  with  Simon. —  Transportation 
of  the  Jews  out  of  Galilee  into  Judea. — De~ 
I  struction  of  Ephron — Joseph  and  Azarias, 
infighting  contrary  to  order,  are  defeated. 

Mattathias  concluded  his  discourse   to 
bis  sons  with  prayers  to  God  for  a  bless- 


ing upon  their  endeavours  towards  the  re- 
demption of  their  countrymen  and  the 
recovery  of  their  ancient  rights  and  privi- 
leges. 

Soon  after  this  he  expired,  and  was 
buried  at  Modin.  After  his  funeral  ob- 
sequies were  solemnized,  Judas,  otherwise 
Maccabeus,*  had  the  public  administration 
put  into  his  hands,  which  was  in  the  year 
one  hundred  forty  six,  reckoning  from 
Seleucus  the  first;  and  he  was  so  well 
supported  by  his  brothers,  that  he  cleared 
the  country  of  the  enemy,  and  purged  the 
land  from  all  the  abominable  pollutions 
that  had  been  practised  therein. 

The  news  of  this  turn  of  affairs  upon 
the  succession  of  Judas,  induced  Apollo- 
nius,t  the  governor  of  Samaria,  to  advance 
with  his  army  against  Judas;  who,  with- 
out loss  of  time,  met  him  halfway,  fought 
and  routed  him,  killed  a  great  number  of 
his  people  upon  the  spot,  together  with 
Apollonius  himself,  disarming  him  with 
his  own  hand,  and  carrying  off  his  sword 
in  triumph.  Likewise  he  had  also  the  spoil 
of  the  camp,  a  booty  of  prodigious  value. 

The  tidings  of  this  defeat,  and  of  the  vast 
reinforcements  that  came  thronging  in  to 
Judas  upon  this  success,  gave  Seron,  the 
governor  of  Coelo-syria,  to  understand, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  be  upon  his  guard, 
so  that  he  took  a  resolution  immediately 
to  come  to  a  battle,  esteeming  himself 
bound  to  chastise  the  mutinous,  and  bring 
the  rebellious  to  obedience. 


*  The  motto  of  Judas  on  his  standard  was  a 
Hebrew  sentence,  taken  from  Exod.  xv.  11  :  not 
written  at  length,  but,  by  an  abbreviation,  formed 
of  the  initial  letters,  which  made  the  artificial 
word  Maccabi :  hence,  all  that  fought  under  that 
standard  were  called  Maccabees,  or  Mnccabeans ; 
and  lie,  in  a  special  manner,  being  their  captain, 
had  the  same  name  by  way  of  eminence.  This 
practice  of  abbreviating  sentences  and  names  by 
putting  together  the  initial  letters  of  the  words, 
and  thus  forming  an  artificial  word  to  express  the 

whole,  lias  been  common  among  the  Jews Gro- 

tius,  Dean  Prideaux. 

f  This,  in  all  probability,  was  the  same  Apollo- 
nius whom  Antiochus  seut  at  first  to  plunder 
Jerusalem,  and  afterwards  to  set  up  the  statue  of 
Jupiter  Olympius,  and  to  compel  the  Jews  to  re- 
linquish their  religion. —  Calmet's  Commentary. 


572 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


In  order  to  this  expedition,  with  what 
men  he  had  of  his  own,  and  with  the  ad- 
ditional force  of  a  rabble  of  fugitive  Jews, 
he  took  his  march  to  Bethoron,  a  village 
of  Judea,  where  he  pitched  his  camp. 
Upon  which  Judas  put  himself  in  a  pos- 
ture to  encounter  him;  but  finding  his 
soldiers  indisposed  for  action,  whether  it 
was  for  fear  of  their  mighty  army,  or 
for  faiutness  upon  over-fasting,  he  made 
them  a  short  harangue,  that  animated 
them  with  fresh  courage  and  resolution, 
in  the  following  words  : — 

"  Fellow  soldiers,  it  is  not  the  arm  of 
flesh,  but  God,  that  gives  the  victory; 
not  multitudes  of  men,  but  trust  and  con- 
fidence in  the  Almighty.  This  is  no 
more  than  we  have  found  many  times 
experimentally  true  in  the  history  of  our 
ancestors;  who,  with  an  inconsiderable 
number  of  men,  in  a  righteous  cause,  that 
is,  in  defence  of  their  religion,  laws,  li- 
berty, wives,  and  children,  have  put  many 
thousands  to  flight.  Great  is  truth,  in 
short,  and  the  force  of  innocence  is  in- 
vincible." 

With  these  spirited  words  he  led  his 
,men  on  to  the  battle,  where  they  behaved 
themselves  like  heroes;  engaged  Seron, 
and  killed  him  upon  the  spot,  and  defeated 
the  whole  army  of  the  Assyrians.  For 
upon  the  fall  of  their  general,  their  troops 
were  presently  broken  and  scattered,  and 
every  man's  business  was  to  secure  his 
own  flight. 

Judas  pursued  them  as  far  as  the  plain; 
about  eight  hundred  of  them  were  slain 
in  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  rest  made 
their  escape  towards  the  sea  side. 

These  disasters  immediately  succeed- 
ing each  other,  compelled  Antiochus  to 
raise  a  considerable  aimy  for  the  next  cam- 
paign, which  he  effected,  by  means  of  his 
own  people,  and  the  addition  of  foreign 
mercenaries,  determined  to  enter  Judea 
early  the  following  spring. 

But  these  troubles  had  so  interrupted 
the  raising  of  his  taxes,  besides  the  frank- 
ness and  generosity  of  his  own  nature, 


that  upon  the  payment  of  his  troops,  he 
found  money  fall  short,  and  that  his  re- 
venue would  not  answer  the  charge  of  the 
war. 

Upon  this  consideration,  he  proposed 
rather  to  go  into  Persia  first,  and  to  sup- 
ply himself  with  what  money  he  could 
raise  in  that  province,  leaving  the  com- 
mand of  all  the  country,  between  Egypt 
and  the  Euphrates,  during  his  absence,  in 
the  hands  of  one  Lysias,  a  person  of  ap- 
proved integrity,  together  with  some  part 
also  of  his  troops  and  elephants;  giving 
him  further  in  charge  to  take  particular 
care  of  his  son  Antiochus,  till  he  should 
come  back  again. 

And,  moreover,  that  upon  the  reducing 
of  Judea,  and  the  selling  of  all  the  in- 
habitants for  slaves,  he  would  utterly  de- 
stroy the  city,  and  extirpate  the  nation. 

Having  given  these  orders,  he  marched 
from  Persia,  and,  passing  the  Euphrates, 
advanced  forward  into  the  higher  coun- 
tries. 

Lysias  took  to  his  assistance,  in  the  ex- 
ecution of  this  commission,  Ptolemy  Ma- 
cron the  son  of  Dorymenes,  Gorgias,  and 
Nicanor,  three  of  the  best  officers  he  could 
find  among  the  king's  friends.  He  put 
these  commanders  at  the  head  of  forty 
thousand  foot,  and  seven  thousand  horse, 
with  orders  to  march  forthwith  into  Judea. 

They  advanced  as  far  as  Emmaus,*  and 


*  Emmaus,  signifying  hot  baths,  was  a  village, 
sixty  furlongs,  or  seven  miles  and  a  half,  north-west 
of  Jerusalem,  celebrated  for  our  Lord's  conversation 
with  two  disciples  who  went  thither  on  the  day  of 
his  resurrection.  Josephus  (de  Bello,  lib.  viii.  cap. 
•27.)  says,  that  Vespasian  left  800  soldiers  in  Judea, 
to  whom  he  gave  the  village  of  Emmaus,  which 
was  sixty  furlongs  from  Jerusalem.  D'Arvieux 
states,  (vol.  vii.  p.  259.)  that  going  from  Jerusalem 
to  Kama,  he  took  the  right  from  the  high  road  to 
Rama,  at  some  little  distance  from  Jerusalem,  and 
"  travelled  a  good  league  over  rocks  and  flint  stones, 
to  the  end  of  the  valley  of  terebinthine  trees,"  till 
he  reached  Emmaus.  *'  It  seems,  by  the  ruins 
which  surrounded  it,  that  it  was  formerly  larger 
than  it  was  in  our  Saviour's  time.  The  Christians, 
while  masters  of  the  Holy  Land,  re-established  it 
a  little,  and  built  several  churches.  Emmaus  was 
not  worth  the  trouble  of  having  come  out  of  the 
way  to  see  it.  Ruins,  indeed,  we  saw  on  all  sides  ; 
and  fables  we  heard  from  every  quarter,  though 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


673 


there  encamped  upon  the  plain,  where 
there  came  over  to  them  a  great  number 
of  auxiliaries  from  Syria,  and  other  neigh- 
bouring: countries,  and  an  abundance  of 
fugitive  Jews;  besides  several  merchants 
and  traders,  with  great  sums  of  money  to 
buy  slaves;*  these  brought  fetters  and 
manacles  with  them  of  all  sorts  to  secure 
their  captives. 

The  enemy  had  raised  a  formidable 
army;  but  Judas  bade  them  cast  them- 
selves upon  the  protection  of  the  Almighty, 
and  fear  nothing.  And  they  humbled 
themselves  in  sackcloth,  fasting,  and  pray- 
er, according  to  the  custom  of  the  country 
when  in  imminent  danger,  imploring  God's 
mercy,  favour,  and  protection. 

The  general's  next  business  was  to 
range  his  men  by  regiments,  troops,  and 
companies,  in  order  of  battle,  according 
to  the  Jewish  custom ;  and  then  to  dis- 
charge the  army  of  all  new  married  men, 
and  such  as  had  lately  made  purchases, 
who  probably  might  be  diverted  from  their 
duty,  between  the  care  of  their  particular 
interest  and  the  service  of  the  public; 
and  animating  his  people  also  at  the  same 
time,  by  his  words,  as  well  as  his  actions, 
to  acquit  themselves  like  men  of  honour 
and  courage. 

"  We  shall  never,"  says  he,  "  my  fel- 
low soldiers  and  companions,  have  such  an 
opportunity  again  of  showing  our  bravery 
in  the  defence  of  our  country,  and  the 
contempt  of  all  danger,  as  we  have  now 
before  us;  for  upon  the  issue  of  to-mor- 
row's combat  depend,  not  only  our  liberty, 


under  the  guise  of  traditions.  Such  is  the  notion 
of  the  house  of  Cleopas  ;  on  the  site  of  which  a 
great  church  was  erected,  of  which  a  few  masses 
of  the  thick  walls  remain,  but  nothing  else." — 
Calmet. 

*  From  2  Mace.  viii.  10,  1.1.  it  appears,  that 
Nicanor,  proposing  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  to 
defray  the  arrears  of  tribute  due  from  the  king 
to  the  Romans,  and  confident  of  victory  over 
the  Jews,  proclaimed  a  sale  of  the  captives  before- 
hand, at  the  rate  of  ninety  for  a  talent,  or  about 
two  pounds  sterling  a  head.  This  brought  together 
a  thousand  principal  merchants  to  the  Syrian  camp, 
besides  a  great  number  of  'servants'  and  assist- 
ants, to  help  them  in  carrying  off  the  slaves  they 
should  purchase. — Dean  Prideaux,  Dr  Hales. 


but  all  the  comforts  and  advantages  that 
attend  it;  and,  over  and  above  the  bless- 
ing of  such  a  freedom,  our  very  religion 
lies  at  stake  with  it  too,  and  we  cannot  se- 
cure the  one  but  by  preserving  the  other. 
Remember  therefore  what  it  is  that  you 
are  to  contend  for,  and  you  shall  find  it  to 
be  no  less  than  the  sum  and  substance  of 
the  greatest  happiness  that  ever  you  en- 
joyed, that  is  to  say,  the  peaceable  posses- 
sion of  your  ancient  laws,  rites,  and  disci- 
pline. Now  whether  you  will  rather  choose 
to  perish  with  infamy,  and  to  involve  the 
miserable  remainder  of  all  your  country- 
men in  the  same  ruin,  or  venture  one  gen- 
erous effort  for  the  redemption  of  your- 
selves, and  your  friends,  is  the  point  be- 
fore you.  Death  is  the  same  thing  to  a 
coward  that  it  is  to  a  valiant  man,  and  as 
certain  to  the  one  as  to  the  other;  but 
there's  a  great  difference  in  point  of  hon- 
our, between  a  gallant  man  that  falls  in 
the  vindication  of  his  religion,  liberties, 
laws,  and  country,  and  a  coward  that  aban- 
dons all  for  fear  of  losing  a  life  which  he 
cannot  save  at  last.  Set  these  things  be- 
fore your  mind,  and  rest  assured  that  you 
have  nothing  to  trust  to  but  God"s  provi- 
dence, and  your  own  concurring  resolu- 
tions :  and  at  the  worst,  while  we  contend 
for  victory,  we  can  never  fail  of  glory." 

After  this  speech  of  Judas  to  his  sol- 
diers, while  his  thoughts  were  intent  upon 
the  success  of  the  approaching  battle,  he 
received  certain  intelligence,  that  Gorgias 
would  be  with  him  that  night  with  a  thou- 
sand horse  and  five  thousand  foot,  with 
some  renegado  Jews  for  their  giride,  to 
surprise  him,  and  beat  up  his  quarters. 
This  discovery  put  Judas  upon  a  design  of 
surprising  him  ;  taking  the  opportunity  of 
his  army  being  so  divided.  In  order  to 
this  he  caused  several  fires  to  be  made  in 
his  camp,  and  so  marched  all  night  towards 
Emmaus,  where  the  enemy  lay  encamped. 

Gorgias,  in  the  mean  time,  finding  the 
Jews'  camp  deserted;  and  presuming  that 
they  were  run  away  through  fear,  to  hide 
themselves  in  the  mountains,  determined 


574 


HISTORY   OF 


[Book  VIII. 


to  find  them  out.     But  Judas  coming  by  ' 
break  of  day  to  the  enemy's  camp,  with 
only  three  thousand  men,  and  those  badly  | 
armed  ;  and  rinding  the  enemy  well  armed,  j 
and  their  camp  in  very  good  order,  he  told  j 
his  people  for  their  encouragement,   that 
they  should  not  fear  to  attack  them,  even 
if  they  were  all  naked,  so  long  as  they 
were  certain  of  God's  favour  and  protec- 
tion,   which   would  support  them  against 
all  other  difficulties ;  with  these  words  he 
ordered   the  charge  to  be   sounded;  and 
breaking  in  upon  them  at  the  same  instant, 
put  them  into  such  consternation,  that  after 
putting  those  to  the  sword  that  resisted, 
the  rest  betook  themselves   to  flight,  he 
pursued    them    as  far   as    Gadara,  *    and 
thence  to  the  plains  of  Idumea,f  Azotus, 


*  Gadara  was  a  city  east  of  the  Jordan,  in  the 
Decapolis.  Josephus  calls  it  die  capital  of  Perasa  ; 
and  Pliny  (lib.  v.  cap.  16.)  places  it  on  the  river 
Hicromax,  (Jarmucli,)  about  five  miles  from  its 
junction  with  the  Jordan.  It  gave  name  to  a  dis- 
trict which  extended,  probably,  from  the  region  of 
Scythopolis  to  the  borders  of  Tiberias.  Pompey 
repaired  Gadara,  in  consideration  of  Demetrius  his 
freed-man,  a  native  of  it;  and  Gabinius  settled 
there  one  of  the  five  courts  o.f  justice  for  Judea. 
Polybius  says,  that  Antiochus  the  Great  besieged 
this  city,  which  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the 
strongest  places  in  the  country,  arid  that  it  surren- 
dered to  him  on  composition.  Epiphanius  speaks 
of  its  hot  baths.  The  evangelists  Mark  and  Luke 
say  that  our  Saviour,  having  passed  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  came  into  the  district  of  the  Gadarenes. 
Matthew  (viii.  28.)  calls  it  Gergasenes  ;  but  as  the 
lands  belonging  to  one  of  these  cities  were  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  other,  one  evangelist  might 
say,  the  country  of  'he  Gergasenes,  another  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes  ;  either  being  equally 
correct.  Mr  Bankes  thinks  that  the  place  called 
Oom-kais,  where  are  shown  numerous  caverns  and 
extensive  ruins,  marks  the  site  of  Gadara;  but  Mr 
Buckingham  speaks  of  Oom-kais  as  (iamala.  If 
Gadara  be  properly  understood  as  denoting  a  fenced 
protection,  the  name  might,  with  great  propriety, 
be  common  in  many  parts  ;  and  such  retreats 
would  be  no  less  necessary  at  the  northern  extrem- 
ities of  the  country  than  at  the  southern Cal- 

met. 

f  Wherever  the  name  of  Idumea,  or  the  land  of 
Edom,  occurs  in  any  of  the  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament,  it  is  to  be  understood  of  that  Idumea, 
or  land  of  Edom,  which  lay  between  the  lake  of 
Sodom  and  the  Red  sea, and  was  afterwards  called 
Arabia  Petraea.  But  the  inhabitants  of  this  coun- 
try, being  driven  out  by  the  Nabathaeans,  while  the 
Jews  were  in  the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  their 
land  laid  desolate,  they  then  took  possession  of  as 
much  of  the  southern  oart  of  it  as  contained  what 


and  Jamnia. %  The  number  of  the  slain 
was  about  three  thousand :  but  Judas 
would  not  suffer  his  people  to  plunder,  be- 
cause the  troops  of  Gorgias  were  as  yet 
entire ;  but  upon  the  routing  of  him,  he 
said,  that  they  might  take  possession  of 
the  booty  at  pleasure. 

While  he  was  delivering  these  words, 
Gorgias's  people  discovering  from  an 
eminence  at  hand,  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  friends,  the  havoc  that  had  been 
made  in  their  tents,  and  their  camp  cover- 
ed with  smoke,  they  took  it  for  granted 
that  Jtidas's  men  were  still  embodied,  and 
in  condition  to  attack  them;  so  that  they 
fled,  and  dispersed  themselves,  every  man 
consulting  his  own  safety.  The  victory 
being  thus  gained,  Judas  permitted  his 
men  at  pleasure  to  take  the  pillage  of  the 
field,  where  they  found  gold  and  silver, 
costly  habits  of  purple  and  scarlet,  and 
other  rich  booty  in  abundance;  which 
they  carried  off  in  triumph,  singing  as 
they  marched,  and  giving  thanks  to  God, 
the  author  of  that  victory,  which  proved 
both  an  earnest  and  a  foundation  of  their 
future  freedom. 

Lysias  was  so  sensible  of  the  shame 
arising  from  this  defeat,  that,  to  rede*em 
his  credit,  he  brought  into  the  field,  the 


had  formerly  been  the  whole  inheritance  of  the 
tribe  of  Simeon,  and  half  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
where,  at  this  time,  they  dwelt,  but  had  not  as  yet 
embraced  the  Jewish  religion.  And  this  is  the 
only  Idumea,  and  the  inhabitants  of  it  the  only 
ldumeans,  or  Edomites,  which  are  ariy  where 
spoken  of  after  the  Babylonish  captivity. — Pri* 
dcaux's  Connection. 

J  The  same  as  Jabneh,  2  Cliron.  xxvi.  6.  a  mari- 
time town  in  Palestine  between  Azotus  and  Joppa. 
The  following  is  Dr  Wittman's  account  of  it. 
"  Yebna  is  a  village  about  twelve  miles  distant  from 
Jaffa  ;  in  a  fine  open  plain,  surrounded* by  hills  and 
covered  with  herbage.  A  rivulet  formed  by  the 
rains  supplies  water.  It  is  conjectured  that  the. 
rock  Etam,  where  Samson  was  surprised  by  the 
Philistines,  was  not  far  from  Yebna.  North-east 
of  Yebna  is  a  lofty  hill,  from  which  is  an  extensive 
and  pleasing  view  of  Ramla,  distant  about  five 
miles.  On  sloping  hills  of  easy  ascent,  by  which 
the  plains  are  bordered,  Yebna.  Ekron,  Ashdod, 
and  Ashkalon,  were  in  sight"  Josephus  says 
Jamnia  was  given  to  the  tribe  of  Dan.  In  2  Mac 
xii.  9.  it  is  stated  to  be  240  furlongs  from  Jerusa- 
lem.—  Calrnet. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE 


575 


year  following,  an  army  of  sixty  thousand 
foot,  and  five  thousand  horse;  all  men  of 
approved  valour,  and  with  this  body  he 
entered  Judea,  by  the  way  of  the  moun- 
tains, encamping  at  a  place  called  Beth- 


sura. 


Judas  was  not  at  all  discouraged  at  his 
superiority  of  number,  but  marched  direct- 
ly  towards  him  with  an  army  of  ten  thou- 
sand men  only.  His  trust  was  in  God 
alone;  so  after  a  short  and  fervent  prayer 
for  a  blessing  upon  his  arms,  he  charged 
the  enemy  with  such  intrepidity,  that 
upon  the  first  shock  he  forced  the  line, 
and  cut  off  five  thousand  men  upon  the 
spot. 

This  unexpected  disaster  put  their 
whole  army  into  such  confusion,  that 
Lvsias,  finding  them  obstinately  determin- 
ed either  to  live  or  die  in  the  possession 
of  their  liberty,  thought  proper  to  with- 
draw his  troops  before  the  consternation 
became  too  general;  so  that  he  returned 
to  Antioch,  where  he  posted  hjmself  by 
the  help  of  mercenaries,  and  other  addi- 
tional reinforcements,  in  the  most  conve- 
nient situation  for  another  attack. 

Judas  was  so  flushed  with  these  repeat- 
ed successes  against  the  forces  of  Antioch, 
that  he  prevailed  upon  the  Jews,  in  confi- 
dence that,  after  so  many  victories  obtain- 
ed, God  would  not  forsake  them,  to  march 
without  any  more  delay  to  Jerusalem  it- 
self, and  there  to  purge  the  temple,  and 
offer  up  their  daily  sacrifice.  But  when 
they  came  thither,  and  found  the  temple 
abandoned,  the  gates  all  burnt,  and  the 
courts  overrun  with  weeds,  Judas  and  his 
people  could  not  refrain  from  tears. 

The  two  great  works  that  he  first  en- 
tered upon,  were  the  assault  of  the  citadel, 


#  A  strong  fortress  on  the  frontiers  of  Idumea, 
originally  built  by  Rehoboam,  2  Ciiron.  xi.  7. 
It  lav  opposite  to  south  Edom,  and  defended  the 
passages  into  Judea  from  thence.  We  read  in  2 
Mac.  xi  5.  that  Bethsura  was  five  furlongs  from 
Jerusalem  ;  but  this  is  evidently  a  mistake.  Euse- 
bius  places  it  twenty  miles  from  that  city,  toward 
Hebron,  and  Dr  Pococke  speaks  of  a  village  on  a 
hill  thereabouts  called  Bethsaon. 


and  the  cleansing  of  the  temple.  The 
former  he  committed  to  his  officers  and 
soldiers,  and  reserved  the  care  of  the 
latter  to  himself.  As  soon  as  he  had 
gone  through  with  the  purging  of  it  in 
form,  he  provided  new  vessels  and  uten- 
sils; a  candlestick,  a  table,  and  an  altar  of 
incense,  all  of  pure  gold,  put  up  new  veils 
and  hangings  upon  the  walls,  and  before 
the  passages  of  the  doors,  and  in  the  next 
place  supplied  the  doors  themselves.  The 
altar  that  had  been  profaned  with  idola- 
trous sacrifices  and  burnt-offerings,  was 
demolished  and  removed;  and  another  of 
unhewn  stone  erected  in  its  place. 

Upon  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  the  month 
Chisleu,  which  the  Macedonians  call  Apel- 
laeus,  they  set  lighted  tapers  in  the  can- 
dlesticks ;  f  offered  incense  upon  the  altar, 
laid  the  show-bread  upon  the  table,  and 
presented  their  oblations  of  burnt-offer- 
ings. This  fell  out  precisely  upon  the 
same  day,  three  years  from  the  profana- 
tion of  the  temple  and  religion  by  Anti- 
oclius;  the  temple  having  now  been  full 
three  years  deserted. 

This  happened  in  the  year  one  hundred 
forty-five  of  the  Seleucidee;  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  the  month  Apellseus,  and 
the  hundred  and  fifty-third  Olympiad ; 
which  solemnity  of  purification  was  repeat- 
ed also  on  the  anniversary  day  of  the 
year  one  hundred  and  forty-eight,  and  in 
the  hundred  and  fifty-fourth  Olympiad, — 
as  the  prophet  Daniel  had  expressly  fore- 
told four  hundred  and  eight  years  before 
the  desolation  by  the  Macedonians  came 
to  pass. 

f  Having  first  struck  fire  by  dashing  two  stones 
against  each  otber,  2  Mace.  x.  3;  and  from  the 
same  fire  they  lighted  the  seven  lamps  on  the 
golden  candlestick.  The  sacred  fire,  which  came 
down  from  heaven  at  the  dedication  of  Solomon's 
temple,  was  extinguished  at  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  by  the  Babylonians  :  till  which  time  it  had 
there  been  kept  constantly  bnrning.  After  that 
they  used  no  other  than  common  fire  in  the  tem- 
ple ;  but  still  they  avoided  the  bringing  thither  of 
any  common  fire  which  had  been  profaned  by 
other  uses,  and  therefore  kindled  a  flame  bv  dash- 
ing two  stones  against  each  other. — Dean  Pri- 
dcaux. 


676 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


The  celebration  of  this  festivity  was 
continued  by  Judas  for  eight  days,  with 
solemn  sacrifices  and  rejoicing  as  well  as 
all  the  innocent  tokens  of  mirth  and  fes- 
tivity, such  as  acclamation,  praise,  and 
thanksgiving.  The  people  were  so  trans- 
ported at  the  unexpected  blessing  of 
finding  themselves  restored  to  the  religion 
and  laws  of  their  forefathers,  that  they 
appointed  an  anniversary  of  eight  days' 
solemnity  *  to  be  strictly  observed  by 
their  posterity  for  ever.  Judas  in  the 
mean  time  rebuilt  the  walls  of  the  city, 
and  fortified  them  with  strong  towers  f  to 
keep  off  an  enemy.  He  also  fortified  the 
city  Bethsura,  and  put  the  place  into  a 
posture  of  defence. 

*  This  festival  is  commemorated  in  the  gospel, 
John  ii.  23.  and  our  blessed  Saviour,  we  are  told, 
came  up  to  Jerusalem  on  purpose  to  bear  a  part  in 
the  solemnizing  of  it.  Some  indeed  are  of  opin- 
ion that  it  was  another  dedication-feast  which 
Christ  thus  honoured  with  his  presence  ;  but,  be- 
sides that  the  dedications  both  of  Solomon's  and 
Zerubbabel's  temples  (though  they  were  very  sol- 
emnly celebrated  at  the  first  erection  of  these  tem- 
ples) had  never  any  anniversary  feast  afterwards 
kept  in  commemoration  of  them,  the  very  history 
of  the  gospel  (which  tells  us  that  it  was  kept  in 
winter)  confines  us  to  this  dedication  of  Judas  only. 
That  of  Solomon  was  on  the  seventh  month,  which 
fell  about  the  time  of  the  autumnal  equinox  ;  and 
that  of  Zerubbabel  was  on  the  twelfth  month, 
which  fell  in  the  beginning  of  the  spring  ;  but  that 
of  Judas  Maccabeeus  was  on  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  the  ninth  month,  which  fell  in  the  middle  of 
winter.  So  that  the  feast  of  the  dedication,  which 
Christ  was  present  at  in  Jerusalem,  was  no  other 
than  that  which  was  instituted  by  Judas,  in  com- 
memoration of  his  dedication  of  the  temple  anew, 
after  that  it  had  been  cleansed  from  idolatrous 
pollutions  ;  and  from  hence  Grotius  (in  his  com- 
mentary on  the  gospel  of  St  John,  chap.  x.  22.) 
very  justly  observes,  that  festival  days,  in  memory 
of  public  blessings,  may  be  piously  instituted  by 
persons  in  authority,  without  a  divine  command. 
Prideaux's  Connection. 

-j-  Apollonius,  in  taking  Jerusalem,  had  erected 
a  fortress  on  mount  Acra,  which,  commanding  the 
mountain  of  the  temple,  and  being  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  gave  them  the  advantage  of 
annoying  all  those  who  went  up  to  the  temple  to 
worship.  To  remedy  this  inconvenience,  Judas  at 
first  blocked  up  the  fortress,  but  finding  that  he 
could  not  conveniently  spare  the  requisite  number 
of  men,  he  caused  the  mountain  of  the  temple  to 
be  fortified  with  strong  walls  and  high  towers,  and 
placed  therein  a  sufficient  garrison,  both  to  defend 
't,  and  protect  those  who  went  up  to  worship  from 
nil  future  insults,  either  from  the  fortress  or  from 
any  other  place. — Dean  Prideaux,  Stachhouse. 


The  neighbouring  nations  were  so  irri- 
tated at  the  growing  power  of  the  Jews, 
that  they  set  their  instruments  to  work  by 
fraud  and  treachery  to  circumvent  and 
destroy  fhem, — Judas,  in  the  meantime, 
using  the  best  means  he  could,  either  to 
prevent,  or  to  disappoint  their  incursions. 
He  fell  at  this  time  upon  Acrabatene,  :f 
where  he  killed  great  numbers  of  the 
Edomites,  the  posterity  of  Esau,  making 
himself  master  also  of  a  great  booty. 

He  blocked  up  the  sons  of  Be»n§  like- 
wise, in  the  strong  places  they  were  pos- 
sessed of,  and  where  they  laid  in  wait  to 
make  sallies  upon  the  Jews,  taking  the 
places  by  assault,  killing  the  defendants, 
and  laying  the  forts  in  ashes. 

After  the  subduing  of  these  people,  he 
carried  his  arms  against  the  Ammonites, 
who  had  at  that  time  a  numerous  army 
under  the  command  of  Timotheus.  He 
fought  with  these,  and  overcame  them, 
and  took  the  city  of  Jazar;  carried  away 
the  people's  wives  and  children  captives ; 
and  after  the  pillaging  of  the  city, 
set  it  on  fire,  and  so  returned  home  vic- 
torious. 

He  was  no  sooner  gone  than  the  people 
of  the  adjacent  countries,  taking  advantage 
of  his  departure,  and  gathering  together 
at  Gilead,||  made  an  attempt  upon  the 
Jews  that  lay  in  that  quarter.  These  be- 
ing forced  to  take  sanctuary  in  the  fortress 
of  Dathema,  gave  intimation  to  Judas, 
that  Timotheus  had  a  design   to  attack 


J  It  is  a  canton  of  Judea,  upon  the  frontiers  of 
Idumea,  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Dead  sea. 

§  Who  these  children  of  Bean  were,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say.  Some  think  that  this  Benn  was  the 
name  of  an  ancient  king,  whose  descendants  lived 
in  hostility  with  the  children  of  Israel;  but  others 
(with  more  probability)  account  it  the  name  of  a 
place;  and  it* in  the  confines  of  the  Dead  sea,  there 
was  (as  some  affirm)  a  city  of  this  name,  without 
all  controversy  this  was  it. —  Calmet's  Commen- 
tary. 

||  This  city,  which  lay  beyond  the  Jordan,  wa9 
first  of  all  given  to  the  tribe  of  Gad,  and  aftei  waids 
to  the  Levites,  Joshua  xxi.  36.  It  was  situated  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  near  the 
brook  Jazah,  which  forms  a  rivulet,  or  torrent, 
that  falls  into  the  Jordan. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


577 


them  and  earnestly  desired  he  would  send 
them  relief. 

In  the  very  instant  that  Judas  was 
reading  this  account,  several  messengers 
arrived  from  Galilee,*  with  remonstrances 
and  complaints,  that  the  people  of  Ptole- 
mais,f  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  and  other  border- 


*  Galilee  was  one  of  the  most  extensive  pro- 
vinces into  which  the  Holy  Land  was  divided  ; 
but  it  probably  varied  in  its  limits  at  different 
periods.  It  is  divided  by  the  Rabbins  into  1.  the 
Upper  ;  2.  the  Nether  ;  and  3.  the  Valley.  Jose- 
phus  limits  Galilee  west,  by  the  city  of  Ptolemais 
and  mount  Carmel  ;  on  the  south  by  the  country 
of  Samaria  and  Scythopolis  ;  on  the  east  by  the 
cantons  of  Hippos,  Gadara,  and  Gaulan  ;  on  the 
north  by  the  confines  of  the  Tyrians.  Lower 
Galilee  reaches  in  length  from  Tiberias  to  Chabu- 
lon,  or  Zabulon,  the  frontier  of  Ptolemais;  in 
width  from  Chaloth,  in  the  great  plain,  to  Bersa- 
bee.  The  breadth  of  Upper  Galilee  begins  at 
Bersabee,  and  extends  to  Baca,  which  separates 
it  from  the  Tyrians.  Its  length  reaches  from 
Telia,  a  village  on  the  river  Jordan,  to  Meroth. 
But  the  exact  situation  of  these  places  is  not 
known.  This  province  contained  four  tribes ; 
Issachar,  Zebuluo,  Naphtali,  and  Asher ;  a  part 
also  of  Dan  ;  and  part  of  Perea,  beyond  the  river. 
Upper  Galilee  abounded  in  mountains,  and  was 
termed  •  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles,'  as  the  moun- 
tainous nature  of  the  country  enabled  those  who 
possessed  the  fastnesses  to  maintain  themselves 
against  invaders.  Strabo  (lib.  xvi.)  enumerates 
among  its  inhabitants,  Egyptians,  Arabians,  and 
Phoenicians.  Lower  Galilee,  which  contained 
the  tribes  of  Zebulun  and  Asher,  was  sometimes 
called  the  Great  Field,  "the  champaign,"  Deut. 
xi.  30.  The  valley  was  adjacent  to  the  sea  of 
Tiberias.  Josephus  describes  Galilee  -as  being 
very  populous,  containing  two  hundred  and  four 
cities  and  towns,  the  least  of  which  contained 
15,000  inhabitants.  It  was  also  very  rich,  and  paid 
two  hundred  talents  in  tribute.  The  natives  were 
bra^  e,  and  made  good  soldiers  ;  they  were  also 
sea'itious,  and  prone  to  insolence  and  rebellion. 
Their  language  and  customs  differed  considerably 
from  those  of  the  Judeans,  Mark  xiv.  70.  Jose- 
phus states  that  the  Galileans  were  naturally  good 
soldiers,  bold  and  intrepid  ;  that  they  bravely  re- 
sisted the  foreign  nations  around  them  ;  that  their 
country  was  fruitful,  and  well  cultivated  ;  and  the 
people  laborious  and  industrious.  The  Galileans, 
according  to  the  same  author,  agreed  in  all  things 
with  the  Pharisees,  but  were  distinguished  by  an 
excessive  love  of  liberty ;  being  strongly  prejudiced 
with  the  idea,  that  they  ought  to  obey  God  alone 
as  their  prince. —  Calmet. 

+  A  city  and  considerable  port  of  Phoenicia, 
situated  on  the  north  angle  of  a  bay  which  extends 
in  a  semicircle  of  three  leagues,  as  far  as  the  point 
of  Carmel.  Its  ancient  name  was  Accho,  Judg.  i. 
31.  and  was  subsequently  called  Ptolemais,  from 
one  of  the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt  It  lies  twenty- 
seven  miles  south  of  Tyre,  and  upwards  of  ninety- 
eight  inroad  distance  north  of  Jerusalem.    Its  pre- 


ing  nations,  were  all  joined  in  a  confede- 
racy against  them. 

Judas,  determined  on  the  relief  of  his 
friends  and  countrymen  in  both  places, 
sent  his  brother  Simon  with  three  thou- 
sand choice  men  to  the  succour  of  the 
Jews  at  Galilee ;  and  with  eight  thousand 
more  marched  with  his  other  brother 
Jonathan,  to  Gilead,  leaving  the  rest  of 
the  army  under  the  command  of  Joseph 
the  son  of  Zacharias,  and  Azarias,  as  his 
lieutenant-generals,  for  the  guard  of  Jeru- 
salem, with  orders  to  avoid  coming  to  ac- 
tion till  his  return. 

Simon,  upon  his  arrival  at  Galilee,  en- 
gaged the  enemy,  and  defeated  them, 
pursuing  them  to  the  very  gates  of  Ptole- 
mais, and  killing  about  three  thousand  in 
the  flight.  They  stripped  them  of  what 
they  had,  and  redeemed  the  prisoners 
with  the  goods  they  had  taken  from  them, 
and  then  conducted  them  back  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

At  the  same  time  Judas  and  his  brother 
Jonathan,  after  three  days'  march  beyond 
Jordan  in  the  wilderness,  were  hospitably 
entertained  by  the  Nabatheans,!  wno  very 


sent  name  of  St  Jean  d'Acre  was  imposed  on  it  in 
the  time  of  the  crusades  by  the  knights  of  St  John 
of  Jerusalem.  This  place  has  obtained  lasting  re- 
nown from  the  various  sieges  it  has  sustained  at 
different  periods  of  its  history,  particularly  that 
which  it  underwent  from  the  crusaders,  when  it 
was  finally  taken  by  Richard  the  Lion-hearted, 
after  a  long  and  very  gallant  defence  by  its  Sara- 
cenic garrison  ;  and  lastly,  in  1799,  when  it  sus- 
tained a  siege  from  the  French  arms  under  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte,  who  was  compelled  to  abandon 
the  enterprise,  the  garrison  being  aided  in  their 
defence  by  a  body  of  British  sailors  from  the 
squadron  under  Sir  Sidney  Smith.  This  city  had 
fallen  rapidly  to  decay  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Christians  by  the  Mameluke  sultans  of  Egypt,  and 
was  almost  deserted,  till  the  celebrated  Jezzar 
Pasha,  by  repairing  the  town  and  harbour,  made 
it  the  first  city,  in  point  of  strength  and  impor- 
tance, on  the  coast.  It  contains  at  present  about 
20,000  inhabitants.  All  the  rice,  which  is  the 
staple  food  of  the  people  of  Palestine,  enters  by 
this  port,  and  hence  the  importance  of  this  place. 
— Belts  Geog. 

%  Arabians  descended  from  Nebajoth.  Their 
country  is  called  Nabathaea,  and  extends  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Red  sea,  the  chief  cities  of  which 
are  Petra,  the  capital  of  Arabia  Deserta,  and 
Medaba. 

4   D 


578 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


kindly  gave  them  Intelligence  of  the  ex- 
treme distress  and  danger  of  divers  of 
their  friends  and  countrymen,  who  were 
close  shut  up  in  the  towns  and  castles  of 
Gilead;  advising  them  with  all  imaginable 
expedition,  to  hasten  by  the  way  of  the 
desert  to  their  relief. 

In  this  expedition,  they  took  the  town 
of  Bossora*  by  the  way,  putting  all  the 
people  to  the  sword  that  were  able  to  bear 
arms,  and  burning  the  city  to  the  ground. 

Though  it  was  now  almost  night,  Judas 
prosecuted  his  way  to  a  castle  wherein  he 
understood  the  Jews  were  besieged;  and 
arriving  there  betimes  in  the  morning, 
found  the  enemy  playing  their  machines, 
and  fixing  their  scaling  ladders  to  force 
the  place ;  whereupon  he  arranged  his 
troops  in  three  divisions,  and  animated 
his  men  to  behave  themselves  resolutely 
for  the  relief  of  their  countrymen  and' 
friends ;  and  upon  the  sound  of  the  trum- 
pet he  charged  the  enemy  in  the  rear. 

As  soon  as  Timotheus  understood  that 
Judas  Maccabeus  had  the  command  of 
this  action,  a  person  whose  valour  and 
conduct  he  knew  by  woful  experience,  his 
men  were  so  dismayed  at  the  very  name, 
that  they  immediately  fled,  and  Judas 
pursuing  them  with  his  army,  slew  about 
eight  thousand  of  them.  After  this  Judas 
took  Maspha,  Casphan,  Maked,  and  Bo- 
sor,  and  having  treated  them  in  the  same 
manner  as  he  had  done  at  Bossora,  he  re- 
turned to  Jerusalem. 

Soon  after  this,  Timotheus  raised  a 
very  considerable  army,  and,  among  other 


*  This  place  was  known  likewise  by  the  name 
of  Bezer,  or  Bozra,  or  Bostra.  When  scripture 
mentions  Bezer,  it  adds,  '  in  the  wilderness,'  be- 
cause it  lay  in  Arabia  Deserta,  and  the  eastern 
parts  of  Edom,  encompassed  with  deserts.  Euse- 
bius  places  it  twenty-four  miles  from  Edrai.  This 
city  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  belonging  to 
Reuben,  sometimes  to  Moab,  and  sometimes  again 
to  Edom  ;  because,  as  it  was  a  frontier  town  to 
these  three  provinces,  it  was  occasionally  in  the 
.  hands  of  one,  and  then  was  taken  by  another.  The 
city  is  now  called  Bostra  ;  and  is  described  by 
Burckhardt  as  the  largest  town  in  the  Haouran, 
including  iis  ruins,  though  only  inhabited  by 
twelve  or  .fifteen  families. 


auxiliaries,  he  had  a  band  of  Arabians 
They  crossed  the  river  Jabbok,  and  en- 
camped near  a  place  called  Raphon,  where 
he  encouraged  his  people  to  acquit  them- 
selves like  men,  and  be  sure  to  keep  the 
Jews  from  passing  the  river,  observing  to 
them,  that  the  whole  cause  depended  upon 
ft ;  and  that  if  ever  they  gained  that  pass, 
they  would  most  certainly  carry  the  day. 
When  Judas  understood  what  Timo- 
theus was  resolved  upon,  and  prepared 
for  a  battle,  he  passed  the  river  immedi- 
ately with  his  army,  gave  the  onset,  and 
put  the  army  to  the  rout  upon  the  first 
encounter ;  killing  those  that  resisted,  and 
putting  the  rest  to  flight.  These  casting 
away  their  arms,  dispersed ;  part  of  them 
betook  themselves  for  sanctuary  to  the 
temple  of  Carnion,  in  hope  that  the  place 
might  protect  them.  But  Judas  took  the 
town  by  force,  burnt  the  temple,  and  de- 
stroyed all  the  inhabitants  by  fire  and 
sword. 

This  difficulty  being  surmounted,  he 
gathered  together  all  the  Israelites  that 
were  in  the  countries  of  Gilead,  with 
their  wives,  children,  and  goods,  and  cai- 
ried  them  all  into  Judea. 

The  city  of  Ephron,f  lying  so  directly 
in  his  way,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  in- 
habitants for  leave  to  pass  with  his  army 
through  the  town;  but  the  ports  being 
barricadoed,  and  the  avenues  cut  off,  the 
inhabitants  in  plain  terms  denied  him  a 
passage. 

Upon  this  repulse,  he  encouraged  Ihs 
men  to  attack  the  town ;  they  surrounded 
it  immediately,  and  in  one  day  and  night, 


■f  It  is  not  known  what  was  the  particular  situ- 
ation of  Ephron.  The  author  of  the  book  of 
Maccabees  seems  to  imply,  that  the  country  all 
about  it  was  impassable;  that  is,  very  probably  so 
full  of  water  and  morasses,  that  the  army  of  Judas 
must  have  been  lost,  had  they  been  obliged  to 
"turn  either  on  the  right  hand  or  the  left."  They 
were  under  the  necessity  therefore  of  passing 
through  the  town:  and  Grotius  asserts,  that  the 
refusal  of  the  inhabitants  to  let  them  pass,  after 
the  promise  of  the  Israelites  toanarch  through  the 
country  quietly  and  inoffensively,  was  an  act  con- 
trary to  the  just  rights  of  human  society. — Stack- 
house. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


579 


made  himself  master  of  it,  laid  it  in  ashes, 
and  marched  with  his  army  over  the  bodies 
of  the  dead,  through  the  ruins,  putting  all 
the  males  that  were  found  in  it  to  the 
sword. 

After  passing  the  river  Jordan,  they 
advanced  to  a.  great  plain  near  Bethshan, 
called  by  the  Greeks  Scythopolis,  and 
from  thence  returned  to  Judea,  the  people 
rejoicing  as  they  passed  along,  with  hymns 
and  triumphal  songs,  and  offering  sacri- 
fices of  thanksgiving  for  the  safety  of  the 
army ;  for  they  had  not  yet  lost  so  much 
as  one  Jew  in  these  engagements. 

Joseph,  the  son  of  Zacharias,  together 
with  Azarias,  two  great  captains,  being 
left  for  a  guard  to  Judea,  in  the  absence 
of  Simon,  who  had  marched  into  Galilee 
against  the  people  of  Ptolemais,  and 
Judas,  with  his  brother  Jonathan  against 
the  Gileadites,  thought  it  incumbent  on 
them  to  signalize  themselves  by  some 
glorious  enterprise  as  well  as  their  bre- 
thren. 

With  this  spirit  of  emulation  they  ad- 
vanced to  Jamnia,  where  Gorpias,  the 
governor  of  the  place,  gave  them  battle 
before  the  town,  killed  about  two  thousand 
of  them,  and  pursued  the  rest  to  the  very 
borders  of  Judea. 

This  calamity  deservedly  befell  them, 
for  not  obeying  the  order  of  their  general, 
who  had  positively  commanded  them  not 
to  engage  the  enemy  upon  any  terms,  till 
his  return.  Such  a  caution  redounded 
much  to  the  reputation  of  Judas,  who  was 
well  assured,  that  if  they  departed  from 
their  instructions,  they  would  suffer  for  it. 
But  Judas  and  his  brethren  carried  on 
the  war  in  the  mean  time,  with  the  utmost 
vigour  against  the  Edomites,  subduing 
them  on  all  hands. 

They  took  Hebron  by  force,  demolish- 
ed the  fortifications,  and  burnt  the  towers 
and  castles  to  the  ground,  laid  their  ene- 
my's country  waste,  demolished  Marissa, 
and  from  thence  overran  and  pillaged 
Azotus. 

Having  performed  these  exploits,  and 


enriched  themselves  with  a  considerable 
booty,  they  returned  in  triumph  to  Jeru- 
salem. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  ambition  and  avarice  of  Antiochus  retali- 
ated in  his  own  disgrace — He  dies Philip 

appointed  to  the  regency  during  the  minori- 
ty of  his  son. —  The  young  prince  is  declared 
king. — The  Jews  are  harassed  by  the  Mace- 
donians.— Eleazar  is  slain. — Death  of  Onias. 
— Antiochus  and  Lysias  put  to  death Ra- 
vages and  depredations  of  Alcimus. 

As  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  about  this 
progress  through  some  of  his  highland 
provinces,  he  was  told  of  a  certain  rich 
city  in  Persia  called  Elymais,  and  of  a 
most  magnificent  temple  in  it,  dedicated 
to  Diana,*  in  which  were  deposited  pre- 
cious gifts  of  all  sorts,  with  the  very  shield 
and  breastplate  of  Alexander,  the  son  of 
Philip  of  Macedon. 

Antiochus  was   so  attracted   by  these 


*  Other  authors  agree  with  the  account  in  the 
first  book  of  Maccabees,  that  the  temple  of  Ely- 
mais was  prodigiously  rich  ;  and  both  Polybius  and 
Diodorus  Siculus  (as  they  are  cited  by  St  Jerome, 
on  Dan  xi.)  mention  this  attempt  of  the  king  of 
Syria  to  plunder  it.     But  the  manner  in  which  he 
came  to  be  disappointed,  is  related  quite  different- 
ly in  the  second  book  of  Maccabees.     For,  therein 
we  are  told,  that  when  Antiochus,  pretending  that 
he  would  marry  the  goddess  of  the  temple,  (whose 
name  was  Nannea)  that  thereby  he  might  have  the 
better  title  to  the  riches  of  it,  by  way  of  dowry, 
was  let  into  the  temple  to  take  possession  of  them, 
the  priests  opened  a  secret  door  that  was  in  the 
ceiling,  and  from  thence  threw  upon  him  and  his 
attendants,   such   a   shower    of  stones    as    quite 
overwhelmed  them,  and  so  cut  off  their  heads  and 
cast  them  out,  2  Maccab.  i.  13,  &c.  but  who  the  god- 
dess Nannea,  who  had  this  temple  at  Elymais,  was, 
the  conjectures  of  the  learned  are  various,  since 
some  will  have  her  to  be  Venus,  and  others  Cybele 
the  mother  of  the  gods,  because  the  word  in  the 
Persian  language  signifies  mother,  though  the  most 
common  opinion  is,  that  she  was  Diana  or  the 
moon,  the  same  that  Strabo  calls  Anais,  or  Anai- 
tis  :  for,  that  she  was  held  to  be  a  virgin-goddess, 
is  plain,  because  Antiochus  pretended  to  espouse 
her,  and  that  she  was  a  chaste  goddess,  Plutarch 
(de  Artaxerxes)  seems  to  intimate  when  he  tells  us, 
that  Artaxerxes  took  the  beautiful  Aspasia,  (whom 
himself  was  in  love  with)  from  his  son  Darius,  and 
devoted  her  to  a  perpetual  virginity  in  the  service 
of    Anais,  the  goddess  of  Ecbatana. —  Calmet's 
Commentary. 


580 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII 


splendid  curiosities,  that  he  advanced  to- 
ward it  with  his  army  to  take  it  by  as- 
sault ;  but  the  inhabitants,  without  any 
regard  either  to  hia  power  or  his  design, 
made  a  brave  resistance  and  disappointed 
his  expectation ;  nor  did  they  content 
themselves  with  beating  him  from  the 
walls,  but  followed  him  so  close  upon  his 
retreat,  that  they  cut  off  great  part  of  his 
rear,  and  drove  him  before  them  like  a  fu- 
gitive for  protection  into  Babylon. 

While  he  lay  under  this  disgrace,  news 
came  of  the  defeat  of  his  other  troops,  to 
whom  he  had  committed  the  care  and  con- 
duct of  the  war  against  the  Jews,  and  of 
the  daily  increase  of  their  number  and 
power;  so  that,  greatly  oppressed  with 
grief  and  concern  for  his  various  losses 
and  disappointments,  he  fell  sick,  and  find- 
ing his  dissolution  approach,  he  called  his 
friends  about  him,  and  told  them  both 
the  cause  and  nature  of  his  distemper. 

"I  am,"  said  he,  "justly  punished  for 
the  sake  of  these  miserable  Jews,  for  the 
sacrilegious  rising  and  profaning  of  their 
temple,  and  for  the  contempt  of  the  hea- 
venly God."  When  he  had  thus  said,  he 
expired.* 


*  Having  understood  that  the  Jews  had  pulled 
down  the  images  and  altars  that  he  had  erected, 
recovered  their  temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  restored 
that  place  to  its  former  worship,  he  made  all  the 
haste  home  he  could,  threatening,  as  he  went  along, 
utterly  to  destroy  the  whole  nation,  and  make  Jer- 
usalem the  common  place  of  sepulture  to  all  the 
Jews.  But  while  these  proud  words  were  in  his 
mouth,  the  judgment  of  God  overtook  him  ;  for 
he  was  instantly  seized  with  a  pain  in  his  bowels, 
and  a  grievous  torment  in  his  inward  parts,  which 
no  remedy  could  assuage.  Being  resolute,  how- 
ever, in  his  revenge,  he  ordered  his  charioteer  to 
double  his  speed  ;  but  in  the  rapid  motion  the 
chariot  was  overturned,  and  he  thrown  to  the 
ground  with  such  violence,  as  sorely  bruised  his 
whole  body,  and  mashed  (as  it  were)  his  limbs 
with  the  fall ;  so  that  being  able  to  travel  no  far- 
ther, he  was  forced  to  put  in  at  Tabae,  a  little 
town  in  the  confines  of  Persia  and  Babylonia, 
where  he  suffered  most  exquisite  tormenis,  both  of 
body  and  mind.  In  his  body  a  filthy  ulcer  broke 
out,  wherein  were  bred  an  innumerable  quantity  of 
vermin  continually  flowing  from  it,  and  such  a 
stench  proceeding  from  thence,  as  neither  those 
that  attended  him,  nor  even  he  himself  could  well 
ear :  and  in  this  condition  he  lay  languishing  and 


When  Antiochus  found  himself  near  hia 
end,  he  sent  for  Philip  as  the  most  trusty 
of  his  friends,  and  committed  the  regen- 
cy of  his  kingdom  into  his  hands,  deliver- 
ing up  to  him  at  the  same  time  the  crown, 
the  royal  robes  and  signet,  with  orders  to 
preserve  them  for  his  son  Antiochus,  who 
was  then  in  his  minority,  strictly  enjoin- 
ing him  to  take  care  of  his  education,  and 


rotting  till  he  died.  In  his  mind  his  torments 
were  no  less,  by  reason  of  the  several  spectres  and 
apparitions  of  evil  spirits,  which  he  imagined  were 
continually  about  him,  reproaching  and  stinging 
his  conscience  with  accusations  of  the  evil  deeds 
which  he  had  been  guilty  of.  Being  made  sensi- 
ble at  length  by  his  afflictions,  that  all  his  suffer- 
ings were  from  the  hand  of  God,  for  his  plunder- 
ing and  profanation  of  his  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
and  for  his  hatred  and  cruelties  to  his  servants  who 
worshipped  there,  he  made  an  ample  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  before  he  died,  and  many  vows  and 
solemn  promises  of  a  full  reparation  in  case  he  re- 
covered. But  his  repentance  came  too  late  :  and 
therefore,  after  having  languished  out  a  while  in 
this  miserable  condition,  and  under  these  horrid 
torments  of  body  and  mind,  at  length  being  half 
consumed  with  the  rottenness  of  his  ulcer,  he 
gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died,  after  he  had  reigned 
eleven  years.  Stachhouse. — Many  of  the  "hea- 
then  writers  give  us  this  account  of  him,  namely, 
that  he  would  frequently  get  out  of  the  palace, 
and  ramble  about  the  streets  of  Antioch  with  tvo 
or  three  persons  only  accompanying  him  :  that  in 
his  rambles  he  would  drink  with  strangers  and  for- 
eigners, and  even  with  the  meanest  and  vilest  of 
them  ;  that  when  he  heard  of  any  young  company 
met  together  to  make  merry,  he  would  intrude 
himself  among  them,  and  revel  away  the  time 
with  them  in  cups  and  songs  and  other  frolics, 
without  any  regard  to  common  decency  or  his  own 
royal  character  ;  that  in  these  frolics,  he  would 
often  go  out  in  the  streets,  and  there  scatter  his 
money  by  handfuls  for  the  rabble  to  scramble  for  ; 
that  at  other  times,  he  would  go  about  with  a 
crown  of  roses  upon  his  head,  and  in  a  Roman 
gown  would  walk  the  streets  alone,  carrying  a  par- 
cel of  stones  in  his  lap,  to  throw  at  those  that 
should  follow  after ;  that  he  was  much  addicted  to 
drunkenness  and  lasciviousness  ;  was  frequently 
found  in  the  company  of  pathics  and  common 
prostitutes,  on  whom  he  would  gratify  his  lust 
publicly  and  in  the  sight  of  the  people  ;  and  that, 
having  for  his  catamites  two  vile  persons,  called 
Timarchus  and  Heraclides,  who  were  brothers,  he 
made  the  former  of  them  governor  of  Babylon, 
and  the  other  his  treasurer  in  that  province.  The 
short  is,  his  freaks,  follies,  and  vices  were  so  many, 
that  men  were  in  doubt  whether  he  were  a  mad- 
man or  a  fool,  though  the  former  of  these  was 
generally  thought  his  truest  character  :  and  there- 
fore, instead  of  Epiphanes  the  illustrious,  they 
commonly  called  him  Epimanes,  the  madman. — 
Prideaux's  Connection. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


581 


to  secure  the  crown  to  him,  when  he  should 
be  capable  of  the  administration. 

The  death  of  this  prince  was  no  soon- 
er made  known  to  the  people,  than  Lysi- 
as  declared  Antiochus  king,  under  the 
name  of  Eupator,  having  at  that  time  the 
tuition  of  the  young  prince. 

The  Macedonians,  in  the  mean  time, 
who  were  then  garrisoned  in  the  citadel  of 
Jerusalem,  together  with  some  Jewish  re- 
verters, made  several  sallies  upon  the  Jews, 
as  they  went  to  worship  in  the  temple;  so 
Judas  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  re- 
duce that  fort  for  the  common  security  of 
the  nation. 

It  was  now  just  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  that  this  government  had  been  in 
the  family  of  Seleucus.  Judas  was  so  de- 
termined upon  the  accomplishment  of  his 
design,  that  he  set  to  framing  of  machines 
and  engines  for  battery,  and  the  casting 
up  of  works.* 


*  In  attacking  and  defending  cities,  the  Jews 
probably  employed  much  the  same  means  as  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  afterwards  adopted,  and  carri- 
ed to  so  great  a  state  of  perfection.  The  renowned 
warriors  of  Greece  and  Rome  began  their  opera- 
tions against  a  fortified  town  with  lines  of  cireum- 
vallation,  which  sometimes  consisted  of  a  double 
wall  or  rampart,  raised  of  turfs.  The  interior 
fortification  was  designed  to  prevent  sudden  and 
unexpected  sallies  from  the  town,  and  to  deprive 
it  of  all  possibility  of  succour  from  without;  the 
exterior,  to  secure  them  from  foreign  enemies  that 
might  come  to  the  relief  of  the  besieged.  The 
middle  space,  which  was  sixteen  feet,  was  taken 
up  with  lodges  for  guards  and  sentinels,  built  at 
due  distances  from  one  another ;  yet  so  close,  that 
at  a  distant  view  the  whole  pile  appeared  to  be 
one  broad  wall,  with  turrets  on  both  sides,  after 
every  tenth  of  which  was  a  larger  tower,  extended 
from  wall  to  wall.  Another  contrivance  which 
the  besiegers  employed,  was  the  agger  or  mount, 
which  they  raised  so  high  as  to  equal,  if  not  ex- 
ceed, the  top  of  the  besieged  walls :  the  sides  were 
supported  with  bricks  or  stones,  or  secured  with 
strong  rafters  t^  hinder  it  from  falling;  the  fore 
part  only  remained  bare,  because  it  was  to  be  ad- 
vanced by  degrees  nearer  the  city.  The  pile  itself 
consisted  of  all  sorts  of  materials,  as  earth,  timber, 
boughs,  stones  ;  into  the  middle  were  cast  also 
wickers,  and  twigs  of  trees  to  fasten,  and  as  it 
were,  cement  the  other  parts.  The  whole  fabric 
is  thus  described  by  Lucan  : — 

**  The  groves  are  felled,  and  strongest  timber  sought  j 
From  thickest  forests  largest  oaks  are  brought, 
To  make  strong  rafters  to  support  the  pile, 


While  this  was  in  agitation,  several 
deserters  escaped  by  night,  and  joining 
with  others,  went  to  Antiochus,  setting 
forth    the    miserable    condition   to  which 


Lest  the  earth  break  in  and  frustrate  all  their  toil, 
Unable  to  sustain  the  tower's  weight." 

The  prophet  Habakkuk  manifestly  refers  to  the 
mount,  in  that  prediction,  where  he  describes  the 
desolating  march  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  the  success 
of  their  arms  :   '  They  shall  deride  every  strong 
hold ;  for  they  shall  heap  up  dust  and  take  it.' 
Moveable  towers   of  wood  were   usually  placed 
upon   the  mount,  which  were  driven  on  wheels 
fixed  within  the  bottom  planks,  to  secure  them 
from  the  enemy.     Their  size  was  not  always  the 
same,  but  proportioned  to  the  towers  of  the  city 
they  besieged  :  the  front  was  usually  covered  with 
tiles  ;  and  in  later  times  the  sides  were  likewise 
guarded  with  the  same  materials ;  their  tops  were 
covered  with  raw  hides,  and  other  things,  to  pre- 
serve them  from  fire  balls  and  missive  weapons : 
they  were  formed  into  several  stories,  which  were 
able  to  carry  both  soldiers  and  several  kinds  of 
engines.      All  these  modes  of  attack  were  practis- 
ed in  the  days  of  Isaiah,  who  threatens  Jerusalem. 
with  a  siege  conducted  according  to  this  method  s 
'  And  I  will   encamp  against  thee  round  about, 
and  will  lay  siege  against  thee  with  a  mount  ;  and 
I   will   raise   forts   against   thee.'      The   prophet 
Ezekiel  repeats  the  prediction  in  almost  the  same 
words,  adding  only  the  name  of  the  engine  which 
was  to  be  employed  in  battering  down  the  walls  : 
'  Thou  also,  son  of  man,  take  thee  a  tile,  and  lay 
it  before  thee,  and  portray  upon  it  the  city,  even 
Jerusalem  ;  and  lay  siege  against  it,  and  cast  a 
mount  against  it ;  set  the  camp  also  against  it ; 
and  set   battering  rams  against  it  round  about.' 
The  battering-ram   was  an  engine  with  an  iron 
head,  resembling  the  head  of  a  ram,  with  which 
they  beat  down  the  enemies'  walls.     Of  this,  Pot- 
ter mentions  three  kinds ;  the  first  was  plain  and 
unartificial,  being  nothing  but  a  long  beam  with 
an  iron  head,  which  the  soldiers  drove  with  main 
force  against  the  wall ;  the  second  was  hung  with 
ropes  to  another  beam,  by  the  help  of  which  they 
thrust  it  forward  with  much  greater  force;   the 
third  differed  from  the  former  only  in  being  cover- 
ed with  a  testudo,  or  shroud,  to  protect  the  soldiers 
that  worked  it,  from  the  darts  of  the  enemy.     The 
beam  was  sometimes  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  length,  and  covered  with  iron  plates, 
lest  those  who  defended  the  walls  should  set  it  on 
fire  ;  the  head  was  armed  with  as  many  horns  as 
they  pleased.     Josephus  reports,  that  one  of  Ves- 
pasian's rams,  the  length  of  which  was  only  fifty 
cubits,  which  came  not  up  to  the  size  of  some  of 
the  Grecian  rams,  had  an   head  as  thick  as  ten 
men,  and  twenty-rive  horns,  each  of  which  was  as 
thick  as  one  man,  and  placed  a  cubit's  distance 
from  the  rest ;  the  weight  hung,  as  was  customary, 
upon  the  hinder  part,  was  no  less  than  one  thou- 
sand  and    five    hundred    talents;    when    it   was 
removed  from  one  place  to  another,  it  was  not 
taken  in   pieces;   an    hundred  and  fifty  yoke  ot 
oxen,  or  three  hundred  pair  of  horses  and  mules 


582 


HISTORY   OF 


[Book  VIII, 


they  were  reduced  by  their  own  tribe,  for 
their  obedience  to  the  king's  command,  in 
opposition  to  their  own  law,  and  that  they 
were  then  in  imminent  danger  of  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Judas,  without  imme- 
diate relief. 

The  young  prince  gave  orders  to  his 
friends  and  commanders  to  levy  what  aux- 
iliaries were  to  be  had  for  money  over  and 
above  the  greatest  number  of  choice  men 
that  they  could  raise  from  among  his  own 
subjects. 

His  orders  were  executed  with  such 
diligence,  that  in  a  short  time  they  mus- 
tered  a   hundred    thousand   foot,    twenty 

laboured  in  drawing  it ;  and  no  less  than  fifteen 
hundred  men  employed  their  utmost  strength  in 
forcing  it  against  the  walls.  At  other  times,  we 
find  these  rams  driven  upon  wheels.  Such  was 
the  formidable  engine,  of  which  the  prophet  warn- 
ed the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  which  in  the 
hands  of  the  Romans,  levelled  at  last  the  walls  of 
that  proud  metropolis  with  the  ground.  To  this 
may  be  added,  various  engines  for  casting  arrows, 
darts,  and  stones  of  a  larger  size ;  of  which  the 
most  remarkable  was  the  balista,  which  hurled 
stones  of  a  size  not  less  than  mill-stones,  with  so 
great  violence  as  to  dash  whole  houses  in  pieces  at 
a  blow.  These  powerful  engines,  invented  by  Jew- 
ish artists,  and  worked  by  the  skill  and  vigour  of 
Jewish  soldiers,  were  undoubtedly  the  prototypes 
of  those  which  the  celebrated  nations  of  Greece 
and  Rome  afterwards  employed  with  so  much 
success  in  their  sieges.  The  testudo,  or  tortoise, 
was  a  defensive  invention,  which  received  its  name 
from  covering  and  sheltering  the  soldiers  from  the 
weapons  of  their  enemies,  as  a  tortoise  is  covered 
by  its  shell.  Ancient  authors  describe  several 
kinds  of  it;  but  the  one  to  which  the  sacred  writer 
seems  to  allude,  is  the  testudo  militaris,  used  in 
the  field  of  battle,  but  more  frequently  in  surpris- 
ing cities,  before  the  inhabitants  were  apprized  of 
their  danger,  and  prepared  for  their  defence,  which 
served  to  protect  the  besiegers  in  their  approach 
to  the  walls.  When  the  testudo  was  formed,  the 
soldiers  drew  up  close  to  one  another,  and  the 
hindermost  ranks  bowing  themselves,  placed  their 
targets  above  their  heads  ;  the  first  rank  stood 
erect,  the  rest  stooped  lower  and  lower  by  degrees, 
till  the  last  rank  kneeled  upon  the  ground;  the 
men  in  the  front  and  on  the  sides  holding  their 
targets  before  their  bodies,  the  rest  covering  the 
heads  of  those  who  were  placed  before  them  ;  so 
that  the  whole  body  resembled  a  pent-house  or 
roof,  covered  with  tiles,  down  which  the  enemy's 
missile  weapons  easily  glided,  without  prejudice  to 
the  soldiers  beneath.  Under  the  protection  of 
their  bucklers,  the  soldiers  mounted  upon  the 
shoulders  of  one  another  till  they  reached  the  top 
of  the  wall  ;  or  they  endeavoured  singly  to  climb 
it,  wherever  they  could  find  a  hold,  or  a  place  less 
vigilantly  guarded. — Script.  Illust. 


thousand  horses,  and  two  and  thirty  ele- 
phants.* With  this  formidable  army,  un- 
der the  command  of  Lysias,  the  king 
marched   out    of    Antioch,    advanced    to 

*  The  elephant  is  a  native  of  Africa  and  Asia, 
being  found  neither  in  Europe  nor  America.  In 
Africa  he  still  retains  his  natural  liberty.  Tiie 
savage  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  world,  in- 
stead of  attempting  to  subdue  this  powerful 
creature  to  their  necessities,  are  happy  in  being 
able  to  protect  themselves  from  his  fury.  Former- 
ly, indeed,  during  the  splendour  of  the  Carthaginian 
empire,  elephants  were  used  in  their  wars;  but  this 
was  only  a  transitory  gleam  of  human  power  in 
that  part  of  the  globe  ;  the  natives  of  Africa  have 
long  since  degenerated,  and  the  elephant  is  only 
known  among  them  from  his  devastations.  But, 
although  these  animals  are  most  plentiful  in 
Africa,  it  is  only  in  Asia  that  the  greatest  ele- 
phants are  found,  and  rendered  subservient  to 
human  command.  Some  of  these  creatures  have 
been  known  to  carry  two  cannons,  fastened  together 
by  a  cable,  of  three  thousand  pounds  weight  each, 
for  five  hundred  paces  together,  with  their  tusks  ; 
and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  but  they  are  able 
to  carry  a  much  greater  weight  upon  their  backs. 
It  is  no  wonder  therefore,  that  creatures  of  this 
prodigious  strength,  when  the  method  of  fighting 
was  chiefly  by  force,  should  be  made  use  of  in  all 
military  expeditions.  A  century  or  two  ago,  a 
great  part  of  the  dependence  of  the  general  was 
upon  the  number  and  expertness  of  his  elephants; 
but  of  late,  since  war  has  been  contented  to  adopt 
fatal  instead  of  formidable  arts,  the  elephant  is 
little  used,  except  for  drawing  cannon,  or  trans- 
porting provisions.  The  princes  of  the  country 
are  pleased  to  keep  a  few  for  ornament,  or  for  the 
purposes  of  removing  their  seraglios  ;  but  they  are 
seldom  led  into  a  field  of  battle,  where  they  are 
unable  to  withstand  the  discharge  of  fire-arms,  and 
have  often  been  found  to  turn  upon  their  employ- 
ers. Still,  however,  they  are  used  in  war,  in  the 
more  remoter  parts  of  the  East;  in  Siam,  in 
Cochin-China,  in  Tonquin,  and  Pegu.  In  all 
these  places  they  not  only  serve  to  swell  the  pomp 
of  state,  being  adorned  with  all  the  barbarian 
splendour  that  those  countries  can  bestow,  but 
they  are  actually  led  into  the  field  of  battle,  armed 
before  with  coats  of  mail,  and  loaded  on  the  back 
each  with  a  square  tower,  containing  from  five 
combatants  to  seven.  Upon  its  neck  sits  the  con- 
ductor, who  goads  the  animal  into  the  thickest 
ranks,  and  encourages  it  to  increase  the  devasta- 
tion :  wherever  it  goes,  nothing  can  withstand  its 
fury  ;  it  levels  the  ranks  with  its  immense  bulk, 
flings  such  as  oppose  it  into  tht  air,  or  crushes 
them  to  death  under  its  feet.  In  tiie  meantime 
those  who  are  placed  upon  its  back  combat  as 
from  an  eminence,  and  fling  down  their  weapons 
with  double  force,  their  weight  being  added  to 
their  velocity.  Notiiing,  therefore,  can  be  more 
dreadful,  or  more  irresistible,  than  such  a  moving 
machine,  to  men  unacquainted  with  the  modern 
arts  of  war;  the  elephant  thus  armed  and  con- 
ducted, raging  in  the  midst  of  the  field  of  battle, 
inspires  more  terror  than  even  those  machines 
that  destroy  at  a  distance,  and  are  often  most  fiitui 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


583 


Idumea,  and  from  thence    proceeded  to  f  ed   with   archers,    while    the  rest  of  the 


Bethsura,  a  place  well  fortified,  and  spent 
much  time  before  it;  for,  between  sallies 
and  stratagems,  the  besieged  found  means 
to  defeat  all  the  attempts  of  the  enemy. 

Judas  being  informed  of  the  approach 
of  Antiochus,  raised  the  siege,  and  march- 
ing to  meet  the  enemy,  pitched  his  camp 
in  a  certain  place  called  the  straits  of 
Beth-zacharias,  about  seventy  furlongs 
from  the  adversary. 

Antiochus  upon  this  quitted  the  Beth- 
surites,  and  encamped  a  short  distance 
from  Judas,  appointing  his  army,  by  break 
of  day,  to  put  themselves  upon  their  march 
in  order  of  battle.  But  the  straits  being 
too  narrow  for  the  elephants  to  march  in 
front,  they  were  forced  into  the  defile  with 
a  thousand  foot  and  five  hundred  horse 
upon  the  guard  of  every  elephant,  and  so 
to  advance  one  after  another  with  a  kind 
of  tower  or  castle  upon  their  backs,  charg- 


when  most  unseen.  But  this  method  of  combating 
is  ratiier  formidable  than  effectual:  polished  na- 
tions have  ever  been  victorious  over  these  semi- 
barbarous  troops  that  have  called  in  the  elephant 
to  their  assistance  or  attempted  to  gtin  a  victory 
by  merely  astonishing  their  opposers.  The  Ro- 
mans quickly  learned  the  art  of  opening  their 
ranks  to  admit  the  elephant,  and  thus  separating 
it  frcrtn  assistance,  quickly  compelled  its  conduc- 
tors to  calm  the  animal's  fury,  and  to  submit.  It 
sometimes  also  happened  that  the  elephant  be- 
came impatient  of  control;  and,  instead  of  obeying 
its  conductor,  turned  upon  those  forces  it  was 
employed  to  assist.  In  either  case,  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  preparation  to  very  little  effect,  foi  a 
single  elephant  is  known  to  consume  as  much  as 
forty  men  in  a  day.  In  the  books  of  the  Macca- 
bees, we  find  frequent  mention  made  of  elephants, 
because,  after  the  reign  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
these  animals  were  very  much  employed  in  the 
armies  which  the  kings  of  Syria  and  Egypt  raised. 
They  were  naturally  of  a  very  quiet  and  gentle 
disposition,  and  never  made  use  of  their  strength 
but  when  they  were  irritated,  or  compelled  to  it; 
and  for  this  reason,  we  find  that  the  elephants 
which  were  in  the  army  of  Antiochus  Eupator, 
had  the  blood  of  grapes  and  mulberries  shown 
them,  thereby  to  animate  them  to  the  combat,  1 
Maccab.  vi.  34.  and  those  which  Ptolemy  Philopa- 
ter  kept,  were  intoxicated  with  incense  dipped  in 
wine  to  make  them  more  mad  and  furious.  When 
they  are  irritated  and  inflamed,  their  strength  is 
prodigious  and  nothing  can  stand  before  them. 
Every  creature  that  comes  in  their  way,  they 
trample  under  foot,  and  overthrow  whole  squadrons, 
—Goldmith  and  Calmet,  \ 


troops  mounted  the    hills  on  both  sides, 
under   the  command. of  able  officers. 

From  this  ascent  they  gave  the  attack, 
with  so  loud  a  shout  that  valleys  resound- 
ed with  the  echo;  at  the  same  time  the 
flashes  of  their  gold  and  brazen  bucklers 
exhibited  a  scene  of  astonishment  and 
surprise. 

But  all  this  was  to  Judas  no  more  than 
empty  pomp  and  noise ;  for  he  received 
them  so  bravely,  that  he  killed  near  six 
hundred  upon  the  first  encounter. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged,  Eleazar, 
otherwise  called  Savaran,  the  brother  of 
Judas,  taking  notice  of  one  elephant  that 
was  caparisoned  with  richer  trappings* 
than  the  rest,  he  made  his  way  with  a 
generous  resolution  through  all  the  guards 
to  that  beast,  taking  for  granted,  that  the 
king  was  upon  it. 

When  he  had  cut  part  of  his  opposers 
to  pieces  on  each  hand  and  forced  the  rest 
to  clear  his  passage,  he  crept  under  the 
belly  of  the  elephant,  and  wounded  it 
to  death  ;  himself  also  perished  under  the 
weight  of  the  beast  upon  his  fall.  He 
had  the  honour  however  to  die  in  the 
attempt  of  a  glorious  action,  and  encom- 
passed with  the  dead  bodies  of  his  enemies. 
Judas,  finding  himself  so  mightily  ex- 
ceeded in  number,  drew  off  to  the  siege 
of  the  fortress  at  Jerusalem  again,  when 
Antiochus  sent  one  part  of  his  army  to  sit 
down  before  Bethsura,  and  with  the  re- 
mainder of  it  went  to  Jerusalem. 

The  Bethsurites  were  so  discouraged 
by  the  appearance  of  the  king's  troops, 
and  so  much  more  disheartened  by  their 
want  of  provisions,  that  they  found  them- 


*  Though  elephants  have  a  hide  impenetrable 
in  almost  every  part  except  the  belly,  yet  for  their 
greater  safety  those  used  in  battle  were  usually 
armed  and  covered  all  over  as  with  a  coat  of  mail. 
The  kings  of  India,  according  to  Quintus  Curtius,' 
when  they  took  the  field,  were  drawn  by  elephants 
all  covered  over  with  gold  ;  and  Florus  has  describ- 
ed the  same  animals,  made  use  of  in  battles,  "litter- 
ing with  gold,  silver,  purple,  and  their  ow'n&ivory, 
harnessed  and  equipped  much  after  the  fashion  of 
a  war-horse.~^S(ackhouse, 


584 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


selves  under  a  necessity  of  delivering  up 
the  place,  which  they  did  upon  conditions, 
with  solemn  articles  that  there  should  be 
no  violence  or  molestation  offered  them 
whatever. 

But  the  king  kept  his  faith  no  farther 
than  to  the  bare  saving  of  their  lives;  for 
the  inhabitants  were  all  turned  naked  out 
of  the  town,  and  a  garrison  of  his  own 
fixed  in  their  place.  But  the  siege  of  the 
temple  cost  them  much  pains,  through  the 
resolute  defence  that  was  made ;  all  then- 
machines  and  approaches  were  eluded  by 
counter- workings  and  designs. 

Their  only  distress  was  want  of  bread ; 
for  having  already  spent  their  last  year's 
store,  and  this  happening  to  fall  out  upon 
the  seventh  year,  when  by  the  Jewish  law 
they  could  neither  plough  nor  sow,  great 
numbers  of  the  Jews  deserted  the  town 
merely  for  want  of  provision,  insomuch 
that  there  was  scarcely  numbers  sufficient 
to  defend  the  place. 

The  king  and  his  general  Lysias  re- 
ceived intelligence  that  Philip  had  usurp- 
ed the  government,  and  was  marching 
toward  them  at  the  head  of  an  army  out 
of  Persia ;  so  that  they  came  to  a  secret 
resolution  to  quit  the  siege,  seek  him  out, 
and  give  him  battle ;  but  to  execute  their 
design  with  such  privacy,  that  neither 
officer  nor  soldier  should  so  much  as  divine 
the  intent.  Wherefore  the  king  ordered 
Lysias,  without  mentioning  the  name  of 
Philip,  to  enter  into  a  discourse  with  the 
commanders  and  soldiers  concerning  the 
siege,  the  strength  of  the  place,  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  enterprise,  and  to  observe  to 
them  upon  the  whole,  that  being  reduced 
to  a  want  of  corn,  and  the  king's  business 
also  requiring  his  presence  elsewhere,  they 
could  not  do  better  than  to  come  to  some 
sort  of  agreement  with  them  upon  condi- 
tion of  allowing  them  the  free  exercise  of 
their  particular  religion,  laws,  and  cus- 
toms: and  this  point  being  given  up,  which 
had  been  the  only  ground  of  their  rebel- 
lions, the  king  might  return  when  he 
pleased,  without  any  farther  trouble. 


This  Lysias  had  in  charge  to  commu- 
nicate to  the  army,  and  the  soldiers  were 
highly  pleased  with  the  proposal. 

Matters  being  thus  concerted,  Antio- 
chus.  despatched  a  herald  to  Judas  and 
the  besieged,  with  an  offer  of  peace,  and  a 
free  enjoyment  and  exercise  of  their  laws 
and  customs,  which  they  very  readily 
agreed  to,  and,  on  the  security  of  an  oath 
for  the  performance  of  articles,  delivered 
up  the  temple ;  but  upon  Antiochus's 
taking  possession  of  it,  he  found  the  place 
so  very  strong,  that  without  regard  to  his 
oath  and  promise,  he  ordered  his  soldiers 
to  demolish  the  walls,  and  lay  them  level 
with  the  ground,  which  was  executed  ac- 
cordingly, and  so  returned  to  Antioch, 
carrying  the  high-priest,  Onias,  otherwise 
called  Menelaus,  along  with  him. 

This  was  done  upon  the  advice  of  Ly- 
sias, who  told  him,  that  if  ever  he  would 
render  the  Jews  quiet,  or  himself  at  ease, 
that  man  must  be  taken  off;  for  it  was  at 
his  instigation  that  his  father  forced  the 
Jews  to  a  religion  against  their  laws  and 
consciences  ;  and  that  Onias  was  conse- 
quently thft  author  and  promoter  of  all  the 
evils  that  had  befallen  him. 

The  king  upon  this  sent  away  Mene- 
laus to  Berea  in  Syria,  where  he  caused 
him  to  be  put  to  death,  after  ten  years' 
enjoyment  of  the  pontificate.  He  was  a 
very  wicked  man,  who,  to  secure  the  dig- 
nity to  himself,  caused  a  general  defection 
among  the  Jews,  from  the  laws  and  wor- 
ship of  their  country.  His  next  successor 
was  Alcimus,  who  was  also  called  Jaci- 
mus. 

When  Antiochus  Eupator  found  that 
Philip  had  now  usurped  the  government, 
he  fought  with  him,  and  overcame  him  ; 
took  him  prisoner,  and  ordered  him  to  be 
put  to  death.  But  the  son  of  the  high- 
priest  Onias  being  left  an  infant,  by  the 
death  of  Menelaus,  finding  that  the  king 
had  conferred  the  dignity  on  Alcimus, 
who  stood  in  no  relation  to  the  sacerdotal 
family,  and  was  only  overruled  by  Lysias 
in  the  transferring  of  it,  fled  into  Egypt, 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


585 


where  he  was  graciously  received,  both  by 
Ptolemy  and  his  queen  Cleopatra,  that  at 
his  request  they  bestowed  a  place  of  trust 
upon  him  in  Heliopolis,  where  he  erected 
a  temple  after  the  model  of  that  at  Jer- 
usalem. 

Demetrius  the  son  of  Seleucus  having 
fled  away  from  Rome,*  took  possession  of 
Tripolis  in  Syria;  and  with  as  many  mer- 
cenaries as  he  could  get  together,  invaded 
the  country,  where  the  people  did  not 
only  come  over  to  him  in  great  numbers, 
with  open  arms  to  receive  him ;  but  as  a 
farther  instance  of  an  affection  to  his  in- 
terest, seized  upon  the  persons  of  Antio- 
chus  Eupator  and  Lysias,  and  brought 
them  in  custody  to  him.  Upon  this  they 
were  immediately  both  put  to  death  by 
the  command  of  Demetrius;  Antiochus 
having  now  reigned  two  years.  He  had 
in  his  party  a  great  number  of  profligate 
Jews,  that  had  been  banished  for  notorious 
crimes,  together  with  Alcimus  the  high- 
priest,  who  all  joined  in  one  common  ac- 
cusation and  complaint  against  the  whole 
people  of  the  Jews,  but  especially  Judas 
Maccabeus  and  his  brethren,  whom  they 
charged,  not  only  with  the  destruction  of 
as  many  of  the  king's  friends  as  fell  into 
their  hands,  but  with  the  very  ejection  of 
themselves  out  of  the  land  too.  Where- 
fore they  made  it  their  request  to  Deme- 
trius, only  to  send  some  particular  person 
that  he  could  confide  in  to  examine  mat- 

*  Demetrius,  who  was  the  son  of  Seleucus 
Philopater,  and  the  rightful  heir  of  the  crown  of 
Syria,  had  been  kept  as  a  hostage,  and  afterwards 
in  an  honourable  captivity,  at  Koine,  during  the 
reign  of  his  uncle  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  on  whose 
death  he  solicited  the  senate  for  leave  to  return  to 
Syria,  alleging,  as  an  inducement,  that  having 
been  bred  up  in  that  city  from  his  childhood,  he 
should  always  look  upon  Rome  as  his  country. 
B-ut  that  politic  body,  preferring  a  minor,  like 
Eupator,  on  the  throne  of  Syria  to  a  prince 
in  the  prime  of  life,  of  considerable  talents  and 
ambition,  refused  his  request  :  whereupon  Deme- 
trius privily  escaped  from  Rome,  and  landed 
"  with  a  few  men,"  only  eight  friends  and  their 
servants,  at  Tripolis  in  Phoenicia  ;  was  joined  by 
several  of  his  adherents  under  the  persuasion  that 
he  was  patronised  by  the  Romans  ;  and  advanced 
to  Antioch,  where  the  army  declared  for  him. — 
Dr  Hales. 


ters  in  Judea,  and  to  see. what  havoc  Ju- 
das had  made  there. 

Demetrius  in  a  rage  despatched  upon 
this  errand  Bacchides,  formerly  a  friend 
to  Antiochus  Epiphanes;  he  was  a  reso- 
lute man,  and  being  at  that  time  governor 
of  Mesopotamia,  despatched  Alcimus  with 
a  commission  to  fall  upon  Judas  and  his 
followers.  With  these  troops  Bacchides 
left  Antioch,  and  marched  directly  into 
Judea,  where  he  gave  Judas  and  his  bre- 
thren a  solemn  invitation  to  come  to  a 
better  understanding  with  him. 

Now  the  only  design  was  under  the 
colour  of  a  peaceable  and  friendly  dispo- 
sition, to  draw  them  in  and  surprise  them. 
But  as  he  came  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
and  in  the  posture  of  an  enemy  rather 
than  a  friend,  Judas  kept  himself  upon 
his  guard,  without  giving  any  credit  to 
his  pretensions ;  though  some  credulous 
people  went  over  to  him,  in  confidence 
that  their  countryman  Alcimus  would  do 
them  no  injury,  especially  as  he  had 
taken  a  solemn  oath,  that  no  violence 
should  be  offered,  either  to  themselves,  or 
any  of  their  party.  This  confidence,  how- 
ever, deceived  them ;  for  Bacchides,  with- 
out any  regard  to  conscience,  caused  sixty 
of  them  to  be  cut  to  pieces;  which  bar- 
barous perfidy  served  for  a  warning  to  the 
rest  not  to  approach  him. 

Bacchides,  after  this,  removed  his  army 
from  Jerusalem  and  went  to  Bethzeth, 
where  he  found  several  deserters,  and 
other  disaffected  people,  which  he  put  to 
the  sword.  This  being  done,  he  com- 
manded all  the  Jews  in  his  absence  to 
obey  Alcimus;  and  leaving  part  of  his 
army  with  him  for  the  security  of  the  pro- 
vince, returned  with  the  rest  to  king  De- 
metrius at  Antioch. 

Alcimus  during  all  these  transactions 
had  an  eye  to  the  pontificate,  and  reflect- 
ing that  it  was  an  honour  hardly  to  be 
compassed  but  by  the  favour  and  good- 
will of  the  people,  betook  himself  to  the 
popular  arts  of  courtesy  and  affability,  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  the  multitude :  so 
4l 


580 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


that  by  means  of  obliging  speech  and  be- 
haviour, he  quickly  doubled  the  number 
of  the  forces  that  were  left  him ;  but  it 
was  with  a  band  of  impious  fugitives  who 
enlisted  themselves  in  his  service;  with 
these  he  ravaged  the  country,  putting  all 
the  Jews  to  death  wherever  he  came,  that 
were  friends  to  Maccabeus. 

Judas,  incensed  at  the  depredations 
committed  by  a  rabble  army,  headed  by 
Alcimus,  determined  to  retaliate  on  them- 
selves the  injuries  they  had  offered;  but 
Alcimus,  sensible  that  he  was  not  able  to 
cope  with  Judas  by  himself,  applied  to 
Demetrius  at  Antioch,  for  succour,  where 
he  did  all  that  was  possible  to  irritate  that 
prince  against  Judas,  and  to  resent  the 
indignities  he  had  put  upon  him. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Treachery  and  blasphemy  of  Nicanor  punished. 
—  The  wickedness  of  Alcimus  retaliated  by  a 
judicial  vengeance. — Judas  succeeds  to  the 
pontificate. — Enters  into  an  alliance  with  the 
Romans. — Nobly  espouses  the  cause  of  his 
countrymen,  and  is  slain  in  battle. 

Judas  was  now  become  so  formidable, 
that  Demetrius  was  very  fearful  of  the 
consequence  if  he  suffered  him  thus  to  in- 
crease in  strength  and  credit;  and  so  call- 
ed Nicanor  to  him,  who  had  been  formerly 
his  companion  in  his  departure  from  Rome, 
and  his  particular  confidant  and  friend, 
and  assigned  him  the  command  of  such  an 
army  as  he  reckoned  sufficient  for  the  re- 
ducing of  Judas,  with  positive  orders  to 
make  war  upon  the  whole  nation,  and  give 
no  quarter. 

Upon  his  setting  out  for  Jerusalem,  he 
proposed  to  himself  to  dissemble  his  inten- 
tions, and  try  if  he  could  inveigle  Judas, 
under  a  show  of  friendship,  into  a  credu- 
lity that  would  certainly  be  his  ruin.  Ni- 
canor thus  suggested  the  matter  to  him : 
"  Why  should  we  expose  the  sum  of  all 
our  happiness  to  the  uncertain  chance  of 
war,  and  not  rather  adjust  the  point  in 
controversy  by  an  amicable  treaty?  If 
you  apprehend  any  danger  in  it,  I  am 


ready  to  give  you  the  most  sacred  oath  of 
security,  that  one  man  can  give  to  another; 
for  peace  is  all  my  business." 

This  declaration  wrought  so  far  upon 
Judas  and  his  brethren,  that,  without  any 
suspicion  of  deceit,  they  gave  him  assur- 
ances of  friendship,  and  with  great  frank- 
ness received  Nicanor  with  his  whole  army. 
After  the  first  greeting  between  Judas  and 
Nicanor,  the  latter  gave  a  signal  to  his 
people  to  seize  him,  but  he  perceived  the 
treachery,  and  made  his  escape  to  his 
own  people :  so  after  the  detection  of  this 
plot,  both  parties  prepared  to  decide  the 
quarrel  by  open  force,  without  any  further 
mention  of  a  treaty.  The  armies  drew 
out,  and  came  to  a  battle  near  Caphar- 
salama,*  where  Judas  was  worsted,  and 
forced  into  the  castle  of  Jerusalem. 

It  happened  one  day,  as  Nicanor  was 
passing  by  the  temple,  that  several  of  the 
priests  and  elders  met  him,  and  showed 
him  the  sacrifices  that  they  were  about  to 
offer  to  God  for  the  prosperity  and  wel- 
fare of  Demetrius. 

Nicanor  threatened  them,  and  even  ut- 
tered blasphemous  revilings  against  God 
himself;  declaring  that  if  the  people  did 
not  deliver  up  Judas  to  him,  he  would  re- 
turn to  their  sorrow  and  cost ;  destroy  the 
temple,  and  leave  it  in  ashes. 

With  these  menaces  he  departed ;  but 
the  priests  were  so  dejected  at  this  de- 
claration, that  they  forthwith  addressed 
themselves  to  God  with  prayers  and  tears, 
to  protect  his  own  house,  and  his  minis- 
ters that  belonged  to  it,  against  the  out- 
rages of  the  enemy. 

Nicanor  departed  from  Jerusalem  and 
pitched  his  tent  in  Bethoron,  where  he 
was  joined  by  a  great  reinforcement  out  of 
Syria.  Judas  at  the  same  time  encamped 
at  Adasi,  thirty  furlongs  distant  from  the 
enemy,  having  with  him  a  body,  only  of 


*  The  same  perhaps  as  Caphar-semelia,  not  far 
from  Jerusalem.  The  Hebrew  word  Caphar  sig- 
nifies a  field  or  village ;  it  is  often  used  in  compo- 
sition with  other  words  as  a  proper  name.— 
Calmet. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


587 


a  thousand  men.  He  told  them  that  the 
enemy  indeed  was  numerous,  but  that  the 
cause  was  God's,  whose  power  was  above 
that  of  a  multitude  ;  exhorting  them  not 
to  trouble  themselves  concerning  the  ap- 
parent superiority  of  the  army  they  were 
to  encounter,  but  to  fall  on  like  men  of 
courage  and  resolution,  and  commit  the  is- 
sue to  God. 

In  fine,  it  came  to  a  battle ;  and  the 
first  encounter  was  very  vigorous ;  but  upon 
the  fall  of  great  numbers  of  the  enemy, 
and  of  Nicanor  too,  who  did  all  that  could 
be  done  by  a  great  commander,  and  a 
brave  man,  the  whole  army  scattered;  and 
upon  the  loss  of  their  general,  cast  away 
their  arms,  in  order  to  make  them  lighter 
for  their  flight.  Judas  in  the  mean  time 
pursuing  the  fugitives  without  mercy, 
made  proclamation  by  sound  of  trumpet, 
through  all  the  towns  and  cities  where  he 
passed,  of  the  victory  he  obtained. 

Upon  this  signal  the  country  people  ga- 
thered together,  and  fell  so  unmercifully 
upon  the  soldiers  in  their  flight,  that  of 
nine  thousand  men,  which  was  the  num- 
ber of  their  army,  there  was  not  a  man 
that  escaped.  The  Jews,  after  this  victo- 
ry, had  an  interval  of  peace,  bu$  it  lasted 
not  long. 

Alcimus  was  extremely  desirous  of  hav- 
ing .the  old  wall  of  the  sanctuary  pulled 
down,  which  had  been  built  by  the  ancient 
prophets  ;  but  in  the  very  instant  of  his 
ordering  it  to  be  done,  God  struck  him 
with  so  potent  a  disease,  that  he  fell  upon 
the  ground  speechless,  where  he  languish- 
ed in  great  torments,  and  then  died,  after 
being  four  years  in  the  office  of  the  pon- 
tificate. The  people  upon  his  decease  un- 
animously chose  Judas  as  his  successor. 

The  new  high-priest  had  heard  so  much 
of  the  fame  and  power  of  the  Romans, 
and  of  the  overthrows  they  had  given  the 
I  Gauls,  Spaniards,  Carthaginians,  nay,  to 
1  Greece  itself,  and  king  Perseus,  Philip 
and  Antiochus,  that  he  had  a  mighty  de- 
sire to  enter  into  a  league  with  them ;  ac- 
cordingly he  sent  Eupolemus  the  son  of 


John,  and  Jason  the  son  of  Eleazar,  two 
particular  friends,  to  Rome  upon  an  em- 
bassy, soliciting  to  be  received  into  the 
number  of  their  allies,  and  that  they  would 
write  to  Demetrius,  to  forbear  making  war 
with  the  Jews  on  any  pretence  for  the  fu- 
ture. 

The  senate  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
proposal  that  they  consented  to  the  league, 
and  passed  an  order  soon  after  in  favour  ot 
it,  which  was  written  on  tables  of  brass ; 
the  copy  of  it  was  sent  to  Jerusalem,  and 
the  original  deposited  in  the  capital.  The 
decree  was  to  this  effect :  "That  no  peo- 
ple whatsoever,  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Romans,  should  presume  to  make  war 
upon  the  Jews,  or  to  assist  any  of  their 
enemies  with  corn,  shipping,  money,  or  the 
like,  and  the  same  obligation  to  lie  reci- 
procally upon  the  Jews,  in  case  of  any  war 
made  upon  the  Romans.  If  there  should 
be  any  thing  after  this,  which  the  Jews 
would  have  to  be  added  or  taken  away,  it 
shall  be  first  ratified  by  the  common  con- 
sent of  the  Romans." 

This  decree  was  written  by  Eupolemus, 
Jason,  Judas  the  high-priest,  and  his  bro- 
ther Simon,  general  of  the  army.  This 
was  the  first  alliance  that  ever  was  made 
between  the  Jews  and  the  Romans. 

Upon  the  report  of  Nicanor's  death, 
and  the  defeat  of  of  the  army,  Demetrius 
sent  Bacchides  a  second  time  into  Judea, 
who  advanced  with  fresh  troops  to  Arbe- 
la,*  a  town  in  Galilee,  and  there  encamp- 
ed, forcing  a  great  many  Jews  out  of  the 
caves  there,  where  they  had  hid  themselves. 

From  hence  he  hastened  away  to  Jeru- 
salem; and  upon  intelligence  that  Judas 


*  Arbela,  or  Arbah-el,  signifies  fine  countries, 
countries  of  God  :  for  which  reason,  we  find  many 
places  so  named  in  Palestine.  It  is  said,  1  Mace, 
ix.  2.  that  Bacchides  and  Alcimus  came  into  Gali- 
lee, and  encamped  at  Maseloth,  which  is  in  Arbe- 
la. The  city  Masai,  or  Misheal,  was*  in  the  tribe 
of  Asher,  near  to  which  were  very  fine  fields,  and 
a  place  called  Arbela,  Josh.  xix.  26. — Eusebius 
and  Jerome  mention  a  city  of  this  name,  in  the 
great  plain,  nine  miles  from  Legio,  probably  east ; 
and  the  former  writer  mentions  another  belong- 
ing to  the  region  of  Pella. —  Calmet. 


588 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  VIII. 


and  his  people  were  at  Berezeth,  posted 
immediately  with  twenty  thousand  foot 
and  two  thousand  horse  to  encounter  him, 
who  had  at  that  time  but  three  thousand 
men  with  him,  and  these  being  terrified  at 
the  numerous  army  under  Bacchides,  left 
their  camp  and  fled,  excepting  eight  hun- 
dred. 

In  this  want  of  men  and  time  for  re- 
cruiting, Judas  maintained  his  resolution 
in  despite  of  all  difficulties,  of  putting  it 
to  the  fate  of  a  battle,  only  desiring  his 
men  to  stand  by  him  and  follow  his  exam- 
ple. They  represented  to  him,  how  vain 
and  rash  a  thing  it  would  be  to  contend 
with  such  insupportable  odds,  advising  him 
rather  to  attempt  an  honourable  retreat, 
by  which  means  possibly  he  might  rein- 
force himself.  But  he  declared,  "That it 
should  never  be  said,  that  the  sun  ever 
saw  Judas  turn  his  back  upon  an  enemy. 
If  it  should  be  our  lot  now  to  die,  God's 
will  be  done,  provided  that  we  do  not 
tarnish  the  reputation  of  a  glorious  life  by 
an  ignominous  death." 

With  these  words  he  roused  the  cour- 
age of  his  soldiers  and  animated  them  for 
the  combat. 

Bacchides  having  ranged  his  army, 
placed  the  horse  upon  the  two  wings, 
whereof  he  himself  commanded  the  right, 
his  light  armed  men  and  archers  in  the 
front,  supported  by  a  Macedonian  pha- 
lanx* in  the  body.     In  this  order  of  bat- 


*  The  Macedonian  phalanx  was  a  body  of  in- 
fantry, consisting  of  16,000  heavy-armed  troops, 
who  were  always  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  bat- 
tle. Besides  a  sword,  they  were  armed  with  a 
shield,  and  a  pike  or  spear  twenty-one  feet  long. 
The  phalanx  was  commonly  divided  into  ten 
battalions,  each  of  which  was  composed  of  1600 
men,  drawn  up  100  in  front,  and  sixteen  in  depth. 
Sometimes  the  file  of  sixteen  was  doubled,  and 
Bometimes  divided,  according  as  the  occasion  re- 
quired ;  so  that  the  phalanx  was  sometimes  but 
eight,  and  at  other  times  thirty-two  deep  ;  but  its 
usual  and  repular  depth  was  of  sixteen.  The 
Bpace  between  each  soldier  upon  a  march 
was  six  feet,  or,  which  is  the  same,  four  cubits ; 
and  the  ranks  were  also  about  six  feet  asunder. 
When  the  phalanx  advanced  towards  an  enemy, 
there  was  but  three  feet  distant  between  every  sol- 
dier, and  the  ranks  were  closed  in  proportion.     In 


tie  he  advanced  to  the  enemy,  sounding  a 
charge,  and  with  a  military  shout,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  gave  the  onset, — Judas  en- 
countering him  on  the  other  hand  after 
the  same  manner. 

The  engagement  was  maintained  with 
great  vigour  on  both  sides,  from  morning 
till   towards  sunset;    when   Judas  taking 


fine,  when  the  phalanx  was  to  deceive  the  enemy, 
the  men  who  composed  it  drew  still  closer,  each  sol- 
dier occupying  only  the  space  of  a  foot  and  a  half. 
This  evidently  shows  the  different  space  which 
the  front  of  the  phalanx  took  up  in  these  three 
cases,  supposing  the  whole  to  consist  of  16,000 
men,  at  sixteen  deep,  and  consequently  always 
1000  men  in  front.  This  space  in  the  first  case 
was  6000  feet,  or  1000  fathoms,  which  make  ten 
furlongs,  or  half  a  league.  In  the  second  case  it 
was  but  half  so  much,  and  took  up  five  furlongs,  or 
500  fathoms.  And  in  the  third  case,  it  was  again  di- 
minished another  half,  and  extended  to  the  distance 
of  only  two  furlongs  and  a  half,  or  250  fathoms. 
Polybius  examines  the  phalanx  in  the  second 
case,  in  which  it  marched  to  attack  the  enemy. 
Each  soldier  then  took  up  three  feet  in  breadth, 
and  as  many  in  depth.  We  observed  above,  that 
their  pikes  were  fourteen  cubits  long.  The  space 
between  the  two  hands,  and  that  part  of  the  pike 
which  projected  beyond  the  right,  took  up  four  ; 
and  consequently  the  pike  advanced  ten  cubits  be- 
yond the  body  of  the  soldier  who  carried  it.  This 
being  supposed,  the  pikes  of  the  soldiers  placed  in 
the  fifth  rank,  whom  I  will  call  the  fifths,  and  so 
of  the  rest,  projected  two  cubits  beyond  the 
first  rank  ;  the  pikes  of  the  fourths  four,  those 
of  the  thirds  six,  those  of  the  seconds  eight  cubits  ; 
in  fine,  the  pikes  of  the  soldiers  who  formed  the 
first  rank  advanced  ten  cubits  towards  the  enemy. 
The  reader  will  easily  conceive,  that  when  the 
soldiers  who  composed  the  phalanx,  this  great  and 
unwieldy  machine,  every  part  of  which  bristled 
with  pikes,  as  we  have  seen,  moved  all  at  once, 
presenting  their  pikes  to  attack  the  enemy,  that 
they  must  charge  with  great  force.  The  soldiers 
who  were  behind  the  fifth  rank  held  their  pikes 
raised,  but  inclining  a  little  over  the  ranks  who 
preceded  them  ;  thereby  forming  a  kind  of  roof, 
which  (not  to  mention  their  shields)  secured  them 
from  the  darts  discharged  at  a  distance,  which  fell 
without  doing  them  any  hurt.  The  soldiers  of  all 
the  other  ranks  beyond  the  fifth  could  not  indeed 
engage  against  the  enemy,  nor  reach  them  witli 
their  pikes,  but  then  they  gave  great  assistance 
in  battle  to  those  in  the  front  of  them.  For 
by  supporting  them  behind  with  their  utmost 
strength,  and  pressing  upon  their  backs,  they  in- 
creased in  a  prodigious  manner  the  strength  and 
impetuosity  of  the  onset  ;  they  gave  their  com- 
rades such  firmness  and  stability  as  rendered 
them  immoveable  in  attacks,  and  at  the  same 
time  deprived  them  of  ever  hope  or  opportuni- 
ty of  flight  by  the  rear ;  so  that  they  were 
under  the  necessity  either  to  conquer  or  die.— 
Rollin. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


589 


notice  of  the  danger  his  men  were  in,  of 
being  overpowered  by  the  enemy's  right 
wing,  where  Bacchides,  with  the  flower  of 
the  army,  fiercely  assailed  them,  came  in 
with  a  band  of  valiant  and  courageous  youths 
to  their  relief;  and  breaking  their  line, 
pierced  into  the  very  body  of  them,  rout- 
ed, and  gave  them  chase  as  far  as  mount 
Aza. 

The  enemy's  left  wing  upon  this  fol- 
lowed Judas  so  closely,  that  he  was  now 
beset  on  all  hands,  and  out  of  all  possibil- 
ity of  escaping;  yet  he  and  his  people 
stood  their  ground,  and  bravely  resolved 
to  sell  their  lives  as  dear  as  possible ;  after 
a  great  slaughter  of  their  enemies,  Judas 
and  his  companions  were  so  wearied  out, 
that  they  seemed  at  last  to  be  rather  spent 
than  overcome.  Thus  did  this  glorious 
hero  finish  the  character  of  a  great  man, 
by  making  his  life  and  death  correspond 
in  point  of  true  valour. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  the  sol- 
diers, after  the  loss  of  so  brave  a  general, 


could  dispute  the  point  any  further  with- 
out a  leader.  So  they  presently  dispersed, 
while  the  two  brothers,  Simon  and  Jona- 
than, treated  with  the  enemy  for  the  body 
of  their  brother,  which  they  carried  away, 
and  laid  it  at  Modin  in  the  sepulchre  oi 
his  fathers,  with  all  funeral  magnificence, 
and  with  the  solemnity  of  a  public  mourn- 
ing for  several  days,  in  honour  of  his 
memory,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
place  upon  so  extraordinary  an  occasion. 

This  was  the  end  of  Judas  Maccabeus, 
a  generous,  and  a  valiant  man,  the  true 
son  of  the  virtue  as  well  as  the  blood  of 
Mattathias;  for  he  never  forgot  the  pre- 
cepts of  his  dying  father,  who  enjoined 
him  upon  his  blessing  never  to  decline 
labour  or  hazard  for  the  liberty  and  wel- 
fare of  his  countrymen. 

In  pursuance  of  this  charge,  he  acquired 
everlasting  honour,  by  the  rescue  of  his 
friends  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Macedon- 
ians, and  by  his  three  years'  administra- 
tion in  the  office  of  high-priest. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    IX. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JUDAS  MACCABEUS  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA* 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  Jews  from  the  time  of  the  captivity 
are  no  more  to  be  looked  upon  as  that 
free,  rich,  and  glorious  people,  which  they 
had  been  either  under  their  former  theo- 
cracy, as  Josephus  rightly  terms  it,  or 
under  their  opulent  and  warlike  monarchs, 
and  direction  of  their  prophets.  Their  con- 
dition, government,  manners,  yea,  every 
thing  but  their  religion,  were  entirely 
changed.  They  had  enjoyed  nearly  three 
centuries  of  almost  uninterrupted  pros- 
perity prior  to  the  reign  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  king  of  Syria,  when  they 
were  most  cruelly  oppressed  and  compel- 
led to  take  up  arms  in  their  own  defence. 
Under  the  able  conduct  of  Judas  Macca- 
beus and  his  valiant  brothers,  the  Jews 
maintained  a  religious  war  for  twenty-six 
years,  with  five  successive  kings  of  Syria; 
and  after  destroying  two  hundred  thousand 
of  their  best  troops  the  Maccabees  finally 
established  the  independence  of  their  own 
country,  and  the  aggrandizement  of  their 
family.  This  illustrious  house,  whose 
princes  united  the  regal  and  pontifical 
dignity  in  their  own  persons,  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  Jews  during  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  years,  until, 
disputes  arising  between  Hyrcanus  and 
bis    brother    Aristobulus,    the    latter  was 


defeated  by  the  Romans  under  Pompey, 
who    captured    Jerusalem,     and    reduced 
Judea  to  a  tributary  province  of  the  re- 
public.    The  last  of  the  Asmonean  family 
was  conquered  and  deposed  by  Herod  the 
Great,  an   Idumean  by  birth,   but  of  the 
Jewish  religion,  who  had  been  appointed 
king  of  the  Jews  by  the  Romans,  and  en- 
joyed a  long  reign  over  Palestine,  in  the 
course  of  which   he  greatly  reduced  the 
civil  power  of  the  high-priests.     During 
the  reign  of  the  Maccabean  princes,  how- 
ever, an  evil,  pernicious  in  its  effects  on 
genuine   religion,  sprung   up  among  the 
Jews, — they  being   no   longer  under  the 
corrective  influence  of  the  schools  of  the 
prophets,  whence  in  olden  time  had  em- 
anated such  lofty  inspiration,  simple  piety, 
and  pure  morality.      Then  appeared  the 
worldly-minded   Sadducees,   misinterpret- 
ing the  pure  and  ennobling  precepts  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  and  admitting  no  felicity  but 
that  which  may  be   enjoyed  in  this  life. 
Opposed  to  these  were  the  subtle  Phari- 
sees, who  divested  the  law  of  its  simplicity 
and  purity,  and  superadded  to  it  a  num- 
ber of  pernicious  doctrines,  said  to  have 
been  preserved  by  tradition  from  Moses, 
and  to  which  they  adhered  more  strictly 
than  to  the  law  itself,  though  often  con- 
trary to  whaj  the  latter  enjoined.      These 
powerful  but  opposing  sects  acquired  great 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

importance  in  the  state,  and  their  opin- 
ions and  observances  had  the  tendency  of 
diverting  the  minds  of  the  people  from 
the  essence  of  religion — the  pure  and 
spiritual  worship  of  God — and  attaching 
them  to  a  number  of  unmeaning  and  in 
some  instances  immoral  ceremonies. 


591 


CHAPTER  I. 

Judas  is  succeeded  by  Jonathan,  who  maintains 
the  opposition  against  Bacchides  with  various 
success,  till  they  enter  into  an  alliance. — Jona- 
than forms  a  treaty  with  Demetrius. — Forti- 
fies Jerusalem. — Is  shown  great  favours  by 
Alexander  Balas,  who  opposes  Demetrius. — 
Death  of  that  prince. 

It  has  been  already  observed,  that  Judas, 
the  mighty  captain  and  valiant  defender 
of  the  Jews,  after  several  bloody  battles 
fought  in  that  righteous  cause,  lost  his  life 
in  this  magnanimous  contest. 

This  illustrious  person  was  no  sooner 
taken  off,  than  the  whole  party  of  the  pro- 
fligate Jews,  that,  contrary  to  conscience, 
faith,  and  honour,  had  abandoned  the  re- 
ligion, laws,  and  customs  of  the  nation, 
resumed  their  former  animosities,  and  per- 
secuted their  honest  countrymen  more 
spitefully  than  ever. 

There  happened  also  at  the  same  time 
a  general  famine,  which  doubled  the  other 
calamity;  for,  between  want  of  bread  on 
the  one  hand,  and  want  of  power  to  defend 
themselves  against  their  enemies  on  the 
other,  the  misery  lay  so  heavy  upon  them, 
that  a  great  many  of  the  Jews  found  them- 
selves under  some  necessity  to  comply 
with  the  faction  of  the  Macedonians. 

Upon  this  juncture,  Bacchides  convened 
all  the  apostate  Jews  that  were  gone  over 
to  strange  goes,  and  c<mmit,»:d  the  car: 
of  the  government  principally  into  their 
hands,  who  mj#e  it  their  business,  in  the 
first  place,  to  seize  all  the  friends  and  late 
partizans  of  Judas,  and  thereby  deliver 
them  to  Bacchides,  to  torture  them  at 
pleasure,  and  in  the  end  put  every  man 
to  death. 

The  condition  of  the  Jews  was  never 


more  deplorable  since  their  captivity  in 
Babylon  as  it  was  at  this  time ;  insomuch, 
that  all  those  who  had  wished  well  to  Ju- 
das, joined  in  a  request  to  Jonathan,  not 
only  to  follow  his  brother's  example,  who 
had  so  frankly  sacrificed  his  blood  for  the 
liberties  of  his  country,  but  to  take  upon 
himself  his  command  also,  the  whole  na- 
tion lying  under  such  desperate  circum- 
stances, that  they  must  be  all  inevitably 
lost  without  a  leader. 

His  answer  was,  that  he  was  ready  to 
do  or  suffer  any  thing  for  the  public  good; 
whereupon,  with  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  people,  he  was  declared  their  general. 

When  Bacchides  came  to  be  informed 
of  this  choice,  and  to  reflect  that  Jonathan 
was  as  likely  to  give  as  much  trouble  and 
disturbance  to  the  king  and  Macedonians 
as  his  brother  Judas,  he  determined  to  take 
him  off  by  treachery.  But  he  and  his 
brother  Simon  were  both  so  well  aware  of 
such  a  design,  that  they  provided  for  them- 
selves betimes,  by  withdrawing  into  the 
neighbouring  desert  with  what  strength 
they  were  able  to  get  together,  and  pitch- 
ed their  tents  by  the  lake  of  Asphar.* 

Bacchides  looking  upon  this  retreat  into 
the  wilderness  as  the  effect  of  fear,  and  no 
other  than  a  direct  flight  from  the  face  of 
an  enemy,  marched  toward  them  with  all 
his  troops,  and  encamped  beyond  Jordan, 
making  choice  of  that  place  for  his  rendez- 
vous. 

When  Jonathan  came  to  hear  of  this 
motion,  he  sent  his  brother  to  the  Nabath- 
ean  Arabs,  being  in  friendship  with  them, 
for  leave  to  deposit  their  baggage  in  their 
custody,  till  the  battle  with  Bacchides 
should  be  decided. 

Biii  an  he  was  lpon  tie  way,  the  sons 
of  Amaraus  made  a  sally  out  to  Medaba 
upon  the  convoy;  took  all  their  carriages, 
o.id  whatever  else  they  had  about  them, 
and  killed  John  upon  the  spot,  and  all  his 
company. 


*  This  lake  was  in  the  district  of  Tekoah,  which 
Calmet  takes  to  be  the  Dead  sea. 


692 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX. 


Baccliides  having  Intelligence  that  Jon- 
athan lay  encamped  in  the  fenny  grounds 
near  the  river  Jordan,  pitched  upon  the 
sabbath-day  for  the  attack,  in  confidence 
of  their  remaining  inactive  on  account  of 
the  reverence  they  had  for  that  day.  But 
Jonathan  laying  before  his  soldiers  the  ab- 
solute necessity  of  fighting;  the  enemy 
being  before  them,  and  the  river  behind 
them,  there  was  no  saving  their  lives  with- 
out it;  and,  considering  the  exigence  of 
the  case,  they  called  upon  God  for  victory, 
and  in  the  same  instant  resolutely  charged 
the  enemy,  killing  great  numbers  of  them 
upon  the  spot. 

In  the  heat  of  this  action,  Baccliides 
pressed  furiously  upon  the  person  of  Jon- 
athan, who  at  the  same  time  made  a  blow 
at  him;  but  the  other  evading  it,  Jona- 
than and  his  company  took  to  the  river, 
and  the  enemy  not  daring  to  follow  them, 
they  got  safe  to  the  other  side. 

Baccliides,  after  this  withdrew  into  the 
citadel  of  Jerusalem,  with  the  loss  of  about 
two  thousand  of  his  men.  He  also  forti- 
fied several  strong  cities  and  places  whose 
wall  had  been  demolished,  as  Jericho, 
Emmaus,  Bethoron,  Bethel,  Thamnatha, 
Pharathoni,  Taphon,  and  Gazara.  These 
places  he  strengthened  with  walls  and 
towers,  which  he  strongly  garrisoned,  that 
from  thence  they  might  make  excursions, 
and  attack  the  Jews.  But  care  was  taken 
above  all  the  rest,  to  make  the  citadel  of 
Jerusalem  impregnable;  in  which  place 
the  sons  of  the  principal  men  of  the  country 
were  secured  as  hostages. 

Intelligence  arrived  about  this  time,  to 
the  two  other  brothers,  Jonathan  and  Si- 
mon, that  there  was  a  splendid  wedding  on 
treaty,  between  one  of  the  sons  of  Ama- 
raus,  and  the  daughter  of  an  illustrious 
noble  of  Canaan;  the  sons  of  Amaraus 
were  to  be  at  the  wedding,  and  the  bride 
to  be  conducted  in  great  pomp  from  the 
city  of  Gabatha.* 

*  Having  in  a  previous  note  adverted  to  some 
of  the  distinctive  peculiarities  connected  with  the 
marriage  festivals  of  the  Orientals,  we  shall  here 


The  brothers  embraced  this  opportunity 
to  revenge  themselves  for  the  death  of 
their  brother,  and  hastened  away  towards 
Medaba,  to  trepan  the  people  who  were 

give  something  additional,  as  characteristic  of  the 
customs  observed  on  these  occasions.  The  Greeks 
were  decked  with  garlands  of  various  herbs  and 
flowers  on  their  marriage-day  $  whence  Cly* 
temnestra,  in  Euripides,  speaks  thus  to  Achilles 
about  her  daughter  Iphigenia  :  "  But  oh,  in  vain, 
though  I  had  crowned  her  to  be  wedded  to  thee." 
The  hair  of  a  Roman  bride  was  also  crowned  with 
flowers,  after  being  divided  into  six  locks  with  the 
point  of  a  spear.  This  very  ancient  practice  of 
crowning  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,  has  been 
continued  among  the  members  of  the  Greek  church 
in  Egypt,  to  our  own  times.  The  marriage-cere- 
mony among  the  Jews  was  commonly  performed  in 
a  garden,  or  in  the  open  air  ;  the  bride  was  placed 
under  a  canopy,  supported  by  four  youths,  and 
adorned  with  jewels  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
married  persons  ;  all  the  company  crying  out  with 
joyful  acclamations,  'Blessed  be  he  that  cometh.'  It 
was  anciently  the  custom,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
ceremony,  for  the  father  and  mother,  and  kindred 
of  the  woman,  to  pray  for  a  blessing  upon  the  par- 
ties. After  the  benedictions,  the  bride  is  conduct- 
ed, with  great  pomp,  to  the  house  of  her  husband  ; 
this  is  usually  done  in  the  evening  ;  and  as  the 
procession  moved  along,  money,  sweatmeats, 
flowers,  and  other  articles,  were  thrown  among 
the  populace,  which  they  caught  in  cloths  made 
for  such  occasions,  stretched  in  a  particular  man-  ., 
ner  upon  frames.  The  use  of  perfumes  at  eastern 
marriages  is  common  ;  and  upon  great  occasions 
very  profuse.  Not  only  are  the  garments  scented, 
till,  in  the  Psalmist's  language,  they  smell  of  myrrh, 
aloes,  and  cassia;  it  is  also  customary  for  virgins  to 
meet,  and  lead  the  procession,  with  silver  gilt  pots 
of  perfumes  ;  and  sometimes  aromatics  are  burned 
in  the  windows  of  all  the  houses  in  the  streets 
through  which  the  procession  is  to  pass,  till  the  air 
becomes  loaded  with  fragrant  odours.  In  allusion 
to  this  practice  it  is  demanded, '  Who  is  this  that 
cometh  out  of  the  wilderness,  like  pillars  of  smoke 
perfumed  with  myrrh  and  frankincense?'  So 
liberally  were  these  rich  perfumes  burned  on  this 
occasion,  that  a  pillar  of  smoke  ascended  from  the 
censers,  so  high,  that  it  could  be  seen  at  a  consid- 
erable distance  ;  and  the  perfume  was  so  rich  as 
to  equal  in  value  and  fragrance  all  the  powders  of 
the  merchant.  The  custom  of  burning  perfumes 
on  these  occasions,  still  continues  in  the  East ;  for 
Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montague,  describing  the  re- 
ception of  a  young  Turkish  bride  at  the  bagnio, 
says,  "  Two  virgins  met  her  at  the  door;  two  others 
filled  silver  gilt  pots  with  perfumes,  and  began  the 
procession,  the  rest  following  in  pairs  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirty.  In  this  order  they  marched  round 
the  three  rooms  of  the  bagnio."  And  Maillet  in- 
forms us,  that  when  the  ambassadors  of  an  Eastern 
monarch,  sent  to  propose  marriage  to  an  Egyptian 
queen,  made  their  entrance  into  the  capital  of  tliat 
kingdom,  the  streets  through  which  they  passed 
were  strewed  with  flowers,  and  precious  odours 
burning  in  the  windows,  from  very  early  iu  the 


Chap.  I.]  THE  BIBLE. 

to  assist  at  the  wedding,  into  an  ambush 
that  they  had  planted  in  the  mountains. 
Upon  the  arrival  of  the  bridegroom  with 
his  bride,  and  a  long  train  of  their  friends, 


593 


morning,  embalmed  the  air.  It  was  the  custom 
among  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  the  nations  around 
them,  to  conduct  the  new-married  couple  with 
torches  and  lamps  to  their  dwelling,  as  appears 
from  the  messenger  in  Euripides,  who  says,  he  call- 
ed to  mind  the  time  when  he  bore  torches  before 
Menelans  and  Helena.  These  torches  were  usually 
carried  by  servants  ;  and  the  procession  was  some- 
times attended  with  singers  and  dancers.  Thus 
Homer,  in  his  description  of  the  shield  of  Achilles  : 
"  In  one  (of  the  sculptured  cities)  nuptials  were 
celebrating,  and  solemn  feasts;  through  the  city 
they  conducted  the  new-married  pair  from  their 
chambers,  with  flaming  torches,  while  frequent 
shouts  of  Hymen  burst  from  the  attending  throng, 
and  young  men  danced  in  skilful  measures  to  the 
sound  of  the  pipe  an,d  the  harp."  A  similar  cus- 
tom is  observed  among  the  Hindoos.  The  hus- 
band and  wife,  on  the  day  of  their  marriage,  being 
both  in  the  same  palanquin,  go  about  seven  and 
eight  o'clock  at  night,  accompanied  witli  all  their 
kindred  and  friends  ;  the  trumpets  and  drums  go 
before  them  ;  and  they  are  lighted  by  a  number  of 
flambeaux  ;  immediately  before  the  palanquin, 
walk  many  women,  whose  business  it  is  to  sing 
verses,  in  which  they  wish  them  all  manner  of  pros- 
perity. They  march  in  this  equipage  through  the 
streets,  for  the  space  of  some  hours,  after  which 
they  return  to  their  own  house,  where  the  domes- 
tics are  in  waiting.  The  whole  house  is  illumined 
with  small  lamps  ;  and  many  of  those  flambeaux 
already  mentioned,  are  kept  ready  for  their  arrival, 
besides  those  which  accompany  them,  and  are  car- 
ried before  the  palanquin.  These  flambeaux  are 
composed  of  many  pieces  of  old  linen,  squeezed 
hard  against  one  another  in  a  round  figure,  and 
thrust  down  into  a  mould  of  copper.  The  persons 
that  hold  them  in  one  hand,  have  in  the  other  a 
bottle  of  the  same  metal  with  the  copper  mould, 
which  is  full  of  oil,  which  they  take  care  to  pour 
out  from  time  to  time  upon  the  linen,  which  other- 
wise gives  no  light.  The  Roman  ladies  also  were 
led  home  to  their  husbands  in  the  evening  by  the 
light  of  torches.  A  Jewish  marriage  seems  to  have 
been  conducted  in  much  the  same  way  ;  for  in  that 
beautiful  Psalm,  where  David  describes  the  ma- 
jesty of  Christ's  kingdom,  we  meet  with  this  pas- 
sage :  '  And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there 
with  a  gift ;  even  the  rich  among  the  people  shall 
entreat  thy  favour.  The  king's  daughter  is  all- 
glorious  within  ;  her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold. 
She  shall  he  brought  unto  the  king  in  raiment  of 
/ieedle-work  ;  the  virgins,  her  companions  that  fol- 
low her,  shall  be  brought  unto  thee.  With  glad- 
ness and  rejoicing  shall  they  be  brought :  they  shall 
enter  into  the  king's  palace.'  Among  the  Jews, 
the  bridegroom  was  not  always  permitted  to  ac- 
company his  bride  from  her  father's  house  ;  an  in- 
timate friend  was  often  sent  to  conduct  her,  while 
he  remained  at  home  to  receive  her  in  his  apart- 
ment. Her  female  attendants  had  the  honour  to 
introduce  her ;  and  whenever  they   changed  the 


the  party  sallied  out  upon  them,  and  cut 
them  all  off,  without  saving  so  much  as 
one  person,  with  their  wives,  children, 
and  friends,  to  the  number  of  four  hun- 
dred ;  carrying  off  the  booty  entire.  After 
which  exploit  they  returned  to  their  quar- 
ters at  Jordan. 

When  Bacchides  had  settled  garrisons 
in  Judea,  he  returned  to  his  master;  and 
for  about  two  years  the  Jews  enjoyed  some 
tranquillity. 

But  the  apostate  Jews,  envying  the  re- 
pose of  Jonathan  and  his  party,  solicited 
Demetrius,  by  their  proxies,  that  Bac- 
chides might  be  ordered  to  reduce  Jona- 
than, representing  it  as  a  thing  so  easily 
to  be  effected,  that  it  required  no  more 
than  one  night's  work  to  rid  themselves 
both  of  him  and  all  his  soldiers  by  sur- 
prise. 

The  king  immediately  yielded  to  the 
proposition,  and  despatched  Bacchides  in- 
to Judea  upon  the  commission,  where  he 
sent  his  letters  to  all  the  king's  friends 
and  officers,  to  give  their  assistance  to- 
ward the  seizing  of  Jonathan. 

They  joined  in  council  to  concert  mea- 
sures to  insnare  him;  and  finding  upon 
several  trials  that  all  proved  ineffectual, 
(for  Jonathan  was  cautious,)  the  Mace- 
donian, in  a  transport  of  rage,  imputed  the 


bride's  dress,  which  is  often  done,  they  presented 
her  to  the  bridegroom.  It  is  the  custom,  and  be- 
longs to  their  ideas  of  magnificence,  frequently  to 
dress  and  undress  the  bride  ;  and  to  cause  her  tc 
wear  on  that  same  day  all  the  clothes  made  up  for 
her  nuptials.  For  the  same  reason  the  bride- 
groom's dress  is  less  frequently  changed.  These* 
circumstances  discover  the  propriety  and  force  of 
John's  language,  in  his  magnificent  description  of 
the  Jewish  church  in  her  millennial  state  :  *  And  I. 
John,  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.'  The  arrival  of  the  bride 
at  the  house  of  her  husband,  was  followed  by  the 
marriage  feast,  at  which  they  indulged  in  great 
mirth  and  hilarity.  It  was  made  entirely  at  the 
expense  of  the  bridegroom  ;  thus  Homer  sings  ; 

"  A  shot-free  banquet,  or  a  marriage  feast, 
Not  such  as  is  by  contribution  made." 

This  feast  was  called  the  nuptial  joy,  with  which 
no  other  was  to  be  intermixed  ;  all  labour  ceased 
while  it  continued,  and  no  sign  of  mourning  or 
sorrow  was  permitted  to  appear. — Paxton. 
4  F 


594 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX. 


whole  miscarriage  to  the  treachery  of  the 
apostate  Jews ;  who,  he  said,  sported  with 
the  king's  orders,  and  thereupon  put  fifty 
of  their  chief  men  to  death. 

Jonathan  and  his  brother,  finding  them- 
selves too  weak  for  Bacchides,  withdrew 
into  the  wilderness,  to  a  village  called 
Bethbasi,  and  fortified  it,  in  order  to  serve 
them  for  a  place  of  retreat. 

Upon  this  intelligence,  Bacchides  march- 
ed against  them  with  all  the  power  he  was 
able  to  raise ;  and  he  opened  his  trenches 
immediately  against  the  place,  and  for 
some  days  carried  on  his  approaches, 
Jonathan,  on  the  other  side,  making  a 
very  obstinate  resistance. 

While  affairs  were  thus  circumstanced, 
he  left  the  defence  of  the  place  to  his  bro- 
ther, and  with  all  the  force  he  could  draw 
together  out  of  the  neighbourhood,  stole 
away  by  night,  fell  upon  Bacchides  in  his 
quarters,  and,  from  the  havoc  and  con- 
fusion that  ensued,  killed  a  great  number 
of  his  men  ;  at  this  juncture,  Simon,  hear- 
ing of  his  brother's  slaughter,  made  a 
sally,  burnt  their  machines,  cut  off  a  great 
number  of  their  people,  and  afterwards 
returned. 

Bacchides  was  so  alarmed  at  this  as- 
sault upon  his  front  and  rear,  and  their 
miscarriage  of  an  attempt  he  thought  him- 
self so  sure  of,  that  for  some  time  it  near- 
ly deprived  him  of  his  reason.  But  all 
the  mischiefs  of  this  miscarriage  were  im- 
puted to  the  Jewish  impostors,  who  had 
prevailed  with  the  king  to  undertake  this 
expedition.  It  remained  now  only  to 
consider  how  the  siege  might  be  raised 
without  loss  of  honour,  both  to  the  king 
and  himself,  and  to  draw  off  without  dis- 
grace. 

While  Bacchides  was  deliberating  on 
the  affair,  Jonathan  embraced  this  oppor- 
tunity of  accomplishing  his  design  so  es- 
sential to  the  true  interest  of  the  Jews. 
With  this  view  he  sent  him  an  honourable 
embassy,  with  proposals  of  a  mutual  league 
and  friendship,  on  condition  of  releasing 
the  prisoners  on  both  sides.     This  was  a 


motion  so  reasonable  in  itself,  and  so  op- 
portune for  quitting  the  siege  without  loss 
of  reputation,  that  he  immediately  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  Jonathan;  so  they 
mutually  exchanged  oaths  to  deliver  up 
and  restore  all  prisoners  on  both  sides, 
and  not  to  commit  any  act  of  hostility 
one  to  another.  The  treaty  being  rati- 
fied, Bacchides  returned  to  the  king  at 
Antioch,  without  coming  back  with  his 
army  to  Judea. 

Jonathan  being  now  settled  in  a  state 
of  peace  and  safety,  took  up  his  abode  in 
Machmas,*  where  he  applied  himself  to 
the  administration  of  law  and  justice. 
He  was  a  bitter  enemy  to  deserters,  a 
zealous  asserter  of  the  laws,  and  purged 
the  land  from  all  foreign  abominations. 

In  the  year  one  hundred  and  sixty  of 
the  Seleucidse,  Alexander,  the  son  of  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes,  f  seized  Ptolemais  in 


*  That  is.  Michmash,  a  town  about  nine  miles 
to  the  north  of  Jerusalem  ;  there  he  governed 
Israel  according  to  the  law  ;  cut  off  all  that  apos- 
tatized from  it ;  restored  again  justice  and  right- 
eousness in  the  land  ;  and  reformed,  as  far  as  lie 
could,  all  that  was  amiss  either  in  church  or  state. 
— Dean  Prideaux. 

\  In  the  reign  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  one 
Heraclides  was  his  treasurer  in  the  province  or 
Babylon,  while  his  brother  Timarchus,  another 
favourite  of  the  king's,  was  governor  of  it  ;  but, 
on  the  coming  of  Demetrius  to  the  crown,  they 
were  both  found  guilty  of  great  misdemeanors,  for 
which  Timarchus  was  put  to  death,  but  Heraclides 
made  his  escape  out  of  the  kingdom,  and  took  up 
his  residence  at  Rhodes.  While  he  was  there, 
Demetrius,  having  given  himself  up  entirely  to 
luxury  and  sloth,  so  neglected  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment, that  his  subjects  justly  took  a  disgust  against 
him,  and  were  ready  to  enter  into  any  conspiracy 
to  depose  him  ;  which  Heraclides  understanding, 
in  hopes  of  making  a  revolution  in  favour  of  him- 
self, he  contrived  this  plot. — In  the  isle  of  Rhodes 
there  was  a  youth,  of  a  very  mean  and  obscure 
condition,  called  Balas,  but  in  other  respects  every 
way  fit  for  his  purpose.  Him  he  prevailed  with 
to  pass  for  the  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  ;  and 
having  thoroughly  instructed  him  how  to  act  his 
part,  he  carried  him  to  Rome,  where,  by  his  craft 
and  earnest  solicitations,  he  not  only  prevailed 
with  the  senate  to  own  him,  but  procured  a  de- 
cree from  them  likewise,  permitting  him  to  recov- 
er the  kingdom  of  Syria  out  of  the  hands  of 
Demetrius,  and  promising  their  assistance  in  doing 
it.  By  virtue  of  this  decree  he  raised  forces,  and 
with  them  sailing  to  Ptolemais  in  Palestine,  seized 
that  city  ;  and  there,  by  the  name  of  Alexander, 
son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  took  upon  him  to  be 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


595 


Syria,  through  the  confederacy  of  the  sol- 
diers, whose  aversion  he  had  excited  by  a 
proud,  arrogant  behaviour,  as  well  as  a  pe- 
culiar indolence  of  disposition,  which  caus- 
ed him  to  neglect  the  affairs  of  state,  and 
devote  himself  entirely  to  ease  and  indul- 
gence. 

•But  the  news  of  Alexander's  being  in 
Ptolemais  roused  Demetrius  from  his 
lethargy,  and  prompted  him  with  all  ex- 
pedition to  gather  his  forces,  and  march 
against  him.  Demetrius,  thus  embarrass- 
ed, sent  an  embassy  to  Jonathan,  with 
proposals  of  an  alliance;  this  he  did  in 
order  to  anticipate  any  treaty  that  he 
might  enter  into  with  Alexander,  which 
would  redound  to  his  disadvantage.  The 
purport  of  the  message  was,  that  he  should 
levy  men,  provide  arms,  and  set  the  hos- 
tages at  liberty  that  Bacchides  had  com- 
mitted prisoners  to  the  citadel. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  order  from 
Demetrius,  Jonathan  went  to  Jerusalem, 
where  he  read  it  publicly,  in  the  hearing 
of  the  garrison  and  of  the  people.  The 
fugitives  in  the  citadel  were  very  much 
surprised  to  see  Jonathan  on  a  sudden  so 
much  in  favour  with  Demetrius. 

He  went  on,  however,  with  his  levies, 
set  the  hostages  at  liberty,  and  remanded 
them  safe  back  to  their  parents.  He 
made  Jerusalem,  for  the  present,  the  place 
of  his  residence,  which  he  fortified,  altered, 
and  repaired  at  pleasure ;  rebuilding  and 
strengthening  the  walls,  with  large  square 
stones  for  the  better  defence  of  the 
place. 

The  Macedonians  that  were  dispersed 
up  and  down  in  several  garrisons,  quitted 
their  stations  upon  this  change  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  went  away  to  Antioch.  But  as 
for  those  that  were  in  Bethsura,  and  at 
the  tower  in  Jerusalem,  the  major  part  of 
them  being  Jewish  deserters,  it  was  not 


king  of  Syria.  Great  numbers,  out  of  disaffection 
to  Demetrius,  flocked  to  him  ;  so  that,  at  length, 
Demetrius  being  defeated  and  slain,  Alexander 
obtained  the  full  possession  of  the  Syrian  empire. 
i—Prideauz's  Connection. 


safe  for  them  to  stir  out  of  their  holds  and 
lurking  places. 

Alexander  was  no  stranger  to  the  char- 
acter of  Jonathan,  and  particularly  to  his 
military  exploits  against  the  Macedonians, 
nor  the  indignities  they  had  put  upon  him, 
both  by  Demetrius  and  Bacchides ;  so 
that  being  told  of  the  fair  promises  of  De- 
metrius, he  laid  the  matter  before  his 
friends,  who  gave  it  as  their  opinion,  that 
the  best  measure  he  could  pursue  at  that 
time,  was  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
Jonathan,  a  person  of  eminent  valour,  and 
a  mortal  enemy  to  Demetrius,  for  divers 
causes.  Upon  this  a  resolution  was  form- 
ed, with  the  advice  of  council,  for  an  ap- 
plication to  Jonathan,  which  was  couched 
in  the  following  terms: 

"  King  Alexander  to  his  brother  Jona- 
than, sendeth  greeting. — Whereas  we 
have  been  long  since  given  to  understand, 
that  thou  art  a  man  of  honour,  faith,  and 
courage,  and  in  every  respect  worthy  of 
our  friendship,  we  have  now  sent  our  am- 
bassadors to  make  thee  a  tender  of  our 
amity  and  alliance,  and  to  treat  in  our 
name  about  it  We  do  by  these  presents, 
and  by  our  royal  authority,  ordain  and 
pronounce  thee  to  be  the  high-priest*  of 
the  Jews,  and  adopt  thee  into  the  roll  of 
the   king's  friends;    sending   thee   for   a 


*  From  the  time  of  the  return  from  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  the  office  of  high-priest  had  been 
in  the  family  of  Jozadack,  and  in  a  lineal  descent 
was  transmitted  down  to  Onias,  the  third  of  that 
name.  He  was  supplanted  by  Jason  his  brother, 
as  Jason  was  by  his  brother  Menelaus,  and  after 
the  death  of  Menelaus,  Alcimus,  who  was  of  a 
different  family,  was  put  into  the  office  bv  the 
command  of  the  king  of  Syria.  Whether  the  As- 
monaeans  were  of  the  race  of  Jozadack  or  not,  it 
is  no  where  said,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
of  the  course  of  Joarib,  1  Maccab.  ii.  1.  which  was 
the  first  class  of  the  sons  of  Aaron  ;  and  therefore, 
upon  the  failure  of  the  former  pontifical  family, 
they  had  the  best  right  to  succeed.  With  this 
right  it  was,  that  Jonathan  took  the  office  ;  and 
in  his  family  it  became  settled,  and  continued  for 
several  descents,  until  the  time  of  Herod,  who, 
from  an  office  of  inheritance,  changed  it  into  that 
of  arbitrary  will  and  pleasure.  Whoever  had  the 
power  after  him,  put  the  high-priests  in  or  out,  as 
they  thought  fit,  till  at  length  the  office  was  ex- 
tinguished by  the  destruction  of  the  temple  by  the 
Romans  — Prideaux*s  Connection. 


596 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book,  IX. 


present  likewise,  a  purple  robe,  and  a 
crown  of  gold,  not  doubting  but  that  our 
affection  and  esteem  ^11  be  answered  on 
thy  part  with  a  suitable  return/' 

Jonathan,  upon  the  arrival  of  this  mes- 
sage, put  on  his  sacerdotal  robes,  at  the 
time  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  This 
was  eight  years  after  the  death  of  his 
brother  Judas,  the  pontifical  seat  having 
been  so  long  vacant,  and  from  thence  for- 
ward he  applied  himself  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  military  power. 

Demetrius  was  by  this  time  sensible  of 
the  error  of  his  delay,  in  neglecting  the 
opportunity  of  being  beforehand  with  his 
competitor  for  an  alliance  with  Jonathan. 

However,  the  anticipation  of  Alexander 
did  not  yet  hinder  him  from  carrying  it 
as  far  as  it  would  go,  in  the  following 
letter : 

"  King  Demetrius  to  Jonathan,  and  to 
the  people  of  the  Jews,  greeting. — Where- 
as we  have  hitherto  ever  found  you  true 
and  faithful  to  your  duty  and  to  our  ser- 
vice, in  despite  of  all  the  arts  and  prac- 
tices of  our  enemies  to  seduce  vou  from 
your  allegiance,  we  cannot  but  give  you 
some  instance  of  the  esteem  we  have  for 
your  unshaken  fidelity  in  times  past,  and 
likewise  of  our  ardent  desire  to  give  you 
all  encouragement  to  persevere  in  the 
same  for  the  time  to  come.  It  is  our 
pleasure,  therefore,  to  remit  the  greatest 
part  of  your  tributes  and  taxes  that  you 
formerly  paid  to  my  predecessors,  or  to 
myself,  over  and  above  the  custom  of  salt,* 
and  crown  taxes.f  The  thirds  of  your 
corn,  and  of  your  fruits  I  do  discharge 

*  The  Eastern  people  to  this  day  support  the 
expenses  of  government,  in  common,  by  paying  a 
certain  proportion  of  the  produce  of  their  lands  to 
their  princes.  And  it  appears  from  this  and  other 
passages  in  scripture,  that  the  custom  was  in  an- 
cient times  the  same. — Si?-  J.  Chardin,  Harmer. 

f  The  Jews  were  wont  to  present  crowns  to 
the  kings  of  Syria  :  afterwards  that  gold,  which 
was  paid  instead  of  those  crowns,  or  which  was 
expended  in  making  them,  was  called  the  crown 
gold,  and  crown  tax.  The  parallel  passage  in 
Josephus  is,  "  I  forgive  you  the  tax  upon  salt,  and 
tbe  value  of  the  crowns  which  you  used  to  offer 
to  we." — Grotius,  Whiston. 


you  of  for  ever;  together  with  the  poll- 
tax  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Judea,  and 
the  three  governments  of  Samaria,  Gali- 
lee, and  Peraea. 

"  I  will,  that  the  city  of  Jerusalem  be 
accounted  holy,  and  have  the  privileges  of 
a  sanctuary,  or  city  of  refuge,  with  an  ex- 
emption both  to  itself  and  its  dependen- 
cies from  all  tenths  and  tributes.  The 
citadel  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  high- 
priest,  Jonathan,  with  liberty  to  put  into 
it,  for  a  garrison,  such  of  his  friends  and 
confidants  as  he  shall  make  choice  of. 

"  It  is  our  further  pleasure,  that  every 
Jew  who  was  carried  away  prisoner  into 
any  part  of  our  dominions,  be  forthwith 
set  at  liberty,  without  imposing  any  hard- 
ships, after  this  decree,  so  much  as  upon 
their  cattle,  either  by  press-masters,  or 
otherwise.  That  all  their  sabbaths  and 
solemn  festivals,  and  three  days  before 
them,  shall  be  days  of  immunity  and  free- 
dom to  every  Jew  in  our  dominion,  that 
they  may  live  quietly,  without  any  sort  of 
molestation.  And  for  so  many  of  the 
Jews,  to  the  extent  of  thirty  thousand 
men,  as  may  desire  to  bear  arms  in  our 
service,  they  shall  be  entertained  at  the 
same  rate  with  our  guards,  and  placed 
also  in  our  garrisons,  and  about  our  per- 
son, and  the  better  sort  of  them  shall  be 
received  as  domestics  of  our  royal  family. 
Moreover,  they  shall  have  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  own  laws,  both  in  Jerusalem 
and  in  the  three  dependent  provinces; 
committing  it  to  the  high-priest's  care  to 
see  that  no  Jew  be  suffered  to  worship  in 
any  other  temple  but  that  of  Jerusalem. 

"We  do  hereby  grant  them  likewise  the 
yearly  allowance  of  fifteen  thousand  she- 
kels of  silver  toward  the  charge  of  their 
sacrifices  out  of  our  own  revenues,  and 
discharge  the  priests  and  officers  attending 
the  service  of  the  temple  of  the  ten  thou- 
sand drachmas  that  were  formerly  paid  to 
our  predecessors.  It  is  our  farther  will,  that 
whosoever  shall  fly  to  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, or  to  the  liberties  thereof,  for  any 
debt,  whether  to  the  king  or  otherwise, 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


5D/ 


shall  be  protected,  both  in  his  person  and 
goods,  from  any  trouble  or  molestation. 

"  We  likewise  give  leave,  and  require 
that  the  temple  be  repaired,  strong  walls 
and  towers  erected,  and  garrisons  put  into 
such  places  as  ye  shall  think  fit  to  raise 
and  fortify ;  and  all  this  to  be  done  at  our 
own  proper  charge." 

These  were  the  promises  of  Demetrius, 
who  wrote  to  the  Jews  accordingly. 

At  this  juncture,  Alexander  raised  a 
powerful  army,  and  advanced  at  the  head 
of  it  against  the  enemy.  An  engage- 
ment ensued,  and  the  left  wing  of  Deme- 
trius pressed  the  right  of  Alexander,  they 
pursued  their  advantage  so  far  that  they 
got  much  plunder;  but  the  right  wing, 
where  the  king  fought  in  person,  was 
forced  to  give  way,  and  a  general  rout 
ensued. 

Demetrius  acquitted  himself  courage- 
ously, and  slew  many  of  the  enemy,  till 
at  last  his  horse  plunging  into  a  bog,  he 
was  overpowered  by  multitudes  that  press- 
ed upon  him,  and  could  have  no  relief. 
However,  he  fought  on  foot,  till  his  body 
was  covered  with  darts  and  arrows.  Thus 
valiantly  fell  Demetrius,  after  a  reign  of 
eleven  years. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Omas  obtains  permission  to  build  a  temple  in 
Egypt. —  Contest  between  the  Jews  and  Sama- 
ritans relative  to  their  temple  and  worship 

Decided  in  favour  of  the  Jews. — Advocates 
for  tiie Samaritans,  according  to agreement,are 
adjudged  to  the  penalty  of  death. — Jonathan 
is  higlily  honoured  by  Alexander. — His  suc- 
cess against,  his  enemies. — Is  courteously  re- 
ceived by  king  Ptolemy. —  Various  fortunes  of 
Ptolemy  and  Alexander. — Death  of  those 
princes. — Jonathan  invests  Jerusalem. —  Ob- 
tains the  sanction  of  Demetrius. 

Ontas,  the  son  of  Onias  the  high-priest, 
who  lived  in  a  kind  of  exile  from  his  own 
country,  with  Ptolemy  Philometor,  at  Al- 
exandria, finding  Judea  so  terribly  ravag- 
ed by  the  Macedonians,  and  desirous  of 
acquiring  immortal  fame,  resolved  to  try 


if  he  could  obtain  leave  from  kinof  Ptole- 
my,  and  his  queen  Cleopatra,  to  build  a 
temple  in  Egypt,  after  the  model  of  that 
of  Jerusalem,  and  to  supply  it  with  priests 
and  Levites  of  his  own  family. 

This  design  occurred  to  him  from  a  pre- 
diction of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  at  least  six 
hundred  years  before ;  presaging  that  in 
time  to  come  there  should  be  a  temple 
erected  in  Egypt,  to  the  honour  of  the 
great  God,  and  that  it  should  be  the  work 
of  a  Jew.  Onias  was  so  possessed  with 
this  revelation  that  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Ptolemy  and  Cleopatra,  to  this  effect : 
"  When  I  had  the  honour  to  serve  your 
majesties  in  the  field,  I  passed  through 
several  countries,  and  observed,  that  in  the 
provinces  of  Coelo-syria,  Phoenicia,  and 
Leontopolis  in  the  district  of  Heliopolis, 
and  in  several  other  places,  the  Jews  had 
no  uniformity  in  their  temples,  and  there- 
fore could  not  agree  among  themselves 
about  it ;  as  is  the  case  with  the  Egyp- 
tians, by  reason  of  the  multitude  of  tem- 
ples, and  the  diversity  of  religion.*     As 

*  A  nation,  so  renowned  for  their  knowledge 
and  learning,  and  who  had  such  certain  methods 
of  preserving  the  traditions  of  their  ancestors, 
might  have  kept  the  original  religion,  one  would 
think,  with  more  than  ordinary  purity ;  at  least, 
would  not  have  run  into  the  same  excess  of  idola- 
try and  polytheism  that  other  people  were  so 
strangely  addicted  to :  and  yet,  if  we  look  a  little 
into  their  history,  we  shall  soon  find  more  corrup- 
tion of  this  kind  among  them,  than  in  any  other 
nation.  Some  of  their  wiser  sort  indeed,  are  said 
to  have  acknowledged  one  supreme  God,  the  maker 
and  ruler  of  the  world,  whom  they  sometimes  call- 
ed by  tiie  name  of  Osiris,  or  Serapis  ;  sometimes 
by  that  of  Isis  ;  and  at  other  times,  by  that  of 
Neith,  on  whose  temple  at  Sais  was  the  following 
remarkable  inscription,  '  I  am  all  that  has  been,  is, 
or  shall  be,  and  my  vail  hath  no  mortal  yet  un- 
covered.' But  though  some  parts  of  Egypt  might 
at  first  be  free  from  all  idolaU-ous  worship ;  yet, 
when  the  humour  began  to  spread,  it  soon  over- 
ran the  whole  kingdom.  The  heavenly  luminaries 
were  the  first  objects  of  profane  adoration  ;  and  in 
Egypt,  the  sun  and  the  moon  went  under  the  de- 
nomination of  Osiris  and  Isis.  After  these,  the 
elements,  and  other  parts  of  nature,  such  as  Vul- 
can, meaning  thereby  the  fire  ;  Ceres,  the  earth  ; 
Oeeanns,  the  water ;  and  Minerva,  the  air;  were 
admitted  into  the  number  of  their  deities.  But, 
besides  the  celestial,  they  had  terrestrial  gods  like- 
wise ;  for  most  of  their  princes,  who  had  meritt 
well  of  the  people,  were,  after  their  death,  canon- 
ized, and  invocuted  under  the  names  of  Sol,  Satur- 


598 


HISTORY  OF 


[Cook  IX. 


I  have  found  out  a  certain  place  near. the  i  for  sacrifice,  it  is  my  humble  request,  that 
castle  of  Bubastes  upon  the  plain,  where  i  you  will  permit  me  to  purge  and  demolish 
there    are    great    store    of    materials    for   a   ruinous   temple   there,    that  was  never 


building,  and  plenty  of  beasts  appointed 


tins,  Rhea,  Jupiter,  Juno,  Vulcanus,  Vesta,  and 
Mercurius,  which,  according  to  Diodorus,  were  the 
eight  first  hero-gods  which  the  Egyptians  worship- 
ped. Nay,  and  what  is  scarce  credible,  they  came 
at  last  to  give  divine  honours  to  several  animals, 
and  that  with  so  great  a  variety,  and  disagreement 
among  themselves,  that,  except  some  of  the  princi- 
pal deities,  which  were  honoured  all  the  kingdom 
over,  there  was  almost  in  every  town  or  village,  a 
different  god,  held  in  veneration  in  one  place  and 
detested  in  the  next,  which  often  occasioned  bitter 
animosities,  and  sometimes  inveterate  quarrels,  and 
dangerous  wars.  Now  the  reason  why  the  Egyp- 
tians adopted  such  a  variety  of  animals  into  tiie 
number  of  their  gods,  was  not  so  much  from  any 
consideration  of  their  subserviency  to  human  life, 
as  from  a  certain  similitude  they  perceived  be- 
tween fchem  and  the  deity  to  whom  they  were 
devoted.  Thus  the  hawk  was  made  sacred  to 
Osiris,  as  an  emblem  of  the  supreme  deity,  by 
reason  of  its  piercing  sight  and  swiftness  ;  the  cro- 
codile and  sea-horse  were  sacred  to  Typho ;  anu- 
bis  was  said  to  be  the  dog-star,  and  the  dog  was 
sacred  to  him ;  the  serpent  or  dragon  was  conse- 
crated to  Nephthe,  and  other  suitable  animals  to 
their  respective  gods:  nor  is  the  conjecture  of  Sir 
John  Marsham  at  all  to  be  rejected,  namely,  that 
the  use  of  the  hieroglyphical  figures  of  animals 
might  introduce  this  strange  worship,  which  the 
Egyptians,  in  process  of  time,  came  to  pay  them. 
For  as  those  figures  were  made  choice  of,  accord- 
ing to  the  respective  properties  of  each  animal,  to 
express  the  qualities  and  dignities  of  the  persons 
they  represented,  which  were  generally  their  gods, 
princes,  and  great  men  ;  the  people  became  gradu- 
ally accustomed  to  these  figures,  which  they  used 
to  place  in  their  temples,  as  the  images  of  their 
deities  ;  and  hence,  it  is  not  absurd  to  imagine, 
that  they  came  at  length  to  pay  a  superstitious 
veneration  to  the  living  animals  themselves. 

But  whatever  might  be  the  reason  or  induce- 
ments to  this  kind  of  idolatry,  nothing  was  so 
remarkable  in  the  Egyptian  religion,  as  the  pre- 
posterous worship  which  that  nation  paid  to  ani- 
mals, such  as  the  ox,  the  cat,  the  dog,  the  hawk, 
the  ibis,  the  wolf,  the  crocodile,  and  several  others 
which  they  had  in  high  veneration,  not  when  they 
were  alive  only,  but  even  after  they  were  dead. 
Of  all  these  animals,  the  bull  Apis,  called  Epaphus 
by  the  Greeks,  was  the  most  famous.  Magnificent 
temples  were  erected  to  him  ;  extraordinary  hon- 
ours were  paid  him  while  he  lived,  and  still  greater 
after  his  death.  Egypt  went  then  into  a  general 
mourning.  His  obsequies  were  solemnized  with 
such  a  pomp  as  is  hardly  credible.  In  the  reign 
of  Ptolemy  Lagus,  the  bull  Apis  dying  of  old  age, 
the  funeral  pomp,  besides  the  ordinary  expenses, 
amounted  to  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  French 
crowns.  After  the  last  honours  had  been  paid  to 
the  deceased  god  the  next  care  was  to  provide  him 
a  successor ;  and  all  Egypt  was  sought  through  for 
that  purpose.     He  was  known  by  certain  signs, 


consecrated  to  any  deity,  and  in  the  place 


which  distinguished  him  from  all  other  animals  of 
that  species  ;  upon  his  forehead  was  to  be  a  white 
spot,  in  form  of  a  crescent  ;  on  his  back,  the  figure 
of  an  eagle  ;  upon  his  tongue  that  of  a  beetle. 
As  soon  as  he  was  found,  mourning  gave  place  to 
joy  ;  and  nothing  was  heard,  in  all  parts  of  Egypt, 
hut  festivals  and  rejoicings.  The  new  god  was 
brought  to  Memphis,  to  take  possession  of  his 
dignity,  and  there  installed  with  a  great  number 
of  ceremonies.  Cambyses,  at  his  return  from  his 
unfortunate  expedition  against  Ethiopia,  finding 
all  the  Egyptians  in  transports  of  joy  for  the  dis- 
covery of  their  new  god  Apis,  and  imagining  tliat 
this  was  intended  as  an  insult  upon  his  misfortunes, 
killed,  in  the  first  impulse  of  his  fury,  the  young 
bull,  who  by  that  means  had  but  a  short  enjoy- 
ment of  his  divinity.  Whilst  they  were  living, 
they  had  lands  set  apart  for  the  maintenance  of 
each  kind,  and  both  men  and  women  were  employ- 
ed in  feeding  and  attending  them.  The  children 
succeeded  their  parents  in  the  office,  which  was  so 
far  from  being  declined,  or  thought  despicable 
among  the  Egyptians,  that  they  gloried  in  it  as  an 
high  honour ;  and  wearing  certain  badges,  to  dis- 
tinguish them  at  a  distance,  were  saluted  by  bend- 
ing the  knee,  and  other  demonstrations  of  respect. 
If  any  person  killed  any  of  these  sacred  animals 
designedly,  he  was  punished  with  immediate  death  ; 
if  involuntarily,  his  punishment  was  referred  to  the 
discretion  of  the  priests  ;  but  if  the  creature  slain 
was  a  cat,  a  hawk,  or  an  ibis,  whether  the  thing 
was  done  with  design  or  not,  the  person  was  to  die 
without  mercy,  and  sometimes  without  any  formal 
trial  or  process".  Diodorus  relates  an  incident,  to 
which  he  himself  was  an  eye-witness  during  his 
stay  in  Egypt :— A  Roman  having  inadvertently, 
and  without  design,  killed  a  cat,  the  exasperated 
populace  ran  to  his  house  ;  and  neither  the  au- 
thority of  the  king,  who  immediately  detached  a 
body  of  his  guaids,  nor  the  terror  of  the  Roman 
name,  could  rescue  the  unfortunate  criminal.  And 
such  was  the  reverence  which  the  Egyptians  had 
for  these  animals,  that  in  an  extreme  famine  they 
chose  to  eat  one  another,  rather  than  feed  upon 
their  imagined  deities.  The  extravagant  worship 
which  they  paid  to  some  of  these  animal  deities, 
as  to  the  bull  at  Memphis  ;  the  goat,  at  Mandrs; 
the  lion,  at  Leontopolis  ;  the  crocodile,  at  the  lake 
Moeris  ;  and  to  many  others,  at  different  places — 
exceeds  all  belief.  For  they  were  kept  in  conse- 
crated inclosures,  and  well  attended  on  by  men  of 
high  rank,  who,  at  great  expense,  provided  victuals 
for  them,  which  consisted  of  the  greatest  dainties. 
Nor  was  this  all ;  for  these  creatures  were  washed 
in  hot  baths,  anointed  with  most  precious  oint- 
ments, and  perfumed  with  the  most  odoriferous 
scents.  They  lay  on  the  richest  carpets,  and  other 
costly  furniture;  and  that  they  might  want  no- 
thing to  make  their  lives  as  happy  as  possible,  they 
had  the  most  beautiful  females  of  their  several 
kinds,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  concubines, 
provided  for  them.     The  crocodile  seems  to  be  the 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

of  it  to  erect  another,  after  the  model  of 
that  at  Jerusalem,  with  a  dedication  of  it 
to  the  most  high  God,  upon  condition 
that  prayers  be  there  offered  up  for  the 


599 


last  animal  to  which  mankind  could  he  tempted 
to  pay  divine  adoration  :  hut  that  this  might  be 
done  with  more  safety,  one  of  these  creatures  was 
trained  up  to  be  tame,  and  familiar  for  the  purpose, 
and  had  his  ears  adorned  with  strings  of  jewels  and 
gold,  and  his  forefeet  with  chains.  He  was  fed 
with  consecrated  provisions  at  the  public  charge  : 
and  when  strangers  went  to  see  him,  (which  often 
happened  out  of  curiosity,)  they  also  carried  him  a 
present  of  a  cake,  dressed  meat,  and  wine,  or  a 
drink  made  with  honey,  which  was  offered  to  him 
by  the  priests  ;  and  when  he  died,  his  body  was 
embalmed,  and  buried  in  a  sacred  coffin  at  Arsinoe. 
We  have  the  following  singular  story  in  Maximus 
Tyrius.  An  Egyptian  woman  brought  up  the 
young  one  of  a  crocodile.  The  Egyptians  esteem- 
ed her  singularly  fortunate,  and  revered  her  as  the 
nurse  of  a  deity.  The  woman  had  a  son  about 
the  same  age  with  the  crocodile,  and  they  grew  up 
and  played  together.  No  harm  ensued  whilst  the 
crocodile  was  gentle  from  being  weak  ;  but  when 
it  got  its  strength  it  devoured  the  child.  The 
woman  exulted  in  the  death  of  her  son,  and  con- 
sidered his  fate  as  blessed  in  the  extreme,  in  thus 
becoming  the  victim  of  their  domestic  god.  When 
any  of  these  animals  died,  tlie  Egyptians  lament- 
ed them,  as  if  they  had  been  their  dearest  children, 
and  frequently  laid  out  more  than  they  were  worth 
in  their  burials.  If  a  cat  died  in  any  house,  all 
the  family  shaved  their  eye-brows ;  and  if  a  dog, 
their  whole  body:  and  thus,  putting  themselves 
in  mourning,  they  wrapped  the  dead  body  up  in 
fine  linen,  and  carried  it  to  be  embalmed  ;  where, 
being  anointed  with  oil  of  cedar,  and  other  aro- 
matic preparations  to  keep  it  from  putrefaction, 
it  was  buried  with  great  solemnity  in  a  sacred 
coffin.  The  Egyptians,  not  contented  with  offer- 
ing incense  to  animals,  carried  their  folly  to  such 
an  excess  as  to  ascribe  a  divinity  to  the  pulse 
and  roots  of  their  gardens.  For  this  they  are  in- 
geniously reproached  by  the  satirist : 

Who  has  not  heard  where  Egypt's  realms  are  named, 

What  monster  gods  her  frantic  sons  have  framed  ? 

Here  Ibis  gorged  with  well-grown  serpents,  there 

The  Crocodile  commands  religious  fear. 

Where  Memnon's  statue  magic  strings  inspire 

With  vocal  sounds,  that  emulate  the  lyre ; 

And  Thebes,  (such,  fate,  are  thy  disastrous  turns  ! ) 

Now  prostrate  o'er  h.er  pompous  ruins  mourns  ; 

A  monkey-god,  prodigious  to  be  told  ! 

Strikes  the  beholder's  eye  with  burnish'd  gold. 

To  godship  here  blue  Triton's  scaly  herd, 

The  river  progeny  is  there  preferr'd  : 

Through  towns  Diana's  power  neglected  lief, 

Where  to  her  dogs  aspiring  temples  rige : 

And  should  you  leeks  or  onions  eat,  no  time 

Would  expiate  the  sacrilegious  crime. 

Religious  nations  sure,  and  blest  abodes, 

Where  every  orchard  is  o'er-run  with  gods. 

It  is  astonishing  to  see  a  nation  which  boasted  its 
superiority  above  all  others  with  regard  to  wisdom 
and  learning,  thus  blindly  abandon  itself  to  the 


safety  and  prosperity  of  your  royal  per- 
sons and  family;  to  the  end  that  all  the 
Jews  in  your  dominions  may  by  this 
means  be  united,  and  better  enabled  to  do 
your  majesties  service.  This  is  no  more 
than  what  the  prophet  Isaiah  had  foretold, 
that  God  would  have  a  holy  place  in 
Egypt."  < 

The  piety  that  the  king  and  his  queen 
Cleopatra  expressed  upon  the  receipt  of 
the  letter,  will  appear  by  their  answer, 
wherein  they  discharge  themselves  of  hav- 
ing any  hand  in  the  impious  violation  of 
the  law,  and  cast  the  whole  blame  of  it 
upon  Onias  in  these  terms: 

"  King  Ptolemy  and  queen  Cleopatra 
to  Onias,  joy  and  health. — We  have  read 
and  considered  your  letter  of  request, 
wherein  you  desire  to  cleanse  and  purify 
an  old  ruinous  temple  at  Leontopolis  near 
Bubastes  upon  the  plain,  within  the  juris- 
diction of  Heliopolis,  and  can  hardly  con- 
ceive how  a  temple  in  a  place  so  unclean, 
and  haunted  with  such  varieties  of  detest- 
able animals,  should  be  in  any  measure 
acceptable  to  God;  but  as  you  refer  your- 
self for  justification  to  the  predictions  of 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  we  do  hereby  grant 
unto  you  full  license  and  permission,  pro- 
vided it  be  done  without  giving  offence 
to  God  in  the  breach  of  his  laws." 

Onias  had  no  sooner  obtained  this  con- 
cession,  than   he  applied  himself  to   the 


most  gross  and  ridiculous  superstitions.  Indeed,  to 
read  of  animals,  and  vile  insects,  honoured  with  re- 
ligious worship,  placed  in  temples,  and  maintained 
with  great  care  and  at  an  extravagant  expense  ;  to 
read  that  those  who  murdered  them  were  punished 
with  death,  and  that  these  animals  were  embalmed, 
and  solemnly  deposited  in  tombs  assigned  them  by 
the  public  ;  to  hear,  that  this  extravagance  was 
carried  to  such  lengths,  as  that  leeks  and  onions 
were  acknowleged  as  deities  ;  were  invoked  in  ne- 
cessity, and  depended  upon  for  succour  and  protec- 
tion ;  are  absurdities  which  we,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  can  scarce  believe;  and  yet  they  have  the  evi- 
dence of  all  antiquity.  You  enter,  says  Lucian, 
into  a  magnificent  temple,  every  part  of  which 
glitters  with  gold  and  silver.  You  there  look 
attentively  for  a  god,  and  are  cheated  with  a 
stork,  an  ape,  or  a  cat;  a  just  emblem,  adds  that 
author,  of  too  many  palaces,  the  masters  of  which 
are  far  from  being  ffie  brightest  ornaments  of 
them.—  liollin,  Stackhouse,  and  Herodotus. 


600 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  fX. 


raising  of  the  temple  and  the  altar,  ac- 
cording to  the  draught  of  that  at  Jerusa- 
lem, though  it  was  much  short  of  it  both 
for  bulk  and  magnificence.  Having  thus 
accomplished  his  design,  Onias  did  not 
want  priests  and  Levites  of  his  own  per- 
suasion to  assist  him  in  the  divine  wor- 
ship, and  in  the  services  of  the  temple. 

There  happened  at  Alexandria  a  violent 
dispute,*  between  the  Jews  and  the  Sama- 
ritans that  erected  the  temple  at  Gerizim 
in  the  days  of  Alexander  the  Great,  con- 
cerning that  temple  and  the  manner  of 
worshipping,  so  that  Ptolemy  was  forced 
upon  an  appeal  to  take  the  matter  into 
his  own  cognizance,  and  pass  judgment 
upon  the  merits  of  the  cause. 

The  point  was  this:  the  Jews  insisted 
that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  the  only 
temple  extant  that  was  warranted  and 
authorized  by  the  laws  of  Moses;  the 
Samaritans  stood  up  for  the  temple  of 
Gerizim,  and  both  parties  by  consent 
referred  themselves  to  the  arbitration  of 
the  king  with  his  ministers  and  counsel- 
lors, desiring  only  that  counsel  might  be 
heard  on  both  sides,  and  that  sentence  of 
death  might  pass  upon  the  party  that 
should  be  found  guilty. 

Sabbeus  and  Theodosius  were  for  the 
Samaritans,  and  Andronicus  the  son  of 
Messalan,  for  the  Jews;  binding  them- 
selves by  oaths  on  both  sides,  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  king,  to  offer 
nothing  in  proof  but  what  was  according 
to  the  law,  and  desiring  that  the  breach  of 
that  oath  might  be  made  death. 

The  king  called  his  friends  and  coun- 
sellors about  him  to  try  the  cause.  The 
Jews  of  Alexandria  were  greatly  concern- 
ed lest  their  advocate  might  be  unequal 
to  the  important  cause,  and  much  grieved 
to  find  the  sacred  authority  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem,  the  most  ancient  and  noble 
frame  and  institution  in  the  whole  world, 
brought  into  question. 

Upon  a  debate  who  should  speak  first, 
Sabbeus  and  Theodosius  gave  the  prece- 
dence to  Andronicus,  who  opened  the  case, 


and  elaborately  set  forth  the  sanctity  and 
venerable  antiquity  of  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, even  from  the  very  original,  accord- 
ing to  the  law;  observing  the  uninterrupt- 
ed succession  of  the  priesthood  through 
all  ages,  with  the  honour  and  majesty  of 
the  place,  as  it  was  celebrated  from  time 
to  time,  with  the  magnificence  and  bounty 
of  all  the  kings  of  Asia ;  whereas  the  tem- 
ple of  Gerizim,  then  in  question,  was  so 
obscure  in  all  respects,  that  little  notice 
was  taken  of  it. 

By  this  speech  and  other  arguments 
Andronicus  persuaded  the  king  to  deter- 
mine that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was 
built  according  to  the  laws  of  Moses,* 
and  to  adjudge  Sabbeus  and  Theodosius 
to  death,  according  to  the  conditions  of 
the  proposal.  This  was  the  state  of  affairs 
with  the  Alexandrian  Jews  in  the  days  of 
Ptolemy  Philometor. 

After  the  death  of  Dometrius,  Alexan- 
der took  upon  himself  the  government  of 
Syria;  and  by  a 'letter  to  Ptolemy  Philo- 
metor, sent  him  a  proposal  of  a  match  with 
his    daughter,  suggesting,    that  it  would 


*  A  very  unfair  disputation  this !  while  the 
Jewish  disputant,  knowing  that  he  could  not 
properly  prove  out  of  the  Pentateuch,  that  '  the 
place  which  the  Lord  their  God  shall  choose  to 
place  his  name  there,'  so  often  referred  to  in  the 
book  of  Deuteronomy,  was  Jerusalem  any  more 
than  Gerizim,  that  being  not  determined  till  the 
days  of  David,  proves  only,  what  the  Samaritans 
did  not  deny,  that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was 
much  more  ancient,  and  much  more  celebrated 
and  honoured,  than  that  at  Gerizim  ;  which  was 
nothing  to  the  present  purpose,  the  whole  evi- 
dence, by  the  very  oaths  of  both  parties,  being,  we 
see,  obliged  to  be  confined  to  the  law  of  Moses,  or 
to  the  Pentateuch  alone.  However,  worldly  policy 
and  interest,  and  the  multitude  prevailing,  the 
court  gave  sentence,  as  usual,  on  the  stronger  side, 
and  poor  Sabbeus  and  Theodosius,  the  Samaritan 
disputants,  were  martyred,  and  this,  so  far  as  it 
appears,  without  any  direct  hearing  at  all ;  which 
is  like  the  usual  practice  of  such  political  courts 
about  matters  of  religion.  Our  copies  say  that 
the  body  of  the  Jews  were  in  a  great  concern 
about  those  men  (in  the  plural)  who  were  to  dis- 
pute for  their  temple  at  Jerusalem  ;  whereas  it 
seems  here  they  had  but  one  disputant,  Androni- 
cus by  name ;  perhaps  more  were  prepared  to 
speak  on  the  Jews'  side ;  but  the  first  having 
answered  to  his  name,  and  overcome  the  Samari- 
tans, there  was  no  necessity  for  any  other  defeu.de* 
of  the  Jerusalem  temple. —  W&istoru 


Chap.  IT.]  THE 

neither  be  dishonourable  nor  unreasonable 
after  the  overthrow  of  Demetrius,  and 
(through  God's  favour)  the  recovery  of  a 
kingdom  that  belonged  to  him  in  right 
of  his  father,  to  receive  him  into  his  al- 
liance. 

Ptolemy  was  so  well  pleased  with  this 
overture,  that  he  immediately  wrote  him 
a  letter  congratulating-  him  upon  all  his 
victories  and  successes,  promising-  him  his 
daughter  in  marriage,  and  appointing  Pto- 
lemais  for  the  place  of  meeting;  where  he 
would  wait  upon  him  with  his  daughter 
Cleopatra,  and  there  consummate  the  nup- 
tials. Ptolemy  went  directly  to  the  place 
with  his  daughter,  where  he  found  Alex- 
ander, and  celebrated  the  marriage,  with 
such  a  treasure  of  gold  and  silver  for  her 
portion  as  became  the  magnificence  of  so 
great  a  prince.  Jonathan  the  high-priest 
was  invited  by  Alexander  to  the  nuptials, 
where  both  the  kings  welcomed  him  with 
honours  and  presents  on  both  sides;  Alex- 
ander appointed  him  to  change  his  habit, 
put  on  a  purple  robe,  and  take  his  place 
next  to  himself  upon  the  throne,  command- 
ing also  the  chief  officers  to  attend  him 
into  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  make  pro- 
clamation that  no  man  should  presume, 
upon  his  peril,  either  to  calumniate,  ac- 
cuse, or  otherwise  give  him  the  least  mo- 
lestation. 

Such  were  the  kindness  and  respect 
that  Alexander  had  for  Jonathan,  that  he 
reckoned  him  among  the  choicest  of  his 
friends,  and  treated  him  with  every  token 
of  esteem. 

At  this  time  Demetrius,  the  son  of  the 
late  Demetrius,  embarked  with  a  body  ot 
mercenaries,  and  passed  with  them  out  of 
Crete  into  Cilicia.  Alexander,  alarmed 
at  the  news  of  this  expedition,  hastened 
from  Phoenicia  to  Antioch,  to  put  affairs 
into  a  posture  of  defence  before  Demetrius 
could  get  thither;  committing  the  govern- 
ment of  Coelo-syria,  in  the  mean  time,  to 
the    care  of   Apollonius,*   who  marched 


BIBLE. 


601 


with  an  army  to  Jamnia,  and  thence  sent 
Jonathan  the  high-priest  an  expostulatory 
message,  demanding  "  what  privilege  he 
had  to  live  at  ease  and  liberty,  and  to 
withdraw  himself  from  the  service  of  the 
public  ?  The  scandal,"  said  he,  "  is  laid 
at  my  door  for  suffering  this  affront,  with- 
out reducing  you  to  subjection.  If  you 
are  as  brave  as  you  would  be  thought  to 
be,  come  down  from  your  hiding-places  in 
the  mountains,  and  meet  me  like  a  man 
upon  the  plain,  sword  in  hand,  and  cast 
the  issue  of  the  cause  upon  that  trial.  I 
am  now  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  the 
choicest  men  in  the  empire,  and  men  that 
in  feats  of  arms  have  ever  had  the  ascen- 
dant of  your  ancestors  ;  wherefore,  I  dare 


Apollonius  was  a  common  name  among  the  Sy- 


ro-Macedonians  and  Greeks  ;  and  in  the  history  of 
the  Maccabees,  we  find  so  many  mentioned  of  that 
name,  that,  for  the  prevention  of  mistakes,  it  may 
not  be  improper  to  give  some  account  of  the  sever- 
al persons  who  bore  it.      The  first  that  we  meet 
with    of  that    name,   is.  Apollonius    the   son    of 
Thraseas,  2  Maccab.  iii.  5.  who  was  governor  of 
Ccelo-syria  and   Phoenicia  under  Selencus  Philo- 
pater,  when  Heliodorns  came  to  Jerusalem  to  rob 
the  temple.     He  was  chief  minister  of  state  to  Se- 
lencus ;  hut  on  the  accession  of  his  brother   An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes  to  the  crown,  he  left  Syria  and 
retired  to  Miletus.    He  had  a  son  of  his  own  name, 
that  was  bred  up  at  Rome,  and  resided  with  Deme- 
trius, (the  son  of  Seleucus  Philopater,)  who  was 
then  an  hostage  in  that  place.      When  Demetrius 
recovered  the  crown  of  Syria,  this  Apollonius  be- 
came his  prime  favourite,  and  was  made  governor 
of   Ccelo-syria   and    Phoenicia,  the  same  govern- 
ment which  his  father  held  under  Seleucus  Phil- 
opater ;  and  this  1  take  to  be  the  same  Apollonius, 
who  being  continued  in  the  same  government  by 
Alexander,  now  revolted  from  him,  to  embrace  the 
interest  of  Demetrius  the  son  of  his  old  master, 
and  to  engage  Jonathan  to  do  the  like,  marched 
his   forces   against  him.     Another   Apollonius  is 
spoken  of,  2   Maccab.  iv.  21.  as  the  chief  minister 
of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who  from  him  was  sent 
as  ambassador,  first  to  Rome,  and  afterwards   to 
Ptolemy  Philopater,  king  of  Egypt  ;  and   him   I 
take  to  be  the  same,  that,  with  a  detachment  of 
two  and  twenty  thousand  men,  was  sent  to  destrov 
Jerusalem,  and  build  a  fortress  on  mount   Acra. 
There  are,  besides  these,  two  other  persons,  in  the 
history  of  the   Maccabees   mentioned  under   the 
name  Apollonius.     The  former  of  these  being  go- 
vernor of  Samaria,  in  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes, 1  Maccab.  iii.   10.  was  slain  in  battle  by 
Judas  Maccabeus  ;  and  the  latter  (who  is  called  the 
the  son  of  Genneus,  2  Maccab.  xii.  2.)  being  go- 
vernor of  some  toparchy  in  Palestine,  under  An- 
tiochus Eupator,  did  then  signalize  himself  by  be. 
ing  a  great  enemy  of  the  Jews.— Pridtaux's  Ce*» 
nection, 

4g 


602 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book   IX. 


you  once  again  to  give  me  a  meeting  in 
some  indifferent  place,  where  swords,  not 
stones,  shall  decide  the  controversy,  and 
leave  the  vanquished  party  no  possibility 
of  saving  themselves  by  flight." 

Jonathan  was  so  incensed  with  the  in- 
solent challenge,  that  he  marched  out  of 
Jerusalem  with  ten  thousand  chosen  men, 
and  his  brother  Simon  with  him;  and  com- 
ing up  to  Joppa,  encamped  there.  But 
Apollonius  having  a  garrison  in  the  town, 
they  shut  their  gates  against  him,  so  that 
lie  put  himself  in  a  posture  for  an  assault: 
whereupon  the  inhabitants,  through  fear  of 
a  storm,  delivered  up  the  place. 

When  Apollonius  understood  that  his 
antagonist  was  possessed  of  Joppa,  he  be- 
took himself  with  three  thousand  horse 
and  eight  thousand  foot,  to  Azotus,  and 
from  thence,  by  easy  marches,  to  Joppa; 
where  he  drew  off  a  little  to  engage  Jo- 
nathan in  the  open  plain,  depending  upon 
his  superiority  of  numbers. 

Jonathan  advanced;  who,  when  he  found 
the  enemy  in  a  plain  field,  gave  them  battle. 
Apollonius  had  planted  a  thousand  horse 
in  an  ambush  near  a  brook,  to  fall  upon 
the  enemy's  rear,  which  Jonathan  was 
aware  of,  and  without  any  difficulty  pre- 
vented ;  for  he  drew  up  his  men  in  a 
square  that  fronted  every  side,  so  that 
they  were  ready  on  all  hands  to  receive 
the  charge. 

The  engagement  continued  till  evening, 
when  Jonathan  ordered  his  brother  Simon, 
with  part  of  his  army,  to  charge  the  ene- 
my's main  body,  having  commanded  his 
own  men  only  to  receive  the  darts  and  ar- 
rows of  the  horse  upon  their  bucklers, 
without  any  other  resistance. 

They  kept  themselves  upon  their  guard 
till  the  enemy  had  expended  all  their  of- 
fensive weapons,  without  doing  any  exe- 
cution ;  for  they  stood  so  thick,  that  their 
darts  fell  upon  their  bucklers,  which  they 
could  not  pierce.  The  enemy  was  so 
Bpent  with  this  manner  of  fighting  from 
morning  till  the  afternoon,  that  Simon 
took  that  opportunity  of  attacking  their 


main  body ;  and  was  so  bravely  seconded 
by  his  soldiers,  that  he  broke  them  and  put 
them  to  flight. 

The  horse,  upon  this  attack,  fled  in  the 
greatest  confusion.  Jonathan  closely  pur- 
sued them  as  far  as  Azotus,  killed  great 
numbers,  and  forced  the  rest  into  the 
temple  of  Dagon  for  sanctuary.  He  also 
took  the  city,  set  fire  to  it,  and  several 
neighbouring  villages,  and  burnt  them  all 
to  the  giound,  together  with  the  temple  of 
Dagon,  and  ad  the  people  that  fled  to  it 
for  protection.  The  number  of  those  that 
were  burnt  or  fell  by  the  sword,  was  com- 
puted to  amount  to  eight  thousand  men. 

After  the  defeat  of  this  army,  Jonathan 
advanced  with  his  troops  to  Askalon,  and 
pitched  his  tent  before  the  city,  the  inha- 
bitants coming  out  to  him,  and  treating 
him  with  many  presents  and  tokens  of 
respect. 

After  this  he  returned  to  Jerusalem  vic- 
torious, and  laden  with  spoil.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  victory,  Alexander  affected 
an  extraordinary  approbation  of  the  con- 
duct of  Jonathan  ;  and,  as  a  mark  of  his 
esteem,  presented  him  with  a  golden  buc- 
kle,* an  honour  peculiar  only  to  the  royal 
family ;  and  conferred  on  him  the  govern- 
ment of  Ekron. 

At  the  same  time,  Ptolemy  Philometor, 
with  both  land  and  sea-forces,  came  into 
Syria,  to  the  assistance  of  his  son-in-law, 
Alexander,  where  he  was  received  with 
great  honour,  according  to  the  king's  or- 
der, in  Azotus. 

In  this  place  he  was  accosted  with  com- 
plaints of  the  burning  of  Dagon's  temple, 
every  one  exclaiming  against  Jonathan,  as 
the  author  of  that  outrage,  beside  the  ha- 
voc he  had  made  in  the  country  by  fire  and 
sword.  Ptolemy  heard  these  complaints 
without  returning  any  answer.     Jonathan 


*  The  golden  buckle  (which  was  worn  upon  the 
shoulder)  was  a  very  singular  mark  of  distinction 
both  among  the  Greeks  and  Persians,  from  whom 
the  Macedonians  took  it,  and  was  generally  made 
the  reward  of  great  and  gallant  actions  in  war. — 
Calf/iet's  Commentary. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


603 


met  him  at  Joppa,  and  was  received  with 
magnificence  and  honour  ;  and  after  con- 
ducting  the  king  to  the  river  Eleutherus,* 
returned  to  Jerusalem. 

When  Ptolemy  arrived  in  the  city  of 
Ptolemais,  a  plot  was  laid  against  his  life, 
by  the  treachery  of  Alexander,  and  con- 
ducted by  his  friend  Ammonius.  This 
device  being  discovered,  he  wrote  to  Alex- 
ander, to  demand  justice.  But  Alexander 
refusing  to  deliver  Ammonius  up,  con- 
vinced him  that  he  himself  had  been  con- 
cerned in  it.  From  his  attachment  to 
this  infamous  person,  he  now  incurred  the 
hatred  of  Ptolemy,  as  he  had  before  done 
of  the  people  of  Antioch.  But  the  traitor 
soon  after  met  with  a  deserved  fate. 

Philometor,  incensed  at  the  perfidy  and 
ingratitude  of  Alexander,  determined  to 
disclaim  all  relationship  to  him ;  and  there- 
fore took  away  his  daughter  from  her  hus- 
band, and  entered  into  a  league  with  De- 
metrius against  Alexander,  on  condition 
of  giving  him  Cleopatra  in  marriage,  and 
putting  him  in  possession  of  his  father's 
kingdom. 

Demetrius  was  well  pleased  both  with 
the  alliance  and  the  woman.  But  the 
people  of  Antioch  had  such  an  aversion  to 
Demetrius  on  his  father's  account,  that 
Ptolemy  had  a  hard  task  to  persuade  them 
to  receive  him  for  their  king,  whom  they 
looked  upon  as  their  enemy.  Yet  such 
was  their  hatred  to  Alexander  upon  the 
score  of  Ammonius,  that  they  were  pre- 
vailed upon  to  free  the  city  of  Ammonius ; 
who  thereupon  escaped  into  Cilicia  from 
Antioch.  . 

Ptolemy  upon  this  made  his  entrance 
into  Antioch,  where  he  was  saluted,  pro- 
claimed, and  crowned  king,  both  by  the 
citizens  and  the  soldiery,  that  is,  in  the 
right  of  Asia  and  of  Egypt. 

As  he  was  a  person  of  a  just,  temperate, 
f  and  discreet  disposition,  he  managed  his 

*  Near  the  city  Orthosia,  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Lebanon,  falling  into  the  Mediterranean  not  far 
from  Aradus  in  Syria.  Its  modern  name  is  Vela- 
n  ia. — Drusius. 


affairs  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  own 
people ;  and  likewise  without  giving  any 
cause  of  jealousy  or  envy  to  the  Romans. 

After  his  proclamation,  he  called  a  gen- 
eral council  of  the  Antiochians,  and  en- 
deavoured to  attach  them  to  Demetrius  as 
their  king,  assuring  them  that  the  sense  of 
the  present  obligation  would  utterly  ex- 
tinguish the  remembrance  of  past  misun- 
derstandings ;  and  undertaking  himself  to 
take  care,  that  in  the  administration  of  the 
government  he  should  not  so  much  as  of- 
fer to  commit  an  action  unworthy  of  the 
dignity  and  trust  reposed  in  him. 

Upon  this  representation  and  assurance, 
the  whole  body  of  the  people  were  pre- 
vailed upon  to  take  Demetrius  for  their 
king. 

Alexander  was  at  this  time  ravaging 
Syria,  and  the  country  about  Antioch, 
with  fire  and  sword,  at  the  head  of  a  nu- 
merous and  powerful  army  that  he  brought 
out  of  Cilicia,  when  Ptolemy,  with  his  son- 
in-law  Demetrius  (the  nuptials  being  cele- 
brated) encountered  and  routed  him,  forc- 
ing him  to  fly  to  Arabia. 

It  happened  in  that  battle  that  Ptolemy's 
horse  taking  fright  at  the  braying  of  an 
elephant,  threw  his  rider,  and  gave  his 
enemies  the  advantage  of  giving  him  many 
wounds  upon  the  head,  which  misfortune 
would  certainly  have  cost  him  his  life  upon 
the  spot,  if  he  had  not  been  rescued  by  a 
party  of  his  guards.  But  such  was  his 
condition,  that  he  lay  speechless  for  four 
days,  not  understanding  what  was  said  to 
him.  Upon  the  fifth  day,  when  he  was 
recovering  a  little,  one  Zabelus,  an  Ara- 
bian prince,  having  cut  off  Alexander's 
head,  sent  it  to  Ptolemy,  who  was  greatly 
pleased  both  with  the  action  and  the  spec- 
tacle. But  he  had  not  long  indulged  his 
eye  with  this  sight,  before  he  was  sum- 
moned to  pay  that  debt  from  which  no 
mortal  is  exempt. 

Demetrius  succeeded  Alexander;  he 
was  a  man  of  a  rough,  rugged  temper, 
without  regard  to  the  obligations  and  ser- 
vices he  had  received  from  them,  upon 


604 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


the  credit  of  an  affinity  with  Cleopatra. 
This  conduct  so  disgusted  the  soldiers, 
that  they  deserted  his  cause,  and  hastened 
to  Alexandria,  leaving  only  the  elephants 
behind  them. 

Jonathan,  the  high-priest,  having  drawn 
together  all  the  force  he  was  able  to  raise 
in  Judea,  invested  the  citadel  of  Jerusa- 
lem, with  a  resolution  to  dislodge  the  Ma- 
cedonian garrison,  and  the  fugitive  Jews 
that  had  taken  sanctuary  there. 

Confident  of  the  strength  of  the  place, 
they  bade  him  defiance ;  but  were  soon 
compelled  to  send  privately  to  Demetrius 
for  succour.  This  intelligence  so  incens- 
ed  him,  that  he  immediately  marched  out 
with  his  army  from  Antioch  toward  Jona- 
than ;  and  upon  his  arrival  at  Ptolemais, 
sent  for  him  by  letter  to  come  to  him. 

Jonathan,  upon  this  invitation,  took  with 
him  several  rich  presents ;  and,  attended 
by  the  priests  and  elders,  laid  them  before 
Demetrius. 

This  expedient  so  mollified  the  king, 
that  he  received  the  presents  with  the  ut- 
most complacency,  and,  in  token  of  the 
obligation  conferred  on  him  by  Jonathan, 
he  confirmed  the  pontificate  with  which  he 
had  been  vested  by  his  predecessors,  and 
was  so  far  from  giving  credit  to  the  cal- 
umny and  suggestions  of  the  fugitive  Jews 
against  their  countrymen,  that  upon  Jona- 
than's request,  he  made  an  abatement  of 
the  tribute  of  Judea,  together  with  the  de- 
pendencies of  Samaria,  Joppa,  and  Galilee, 
to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  talents.* 
Hereupon  he  caused  the  following  declar- 
ation to  be  made  in  their  favour : 

"  King  Demetrius  to  his  brother  Jona- 
than, and  to  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  joy 
and  greeting.— This  is  to  inform  you,  that 
we  have  here  sent  you  the  copy  of  a  letter 
lately  written  to  Lasthenes,  our  trusty  and 
well-beloved  cousin." 

"  King  Demetrius  to  his  father  Last- 
henes, greeting. — We  are  so  sensible  of 

*  Three  hundred  Syrian  talents  were  in  value 
worth  twelve  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty 
two  pounds,  seven  pence  halfpenny  of  our  money, 


the  dutiful  and  affectionate  return  we  have 
from  time  to  time  received  from  our  friends 
the  Jews,  in  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
good-will  we  bear  them,  that  it  is  our  good 
pleasure  to  give  them  some  signal  mark 
of  the  esteem  we  have  for  them.  Where- 
fore, we  do  by  these  presents  assign  the 
three  prefectures  of  Apherema,  Lydda, 
and  Ramatha,  that  were  taken  from  the 
Samaritans,  together  with  all  the  land 
thereunto  belonging,  to  the  use  and  ad- 
vantage of  Judea,  discharging  likewise  the 
priests  at  Jerusalem  of  all  the  duties  by 
them  formerly  allowed  to  our  forefathers, 
as  well  upon  .corn  and  fruits  as  upon  salt- 
pits  and  crown-taxes,  with  an  express 
oaution  and  prohibition  that  nothing  of 
this  be  expected  from  them  for  the  future. 
Be  sure  to  send  the  copy  of  this  letter  to 
Jonathan,  and  have  it  hung  up  in  the  most 
conspicuous  place  of  the  holy  temple." 

Affairs  were  now  settled  in  so  amicable 
a  manner,  that  Demetrius,  flattering  him- 
self into  an  opinion  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  danger,  discharged  his  army 
without  their  full  pay,  retaining  only  a 
body  of  mercenaries  that  he  had  raised  in 
Crete,f  and   other  of   the   neighbouring 

f  This  island  in  the  Mediterranean,  now  called 
Candia,  is  situated  81  miles  from  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Morea,  92  from  Rhodes,  and  230 
from  the  African  coast.  A  high  chain  of  moun- 
tains, covered  with  forests,  runs  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  island,  in  two  ranges.  It  was  re- 
nowned in  ancient  times  for  the  fertility  of  its 
soil,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  wisdom 
of  its  laws.  At  an  early  period,  this  island  had 
made  great  advances  in  civilization  ;  and  while 
the  other  states  of  Greece  were  immersed  in  ig- 
norance and  barbarism,  Crete  possessed  a  free  and 
regular  government,  with  a  system  of  laws  which 
has  been  the  admiration  of  succeeding  ages.  Most 
of  the  absurdities  that  have  been  embodied  into 
the  heathen  mythology  had  their  origin  here;  and 
Crete  may  be  justly  said  to  have  been  the  cradle 
of  the  gods.  Such  of  tiieir  princes  as  were  dis- 
tinguished for  their  wisdom,  their  valour,  or  their 
beneficence,  were,  after  their  deaths,  raised  to  the 
rank  of  deities  ;  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  the 
Cretians  were  held  among  the  other  inhabitants  of 
Greece  soon  gained  them  admission  into  the  wor- 
ship of  their  more  barbarous  neighbours.  In  fact, 
there  is  scarcely  a  divinity  in  the  whole  system  of 
Grecian  theology  that  did  not  receive  his  title  and 
his  honours  in  that  island.  But  the  glory  of 
Crete  was  Minos  the  legislator,  who  is  the  riisr, 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


605 


islands;  so  that  dismissing  his  father's  old 
troops  without  any  pay,  contrary  to  the 
practice  of  his  ancestors,  who  paid  them 
in  peace  as  well  as  in  war,  and  kept  them 
in  readiness  to  serve  upon  any  occasion, 
he,  by  that  means,  lost  the  aifection  of  his 
people. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Jonathan  besiegeth  the  tower  of  Jerusalem,  and 
assists  Demetrius  with  a  supply  of  troops — 
Affords  him  succour  upon  an  important  occa- 
sion, but  receives  an  ungrateful  return. — De- 
metrius routed  by  Jonathan  in  alliance  with 
Antiochus  and  Tryphon. — Jonathan  surprised 
by  an  ambush. — Matthias  and  Judas  make  a 
valiant  defence. — Jonathan  sends  an  embassy 
to  Rome  and  Lacedcemon,  and  obtains  a  league 
with  those  nations. —  The  Jewish  sects. — Jona- 
than and  Simon  undertake  to  fortify  Jerusa- 
lem.— Demetrius  routed  and  taken  prisoner. 

This  defection  of  the  army  from  Deme- 
trius   was    so   notorious,    that    Diodotus, 


it  is  said,  who  reduced  a  wild  people  to  regularity 
of  life  ;  and  in  order  to  effect  this  the  more  com- 
pletely, he  retired  during  nine  years  into  the  ca- 
vern of  Jupiter  ;  which  seems  to  be  the  same  ;:s 
what  is  related  by  the  Hindoo  Puranas,  that  Sami 
Kama  performed  austere  devotion  nine  years  in 
the  hollow  of  a  tree  before  she  effected  her  set- 
tlement. Though  the  isle  of  Crete  was  only  250 
miles  in  length,  and  50  in  breadth,  containing  a 
circumference  of  about  600  miles,  yet  such  was  its 
fertility  and  population,  that  it  is  said  to  have  con- 
tained ninety  or  an  hundred  cities.  According  to 
some  ancient  authors  it  was  originally  peopled 
from  Palestine  ;  but  historians  are  not  agreed  as 
to  who  were  the  aborigines  of  the  island.  Ho- 
mer, in  the  Odyssey,  enumerates  four  distinct  na- 
tions inhabiting  Crete,  besides  the  natives,  all  using 
different  dialects,  and  all  apparently  free  ; 

There  is  a  land  amid  the  sable  flood 

Called  Crete  ;  fair,  fruitful,  circled  by  the  sea, 

Numerous  are  her  inhabitants,  a  race 

Not  to  be  summed,  and  ninety  towns  she  boasts. 

Diverse  their  language  is  ;  Achaians  some, 

And  some  indigenous  are  ;  Cydonians  there, 

Crest-shaking  Dorians,  and  Pelasgians  dwell. 

"  They  were  extremely  covetous,  says  Dr  Mack- 
night,  "  and  notorious  liars  ;  insomuch  that  to 
speak  like  a  Cretian,  became  a  proverb  for  de- 
ceiving and  telling  lies  ;  and  a  Cretian-lie,  signified 
one  that  was  remarkable  for  its  magnitude  and 
impudence.  The  apostle  Paul  quotes  Epimeni- 
des,  one  of  their  own  poets,  as  accusing  them,  not 
merely  of  falsehood,  but  of  gluttony  and  idleness, 
and  he  declares  that  those  vices  constituted  their 
true  character.  Polybius,  too,  assures  us,  that  the 
Cretians  were  the  only  people  in  the  world  who 


otherwise  called  Tryphon,  a  native  of 
Apamea,*  and  formerly  an  officer  under 
Alexander,  availing  himself  of  the  accu- 
sation, applied  to  Malchus,  an  Arabian, 
who  was  at  that  time  governor  of  young 
Antiochus,  the  son  of  Alexander,  inform- 
ing him  how  desperately  the  soldiers  were 
bent  against  Demetrius,  and  proposing,  if 
Malchus  would  put  Antiochus  into  his 
hands,  to  restore  him  to  his  father's  throne. 
Malchus  was  at  first  diffident  of  the  exe- 
cution of  his  promise ;  but  by  the  force  of 
entreaty  he  was  in  a  short  time  brought 
to  a  compliance. 

During  these  transactions  Jonathan  the 
high-priest  laid  close  siege  to  the  citadel 
at  Jerusalem,  with  a  resolution  to  clear, 
not  only  that  castle,  but  other  strong- 
holds, where  the  fugitive  Jews  sheltered 
themselves;  insomuch  that  he  sent  an 
embassy  to  Demetrius  with  presents  de- 
siring him  to  withdraw  all  his  men  that 
were  in  any  of  the  fortresses  of  Judea; 
Demetrius  assured  him  that  he  was  ready 
to  gratify  him,  not  only  in  that,  but  in  a 
greater  matter,  as  soon  as  he  could  des- 
patch the  present  war,  which  so  employed 
him  at  that  time,  that  he  was  not  at  liber- 
ty to  attend  to  any  thing  else :  but  abjured 
Jonathan  by  all  that  was  sacred  in  friend- 
ship, to  send  him  a  supply  of  men,  as  his 
own  troops  were  gone  over  to  the  enemy. 
Jonathan  soon  after  this  sent  the  king  a 
reinforcement  of  three  thousand  choice 
men. 

The  people  of  Antioch  were  so  enrag- 
ed against  Demetrius,  both  for  his  father's 
sake  and  his  own,  that  they  desired  no- 
thing more  than  an  opportunity  for  re- 
venge ;  wherefore,  upon  the  news  of  this 
relief  from  Jonathan,  and  reconsideration 


found  nothing  sordid  in  money,  whatever  was  the 
way  in  which  it  was  acquired  ;  and  represents 
them  as  disgraced  by  piracy,  robbery,  and  a'lmost 
every  other  crime. — Jones. 

*  It  is  a  city  of  Syria,  lying  upon  the  Orontes, 
and  was  built,  as  is  believed,  either  by  Seleucus, 
the  first  king  of  Syria,  or  by  his  son  Antiochus 
Soter,  in  honour  of  queen  Apamea,  the  wife  of 
Seleucus,  the  mother  of  Antiochus. 


606 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


of  the  hazard  of  his  growing  stronger  and 
stronger,  if  they  were  not  before  hand 
with  him,  they  betook  themselves  to  their 
arms,  and  immediately  beset  the  palace, 
as  if  they  were  ready  to  give  the  assault. 
But  their  chief  business  was  rather  to  se- 
cure the  avenues,  and  seize  the  king  as  he 
was  coming  out. 

Demetrius  finding  himself  thus  beset, 
drew  up  his  foreign  mercenaries,  together 
with  Jonathan's  auxiliaries,  and  charged 
the  enemy,  but  met  with  a  smart  repulse, 
and  was  obliged  to  retreat.  The  Jews, 
upon  this,  retired  into  the  palace,  where 
they  mounted  the  battlements;  and  from 
thence  with  darts  and  arrows  so  galled 
the  enemy,  that  they  forced  them  from 
one  house  to  another,  without  sustaining 
much  loss  to  themselves. 

The  next  thing  they  did  was  to  fire 
the  city,  which,  being  for  the  greater  part 
built  of  wood,  and  the  houses  standing 
close,  was  easily  effected.  The  inhabi- 
tants finding  that  the  fire  could  not  be 
extinguished,  shifted  for  themselves ;  the 
Jews  still  pursuing  them  as  before,  and 
doing  great  execution. 

This  rout  put  an  end  to  their  fighting; 
and  all  that  now  remained  was  to  save 
their  wives  and  children.  But  the  Jews 
took  advantage  of  their  confusion,  and 
falling  upon  them,  according  to  the  king's 
order,  killed  great  numbers  of  them  in  the 
pursuit,  and  forced  the  rest  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  surrender  at  discretion. 

This  victory  put  an  end  to  the  war; 
the  rebellion  being  pardoned,  the  booty 
was  given  to  the  Jews,  whom  Demetrius 
sent  back  to  Jonathan,  with  a  most  hon- 
ourable testimony  of  their  valour,  acknow- 
ledging that  it  was  to  their  courage  he 
stood  indebted  for  that  success.  But  this 
spirit  of  gratitude  did  not  possess  him 
long ;  for  he  afterward  not  only  broke  his 
promise,  but  threatened  him  with  a  war,  if 
he  should  not,  for  the  future,  make  good 
those  tributes  to  himself,  which  the  Jews 
had  formerly  paid  to  his  predecessors. 
He  would  have  put  his  threats  into  exe- 


cution, if  Tryphon  had  not  diverted  him, 
by  forcing  him  to  make  use  of  that  army 
against  himself,  which  he  had  designed 
against  Jonathan,  who  being  now  Return- 
ed out  of  Arabia  into  Syria,  with  young 
Antiochus,  set  the  crown  upon  his  head, 
and  by  the  help  of  the  soldiers,  who  had 
been  defrauded  of  their  pay,  made  open 
war  upon  Demetrius,  defeated  him  in  a 
pitched  battle,  made  himself  master  of  his 
elephants,  and  of  the  city  of  Antioch,  and 
forced  him  back  into  Cilicia. 

Antiochus,  upon  this  resolution,  sent  an 
embassy  to  Jonathan,  and  acknowledged 
him  his  friend  and  ally,  established  him  in 
the  pontificate,  put  him  in  the  possession 
of  the  four  governments  that  were  assign- 
ed to  Judea,  and  gave  his  brother  Simon 
the  command  of  all  his  forces  from  Tyre 
to  the  borders  of  Sidon;  presenting  Jona- 
than, over  and  above,  with  several  cups  of 
gold,  purple  garments,  with  a  golden  buc- 
kle, and  the  privilege  of  using  and  wear- 
ing tliese  ensigns  of  state,  and  adopting 
him  also  into  the  roll  of  his  choicest 
friends. 

Jonathan  was  so  sensible  of  the  multi- 
plied bounties  and  marks  of  honour  he 
had  received  from  Antiochus,  that  he 
forthwith  despatched  an  express  to  Anti- 
ochus and  Tryphon,  with  a  most  affection- 
ate tender  of  his  friendship  and  service, 
with  his  readiness  to  join  against  Deme- 
trius as  a  common  enemy;  reflecting  up- 
on him  also,  as  the  most  ungrateful  of 
men,  in  returning  so  much  evil  for  all  the 
service  he  had  done  him. 

No  sooner  had  Jonathan  the  commission 
for  raising  men  than  he  began  to  raise 
levies  in  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and  from 
thence  proceeded  to  all  the  neighbouring 
towns  and  cities,  where  he  was  received 
with  great  honour,  but  raised  no  recruits. 

Upon  his  coming  afterwards  to  Askalon, 

the  people  kindly  entertained  him;  he  took 

occasion  to  lay  before  them   (as  he  did  at 

other  places  in   Ceelo-syria)  how  much  it 

]  was  their  interest  and   duty   to   take  up 

j  arms  against  Demetrius  in  behalf  of  An- 


Chap.  III.] 

tiochus,  having  so  fair  an  opportunity  to 
be  revenged  of  him  for  the  injuries  he 
had  done  them. 

He  wrought  upon  them  so  effectually 
by  his  advice,  that  they  promised  supplies. 
But  advancing  afterward  to  Gaza  upon 
the  same  good  office  to  Antiochus,  he 
found,  to  his  great  astonishment,  the  gates 
shut  against  him,  and  the  people  obsti- 
nately resolved  to  abide  by  Demetrius. 

Jonathan,  incensed  at  this  indignity,  di- 
vided his  army,  and  assaulting  the  town 
with  one  part,  with  the  other  went  up  and 
down  to  burn  and  lay  waste  the  country. 

The  inhabitants  of  Gaza,  after  a  short 
time,  seeing  nothing  but  inevitable  de- 
struction before  their  eyes,  no  appearance 
of  any  relief  from  Demetrius,  nor  so 
much  as  the  hope  of  any  at  so  remote  a 
distance,  upon  second  thought  judged  it 
most  advisable  to  make  a  seasonable  and 
submissive  application  to  Jonathan  by 
their  deputies,  who  were  as  frankly  re- 
ceived on  the  other  hand  into  his  interest 
and  friendship. 

Jonathan,  in  fine,  accepted  of  their  pro- 
posals and  hostages,  and  sent  them  away 
to  Jerusalem,  passing  himself  through  the 
country  to  Damascus. 

Demetrius  in  the  mean  while  had  a 
strong  army  encamped  before  Cades,  upon 
the  borders  of  Tyre  and  Galilee,  with  a 
design  to  draw  Jonathan  out  of  Syria  by 
way  of  diversion,  to  the  assistance  of 
Galilee,  on  a  presumption  that  he  would 
attend  to  the  interest  of  his  own  country 
in  preference  to  all  others;  but  this  did 
not  hinder  Jonathan  from  advancing  with 
ail  speed  to  encounter  him,  leaving  his 
brother  Simon  in  his  absence  to  take  care 
of  Judea. 

Simon  at  the  same  time,  with  what  men 
he  could  get  together  out  of  that  country, 
marched  up  to  Bethsura,  and  assaulted  it, 
though  accounted  the  strongest  and  most 
defensible  place  in  all  Judea,  and  in  the 
hand?  of  the  faction  of  Demetrius.  When 
the  garrison  found  themselves  so  pressed 
with   works  and   engines,   that   the   place 


THE  BIBLE. 


607 


seemed  to  be  in  some  danger,  they  sent  a 
messenger  to  Simon,  for  leave  to  quit  the 
place,  and  without  any  molestation  or  vio- 
lence, to  march  away  to  Demetrius. 

They  were  brought  to  these  terms  by 
the  apprehension  of  being  all  put  to  the 
sword  if  the  place  was  taken  by  force. 
Simon  granted  them  their  own  conditions, 
and  put  another  garrison  in  the  place  of 
what  was  there  before. 

Jonathan  at  this  time  departing  from 
the  place,  where  he  had  first  encamped, 
advanced  in  the  plain  of  Asor,  not  in  the 
least  suspecting  any  enemy  upon  that 
quarter;  but  a  party  of  Demetrius,  hav- 
ing intelligence  of  his  design  the  day  be- 
fore, placed  an  ambush  under  a  mountain, 
and  marched  toward  him  with  their  body 
in  the  open  plain. 

As  soon  as  Jonathan  saw  them  in  order 
of  battle,  and  ready  to  charge,  he  gave 
his  men  the  best  orders  he  could  in  so 
short  a  time,  how  to  govern  themselves  in 
the  action;  but  when  the  Jews  came  to 
discover  the  ambush,  they  turned  their 
backs  immediately,  for  fear  of  being  pent 
up  betwixt  the  two  bodies,  and  cut  off. 

The  terror  was  so  general,  that  Jonathan 
had  hardly  a  man  to  stand  by  him,  saving 
only  two  captains  of  his  guards,  Matta- 
thias  the  son  of  Absalom,  and  Judas  the 
son  of  Calphi,  who,  with  a  band  of  fifty 
brave  men,  stood  their  ground,  and  made 
so  desperate  a  charge  on  the  enemy's 
front,  that  Jonathan's  deserters  finding 
the  soldiers  of  Demetrius  in  confusion, 
and  almost  ready  to  run,  rallied,  and  fall- 
ing upon  them  afresh,  killed  two  thousand 
upon  the  spot,  put  to  flight  the  rest,  and 
pursued  them  to  Cades,  up  to  their  very 
tents. 

Jonathan,  after  this  glorious  victory,  re- 
turned to  Jerusalem ;  and  in  this  height 
of  success  sent  ambassadors  to  Rome, 
with  a  commission  to  renew  an  alliance 
with  them,  and  with  orders  to  go  to 
Lacedsemon  in  their  return,  upon  the 
same  account.  His  proposals  were  ac- 
cepted, and  his  ambassadors  honourably 


608 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


treated,  and  despatched  with  letters  re- 
commendatory to  the  kings  of  Europe 
and  Asia  for  their  safe  passage.  They 
called  likewise  upon  the  Lacedaemonians, 
in  their  way  back  again,  and  presented 
them  with  letters,  as  follow : 

"Jonathan,  the  high-priest,  and  the 
elders  of  the  nation,  the  priests,  and  other 
people  of  the  Jews,  unto  the  ephori,*  the 
senate,  and  the  people  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians, their  brethren,  send  greeting. 
— Whereas  we  find  in  a  letter  of  a  re- 
mote date  from  Areus  your  king  to 
Onias  our  high-priest,  (a  copy  whereof  we 
send  you  here  inclosed,)  importing  a  near 
affinity  of  blood  betwixt  us :  and  whereas 
it  appeareth  also  by  the  testimony  we  then 
rendered  to  Areus  himself,  with  what  joy  we 
received  the  intimation  of  such  an  alliance 
in  that  letter ;  this  gives  you  to  understand, 
that  we  should  have  put  in  our  claim  to 
the  honour  of  your  friendship  before,  but 
that  we  were  not  willing  to  prevent  you 
in  the  glory  of  leading  the  example.  Be 
pleased  to  take  notice,  however,  that  from 
the  first  ratification  of  an  amity  betwixt 
us  to  this  day,  we  have  never  forgotten 
you  in  our  prayers  to  God  for  your  pros- 
perity, health,  and  victory  over  all  your 
enemies ;  and  we  have  been  as  tender  like- 
wise in  all  our  sufferings  and  distresses, 
under  the  persecution  of  our  covetous  and 
ambitious  neighbours,  not  to  involve,  either 


*  The  ephori  were  powerful  magistrates  at 
Sparta,  who  were  first  created  by  Lycurgus ;  or, 
according  to  some,  by  Theopompus,  b.  c.  760  ; 
they  were  five  in  number.  Like  censors  in  the 
state,  they  could  check  and  restrain  the  authority 
of  the  kings,  and  even  imprison  them,  if  guilty  of 
irregularities.  They  fined  Archidamus  for  mar- 
rying a  wife  of  small  stature,  and  imprisoned  Agis 
for  his  unconstitutional  behaviour.  They  were 
much  the  same  as  the  tribunes  of  the  people  at 
Rome,  created  to  watch  witli  a  jealous  eye  over 
the  liberties  and  rights  of  the  populace.  They 
had  the  management  of  the  public  money,  and 
were  the  arbiters  of  peace  and  war.  Their  office 
was  annual,  and  they  had  the  privilege  of  con- 
vening, proroguing,  and  dissolving  the  greater  and 
less  assemblies  of  the  people.  The  former  was 
composed  of  9000  Spartans,  all  inhabitants  of  the 
city  ;  the  latter  of  30,000  Lacedaemonians,  inhab- 
itants of  the  inferior  towns  and  villages. — Lem- 
priere. 


yourselves,  or  any  other  of  our  friendly 
allies,  in  our  trouble;  but  our  circum- 
stances being  now  easier,  and  our  wars,  by 
God's  providence,  over,  we  have  sent 
Numenius,  the  son  of  Antiochus,  and 
Antipater,  the  son  of  Jason,  being  sena- 
tors and  men  of  honour,  to  the  Romans, 
and  with  letters  also  to  yourselves  for  the 
strengthening  and  renewing  of  a  friendly 
understanding  betwixt  us.  Be  pleased  to 
return  us  what  answer  you  shall  think 
meet,  and  let  us  understand  wherein  we 
may  be  useful  to  you ;  in  a  full  trust  and 
confidence,  that  you  shall  find  us  ever 
ready  to  serve  you  in  all  offices  of  affec- 
tion and  respect." 

The  Lacedaemonians  not  only  gave  the 
Jewish  ambassadors  an  honourable  recep- 
tion, but  a  memorial,  which  was  formed 
and  confirmed  by  public  authority,  testi- 
fying the  friendship  and  alliance  between 
the  two  states. 

The  Jews  were  divided  at  this  time  into 
three  sects,  the  Pharisees,  Sadduoees,  and 
Essenes.f 


-j-  The  Pharisees,  the  Sadducees,  and  the  Es- 
senes,  the  three  most  distinguished  and  powerful  of 
the  Jewish  sects,  were  cordially  united  in  sentiment 
as  to  all  those  fundamental  points  which  consti- 
tuted the  basis  and  chief  support  of  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion. All  of  them,  for  instance,  rejected  with 
detestation  the  idea  of  a  plurality  of  gods,  and 
would  acknowledge  the  existence  of  but  one  al- 
mighty Power,  whom  they  regarded  as  the  Creator 
of  the  universe,  and  believed  to  be  endowed  with 
the  most  absolute  perfection  and  goodness.  They 
were  equally  agreed  in  the  opinion,  that  God  had 
selected  the  Hebrews  from  amongst  the  other  .na- 
tions of  the'earth  as  his  peculiar  people,  and  had 
bound  them  to  himself  by  an  unchangeable  and 
everlasting  covenant.  With  the  same  unanimity 
they  maintained  that  Moses  was  the  ambassador  of 
heaven,  and  consequently  that  the  law  promulgat- 
ed by  him  was  of  divine  original.  It  was  also  their 
general  belief,  that  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment were  to  be  found  the  means  of  obtaining  sal- 
vation and  happiness :  and  that  whatever  princi- 
ples or  duties  were  therein  laid  down  or  inculcat- 
ed, were  to  be  received  with  reverence,  and  im- 
plicitly conformed  to.  But  an  almost  irreconcil- 
able difference  of  opinion,  and  the  most  vehement 
disputes,  prevailed  among  them  respecting  the  ori- 
ginal source  or  fountain  from  whence  all  religion 
was 'to  be  deduced.  In  addition  to  the  written 
law,  the  Pharisees  had  recourse  to  another,  which 
had  been  received  merely  through  oral  tradition. 
This  latter  both  the  Sadducees  and  the  Essene? 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


609 


The  Pharisees  held,  that  men  were 
subjected  to  a  fatality,  in  some  cases,  and 
left  at  liberty  in  others,  to  act  as  they 
pleased, 

rejected  with  contempt,  as  altogether  spurious. 
The  interpretation  of  the  law  yielded  still  further 
ground  for  acrimonious  contention.  The  Phari- 
sees maintained  that  the  law,  as  committed  to 
writing  by  Moses,  and  likewise  every  other  part  of 
the  sacred  volume,  had  a  twofold  sense  or  mean- 
ing ;  the  one  plain  and  obvious  to  every  reader, 
the  other  abstruse  and  mystical.  The  Saddncees, 
on  the  contrary,  would  admit  of  nothing  beyond  a 
simple  interpretation  of  the  words,  according  to 
their  strict  literal  sense.  The  Essenes,  or  at  least 
the  greater  part  of  them,  differing  from  both  of 
these,  considered  the  words  of  the  law  to  possess 
no  force  or  power  whatever  in  themselves,  but 
merely  to  exhibit  the  shadows  or  images  of  celes- 
tial objects,  of  virtues,  and  of  duties.  So  much 
dissension  and  discord  respecting  the  rule  of  relig- 
ion, and  the  sense  in  which  the  divine  law  ought 
to  be  understood,  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  great 
diversity  in  the  forms  of  religious  worship,  and  na- 
turally tended  to  generate  the  most  opposite  and 
conflicting  sentiments  on  subjects  of  a  divine  na- 
ture. 

The  Pharisees,  in  point  of  numbers,  riches,  and 
power,  far  surpassed  every  other  Jewish  sect ;  and 
since  they  constantly  exhibited  a  great  display  of 
religion,  in  an  apparent  zeal  for  the  cultivation  of 
piety  and  brotherly  love,  and  by  an  affectation  of 
superior  sanctity  in  their  opinions,  their  manners, 
and  even  in  their  dress,  the  influence  which  they 
possessed  over  the  minds  of  the  people  was  un- 
bounded }  insomuch  that  they  may  almost  be  said 
to  have  given  what  direction  they  pleased  to  pub- 
lic affairs.  It  rs  unquestionable,  however,  that  the 
religion  of  the  Pharisees  was,  for  the  most  part, 
founded  in  consummate  hypocrisy  ;  and  that  at  the 
bottom  they  were  generally  the  slaves  of  every  vi- 
cious appetite  ;  proud,  arrogant,  and  avaricious, 
consulting  only  tire  gratification  of  their  lusts,  even 
at  the  moment  of  their  professing  themselves  to  be 
engaged  in  the  service  of  their  Maker.  These 
odious  features  in  the  character  of  the  Pharisees 
caused  them  to  be  rebuked  by  our  Saviour  with 
the  utmost  severity  of  reprehension  ;  with  more 
severity,  indeed,  than  he  bestowed  even  on  the 
Saddncees,  who,  although  they  had  departed  wide- 
ly from  the  genuine  principles  of  religion,  yet  did 
not  impose  on  mankind  by  a  pretended  sanctity, 
or  devote  themselves  with  insatiable  greediness  to 
the  acquisition  of  honours  and  riches.  The  Pha- 
risees considered  the  soul  to  be  immortal.  They 
also  believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and 
in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments. 
They  admitted  the  free  agency  of  man  to  a  certain 
extent ;  but  beyond  this,  they  supposed  his  actions 
to  be  controlled  by  the  decrees  of  fate.  These 
points  of  doctrine,  however,  seem  not  to  have  been 
understood  or  explained  by  all  of  this  sect  in  the 
same  way :  neither  does  it  appear  that  any  great 
pains  were  taken  to  define  and  ascertain  them  with 
precision  and  accuracy,  or  to  support  them  by  rea- 
soning and  argument.     The  Pharisees  are  thus 


The  Sadducees  did  not  allow  of  any 
fatality;  but  that  every  man  had  it  in  his 
own  power  to  make  his  condition  better 
or  worse,  according  as  he  pursued  right  or 
wrong  measures. 


described  by  Brucker,  in  his  Critical  History  of 
Philosophy  :  The  most  celebrated  Jewish  sect  was 
that  of  the  Pharisees.  Its  origin,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  other  sects,  is  involved  in  some  obscurity. 
The  prophet  Isaiah,  indeed,  found  among  the 
Jews,  in  his  time,  several  appearances  of  the  spirit 
and  character  which  afterwards  distinguished  the 
sect  of  the  Pharisees.  But  we  have  no  proof  that 
they  existed  as  a  distinct  body  in  the  prophetic 
age';  nor  do  we  find  any  traces  of  this  sect  prior 
to  the  time  when  oral  traditions,  together  with  the 
allegorical  interpretations  of  the  written  law,  were 
introduced  in  the  manner  already  explained.  Al- 
though we  meet  with  no  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  the  sect  of  the  Hasidaei,  which 
Scaliger  supposes  to  have  been  the  foundation  of 
the  Pharisaic  sect,  we  think  there  can  be  little  rea- 
son to  doubt  that  this  sect  arose  soon  after  the  re- 
turn from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in  consequence 
of  the  introduction  of  traditionary  institutions  and 
allegorical  interpretations.  That  it  was  establish- 
ed, and  had  acquired  great  authority,  in  the  time 
of  Hyrcanus,  and  of  his  sons,  Aristobulus  and 
Alexander,  has  been  already  hinted,  and  may  be 
seen  more  at  large  in  Josephus's  account  of  their 
affairs.  Josephus,  who  was  himself  of  this  sect, 
speaks  of  it  as  flourishing  in  the  time  of  Jonathan 
the  high-priest,  together  with  those  of  the  Saddn- 
cees and  Essenes  ;  which  invalidates  the  conjec- 
ture of  Basnage,  that  the  Pharisaic  sect  owed  its 
rise  to  the  separation  which  took  place  between 
the  schools  of  Hillel  and  Shammai  ;  for  the  Jew- 
ish writers  agree,  that  these  celebrated  doctors  did 
not  flourish  earlier  than  an  hundred  years  before 
the  Christian  era.  Although  the  exact  time  of 
the  first  appearance  of  the  Pharisaic  sect  cannot 
be  ascertained,  its  origin  may  be  easily  traced  back 
to  the  same  period  in  which  the  Sadducean  heresy 
arose.  From  the  time  that  the  notion  of  super- 
numerary acts  of  self-denial,  devotions,  and  charity, 
was  introduced  under  the  sanction  of  the  tradition- 
ary law,  a  wide  door  was  opened  for  superstition, 
religious  pride,  and  hypocrisy.  Whilst,  on  the  one 
hand,  some  would  despise  the  weakness,  or  the  af- 
fectation, of  professing  to  be  pious  and  holy  be- 
yond the  prescription  of  the  written  law,  others, 
through  a  fanatical  spirit,  or  that  they  might  pro- 
vide themselves  with  a  convenient  cloak  for  their 
vices,  would  become  scrupulous  observers  of  the 
traditionary  institutions.  And  when  these  pre- 
tenders to  extraordinary  sanctity  saw  that  many  of 
those  who  observed  only  the  written  law,  not  only 
disclaimed  all  works  of  supererogation,  but  even 
renounced  the  hope  of  future  rewards,  they  would 
think  it  necessary  to  separate  themselves  into  a 
distinct  body,  that  they  might  the  more  success- 
fully display  their  sanctity  and  piety.  These  con- 
jectures are  confirmed  by  the  name  of  the  sect, 
which  is  derived  from  a  word  which  signifies  to  se- 
parate. Their  separation  consisted  chiefly  in  cer- 
tain distinctions  respecting  food,  clothing.and  re- 
4    H 


610 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


The  Essenes,  on  the  other  hand,  ac- 
knowledged no  other  power  than  that  of  an 
overruling  destiny,  working  according  to 
the  predetermination  of  an  irresistible 
fate. 

ligiotis  ceremonies  :  it  does  not  seem  to  have  in- 
terrupted  the  uniformity  of  religious  worship,  in 
which  the  Jews  of  every  sect  appear  to   have  al- 
ways  united.     The  peculiar  character  and  spirit 
of  Pharisaism  consisted  in  the  strict  observance  of 
the  oral  law,  which  they  believed  to  have  been  de- 
livered to  Moses  by  an  archangel,  during  his  forty 
days  residence  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  to  have  been 
by  him  committed  to  seventy  elders,  who  trans- 
mitted it  to  posterity.     Their  superstitious  rever- 
ence  for  this  law,  and  the  apparent  sanctity  of 
manners  which  it   produced,  rendered  them  ex- 
ceedingly popular.     The  multitude,  for  the  most 
part,  espoused  their  interest;  and  the  great,  who 
feared   their  artifice,  were  frequently  obliged  to 
court  their  favour.     Hence  they  obtained  the  high- 
est offices  both  in  the  state  and  the  priesthood, and 
had  great  weight  both  in  public  and  private  affairs: 
in  some  instances  they  proved  so  troublesome  to 
the   reigning  powers  as  to  subject  themselves  to 
severe   penalties.      Hyrcanus  and   Alexander   re- 
strained their  increasing  influence,  and  treated  them 
with    great   rigour.     Under  Alexandra,  however, 
they  regained  their  consequence  ;  the  dissensions 
between  the  schools  of  Hillel  and  Shammai  a  little 
before  the  Christian  era,  increased  their  number 
and  power  ;  and  they  continued,  till  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  to  enjoy  the  chief  sway  in  the 
sanhedrim  and  in  the  synagogue.     After  that  pe- 
riod, when  the  other  sects  were  dispersed,  the  Pha- 
risees   retained  their  authority  ;  and,  though  the 
name  has  been  dropped,  their  tenets  and  customs 
have  ever  since  prevailed  among  the  Jewish  Rab- 
binites  ;  so  that  at  this  day,  except  the  Karaites, 
scarcely  any  Jews  are  to  be  found  who  are  not,  in 
reality,  of  the  Pharisaic  sect.     The  principal  dog- 
mas of  the  Pharisees  were  these  :  the  oral  law,  de- 
livered from  God  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai,  by  the 
angel  Metraton,  and  transmitted  to  posterity  by 
tradition,   is  of  equal  authority  with  the  written 
law.     By  observing  both  these  laws,  a  man  may 
not  only  obtain  justification  with  God,  but  perform 
meritorious  works   of  supererogation.      Fastings, 
almsgiving,   ablutions,    confessions,   are   sufficient 
atonements  for  sin.     Thoughts  and  desires  are  not 
sinful,  unless  they  are  carried  into  action.     God  is 
the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  governs  all 
things,  even  the  actions  of  men,  by  his  providence. 
Man  can  do  nothing   without  divine  influence  ; 
wliicli  does  not,  however,  destroy  the  freedom  of 
the  human  will.     The  soul  of  man  is  spiritual  and 
immortal.     In    the    invisible   world   beneath   the 
earth,  rewards  and  punishments  will  be  dispensed 
to  the  virtuous  and  vicious.     The  wicked  shall  be 
confined  in  an  eternal  prison  ;  but  the  good  shall 
obtain  an  easy  return  to  life.     Besides  the  soul  of 
man,  there  are  other  spirits,  or  angels,  both  good 
and  had.     The  resurrection  of  the  body  is  to  be 
expected.     It  appears  from  many  passages  in  the 
writings  of  the  Jewish  rabbies,  that  t'ney  held  the 
Uoctrine  of  the  migration  of  souls  frc  m  one  body 


The  officers  of  Demetrius  were  now 
advanced  toward  Jonathan,  at  the  head  oi 
a  numerous  army,  in  hopes  of  retrieving 
the  reputation  he  had  lost  by  their  late 
overthrow.     But  Jonathan  having  intelli- 


to  another  :  and  it  is  probable  that  they  derived  it 
from  the  ancient  Pharisees,  and  these  from  the 
Oriental  philosophers.  This  metempsychosis  is, 
however,  to  be  understood  in  the  Pythagoric  and 
not  in  the  Stoic  9ense.  The  Jews,  prohably,  bor- 
rowed this  error  from  the  Egyptians. — There  is  no 
reason,  as  some  writers  have  done,  to  consider  the 
sect  of  the  Pharisees  as  a  branch  from  the  Stoic 
school.  For,  though  the  Pharisees  resembled  the 
Stoics  in  their  affectation  of  peculiar  sanctity,  their 
notion  of  Divine  providence  wa9  essentially  differ- 
ent from  the  Stoical  doctrine  of  fate  :  and  their 
cast  of  manners  arose  from  a  different  source  ;  that 
of  the  Stoics  being  derived  from  their  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  soul,  as  a  particle  of  the  divine  na- 
ture ;  that  of  the  Pharisees,  from  a  false  persua- 
sion that  the  law  might  be  fulfilled,  and  justifica- 
tion with  God  obtained,  by  ceremonial  observances. 
The  peculiar  manners  of  this  sect  are  strongly 
marked  in  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  ;  Malt. 
ch.  vi,  ix,  xv,  xxiii.  Luke  ch.  vii.  &c.  ;  particu- 
larly, their  exactness  in  observing  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  the  law,  both  written  and  tradition- 
ary ;  the  rigour  of  their  discipline,  in  watchings, 
fastings,  and  ablutions  ;  their  scrupulous  care  to 
avoid  every  kind  of  ritual  impurity  ;  their  long  and 
frequent  prayers,  made  not  only  in  the  synagogues 
and  temple,  but  in  the  public  streets  ;  their  phy- 
lacteries on  the  borders  of  their  garments,  in  which 
were  written  sentences  of  the  law  ;  their  assiduity 
in  making  proselytes  ;  their  ostentatious  charities  ; 
and,' under  all  this  show  of  zeal  and  piety,  their 
vanity,  avarice,  licentiousness,  and  inhumanity. 
This  account  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Jewish  writers  themselves.  The  Talmudic  books 
mention  several  distinct  classes  of  Pharisees,  under 
characters  which  show  them  to  have  been  deeply 
immersed  in  the  idlest  and  most  ridiculous  super- 
stitions. Among  these  were  the  Truncated  Pha- 
risee, who,  that  he  might  appear  in  profound 
meditation,  as  if  destitute  of  feet,  scarcely  lifted 
them  from  the  ground  ;  the  Mortar  Pharisee,  who, 
that  his  contemplations  might  not  be  disturbed, 
wore  a  deep  cap,  in  the  shape  of  a  mortar,  which 
could  only  permit  him  to  look  upon  the  ground  at 
his  feet  ;  and  the  Striking  Pharisee,  who,  shutting 
his  eyes  as  he  walked,  to  avoid  the  sight  of  women, 
often  struck  his  head  against  the  wall.  Such 
wretched  expedients  did  some  of  these  hypocrites 
make  use  of  to  captivate  the  admiration  of  the  vul- 
gar. The  political  influence  which  their  popular- 
ity gave  them  appears  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
Jewish  history  ;  particularly  in  the  reigns  of  Hyr- 
canus, Aristobulus,  Alexander  Jannasus,  Alexan- 
dra, and  Herod. — Mosheim,  Brucker. 

The  Sadducees  were  a  noted  sect  among  the 
Jews,  in  the  days  of  our  Lord,  and  of  whom  we 
have,  consequently,  frequent  mention  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  evangelists.  According  to  Ur  Mosheim, 
the  Sadducees  fell  greatly  short  of  the  Pharisees 
in  number  as  well  as  influence  ;  but  this  is  easily 


Chap.  III.]  THE  BIBLE. 

gence  that  they  were  approaching,  advanc- 
ed to  meet  them  at  Hamath,  with  a  reso- 
lution to  oppose  their  passage  into  Judea, 
encamping  himself  within  fifty  furlongs  of 


611 


accounted  for,  from  the  manners  and  principles  of 
the  sect.  Their  leading  tenet  was,  that  all  our 
hopes  and  fears  terminate  with  the  present  life  : 
the  soul  heing  involved  in  one  common  fate  with 
the  hody,  and  like  it,  liable  to  perish  and  be  dissi- 
pated. Upon  this  principle,  it  was  very  natural 
for  them  to  maintain,  that  obedience  to  the  law 
would  be  rewarded  by  God  with  length  of  days, 
an/1  an  accession  of  the  good  things  of  this  life, 
such  as  honours  and  wealth  ;  whilst  the  violators 
of  it  would,  in  like  manner,  find  their  punishment 
in  the  temporary  sufferings  and  afflictions  of  the 
present  life.  This  led  them  to  regard  none  as  the 
favourites  or  friends  of  heaven,  but  the  fortunate 
and  the  happy  :  for  the  poor  and  the  miserable 
they  entertained  no  sentiments  of  compassion  ; 
their  hopes  and  their  desires  all  centered  in  a  life 
of  ease  and  voluptuous  gratification,  as  Josephus 
informs  us.  With  a  view,  in  some  degree  to  jus- 
tify this  system,  and  cast  as  it  were  a  veil  over  its 
deformity,  they  denied  that  man  had  any  natural 
propensity  to  either  good  or  evil  ;  but  insisted  that 
he  was  left  at  perfect  liberty  to  choose  between  the 
two.  A  man's  happiness  and  prosperity,  they  as- 
serted, depended  entirely  upon  himself;  and  hence 
if  he  were  poor  and  miserable,  he  was  not  deserv- 
ing of  any  commiseration  or  pity,  since  his  adverse 
lot  was  altogether  the  consequence  of  his  own  de- 
pravity and  misconduct.  The  following  is  the  ac- 
count given  of  the  origin  and  distinguishing  tenets 
of  the  Sadducees,  by  the  learned  Brucker  :  Anti- 
gonus  Sochasus,  a  native  of  Socho  on  the  borders 
of  Judea,  who  flourished  in  the  time  of  Eleazarthe 
high-priest,  (or  about  three  hundred  years  before 
Christ,)  and  was  a  disciple  of  Simon  the  Just,  of- 
fended at  the  innovations  which  were  introduced 
by  the  patrons  of  the  traditionary  institutions,  and 
particularly  at  the  pretensions  which  were  made  to 
meritorious  works  of  supererogation,  by  means  of 
which  men  hoped  to  entitle  themselves  to  extra- 
ordinary temporal  rewards,  strenuously  maintained 
and  taught,  that  men  ought  to  serve  God,  not  like 
slaves  for  hire,  but  from  a  pure  and  disinterested 
principle  of  piety.  This  refined  doctrine,  which 
Antigonus  only  opposed  to  the  expectation  of  a 
temporal  recompense  for  works  of  religion  and 
charity,  his  followers  misinterpreted,  and  extended 
to  the  rewards  of  a  future  life.  Sadoc  and  Baith- 
osus,  two  of  his  disciples,  taught,  that  no  future  re- 
compense was  to  be  expected,  and  consequently 
that  there  would  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
This  doctrine  they  taught  to  their  followers  ;  and 
hence  arose,  about  two  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
the  sect  of  the  Baithosaei,  or  Sadducees.  These 
appellations,  derived  from  the  names  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  sect,  seem  to  have  been  at  first  used  pro- 
miscuously ;  but  by  degrees  the  former  fell  into 
disuse;  which  accounts  for  the  silence  of  the  sa- 
cred history,  and  of  Josephus,  concerning  the  Baith- 
osaei. The  sect  of  the  Sadducees  long  continued 
to  flourish  in  Judea,  and  to  possess  great  authority. 
Although  they  differed  in  fundamental  points  of 


the  enemy,  and  sending  scouts  abroad  for 
discovery  of  their  motions. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  spies,  he  found 
that  their  design  was  to  surprise  him  in 


faith  from  the  rest  of  the  nation,  they  were  admit- 
ted to  sacred  privileges  and  offices,  and  even  to  the 
highest  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  And  notwith- 
standing the  enmity  which  subsisted  between  this 
sect  and  that  of  the  Pharisees,  on  account  of  the 
contempt  with  which  the  Sadducee3  treated  the 
traditionary  law,  these  sects  frequently  united  in 
public  councils,  and  in  defence  of  the  common 
cause  of  religion.  Under  the  reign  of  Hyrcanus, 
who  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before 
Christ,  possessed  the  supreme  civil  and  sacerdotal 
power  in  Judea,  the  Sadducees  were  the  leading 
sect ;  for  that  prince,  being  opposed  by  the  Phari- 
sees in  the  execution  of  the  office  of  high-priest, 
treated  them  with  great  severity,  and  espoused  the 
Sadducean  party,  requiring  the  whole  nation,  on 
pain  of  death,  to  profess  the  doctrine  of  this  sect. 
After  the  death  of  Hyrcanus,  the  persecution  of 
the  Pharisees  was,  for  some  time,  continued  by  his 
son,  Alexander  Jannaeus  ;  but  Alexandra,  the 
wife  of  Jannaeus,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  govern- 
ment, finding  that  the  Pharisaic  sect  was  more 
popular  than  the  Sadducean,  espoused  the  interest 
of  the  Pharisees,  and  restored  their  power  and  in- 
fluence. The  Sadducees,  however,  afterwards  re- 
gained a  considerable  share  of  political  and  eccle- 
siastical consequence  ;  for  we  find,  that  Caiaphas 
and  Ananus,  who  were  both  of  this  sect,  possessed 
in  succession  the  office  of  high-priest.  After  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees 
fell  into  contempt  among  their  countrymen,  and 
even  incurred  the  hatred  of  the  Christians  :  the 
emperor  Justinian  issued  a  severe  edict  against 
them,  inflicting  banishment,  and,  in  case  of  obsti- 
nate perseverance,  even  death,  upon  those  who 
should  teach  their  doctrines.  The  chief  heads  of 
the  Sadducean  tenets  were  these:  All  laws  and 
traditions,  not  comprehended  in  the  written  law, 
are  to  be  rejected  as  merely  human  inventions. 
Neither  angels  nor  spirits  have  a  distinct  existence, 
separate  from  their  corporeal  vestment.  The  soul 
of  man,  therefore,  does  not  remain  after  this  life, 
but  expires  with  the  body.  There  will  be  no  re- 
surrection of  the  dead,  nor  any  rewards  or  punish- 
ments after  this  life.  Man  is  not  subjected  to  ir- 
resistible fate,  but  has  the  framing  of  his  condition 
chiefly  in  his  own  power.  Polygamy  ought  not  to 
be  practised.  It  has  been  asserted,  that  the  Sad- 
ducees only  received,  as  of  sacred  authority,  the 
five  books  of  Moses.  But  the  contrary  clearly  ap- 
pears from  their  controversy  with  the  Pharisees,  in 
which  the  latter  appeal  to  the  prophets,  and  other 
sacred  writings,  as  well  as  the  law,  which  they 
could  not  have  done  with  any  propriety  or  effect, 
had  not  the  Sadducees  admitted  their  authority. 
To  this  we  may  add,  that  had  this  been  the  case, 
it  is  very  improbable  that  such  heresy  would  have 
passed  without  censure.  The  Sadducees  are  some- 
times ranked  with  the  Epicureans,  but  improper- 
ly :  for,  though  they  agreed  with  them  in  denying 
the  doctrine  of  a  future  state,  they  differed  from 
them  essentially  in  their  ideas  of  God  and  provi- 


012 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX, 


his  quarters :  so  that  he  pnt  every  thing 
into  a  posture  of  defence,  planted  his  out- 
scouts  to  the  best  advantage,  and  kept  his 
men  under  arms,  informing  them  of  the 
enemy's  design. 


dence.  Whilst  the  Epicureans  admitted  no  su- 
preme intelligent  ruler  of  the  world,  and  supposed 
the  gods  wholly  unconcerned  in  human  affairs,  the 
Sadducees  acknowledged  the  existence  of  the  one 
true  God,  the  Jehovah  of  the  Jews,  and  admitted 
his  universal  providence,  only  rejecting  the  notion 
of  an  absolute  and  uncontrollable  influence  over 
the  volitions  and  actions  of  men  :  they  admitted, 
too,  the  reasonableness  and  obligation  of  religious 
worship.  Their  denial  of  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments  may  perhaps  be  in  part  ascribed 
to  their  belief  in  the  homogeneous  nature  of  man  ; 
for  Josephus  expressly  says,  that  they  took  away 
the  distinct  and  permanent  nature  of  the  soul. 
This  was,  probably,  the  chief  ground  of  their  op- 
position to  Christianity,  whose  distinguished  doc- 
trine is  that  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. — 
Mosheim,  JBrucker,  Jones. 

We  are  not  acquainted  with  the  origin  of  the 
Essenes,  or  the  etymology  of  their  name.  Pliny 
says,  they  had  been  many  thousand  years  in  being, 
living  without  marriage,  and  without  the  other  sex. 
The  first  book  of  Maccabees  calls  them  Hasdanim, 
and  says,  they  were  formed  into  a  society  before 
Hircanus  was  high-priest.  The  first  of  the  Essen- 
es, mentioned  by  Josephus,  is  Judas,  in  the  time 
of  Aristobulus,  and  Antigonus,  son  of  Hircanus. 
Suidas,  and  some  others,  were  of  opinion,  that  the 
Essenes  were  a  branch  of  the  Hechabites,  who 
subsisted  before  the  captivity.  Calmet  takes  the 
Chasdim  of  the  Psalms,  and  the  Assideans  in  the 
Maccabees,  to  be  their  true  source.  Josephus 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  Essenes  :  they 
live  in  perfect  union,  and  abhor  voluptuousness  as 
a  fatal  poison  :  they  do  not  marry  ;  but  bring  up 
other  men's  children  as  if  they  were  their  own, 
and  infuse  into  them  very  early  their  own  spirit 
and  maxims  :  they  despise  riches,  and  possess  all 
things  in  common.  Oil  and  perfumes  are  pro- 
hibited their  habitations  :  they  have  an  austere 
and  mortified  air,  but  without  affectation  ;  they 
always  dress  in  white  :  they  have  a  steward,  who 
distributes  to  each  what  he  wants :  they  are  hos- 
pitable to  their  own  sect;  so  that  they  are  not 
obliged  to  take  provisions  with  them  on  their 
journeys.  The  children  which  they  educate  are 
all  treated  and  clothed  alike,  and  do  not  change 
their  dress  till  their  clothes  are  worn  out.  Their 
trade  is  carried  on  by  exchange  ;  each  giving  what 
is  superfluous,  to  receive  what  he  needs.  They 
do  not  speak  before  the  sun  rises,  excepting  some 
prayers  taught  them  by  their  fathers,  which  they 
address  to  this  luminary,  as  if  to  incite  it  to  ap- 
pear :  afterwards  they  work  till  the  fifth  hour, 
near  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  They  then 
meet  together,  and  putting  on  linen,  bathe  in 
fresh  water,  and  retire  to  their  cells,  where  no 
strangers  enter.  From  thence  they  go  into  their 
common  refectory,  which  is,  as  it  were,  a  sacred 
temple,  where  they  continue  in  profound  silence ; 
they  are  served  with  bread,  and  each  has  his  own 


When  the  officers  of  Demetrius  under- 
stood that  their  plot  was  discovered,  they 
were  greatly  embarrassed  in  what  manner 
to  proceed,  and  at  length  came  to  a  de- 


mess:  the  priest  says  grace,  after  which  they  eat : 
they  finish  their  meal  also  with  a  prayer:  they 
then  pull  off  their  white  clothes,  which  they  wore 
while  at  table,  and  return  to  their  work  until  the 
evening  :  at  that  time  they  come  again  to  the  re- 
fectory, and  bring  their  guests  with  them,  if  they 
have  any.  They  are  religious  observers  of  their 
word  ;  their  bare  promise  is  as  binding  as  the 
most  sacred  oaths  :  they  avoid  swearing,  as  they 
would  perjury  :  their  care  over  the  sick  is  very 
particular,  and  they  never  suffer  them  to  want 
any  thing :  they  read  carefully  the  writings  of  the 
ancients,  and  thereby  acquire  the  knowledge  of 
plants,  stones,  roots,  and  remedies.  Before  they 
admit  any  who  desire  it  into  their  sect,  they  put 
them  to  a  year's  probation,  and  inure  them  to  the 
practice  of  the  most  uneasy  exercises  :  after  this 
term,  they  admit  them  into  the  common  refectory, 
and  the  place  where  they  bathe  ;  but  not  into  the 
interior  of  the  house  until  after  another  trial  of 
two  years  :  then  they  are  allowed  to  make  a  kind 
of  profession,  wherein  they  engage  by  horrible 
oaths  to  observe  the*  laws  of  piety,  justice,  and 
modesty  ;  fidelity  to  God  and  their  prince  ;  never 
to  discover  the  secrets  of  the  sect  to  strangers  ;  ami 
to  preserve  the  books  of  their  masters,  and  die 
names  of  angels,  with  great  care.  If  any  one 
violate  these  engagements,  and  incur  notable  guilt, 
he  is  expelled,  and  generally  dies  of  want  ;  be- 
cause he  can  receive  no  food  from  strangers,  being 
bound  to  the  contrary  by  his  oaths.  Sometimes- 
the  Essenes,  moved  with  compassion,  receive  such 
again,  when  they  have  given  iong  and  solid  proofs 
of  conversion.  Next  to  God,  they  have  the  great- 
est respect  to  Moses,  and  for  old  men.  The  sab- 
bath is  very  regularly  observed  among  them  ;  they 
not  only  forbear  from  kindling  any  fire,  or  pre- 
paring any  thing,  on  that  day,  but  they  do  not  stir 
any  moveable  thing,  nor  attend  to  the  calls  of  na- 
ture. They  generally  live  long,  owing  to  the 
simplicity  of  their  diet,  and  the  regularity  of  their 
lives :  they  show  incredible  firmness  under  tor- 
ments j  they  hold  the  soul  to  be  immortal,  and  be- 
lieve that  souls  descend  from  the  highest  air  into 
the  bodies  animated  by  them,  whither  they  are 
drawn  by  some  natural  attraction,  which  they  can- 
not reaist  ;  and  after  death,  they  swiftly  return  to 
the  place  from  whence  they  came,  as  if  freed  from 
a  long  and  melancholy  captivity.  In  respect  to 
the  state  of  the  soul  after  death,  they  have  almost 
the  same  sentiment  as  the  heathen,  who  place  the 
souls  of  good  men  in  the  Elysian  fields,  and  those 
of  the  wicked  in  Tartarus.  Some  among  them 
are  married :  in  other  respects  they  agree  with 
the  other  Essenes.  They  live  separate  from  their 
wives  while  pregnant.  Slavery  is  esteemed  by 
tbem  an  injury  to  human  nature  ;  wherefore  they 
have  no  slaves.  Many  of  them  were  said  to  have 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  which  is  ascribed  to  their 
continual  reading  oi'  the  sacred  writers  ;  and  to 
their  simple  and  frugal  way  of  living.  They  be- 
lieve that  nothing  happens  but  according  to  the 
decrees  of  God ;  and  their  sect  is  nearby  related 


Chap.  III.] 

termination  to  depart  under  covert  of  the 
night. 

Tiie  next  morning,  by  dawn   of  day, 
Jonathan  marched  up  with  a  resolution  to 


THE  BIBLE. 


613 


to  that  of  die  Pythagoreans  among  the  Greeks. 
There  were  women,  also,  who  observed,  the  same 
institutions  and  practices.  Although  the  Essenes 
were  the  most  religious  of  their  nation,  yet  they 
did  not  visit  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  nor  offer 
bloody  sacrifices  :  they  were  afraid  of  being  pol- 
luted by  other  men  :  they  sent  their  offerings 
thither ;  and  themselves  offered  up  to  God  the 
sacrifices  of  a  clean  heart.  Philo  says,  the  Essenes 
were  in  number  of  about  four  thousand  in  Judea  ; 
and  Pliny  seems  to  fix  their  principal  abode  above 
En-gedi,  where  they  fed  on  the  fruit  of  the  palm- 
tree.  He  adds,  that  they  lived  at  a  distance  from 
the  sea-shore,  for  fear  of  being  corrupted  by  the 
conversation  of  strangers.  Philo  assures  us,  that 
in  certain  cities  some  of  them  occasionally  resided; 
but  that  they  usually  chose  rather  to  dwell  in  the 
fields,  and  apply  themselves  to  agriculture,  and 
other  laborious  exercises,  which  did  not  take  them 
from  their  solitude.  Their  studies  were  the  laws 
of  Moses  ;  especially  on  sabbath-days,  on  which 
they  assembled  in  their  synagogues,  where  each 
was  seated  according  to  his  rank  ;  the  elder  above, 
the  younger  below.  One  of  the  company  read, 
iind  another  of  the  most  learned  expounded. 
They  very  much  used  symbols,  allegories,  and 
parables,  after  the  manner  of  the  ancients.  We 
do  not  see  that  our  Lord  has  spoken  of  them,  or 
that  he  preached  among  them.  It  is  not  impro- 
bable that  John  the  Baptist  lived  among  them, 
till  he  began  to  baptize  and  preach.  The  wilder- 
ness, where  Pliny  places  the  Essenes,  was  not 
very  far  from  Hebron,  which  is  thought  by  some 
to  be  the  place  of  John's  birth.  The  following 
particulars  are  from  Philo,  concerning  the  Essenes, 
who  may  be  called  Practical,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  Therapeutae,  who  may  be  termed  Con- 
templative Essenes.  Some  employ  themselves  in 
husbandry  ;  others  in  trades  and  manufactures,  of 
such  things  only  as  are  useful  in  time  of  peace  ; 
their  designs  being  beneficial  only.  They  amass 
neither  gold  nor  silver,  nor  make  any  large  ac- 
quisitions of  land  to  increase  their  revenues,  but 
are  satisfied  with  possessing  what  is  requisite  to 
relieve  the  necessities  of  life.  They  are  perhaps 
the  only  men  who  without  land  or  money,  by 
choice  rather  than  by  necessity,  find  themselves 
rich  enough  ;  because  their  wants  are  but  few, 
and,  as  they  understand  how  to  be  content  with 
nothing,  as  we  may  say,  they  always  enjoy  plenty. 
You  do  hot  find  an  artificer  among  them  who 
would  make  any  sort  of  arms,  or  warlike  machines; 
they  make  none  of  those  things,  even  in  time  of 
peace,  which  men  pervert  to  bad  uses :  they  con- 
cern themselves  neither  with  trade  nor  navigation  ; 
lest  it  should  engage  them  to  be  avaricious.  The 
method  which  they  follow  in  their  explanation, 
is  to  unfold  the  allegorical  meanings  of  scripture. 
Their  instructions  run  principally  on  holiness, 
<equity,  justice,  economy,  policy,  the  distinction  be- 
tween real  good  and  evil  ;  of  what  is  indifferent, 
what  we  ought  to  pursue,  or  to  avoid.     Tile  three 


force  the  camp ;  when  finding  it  abandon- 
ed, he  posted  away  after  the  fugitives, 
but  to  no  purpose;  for  they  had  passed 
the  river  Eleutherus,  into  a  place  of  safety, 
before  he  could  reach  them. 

He  took  his  course  next  into  Arabia, 
ravaged  the  country  of  the  Nabatheans, 
took  a  great  many  cattle  and  prisoners, 
and  sold  them  at  Damascus. 

Simon  at  the  same  time  made  a  pro- 
gress through  Judea  and  Palestine,  as  far 
as  Askalon,  where  he  garrisoned  all  places 
of  defence :  and  after  fortifying  and  se- 
curing the  country,  marched  to  Joppa, 
took  possession  of  the  place,  and  put 
a  strong  guard  in  it,  to  keep  the  inhabi- 
tants in  awe,  who  would  otherwise  have 
betrayed  the  town  to  Demetrius. 

Having  thus  provided  against  all  casu- 
alties, Jonathan   and    Simon  returned   to 


fundamental  maxims  of  their  morality  are,  the 
love  of  God,  of  virtue,  and  of  our  neighbour  ;  they 
demonstrate  their  love  of  God  in  a  constant  chas- 
tity throughout  their  lives,  in  a  great  aversion 
from  swearing  and  lying,  and  in  attributing  every 
thing  that  is  good  to  God,  never  making  him  the 
author  of  evil  ;  they  show  their  love  to  virtue  in 
disinterestedness,  in  dislike  of  glory  and  ambtiion, 
in  renouncing  pleasure,  in  continence,  patience, 
and  simplicity,  in  being  easily  contented,  in  mor- 
tification, modesty,  respect  for  the  laws,  constancy, 
and  other  virtues  ;  lastly,  their  love  to  their  neigh- 
bour appears  in  their  liberality,  in  the  equity  of 
their  conduct  towards  all,  and  in  their  community 
of  fortunes,  on  which  it  may  be  proper  to  enlarge 
a  little.  First,  no  one  among  them  in  particular 
is  master  of  the  house  where  he  dwells  ;  any  other 
of  the  same  sect  who  comes  thither,  may  be  as 
much  master  as  he  is.  As  they  live  in  society,  and 
eat  and  drink  in  common,  they  make  provision 
for  the  whole  community,  as  well  for  those  who 
are  present,  as  for  those  who  come  unlooked  for. 
There  is  a  common  chest  in  each  particular  so- 
ciety, where  every  thing  is  reserved  which  is  ne- 
cessary for  the  support  and  clothing  of  each  mem- 
ber. Whatever  any  one  gets  is  brought  into  the 
common  stock  ;  and,  if  any  one  fall  sick,  so  as  to 
be  disabled  from  working,  he  is  supplied  with 
every  thing  necessary  for  the  recovery  of  his 
health,  out  of  the  common  fund.  The  younger 
pay  great  respect  to  the  elder,  and  treat  them  al- 
most in  the  same  manner  as  children  treat  their 
parents  in  their  old  age.  They  choose  priests  of 
the  most  distinguished  merit  to  be  receivers  of  the 
estates  and  revenues  of  their  society,  who  likewise 
have  the  charge  of  issuing  what  is  necessary  for 
the  table  of  the  house.  There  is  nothing  singular 
or  affected  in  their  way  of  living  ;  it  is  simple  and 
unassuming. — Joaephus,  Calmet, 


\      a 


614 


IIISTOUY  OF 


[Book  IX 


Jerusalem,  where  the  high-priest  summon- 
ing the  people  together  into  the  temple, 
set  them  upon  repairing  the  ruinous 
walls,  both  of  the  city  and  the  holy  place; 
fortifying  them  with  lofty  and  strong 
towers;  advising  them  also  to  erect  an- 
other wall  to  cut  off  all  communication  be- 
tween the  castle  and  the  city,  put  good 
garrisons  into  other  convenient  places, 
and  keep  the  country  in  a  defencible  con- 
dition. 

The  people  were  highly  pleased  with 
this  counsel,  so  that  he  made  it  his  own 
province  to  take  care  of  the  city,  and 
committed  the  rest  to  his  brother. 

Demetrius,  having  passed  the  river,  ad- 
vanced into  Mesopotamia,  with  a  design 
of  making  himself  master,  not  only  of  the 
country,  but  of  Babylon  itself;  proposing 
also  the  reduction  of  the  upper  provinces, 
to  make  that  quarter  the  seat  of  war ;  for 
the  Greeks  and  Macedonians  therein,  had 
sent  him  several  embassies  and  invitations 
to  come  over  to  them,  with  assurances, 
that,  upon  his  appearing,  they  would  sub- 
mit themselves  to  his  direction,  and  assist 
him  with  their  arms  against  Arsaces  the 
kinor  of  Parthia.* 


*  Parthia  was  a  celebrated  country  of  Asia, 
bounded  on  the  west  by  Media,  south  by  Carmania, 
north  by  Hyrcania,  and  east  by  Aria,  &c.  contain- 
ing, according  to  Ptolemy,  25  large  cities,  the  most 
capital  of  which  was  called  Hecatompylos,  from  its 
hundred  gates.  Some  suppose  that  the  present 
capital  of  the  country  is  built  on  the  ruins  of 
Hecatompylos.  According  to  some  authors,  the 
Partbians  were  Scythians  by  origin,  who  made  an 
invasion  on  the  more  southern  provinces  of  Asia, 
and  at  last  lixed  their  residence  near  Hyrcania. 
They  long  remained  unknown  and  unnoticed,  and 
became  successively  tributary  to  the  empires  of  the 
Assyrians,  Medes,  and  Persians.  When  Alexan- 
der invaded  Asia,  the  Partbians  submitted,  like 
the  other  dependent  provinces  of  Persia,  and  they 
were  for  some  time  under  the  power  of  Eumenes, 
Antigonus,  Seleucus  Nicanor,  and  Antiochus,  till 
the  rapacity  and  oppression  of  Agathocles,  a  lieu- 
tenant of  the  latter,  roused  their  spirit,  and  fo- 
mented rebellion.  Arsaces,  a  man  of  obscure 
origin,  but  blessed  with  great  military  powers, 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  countrymen,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  Parthian  empire,  about 
250  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  Macedo- 
nians attempted  in  vain  to  recover  it :  a  race  of 
active  and  vigilant  princes,  who  assumed  the  sur- 
names of  Arsacides,  from   the  founder  of  their 


Encouraged  by  these  hopes,  Demetrius 
proceeded  immediately  toward  them,  con- 
cluding it  would  be  easy  to  beat  Tryphon 
out  of  Syria,  after  one  powerful  defeat 
given  to  the  Partbians. 

Demetrius  posted  away  towards  him, 
and  was.  received  by  the  people  of  that 
country  with  great  acclamations,  where 
he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  brave 
army,  and  made  war  with  Arsaces,  by 
whom  he  was  utterly  routed,  his  army 
destroyed,  and  himself  taken  prisoner. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Jonathan  is  made  prisoner,  and  his  army  routed 
through  the  treachery  of  Tryphon.— Succeed- 
ed by  Simon,  who  agrees  with    Tryphon  for 

Jonathan's  releasement Jonathan  murdered 

by  Tryphon. — Simon  performs  many  feats  of 
valour,  in  the  glorious  cause  of  his  country. — 
Farther  instances  of  the  perfidy  afthe  traitor, 
who  is  at  length  taken  and  slain. 

The  fall  of  Demetrius  encouraged  Try- 
phon to  aspire  to  the  crown ;  but  as  his 
ambitious  designs  could  not  be  promoted, 
while  Jonathan  (a  true  friend  to  Anti- 
ochus) was  in  a  condition  to  oppose  them, 
the  first  thing  to  be  done,  was  to  contrive 
how  to  take  him  off.  To  this  end  he 
went  from  Antioch  to  Bethshan,  where 
he  found  Jonathan  with  forty  thousand 
men  ready  to  serve  him  in  case  of  need. 


kingdom,  increased  its  power,  and  rendered  it  so 
formidable,  that  it  even  disputed  the  empire  of 
the  world  with  the  Romans,  and  could  never  be 
subdued  by  that  nation,  which  had  seen  no  people 
on  earth  unconquered  by  their  arms.  It  remained 
a  kingdom  till  the  reign  of  Artabanus,  who  was 
killed  about  the  year  229  of  the  Christian  era,  and 
from  that  time  it  became  a  province  of  the  newly 
established  kingdom  of  Persia,  under  Artaxerxes. 
The  Partbians  were  naturally  strong  and  warlike, 
and  were  esteemed  the  most  expert  horsemen  and 
archers  in  the  world.  The  peculiar  custom  of  dis- 
charging their  arrows  while  they  were  retiring  full 
speed,  has  been  greatly  celebrated  by  the  ancients, 
particularly  by  the  poets,  who  all  observe,  that 
their  flight  was  more  formidable  than  their  attacks. 
This  manner  of  fighting,  and  the  wonderful  address 
and  dexterity  with  which  it  was  performed,  gained 
them  many  victories.  They  were  addicted  much 
to  drinking,  and  to  every  manner  of  lewdness,  and 
their  laws  permitted  them  to  raise  children  even 
by  their  mothers  and  sisters. — Lempriere* 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


615 


Tryphon  finding  him  in  this  posture  of  j 
defence,  made  use  of  presents  and  fair 
words  to  inveigle  him,  when  he  saw  no- 
thing could  be  effected  by  force.  He 
gave  charge  to  his  officers  to  pay  the 
same  respect  and  obedience  to  Jonathan 
as  they  did  to  himself;  proposing  by  these 
arts  of  insinuation,  to  veil  the  treachery 
of  his  heart,  and  create  in  him  such  a  trust 
and  confidence  as  might  expose  him,  for 
want  of  caution,  to  credulity  and  surprise. 

After  a  long  conference  upon  divers 
subjects,  he  advised  Jonathan,  as  the  war 
was  at  an  end,  to  discharge  his  army,  as 
an  unnecessary  burden,  retaining  only  a 
competent  guard  about  his  person,  which 
might  go  together  to  Ptolemais,  as  he  was 
resolved  to  put  himself  in  possession  of  that 
city ;  "  For,"  says  he,  "  I  am  come  hither 
to  deliver  those  places  into  your  hands." 

Jonathan,  not  suspecting  the  fraud  of 
the  perfidious  Tryphon,  dismissed  all  his 
army,  except  three  thousand  men,  two 
thousand  of  whom  he  left  in  Galilee,  and 
carried  the  third  'with  him  in  company 
with  Tryphon  to  Ptolemais. 

He  was  no  sooner  entered  the  town,  but 
the  inhabitants,  according  to  their  instruc- 
tions, shut  their  gates  upon  him,  took  him 
prisoner,  and  cut  off  all  his  soldiers. 
Part  of  the  army  was  afterwards  sent  to 
Galilee,  with  an  intent  to  massacre  the 
other  two  thousand  there ;  but,  having 
timely  notice  of  their  treachery  to  Jona- 
than, they  betook  themselves  to  their  arms 
immediately  upon  the  report,  and  so  made 
their  escape.  Tryphon's  soldiers  were  so 
well  pleased  with  the  resolution  of  these 
men,  that  they  let  them  escape  without 
molestation. 

The  disaster  which  befell  Jonathan,  the 
darling  of  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  struck 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  with  univer- 
sal terror  and  consternation,  and  filled  them 
with  the  most  dreadful  apprehensions  of 
impending  danger,  from  the  loss  of  their 
leader.  Nor  were  their  fears  without 
foundation  ;  for  the  Jews  were  dispersed 
as  a  people  destitute  of  a  head. 


Tryphon  levied  an  army  to  make  an 
inroad  into  Judea.  But  Simon  observing 
the  consternation  of  the  people,  called 
them  together,  and  addressed  them  in  the 
following  manner:  "I  need  not  tell  you,  my 
friends  and  countrymen,  how  frankly  I, 
my  father,  and  my  brethren,  have  expos- 
ed ourselves  to  the  utmost  difficulty  and 
hazards,  in  asserting  our  common  liberty ; 
so  that  it  is  no  new  thing  for  our  family 
to  lay  down  our  lives  in  the  defence  of 
our  laws  and  religion;  neither  am  I  so  in- 
sensible of  the  authority  of  these  domes- 
tic examples,  as  to  be  wrought  upon  by 
any  terror  to  the  sacrificing  of  my  hon- 
our and  my  duty,  for  the  saving  of  my 
life.  Wherefore,  without  looking  any  far- 
ther for  a  leader,  you  have  a  man  before 
you,  who  is  ready  to  do  or  suffer  any 
thing  for  your  preservation  and  welfare  ; 
do  but  you  only  follow  where  I  shall  lead 
you.  I  do  not  reckon  myself  better  than 
my  brethren  ;  neither  do  I  value  my  life 
at  a  higher  rate  than  they  have  done  ;  nor 
am  1  so  degenerate  as  to  think  of  saving 
that  life  by  cowardice,  when  my  country 
and  religion  are  at  stake,  which  our  fami- 
ly has  ever  accounted  as  the  most  heroic 
of  their  adventures. —  No,  my  friends  and 
brethren,  it  shall  never  be  said  that  I  have 
derogated  from  the  dignity  of  our  family. 
I  make  no  doubt  at  all,  but  that 
God  in  his  good  time  will,  even  by  my 
hand,  avenge  you  of  your  enemies  ;  deli- 
ver you,  with  your  wives  and  children 
from  your  oppressors,  and  vindicate  the 
holy  temple  against  the  abominations  and 
violence  of  your  malicious  persecutors." 

The  multitude  were  so  elevated  by  this 
speech  and  declaration  of  Simon,  that  they 
presently  took  courage,  suspended  their 
fears,  and  revived  their  spirits,  and  unani- 
mously exclaimed,  "None  so  fit  as  Simon  to 
succeed  to  the  command  of  his  brave  bro- 
thers, Judas  and  Jonathan  ;  and  therefore, 
let  Simon  be  our  general,  and  whatever  he 
commands  shall  be  obeyed." 

The  new  general  collected  as  many  of 
his  people  as  were  fit  to  bear  arms,  and  set 


616 


HISTORY  OF 


[Cook  IX. 


about  the  necessary  repairs  of  the  fortifi- 
cation of  the  city;  which  done,  he  sent  Jo- 
nathan the  son  of  Absalom,  to  Joppa,  with 
orders  to  turn  the  inhabitants  out  of  town, 
lest  they  should  deliver  it  up  to  Tryphon, 
while  he  continued  at  Jerusalem  to  guard 
that  city. 

Tryphon  was  now  upon  his  march  with 
a  great  army  from  Ptolemais ;  and  arriv- 
ing at  Judea,  brought  Jonathan  with  him 
in  bonds. 

Simon  met  him  with  his  troops  near  the 
city  of  Addida,  upon  a  mountain  that 
overlooked  the  plain.  When  Tryphon 
came  to  understand  that  the  Jews  had 
chosen  Simon  for  their  general,  he  sent 
messengers  to  him,  to  try  if  he  could  cir- 
cumvent him  also  by  a  plot.  With  this 
view  he  sent  him  word,  that  if  he  desired 
the  release  of  his  brother,  he  might  send 
him  an  hundred  talents*  of  silver,  and  two 
sons  of  Jonathan  with  it  as  hostages,  that 
when  he  should  be  set  at  liberty,  he 
should  not  seduce  Judea  from  its  allegi- 
ance to  the  king,  suggesting  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  was  to  be  kept  in  custody 
only  till  the  king's  money  should  be 
paid. 

Simon  discerned  the  fraud ;  but  consi- 
dering on  the  one  hand,  that  though  he 
run  the  danger  of  losing  the  money,  with- 
out obtaining  his  brother's  release,  besides 
the  delivery  of  his  sons  to  the  mercy  of  an 
enemy,  yet  there  occurred  difficulties,  on 
the  ether  hand,  no  less  perplexing;  for  he 
was  afraid,  that  upon  his  denial  of  the 
money  for  a  ransom,  or  the  sons  for  hos- 
tages, he  should  be  branded  with  the  odium 
of  being  accessary  to  his  brother's  death. 

Upon  this  he  called  a  counsel,  and  told 
them  Tryphon's  demands,  giving  his  opin- 
ion also,  that  there  was  treachery  at  the 
bottom,  but  intimating,  that  it  would  be 
better  to  send  both  the  money  and  the 
sons  at  a  venture,  than  incur  a  suspicion, 
upon  not  hearkening  to  Tryphon's  condi- 

*  An  hundred  Jewish  talents  in  value  amounted 
to  thirty-four  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighteen 
pounds,  fifteen  shillings  of  our  money. 


tions,  of  being  less  zealous  than  he  ought 
to  be  for  the  safety  of  his  brother.  There- 
fore a  resolution  was  taken  to  send  both  ; 
though  Tryphon,  after  he  had  received 
them,  broke  his  faith  and  refused  to  re- 
lease Jonathan,  ranging  up  and  down  with 
his  army,  and  ravaging  the  country,  till 
he  came  to  Dora,  a  city  of  Idumea,  with 
an  intention  to  take  that  in  his  way  to 
Jerusalem,  Simon  keeping  pace  with  him 
in  his  marches,  and  always  encamping  op- 
posite to  his  army. 

While  Tryphon  was  upon  the  way, 
word  was  brought  him  from  Jerusalem, 
that  the  garrison  of  the  citadel  was  sore 
distressed  for  want  of  provisions,  and  they 
desired  he  would  immediately  haste  to 
their  relief. 

Upon  this  intelligence  he  ordered  his 
horse  to  be  in  readiness,  as  he  would 
march  without  any  delay  to  their  succour; 
but  there  fell  so  great  a  snow  that  night 
that  the  roads  were  impassable.  Upon 
this  disappointment  he  decamped,  and 
went  to  Coelo-syria  :  arid  passing  through 
the  country  of  Gilead,  caused  Jonathan, 
near  the  city  of  Baseama,  to  be  slain  and 
buried  there;  and  from  thence  returned  to 
Antioeh.  Simon  took  care,  however,  to 
remove  his  brother's  bones  to  his  father's 
sepulchre  at  Modin,  where  he  erected  a 
magnificent  monument  to  the  honour  of 
his  family.f  It  was  raised  upon  an  emi- 
nence that  overlooked  the  whole  country, 
and  encompassed  with  arched  walks,  rest- 
ing upon  admirable  pillars  of  one  entire 
stone. 

He  had  raised  also  seven  pyramids  for 


f  This  edifice  being  erected  on  an  eminence,  was 
seen  afar  ofFat  sea;  and  on  that  coast,  was  regard- 
ed as  a  good  sea  mark.  Near  to  the  monument 
were  placed  the  seven  pyramids,  the  whole  encom- 
passed with  a  stately  portico,  supported  by  marble 
pillars,  whereon  were  engraved  ships,  and  arms,  and 
other  military  ensigns.  Josephus  tells  us,  that  this 
whole  fabrick  was  standing  entire  in  his  days,  and 
looked  upon  as  a  very  curious  and  excellent  piece 
of  architecture,  and  Ensebius  mentions  it  as  still 
in  being  in  his  time,  which  was  two  hundred  years 
after  the  time  of  Josephus. — Pridcaux's  Co«n««- 
tion. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE   BIBLE. 


617 


his  father,  mother,  four  brothers,  and  him- 
self; a  work  that  was  deemed  as  complete 
as  any  of  the  kind  in  those  days. 

This  shows  the  care  and  zeal  of  Simon 
to  the  honour  of  his  family,  and  more  par- 
ticularly his  respect  for  the  memory  of  Jo- 
nathan, who  had  now  governed  the  people 
in  the  quality  both  of  prince  and  high- 
priest  for  the  space  of  four  years,  his  bro- 
ther Simon,  by  the  universal  suffrage  and 
consent  of  the  people,  succeeding  him. 

Simon  had  gained  so  great  esteem  and 
authority  among  the  people,  that  they 
dated  their  writings,  as  well  private  as 
public,  in  such  or  such  a  year  of  Simon  the 
governor  of  the  Jews,  and  with  this  addi- 
tion— the  most  deserving  patron  of  the 
nation ;  for  under  his  administration  all 
things  succeeded,  both  in  war  and  peace, 
through  the  advantages  he  brought  to  his 
friends,  and  the  victory  he  obtained  over 
the  common  enemy;  destroying  the  cities 
of  Gaza,  Joppa,  and  Jamnia;  laying  the 
citadel  of  Jerusalem  level  with  the  ground; 
and  taking  it  moreover  into  his  care,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  same  inconveniences 
for  the  time  to  come. 

In  order  to  this  he  recommended  dip-- 
ging  up  and  levelling  of  the  mountain 
that  the  castle  stood  upon,  so  as  to  leave 
the  temple  upon  the  advantage  of  the 
higher  ground.  Upon  this  case,  he  call- 
ed an  assembly,  and  laid  before  them 
what  damage  they  had  already  suffered 
from  this  castle,  and  what  inconvenience 
they  might  reasonably  expect  from  it  for 
the  time  to  come,  if  ever  it  should  fall  in- 
to the  hands  of  a  hostile  prince. 

This  method  of  reasoning  wrought  so 
effectually  upon  the  multitude,  that  they 
immediately  set  upon  demolishing  the 
mountain,  and  plied  to  it  so  hard  night 
and  day  for  three  years  successively,  (do- 
ing duty  by  turns,)  that  in  the  end,  by 
indefatigable  labour,  they  brought  it  un- 
der the  command  of  the  temple. 

Soon  after  the  taking  Demetrius  Nica- 
nor  prisoner,  Tryphon  secretly  murdered 
his  pupil  Antiochus,  the  son  of  Alexander, 


in  the  fourth  year  of  his  guardianship, 
giving  it  out  that  it  was  only  an  unlucky 
accident  in  his  exercises  that  brought 
him  to  his  end.  While  this  rumour  was 
new,  Tryphon  made  interest  among  the 
soldiers,  through  the  force  of  friends  and 
money,  to  dispose  them  to  the  choice  of 
himself  for  their  next  governor.  They 
observed,  that  Demetrius  was  a  prisoner 
to  the  Parthians,*  and  Antiochus  would 
never  forget  the  deserters  of  his  brother. 

By  this  artifice  Tryphon  paved  his  way 
to  the  crown;  nor  was  much  argument 
required  to  enforce  his  cause,  as  all  the 
people  judged  it  would  make  their  for- 
tune; so  that  they  advanced  him  to  the 
throne  without  any  farther  ceremony. 
This  elevation  soon  discovered  the  genu- 
ine disposition  of  the  tyrant,  who  imme- 
diately threw  of  the  mask  he  had  artfully 
assumed  to  prosecute  his  designs,  and 
showed  himself  to  be  a  dissolute  wretch 
in  his  manners;  his  adversaries  laid  hold 
of  it  very  much  to  his  disadvantage;  for 
the  soldiers  quickly  grew  weary  of  his 
tyranny,  and  went  over  to  Cleopatra,  the 


*  The  reason  of  Demetrius's  being  in  this  con- 
dition in  this  place,  by  profane  historians  is  said  to 
be  this  : — As  the  Parthians  had,  at  this  time,  over- 
run in  a  manner  all  the  East,  and  made  themselves 
masters  of  every  country  from  the  river  Indus  to  the 
Euphrates,  those  who  were  of  the  Macedonian  race 
in  those  parts,  not  bearing  their  usurpation  and  in- 
solence, invited  Demetrius  by  repeated  embassies 
to  come  to  their  relief,  promising  him  a  general  re- 
volt from  the  Parthians,  and  such  assistance  of 
forces  against  them,  as  would  enable  him  to  sup- 
press these  usurpers,  and  recover  to  his  dominions 
all  the  provinces  of  the  East.  Upon  confidence  in 
these  promises,  he  undertook  the  expedition  ;  and 
found,  as  soon  as  he  appeared,  that  the  Elymaeans, 
the  Persians,  and  the  Bactrians  declared  for  him. 
By  the  assistance  of  these  nations  he  overthrew 
the  Parthians  in  several  conflicts  ;  but,  at  last, 
under  the  show  of  a  treaty  of  peace,  being  drawn 
into  a  snare,  he  was  made  prisoner,  and  all  his  army 
cut  to  pieces.  The  king  that  reigned  in  Parthia 
at  this  time  was  Mithridates  the  son  of  Priapatites, 
who,  having  thus  gotten  Demetrius  into  his  power, 
carried  him  round  the  revolted  provinces,  that  by 
seeing  the  prince,  whom  they  confided  in,  reduced 
to  this  ignominious  condition,  they  might  more 
easily  be  brought  to  submit  to  their  former  yoke: 
but,  when  he  had  done  this,  he  allowed  him  a 
maintenance  suitable  to  the  state  of  a  king,  and 
tiave  him  one  of  his  daughters,  whose  name  was 
Rhodaguna,  in  marriage. — Justin  and  Orosws, 
4i 


6)8 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX. 


wife  of  Demetrius,  who  had  then  shut  up 
herself  in  .  Seleucia  with  her  children, 
while  Antiochus,  (otherwise  called  Si- 
detes,*  and  the  brother  of  Demetrius,) 
went  roving  up  and  down  from  place  to 
place. 

Cleopatra,  prompted  by  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  military  men  that  deserted 
Tryphon,  at  the  instance  and  persuasion 
of  friends,  and  the  apprehension  she  her- 
self had  of  the  Seleucians  giving  up  the 
town  to  him,  sent  a  messenger  to  Antio- 
chus, with  a  proposal  of  marriage,  and  a 
tender  of  her  kingdom  to  him,  as  well  as 
of  her  person.  Antiochus  embraced  the 
proposal ;  and  upon  closing  with  Cleopatra 
on  those  terms,  the  people  came  in  to  him 
in  such  numbers,  that  in  a  short  time  he 
was  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  army, 
made  war  upon  Tryphon,  overcame  him 
in  a  battle,  and  beating  him  out  of  Syria, 
pursued  him  to  Phoenicia,  f  besetting  him  at 


*  He  was  much  given  to  hunting,  and  had  the 
name  Sidetes,  that  is,  the  Hunter,  given  him, 
from  zidah,  a  word  of  that  signification  in  the 
Syrian  language. 

f  The  inhabitants  of  this  country  are  said  to  have 
migrated  at  an  early  period  from  the  northern 
shores  of  the  Arabian  gulf.  There  they  had  lived 
in  caverns  formed  by  nature  in  the  range  of  hills 
that  ran  along  the  sea-coast,  and  spread  by  degrees 
into  the  deserts,  where  they  roamed  without  a  fix- 
ed habitation,  and  found  a  temporary  shelter  under 
the  branches  of  the  thorn,  or  in  the  hollow  of  a 
rock.  They  were  unacquainted  with  agriculture, 
and  had  no  property  in  flocks  or  herds  :  by  the 
sea-shore  they  lived  on  fish  and  marine  animals  ; 
in  the  desert  they  fed  on  locusts,  and  the  scanty 
fruits  that  grew  wild  in  the  woods.  From  this 
wretched  way  of  life  they  were  called  Horites  by 
the  Hebrews,  and  Troglodytes  by  the  Greeks  ;  both 
appellations  alluding  to  their  living  in  holes  and 
caverns.  Held  in  detestation  by  the  other  tribes, 
who  were  occupied  in  tending  cattle  or  in  cultivat- 
ing the  earth,  necessity  made  tbem  bold  and  inven- 
tive. They  were  the  first  that  navigated  the  Red 
sea  on  a  wretched  float  made  of  the  branches  of 
trees  fastened  together,  in  order  to  procure  a  live- 
lihood by  fishing.  Such  was  the  origin  of  a  peo- 
ple, whose  fame  extended  to  the  most  distant  cli- 
mates, and  has  been  transmitted  to  succeeding 
ages.  The  character  and  genius  of  nations  arise 
from  their  physical  and  political  situation.  The 
abundant  fertility  of  Egypt,  the  want  of  timber  to 
build  ships,  and  their  superstitious  horror  at  the 
Bea,  prevented  the  inhabitants  from  applymg  to 
foreign  trade,  and  limited  their  industry  to  improve- 
ments in  agriculture  and  in  land  traffic.     In  like 


last  in  Dora,  a  strong  and  well  fortified 
hold. 

He  sent  ambassadors  also  to  Simon  the 
high-priest  of  the  Jews,  upon  a  treaty  of 


manner  the  barrenness  of  Phoenicia  directed  the 
attention  of  its  inhabitants  to  maritime  pursuit!. 
Possessing  only  a  narrow  slip  of  land  on  the  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean, and  dependent  for  subsistence 
on  the  scanty  productions  of  an  ungrateful  soil,  the 
sea  became  their  only  resource.  Fishing,  their  an- 
cient mode  of  subsistence,  had  taught  them  the  art 
of  navigation.  The  forests  of  Lebanon  abounded 
with  timber  proper  for  the  construction  of  ships. 
Nature  had  formed  several  commodious  harbours 
on  their  coasts,  which,  for  their  greater  security, 
they  defended  with  moles.  Their  manufactures 
and  exports  of  native  produce  were  not  numerous, 
but  they  were  valuable.  The  sea  sand  led  them 
to  discover  the  secret  of  making  glass;  their  soil, 
notwithstanding  its  infertility,  supplied  the  mate- 
rials of  fine  linen  ;  and  their  ingenuity  fashioned 
curious,  productions  in  wood  and  metals.  From 
the  murex,  which  they  caught  in  great  plenty  on 
their  coasts,  they  extracted  the  rich  dye  of  their 
famous  purple,  so  highly  valued  by  all  the  nations 
of  antiquity.  Thus  they  established  a  commerce 
for  articles  pf  taste  and  luxury,  the  most  produc- 
tive and  beneficial  of  all.  As  the  Egyptians  and 
Assyrians  neglected  or  despised  external  commerce, 
the  "Phoenicians  became  the  carriers  of  all  nations, 
and  derived  from  their  own  labours  those  blessings 
which  nature  seemed  to  have  denied  them.  Like 
the  Venetians  and  the  Dutch  in  modern  times,  ne- 
cessity taught  them  inventions  ;  deprived  of  natural 
advantages,  they  acquired  that  spirit  of  ingenious 
industry  which  is  the  parent  of  opulence  ;  and  des- 
titute of  rich  possessions  by  land,  they  sought  and 
obtained  the  dominion  of  the  sea.  The  form  of 
their  government  also  favoured  the  progress  and 
success  of  the  Phoenicians  in  commercial  affairs. 
The  same  spirit  of  freedom  and  independence,  by 
which  they  were  actuated  in  the  wilderness  and  on 
the  shores  of  the  Arabian  gulf,  continued  to  dis- 
tinguish them  when  they  lived  under  the  govern- 
ment of  princes  in  walled  and  fortified  cities.  Their 
country,  though  small,  was  divided  into  five  petty 
principalities,  each  under  its  own  chief,  who, 
though  invested  with  sovereign  dignity,  had  not 
sufficient  power  to  make  encroachments  on  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  subject.  It  is  the  secure 
possession  of  property  from  the  invasions  of  des- 
potism, that  gives  vigour  to  industry,  and  spirit  to 
enterprise.  Commerce  must  ever  flourish  most  in 
republican  states,  or  in  limited  monarchies,  where 
the  possession  of  wealth  raises  to  distinction  in  the 
state,  and  where  the  royal  authority  is  exercised 
not  for  the  oppression,  but  the  protection  of  the 
subject.  No  less  conducive  to  their  commercial 
prosperity  and  greatness,  was  the  admirable  policy 
of  the  Phoenicians  in  levelling  all  distinctions  be- 
tween natives  and  foreigners,  and  throwing  their 
ports  open  to  the  whole  world.  The  encourage- 
ment which  they  gave  to  the  artists,  manufacturers, 
and  merchants  of  other  nations,  together  with  the 
freedom  of  their  government,  and  the  equity  of 
their  laws,  tempted  the  most  expert  men  in  every 


THE  BIBLE. 


Cwap.  IV.] 

alliance,  who  frankly  accepted  of  his  terms, 
and  soon  after  sent  him  a  supply  of  provi- 
sions and  money  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
siege,  which  was  a  service  at  that  time  so 
acceptable  to  Antiochus,    that  he  looked 

profession  to  settle  in  their  territories,  and  of  course 
to  contribute  to  their  improvement  and  opulence. 

Tros,  Tyriusve  mihi  nullo  discrimine  agetur, 

breathes  the  true  spirit  of  Phoenician  superiority 
to  narrow  prejudices,  and  was  as  distinguished  an 
example  of  political  toleration  among  the  ancients, 
as  the  similar  conduct  of  the  Dutch  was  of  religious 
toleration  in  modern  times.     This  liberal  maxim 
had  no  small  influence  in  making  the  city  of  Tyre 
the  theatre  of  human  ingenuity  ;  the  first  emporium 
to  the  nations  of  the  known  world  :  and  the  grand 
repository  of  every  thing  which  could  administer 
to  the  necessities,  the  conveniences,  and  the  luxu- 
ries of  mankind.     The  situation  of  the  Phoenicians 
was  admirably  adapted  to  extend  their  commercial 
intercourse  to  every  part  of  the  eaii.li  :   possessing 
a  part  of  Asia,  and  placed  on  the  confines  of  Africa 
and  Emupr,  if  they  did  not  form  a  centre  of  inter- 
est and  union  to  the  inhabitants  pf  the  globe,  they 
at  least  had  it  in   their  power  to  communicate  to 
every  nation  the  benefits  of  every  climate.     There 
were  difficulties,  however,  in  ancient  navigation, 
which  prevented  or  retarded  their  establishing  such 
an  universal  intercourse  and  commerce  among  na- 
tions.    Of  all   the  arts  which   have  attracted  the 
study  or  contemplation  of  mankind,  none  is  more 
surprising  in  the  rise,  from  its  early  efforts  to  its 
subsequent  improvement,  than  that  of  navigation. 
From  the  small  canoe,  in  which  the  Indian  de- 
scends his  native  river,  or  ventures  out  into  the 
adjacent  ocean,  to  the  noble  and  majestic  edifice 
containing  a  thousand  men,  with  provisions  and  ac- 
commodations for  many  months,  and  conveying  all 
this  vast  apparatus  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  across 
immense  seas,  to  the  most  distant  shores,  the  pro- 
gress is  so  prodigious  and  astonishing  as  to  give  us 
the  highest  idea  of  the  human  powers  when  en- 
lightened and  enlarged  by  the  experience  of  many 
centuries.     As  the  first  form  of  vessels  adapted  to 
navigation  must   have  been  extremely   rude,  the 
method  of  conducting  them  was  no  less  awkward 
and  defective.     Skill,  as  well  as  experience,  was  re- 
quired to  assist  the  efforts  of  the  rowers  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  winds.     The  method  of  arresting  a  ship 
in  its  course,  by  means  of  that  simple,  but  admira- 
ble machine  the  anchor,  must  have  been  long  un- 
known.    The  discoveries  of  modern  times,  which, 
by  ascertaining  the  polarity  of  the  magnet,  deter- 
mined the  distance   from  land,  and  to  trace  the 
paths  of  the  ocean,  were  concealed  from  the  early 
mariners,  who  had  no  other  method  of  directing 
their  course,  than  by  observing  the  course  of  the 
sun,  and  the  position  of  the  stars.     Their  naviga- 
tion   of  consequence    was    timid    and    uncertain. 
They  crept  along  the  shores,  and  cautiously  avoid- 
ed losing  sight  of  land.     Years  were  requisite  for 
performing  voyages  which  are  now  finished  in  a  few 
months.     Even  in  the  mildest  climates,  and  on  the 
calmest  seas,  it  was  only  during  the  summer  season 
that  maritime  enterprises  were  pursued.     It  would 


619 


upon  him  as  his  best  friend ;  but  Tryphon 
made  his  escape  out  of  Dora,  and  fled  to 
Apamea,  where  the  town  was  taken,  and 
himself  slain,  after  he  had  held  the  gov- 
ernment three  years. 


have  been  deemed  hazardous  to  an  extreme,  by  the 
ancient  mariners,  to  have  braved  the  fury  of  the 
elements,  and  the  surges  of  the  ocean,  during  the 
winter  months.     Under   all   these   disadvantages, 
however,  the  active  and  persevering  spirit  of  the 
Phoenicians  exerted  itself  in  naval  and  commercial 
enterprises.     The  history  of  this  people  furnishes 
a  remarkable  proqf  of  the  wonders  which  industry 
can  perform,  and  of  the  opulence  to  which  com- 
merce can  raise  a  nation  which  applies  to  it  with 
ardour.     From  the  enumeration  of  the  countries 
to  which  the  Phoenicians  traded,  of  the  cities  which 
they  built,  and  the  colonies  which  they  planted,  in 
the  various  and  distant  parts  of  the  world,  an  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  greatness  and  extent  of  their 
commerce.     As  in  ancient  times  the  nations  of  the 
earth   had   little   intercourse   or   connections  with 
each  other,  the  Phoenicians  were  employed  as  fac- 
tors and  carriers  to  all  their  neighbours,  and  be- 
came masters  of  all  the  trade  that  was  carried  on 
in  the  known  world.     Their  ships  conveyed   the 
productions  of  every  climate  :  and  the  empire  of 
the  sea  was  in  their  possession.     Other  nations  ap- 
plied to  them  when  any  great  maritime  enterprise 
or  distant  expedition  was  to  be  undertaken.     The 
fleets  which  Solomon  fitted  out,  to  sail  from  the 
Red  sea  to  Ophir  and  Tarshish,  probably  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Ethiopia,  were  conducted  by  Phoe- 
nician pilots,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  visit 
these  countries  before  the  time  of  Solomon.     It 
was  to  Phoenician  mariners  that  Necho,  king  of 
Egypt,  above  610  years  before  Christ,  gave  the  ex- 
traordinary commission  to  circumnavigate  Africa. 
That  prince  sent  a  Phoenician  fleet  from  the  borders 
of  the  Red  sea,  with  injunctions  to  keep  along  the 
African  coasts,  to  make  the  tour  of  them,  and  to 
return  to  Egypt  by  entering  the  Mediterranean  at 
the  pillars  of  Hercules  or  straits  of  Gibraltar.    The 
Phoenicians  taking  their  departure  from  the  Red 
sea,  entered  the  Southern  Ocean,  and  constantly 
followed  the  coasts.     After  having  employed  two 
seasons  in  this  navigation,  they  doubled  the  south- 
ern promontory  of  Africa,  and  arriving  at  the  pil- 
lars of  Hercules,  entered  the  Mediterranean,  and 
reached  the  mouths  of  the  Nile  in  the  third  year 
of  their  voyage.     Sacred  and  profane  history  agree 
in  extolling  the  opulence  and  power  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians.    When  the  Israelites  invaded  Palestine, 
gold  and  silver  abounded  in  that  country  ;  magni- 
ficence and  luxury  reigned  in  private  apartments; 
the  sovereigns  of  the  little  districts  into  which  it 
was  divided,  were  clothed  in  purple  ;  the  people 
wore  golden  ear-rings ;  and  even  the  camels  were 
adorned   with  studs,  chains,  and  plates  of  gold. 
The  Babylonian  cloak,  the  most  superb  article  of 
dress  among  the  Romans  in   the  period  of  their 
greatest  luxury,  was  frequent  among  the  spoils  of 
Canaan.     At  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war,  the  im- 
mense riches  of  Sidon  were  diffused  among  the 
neighbouring  nations,  and  supplied  them  with  all 
that  could  contribute  to  regal  pomp  and  ostenta- 


G20 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Treachery  of  Antiochus  and  Ptolemy,  towards 
Simon,  who  is  murdered  at  the  instigation  of 
the  latter. — Hyrcanus  succeeds  to  the  pontifi- 
cate.—  Glorious  resolution  of  his  mother,  who 
is  at  length  put  to  death  by  Ptolemy. —  Hyr- 
canus faithfully  espouses  the  cause  of  the  Jews, 
makes  several  alliances  in  their  favour. —  Va- 
rious fortunes  of  divers  Eastern  princes. 

Antiochus  Sidetes  being  naturally  cov- 
etous, and  consequently  ungrateful,  was 
so  far  from  acknowledging  the  good  offices 
Simon  had  done  him,  that  he  sent  an  army 
under  the  command  of  Cendebeus  to  lay 
Judea  waste,  and  to  seize  upon  his  person. 

This  perfidious  indignity  put  the  good 
old  man  into  such  a  rage,  that,  forgetting 
the  infirmities  of  his  age,  lie  marehed  im- 
mediately at  the  head  of  an  army  with  the 
resolution  of  a  hero  in  the  prime  of  his 
youth,  to  engage  the  enemy  ;  sending  his 
son  before  him  with  some  of  his  choicest 
troops,  and  himself  following  with  the  rest, 
planting  ambushes  up  and  down  in  his 
avenues,  and  ordering  all  things  to  his 
utmost  satisfaction. 

When  Simon  had  been  eight  years  gov- 
ernor of  Judea,  he  was  treacherously  mur- 
dered by  his  son-in-law  Ptolemy,  upon 
an  invitation  to  an  entertainment.  He 
had  his  wife  and  two  sons  already  in  his 
custody,  and  his  ruffians  were  despatched 
abroad  to  take  his  third  son  John,  other- 
wise called  Hyrcanus,  and  kill  him;  but 
the  young  man  having  notice  of  the  dan- 
ger, took  sanctuary  in  Jerusalem,  where 
the  people  treated  him  with  the  utmost 
affection,  partly  for  the  love  and  veneration 
they  had  for  the  memory  of  his  father,  and 
partly  from  the  aversion  they  had  to 
Ptolemy,  whom  they  bravely  repulsed 
upon  an  attempt  to  enter  at  one  gate,  be- 
cause they  had  already  received  Hyrca- 
nus at  another. 


tious  magnificence.  The  commerce,  opulence,  and 
Bplendour  of  Phoenicia,  continued  to  increase  till 
the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar. — Rutherford's  An- 
cient History. 


Upon  this  indignity  Ptolemy  withdrew 
himself  to  a  castle  not  far  from  Jericho 
called  Dagon.  Hyrcanus  at  the  same 
time  entered  upon  the  pontificate,  and 
officiated  as  successor  to  his  father.  The 
first  thing  he  did  upon  his  entrance  into 
that  solemn  order,  was  to  offer  up  sacri- 
fices and  praises  in  due  form ;  which  duty 
being  over,  he  marched  to  the  assault  of 
the  fort;  where  the  only  difficulty  he  met 
with,  was  to  support  the  effect  of  his  ten- 
derness for  his  mother  and  his  brethren, 
whom  Ptolemy  exposed  from  the  top  of 
the  wall,  lashing  and  tormenting  them  in 
the  sight  of  all  the  people,  with  menaces 
to  cast  them  headlong  from  the  battle- 
ments, unless  Hyrcanus  immediately  aban- 
doned the  siege. 

Hyrcanus  judging  at  first  that  the  slow- 
er he  was  in  his  attack,  the  more  lenity 
Ptolemy  wuuld  show  to  his  relations, 
paused  with  himself  on  his  future  proceed- 
ings; but  his  mother  observing  him  delib- 
erate and  relent,  called  out  to  him  aloud, 
and  encouraged  him  both  with  her  hand 
and  voice,  to  make  a  right  use  of  that  bar- 
barous spectacle,  and  without  any  regard 
to  her  and  her  children's  sufferings,  to  do 
himself  and  his  family  right,  in  a  just  ven- 
geance upon  the  head  of  that  execrable 
monster;  for  she  herself  desired  nothing 
more  than  to  expire  in  torment,  on  condi- 
tion that  that  unnatural  tyrant  might  be 
punished  according  his  desert. 

The  amazing  bravery  of  this  woman 
determined  Hyrcanus,  at  all  events,  to 
pursue  his  resolution  ;  but  observing  that 
the  more  they  pressed  upon  the  fort,  the 
fiercer  Ptolemy  was  in  his  tortures  on 
his  mother,  resentment  and  revenge  gave 
way  to  the  over-ruling  softness  of  a  dutiful 
son ;  so  that  through  irresolution  and  dis- 
traction, the  siege  was  protracted  till  the 
sabbatical  year,  (the  seventh  year  being  a 
year  of  rest  to  the  Jews,  as  well  as  the 
seventh  of  days,)  Ptolemy  was  now  deliv- 
ered from  the  war  and  the  siege ;  and 
thereupon  putting  to  death  the  mother 
and  the  brother  of  Hyrcanus,  he  withdrew 


Chap.  V.]  THE  BIBLE. 

to  Zeno,  surnamed  Cotyla,  a  tyrant  who 
had  at  that  time  usurped  the  government 
of  Philadelphia.* 

Antiochus  had  not  as  yet  forgotten  or 
forgiven  the  repulses  and  disgraces  he 
had  formerly  received  from  Simon  the 
father  of  Hyrcanus ;  so  that  he  made  an 
inroad  into  Judea  in  the  fourth  year  of  his 
reign,  when  he  ravaged  the  country  and 
drove  Hyrcanus  into  the  city,  dividing  his 
army  into  seven  bodies  round  about  it. 
They  advanced  but  slowly  at  the  begin- 
ning, the  walls  being  very  strong,  and 
the  place  well  defended. 

The  camp  was  for  some  time  distress- 
ed for  water;  but  that  defect  was  plenti- 
fully supplied  by  a  great  fall  of  rain. 

Upon  a  review  of  the  place,  they  found 
it  most  accessible  on  the  north  side,  and 
therefore  carried  on  their  attack  princi- 
pally upon  that  quarter,  raising  a  hundred 
turrets  of  three  stories  high,  which  were 
well  lined  with  soldiers  to  carry  on  the 
siege.  They  hud  likewise  drawn  a  cir- 
cumvallation  of  a  great  length  and  depth, 
to  cut  off  all  communication.  But  this 
did  not  hinder  the  defendants  from  mak- 
ing certain  sallies,  when  at  any  time  they 
saw  the  besiegers  off  their  guard ;  but  if 
they  found  them  in  a  posture  to  receive 
them,  they  would  make  their  retreat. 

As  there  were  many  unserviceable  per- 
sons, who  wasted  the  provisions,  Hyrcanus 
separated  those  that  were  fit  to  bear  arms 
from  the  rest,  and  turned  all  the  useless 
people  out  of  the  city;  where,  between 
Antiochus  on  the  one  hand,  that  stopped 
them  from  going  any  further,  and  Hyrca- 


621 


*  A  city  of  Lydia,  in  Asia  Minor,  where  was 
one  of  the  seven  Asiatic  churches.  Rev.  iii.  7. 
Philadelphia  was  so  called  from  Attains  Philadel- 

fhus,  king  of  Pergamus,  by  whom  it  was  founded, 
t  stood  on  a  branch  of  mount  Tmolus,  by  the 
river  Cogamus,  about  twenty-eight  miles  east  of 
Sardis.  It  greatly  suffered  by  frequent  earth- 
quakes, owing  to  its  vicinity  to  Catakekaumene  ; 
and  it  was  anciently  matter  of  surprise  that  it  was 
not  on  this  account  abandoned.  It  is  now  a  mean 
but  considerable  town,  of  large  extent,  with  a 
population  of  about  1000  Greek  Christians,  who 
nave  a  resident  bishop,  and  about  20  inferior 
slergy. —  Calmet. 


nus  on  the  other,  that  would  not  let  them 
come  in,  many  of  the  poor  wretches 
perished  for  want  of  bread. 

It  was  now  the  time  of  the  feast  of  ta- 
bernacles; and  upon  this  festival,  these 
miserable  creatures  were  admitted  into 
the  town  ;  whereupon  the  inhabitants  ad- 
dressed themselves  to  Antiochus,  only  to 
grant  a  truce  for  seven  days,  in  honour  of 
the  solemnity ;  which,  out  of  a  motive  of 
religion,  he  readily  granted,  and  also  sent 
them  magnificent  presents  for  sacrifices, 
as  bulls  with  gilded  horns,  cups  of  gold 
and  silver,  replenished  with  precious  spices 
and  perfumes;  and,  in  fine,  treated  them 
in  a  manner  much  different  from  that  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who,  in  affront  to 
their  religion,  upon  the  taking  of  the 
temple,  sacrificed  hogs  upon  the  altar, 
and  profaned  the  holy  place  with  swine's 
flesh,  in  a  contempt  of  their  laws  and 
ceremonies,  which  proved  the  cause  of  an 
irreconcileable  animosity  between  them ; 
whereas  the  present  Antiochus  had  the 
character  and  surname  of  Pious  given  him, 
in  honour  of,the  reverence  he  had  for  re- 
ligion. 

Hyrcanus  took  encouragement  upon 
this  instance  of  the  king's  justice  and 
goodness,  to  move  him  by  an  embassy  on 
the  Jews'  behalf,  for  the  liberty  only  of 
living  one  with  another,  according  to  the 
laws  and  customs  of  their  country.  The 
court  faction,  on  the  contrary,  were  for 
having  them  wholly  cut  off,  as  an  unsoci- 
able sort  of  people,  that  would  be  thought 
holier  and  wiser  than  their  neighbours, 
and  valued  themselves  upon  singularity 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  in  their  lives 
and  manners.  But  the  king  had  too 
great  a  respect  for  their  piety  to  put 
them  to  extremities;  so  that  he  sent  word 
back  to  Hyrcanus,  that  upon  condition  the 
besieged  would  deliver  up  their  army,  un- 
dertake for  the  taxes  of  Joppa,  and  the 
rest  of  the  cities  about  Judea,  and  receive 
a  garrison  into  the  town  of  his  appoint- 
ment, he  was  ready  to  put  an  end  to  the 
war. 


622 


HISTORY  OF 


[Hook  IX 


The  Jews  agreed  to  every  article  but 
the  receiving  of  the  garrison,  out  of  a  re- 
gard to  the  scruple  the}''  made  of  inter- 
mixing with  strangers;  but  to  be  eased 
of  that  article,  they  proposed  rather  to 
give  the  king  hostages  for  the  perform- 
ance of  covenants,  and  five  hundred  ta- 
lents over  and  above,  which  were  accepted, 
three  hundred  of  them  being  paid  down 
in  part;  and  the  brother  of  Hyrcanus  be- 
coming one  of  the  pledges.  Upon  the 
finishing  of  this  treaty,  the  works  and  the 
battlements  were  thrown  down,  the  city 
dismantled,  and  the  siege  raised. 

Hyrcanus,  after  this,  caused  the  monu- 
ment of  David  to  be  opened,  where  he 
took  three  thousand  talents  to  his  own 
use,*  and  furnished  himself  with  foreign 


*  David  had  now  been  dead  near  nine  hundred 
years,  and  what  is  told  of  this  treasure,  supposes 
it  to  have  been  buried  with  him  all  this  time.  It 
supposes,  that  as  oft  as  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  the 
palace,  and  the  temple,  during  the  reigns  of  the 
kings  of  Judah,  had  been  plundered  of  all  their 
wealth  and  treasure  by  prevailing  enemies,  this 
dead  stock  still  remained  safe  from  all  rifle  or  vio- 
lation. It  supposes,  that,  as  oft  as  these  kings 
Were  forced  to  take  all  the  treasure  that  was 
found  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  well  as  in  their 
own,  to  relieve  the  exigencies  of  the  state,  they 
never  meddled  with  this,  that  was  uselessly  buried 
with  David  in  his  grave.  It  supposes,  that  when 
one  of  the  worst  of  their  kings  plundered  the 
temple  of  its  sacred  vessels,  and  cut  them  in 
pieces,  to  melt  them  down  into  money  for  his 
common  occasions  ;  and  that,  when  one  of  the 
best  of  them  was  forced  to  cut  off  the  gold,  where- 
with the  gates  and  pillars  of  tfie  temple  were  over- 
laid, to  bribe  a  destroying  enemy,  this  useless 
treasure  still  continued  untouched.  Nay,  it  sup- 
poses, that,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  destroyed  botli 
the  city  and  temple  of  Jerusalem,  so  that,  for 
many  years  they  both  lay  in  rubbish,  this  treasure 
in  David's  sepulchre  lay,  all  the  while,  safe  and 
secure  under  it  j  and  that,  when  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes,  in  like  manner,  destroyed  the  city,  and 
robbed  the  temple  of  all  that  he  could  find,  this 
treasure  still  escaped  his  rapacious  hands,  nor  was 
ever  molested,  till  Hyrcanus,  at  this  tim«,  was 
forced  to  make  bold  with  it; — all  which  supposi- 
tions seem  highly  improbable.  There  is  this,  how- 
ever, to  be  said  in  the  matter,  that,  as  there  cer- 
tainly was  a  bank,  or  treasury  in  the  temple,  where 
money  was  laid  up  for  the  support  of  the  poor, 
for  the  relief  of  widows  and  fatherless  children, 
und  for  the  maintenance  of  divine  service  ;  and 
where  the  great  men,  and  rich  men  of  the  nation, 
were  used  to  deposit  their  wealth,  for  its  better 
security  :  it  is  not  improbable,  that,  upon  the  ac- 
count of  the  frequent  invasions  and  depredations 


mercenaries,  being  the  first  of  the  nation 
that  ever  entertained  an  army  of  strangers. 

He  then  entered  into  a  league  with 
Antiochus  Sidetes,  invited  him  and  his 
urmy  into  the  city,  where  he  gave  them  a 
splendid  and  magnificent  reception,  and 
followed  him  afterward  with  his  auxiliaries 
into  the  Parthian  war,  as  we  have  it  upon 
the  authority  of  Nicolaus  Damascenus. 

Antiochus  at  length  came  to  battle  with 
Phraortes,  king  of  the  Parthians,  in  which 
action  he  lost  both  his  life  and  his  army.f 

His  brother  Demetrius  succeeded  to 
the  kingdom  of  Syria,  being  set  at  liberty 
by  Phraortes,  upon  this  invasion  of  An- 
tiochus. 

Hyrcanus,  after  the  death  of  Antiochus, 
marched  with  his  army  into  Syria,  hoping, 
as  it  afterwards  proved,  that  he  should 
find  the  country  in  some  measure  deserted. 

In  six  months,  with  some  difficulty,  he 
took  Medaba,   Samega,  and  other  places 


they  were  liable  to,  this  treasure  might  be  kept  in 
some  secret  and  subterraneous  place,  unknown  to 
all,  but  such  as  were  at  the  head  of  affairs;  that 
Hyrcanus,  being  now  under  great  difficulty  to 
raise  money,  might  borrow  it  out  of  this  bank,  till 
better  times  enabled  him  to  repay  it;  and  that 
Herod,  when  he  plundered  it  quite,  might  trump 
up  this  plausible  story,  that  it  neither  belonged  to 
church,  nor  poor,  nor  any  private  person,  but  had 
been  deposited  there  by  David  and  his  successors, 
as  a  proper  supply  for  the  state  in  times  of  need. — ■ 
Prideau.t's  Connection,  and  Universal  History. 
+  The  army,  which,  together  with  its  attendants, 
amounted  to  the  number  of  near  four  hundred 
thousand  persons,  being  forced  to  disperse  all  over 
the  country,  were  quartered  at  too  gnat  a  distance 
from  each  other  to  be  able  in  any  time  to  gather 
together  in  a  body  ;  and,  as  they  had  grievously 
oppressed  all  places,  wherever  they  lay,  the  inha- 
bitants took  the  advantage  of  this  their  dispersion, 
and  conspired  with  the  I'arthians,  in  one  and  the 
same  day,  to  fall  upon  them  in  their  several  quar- 
ters, and  cut  their  throats;  which  accordingly  they 
did,  and,  when  Antiochus,  with  the  forces  which 
he  bad  about  him  hastened  to  the  assistance  ol 
the  quarters  that  were  near  him,  he  was  over- 
powered, and  slain,  so  that,  of  this  numerous 
army,  there  scarce  returned  a  man  into  Syria,  to 
carry  the  doleful  news  of  this  terrible  overthrow. 
Phraortes  however,  (who  was  then  king  of  Parthia,) 
caused  the  body  of  Antiochus  to  be  taken  up  from 
among  the  dead,  and  having  put  it  in  a  silver  coffin, 
sent  it  honourably  into  Syria,  to  be  there  buried 
among  his  ancestors;  and  finding  a  daughter  of 
his  among  the  captives,  be  was  smitten  with  her 
beauty,  and  took  her  to  wife.—  Justin  and  Joseph. 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


023 


thereabout;  and  afterwards  Shechem  and 
Gerizim,  with  the  land  of  the  Cuthites, 
where  the  temple  stood,  that  with  Alexan- 
der's permission  was  built  after  the  model 
of  that  at  Jerusalem  by  Sanballat,  one  of 
his  governors,  to  gratify  his  son-in-law 
Manasseh,  the  brother  of  the  high-priest 
Jaddua,  which  temple  was  destroyed  about 
two  hundred  years  after. 

Hyrcanus  also  took  several  places  in 
Idumea,  as  Dora  and  Marissa;  and  at  last, 
when  he  had  subdued  the  whole  province, 
he  made  proclamation  for  all  people  to 
depart  the  land  that  would  not  submit  to 
be  circumcised.  So  rather  than  quit  their 
country,  they  not  only  complied  in  the 
point  of  circumcision,  but  also  in  all  the 
other  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Jews.* 

Hyrcanus,  the  high-priest,  being  now 
about  to  renew  a  league  with  the  Romans, 
sent  his  ambassadors  to  the  senate,-}-  with 


letters  upon  that  subject.  These  letters 
being  read  and  debated,  an  alliance  was 
concluded  upon  the  following  conditions : 
"  Fanius,  the  son  of  Marus  the  praetor, 
called  a  senate  in  the  Field  of  Mars,J  on 
the  eighth  day  of  the  Ides  of  February  ; 
present  Lucius  Manlius,  and  Caius  Sern- 
pronius,  upon  the  business  of  the  embassy 
of  Simon,  Apollonius,  and  Diodorus,  per- 
sons of  honour  and  probity,  and  deputed 
by  the  nation  of  the  Jews  to  treat  about 
an  alliance,  and  other  public  matters  with 
the  senate  of  Rome.  Whereupon  it  was 
agreed  that  Joppa,  and  the  ports  of  Ga- 
zara,  with  the  fountains,  and  other  places 


*  Among  the  Jews  there  were  two  sorts  of  pro 
selytes,  namely,  the  proselytes  of  the  gate,  and  the  ' 
proselytes  of  justice.  I.  The  proselytes  of  the 
gate  were  so  called,  because  they  were  permitted 
to  dwell  with  the  Jews  in  the  same  cities,  and  the 
occasion  of  their  name  seems  to  have  been  taken 
from  that  expression  in  the  fourth  commandment: 
•The  strangers  which  are  within  thy  gates;'  where 
the  word  Get;  which  we  render  strangers,  does 
every  whit  as  properly  signify  proselytes.  Now 
this  kind  of  proselytes  was  obliged  only  to  re- 
nounce idolatry,  and  to  worship  God  according  to 
the  law  of  nature,  which  the  doctors  of  the  Tal- 
mud reduced  to  seven  articles,  called  by  them  the 
seven  precepts  of  the  sons  of  Noah.  Whoever 
performed  these  were  looked  upon  as  in  a  state  of 
acceptance  with  God  ;  and  allowed  not  only  to 
live  quietly  in  their  cities,  but  to  resort  likewise 
to  their  temple,  there  to  offer  up  their  prayers  ; 
but  then  they  were  permitted  to  enter  no  farther 
than  into  the  outer  court,  which  was  called  the 
court  of  the  Gentiles.  2.  The  proselytes  of  jus- 
tice were  so  called,  because  they  took  upon  them 
to  observe  the  whole  law,  both  moral  and  cere- 
monial, in  the  latter  of  which  some  of  the  Jews, 
and  especially  the  Pharisees,  made  justification  to 
consist.  The  former  sort  of  proselytes  had  no  form 
of  initiation,  but  these  were  admitted  by  baptism, 
sacrifice,  and  circumcision  ;  and,  when  they  were 
thus  admitted,  they  were  received  into  the  Jewish 
church,  and  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
church-membership,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  they 
had  been  natural  Jews. — Beausobre,  Prideaux. 

f  The  senate  had  the  ordinary  administration  of 
the  revenue,  took  account  of  its  receipts  and  dis- 
burse tnents,  and  suffered  no  money  to  be  issued 
without  their  own  decree,  or  the  warrant  of  the 
consul  in  actual  service.     Even  the  money  decreed 


by  the  censors  for  the  repair  of  public  buildings, 
and  the  execution  of  public  works,  could  not  be 
issued  by  the  quaestors  without  an  act  of  the  senate 
to  authorize  it.  All  crimes  and  disorders  that 
were  committed  among  the  free  inhabitants  of  Ita- 
ly, or  municipal  allies  of  the  state,  all  disputes  of  a 
private  or  public  nature  that  arose  among  them, 
came  under  the  jurisdiction  and  determination 
of  the  senate.  All  foreign  embassies  were  received 
or  despatched,  and  all  negotiations  were  conduct- 
ed by  this  body.  In  such  matters,  the  people  did 
no  more  than  affirm  or  reterse  what  the  senate, 
after  mature  deliberation,  had  decreed,  and  for 
the  most  part  gave  their  consent  as  a  matter  of 
form  ;  insomuch,  that  while  persons,  who  observed 
the  high  executive  powers  of  the  consul,  consider- 
ed the  state  as  monarchical,  foreigners,  on  the 
contrary,  who  resorted  on  public  business  to  Rome, 
were  apt  to  believe  it  an  aristocracy  vested  in  the 
senate. — Ferguson.  -. 

X  The  Field  of  Mars,  or  Campus  Martius,  was  a 
large  plain  or  meadow  at  Rome,  which  lay  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tiber,  a  little  above  the  city,  where 
the  Roman  youth  performed  their  exercises,  and 
learnt  to  wrestle  and  box,  to  throw  the  discus,  hurl 
the  javelin,  ride  a  horse,  drive  a  chariot,  &c.  The 
public  assemblies  were  held  there,  and  the  officers 
of  state  chosen,  and  audience  given  to  foreign  am- 
bassadors. It  was  adorned  with  statues,  columns, 
arches,  and  porticoes,  and  its  pleasant  situation 
made  it  very  frequented.  It  was  called  Martius, 
because  it  was  dedicated  to  Mars.  Jt  was  some- 
times called  Tiberinus,  from  its  closeness  to  the 
Tiber.  It  was  given  to  the  Roman  people  by  a 
vestal  virgin :  but  they  were  deprived  of  it  by 
Tarquin  the  Proud,  who  made  it  a  private  field, 
and  sowed  corn  in  it.  When  Tarquin  was  driven 
from  Rome,  the  people  recovered  it,  and  threw 
away  into  the  Tiber  the  corn  which  had  grown 
there,  deeming  it  unlawful  for  any  man  to  eat  of 
the  produce  of  that  land.  The  sheaves  which 
were  thrown  into  the  river  stopped  in  a  shallow 
ford,  and  by  the  accumulated  collection  of  mud 
became  firm  ground,  and  formed  an  island,  which 
was  called  the  Holy  Island,  or  the  island  of  vEscu- 
lapius.  Dead  carcasses  were  generally  burnt  in 
the  Campus  Martius. — JLeiiqniere, 


624 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


that  had  beer,  taken  away  by  Antiochus, 
contrary  to  a  decree  of  the  senate,  should 
be  all  restored,  and  the  king's  soldiers  not 
permitted  to  pass  through  either  that,  or 
any  other  part  of  the  territory,  without 
leave.  That  whatever  had  been  done  by 
Antiochus  in  the  late  war,  should  be  de- 
clared void,  and  commissioners  appointed 
to  take  an  estimate  of  what  the  people 
had  suffered  in  their  lands  and  goods  by 
his  depredations;  and  to  see  reparation 
made  for  all  losses." 

Upon  these  conditions,  the  senate  was 
pleased  to  accept  of  the  proposals  that 
were  presented  to  them  by  these  honoura- 
ble persons,  in  the  name  of  their  good 
friends  and  allies,  the  people  of  the 
Jews. 

Fanius  had  orders  likewise  to  furnish 
the  ambassadors  with  money  to  defray 
their  charges  back  out  of  the  public  stock; 
this  he  accordingly  did,  with  recommenda- 
tory letters  to  all  governors  and  officers  in 
their  way,  for  the  convenience  and  securi- 
ty of  their  passage. 

The  success  of  Hyrcanus  did  not  fail  to 
excite  the  envy  of  Demetrius,  who  would 
willingly  have  come  to  an  open  rupture 
with  him,  could  he  have  formed  a  proper 
alliance :  but  the  Syrians  and  his  own 
soldiers  hated  him  to  that  decree  for  his 
lewdness,  that  they  joined  in  a  confederacy 
against  him,  requesting  Ptolemy  Phys- 
con,*  king  of  Egypt,  to  send  them  some 
branch  of  Seleucus's  family,  and  they 
would  make  him  king. 


Upon  this  application,  Physcon  sent 
them  one  Alexander,  surnamed  Zebin, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  men.  An  en- 
gagement ensued,  and  Demetrius  being 
routed,   he    fled   to  his  wife  Cleopatra,  f 


*  Ptolemy,  surnamed  Physcon  on  account  of 
the  prominence  of  his  belly,  ascended  the  throne 
of  Egypt  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Philome- 
tor,  and  as  he  had  reigned  for  some  time  conjoint- 
ly with  him,  his  succession  was  approved,  though 
the  wife  and  the  son  of  the  deceased  monarch  laid 
claims  to  the  crown.  Cleopatra  was  supported  in 
her  claims  by  the  Jews,  and  it  was  at  last  agreed 
that  Physcon  should  marry  the  queen,  and  that  her 
son  should  succeed  to  the  throne  at  his  death. 
The  nuptials  were  accordingly  celebrated,  but  on 
that  very  day  the  tyrant  murdered  Cleopatra's  son 
in  her  arms.  He  ordered  himself  to  be  called 
Euergetes,  but  the  Alexandrians  refused  to  do  it, 
and  stigmatized  him  with  the  appellation  of  Ka- 
kergetes,  or  evd-doer,  a  surname  which  he  deserv- 
ed by  his  tyranny  and  oppression.     A  series  of 


barbarities  rendered  him  odious,  but  as  no  one  at- 
tempted to  rid  Egypt  of  her  tyranny,  the  Alexan- 
drians abandoned  their  habitations,  and  fled  from  a 
place  which  continually  streamed  with  the  blood 
of  their  massacred  fellow-citizens.  If  their  migra- 
tion proved  fatal  to  the  commerce  and  prosperity 
of  Alexandria,  it  was  of  the  most  essential  service 
to  the  countries  where  they  retired  ;  and  the  num- 
bers of  Egyptians  that  sought  a  safer  asylum  in 
Greek  and  Asia,  introduced  among  the  inhabitants 
of  those  countries  the  different  professions  that 
were  practised  with  success  in  the  capital  of  Egypt. 
Physcon  endeavoured  to  repeople  the  city  which 
his  cruelty  had  laid  desolate,  but  the  fear  of  shar- 
ing the  fate  of  the  former  inhabitants,  prevailed 
more  than  the  promise  of  riches,  rights,  and  im- 
munities. The  king  at  last  disgusted  with  Cleo- 
patra, repudiated  her  and  married  her  daughter  by 
Philometor,  called  also  Cleopatra.  He  still  con- 
tinued to  exercise  the  greatest  cruelty  upon  his 
subjects,  but  the  prudence  and  vigilance  of  his 
ministers  kept  the  people  in  tranquillity,  till  all 
Egypt  revolted,  when  the  king  had  basely  murder- 
ed all  the  young  men  of  Alexandria.  Without 
friends  or  support  in  Egypt,  he  fled  to  Cyprus,  and 
Cleopatra  the  divorced  queen,  ascended  the  throne. 
In  his  banishment  Physcon  dreaded  lest  the  Alex- 
andrians should  also  place  the  crown  on  the  head 
of  his  son,  by  his  sister  Cleopatra,  who  was  then 
governor  of  Cyrene,  and  under  these  apprehensions 
he  sent  for  the  young  prince,  called  Memphitis,  to 
Cyprus,  and  murdered  him  as  soon  a3  he  reached 
the  shore.  To  make  the  barbarity  more  complete, 
he  sent  the  limbs  of  Memphitis  to  Cleopatra,  and 
they  were  received  as  the  queen  was  going  to  cele- 
brate her  birth-day.  Soon  after  this  he  invaded 
Egypt  with  an  army,  and  obtained  a  victory  over 
the  forces  of  Cleopatra,  who  being  left  without 
friends  or  assistance,  fled  to  her  eldest  daughter 
Cleopatra,  who  had  married  Demetrius  king  of 
Syria.  This  decisive  blow  restored  Physcon  to  his 
throne,  where  he  continued  to  reign  for  some  time, 
hated  by  his  subjects,  and  feared  by  his  enemies. 
He  died  at  Alexandria  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of 
his  age,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-nine  years,  about 
1 16  years  before  Christ.  Some  authors  have  ex- 
tolled Physcon  for  his  fondness  for  literature ;  they 
have  observed,  that  from  his  extensive  knowledge, 
he  was  called  the  philologist,  and  that  he  wrote  a 
comment  upon  Homer,  besides,  a  history  in  twen- 
ty-four books  admired  for  its  elegance,  and  often 
quoted  by  succeeding  authors,  whose  pen  was  em- 
ployed on  the  same  subject. — Lempriere. 

f  This  Cleopatra  was  the  daughter  of  Ptolemy 
Philometor  king  of  Egypt  and  Cleopatra  his  wife. 
She  was  at  first  married  to  Alexander  Balas,  and 
afterwards  to  this  Demetrius  in  her  father's  life- 
time. While  Demetrius  was  detained  a  prisoner  in 
Parthia,  she  became  the  wife  of  his  brother  Anti- 
ochus Sidetes ;  but  upon  the  death  of  Sidetes,  the 
restoration  of  Demetrius  and  recovery  of  his  kinjj 


Chap.    V 


THE  BIBLE. 


€25 


who  was  then  at  Ptolemaisfor  protection; 
but  the  gates  being  shut  against  him, 
he  fled  to  Tyre,  where  he  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  who  kept  him  a 
while  in  anguish,  and  then  put  him  to 
death. 

Alexander  Zebina,  being  now  possessed 
of  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  entered  into  a 
league  with  Hyrcanus  the  high-priest,  who 
was  engaged  some  time  after  in  a  war  with 
Antiochus  Grypus,  the  son  of  Demetrius. 
It  came  to  a  battle,  and  Alexander  was 
slain  in  the  engagement.* 

Antiochus  by  this  means  came  to  be 
king  of  Syria ;  but  durst  not  as  yet  make 
any  attempt  upon  the  Jews,  for  he  heard 
that  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  was  at  that  time 
levying  an  army  against  him  in  the  town 
of  Cyzicus.f  Wherefore,  without  at- 
tempting any  thing  against  the  Jews,  he 
thought  it  most  adviseable  to  keep  himself 
upon  his  guard  against  his  brother,  who 
was  called  Cyzicenus,  from  the  name  of  the 
place  where  he  received  his  education. 

Upon  the  coming  of  Antiochus  Cyzi- 
cenus into  Syria,  the  brothers  were  per- 
petually at  war,  and  Hyrcanus  consequent- 
ly in  possession  of  a  profound  peace ;  for 
after  the  slaughter  of  Antiochus,  he  fell 

dom,  she  returned  to  his  hed  again,  but  never  had 
any  great  esteem  for  him,  because  in  his  captivi- 
ty he  had  married  the  daughter  of  the  king  of 
Parthia. — Prideaux's  Connection. 

*  After  Zebina  was  vanquished  and  slain,  Gry- 
pus, so  called  from  his  hook-nose,  began  to  take 
on  him  the  authority  as  well  as  name  of  king  ; 
whereby  the  power  of  Cleopatra  in  the  govern- 
ment becoming  very  much  eclipsed,  she  could  not 
bear  this  diminution  of  her  grandeur  and  domina- 
tion, and  accordingly  resolved  to  make  away  with 
Grypus.  Having  provided  a  cup  of  poison  for  ex- 
ecuting this  wicked  design,  she  offered  it  to  Gry- 
pus one  day  as  he  came  hot  and  weary  from  exer- 
cising himself;  but  being  forewarned  of  the  mis- 
chief she  intended  him,  he  forced  her  to  drink  it 
all  herself, — and  it  had  its  full  operation  upon  her. 
— Prideaux. 

\  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  was  half  brother  to 
Grypus.  He  was  the  son  of  Cleopatra  by  Antio- 
chus Sidetes,  born  to* him  while  Demetrius  her  for- 
mer husband  was  a  prisoner  among  the  Parthians. 
Cleopatra,  afraid  that  his  life  might  be  endangered 
by  Demetrius,  sent  him  out  of  iiis  reach  to  Cyzi- 
cus,  a  city  Jving  on  the  Propontis  in  the  Lesser 
Mysia,  and  from  hence  he  had  the  name  of  Cyzi- 
cenus. 


off  from  the  Macedonians,  and  had  no  more 
concern  with  them,  either  as  an  ally  or 
subject. 

In  the  days  of  Alexander  Zebina,  affairs 
prospered  with  Hyrcanus  according  to  his 
utmost  desire,  and  also  in  the  reign  of  the 
two  brothers;  for  while  they  were  harassing 
one  another,  he  enjoyed  the  revenues  of 
Judea,  whereby  he  amassed  an  inestima- 
ble treasure  ;  and  while  Cyzicenus  ravaged 
the  country  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  bro- 
ther had  no  relief  out  of  Egypt  on  the 
other,  he  left  them  to  themselves  to  con- 
found one  another,  which  tended  ultimate- 
ly to  the  establishment  of  his  prosperity. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Hyrcanus  invests  Samaria,  which  is  afflicted  by 
dreadful  famine. —  Various  fortunes  of  Hyrca- 
nus and  Antiochus,  who  wage  war  against 
each  other. — Death  of  Antiochus. — Destruc- 
tion of  Samaria. — Hyrcanus  espouses  the  part 
of  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees. — Pays  the  debt 
of  nature. — Is  succeeded  by  Antiochus,  who 
changes  the  Jewish  government,  and  evinces  a 
very  preverse  and  impious  disposition. — Is 
chastised  by  a  very  sore  judgment ;  and,  be- 
fore his  death,  confesses  his  iniquitous  con- 
duct. 

Hyrcanus,  under  these  circumstances, 
marched  with  an  army  to  the  strong  city 
of  Samaria;  being  so  irritated  against 
them  by  the  indignities  they  had  put  upon 
the  people  of  Marissa,:]:  who  were  inhabi- 
tants and  allies  of  Judea,  though  subjected 
to  the  king  of  Syria,  that  he  resolved  to 
attack  the  place  with  all  his  vigour. 


J  Marissa,  or  Mareshah,  a  city  of  Judah  ;  called 
also  Moresheth  and  Morasthi.  The  prophet  Mi- 
cah  was  a  native  of  this  city.  It  was  two  miles 
from  Eleutheropolis  ;  and  near  to  it,  in  the  vak 
of  Zephathah,  was  fought  a  famous  battle  between 
Asa,  king  of  Judah,  and  Zerah,  king  of  Chus,  in 
which  Asa  defeated  a  million  of  men.  In  the 
latter  times  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth,.  Mare- 
shah belonged  to  Idumaea,  as  did  several'  other 
southerly  cities  of  Judah.  It  was  peopled  by  the 
Jews  and  their  allies  in  the  time  of  John  Hyrca- 
nus. Alexander  Jannasus  took  it  from  the  Ara- 
bians, and  Pompey  restored  it  to  its  first  inhabi- 
tants. Gabinius  rebuilt  it,  and  the  Parthians  de- 
stroyed it  in  the  war  of  Antigonus  against  Herod. 
—  Calmet. 

4k 


626 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


Upon  sitting  down  before  it,  he  sur- 
rounded the  town  with  a  large  ditch,  and 
a  double  wall  of  eighty  furlongs  compass, 
and  gave  the  conduct  of  the  siege  to  his 
sons  Antigonus  and  Aristobulus,  who 
carried  it  on  with  such  vigour,  and  kept 
them  in  so  close,  that  they  were  forced  to 
the  extremity  of  eating  carrion  ;  so  that 
in  the  end  they  implored  the  assistance  of 
Antiochus  Cyzicenus,  who  came  imme- 
diately ;  but  being  routed  by  Aristobulus, 
and  pursued  by  him  and  his  brother  as 
far  as  Scythopolis,  with  some  loss,  escaped. 

The  brothers,  after  this  action,  return- 
ed, and  forcing  the  people  into  the  town 
again,  renewed  the  siege,  which  produced 
a  repeated  application  to  the  same  Antio- 
chus for  succour,  who  prevailed  with 
Ptolemy  Lathyrus  for  six  thousand  men; 
but  the  assistance  was  granted  so  much 
against  the  approbation  of  Cleopatra  his 
mother,  that  he  had  well  nigh  caused  the 
loss  of  his  kingdom. 

With  this  band  of  Egyptians,  Antiochus 
at  first  ravaged  the  country  of  Hyrcanus, 
not  being  at  that  time  in  a  condition  to 
sustain  his  inroads.  His  design  was,  by 
this  diversion,  to  draw  him  from  the  siege; 
but  through  surprises,  desertions,  and 
other  casualties,  he  found  his  party  in  a 
short  time  so  weakened  that  he  committed 
the  charge  of  the  Jewish  war  to  Calliman- 
der  and  Epicrates,  and  went  off  from 
thence  himself  to  Tripoli. 

Callimander,  after  this,  with  more  bra- 
very than  discretion,  ventured  upon  a 
rash  encounter,  where  his  people  where 
wholly  cut  off,  and  himself  slain.  Epi- 
crates, at  the  same  time,  treacherously  be- 
trayed Scythopolis,  and  several  other 
neighbouring  towns,  to  the  Jews,  so  that 
there  was  no  possibility  of  relieving  the 
place. 

Hyrcanus  had  been  a  full  year  before 
Samaria  when  he  took  it;  nor  was  he  con- 
tent with  reducing  the  city,  without  rasing 
the  foundations;  for  he  not  only  made  it 
a  heap  of  rubbish,  but  drew  several  trenches 
of  water  through  it,  which  so  disfigured 


the  face  of  every  thing,  that  there  was 
not  the  least  mark  left  of  any  building. 

The  Jews  prospered  at  this  juncture, 
not  only  at  Jerusalem,  but  at  Alexandria 
also,  and  the  rest  of  Egypt,  Cyprus,  &c. 
For  the  queen  Cleopatra,  upon  a  difference 
with  her  son  Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  committed 
the  command  of  her  troops  to  Chelcias 
and  Ananias,  the  sons  of  that  Onhis  who 
erected  a  temple  in  the  territory  of  Helio- 
polis,  after  the  pattern  of  that  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

These  two  persons  were  the  queen's 
directors  in  all  she  did,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Strabo*  the  Cappadocian, 
who  writes  to  the  following  effect :  "  That 
many  of  those  that  either  came  formerly 
with  them  to  Cyprus,  or  were  sent  thither 
afterward  by  Cleopatra,  immediately  quit- 
ted the  queen's  interest,  and  went  over  to 
Ptolemy;  only  the  Jews  that  were  of 
Onias's  party  stood  firm,  out  of  a  rever- 
ence they  paid  the  queen  for  the  respect 


*  He  was  a  native  of  Amasia,  on  the  borders  of 
Cappadocia,  who  flourished  in  the  age  of  Augus- 
tus and  Tiberius.  He  first  studied  under  Xenar- 
cluis,  the  peripatetic,  and  afterwards  warmly  cm- 
braced  the  tenets  of  the  Stoics.  Of  all  his  com- 
positions nothing  remains  but  his  geography, 
divided  into  seventeen  books,  a  work  jii-tlv  cele- 
brated for  its  elegance,  purity,  the  erudition,  and 
universal  knowledge  of  the  author.  It  contains 
an  account  in  Greek,  of  the  most  celebrated  places 
of  the  world,  the  origin,  the  manners,  religion, 
prejudices,  and  government  of  nations  ;  the  foun- 
dation of  cities,  and  the  accurate  history  of  each 
separate  province.  Strabo  travelled  over  a  great 
part  of  the  world  in  quest  of  information,  and  to 
examine  with  the  most  critical  inqnirv,  not  only 
the  situation  of  the  places,  but  also  tiie  manners 
of  the  inhabitants,  whose  history  he  meant  to 
write.  In  the  two  first  books  the  author  wishes 
to  show  the  necessity  of  geography  ;  in  the  third 
he  gives  a  description  of  Spain  ;  in  the  fourth  of 
Gaul  and  the  British  isles.  The  fifth  and  sixth 
contain  an  account  of  Italy  and  the  neighbouring 
islands  ;  the  seventh,  which  is  mutilated  at  the 
end,  gives  a  full  description  of  Germany,  and  the 
country  of  the  (ietae,  lllyricum,  TtHtricu  G'herso- 
nesus,  and  Epirus.  The  affairs  of  Greece  and  the 
adjacent  islands  are  separately  treated  in  the 
eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  ;  and  in  the  four  next, 
Asia  with  mount  Taurus,  India,  Persia,  Syria, 
and  Arabia  ;  the  last  book  gives  an  account  of 
Egypt,  ^Ethiopia,  Carthage,  and  other  places  of 
Africa.  Among  the  books  of  Strabo  winch  have 
been  lost,  were  historical  commentaries.  This 
celebrated  geographer  died  A.  D.  25. — Lempriere, 


Chap.  VI.]  THE  BIBLE. 

she  showed  to  Chelcias  and  Ananias,  their 
friends  and  countrymen." 

The  success  of  Hyrcanus  drew  upon 
him  the  envy  of  the  Jews,  and  especially 
the  Pharisees,  who  retained  no  extraordi- 
nary esteem  for  him  before.  The  author- 
ity of  that  faction  was  so  sacred  among 
the  common  people,  that  let  them  treat 
their  king  or  their  high-priest  with  the  ut- 
most indignity,  the  multitude  would  ap- 
prove their  proceedings. 

Hyrcanus,  however,  having  been  trained 
up  in  that  school,  and  looked  upon  as  a 
person  much  in  their  favour,  took  occa- 
sion to  invite  them  to  an  entertainment, 
where  he  treated  them  with  all  possible 
respect.  As  soon  as  their  spirits  were 
raised  by  good  cheer  he  addressed  them 
in  the  following  manner :  "  I  need  not 
tell  you,  my  worthy  friends,  that  a  man 
of  your  own  principles  desireth  nothing 
more  than  to  approve  himself  acceptable 
to  God,  and  just  to  his  neighbour,  which 
is  but  according  to  your  own  doctrine; 
but  if  you  shall  find  that  I  have  in  any 
thing  departed  from  my  duty,  as  it  is  your 
part  to  admonish  and  instruct  me,  I  shall 
account  it  mine  to  amend  and  reform." 

This  candid  address  was  received  with 
such  applause,  that  Hyrcanus  did  not  a 
little  value  himself  upon  the  reputation 
he  acquired  thereby.  After  a  short  pause, 
Eleazar,  one  of  the  guests,  a  malicious 
man,  stood  up,  and  thus  addressed  him- 
self to  Hyrcanus:  "  Since  you  are  pleased 
to  profess  yourself  a  great  lover  of  truth 
and  plain  dealing,  be  so  just  also  as  to  lay 
down  your  pontificate,  and  content  your- 
self with  your  civil  administration." 

When  he  was  demanded  the  cause  of 
this  proposal,  he  replied,  "  Because  we 
have  been  told  by  our  elders,  that  in  the 
days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  your  mother 
was  a  slave."  The  report  was  false,  and 
so  much  the  more  offensive,  as  well  to  the 
Pharisees  as  to  Hyrcanus  himself. 

There  happened  to  be  in  the  company 
one  Jonathan,  Hyrcanus's  particular  friend, 
but  a  Sadducee,  and  consequently  a  mor- 


627 

tal  enemy  to  the  Pharisees.  He  insisted 
that  the  calumny  of  Eleazar  was  concert- 
ed, and  that  the  Pharisees  were  privy  to 
it;  adding,  that  the  same  would  appear, 
if  Hyrcanus  would  refer  to  them  what 
punishment  they  thought  a  man  might  de- 
serve for  so  scandalous  a  defamation. 

Hyrcanus  put  the  question,  to  try  how 
they  stood  affected ;  and  whether  or  not 
they  were  privy  to  the  affront.  Their  an- 
swer was,  (being  men  generally  inclined  to 
mercy  in  such  cases,)  that  they  did  not  find 
defamation  to  be  a  capital  crime,  and  there- 
fore deemed  whipping*  and  imprisonment 
might  serve  for  satisfaction. 

This  method  of  compromising  the  affair 
put  Hyrcanus  into  a  violent  passion,  and 
gave  him  to  understand,  that  they  had 
every  one  of  them  part  in  this  infamous 
reflection  upon  his  family.  Jonathan,  in 
this  heat,  embittered  him  against  the  Pha- 


*   Scourging  was  a  very  common   punishment 
among  the  Jews.     It  was  inflicted  in  two  ways  ; 
with   thongs  or  whips  made  of  ropes  or  straps  of 
leather  ;  or  with  rods,  twigs,  or  brandies  of  some 
tree.     The  offender  was  stripped  from  his  should- 
ers to  his  middle,  and  tied  by  his  arms  to  a  low 
pillar,  that  his  back  might  be  more  fully  exposed 
to  the  lash  of  the  executioner,  who  stood  behind 
him  upon  a  stone,  to  have  more  power  over  him, 
and  scourged  him  both  on  the  back  and  breast,  in 
open  court,  before  the  face  of  his  judges.     Among 
the  Arabians,  the  prisoner  is  placed  upright  on  the 
ground,  with  his  hands  and  feet  bound  together, 
while  the  executioner  stands  before  him,  and  with 
n  short  stick  strikes  him  witli  a  smart  motion  on 
the  outside  of  his  knees.     The  pain  which  these 
strokes  produce  is  exquisitely  severe,  and  which  no 
constitution  can  support  for  any  length  of  time. 
The  Romans  often  inflicted  the  punishment  of  the 
scourge;  the  instruments  employed  were  sticks  or 
staves,  rods,  and  whips  or  lashes.     The  first  were 
almost  peculiar  to  the  camp  ;  the  last  were  reserv- 
ed for  slaves,  while  rods  were  applied  to  citizens, 
till  they  were  removed  by  the  Porcian  law.     This 
punishment,  among  the  Jews,  was  not  to  exceed 
forty  stripes,  Dent.  xxv.  3.  and  therefore  the  whip, 
wherewith  it  was  inflicted,  was  made  with   three 
thongs,  and,  as  each  blow  »ave  three  stripes,  they 
never  inflicted  upon  any  criminal  more  than  thir- 
teen, because  thirteen  of  these  blows  made  thirty- 
nine   stripes,  and    to    have  added  another  blow, 
would  have  been  a  transgression  of  the  law,  by 
inflicting  two   stripes   more  than   what  was   pre- 
scribed.    Rather  than  do  this  therefore,  the  usual 
way  was,  to  give  one  too  few,  and  therefore  St 
Paul  tells  us,  2  Cor.  xi.  24.   that,  when  lie  was 
whipped  by  the  Jews,  *  he  received  forty  stripes, 
save  one.' — Paxton  and  Prideaux. 


628 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


risees  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  absolutely 
renounced  the  sect,  and  went  over  to  the 
Sadducees;*  abrogating  all  their  ordi- 
nances and  constitutions,  with  a  penalty 
upon  those  who  should  presume  to  observe 
them.  This  was  it  that  put  both  himself 
and  his  sons  quite  out  of  credit  with  the 
common  people,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

The  remainder  of  Hyrcanus's  life,  after 
the  quelling  this  sedition,  was  spent  hap- 
pily. He  continued  to  administer  the  af- 
fairs of  justice  in  the  best  manner  till  his 
death,  which  happened  in  the  year  of  his 
government  thirty-one. 

He  left  behind  him  five  sons,  and  God 
was  pleased  to  honour  him  with  three  emi- 
nent dignities; — the  civil  government  of 

T     °      ,  .       .       j         j.i  •  ♦.     c    pretend,  but  only  a  fantastical  way  ot  divination 

the  Jews,  the  priesthood,  and, the  spirtf  ot  |of  their  own  inve'ntion>  like  the  So'rte9  yirgilianse 

among  the  heathen ; — for  as  with  them  the  words 


On  Hyrcanus's  decease,  his  eldest  son 
Aristobulus  formed  a  resolution  of  new- 
modelling  the  government,  and  changing 
the  principality  into  an  absolute  monarchy, 

to  if,  as  the  daughter  is  to  the  mother  ;  and  is  there- 
fore called  'the  daughter-voice,'  as  succeeding  in  the 
other's  stead.  That  it  may  be  understood  what 
kind  of  oracle  this  was,  we  shall  give  the  following 
instance  from  the  Talmud  j  "  Rabbi  Jochanan  and 
P.abbi  Simeon  Ben  Lachish,  desiring  to  see  the 
face  of  R.  Samuel,  a  Babylonish  doctor, — Let  us 
follow,  said  they,  the  hearing  of  bath  kol.  Tra- 
velling, therefore,  near  a  school,  they  heard  the 
voice  of  a  boy  reading  these  words  out  of  the  first 
book  of  Samuel,  '  and  Samuel  died  ;'  on  observing 
this,  they  inferred  that  their  friend  Samuel  was 
dead  :  and  so  they  found  it  had  happened,  for 
Samuel  of  Babylon  was  then  dead."  Many  simi- 
lar instances  might  be  adduced  from  the  Jewish 
writings,  but  this  is  sufficient  to  show  that  their 
bath  kol  was  no  such  voice  from  heaven  as  they 


prophecy,  foretelling,  by  a  divine  revela- 
tion, that  his  two  eldest  sons  should  not 
lono*  enjoy  the  government  after  the  death 
of  their  father,  and  its  succeeding  in  the 
event.f 

*  It  is  a  mistake  to  think,  that,  because  Hyrca- 
mis  is  said  to  have  left  the  Pharisees,  and  adjoined 
himself  to  the  Sadducees,  that  therefore  he  espous- 
ed their  doctrine  against  the  resurrection  and  a 
future  state.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems  highly 
probable,  that,  at  this  time,  the  Sadducees  had  gone 
no  farther  in  the  doctrine  of  their  sect,  than  their 
rejecting  all  the  unwritten  traditions  which  the 
Pharisees  held  in  so  much  veneration.  Josephus 
mentions  no  other  difference,  in  his  time,  between 
them* ;  nor  does  he  say,  that  Hyrcanus  went  over 
to  the  Sadducees  in  any  other  particular  than  in 
the  abolishing  the  traditional  constitutions  of  the 
Pharisees  ;  and  therefore  we  can  hardly  think  that 
so  good  and  righteous  a  man,  as  he  is  represented 
to  have  been,  woul'd,  upon  any  provocation  what- 
ever, have  been  induced  to  renounce  the  great  and 
fundamental  articles  of  his  religion  ;  but  it  can  be 
no  diminution  to  his  character,  we  hope,  that  he 
made  it  his  business  to  oppose  those  false  inter- 
pretations of  the  law,  which  our  blessed  Saviour, 
in  the  course  of  his  ministry,  so  severely  condemn- 
ed.— Stachhouse. 

■f  Josephus  also  relates,  that  when  Antigonus  and 
Aristobulus  vanquished  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  in 
battle,  it  was  made  known  to  Hyrcanus  the  very 
same  moment  in  which  the  victory  was  gained, 
though  he  was  then  at  Jerusalem,  at  the  distance 
of  two  days'  journey  from  the  field  of  battle.  The 
Jews  say  it  was  revealed  to  him  by  a  voice  from 
heaven,  which  they  call  bath  kol,  that  is,  '  the 
daughter  of  a  voice,'  or  •  the  daughter-voice.'  The 
oracular  voice  delivered  from  the  mercy-seat,  when 
God  was  there  consulted  by  Urim  and  Thummiro, 
was  the  grandand  primary  voice  of  revelation, — that 
of  bath  hoi  was  of  secondary  dignity,  and  inferior 


ftist  dipped  at  in  the  book  of  that  poet,  was  the 
oracle   whereby  they  prognosticated  those  future 
events  which  they  desired  to  be   informed  of,  so 
with  die  Jews,  when  they  appealed  to  'the  daugh- 
ter-voice,' the  next  words  which  they  should  hear 
from  any  one's  mouth  were  the  same  ;  and  this 
they  cahed  a  voice  from  heaven,  because  thereby 
they  thought  the  judgment  of  heaven  to  be  declar- 
ed on  any  dubious  point  which  they  desired  to  be 
informed  of.     The  Christians,  when  Christianity- 
first  began  to  be  corrupted,  learned  from  the  hea- 
then the  like  way  of  divination,  and  much  practis- 
ed it,  only  substituting  the  scriptures  for  the  poems 
of  Virgil.     This  was  as  ancient  as  the  time    of 
Austin  in  the  fourth  century,  and  it  was  practised 
by  Heraclius,  emperor  of  the  East  in  the  seventh, — 
for,  being  engaged  in  war  against  Cosrhoes,  king 
of  Persia,  after  a  successful  campaign,  he  consulted 
the  scriptures  in  this  way  of  divination,  to  know 
where  to  fix  his  winter  quarters.     But  it  obtained 
most  in  the  West,  especially  in  France,  where,  for 
several  ages,  it  was  the  practice,  on  the  consecra- 
tion of  a  new  bishop,  to  consult  the  bible  concern- 
ing him  by  this  way  of  divination,  and,  from  the 
words  which  they  should  first  dip  at  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  book,  make  a  judgment  of  his  life,  man- 
ners, and  future  behaviour.     The  Normans,   on 
their   conquest  of  England,  brought   this   usage 
hither  with  them.     On  the  consecration  of  Wi?- 
liam,  the  second  Norman  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Norwich,  the  words  which  first  opened  at  for  him 
were,  '  Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  ;'  by  which 
they  made  a  judgment,  that  this  bishop  was  not 
long  to  continue,  and  that' a  thief  should  come  in 
his  place  ;  and  so  it  accordingly  happened.     For, 
William   dying  soon  after,  Herbertns  de  Losinga, 
another  Norman,  was  made  his  successor,  who  was 
chief  simony  broker  to  king  William  Rufus,  (that 
king  openly  selling  all  ecclesiastical  benefices,) aird 
had   simoniacally  obtained  of  him   the  abbey  of 
Winchester  for  his  father,  and  the  abbey  of  Ramsay 
for  himself,  and  had  now  by  the  like  means,  gained 
this   bishopric.     At   his  consecration,  the  words 


Chap.  VI  ] 


THE  BIBLE. 


629 


setting  the  crown  accordingly  upon  liis 
own  head.-  This  happened  four  hundred 
and  eighty  one  years  and  three  months 
after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon. 

Pie  had  so  great  a  regard  for  Antigonus, 
liis  next  brother,  that  he  associated  him  as 
a  kind  of  partner  with  him  in  the  govern- 
ment. The  other  three  he  kept  in  prison, 
together  with  his  mother,  whom  he  looked 
upon  as  a  rival,  upon  a  pretence  that  his 
father  had  left  her  at  his  death  in  posses- 
sion of  all  he  could  confer  upon  her.  So 
horrid  and  unnatural  was  his  cruelty,  that 
he  starved  his  mother  to  death,  and  after- 
ward put  his  beloved  brother  to  death, 
only  upon  wicked  suggestions  of  malicious 
tongues. 

These  suggestions  had  no  effect  upon 
him  at  first,  through  the  prevalence  of  his 
affection  for  Antigonus,  and  a  persuasion 
that  they  were  the  dictates  of  malice  and 
envy;  but  happening  to  return  from  the 
army,  on  a  certain  occasion,  in  great  pomp, 
just  upon  the  solemnity  of  the  feast  of 
tabernacles,  Aristobulus  at  the  same  time 
lying  sick,  his  brother  went  up  to  the  tem- 
ple, with  his  guards  about  him,  in  great 
splendour,  upon  the  business  of  religious 
worship,  in  order  to  offer  up  his  prayers 
and  vows  for  the  health  of  his  brother. 

The  fame  of  Antigonus  and  the  magni- 
ficence of  his  retinue,  furnished  matter  for 
a  faction  of  sycophants  and  court  parasites 
to  work  upon ;  so  they  went  immediately 
to  the  king,  with  the  most  virulent  calum- 
nies, saying,  "  This  was  not  a  behaviour 
that  became  the  condition  of  a  private 
man,  but  rather  an  evidence  of  a  design 
upon  the  crown  ;  intimating  that  the  guards 
he  had  then  about  him  would  in  a  short 
time  proceed,  from  this  invasion  upon  his 

which  the  Bible  opened  at  for  him,  were  the  same 
which  Christ  spoke  to  Judas  when  he  came  to  be- 
tray him  :  'Friend,  wherefore  art  thou  come?' 
These  and  the  former  words  for  liis  predecessor, 
alarmed  liis  conscience,  and  brought  him  to  a 
thorough  repentance  for  liis  crimes  ;  and  as  a  fruit 
of  his  repentance  he  built  the  cathedral  church  of 
Norwich,  of  which  he  laid  the  first  stone  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1096. — Prideaux. 


royalty,  to  a  violence  upon  his  person ; 
nor  would  he  be  so  impolitic  as  to  stop  at 
part  of  the  government,  when  he  might 
obtain  the  whole." 

Aristobulus  was  so  divided  between  the 
fear  of  being  too  secure,  or  too  credulous, 
that  though  he  could  not  believe  every 
thing  they  told  him,  yet  at  the  same  time, 
suspected  that  it  was  founded  on  some  just 
ground ;  and  therefore  resolved  to  provide 
for  his  safety,  without  giving  any  proof  of 
jealousy. 

In  his  apartment  in  a  tower,  since  known 
by  the  name   of  Antonia,*   he   posted  a 


*  This  tower  was  originally  called  Earis,  which 
among  the  Eastern  nations  signified  a  palace  or 
royal  castle  ;  and  here  the  Asmonean  princes  took 
up  their  abode,  and  made  it  their  royal  palace  as 
long  as  they  reigned  there.  It  was  built  by  John 
Hyrcanus  on  the  mountain  of  the  temple,  and  sit- 
uated on  its  north  and  west  angle.  Herod  the 
Great,  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  rebuilt,  en- 
larged, and  beautified  it,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Antonia,  in  honour  of  his  friend  Mark  Antony  the 
triumvir,  who  then  governed  the  eastern  provinces 
of  the  Roman  empire.  It  was  built  on  a  rock 
seventy-five  feet  high,  cased  all  over  with  polished 
marble,  so  that  it  was  rendered  on  all  sides  inac- 
cessible except  towards  the  temple.  The  form  ot 
the  building  was  that  of  a  quadrangle,  and  con- 
tained many  apartments,  bagnios,  and  halls,  all 
suitable  to  the  magnificence  of  a  palace.  A  tur- 
ret was  erected  at  eacii  of  the  four  corners,  at  such 
an  elevation  as  to  command  a  view  of  the  temple 
courts,  so  that  should  any  tumult  arise  in  any  part 
of  the  temple,  it  might  from  thence  be  observed, 
and  soldiers  sent  down  to  quell  it.  And  from  hence 
it  was  that  the  tribune  ran  with  his  soldiers  to  res- 
cue Paul  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  who  had 
seized  him  in  the  temple,  and  designed  to  kill 
him.  The  Asrnoneans  having  always  kept  the 
pontifical  robes  .u  'his  fortress,  here  Herod,  on 
his  first  coming  to  the  crown,  found  them,  and 
here  he  continued  still  to  keep  them  in  the  same 
place,  and  so  did  Archelaus  his  successor,  and  the 
Romans  after  him,  all  upon  an  opinion,  that  their 
hiiving  these  robes  in  their  possession  would  be  a 
means  for  the  better  keeping  of  the  Jews  in  awe. 
The  custom  was,  to  lay  them  up  in  a  cabinet  made 
on  purpose  for  it,  under  the  seal  of  the  high-priest 
and  the  treasurer  of  the  temple  ;  and  when  they 
needed  them  for  the  sacred  solemnities  on  which 
they  were  used,  they  exhibited  their  seals  to  the 
captain  of  the  castle,  and  then  had  the  robes 
delivered  to  them  ;  and  when  the  solemnities 
were  over,  they  were  then  again  laid  up  under  the 
same  seals  in  the  same  place;  and  thus  it  con- 
tinued to  be  done,  till  at  length  the  temple,  this 
fortress,  and  the  robes  in  it  were  all  destroyed  in 
the  deflagration  and  total  destruction  of  the  cityo 
Jerusalem  by  Titus  and  his  Romans. — See  Uni- 
versal History,  and  Prideaux"    Connection 


630 


HISTORY   OF 


[Book  IX. 


guard  in  a  dark  place  under-ground,  with 
particular  orders  that  they  should  watch 
Ids  brother  in  this  passage,  and  that  if  he 
came  without  arms,  he  should  pass  unmo- 
lested ;  but  if  he  came  armed  they  should 
kill  him. 

Aristobulus  then  sent  for  his  brother 
to  come  to  him,  charging  the  messenger 
to  bid  him  come  unarmed;  but  the  queen, 
and  the  rest  of  the  conspirators,  tampered 
with  the  messenger,  and  bade  him  tell 
Antigonus  on  the  contrary,  that  his  bro- 
ther had  heard  of  a  very  elegant  suit  of 
armour  he  had,  and  that  he  was  desirous 
of  seeing  how  it  became  him.  As  he  de- 
pended upon  the  good  faith  of  his  brother, 
and  suspected  no  treachery,  he  went  im- 
mediately armed,  just  as  the  messenger 
desired  him.  Upon  his  coming  to  the 
tower  of  Straton,  the  soldiers  fell  upon 
him  in  a  dark  passage  and  slew  him. 

This  disaster  may  suffice  to  show  the 
force  of  envy  and  slander;  and  how  the 
very  best  dispositions  may  be  corrupted 
by  those  temptations. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  circumstance 
was  the  prediction  of  one  Judas,  a  famous 
prophet  of  those  times.  This  Judas,  upon 
the  sight  of  Antigonus,  coming  to  the 
temple,  broke  out  into  exclamations  among 
his  disciples,  that  he  was  now  weary  of 
his  life;  for  that  Antigonus,  whose  death 
he  had  presaged  upon  that  very  day  at 
Straton's  tower  was  yet  alive;  the  place 
six  hundred  furlongs  off,  and  the  day  more 
than  half  spent;  so  that  he  had  utterly 
lost  the  credit  of  a  prophet  for  ever. 
While  he  was  in  this  perplexity  the  news 
arrived  of  Antigonus's  being  slain  in  a 
subterranean  passage  under  the  tower.* 

The  conscious  guilt  of  being  accessary 
to  his  brother's  death,  inflamed  his  distem- 
per to  that  degree,  that  it  brought  on  a 
vomiting  of  blood ;  and  as  one  of  his  ser- 
vants was  carrying  part  of  it  away  in  a 

*  This  was  called  Straton's  tower,  as  well  as 
that  upon  the  coast,  which  was  afterwards  known 
by  the  name  of  Caesarea  ;  and  this  set  the  prophet 
right  again. 


bason,  he  stumbled  upon  the  way,  and 
spilt  it  upon  the  very  blood  of  his  master's 
brother. 

This  accident  caused  such  an  outcry, 
that  Aristobulus  overhearing  it,  could  not 
rest  till  they  told  him  the  meaning  of  it; 
and  the  more  unwilling  they  were  of 
owning  the  truth,  the  more  eaufer  was  he 
to  know  it,  as  men  are  naturally  more 
curious  in  such  cases.  At  length,  through 
importunity  and  menace,  he  extorted  it 
from  them,  and  in  the  horrors  of  con- 
science thus  expostulated  with  groans  and 
tears:  "The  all-seeing  eye  of  God  hath 
found  me  out  in  my  wickedness,  and  my 
brother's  blood  hath  already  brought  down 
a  vengeance  upon  me.  How  long  shall 
this  shameless  carcase  maintain  a  life  so 
justly  forfeited  to  the  ashes  of  my  dear 
mother  and  brother!  Why  do  I  not  rather 
die  once  for  all,  than  bleed  to  death  thus 
drop  by  drop,  as  if  my  sufferings  could  be 
an  atonement  for  the  guilt  of  parricide!  " 
He  had  no  sooner  uttered  these  words 
than  he  gave  up  the  ghost,  having  govern- 
ed only  one  year,  under  the  surname 
Philellen;  that  is  to  say,  a  lover  of  the 
Greeks. 

He  gained  many  advantages  to  his 
country;  made  war  upon  Iturea,f  and 
joined  a  considerable  part  of  it  to  the 
territory  of  Judea,  forcing  the  people 
upon  pain  of  banishment,  to  submit  to 
circumcision,  and  live  in  a  conformity  to 
the  other  rites  and  practices  of  the  Jews. 

He  was  accounted  otherwise  a  person 
of  modesty  and  justice,  as  Strabo  vouches 
for  him  in  these  words :  "  He  was  a 
righteous  man,  and  in  many  respects  a 
friend  to  the  Jews;  for  he  enlarged  their 
jurisdiction  by  annexing  to  it  Iturea,  unit- 
ing the  people  also  into  one  common  bond 
of  circumcision." 


f  The  country  of  Iturea  bordered  upon  the 
north-eastern  part  of  the  land  of  Israel.  It  was 
called  Iturea  from  Itur,  one  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael, 
who  in  our  English  version  is  wrongly  called  Jetur. 
This  country  is  the  same  which  is  sometimes  called 
Auronitis.  As  Idumea  lay  at  one  end  of  the  land 
of  Israel,  so  Iturea  lay  at  the  other. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


631 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Salome  releases  the  brothers  imprisoned  by 
Aristobulus,  and  places  the  elder  upon  the 
throne;  who  puts  one  of  his  brothers  to  death. 
■ — Divers  contests  between  Alexander  and 
Ptolemy  with  various  success.  —  Cleopatra 
espouses  the  cause  of  the  Jews,  with  great 
success,  and  after  the  death  of  Ptolemy  enters 
into  alliance  with  Alexander. — Horrid  mas- 
sacre by  the  Jews. — Alexander,  after  various 
fortunes,  falls  in  an  ambush. — A  rebellion 
ensues  that  proved  very  fatal  to  the  Jews. 

After  the  death  of  Aristobulus,  his  wife 
Salome,  by  the  Greeks  called  Alexandra, 
set  his  brothers  at  liberty  whom  her  hus- 
band had  made  prisoners,  and  placed  Jan- 
nseus,  otherwise  called  Alexander,  upon 
the  throne;  the  eldest,  and  the  most 
moderate  of  the  three. 

Alexander,  therefore,  upon  the  death  of 
Aristobulus,  entered  upon  the  administra- 
tion ;  and  taking  off  one  of  his  brothers 
that  would  have  supplanted  him,  provided 
for  the  other  in  the  humble  state  of  a 
private  life. 

As  soon  as  he  had  settled  the  state,  he 
marched  with  his  army  to  Ptolemais, 
where  he  encountered  a  body  of  the  ene- 
my in  the  field  ;  beat  them  into  the  town, 
and  then  shut  them  up  in  it.  There  was 
only  this  place  and  Gaza,  of  all  the  sea- 
coast  towns  that  stood  out,  besides  Dora, 
and  the  tower  of  Straton,  in  the  hands  of 
Zoilus. 

As  Antiochus  Philometor,  and  his  bro- 
ther Antiochus  Cyzicenus,  were  engaged 
in  a  war  one  with  another,  there  was  no 
hope  of  any  relief  to  the  people  of  Ptole- 
mais from  them. 

The  besieged,  in  fine,  had  no  prospect 
of  relief,  but  from  Egypt,  and  especially 
from   Ptolemy  Lathyrus,*  who  had  been 


*  This  Ptolemy,  surnamed  Lathyrus,  from  an 
excrescence  like  a  pea  on  the  nose,  by  his  mother 
Cleopatra  was  made  king  of  Egypt,  but  by  his 
affecting  to  reign  without  her,  he  so  far  incurred 
her  displeasure,  that  she  procured  his  expulsion 
by  this  artifice.  Some  of  her  favourite  eunuchs 
6he  caused  to  be  wounded  :  and  then  bringing 
them  out  into  the  public  assembly  of  the  Alexan- 


driven  out  of  his  kingdom  by  his  mother 
Cleopatra,  and  was  now  withdrawn  into 
Cyprus :  so  that  they  sent  ambassadors  to 
Ptolemy  to  desire  his  aid  against  Alexan- 
der; not  doubting,  but  that  as  soon  as  he 
should  set  foot  in  Syria,  the  people  of 
Gaza  and  Ptolemais  would  all  declare  in 
his  favour;  beside  that,  Zoilus,  the  Sidon- 
ians,  and  other  people  in  those  parts  would 
certainly  join  him. 

The  king  was  so  elevated  with  these 
assurances,  that  he  set  his  people  imme- 
diately upon  equipping  of  a  fleet  for  the 
expedition;  but  while  they  were  thus 
employed,  one  Demenetus,  a  person  of 
great  credit  with  the  citizens  of  Ptolemais, 
brought  the  people  to  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  matter,  by  reasoning  with  them 
about  it  after  this  manner:  "The  import- 
ant point  is  this,   whether  you   had  not 

drians,  she  there  pretended,  that  they  had  suffered 
this  from  Lathyrus,  in  defence  of  her  person 
against  him,  and  thereupon  accused  him  of  having 
made  an  attempt  upon  her  life  ;  and  by  this 
means  she  so  far  incensed  the  people,  that  they 
rose  in  a  general  uproar  against  him,  and  would 
have  torn  him  in  pieces,  had  he  not  fled  for  his 
life.  Lathyrus,  banished  from  Egypt,  became 
king  of  Cyprus,  and  soon  after  he  appeared  at  the 
head  of  a  large  army  to  make  war  against  Alex- 
ander Jannasus,  king  of  Judaea,  through  whose 
assistance  and  intrigue  he  had  been  expelled  by 
Cleopatra.  The  Jewish  monarch  was  conquered, 
and  50,000  of  his  men  were  left  on  the  held  of 
battle.  Lathyrus,  after  he  had  exercised  the 
greatest  cruelty  upon  the  Jews,  and  made  vain 
attempts  to  recover  the  kingdom  of  Egypt,  retired 
to  Cyprus  till  the  death  of  his  brother  Alexander 
restored  him  to  his  native  dominions.  Some  of 
the  cities  of  Egypt  refused  to  acknowledge  him  as 
their  sovereign,  and  Thebes,  for  its  obstinacy,  was 
closely  besieged  for  three  successive  years,  and 
from  a  powerful  and  populous  city  it  was  reduced 
to  ruins.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  Lathyrus 
was  called  upon  to  assist  the  Romans  with  a  navy 
for  the  conquest  of  Athens,  but  Lucullus,  who 
had  been  sent  to  obtain  the  wanted  supply,  though 
received  with  kingly  honours,  was  dismissed  with 
evasive  and  unsatisfactory  answers,  and  the  mon- 
arch refused  to  part  with  troops  which  he  deemed 
necessary  to  preserve  the  peace  of  his  kingdom. 
Lathyrus  died  81  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
after  a  reign  of  thirty-six  years  since  the  death  of 
his  father  Physcon,  eleven  of  which  he  had  passed 
with  his  mother  Cleopatra  on  the  Egyptian  throne, 
eighteen  in  Cyprus,  and  seven  after  his  mother's 
death.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  only  daughter 
Cleopatra,  whom  Alexander,  the  son  of  Ptolemy 
Alexander,  by  means  of  the  dictator  Sylla,  soon 
after  married  and  murdered. — Justin  and  Prideaux. 


632 


HISTORY  OF 


[Hook  IX. 


better  stand  to  the  fate  of  the  war 
you  are  engaged  in  with  the  Jews,  and 
venture  the  uncertain  issue  of  it,  than  by 
calling  in  and  delivering  yourselves  -up  to 
the  protection  of  a  foreign  power,  incur  a 
certain  slavery;  and  not  only  become  in- 
volved in  a  present  broil,  but  run  the  risk 
of  a  more  dangerous  incumbrance  that 
threatens  you  from  Egypt;  for  you  cannot 
think  that  Cleopatra  will  remain  inactive 
and    see    Ptolemy  form    his    troops;    the 


queen    will   rather    get    beforehand    with    trate    this    design   of   Ptolemy,    levied   a 


upon  Zoilus;  but  being  informed  that 
there  was  an  intrigue  carried  on  between 
Alexander  and  Cleopatra,  he  looked  upon 
the  league  as  violated,  and  laid  siege  to 
Ptolemais,  where  the  gates  were  shut 
against  him.  Upon  this  he  divided  his 
army,  leaving  one  part  of  it  before  the 
town  to  carry  on  the  siege,  and  marching 
off  with  the  remainder  of  it  himself,  to  lay 
waste  the  country  of  Judea. 

Alexander,  on  the  other  hand,  to  frus- 


him,  and  have  a  potent  army  at  his  back 
before  he  is  ready  for  it;  besides  the 
hazard  he  runs  of  being  driven  out  of 
Cyprus.  Besides,  if  Ptolemy  should  fail 
in  his  design,  and  be  forced  back  to 
Cyprus,  you  will  be  exposed  to  the 
greatest  dangers  and  difficulties." 

This  remonstrance  dissuaded  them  from 
their  design  of  the  embassy,  and  Ptolemy 
was  informed  of  the  same  upon  his  pas- 
sage; however,  since  he  was  in  motion,  he 


formidable  army  of  his  own  people;  and 
advanced  with  it  against  the  enemy. 
Ptolemy,  in  the  mean  time,  taking  the 
advantage  of  a  sabbath  day,  fell  upon 
Asochis,  a  city  of  Galilee,  and  took  it  by 
assault  with  about  ten  thousand  prisoners, 
and  a  vast  booty. 

After  the  taking  of  Asochis,  Ptolemy 
attacked  Sepphoris,  an  adjacent  place, 
where  he  was  repulsed  with  a  considerable 
loss,  and  from  thence  marched  directly  to 


continued  his  course   to  Sycamin,  where  j  hazard   an   engagement  with    Alexander, 


he  landed  an  army  of  about  thirty  thou- 
sand horse  and  foot,  marching  thence  to 
Ptolemais,  with  an  intent  to  send  an  em- 
bassy to  the  city;  but  when  he  found 
that  they  would  neither  regard  his  mes- 


whom  he  found  near  the  river  Jordan, 
and  encamped  over  against  the  enemy. 
Alexander  had  in  his  van  eight  thousand 
of  those  they  call  Hacatontomachi,  armed 
with  brazen  bucklers,  and  Ptolemy's  men 


sage,  Jior  personal  application,  it  greatly  I  in  the  front  had  the  same  sort  of  shields; 
perplexed  him,  and  while  he  was  involved  !  but  the  generality  of  his  people  not  being 


in  this  dilemma,  Zoilus  and  some  deputies 
from  Gaza  arrived  to  implore  his  assistance 
against  the  Jews  and  Alexander,  that  were 
making  havoc  in  their  country. 

Alexander,   upon   this,   was   forced    to 
raise  the  siege:  and  when  he  found  that 


so  well  armed  as  their  adversaries,  were 
not  very  desirous  of  engaging  till  one 
Philostephanus,  a  gallant  and  experienced 
officer  who  had  the  conduet  of  them,  led 
them  on  and  encouraged  them  to  sustain 
the  encounter.     The  first  word  of  corn- 


nothing  was  to  be  effected   by  force,  he    mand  was  to  pass  the  river  that  parted 


had  recourse  to  stratagem.  He  privately 
treated  with  Cleopatra  against  Ptolemy, 
and  at  the  same  time  kept  fair  with 
Ptolemy,    under    the    countenance    of    a 


the  two  armies;  which  Alexander  did  not 
oppose,  in  confidence  of  obtaining  the 
victory,  if  he  could  but  engage  the  enemy 
with    the   river    behind    them    to  cut  off 


friend  and  an  ally;  proposing  to  give  him  ,  their  retreat.      When  it  came  to  the  point, 

four  hundred  talents  of  silver  upon  condi-  the   fortune   of  the   battle    was   doubtful, 

tion  of  delivering  up  the  usurper  Zoilus  and  it  was  maintained  with  great  loss  on 

into  his  hands,  and  restoring  to  the  Jews  both   sides:   for  some   time,  one  of  Pto- 

their  lands  which  he  had  in  possession.  lemy's  divisions  giving  way,   the  victory 

Ptolemy   without    hesitation    embraced  seemed     to    incline    to    Alexander;     but 

the  friendship  of  Alexander,  and  seized  Philostephanus  coming  up  to  their  relief 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


633 


with  a  seasonable  reinforcement,  that 
wing  of  the  Jews  was  overpowered  by 
numbers,  and  broken;  and  no  succour 
appearing,  they  were  forced  to  fly,  and 
the  whole  field  followed  their  example; 
Ptolemy's  men  pursuing  them  with  great 
slaughter. 

According  to  some  historians,  Alexan- 
der lost  in  this  battle  and  pursuit  no  less 
than  fifty  thousand  men. 

After  this  bloody  victory,  Ptolemy,  in 
the  evening,  went  into  some  of  the  Jews' 
villages  and  habitations,  and  finding  them 
crowded  with  women  and  children,  order- 
ed his  soldiers  to  put  them  to  the  sword 
promiscuously,  and  hew  them  into  quar- 
ters, and  boil  them,  as  a  terror  to  those 
that  escaped  from  the  battle,  when  they 
should  find  themselves  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  an  enemy  that  lived  upon  human 
flesh. 

Cleopatra,  alarmed  at  the  growing 
power  of  her  son  Lathyrus,  who  had  re- 
duced Gaza,  and  laid  waste  the  land  of 
Judea,  thought  it  necessary  to  curb  his 
ambition,  especially  as  he  was  come  to 
the  gates  of  Egypt  with  a  design  upon 
the  kingdom.  Therefore  she  mustered, 
without  delay,  her  utmost  force,  naval 
and  military,  constituting  Chelcias  and 
Ananias,  two  Jews,  generals. 

She  sent  the  greatest  part  of  her  trea- 
sure, with  her  grand-children,  and  her 
last  will  and  testament  into  the  isle  of 
Cos;*  and  ordered  her  son  Alexander 
with  a  powerful  army  into  Phcenice,  to 
keep  that  province  in  obedience,  while 
she  herself  went  to  Ptolemais;  and  being 
refused  admittance,  ordered  an  assault  to 
be  made  upon  the  town.  Ptolemy,  upon 
this  quitted  Syria,  and  hastened  away  in- 
to Egypt,  flattering  himself  that  his  un- 
expected arrival  in  the  queen's  absence 
would  tend  to  his  success;  but  Cleopatra 


*  This  isle  or  city  is  not  that  remote  island  in 
the  iEgean  sea,  famous  for  the  birth  of  the  great 
Hippocrates,  but  a  city  or  island  of  the  same  name 
adjoining  to  Egypt,  mentioned  both  by  Stephanus 
and  Ptolemy,  as  Dr  Hudson  informs  us. 


was  prepared  for  him,  though  she  had  the 
misfortune  at  this  time  to  lose  Chelcias, 
one  of  her  generals,  as  he  was  in  the  pur- 
suit of  Ptolemy  in  Ccelo-syria. 

Upon  Ptolemy's  miscarriage  in  this 
attempt  upon  Egypt,  the  queen  sent  a 
strong  detachment  after  him,  that  drove 
him  quite  out  of  his  country  a  second 
time,  and  forced  him  to  take  up  his  win- 
ter-quarters in  Gaza.  She  herself,  in  the 
mean  time,  taking  the  city  and  garrison 
of  Ptolemais  by  assault,  where  compli- 
mentary honours  mutually  passed  between 
the  queen  and  Alexander,  and  Cleopatra 
was  particularly  saluted  for  her  generous 
assistance  of  an  unfortunate  prince  under 
the  persecution  and  oppression  of  a  com- 
mon enemy. 

Some  of  the  queen's  friends  persuaded 
her  to  pursue  different  measures,  suggest- 
ing to  her  the  expediency  of  availing  her- 
self of  this  opportunity  to  seize  Alexan- 
der, as  it  was  highly  impolitic  to  leave 
such  a  number  of  Jews  under  the  com- 
mand of  one  man.  But  Ananias  loudly 
exclaimed  against  the  unreasonableness 
of  such  a  proceeding,  as  highly  injurious 
to  all  the  ties  of  hospitality  and  common 
faith,  especially  to  a  friend  and  kinsman, 
under  so  sacred  a  trust;  alleging,  more- 
over, that  one  such  act  of  injustice 
would  turn  against  her  the  hearts  of  all 
honest  Jews  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
The  queen  was  so  pleased  with  the  honest 
simplicity  of  Ananias,  that  she  did  not 
only  treat  Alexander  with  lenity,  but 
renewed  a  league  of  friendship  with  him 
at  Scythopolis,  a  city  of  Coelo-syria. 

No  sooner  was  Alexander  delivered 
from  the  power  of  Ptolemy,  than  he  un- 
dertook an  expedition  into  Ccelo-syria; 
where,  after  a  siege  of  ten  months,  he 
took  Gadara,  and  after  that,  Amathus,  a 
strong  fort  upon  the  river  Jordan,  and 
the  place  where  Theodorus  the  son  of 
Zeno,  in  an  outrage  of  revenge,  fell  upon 
the  Jews  by  surprise,  cut  off  ten  thousand 
of  their  men,  and  took  Alexander's  bag- 
gage: but  this  unexpected  disaster  did 
4l 


634 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX 


not  divert  the  king  from  his  design  upon 
Raphia,  a  sea-coast  town,  and  Anthedon, 
which  was  afterwards  by  Herod  called 
Agrippias;  both  which  he  reduced  by 
force. 

Ptolemy  had  by  this  time  left  Gaza, 
and  betaken  himself  into  Cyprus,*  his 
mother  Cleopatra  also  being  returned  to 
Egypt,  so  that  Alexander  took  this  occa- 
sion of  revenging  himself  upon  the  people 
of  Gaza  for  calling  in  Ptolemy  to  their 
succour  against  him;  laid  siege  to  the 
town,  and  at  the  same  time  ravaged  their 
country. 

While  Alexander  was  before  Gaza, 
Apollodotus  their  commander  made  a 
resolute  sally  in  the  night  with  two  thou- 
sand mercenaries,  and  ten  thousand  of  the 
citizens  well  armed,  upon  the  camp  of  the 
Jews;  and  as  long  as  it  was  dark  the  be- 
sieged had  success,  upon  an  apprehension 
of  Ptolemy's  being  come  up  with  relief; 
but  no  sooner  did  the  day  break  than  the 
Jews  rallied,  and  so  furiously  charged  the 
garrison,  that  they  destroyed  a  thousand 
of  their  men;  but  the  courage  of  these 
people  was  proof  still  against  all  the  diffi- 
culties of  number,  force,  nay,  famine  itself; 
being  resolved  rather  to  abide  all  extrem- 
ities, than  shrink,  or  yield  to  an  enemy. 

And  as  a  further  encouragement,  they 
were  animated  by  Aretas,  an  Arabian 
king,  with  the  promise  of  a  timely  suc- 
cour. But  all  this  availed  nothing,  for 
before  any  supply  could  be  brought, 
Apollodotus  was  killed,  and  the  town  tak- 
en.    This  Apollodotus  was  murdered  by 


*  An  island  of  the  Mediterranean  sea,  situated 
between  Cilicia  and  Syria.  It  extends  in  length 
from  east  to  west  about  two  hundred  miles,  and 
about  sixty  in  breadth.  The  ancients  were  of 
opinion  that  it  took  its  name  from  the  cypress 
tree,  which  there  grows  in  great  abundance.  It 
was  formerly  much  celebrated  for  its  fertility :  but 
not  less  so  for  its  luxury  and  the  obscene  practices 
of  its  inhabitants.  It  gave  the  name  of  Cypris  or 
Cypria  to  Venus,  who,  in  the  times  of  heathenish 
darkness,  here  bore  sovereign  sway,  and  was  wor- 
shipped as  their  favourite  goddess.  Women  were 
consecrated  to  her  service,  and  by  law  compelled 
to  prostitute  themselves  to  strangers. — Jones. 


Lysimachus,  his  own  brother,  from  an 
ignoble  motive  of  envy  for  the  reputation 
he  had  gained  among  the  people. 

After  the  fact,  he  assembled  a  party, 
and  delivered  up  the  city  to  Alexander. 
This  prince,  upon  his  first  entrance,  be- 
haved himself  with  moderation  ;  but  this 
disposition  did  not  long  prevail,  for  soon 
after  he  permitted  his  soldiers  to  kill, 
burn,  and  destroy  at  pleasure.  This  li- 
cense they  extended  into  an  absolute  mas- 
sacre, though  it  cost  them  dear  enough ; 
for  there  died  as  many  of  the  Jews  as  of 
the  townsmen. 

Some,  to  anticipate  the  fury  of  the 
enemy,  set  fire  to  their  own  houses,  others 
laid  violent  hands  upon  their  very  wives 
and  children,  choosing  rather  to  have 
them  die  free,  than  live  slaves. 

The  magistracy  happened  to  be  in  coun- 
cil when  these  barbarous  troops  came  into 
the  city,  and  the  senators,  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred,  fled  immediately  to  the 
temple  of  Apollo  for  sanctuary ;  but  they 
were  all  slaughtered  to  a  man,  the  town 
sacked  and  levelled  ;  and  Alexander,  after 
a  year  spent  before  it,  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

While  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  was  in 
possession  of  the  government  of  Syria, 
there  was  another  Antiochus,  the  brother 
of  Seleucus,  who  made  war  upon  him, 
wherein  he  lost  his  life  and  his  army; 
after  which  his  brother  Philip  took  the 
crown  to  himself,  and  governed  part  of 
Syria.  Ptolemy  Lathyrus  upon  this  sent 
for  his  fourth  brother  Demetrius  Eucerus, 
to  Cnidus,  whom  he  constituted  king  of 
Damascus.  Antiochus,  for  the  time  he 
lived,  made  a  stout  resistance  against  his 
brothers ;  but  being  called  soon  after  to  the 
assistance  of  Laodice,  the  queen  of  the 
Gileadites,  who  was  then  in  war  with  the 
Parthians,  he  was  slain  in  the  field  with 
his  sword  in  his  hand,  behaving  himself 
like  a  man  of  honour  and  resolution  ;  and 
after  his  death  the  government  of  Syria 
descended  to  his  two  brothers,  Philip  and 
Demetrius. 


Chap.  VIII.J  THE  BIBLE. 

About  this  time  there  broke  out  a  re- 
bellion, which  continued  six  years,  and 
cost  the  Jews  no  less  than  fifty  thousand 
lives. 

The  king  was  weary  of  the  war,  sought 
for  a  reconciliation,  but  could  not  effect 
it:  and  such  was  the  aversion  of  the  peo- 
ple to  his  government,  that  when  he  re- 
quired of  them  what  he  should  do  to  ap- 
pease them,  they  unanimously  desired  him 
to  cut  his  own  throat ,  and  thereupon  in- 
vited Demetrius  Eucerus  to  their  aid. 


635 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Various  contests  between  Demetrius  and  Alex- 
ander.— Horrible  instance  of  cruelty  in  the 
latter. — Death  of  Demetrius  and  Alexander. 
— Lamentation  of  his  queen. — State  ofJudea 
under  her  government. — Sect  of  the  Pharisees 
rule  in  her  name. — Divers  transactions  be- 
tween Alexandra  and  other  persons. — Aristo- 
bulus,  her  son,  endeavours  to  supplant  her. — 
Her  death  and  character. 

Demetrius  Eucerus,  in  conjunction  with 
those  who  invited  him,  marched  to  their 
assistance  with  an  army  of  three  thousand 
horse,  and  forty  thousand  foot,  and  en- 
camped near  Shechem,  where  Alexander, 
with  about  six  thousand  and  two  hundred 
foreign  mercenaries,  and  twenty  thousand 
of  his  own  faction,  went  out  to  meet  him. 

The  armies  being  drawn  up,  a  bloody 
battle  ensued,  in  which  Demetrius  ob- 
tained the  victory,  so  that  Alexander  was 
forced  to  fly  to  the  mountains  for  refuge ; 
where,  by  a  strange  turn  of  compassion 
for  his  misfortune,  six  thousand  Jews  came 
up  and  joined  him. 

Demetrius,  alarmed  at  this  sudden  rein- 
forcement, withdrew  his  army  and  retired : 
but  the  Jews  maintained  .their  ground, 
and  carried  on  the  war  against  Alexander, 
by  dint  of  their  own  resolution  and  credit; 
notwithstanding  they  were  perpetually 
baffled  and  cut  to  pieces  whenever  they 
engaged. 

They  were  compelled  at  length  with 
i3ae  best  of  their  men  to  betake  themselves 
to  Bethome  for  protection,  where  Alex- 


ander   shut    them    up ;    and,    taking    the 
town,  carried  the  people  prisoners  to  Jer- 
usalem, where  he  committed  the  most  exe- 
I  crable  barbarities. 

As  he  was  feasting  with  his  concubines, 
in  a  turret  that  commanded  a  large  pros- 
pect, he  made  it  part  of  his  entertain- 
'  ment  to  treat  his  company  with  the  spec- 
|  tacle  of  crucifying  eight  hundred  Jews, 
and  ordering  their  wives  and  children  to 
be  slain  before  their  eyes. 

This  barbarity  rendered  Alexander  so 
detestable,  that  the  Jews  gave  him  the 
appellation  of  Thracidas.*  There  were 
about  eight  thousand  of  the  army  that 
escaped  by  night,  and  spent  their  days 
afterward  in  a  kind  ot  banishment,  during 
his  life. 

Demetrius  having  advanced  to  Berea, 
and  laid  siege  to  that  place,  was  so  power- 
fully opposed,  that  he  was  compelled  to 
surrender,  and  afterward  sent  to  Mithri- 
dates,  the  king  of  Parthia,  who  treated 
him  with  great  respect,  till  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  happened  shortly  after 
his  late  defeat. 

Alexander  addicted  himself  toward  the 
end  of  his  reign  to  intemperance  and  de- 
bauchery of  every  kind,  which  brought 
on  a  quartan  ague  that  continued  three 
years;  but  at  the  same  time  he  attended 
to  the  offices  of  state,  insomuch  that 
through  the  pressure  of  his  disorder,  and 
the  fatigue  of  government,  he  expired  at 
the  close  of  that  term,  upon  the  frontiers 
of  the  Gerasens,  at  the  siege  of  the  castle 
of  Ragaba,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river 
Jordan. 

When  queen  Alexandra  found  him  re- 
duced to  the  last  extremity,  she  lamented 
the  fate  of  herself  and  children  in  terms 
to   this   effect:      "Alas!    my    dear  lord, 


*  This  name  Thracidas,  which  the  Jews  gave 
Alexander,   must,    by    the    coherence,   denote   as 
barbarous  as  a  Thracian,  or  something  like  it ;  be- 
cause the  Thracians  were  remarkably  cruel  and 
barbarous  in  their  natural  dispositions,  as  appears 
from  Thncydides  and  other  historians.     They  were 
I  addicted  to  drinking  and  venereal  pleasures,  and 
i  they   sacrificed    without    the   smallest    humanity 
j  their  enemies  on  the  altars  of  their  gods. 


636 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  IX. 


what  will  become  of  your  wife  and  child- 
ren, without  one  friend  in  the  world,  and 
left  exposed  to  your  mortal  enemies." 
Alexander,  in  consequence  of  this  lamen- 
tation, thus  advised  her :  "  If  you  would 
be  safe  and  happy  when  I  am  dead,  and 
quietly  succeed  to  the  government,  follow 
my  counsel.  In  the  first  place,  keep  my 
death  concealed  from  the  soldiers  till  the 
castle  is  taken,  and  then  triumphantly  go 
to  Jerusalem  with  the  news  of  it.  Make 
your  court  to  the  Pharisees;  for  your 
character  will  rise  or  fall,  according  to 
their  opinion  of  you.  I  speak  this  by 
experience ;  for  it  has  been  my  morose- 
ness  toward  this  sect,  that  has  turned  the 
hearts  of  the  whole  nation  against  me. 
Therefore  when  you  come  to  Jerusalem, 
send  for  some  of  the  leading  men  of  that 
sect,  and  lay  before  them,  that  out  of  the 
reverence  you  have  for  their  generosity, 
piety,  and  justice,  you  do  now  deliver  up 
the  body  to  be  disposed  of  as  to  their  wis- 
dom shall  seem  meet;  assuring  them  that 
you  shall  ever  resign  yourself  to  their  au- 
thority, not  only  in  this,  but  in  all  other 
matters  of  a  public  nature.  Follow  these 
measures,  and  depend  upon  it  there  will 
be  a  care  taken  for  an  honourable  and 
magnificent  funeral,  and  for  the  settling 
of  yourself  and  children  in  .the  exercise  of 
your  lawful  power.  Let  them  have  the 
rule  over  you,  and  it  will  be  their  concern 
to  establish  you  in  a  peaceable  rule  over 
others."* 


*  It  seems  by  this  dying  advice  of  Alexander 
Jannaeus  to  bis  wife,  tbat  be  bad  himself  pursued 
tbe  measures  of  bis  fatber  Hyrcanus,  and  taken 
part  witb  tbe  Sadducees,  wbo  kept  close  to  the 
written  law  against  tbe  Pharisees,  wbo  bad  intro- 
duced their  own  traditions  ;  and  that  be  now  saw 
a  political  necessity  or"  submitting  to  the  Pharisees 
and  their  traditions  hereafter,  if  his  widow  and 
family  minded  to  retain  their  monarchical  govern- 
ment or  tyranny  over  the  Jewish  nation  :  which 
6ect  yet,  thus  supported,  were  at  last  in  a  great 
measure  the  ruin  of  the  religion,  government,  and 
nation  of  the  Jews,  and  brought  them  into  so 
wicked  a  state,  that  the  vengeance  of  God  came 
upon  them  to  their  utter  excision.  Just  thus 
did  Caiaphas  politically  advise  tbe  Jewish  sanhe- 
drim, John  xi.  50,  '  that  it  was  expedient  for  them 
that  one  man  should  die  for  the  people,  and  that 


As  soon  as  he  had  given  this  advice  to 
his  wife  he  expired,  in  the  nine  and  forti- 
eth year  of  his  age,  and  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  his  reign. 

As  soon  as  the  castle  of  Rao-aba  was 
taken,  Alexandra  applied  herself  to  the 
Pharisees,  according  to  her  husband's  di- 
rections, leaving  the  body,  and  the  con- 
cerns of  the  government,  to  their  disposal. 
By  this  means  the  Pharisees,  who  before 
had  been  her  greatest  enemies,  became 
her  greatest  friends;  haranguing  the  peo- 
ple on  the  glorious  exploits  of  Alexander, 
the  irreparable  loss  of  so  just  a  prince; 
and  by  these  rhetorical  strokes  raised  the 
passions  of  the  multitude  to  such  a  pitch 
of  sorrow,  that  they  thought  him  worthy 
of  a  funeral  solemnity  beyond  his  prede- 
cessors. 

So  great  was  the  power  and  influence 
of  the  Pharisees,  that  the  queen  might  be 
said  merely  to  execute  their  orders.  She 
appointed  the  revival  of  the  Pharisaical 
ordinances  and  traditions,  which  her  fa- 
ther-in-law Hyrcanus  had  abolished ;  and 
every  thing  was  transacted  in  the  queen's 
name  by  their  power. 

In  some  few  cases,  indeed,  she  acted  by 
her  own  proper  authority ;  for  instance, 
she  kept  a  mercenary  army  in  pay,  and 
augmented  her  forces  to  such  a  degree, 
that  the  kings,  her  neighbours,  stood  in 
awe  of  her,  as  appeared  by  the  security 
they  gave  her  as  hostages  for  their  good 
behaviour.  Her  reign  would  have  been 
quiet  and  easy,  had  she  not  frequently 
been  embroiled  at  the  instigation  of  this 
turbulent  sect,  when  they  pressed  her  for 
justice  upon  those  that  advised  the  death 


the  whole  nation  perish  not :'  and  this,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  own  political  supposal  ver.  48, 
that,  '  If  they  let  Jesus  alone,'  with  bis  miracles, 
'all  men  would  believe  on  him;  and  the  Romans 
would  come  and  take  away  both  their  place  and 
nation  ;'  which  political  crucifixion  of  Jesus  ot 
Nazareth  brought  down  the  vengeance  of  God  up- 
on them,  and  occasioned  those  very  Romans,  of 
whom  they  seemed  so  much  afraid,  that  to  prevent 
it  they  put  him  to  death,  actually  to  'come  and 
take  away  both  their  place  and  nation,'  within 
thirty-eight  years  afterwards. —  Whiston. 


Ckap.  VIII.] 

of  the  eight  hundred  persona  that  were 
cruelly  massacred. 

She  was  so  wrought  upon  by  their  re- 
monstrances and  expostulations,  that  she 
put  the  malcontents  in  possession  of  strong- 
holds and  garrisons,  upon  condition  that 
Hyrcania,  Alexandrium,  and  Macherus, 
where  she  deposited  her  jewels,  treasure, 
and  rich  goods,  might  be  freed  from  their 
jurisdiction. 

She  sent  her  son  Aristobulus  with  an 
army  toward  Damascus  against  Ptolemy, 
who  was  called  Menneus;  but  he  return- 
ed soon  after  from  that  expedition,  without 
doing  any  thing  of  moment. 

While  things  were  in  this  posture  a  re- 
port arrived  that  Tigranes,*  king  of  Ar- 
menia, was  advanced  into  Syria,  with  an 
army  of  five  hundred  thousand  men,  with 
a  design  to  march  suddenly  into  Judea. 

Alexandra  was  so  alarmed  at  this  intel- 
ligence, that  she  sent  ambassadors  with 
presents  to  Tigranes,  who  was  at  that 
time  before  Ptolemais. 

The   queen   Selene,f  otherwise  called 


THE  BIBLE. 


f>;37 


*  This  Armenian  king  married  Cleopatra,  the 
daughter  of  Mithridates,  and  it  was  by  the  advice 
of  his  father-in-law  that  he  declared  war  against 
the  Romans.  He  assumed  to  himself  the  title  of 
king  of  kings  ;  and  to  make  his  claim  to  it  the 
better  appear,  having  taken  several  petty  prisoners 
in  his  wars  with  them,  he  made  them  wait  on  him 
as  his  domestic  servants.  He  never  went  abroad 
but  he  had  four  of  them  to  attend  him;  two  run- 
ning by  him  on  one  side  of  his  horse,  and  two 
on  the  other  ;  and  thus,  in  like  manner,  he  was 
served  by  some  of  them  at  his  table,  in  his  bed- 
chamber, and  on  all  other  occasions,  but  more  es- 
pecially when  he  gave  audience  to  ambassadors ; 
for  then,  to  make  the  greater  ostentation  of  his 
glory  to  foreign  nations,  he  made  all  these  captive 
kings  in  the  posture  and  habit  of  servants,  to  range 
themselves  on  each  side  of  him.  He  despised  the 
Romans  when  at  a  distance,  and  even  ordered  the 
head  of  the  messenger  to  be  cut  off  who  first  told 
him  that  the  Roman  general  was  boldly  advancing 
towards  his  capital.  But  as  proud  as  he  was, 
when  once  he  came  to  feel  the  power  of  the  Ro- 
man arms,  he  was  soon  brought  into  such  a  state 
of  mean  and  abject  humiliation,  that  when  he  ap- 
peared before  Pompey,  he  plucked  his  crown,  or 
royal  tiara  from  off  his  head,  and  cast  himself  pro- 
strate on  the  ground  before  him. — Plutarch. 

f  She  was  daughter  of  Physcon,  king  of  Egypt, 
and  had  first  married  her  brother  Lathyrus,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  her  country,  and  after- 
wards, by  desire  of  her  mother,  her  other  brother 
Grypus.     At  the  death  of  Grypus,  she  bepame 


Cleopatra,  who  then  held  the  government 
of  Syria,  animated  her  subjects  to  siand 
upon  their  guard,  and  oppose  Triganes^ 
entrance  into  the  country. 

The  ambassadors  acquitted  themselves 
so  well  toward  the  king  on  the  behalf  of 
Alexandra,  and  the  whole  nation  of  the 
Jews,  that  with  great  instances  of  respect 
to  the  embassy,  he  gave  them  assurance 
of  all  good  offices  in  return.  In  short,  he 
took  Ptolemais,  and  was  no  sooner  master 
of  it,  than  word  was  brought  him  of  the 
rout   of  Mithridates   by   Lucullus,:}:   the 


the  wife  of  Antiochus,  king  of  Syria.       She  was 
put  to  death  by  Tigranes,  the  Armenian  king. 

\  Mithridates,  the  king  of  Pontus,  lay  at  this 
time  encamped  in  the  plains  of  Cabirae.  He  had 
gained  the  advantage  in  two  actions  fought  with 
Lucullus  the  Roman  general,  but  was  entirely  de- 
feated in  the  third,  and  obliged  to  fly,  without  ei- 
ther servant  or  equery  to  attend  him,  or  a  single 
horse  of  his  stable.  It  was  not  till  after  some 
time,  that  one  of  his  eunuchs,  seeing  him  on  foot 
in  the  midst  of  the  flying  crowd,  got  off  his  horse 
and  gave  it  him.  The  Romans  were  so  near  him, 
that  they  almost  had  him  in  their  hands  ;  and  it 
was  owing  entirely  to  themselves  that  they  did 
not  take  him.  The  avarice  alone  of  the  soldiers 
lost  them  a  prey  which  they  had  pursued  so  long, 
through  so  many  toils,  dangers,  and  battles,  and 
deprived  Lucullus  of  the  sole  reward  of  all  his  vic- 
tories. Mithridates,  says  Cicero,  artfully  imitated 
the  manner  in  which  Medea,  in  the  same  kingdom 
of  Pontus,  formerly  escaped  the  pursuit  of  her  fa- 
ther. That  princess  is  said  to  have  cut  in  pieces 
the  body  of  Absyrtus  her  brother,  and  to  have 
scattered  his  limbs  in  the  places  through  which  her 
father  pursued  her  ;  in  order  that  his  care  in  taking 
up  those  dispersed  members,  and  the  grief  so  sad  a 
spectacle  would  give  him,  might  stop  the  rapidity 
of  his  pursuit.  Mithridates,  in  like  manner  as  he 
fled,  left  upon  the  way  a  great  quantity  of  gold, 
silver,  ind  precious  effects,  which  had  either  de- 
scended to  him  from  his  ancestors,  or  had  been 
amassed  by  himself  in  preceding  wars  :  and  whilst 
the  soldiers  employed  themselves  in  gathering 
those  treasures,  the  king  escaped  their  hands.  So 
that  the  father  of  Medea  was  stopped  in  his  pur- 
suit by  sorrow,  but  the  Romans  by  joy.  After 
this  defeat  of  the  enemy,  Lucullus  took  the  city  of 
Cabirae  with  several  other  places  and  castles,  in 
which  he  found  great  riches.  He  found  also  the 
prisons  full  of  Greeks  and  princes  nearly  related 
to  the  king,  who  were  confined  in  them.  As  those 
unhappy  persons  had  long  given  themselves  over 
for  dead,  the  liberty  they  received  from  Lucullus 
seemed  less  a  deliverance  than  a  new  life  to  them. 
In  one  of  those  castles,  a  sister  of  the  king's,  nam- 
ed Nyssa,  was  also  taken,  which  was  to  her  a  great 
instance  of  good  fortune.  For  the  other  sisters  of 
that  prince,  with  his  wives,  who  had  been  sent 
farther  from  the  danger,  and  who  believed  them- 
selves in  safety  and   repose,,  all  died  miserably, 


63* 


STORY  OP 


[Book  IX. 


escape  upon  pursuit  into  Iberia;  and  that    Upon  tins  intelligence,  Tigranes  immedi- 
when  Lucullus  saw  lie  could  not  overtake    ately  marched  off  with  his  army,  and  re« 


liim,    he  struck  off  into  Armenia,  where 
he  was  at  that  time  ravaging  the  country. 

Mithridates  on   his  flight  having  sent  them  orders 
to   die   bv    Baccliidas   the  eunuch.       Among    the 
other  sisters  of  the  kins;  were  Roxnna  and  Statira, 
both    unmarried,  and    about    forty    years   of  age, 
with    two  of  his   wives,    Berenice  and    Monima, 
both   of    lotia.     All    Greece  spoke  much   of  the 
latter,  whom  they  admired  more  for  her  prudence 
than    her    beauty,    though   exquisite.      The    king 
having   fallen   desperately   in    love  with    her,   had 
forgotten  nothing  that  might  incline  her  to  favour 
his  passion  :  he  sent  her  at  once  15.000  pieces  of 
gold.     She  wns  always  averse  to  him.  and  refused 
his  presents,  till   he  gave  her  the  quality  of  wife 
and  queen,  and  sent  her  the  royal  tiara,  or  diadem, 
an  ess<  ntial  ceremony  in  the  marriage  of  the  kings 
of  those  nations.     Nor  did  she  then  comply  with- 
out extreme  regret,  and   in  compliance  with   the 
wishes  of  her  family,  who  were  dazzled  with  the 
splendour  of  a  crown  and  the  power  of  Mithridates, 
who  was  at  that  time  victorious,  and  at  the  height 
of  his  glory.     From  the  time  of  her  marriage  .to 
the  in-tant  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,    that 
unfortunate  princess  had  passed   her   life  in  con- 
tinual sadness  and  affliction,  lamenting  her   fatal 
beat  i},  which  instead  of  a  husband   had  given  her 
a  master,  and  instead  of  procuring  her  an  honour- 
able abode  and   the  endearments  of  conjugal  so- 
ciety, had  confined  her  in  a  close  prison,  under  a 
guard  of  barbarians ;   where,  far  removed  from  the 
delightful  regions  of  Greece,  she  had  only  enjoyed 
a  dream  of  the  happiness  with  which  she  had  been 
flattered,  and  had  really  lost  that  solid  and  essen- 
tial good  she  possessed  in  her  own  beloved  coun- 
try.     When   Bacchidas  arrived,  and   had  signified 
to  the   princesses  the  order  of  Mithridates,  which 
favoured  them  no  farther  than   to  leave  them  at 
liberty  to  choose  the  kind  of  death  they  should 
think  most  gentle  and  immediate,  Monima,  taking 
the  diadem  from  her  head,  tied  it  round  her  neck, 
and  hung  heiself  up  by  it.     But  that  wreath  not 
being  strong  enough,  and  breaking,  she  cried  out, 
14  Ah,  fatal  trifle,  you  might  at  least  do  me  this 
mournful  office!"     Then,  throwing  it  away  with 
indignation,  she  presented  her  throat  to  Bacchidas. 
As  for  Berenice,  she  took  a  cup  of  poison  ;  and  as 
she  was  going  to  drink  it,  her  mother,  who  was 
present,    desired    to   share    it    with     her.       They 
accordingly   drank    both    together.      The   half  of 
that  poison  sufficed  to  cany  of!'  the  mother,  worn 
out  and  feeble  with  age  ;  but  was  not  enough  to 
surmount    the   strer.gili    add   youth   of    Berenice. 
That    princess  struggled   long   with  death   '.n   the 
most  violent  agonies,  till    Bacchidas,    tired   with 
waiting  the  effects  of  the  poison,  ordered  her  to 
be  strangled. 

The  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Mithridates  was 
marked  by  ambition,  cruelty,  and  avarice.  He 
murdered  his  own  mother,  who  had  been  left  by 
his  father  coheiress  of  the  kingdom,  and  likewise 
put  to  death  the  two  sons  whom  his  sister  Laodice 
had  horn  to  Ariarathes,  king  of  Cappadocia;  and 
placed  one  of  his  children,  only  eight  years  old, 


turned  home, 

The  queen  Alexandra,  some  time  afte 

on  the  vacant  throne.     The  Romans,  indignant  at 
the  artifice  and  cruelty  employed  by  Mithridates 
in  usurping  the  Cappadocian  kingdom,  soon  strip- 
ped  him   of  it, — which   sowed   the  first   seeds  of 
enmity    between    the    king   of    Poutus    and    the 
Romans.     Three   Roman  officers,  L.  Cassius,   M. 
Aquilius,  and    Q.   Oppins,   were  sent   to  oppose 
him    with    the   troops   of   Bithynia,    Cappadocia, 
Paphlagonia,    and    Gallo-iirfecia.       The    army    of 
these  provinces,  together  with  the  Roman  soldiere 
in  Asia,  amounted  to  70,000  men  and  G000  horse. 
The   forces  of  the   king  of  Pontns  were   greatlv 
superior  to  these;   he   led   250  000   foot,   49.000 
horse,  and    130  armed  chariots   into  the   field  of 
battle,  under  the  command  of  Neoptolemus  and 
Archelaus.     In  an  engagement,  the  king  of  Pontus 
gained  the  victory,  and  dispersed  the  Roman  forces 
in  Asia.     Two  of  the  Roman  generals  were  taken, 
and   M.  Aquilius,  who  was  the  principal  cause  of 
the  war,  was  carried  about  in   Asia,  and  exposed 
to  the  ridicule  and  insults  of  the  populace,  and  at 
last    put  to   death    by    Mithridates,   who   ordered 
melted  gold  to  be  poured  down  his  throat,  as  a 
slur  upon  the  avidity  of  the  Romans.      He  never 
lost  an  opportunity  by  which  he  might  lessen  the 
influence  of  his  adversaries  ;  and  the  more  effectu- 
ally to   destroy    their  power   in    Asia   he  ordered 
all  the  Romans  that  were  in  his  dominions  to  be 
massacred.     This  was  done  in  one  night ;  and  no 
less  than  150,000,  according  to  Plutarch,  or  80,000 
Romans,   as    Appian    mentions,   were   made   the 
victims  of  his  cruelty.     This    universal   massacre 
called   aloud    for    revenge ;    and   he   successively 
waged   war  during   many  years  against   the  most 
powerful  people  on  earth,  led   to  the  field  by  a 
Sylla,  a    Lucullus,  and   a    Pompey.     In   the   last 
battle  fought  with   Pompey  a  universal  overthrow 
ensued,  and   Mithridates,  bold  in  his  misfortunes, 
rushed  through  the  thick  ranks  of  the  enemy  at 
the  head  of  800  horsemen,  500  of  which  perished 
in  the  attempt   to   follow    him.     He  fled   to   Ti- 
granes,   but  that   monarch   refused  an  asylum   to 
his  father-in-law,  whom  he  had  before  supported 
with    all    the   collected    forces    of    his    kingdom. 
Mithridates  found  a  safe  retreat  among  the  Scy- 
thians,  and  though  destitute  of  power,  friends,  and 
resources,  yet  he  meditated  the  destruction  of  the 
Roman  empire,  by  penetrating  into  the  heart  of 
Italy  by  land.     These  wild  projects  were  rejected 
by  his  subjects,  and   they,   fearful   to  accompany 
him    in   a    march   of  above  2000   miles  across  a 
barren   and    uncultivated  country,    revolted,   and 
made  his  son   Pharnaces  king.     The  son  allowed 
himself  ungrateful  to  his  father,  and  even,  accord- 
ing  to  some  writers,  ordered   him   to   be  put  to 
death.       Seeing    himself    abandoned    by    all    the 
world,    he    retired    to    his  apartment,    and,   after 
having  given  poison  to  such  of  his  wives,  concu- 
bines, and  daughters  as   were   with    him   at   the 
time,   he  took   the  same   himself;   but   when   he 
perceived  that  it  had  not  its  effect  upon  him,  he 
had    recourse   to   the  sword.      The   wound  not 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


639 


this,  fell  dangerously  sick,  which  gave 
Aristobulus  a  fair  opportunity  of  accom- 
plishing his  design,  so  that,  slipping  out  in 
the  night,  attended  only  by  one  servant, 
he  arrived  privately  at  the  forts  and  castles 
where  his  father's  friends  were  in  garrison. 
He  had  been  a  long  time  dissatisfied  with 
his  mother's  government;  but  considering 
her  present  indisposition,  and  the  danger 
of  the  whole  family's  lying  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Pharisees,  in  case  of  her  death, 
(Hyrcanus,  the  next  in  succession,  being 
utterly  unqualified  for  the  exercise  of  any 
public  charge,)  he  found  himself  extreme- 
ly embarrassed  under  these  circumstances- 
No  person  being  privy  to  his  design,  but 
his  own  wife,  whom  he  left  at  Jerusalem 
with  his  children,  he  went  to  Agada,  where 
he  was  very  generously  entertained  by 
Galestes,  a  person  of  eminence. 

Alexandra  missed  him  the  very  day 
after  his  departure,  but  did  not  suspect  his 
intent  till  she  came  to  understand  by  one 
messenger  after  another,  of  the  surrender 
of  divers  fortresses  to  him.  This  turn  of 
affairs  put  the  queen  and  the  people  into 
great  confusion,  who,  in  order  to  prevent 
his  design,  determined  to  secure  his  wife 
and  children  under  a  guard  in  the  citadel, 
near  the  temple. 


proving  mortal,  a  Gaulish  soldier,  at  his  own  re- 
quest, gave  him  the  fatal  stroke.  Such  was  the 
miserable  end  of  Mithridates  ;  a  prince  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  Roman  authors,  proved  a  more 
powerful  and  indefatigable  adversary  to  the  Ro- 
mans than  the  great  Hannibal  and  Pyrrhus,  Per- 
seus, or  Antiochus.  The  Homans  were  so  over- 
joyed at  his  death  that  they  appointed  no  less 
than  twelve  days  for  pijUic  Uaik J^ivngs  'otfc 
gods  j  and  Pomp  =3),  who  ha  J  part.y  hastened  h.s 
fall,  was  rewarded  with  the  most  uncommon  hon 
ours. — Rollin  and  Lempriere. 


However,  in  the  space  of  fifteen  days, 
he  made  himself  master  of  two  and  twen- 
ty castles.  And  when  he  had  thus  secured 
himself,  he  collected  an  army  from  mount 
Libanus,  Trachonitis,  and  the  princes 
thereabouts,  who  were  forward  enough  to 
assist  the  stronger  side,  from  a  prospect  of 
the  advantages  they  might  reasonably  ex- 
pect for  the  service  of  raising  a  new  king 
to  the  throne.  Upon  this  situation  of 
affairs  Hyrcanus  and  the  elders  of  the  Jews 
applied  themselves  to  the  queen  for  advice 
and  direction  respecting  Aristobulus,  who 
was  now  possessed  of  great  power.  They 
found  her,  to  their  grief%  in  great  danger, 
but  as  long  as  she  lived  they  could  do 
nothing  without  her  acquiescence,  even 
though  they  saw  themselves  upon  the  very 
brink  of  ruin. 

The  queen  replied,  that  not  being  in  a 
condition  to  undertake  the  affairs  of  gov- 
ernment, she  had  laid  all  those  cares  aside, 
and  transferred  them  wholly  on  their  wise 
sect,  who  had  the  means  of  defence  in 
their  own  hands,  the  strength  of  the  na- 
tion entire,  and  wanted  neither  men  nor 
money.  Soon  after  this  address  she  died, 
in  the  ninth  year  of  her  reign,  and  the 
seventy-third  of  her  life. 

This  princess,  though  extremely  ambi- 
tious in  her  disposition,  evinced  an  extra- 
ordinary concern  for  the  due  regulation  of 
her  government,  to  which  she  attended  as 
the  main  object  of  her  pursuit.  She  was 
no  less  eminent  for  her  moderation,  in. 
tegrity,  and  justice,  and  upon  the  whole 
may  be  transmitted  to  Dosterity  as  a  char- 
ar  or  in  div»  i  s  in  i  ,ai  ce:-.>  worthy  of  imi- 
tation. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIB  Li. 


BOOK    X. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

In  all  the  revolutions  to  which  nations  and 
empires  are  subjected,  nothing  comes  to 
pass  by  chance.  The  infinite  Mind  has 
arranged  the  most  minute  circumstances, 
however  varied,  and  however  numerous, 
in  order  to  produce  some  important  re- 
sult. And  whilst  mankind  are  anxiously 
busied  in  perpetuating  the  power  of  their 
families,  in  founding  kingdoms,  and,  if  that 
were  possible,  rendering  them  eternal,  the 
omniscient  God  overthrows  all  their  pro- 
jects, and  makes  even  their  ambition  the 
means  of  executing  his  purposes. 

God  has  vouchsafed  to  discover  to  us, 
in  the  holy  scriptures,  a  part  of  the  re- 
lation of  the  several  nations  of  the  earth 
to  his  own  people ;  and  the  little  so  dis- 
covered, diffuses  great  light  over  the  his- 
tory of  those  nations.  They  alone  dis- 
play and  bring  to  light  the  secret  thoughts 
of  princes,  their  incoherent  projects,  their 
foolish  pride,  their  impious  and  cruel  am- 
bition :  they  reveal  the  true  causes  and 
hidden  springs  of  victories  and  over- 
throws; of  the  grandeur  and  declension 
of  nations ;  and  teach  us  what  judgment 
the  Almighty  forms  both  of  princes  and 
empires,  and  consequently  what  idea  we 
ourselves  ought  to  entertain  of  them. 
And,  besides  the  visible  and  sensible  con- 


nection of  sacred  and  profane  history,  there 
is  another  more  secret  and  more  distinct 
relation  with  respect  to  the  Messiah,  for 
whose  coming  God  prepared  the  heathen 
from  far,  even  by  the  state  of  ignorance 
and  dissoluteness  in  which  he  suffered 
them  to  be  immersed  during  four  thousand 
years.  It  was  to  make  mankind  sensible 
of  the  necessity  of  a  Mediator,  that  he 
permitted  the  nations  to  walk  after  their 
own  ways ;  while  neither  the  light  of  rea- 
son, nor  the  dictates  of  philosophy,  could 
dispel  the  clouds  of  error,  or  reform  their 
depraved  inclinations.  Nevertheless,  the 
Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  universe  darted 
into  the  minds  of  men  the  rays  of  several 
great  truths,  to  dispose  them  for  the  re- 
ception of  others  more  important.  He 
prepared  them  for  the  instructions  of  the 
gospel  by  those  of  philosophers;  and  it 
was  with  this  view  that  God  permitted 
the  heathen  professors  to  examine,  in 
their  schools,  several  questions,  and  estab- 
lish several  principles  which  are  nearly  al- 
lied to  religion.  "  It  is  well  known,"  says 
Rollin,  "that  the  philosophers  inculcated 
the  existence  of  a  God,  the  necessity  of  a 
Providence  that  presides  over  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  the  ultimate  end  of 
man,  the  reward  of  the  good  and  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked,  the  nature  of  those 
duties  which  constitute  the  band  of  soci- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


641 


ety,  the  character  of  the  virtues  that  are 
the  basis  of  morality,  as  prudence,  justice, 
fortitude,  temperance,  and  other  similar 
truths,  which,  though  incapable  of  guid- 
ing men  to  righteousness,  were  yet  of  use 
to  scatter  certain  clouds  and  dispel  cer- 
tain obscurities." 

At  the  time  when  Christ  made  his  ap- 
pearance on  earth,  the  conquests  of  the 
Romans  had  gained  them  almost  universal 
empire ;  and  hence,  says  Mosheim,  "  a 
passage  was  opened  to  the  remotest  coun- 
tries, by  the  communications  which  the 
Romans  formed  between  the  conquered 
provinces.  Hence  also  the  nations,  whose 
manners  were  savage  and  barbarous,  were 
civilized  by  the  laws  and  commerce  of  the 
conquerors.  By  this,  in  short,  the  benign 
influence  of  letters  and  philosophy  was 
spread  abroad  in  countries  which  had  lain 
before  under  the  darkest  ignorance.  And 
all  this  contributed,  no  doubt,  in  a  singular 
manner,  to  facilitate  the  progress  of  the 
gospel,  and  to  crown  the  labours  of  its  first 
ministers  and  heralds  with  success."* 

The  present  section  of  our  work,  which 
comprises  the  history  of  the  Jews  from  the 
death  of  Alexandra  to  the  incarnation  of 
our  blessed  Saviour,  occupies  a  space  of 
nearly  seventy  years.  During  this  time 
the  kingdom  of  Judea  was  governed  suc- 
cessively by  Aristobulus  II.  Hyrcanus  II. 
Antigonus,  and  Herod  the  Great.  With 
Antigonus  ended  the  reign  of  the  Asmo- 
neans,  after  it  had  lasted  from  the  begin- 
ning of  Judas  Maccabeus's  government, 
— a  space  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  years.  On  the  taking  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  Romans,  Herod  was  put  in  com- 
plete possession  of  the  kingdom  of  Judea; 
and  he  proved  a  bitter  scourge  to  the  Jews. 
Having  forced  his  way  to  the  kingdom 
through  a  great  deal  of  blood,  so  he  found 
it  necessary  to  establish  himself  by  the 
same  means,  and  lie  daily  cut  off  such  of 


*  Origen,  among  others,  makes  particular  men- 
tion of  tliis,  in  the  second  book  of  his  answer  to 
Celsus. 


the  opposing  faction  as  he  most  feared. 
Nature,  it  is  true,  had  not  withheld  from 
him  the  talents  requisite  for  a  lofty  and 
brilliant  course  of  life ;  but  such  was  his 
jealous  disposition,  such  the  ferocity  of  his 
temper,  his  devotedness  to  luxury,  pomp, 
and  magnificence,  so  madly  extravagant, 
and  so  much  beyond  his  means ;  in  short, 
so  extensive  and  enormous  was  the  cata- 
logue of  his  vices,  that  he  became  an  ob- 
ject of  utter  detestation  to  the  afflicted 
people  over  whom  he  swayed  the  kingly 
sceptre.  Instead  of  cherishing  and  pro- 
tecting his  subjects,  he  appears  to  have 
made  them  sensible  of  his  authority  mere- 
ly by  oppression  and  violence;  so  that 
they  complained  to  the  emperor  Augus- 
tus, at  Rome,  of  his  cruelties,  declaring 
they  could  not  have  suffered  more  had  a 
wild  beast  reigned  over  them;  and  Euse- 
bius  affirms  that  the  cruelty  of  this  nefa- 
rious despot  far  surpassed  whatever  had 
been  represented  in  tragedy!  Herod  was 
not  ignorant  of  the  hatred  which  he  had 
drawn  upon  himself;  but  to  soften  its  as- 
perity, he  became  a  professed  devotee  to 
the  Jewish  religion,  and  at  a  vast  expense 
restored  their  temple,  which  through  age 
had  fallen  into  decay :  yet  the  effect  of 
all  this  was  destroyed  by  his  still  conform- 
ing to  the  manners  and  habits  of  those 
who  worshipped  a  plurality  of  gods ;  and 
so  many  things  were  countenanced,  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  the  Jewish  religion,  that 
the  hypocrisy  of  the  tyrant's  professions 
were  too  manifest  to  admit  of  a  doubt. 

On  the  death  of  Herod,  the  govern- 
ment of  Judea  was  divided  by  the  em- 
peror Augustus  amongst  his  three  surviv- 
ing sons.  Archelaus,  the  eldest  of'  the 
three,  who  inherited  all  the  vices  of  his 
father,  with  but  few  of  his  better  qualities,, 
completely  exhausted  the  patience  of  thft;  \ 
Jews;  and,  by  a  series  of  the  most  inju>  I 
rious  and  oppressive  acts,  drove  them,  ift 
the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  to  lay  th^ii! 
complaints  before  the  emperor  Augustus* 
who,  after  investigating  the  merits  oft  $# 
case,  deposed  the  tyrant,  and  banis^e^l 
4  M 


642 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


him  to  Vienne  in  Gaul.  On  his  expul- 
sion, the  greater  part  of  Palestine,  or 
Judea,  was  reel  need  by  the  Roman  gov- 
ernment into  the  form  of  a  province,  and 
placed  under  the  superintendence  of  a 
governor,  who  was  subject  to  the  control 
of  the  president  of  Syria.  The  change, 
however,  instead  of  producing  an  allevia- 
tion of  misery  to  this  unhappy  people, 
brought  with  it  an  intolerable  increase  of 
their  calamities.  For,  independently  of 
the  avarice  and  injustice  of  the  governors, 
to  which  there  were  no  bounds,  it  proved 
an  intolerable  grievance  to  them,  who  con- 
sidered their  nation  to  be  God's  peculiar 
people,  that  they  should  be  obliged  to  pay 
tribute  to  a  heathen,  and  an  enemy  of  the 
true  God,  like  Caesar,  and  live  in  subjec- 
tion to  those  who  worshipped  false  deities. 
Add  to  which,  that  the  extortion  of  the 
publicans,  who  after  the  Roman  manner 
were  entrusted  with  the  collection  of  the 
revenue,  and  for  whose  continual  and  fla- 
grant abuses  of  authority  it  was  seldom 
possible  to  obtain  any  sort  of  redress,  be- 
came a  subject  of  infinite  dissatisfaction 
and  complaint.  And,  to  crown  the  whole, 
the  constant  presence  of  their  governors, 
surrounded  as  they  were  by  a  multitude 
of  foreign  attendants  of  all  descriptions, 
and  protected  by  a  Roman  military  guard, 
quartered,  with  their  eagles  and  various 
other  ensigns  of  superstition,  in  the  centre 
of  Jerusalem,  their  holy  city,  kept  the 
-sensibility  of  the  Jews  continually  on  the 
rack,  and  excired  in  their  minds  a  degree 
•of  indignation  bordering  on  fury.  They 
■naturally  considered  their  religion  to  be 
disgraced  and  insulted  by  these  innova- 
tions— their  holy  places  defiled — and  in 
fact  themselves,  with  all  that  they  held 
sacred,  polluted  and  brought  into  con- 
tempt. To  these  causes  are  to  be  attri- 
buted the  frequent  tumults,  factions,  se- 
ditions, and  murders,  by  which  it  is  well 
known  that  these  unfortunate  people  ac- 
celerated their  own  destruction.* 


•  See  Jones'  Ecclesiastical  History. 


Notwithstanding  this,  the  Jews  multi- 
plied so  prodigiously,  that  the  narrow 
bounds  of  Palestine  were  no  longer  suf- 
ficient to  contain  them.  They  poured, 
therefore,  their  increasing  numbers  into 
the  neighbouring  countries,  and  that  with 
such  rapidity,  that,  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
birth,  there  was  scarcely  a  province  in  the 
empire  where  they  were  not  found  carry- 
ing on  commerce,  and  exercising  other 
lucrative  arts.  They  were  maintained  in 
foreign  countries,  against  injurious  treat- 
ment and  violence,  by  the  special  edicts 
and  protection  of  the  magistrates;  and 
this,  indeed,  was  absolutely  necessary, 
since,  in  most  places,  the  remarkable  dif- 
ference of  their  relijnon  and  manners  frot 
those  of  the  other  nations,  exposed  thel 
to  the  hatred  and  indignation  of  the  ig- 
norant and  bigotted  multitude.  All  tills 
appears  to  have  been  most  singularly  ant 
wisely  directed  by  the  adorable  hand  of  an 
interposing  providence,  to  the  end  that 
this  people,  who  were  the  sole  depository 
of  the  true  religion,  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  one  supreme  God,  being  spread  abroad 
through  the  whole  earth,  might  be  every- 
where, by  their  example,  a  reproach  to 
superstition,  contribute  in  some  measure 
to  check  it,  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for 
that  yet  fuller  discovery  of  divine  truth, 
which  was  to  shine  upon  the  world  from 
the  ministry  and  gospel  of  the  Son  of 
God. 


CHAPTER  I. 

An  agreement  between  Aristobulus  and  Hyrcanus 
produces  teru.s  of  accommodation. — Aristo- 
bulus is  besieged  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem 
by  Aretas. —  The  Jews  retire  into  Egypt. — 
Stoning  of  Onias. — Divine  judgments  inflicted 
on  the  people  for  this  murder,  together  with 
their  perjidty  and  sacrilege.— Aristobulus 
compels  Aretas  to  quit  the  siege. — Aretas  and 
Hyrcanus  sustain  an  entire  defeat. — Pompey 
marches  against  Aristobulus,  who,  having  de- 
livered up  his  castles,  retires  in  disgust  to 
Jerusalem,  whither  Pompey  advances,  and  be- 
sieges that  city. — Jerusalem  divided  into  tw. 
parties. —  The  temple  is  taken  by  assault.— 


HAP.  I.] 


THE  MULE. 


643 


Moderation  of  the  conqueror. —  The  city  made 
tributary. — Aristobulus  carried  prisoner  to 
Rome. 

It  was  in  the  third  year  of  the  hundred 
and  seventy-seventh  olympiad,*  when 
Hyrcanus  took  upon  himself  the  pontifi- 
cate, and  Aristobulus  immediately  made 
war  upon  him.  They  engaged  at  Jericho, 
and  many  of  Hyrcanus's  soldiers  deserted, 
and  went  over  to  his  brother;  himself 
being  driven  into  the  citadel,  where  the 
wife  and  children  of  Aristobulus  were  kept 
prisoners  by  the  orders  of  his  mother; 
and    the  remainder   of  the   faction   took 

*  The  Olympiad  was  a  certain  space  of  time 
which  elapsed  between  the  celebration  of  the 
Olympic  games.  The  Olympic  games  were  cele- 
brated after  the  expiration  of  four  complete  years, 
whence  some  have  said  that  they  were  observed 
every  fifth  year.  This  period  of  time  was  called 
Olympiad,  and  became  a  celebrated  era  among  the 
Greeks,  who  computed  their  time  by  it.  The 
custom  of  reckoning  time  by  the  celebration  of 
the  olympic  games,  was  not  introduced  at  the  first 
institution  of  these  festivals,  but  to  speak  accurate- 
ly, only  the  year  in  which  Corcebus  obtained  the 
prize.  This  olympiad,  which  has  always  been 
reckoned  the  fir.-t,  fell,  according  to  the  accurate 
and  learned  computations  of  some  of  the  moderns, 
exactly  776  years  before  the  Christian  era,  in  the 
year  of  the  Julian  period  3938,  arid  23  years  be- 
fore the  building  of  Home.  The  games  were  ex- 
hibited at  the  time  of  the  full  moon,  next  after 
the  summer  solstice ;  therefore  the  olympiads 
were  of  unequal  length,  because  tiie  time  of  the 
(nil  moon  differs  11  days  every  year,  and  for  that 
reason  they  sometimes  began  the  next  day  after 
the  solstice,  and  at  other  times  four  weeks  after. 
The  computations  by  olympiads  ceased,  as  some 
suppose,  after  the  364th,  in  the  year  440  of  the 
Christian  era.  It  was  universally  adopted,  not 
only  by  the  Greeks,  but  by  many  of  the  neigh- 
bouring countries,  though  still  the  Pythian  games 
served  as  an  epoch  to  the  people  of  Delphi  and  to 
the  Boeotians,  the  Nemaean  games  to  the  Argives 
and  Arcadians,  and  the  Isthmian  to  the  Corin- 
thians and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Peloponnesian 
isthmus.  To  the  olympiads,  history  is  much  in- 
debted. They  have  served  to  fix  the  time  of 
many  momentous  events,  and  indeed  before  this 
method  of  computing  time  was  observed,  every 
page  of  history  is  mostly  filled  with  obscurity  and 
contradiction,  and  no  true  chronological  account 
can  be  properly  established  and  maintained  with 
certainty.  The  mode  of  computation,  which  was 
used  after  the  suppression  of  the  olympiads,  and 
of  the  consular  fasti  of  Rome,  was  more  useful,  as 
it  was  more  universal  ;  but  while  the  era  of  the 
creation  of  the  world  prevailed  in  the  east,  the 
western  nations  in  the  6th  century  began  to  adopt 
with  more  propriety  the  Christian  epoch,  which 
was  propagated  in  the  8th  century,  and  at  last,  in 
the  10th,  became  legal  and  popular. — Lempriere. 


sanctuary  for  a  time  within  the  verge  of 
the  temple,  but  surrendered  themselves 
soon  after. 

In  process  of  time,  their  enmity  sub- 
sided, and  the  brothers  came  to  an  accom- 
modation, on  account  that  Aristobulus 
should  be  established  in  the  possession  of 
the  government,  and  Hyrcanus  be  allow- 
ed to  live  in  private  upon  his  own  fortune, 
without  molestation.  This  contract  was 
signed  and  ratified  in  the  temple,  with  the 
usual  formalities,  after  which  the  brothers 
departed  in  perfect  amity  to  their  respec- 
tive places  of  residence. 

In  consequence  of  an  agreement  be- 
tween Hyrcanus  and  an  eastern  prince 
called  Aretas,f  who  kept  his  court  at  a 
place  called  Petra;  the  latter  advanced 
against  Aristobulus  with  an  army  of  fifty 
thousand  horse  and  foot ;  fought,  and  over- 
came him  ;  insomuch,  that  finding  himself 
abandoned  by  his  soldiers  going  over  to 
Hyrcanus,  he  was  forced  to  fly  for  refuge 
to  Jerusalem ;  where  Aretas  with  his  whole 
army  attacked  him  in  the  very  temple,— 
the  people  unanimously  joining  with  Hyr- 
canus against  Aristobulus,  the  priests  only 
excepted. 

Aretas,  on  the  other  hand,  with  his 
Jews,  as  well  as  Arabians,  carried  on  the 
assault  with  the  utmost  vigour.  While 
this  transaction  was  in  hand,  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  coming  on,  which  the 
Jews  call  the  passover,  the  chief  men  of 
the  Jews  withdrew  themselves  out  of  the 
country,  and  went  into  Egypt;  at  which 
time,  one  Onias,  a  righteous  man,  appre- 
hending the  approach  of  a  civil  war,  re- 
tired and  concealed  himself. 

The  Jews  reflecting  upon  the  piety  of 
this  man,  and  that  he  had  obtained  rain 
from  God  in  an  extreme  drought,  brought 
him  out  into  the  camp,  and  there  request- 
ed of  him,  that  as  he  had  formerly  deliver- 


T  This  Aretas  was  the  first  king  of  the  Ara- 
bians who  took  Damascus,  and  reigned  there ; 
which  name  became  afterwards  common  to  such 
Arabian  kings,  both  at  Petra  and  Damascus,  aa 
we  learn  from  Joseph  us  in  many  places,  and  from 
St  Paul,  2  Cor.  xi.  32. 


644 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


ed  them  from  the  judgment  of  a  famine, 
he  would  now  relieve  them  from  a  most  de- 
structive war,  by  denouncing  a  curse  upon 
Aristobulus  and  his  whole  faction. 

He  refused  compliance  a  considerable 
time,  till  at  length  being  overruled  by  the 
multitude,  he  stood  up  in  the  midst  of 
them,  and  delivered  an  ejaculatory  prayer 
to  this  purpose :  "  Lord,  thou  art  the 
King  of  kings ;  and  since  both  we  who 
stand  here  before  thee  are  thy  people, 
and  they  that  are  besieged  in  the  temple 
are  thy  priests,  I  do  humbly  beseech  thee 
not  to  hear  the  prayer  of  either  of  them 
one  against  the  other." 

Upon  these  words  some  of  the  Jewish 
rabble  that  "stood  by  stoned  him  to  death. 
This  barbarity  was  followed  immediately 
by  a  divine  judgment,  which  thus  avenged 
the  murder  of  Onias:  while  Aristobulus 
with  the  priests  were  thus  beset  in  the 
temple,  the  paschal  festival  came  on ;  at 
which  time,  according  to  custom,  the  Jews 
offered  up  a  number  of  sacrifices ;  but  the 
besieged,  not  having  so  many  as  they  had 
occasion  for,  desired  their  brethren  to  sup- 
ply them  at  their  own  price ;  upon  which 
they  agreed  at  one  thousand  drachmas 
each  beast,  and  the  money  to  be  paid 
down  on  delivery. 

Aristobulus  and  the  priests  agreed  to 
the  conditions,  and  let  down  the  money 
with  a  rope  from  the  temple  wall.  When 
the  besiegers  had  the  money,  they  refused 
to  deliver  the  victims  ;  and  such  was  their 
impiety,  that  they  did  not  only  break 
faith  with  men,  but  sacrilegiously  robbed 
God  himself  of  a  service  that  was  dedicat- 
ed to  his  honour. 

The  priests,  upon  this  perfidy  imposed 
upon  them  under  the  countenance  of  an 
agreement,  joined  in  a  prayer  to  God  that 
the  iniquity  might  not  escape  unpunished. 
Their  prayers  were  heard,  and  the  judg- 
ment not  Ions:  deferred ;  for  there  arose 
immediately  a  violent  tempest,  that  de- 
stroyed all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  through 
the  whole  province ;  so  that  one  measure 
of  wheat  was  sold  for  eleven  drachmas. 


Pompey  was  at  this  time  detained  in 
Armenia,  by  a  war  he  maintained  there 
with  Tigranes;  but  in  the  interim  sent 
Scaurus,  his  lieutenant,  into  Syria.  As 
he  was  upon  the  way,  there  came  ambas- 
sadors from  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus, 
soliciting  an  alliance  offensive  and  defen- 
sive. Aristobulus  offered  four  hundred 
talents,  and  Hyrcanus  the  same  considera- 
tion. Scaurus  inclining  rather  to  Aristo- 
bulus, as  the  most  generous  of  the  two, 
accepted  his  money,  and  ordered  Areta9 
to  withdraw,  upon  the  peril  of  being  ac- 
counted an  enemy  to  the  Roman  people. 

Scaurus,  after  this,  went  to  Damascus, 
and  Aristobulus  advanced  with  a  mighty 
army  against  Aretas  and  Hyrcanus ;  and 
engaging  them  in  a  place  called  Papyron, 
gave  them  an  overthrow,  with  the  loss  of 
about  six  thousand  of  the  enemy. 

Pompey,  incensed  at  the  arrogant  be- 
haviour of  Aristobulus,  advanced  against 
him  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  army, 
and  receiving  intelligence  that  he  had  re- 
treated to  a  mountain  in  the  heart  of  Ju- 
dea,  sent  him  a  summons  to  come  down 
and  speak  with  him.  Aristobulus  obeyed 
the  summons,  and  there  passed  some  dis- 
course between  them  concerning  the  two 
brothers;  after  which  Aristobulus,  with 
Pompey's  leave,  returned  to  the  castle. 

This  intercourse  he  repeated  in  order 
to  maintain  good  terms  with  Pompey,  as 
the  most  likely  way  to  compass  his  end  ; 
but  this  did  not  hinder  him  from  putting 
himself  into  a  posture  of  defence  in  case 
of  an  attack.  Pompey,  at  length,  ordered 
him  to  deliver  up  all  the  castles  that  he 
was  master  of,  and  to  signify  his  will  and 
pleasure  to  the  governors  under  his  own 
hand,  that  there  might  be  no  plea  for  non- 
compliance with  his  order.  Aristobulus 
did  as  he  was  ordered,  but  resented  it  so 
heinously,  that  he  went  forthwith  to  Jeru- 
salem, to  make  preparations  for  carrying 
on  a  war. 

Pompey  first  having  refreshed  his  peo- 
ple, advanced  toward  Jerusalem.  Aristo- 
bulus, by  this  time,  repented  of  what  he 


Chap.  I.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


645 


had  done,  and  went  out  to  meet  him  with 
an  offering  of  a  sum  of  money,  and  the 
command  of  the  town,  for  desisting  from 
hostilities.  Pompey  accepted  his  propo- 
sals, and  sent  Gabinius  with  a  body  of 
men  into  the  city  to  receive  the  money ; 
but  this  was  mere  illusion,  for  the  gates 
were  shut  against  him  and  he  came  back 
as  he  went  out ;  the  fault  being  laid  upon 
the  soldiers  that  would  not  stand  to  the 
agreement.  Pompey  was  so  incensed  at 
this  insult,  that  he  kept  a  stricter  guard 
upon  Aristobulus,  and  went  himself  to 
Jerusalem,  determined  on  the  conquest 
of  that  famous  and  well  fortified  city. 

While  Pompey  was  before  the  town, 
the  citizens  were  divided  concerning  the 
manner  in  which  they  should  act  in  this 
critical  juncture  ;  some  were  for  yielding ; 
others  for  holding  out,  and  preparing  for 
a  war ;  especially  as  Aristobulus  was  kept 
a  prisoner.  Thus  divided,  one  party  took 
possession  of  the  temple,  and  broke  down 
the  bridge  between  that  and  the  city ; 
while  the  other  not  only  gave  entrance  to 
the  army,  but  delivered  up  both  city  and 
palace  into  the  hands  of  Pompey;  who 
presently  seut  Piso  his  lieutenant,  with 
part  of  his  army  to  take  charge  of  both. 
When  things  were  come  to  this  pass,  Pom- 
pey made  them  a  proposal  of  peace ;  but 
upon  their  refusal  to  treat,  provided  for  an 
assault;  Hyrcanus  supplying  him  with  all 
necessary  assistance. 

The  north  side  of  the  temple  being  the 
weakest  part,  Pompey  proposed  to  begin 
his  attack  in  that  quarter.  It  was  encom- 
passed with  high  towers,  and  surrounded 
with  a  wide  and  deep  ditch.  The  city 
side,  toward  Pompey's  station,  was  impass- 
able, for  rocks  and  precipices;  but  the 
Romans,  with  infinite  labour  and  diflBcultv, 
filled  up  the  ditch  with  timber  and  other 
materials,  and  raised  platforms  and  ram- 
parts to  such  a  prodigious  height,  that 
with  battering  engines  which  they  brought 
from  Tyre,  they  attacked  the  temple-wall; 
vet  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  advantage 
they   took   of  the  sabbath,  the   Romans 


would  not  have  gained  their  point   but 
with  extreme  danger  and  labour. 

When  the  Romans  understood  the  re- 
gard they  paid  to  their  sabbath,  and  ob- 
served that  they  made  no  opposition  to 
the  advancing  of  their  bulwarks,  and  the 
fixing  of  their  machines,  they  employed 
the  sabbath  in  preparation  for  the  action 
of  the  next  day,  without  attempting  any 
violence  upon  the  present.  This  temple, 
however,  was  taken  upon  a  fasting-day,  in 
the  third  month  of  the  siege  ;  Caius  An- 
tonius,  and  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,  being 
consuls. 

Upon  the  enemies'  forcing  the  place, 
they  put  every  man  to  death;  nor  was 
this  cruelty  sufficient  to  deter  the  priests 
from  prosecuting  the  duties  of  their  func- 
tions, accounting  it  less  evil  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  an  unmerciful  enemy,  than  to 
abandon  their  holy  profession,  or  fail  in 
the  least  point  of  obedience  to  their  coun- 
try's rites  and  ceremonies. 

The  enemy  plied  their  engines  upon 
the  great  tower,  till  by  dint  of  repeated 
battering  they  shook  it  to  pieces,  and 
brought  it  down  to  the  ground,  carrying 
away  a  great  part  of  the  next  wall  along 
with  it  in  the  ruins.  This  breach  was  no 
sooner  made,  than  the  enemy  pressed  in 
great  numbers  into  the  temple.  Thus 
was  this  sacred  place  taken  by  assault,  and 
from  a  scene  of  worship  converted  into  a 
scene  of  blood,  being  strewed  with  dead 
bodies,  some  killed  by  the  Romans,  others 
by  consent  despatching  one  another ;  some 
again  casting  themselves  down  headlong 
from  the  walls,  and  others  setting  fire  to 
the  houses  over  their  heads,  rather  than  be 
spectators  of  the  barbarities  that  were 
committed.  There  were  slain  about  twelve 
thousand  Jews,  and  not  many  Romans. 
Absalom,  the  uncle,  and  the  father-in-law 
of  Aristobulus,  was  taken  prisoner. 

These  outrages  were  attended  with 
many  violations  of  the  sacred  rites  of  re- 
ligion ;  but  Pompey  and  his  train  behaved 
with  great  moderation  ;  and  the  conqueroi 
not  only  abstained  from  touching  any  of 


otr» 


HISTORY  OF 


TBoox.  5C 


the  holy  things,  but  ordered  the  officers 
of  the  temple  next  day  to  purge  the  place, 
and  to  offer  sacrifices  according  to  their 
own  customs  and  ordinances.* 


*  It  was  not,  savs  Cicero,  out  of  respect  for  the 
majesty  of  the  God  adored  in  that  temple,  that 
Pompey  behaved  in  this  manner  ;  for,  according 
to  him,  nothing  was  more  contemptible  than  the 
Jewish  religion,  more  unworthy  the  wisdom  and 
grandejir  of  the  Romans,  nor  more  opposite  to  the 
institutions  of  their  ancestors.  Pompey  in  this 
noble  disinterestedness,  had  no  other  motive  than 
to  deprive  malice  and  calumny  of  all  means  of  at- 
tacking his  reputation.  Such  were  the  thoughts 
of  the  most  learned  of  the  pagans.  It  hath  been 
observed  that  till  then  Pompey  had  been  success- 
ful in  all  things,  but  that  after  his  sacrilegious  cu- 
riosity in  daring  to  enter  the  holy  of  holies,  his 
good  fortune  forsook  him,  and  that  the  advantage 
gained  over  the  Jews  was  his  last  victory.—  Not- 
withstanding he  had  obtained  a  large  commission 
to  govern  the  provinces  of  Spain  and  Africa,  he 
had  since  the  time  of  his  victories  in  Asia,  continu- 
ed for  the  space  of  twelve  years  for  the  most  part 
in  Home.  But  the  boundless  ambition  of  Caesar 
awakened  him  from  his  dream,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  flee  the  imperial  city  on  Caesar's  passing 
the  Rubicon.  The  battle  of  Pharsalia  terminat- 
ing in  his  defeat  and  the  total  overthrow  of  his 
army,  he  with  difficulty  made  I: is  escape  in  dis- 
guise, and  determined  to  flee  to  Egypt.  He  had 
been  a  very  considerable  friend  to  the  late  king 
Ptolemy  Auletes,  the  father  of  the  reigning  king, 
and  therefore  he  expected  a  kind  reception  from 
his  son.  Taking  therefore  his  wife  Cornelia,  and 
his  younger  son  Sextus  with  him,  he  steered  his 
course  towards  Egypt,  and  as  he  drew  near  to  land, 
sent  messengers  to  the  king,  desiring  his  protection 
and  aid  in  his  present  distress.  The  king  was  then 
a  minor,  under  the  tuition  of  Pothinus  a  eunuch, 
and  Achillas  the  general  of  his  army,  who,  taking 
Theodotus,  and  some  others  into  the  consultation, 
advised  together  what  answer  to  send.  Pompey 
/n  the  meantime  waited  the  result  of  that  council, 
and  chose  rather  to  expose  himself  to  be  the  foot- 
ball of  three  unworthy  persons  who  governed  the 
prince,  than  to  owe  his  safety  to  Caesar,  who  was 
his  father-in-law,  and  the  greatest  of  the  Romans. 
This  council  differed  in  opinion  ;  some  were  for 
receiving  him,  others  for  having  him  told  to  seek  a 
retreat  elsewhere.  7  heodotus  approved  neither  of 
these  methods  ;  and  displaying  all  his  eloquence, 
undertook  to  demonstrate,  that  there  was  no  other 
choice  to  be  made  than  that  of  ridding  themselves 
of  him.  Bis  reason  was,  because,  if  they  received 
him,  Caesar  would  never  forgive  the  having  assisted 
his  enemy  :  if  they  sent  him  away  without  aid,  and 
affairs  should  take  a  turn  in  his  favour,  he  would 
not  fail  to  revenge  himself  upon  them  for  their  re- 
fusal. That  therefore  there  was  no  security  for 
them,  hut  in  putting  him  to  death  ;  by  which 
means  they  would  gain  Caesar's  friendship,  and 
prevent  the  other  from  ever  doing  them  any  hurt; 
for,  said  he,  according  to  the  proverb,  "  Dead  men 
do  not  bite."     This  advice  prevailed,  as  being  in 


Me  restored  Hyreanus  to  the  pontifi- 
cate, partly  for  the  good  offices  he  had  re- 
ceived  from  him,  and  partly  for  the  ser- 
:  vice  he  had  done  him  in  hindering  the 
|  Jews  from  taking  up  arms  for  Aristobubis. 
|  He  rendered  Jerusalem  tributary  to  the 
Romans,  and  reduced  all  the  places  that 
the  Jews  possessed  in  Coelc-syria  to  their 
allegiance,  confining  that  populous  and 
powerful  nation  within  the  compass  of  their 
ancient  bounds. 

From  this  period  we  may  justly  date 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  sub- 
jection of  the  Jewish  nation  to  the  Roman 
yoke,  having  been  compelled  to  restore  to 
the  Syrians  what  they  had  taken  in  the 
course  of  a  war  with  them,  as  well  as  sub- 
mit to  the  transferment  of  the  sovereign 
authority  for  the  order  of  the  pontificate 
to  the  promiscuous  herd  of  the  common 
people. 

1  their  opinion  the  wisest  and  most  safe.  Achillas, 
Septimius,  a  Roman  officer  in  the  service  of  the 
king  of  Egypt,  and  some  others,  were  charged  with 
;  putting  it  into  execution.  They  went  to  take 
I  Pompey  on  hoard  a  shallop,  under  the  pretext  that 
;  targe  vessels  could  not  approach  the  shore  without 
difficulty.  The  troops  were  drawn  up  on  the  sea- 
side, as  with  design  to  do  honour  to  Pompev,  with 
Ptolemy  at  their  head.  The  perfidious  Septimius 
tendered  his  hand  to  Pompey  in  the  name  of  his 
master,  and  hade  him  come  to  a  king,  his  friend, 
whom  he  ought  to  regard  as  his  ward  and  son. 
Pompey  then  embraced  his  wife  Cornelia,  who 
was  already  in  tears  for  his  death  ;  and,  after  hav- 
ing repeated  these  verses  of  Sophocles,  "  Every 
man  who  enters  the  court  of  a  tyrant  becomes  his 
slave,  though  free  before,"  he  went  into  the  shal- 
lop. When  they  saw  themselves  near  the  shore, 
they  stabbed  him  before  the  king's  eyes,  cut  off  his 
head,  and  threw  his  body  upon  the  strand,  where 
it  had  no  other  funeral  than  what  one  of  his  freed- 
men  gave  it  with  the  assistance  of  an  old  Roman, 
who  was  there  by  chance.  They  raised  him  a 
wretched  funeral-pile,  and  for  that  purpose  made 
use  of  some  fragments  of  an  old  wreck,  that  had 
been  driven  ashore  there.  Cornelia  had  seen 
Pompey  massacred  before  her  eyes.  It  is  easier 
to  imagine  the  condition  of  a  woman  in  the  height 
of  grief  Irom  so  tragical  an  object,  than  to  describe 
it.  Those  who  were  in  her  galley,  and  in  two 
other  ships  in  company  with  it,  made  the  coast  re- 
sound with,  the  cries  they  raised  ;  and  weighing 
anchor  immediately,  set  sail  before  the  wind,  which 
blew  fresh  as  soon  as  they  got  out  to  sea :  this 
prevented  the  Egyptians,  who  were  getting  ready 
to  chase  them,  from  pursuing  their  design. — Set 
liollin. 


Chap.  II.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


647 


CHAPTER  II. 


Judea  having  been  rendered  tributary  to  the 
Romans,  they  send  Gubinius  to  check  the 
incursions  of  Alexander,  son  of  Aristobulus. 
—  He  restores  Hyrcanus  to  the  pontificate,  and 
malies  some  pontifical  regulations. — Succeeds 
in  his  expedition,  and  returns  to  Home. —  Cras- 
sus  is  sent  to  Judea. — Rifles  the  temple'. — 
Aristobulus  poisoned,  and  Alexunder  behead- 
ed.—  Ccesar  having  overcome  the  fiction  of 
Pompey.  favours  the  interest  of  Hyrcanus 
and  Antipater.— Permits  them  to  rebuild  Jeru- 
salem. — A  league Jormed  between  Athens  and 
Judea.— Also  between  the  Roman  senate  and 
the  Jews. 

Judea,  through  the  success  of  Pompey, 
becoming-  subject  to  the  Roman  power, 
and  being-  harassed  by  the  inroads  of 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  Gabi- 
nius  was  sent  to  repel  his  invasions,  which 
having  speedily  effected,  he  caused  Hyr- 
canus to  be  brought  to  Jerusalem,  and 
restored  to  the  office  and  exorcise  of  his 
priesthood. 

There  were  then  constituted  five  courts 
of  justice,  and  a  division  was  made  of  the 
whole  province  into  five  equal  parts  ;  so 
that  some  repaired  for  judicial  decision  to 
Jerusalem,  others  to  Gadara,  and  others 
also  to  Amathus,  Jericho,  or  Sepphoris, 
which  is  a  city  of  Galilee.  They  were  by 
this  means  delivered  from  the  tyranny 
they  complained  of,  and  restored  to  the 
form  of  an  aristocracy.* 

*  Before  this,  tlte  government  had  heen  manag- 
ed, under  the  prince,  by  two  sorts  of  councils,  or 
courts  of  justice -,  one  consisting  of  twenty-three 
persons,  called  the  lesser  sanhedrim;  and  the  oth- 
er, of  seventy-two.  called  the  greater  sanhedrim. 
Of  the  first  sort,  there  wa.;  one  in  every  city  ;  only 
in  Jerusalem  (because  of  the  greatness  of  the 
place)  there  were  two,  which  sat  apart  from  each 
other  in  two  distinct,  rooms.  Of  the  latter  sort, 
there  was  only  one  in  the  whole  land.  The  lesser 
sanhedrim  despatched  all  affairs  of  justice,  arising 
within  the  respective  cities,  where  they  sat.  and 
the  precincts  belonging  to  them.  Tlte  great  san- 
hedrim presided  over,  the  affairs  of  the  whole  na- 
tion, received  appeals  from  the  lesser  sanhedrims, 
interpreted  the  laws,  and,  by  new  institutions  from 
time  to  time,  regulated  the  execution  of  them. 
All  this  Gabinius  abolished  :  and,  instead  thereof, 
erected  five  courts,  or  sanhedrims,  and  invested 
them  all  with  sovereign  power,  independent  of 
each  other.     And    having   divided    the  land  into 


Gabinius,  after  a  series  of  conquests  over 
Aristobulus  and  Alexander,  returned  to 
Ilome,f  and  was  succeeded  in  his  commis- 
sion by  Crassus,  who  treated  not  the  Jews 
with  the  lenity  of  his  predecessor;  for,  be- 
ing engaged  in  making  preparation  for  a 
war  with  the  Parthians,  when  he  arrived 
in  Judea,  he  seized  not  only  the  two 
thousand  talents  that  Pompey  had  spared, 
but  pillaged  the  temple  of  gold  to  the 
value  of  eight  thousand  talents  more.  He 
carried  away  with  him  also  a  wedge  of 
gold  of  three  hundred   minas,  J  each  mina 


five  provinces,  he  ordered  the  inhabitants  of  each 
to  repair  to  the  court  which  he  had  there  erected, 
and  from  which  there  was  no  appeal,  except  it  was 
to  Rome.  Besides  the  two  sorts  of  sanhedrims 
ahovenientioned,  tnere  was  a  third  court  among 
the  Jews,  which  was  not  affected  by  any  of  these 
alterations  and  that  was  the  court  of  three,  insti- 
tuted for  the  deciding  all  controversies  about  bar- 
gains, sales,  contracts,  and  all  other  such  matters 
of  common  right  between  man  and  man.  In  all 
which  cases,  one  of  the  litigants  chose  one  judge, 
and  the  other  another,  and  these  two  chose  a  third, 
which  three  constituted  a  court  to  hear,  and  ulti- 
mately determine  the  matter  in  contest. —  Talmud 
in  Sanhedrim,  Lightfoot's  Prospect  of  the  Tem- 
ple, and  Joseph.  Aiitiq. 

f  Gabinius  had  been  an  excessively  corrupt  gov- 
ernor in  his  province,  doing  any  thing  for  bribes, 
selling  every  thing  for  money,  and  extorting  vast 
soms  in  all  places  and  from  all  persons.  The  cla- 
mours which  came  to  Rome  from  every  part  of 
his  province,  so  much  angered  the  senate  and  the 
people,  that  they  called  him  home  to  answer  these 
accusations.  His  Egyptian  expedition  likewise, 
which  was  beyond  the  limits  of  his  province,  so 
exasperated  them,  that  they  would  immediately 
have  proceeded  to  sentence  of  condemnation,  with- 
out tarrying  his  return,  had  not  Pompey  and  Cras- 
sus interposed  to  hinder  it.  On  his  return  the 
next  year  three  actions  were  commenced  against 
him, — one  of  treason,  and  the  other  two  of  corrup- 
tion, bribery,  and  other  high  misdemeanors.  The 
first,  by  virtue  of  his  money,  which  was  liberally 
expended  on  this  occasion  in  bribing  the  judges, 
he  hardly  escaped  by  a  majority  of  six  votes  only 
of  the  seventy  that  judged  his  cause,  but  being 
cast  in  the  other  two  he  was  sent  into  banishment, 
and  there  lived  in  poverty  till  Caesar  brought  him 
back  again  in  the  time  of  the  civil  wars.  Most  of 
the  money  which  he  had  raked  together  by  op- 
pression, bribery,  and  corruption,  was  spent  in 
bribing  and  corrupting  others;  and  thus  his  vast 
treasure  was  wasted  in  the  same  way  of  iniquity 
in  which  it  was  gotten. — Prideaux. 

J  An  Hebrew  mina  of  gold,  according  to  Cal- 
met's  tables,  weighed  one  pound,  one  ounce,  thir- 
teen pennyweights,  eighteen  grains,  and  in  value 
amounted  to  fifty-four  pounds  fifteen  shillings ; 
three  hundred  therefore  must  weigh  no  more  than 


C48 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


being  computed  at  two  polinds  and  a 
half. 

The  prodigious  mass  of  money  that  was 
deposited  in  this  temple,  was  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  long  course  of  time,  and  collected 
from  all  quarters  of  the  world,  wherever 
the  worship  of  the  true  God  was  known. 

When  Crassus  had  thus  rifled  the  tem- 
ple of  Judea  from  top  to  bottom,  he  ad- 
vanced against  the  Parthians,  and  gave 
them  battle,  when  he  was  cut  off,  together 
with  his  whole  army.*  But  Cassius,  the 
questor  of  Crassus,  took  possession  of 
Parthia,  and  stopped  the  progress  of  the 
Parthians,  that  were  grown  insolent  upon 
their  success.  He  went  afterward  to 
Tyre,  and  so  to  Judea,  where  he  took 
Tarichese  by  assault,  and  thirty  thousand 
prisoners;  and  amongst  the  rest  Pitholaus, 
Aristobulus's  friend,  whom  he  caused  to 


three  hundred  and  forty-two  ounces,  five  penny- 
weights ;  and  their  value  amounts  only  to  sixteen 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds 
English  money. 

*  When  Crassus  led  his  army  into  Mesopotamia 
there  came  to  him  a  certain  chief  of  an  Arabian 
tribe,  who,  having  served  in  the  wars  under  Pom- 
pey,  had  contracted  an  acquaintance  with  several 
of  the  Romans,  and  was  therefore  a  more  proper 
instrument  for  Surenas,  the  Parthian  general,  to 
employ  upon  this  occasion.  He  told  Crassus,  in- 
quiring about  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  that  they 
were  unable  to  stand  before  him,  and  that,  to  ob- 
tain a  complete  victory,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but 
march  directly  against  them,  for  which  purpose  he 
offered  himself  to  be  their  guide.  Crassus  was 
weak  enough  to  accept  of  his  offer  ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, the  crafty  man  led  them  along  the  plains  of 
Mesopotamia,  until  he  had  brought  them  into  a 
sandv  desert,  where  the  Parthians,  he  knew,  would 
have  the  best  opportunity  of  destroying  them,  and 
then  rode  off  to  acquaint  Surenas  with  it,  who  im- 
mediately fell  upon  them,  and  gave  them  a  terrible 
defeat.  Nor  was  this  t'.ie  only  false  step  that 
Crassus  made  :  for,  having  rested  the  remains  of 
his  army  for  one  day  at  Carrhae,  not  far  from  the 
place  where  the  battle  was  fought,  when,  in  the 
night  following,  he  endeavoured  to  make  his 
escape,  he  committed  himself  to  the  guidance  of 
one  Andromachus,  another  traitor,  who  led  him 
into  the  midst  of  bogs  and  morasses,  where 
Surenas  overtook  him,  slew  him,  and  gave  his 
army  the  greatest  overthrow  that  the  Romans 
had  ever  received  since  the  battle  of  Cannae  ;  for, 
in  this  engagement,  twenty  thousand  were  slain, 
and  ten  thousand  taken  prisoners  ;  and  the  rest 
forced  to  make  their  escape  by  several  ways  into 
Armenia,  Ciltcia,  and  Syria. — Plutarch  and  Ap- 
pian. 


be  put  to  death  by  the  advice  of  Anti- 
pater,f  a  person  of  very  considerable  in- 
fluence with  the  Idumeans,  upon  the  ac- 
count of  a  marriage  with  an  Arabian  lady 
of  an  illustrious  extraction,  called  Cypron, 
by  whom  he  had  four  sons,  Phasael  and 
Herod,  (afterwards  king,)  Joseph  and 
Pheroras,  and  an  only  daughter  named 
Salome.J 


-f-  Eusebius,  and  Julius  Africanns  tell  us,  that 
the  father  of  this  Antipater  was  an  heathen,  and 
an  inhabitant  of  Ascalou  ;  that  a  company  of  rob- 
bers having  pillaged  a  temple,  near  Ascalon,  took 
this  young  Antipater,  the  father  of  Herod  the 
Great,  who  at  that  time  was  the  priest  of  the 
temple,  away  with  them;  and  that  his  father, 
being  unable  to  redeem  him,  they  carried  him 
into  Idumea,  where  he  settled,  and  made  his  for- 
tune. But  there  is  much  more  probability,  that 
what  Josephus,  in  the  History  of  the  Jewish  Wars, 
lib.  i.  c.  5.  tells  us  of  this  great  man  may  be  true ; 
namely,  that  he  was  the  son  of  another  Antipater, 
who  was  made  governor  of  Idumaea  by  Alexander 
Jannaeus;  and,  as  to  his  religion,  there  is  no  ques- 
tion to  be  made  but  that  he  was  a  Jew  and  cir- 
cumcised ;  because  the  Idumaeans  had  long  before 
received  circumcision  and  the  religion  of  the  Jews, 
even  when  Hyrcanus  made  a  conquest  of  their 
country.  This  Antipater,  having  had  his  educa- 
tion in  the  court  of  Alexander  Jannaeus,  and  Al- 
exandra his  queen,  who  reigned  after  him,  had 
wrought  himself  into  the  good  graces  of  Hyrcanus, 
the  eldest  of  their  sons,  in  hopes  to  rise  by  his 
favour,  when  he  should  come  to  the  crown  after 
his  mother;  but  when  Hyrcanus  was  deposed,  and 
Aristobulus  made  king  in  his  place,  all  the  mea- 
sures which  he  had  taken  for  his  advancement 
were  broken  ;  and,  being  too  obnoxious  to  Aris- 
tobulus ever  to  have  any  prospect  of  favour  from 
him,  he  thought  himself  obliged,  both  in  his  own 
interest  and  defence,  to  act  the  part  we  find  he 
did. —  Calmet's  Dictionary,  and  Prideaux's  Con- 
nection. 

\  Salome  was  one  of  the  most  wicked  of  women. 
She  first  married  Joseph,  whom  she  accused  of 
familiarities  with  Mariamne,  wife  of  Herod,  and 
thus  procured  his  death.  She  afterward  married 
Costobarus  ;  but  being  disgusted  with  him,  she 
put  him  away ;  a  license  till  then  unheard  of 
among  the  Jews,  whose  law  (says  Josephus)  allows 
men  to  put  away  their  wives,  but  does  not  allow 
women  equal  liberty.  After  this,  she  accused 
him  of  treason  against  Herod,  who  put  him  to 
death.  She  caused  much  division  and  trouble  in 
Herod's  family,  by  her  calumnies  and  mischievous 
informations  ;  and  she  may  be  considered  as  the 
chief  author  of  the  death  of  the  princes  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus,  and  of  their  mother  Mariamne. 
She  afterwards  conceived  a  violent  passion  for  an 
Arabian  prince  called  Sillaeus ;  whom  she  would 
have  married  against  her  brother  Herod's  consent « 
and  even  after  she  had  married  Alexas,  her  incli- 
nation for  Sillaeus  was  notorious.  Salorpe  surviv- 
ed   Herod,  who   left  her  by   will   the   cities  of 


Chap.  II.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Antipater  by  his  generosity  and  affabili- 
ty had  acquired  universal  esteem  amongst 
the  neighbouring  princes  and  potentates, 
and  contributed  not  a  little  towards  re- 
conciling the  Romans  to  the  Jewish  state 
and  nation. 

When  Caesar's  party  had  prevailed,  and 
he  consequently  become  master  of  Rome, 
Aristobulus,  having  been  released  by  the 
conqueror,  was  despatched  into  Syria, 
with  the  command  of  two  legions  to  keep 
that  province  in  order.  But  the  happi- 
ness he  promised  himself  in  the  honour  of 
being  Caesar's  favourite  was  not  of  long 
duration ;  for  Pompey's  faction  found 
means  in  a  short  time  to  despatch  him  by 
poison,  and  the  Cesareans  took  care  of  the 
funeral.  His  body  lay  embalmed  a  long 
time,  till  Anthony  sent  it  into  Judea  to  be 
interred  among  their  kings. 

Scipio  caused  the  head  of  Alexander 


649 

tipater  being  then  present,  wiped  off  these 
reproaches,  by  exposing  the  turbulent  and 
seditious  humour  of  Antigonus,  and  how 
busy  he  was  in  all  factious  cabals,  not  for- 
getting to  remind  Caesar  of  his  own  ser- 
vices, appealing  to  the  proofs  he  had  given 
of  his  disposition  and  integrity. 

Caesar,  in  fine,  upon  a  full  hearing  of  his 
representation,  pronounced  Hyrcanus  to 
be  high-priest,  gave  Antipater  his  choice 
of  any  command,  and  conferred  upon  him 
the  lieutenancy  of  Judea. 

The  walls  of  Jerusalem  lying  at  this 
time  in  ruin,  as  they  were  left  upon  Pom- 
pey's demolishing  them,  Hyrcanus  re- 
quested Caesar  for  permission  to  rebuild 
them  ;  his  request  was  immediately  grant- 
ed with  all  the  forms  of  respect,  and  let- 
ters despatched  to  the  consuls  at  Rome, 
for  the  entering  of  the  resolution  in  the 
records   of  the  capital ;    the  copy  of  the 


the  son  of  Aristobulus  to  be  cut  off  by  i  decree  running  as  follows 


order  of  Pompey,  for  former  seditious 
practices  against  the  Romans,  aud  the 
command  was  executed  at  Antioch. 

Hyrcanus  and  Antipater,  who  now  act- 
ed conjunctively  in  the  cause  of  the  Jews, 
exerted  themselves  with  such  vigour  and 
resolution,  that  when  Caesar  arrived  in 
Syria,  he  conferred  the  pontificate  on  the 


"  A  decree  of  the  senate  assembled  in 
the  temple  of  Concord,  on  the  15th  day 
of  the  month  of  December,  present  L. 
Coponius  and  Caius  Parius  Quirinus. — 
Whereas  it  appeared)  unto  this  senate, 
upon  the  report  of  Valerius  the  son  of 
Lucius,  praetor,  that  it  is  requested  and 
proposed  by  Alexander,  the  son  of  Doro- 


former,  and  made  the  other  a  freeman  of;  theus,  ambassadors  on  behalf  of  the  Jews, 


Rome,  vesting  him  with  all  the  privileges 
of  that  city. 

About  this  time  Antigonus,  the  son  of 
Aristobulus,  came  with  a  complaint  to 
Caesar,  that  his  father  had  been  poisoned 
by  a  faction  for  bearing  arms  in  his  ser- 
vice, and  that  his  brother  had  his  head  cut 
off  at  Scipio's  instigation  ;  setting  forth 
how  he  was  disinherited  and  ejected,  and 
presented  himself  as  an  object  of  his  com- 
passion. He  reflected  also  upon  Hyrca- 
nus and  Antipater,  as  usurpers;  but  An- 


good  men,  and  our  faithful  allies,  that  the 
ancient  league  of  friendship  may  be  re- 
newed between  us ;  and  that  in  token  of 
their  gratitude,  they  have  brought  a  pre- 
sent of  a  golden  cup  and  buckler,  valued 
at  sixty  thousand  crowns.  Also  desiring 
letters  of  recommendation  to  all  governors 
and  free  towns  for  a  passage,  both  by  sea 
and  land,  through  all  their  ports  and  ter- 
ritories. Be  it  therefore  ordered  by  this 
senate,  that  the  same  league  of  friendship 
and  society  be  renewed  and  established, 
all  the  desires  of  the  said  ambassadors 
s    agreed  unto  and  granted,  and  their  presents 


Jamnia,  Azoth,  and  Phasaelis,  wit!)  50,000  pieces 
of  money.     She  favoured   Antipas  against  Arche- • 
laus,  and  died   A.   D.  9,  a  little  after  Arclielans  |  accepted, 
had  been  banished  to  Vienne  in  Daupliiny.     Sa 
lome  had  five  children  by   Alexas;  Berenice,  An- 
tipater, Calleas,  and  a  son  and  a  daughter,  whose     flf,Cate  a,,d  P"»«P»%  °*    Hyrcanus,  and 
names  are  not  mentioned. — Joseph.  Antiq.  I  in  the  month  of   Panemus 


This  was  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  pon- 


4  N 


650 


HISTORY  OF 


ruooK  x. 


This  prince  of  the  .lews  had  great  hon-  I  So  far  may  suffice  for  the  intercourse  of 
our  done  him  also  by  the  republic  of ,  friendship  that  passed  between  the  Ro- 
mans and  the  Athenians  with  Hyrcanus. 

When  Csesar  had  settled  his  affairs  in 
Syria,  he  returned  with  his  navy,  accom- 
panied by  Antipater,  who,  immediately 
upon  his  return  to  Jerusalem,  gave  orders 
for  the  repairing  of  the  walls  that  Pom- 
pey  had  thrown  down;  taking  a  tour  at 
die  same  time  throughout  the  province,  to 
promote  order  and  decorum. 

He  laid  before  them  the  blessings  of  a 
dutiful  obedience  to  their  prince,  in  the 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  liberties  and 
possessions,  and  the  dangerous  conse- 
quences of  seditious  practices  and  innova- 
tions, which 'would  force  governors  to  turn 
persecutors,  Hyrcanus  to  turn  tyrant,  and 
the  most  necessary  of  their  patrons  and 
allies,  even  the  Caesars  and  the  senate  of 
Rome,  to  become  their  implacable  ene- 
mies. With  these  admonitions  he  dispos- 
ed the  whole  country  to  peace  and  quiet. 


Al  lens,  in  acknowledgment  of  their  obli 
gations  to  him  ;  for  they  sent  him  a  de- 
cree to  the  following  purpose  : 

"  A  decree  of  the  Athenians,  bearing 
date  the  25  th  of  Pattern  us. — Forasmuch 
as  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander,  and 
the  high-priest  and  prince  of  the  Jews, 
hath  upon  all  occasions,  both  public  and 
private,  as  well  in  the  generous  reception, 
entertainment,  and  accommodation  of  our 
ambassadors,  as  otherwise,  given  proof  of 
a  singular  affection  and  esteem,  both  for 
our  nation  in  general,  and  the  citizens  of 
Athens  in  particular,  whereof  we  have  re- 
ceived many  instances ;  and  forasmuch 
as  we  have  received  credible  information 
from  Theodosius,  of  the  virtue  of  the 
said  excellent  prince,  and  of  his  friendly 
disposition  to  do  us  all  the  good  offices  in 
his  power,  we  have  resolved  to  present 
liitn  with  the  honorary  acknowledgment 
of  a  crown  of  gold,  and  to  erect  a  brazen 
statue  to  him  in  the  temple  of  the  people 
and  the  graces,  for  the  fame  of  his  memo- 
ry ;  and  to  have  it  notified  by  procla- 
mation at  the  exhibiting  of  any  new  show, 
in  all  the  theatres  and  places  of  public 
exercise,  and  spectacles  in  honour  of  Bac- 
chus, Minerva,  Ceres,  &c.  that  we  have 
presented  him  with  this  crown  out  of  ven- 
eration for  his  virtue.  And  we  do  further 
require  of  all  our  governors  and  magis- 
trates to  be  aiding  and  assisting  in  the  ef- 
fectual improvement  of  these  our  conces- 
sions to  the  best  advantage  of  our  friends 
and  associates,  so  long  as  this  amity  shall 
continue  between  us ;  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  our  gratitude,  piety,  and  justice, 
toward  all  men  of  worth  and  honour,  and 
the  encouraging  of  good  offices  and  in- 
clinations toward  us  for  the  future.  We 
do  likewise  order,  that  a  fit  choice  be  forth- 
with made  of  ambassadors  from  among  the 
Athenians,  to  attend  Hyrcanus  in  our  name, 
and  with  this  our  decree  and  presents;  and 
to  provoke  an  emulation  to  outdo  us  in 
this  generous  way  of  competition." 


CHAPTER  III. 

Antipater  effects  the  preferment  of  his  sons 
Phasael  and  Herod. — Is  embroiled  through  the 
ambition  of  Herod,  who  is  cited  before  the 
judges. — Bold  address  of  Simeas  upon  the  oc- 
casion.— Insolence  of  Herod  toward  Hyrca- 
nus.— Divers  proclamations  in  favour  of  the 
Jews. 

Antipater,  in  this  state  of  elevation, 
availed  himself  of  the  inactivity  of  Hyr- 
canus, to  aggrandize  his  own  family,  by 
putting  his  two  eldest  sons  Phasael  and 
Herod  into  two  eminent  commands,  ap- 
pointing the  former  that  of  Jerusalem, 
with  the  adjacent  country ;  and  confer- 
ring on  Herod,  his  second  son,  the  govern- 
ment of  Galilee. 

Herod,  at  that  time  but  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  was  of  a  pregnant  genius 
and  enterprising  spirit,  and  promised  to 
signalize  himself  in  the  command. 

The  borders  of  Syria  were  in  those 
days  very  much  infested  with  robbers ;  so 
that  the  first  instance  of  his  prowess  was 


Chap.  III.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


651 


upon  a  vagabond  troop  of  freebooters, 
wherein  he  took  Hezekiah  their  com- 
mander prisoner,  with  several  of  their 
companions,  and  put  them  to  death. 

This  action  gained  him  such  reputa- 
tion, that  his  name  was  celebrated  through 
all  the  towns  and  villages,  as  their  de- 
liverer, and  the  author  of  their  security 
and  repose.  By  the  fame  of  this  exploit, 
he  became  also  known  to  Sextus,  the 
kinsman  of  Caesar  the  Great,  who  had 
then  the  administration  of  Syria ;  besides, 
it  kindled  an  emulation  in  Phasael  like- 
wise, to  imitate  the  example  of  his  bro- 
ther, who  applied  himself  to  the  arts  of 
popularity,  as  the  most  probable  way  for 
compassing  his  ends. 

The  power  and  influence  of  An ti pater 
created  him  many  enemies  among  the 
leading  men  of  the  Jews ;  several  of  whom 
endeavoured  to  traduce  his  character,  and 
bring  upon  him  the  popular  odium,  by  in- 
sinuating that  he  had  embezzled  consi- 
derable sums,  which  he  received  from 
Hyrcanus  for  the  use  of  the  Romans. 

But  the  principal  thing  which  they 
alleged  as  the  cause  of  their  dissatisfaction, 
was  the  violent,  daring,  and  ambitious 
temper  of  Herod,  insomuch  that,  in  the 
heat  of  their  indignation,  they  went  to 
Hyrcanus  with  a  complaint  to  this  effect: 
"  How  long  shall  the  state  sustain  these 
injuries,  unnoticed  by  you?  Do  not  you 
perceive  that  the  dignities,  profits,  and 
prerogatives  of  royal  power,  are  shared 
between  Antipater  and  his  two  sons ;  and 
that  you  yourself  have  only  the  empty 
name  and  title  of  a  prince  ?  Beware  of 
letting  things  go  too  far,  and  being  over- 
secure;  for  certainly  the  safety  of  your 
person  and  government  lie  equally  at 
stake."  In  consequence  of  this  applica- 
tion to  Hyrcanus,  Herod  was  cited  to  ap- 
pear before  the  sanhedrim. 
,  He  obeyed  his  summons;  but  as  he 
\  made  his  appearance  in  a  purple  robe, 
and  surrounded  with  his  guards,  he  so 
overawed  the  council,  that  they  all  sat 
silent  without  saying  a  word  against  him ; 


at  length  Sameas,  an  upright  and  eloquent 
counsellor,  thus  harangued  the  culprit  and 
the  court:  "  With  the  permission  of  your- 
self, Sir,  and  of  this  honourable  court,  I 
must  observe,  that  this  is  the  first  time 
that  ever  I  saw  a  prisoner  at  the  bar  be- 
having himself  with  such  an  air  of  vanity 
and  confidence.  It  has  been  the  practice 
formerly,  of  persons  in  his  condition,  to 
demean  themselves  with  sobriety  and  re- 
signation; but  we  have  a  criminal  that 
values  himself  upon  his  guards,  his  orna- 
ments, and  his  purple;  and  stands  in  a 
posture  to  make  public  justice  more  dan- 
gerous to  the  court  than  to  the  criminal. 
God  is  a  God  of  righteousness  and  power; 
and  the  time  will  come  when  this  very 
man,  whom  you  suffer  to  take  these  liber- 
ties, shall  be  the  ruin  of  you,  both  king 
and  judges." 

Not  long  after,  upon  Herod's  getting 
possession  of  the  government,  he  put 
Hyrcanus  to  death,  and  all  the  judges, 
except  Sameas  ;  for  whom  he  had  a  singu- 
lar honour,  in  regard  botli  of  his  integrity 
and  justice,  and  more  particularly,  as  the 
person,  that,  after  the  besieging  of  the 
city  by  himself  and  Sosias,  was  instrumen- 
tal to  the  admitting  of  him  into  the  place 
with  this  further  declaration,  that  it  was  a 
judgment  upon  them  for  their  sins,  and  a 
punishment  not  to  be  avoided. 

Herod,  apprehensive  of  danger,  and 
perceiving  that  the  major  part  of  the  court 
were  inclined  to  condemn  him,  withdrew 
in  the  night-time  from  Jerusalem,  and 
retiring  to  Damascus,  resigned  himself 
to  the  care  and  protection  of  Sextus 
Csesar,  the  president  of  Syria,  who  settled 
him,  in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money, 
in  the  government  of  Ceelo-syria.  Herod 
thus  possessed  of  considerable  power,  and 
exasperated  at  the  indignity  of  being  ex- 
posed to  a  trial,  marched  against  Hyr- 
canus with  an  army ;  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  importunities  of  his  father,  and 
his  brother  Phasael,  he  had  most  certainly 
fallen  upon  Jerusalem. 

But  Herod  was  so  wrought  upon  by  this 


652 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X 


advice,  that  he  contented  himself  with 
showing  the  people  what  power  and  repu- 
tation he  had  upon  this  occasion. 

In  order  to  demonstrate  the  favour  in 
which  the  Jews  were  held  by  the  Romans, 
the  conquerors  of  the  world,  we  cite  the 
following  decree  of  the  senate  that  passed 
soon  after  Julius  Csesar  assumed  the  im- 
perial dignity. 

"  Caius  Julius  Csesar,  emperor,  Ponti- 
fex  Maximus,  and  the  second  time  dicta- 
tor, to  the  magistracy,  senate,  and  the 
people  of  Sidon,  greeting. — I  myself,  and 
the  army  are  in  health,  and  if  you  are 
well,  all  is  well.  I  send  you  the  copy  of 
a  letter  of  ours  to  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of 
Alexander  the  prince  and  high-priest  of 
the  Jews,  to  be  engraved  upon  a  brass 
table,  the  inscription  in  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  to  remain  among  your  registers  for 
aftertimes.  The  letter  itself  in  substance 
is  as  follows :  *  C.  Julius  Caesar,  emperor, 
the  second  time  dictator,  and  Pontifex 
Maximus,  hath,  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  appointed  the  publica- 
tion of  this  decree.  Forasmuch  as  Hyr- 
canus, the  son  of  Alexander,  a  Jew,  hath 
at  all  times,  as  well  in  war  as  in  peace, 
approved  himself  to  be  our  trusty  good 
friend  and  ally,  as  appeareth  by  several 
attestations  of  unquestionable  credit,  and 
particularly  by  the  supply  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred choice  men  that  he  sent  to  Mithri- 
dates,  to  my  assistance  in  the  late  Alex- 
andrian war.  These  services  and  good 
offices  duly  considered,  I  do  hereby  con- 
firm and  establish  unto  Hyrcanus,  and 
his  heirs,  the  perpetual  government  of 
the  Jews,  both  as  their  prince  and  high- 
priest,  after  the  manner  and  method  of 
their  own  laws;  and  from  this  time  for- 
ward, enrol  them  among  my  trusty  and 
beloved  friends,  and  ratify  an  affinity  with 
them  as  my  associates.  And  it  is  my 
pleasure  likewise,  that  all  the  legal  ponti- 
fical rites  and  privileges  be  devolved  upon 
Inm  and  his  sons  for  ever.  And  in  case 
any  controversy  shall  arise  among  the 
people  concerning  the  Jewish  discipline, 


himself,  and  his  family,  in  the  course  of 
succession,  to  be  the  only  judges  of  it. 
It  is  moreover  my  will  and  pleasure,  that 
the  Jews  be  discharged  the  burden  of 
winter  quarters,  and  of  all  public  pay- 
ments.' " 

We  shall  now  come  to  some  of  his  par- 
ticular grants,  resolutions,  and  decrees : 
"  Caius  Csesar,  emperor,  dictator,  and 
consul,  taking  into  his  consideration  the 
honour,  the  friendship,  and  the  good  ser- 
vices of  Hyrcanus,  doth  hereby,  for  the 
benefit  and  advantage  of  the  senate  and 
people  of  Rome,  grant  unto  Hyrcanus, 
and  to  his  sons  after  him,  by  succession, 
the  authority  and  office  of  princes  and 
priests  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  whole  na- 
tion of  the  Jews,  to  be  by  them  exercised 
and  enjoyed  in  the  same  manner  as  their 
ancestors.  And  we  further  ordain  and 
appoint,  that  the  city  of  Jerusalem  shall 
be  repaired  and  fortified ;  and  that  Hyr- 
canus shall  have  the  administration  of 
the  government,  with  an  abatement  upon 
the  duty  every  second  year  of  part  of  their 
taxes,  and  an  exemption  from  carriages 
and  other  tributes.  Caius  Julius,  the 
fourth  time  emperor,  the  fifth  time  consul, 
and  perpetual  dictator,  makes  this  men- 
tion of  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander, 
the  prince  and  high-priest  of  the  Jews. 
Whereas  my  predecessors,  as  well  in  the 
provinces  as  in  the  senate,  have  formerly 
borne  witness  to  many  honourable  reports 
on  the  behalf  of  the  high-priest  Hyrcanus, 
and  the  generality  of  the  Jews,  who  have 
thereupon  received  the  thanks  of  the 
senate  and  people  of  Rome,  in  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  worth  and  goodness, 
we  look  upon  their  friendly  offices  as  ob- 
ligations never  to  be  forgotten ;  and  upon 
ourselves,  as  bound  in  the  name  of  the 
senate  and  people  of  Rome,  to  give  Hyr- 
canus, his  family  and  countrymen,  all 
possible  demonstrations  of  the  sense  we 
have  of  their  amity  and  esteem." 

Many  others  passed  of  the  same  kind ; 
but  these  we  omit,  as  this  suffices  for  our 
purpose. 


Chap.  IV.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


053 


CHAPTER  IV. 


After  the  death  of  Cccmr,  Cassius  enters  into  a 
faction,  and  joins  with  Herod  in  oppressing 

the  Jews Divers  instances  of  the  cruelty  and 

ambition  of  Herod. — Anlipater  is  poisoned. — 
Regard  of  Herod  for  the  Tyrians. — He  de- 
feats Antigonus. — Edict  in  favour  of  the  Jews. 

Caesar  having  been  treacherously  assassi- 
nated in  the  senate  house,*  the  citizens  of 


*  While  Julius  Csesar  was  preparing  for  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Parthians,  in  order  to  revenge 
the  death  of  Crassus,  and  the  Romans,  that  were 
slain  with  him  at  the  battle  of  Corrhae,  on  the  Ides 
of  March,  i.  e.  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  that  month, 
four  days  before  he  intended  to  set  out  upon  that 
expedition,  he  was  murdered  in  the  senate-house 
by  a  conspiracy  of  the  senators.  This  was  a  most 
villanous  act,  and  the  more  so,  because  {he  prime 
authors  of  it,  viz.  Marcus  Brutus,  Decimns  Brutus, 
Cassius,  Trebonius,  and  some  others  of  them,  were 
the  very  persons  whom  Caesar  in  the  highest  man- 
ner had  obliged,  yet  it  was  executed  under  the  no- 
tion of  an  "heroic  virtue,  in  thus  freeing  their 
country  from  one  whom  they  called  a  tyrant ;  and 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  executed  is  this  : — as 
soon  as  he  came  into  the  senate-house,  Attilius 
Cimber,  who  was  one  of  the  conspirators,  present- 
ed himself  (according  as  it  was  agreed  among  them) 
to  demand  his  brother's  pardon,  who  was  banish- 
ed ;  but,  upon  Caesar's  refusal,  under  pretence  of 
begging  it  with  greater  submission,  laid  hold  of  the 
bottom  of  his  robe,  and  pulled  him  so  hard,  that 
he  made  him  bend  his  back  :  then  Casca  drew  his 
dagger,  and  stabbed  him  in  the  shoulder,  but  the 
wound  proved  but  slight,  so  that  Caesar  fell  upon 
him,  but,  as  they  were  scuffling,  another  of  the 
conspirators  came  behind,  and  stabbed  him  in  the 
side.  Cassius,  at  the  same  time,  wounded  him  in 
the  face,  and  Brutus  pierced  his  thigh.  With 
much  courage  he  still  defended  himself;  but  the 
blood  he  lost  through  so  many  wounds  having  much 
weakened  him,  he  went  to  the  foot  of  Pompey's 
statue,  where  he  fell  and  expired,  after  having  been 
stabbed  in  three  and  twenty  places,  by  the  hands 
of  those  whom  he  thought  he  had  disarmed  by  his 
good  offices.  Caesar  might  have  escaped  the  sword 
of  the  conspirators,  if  he  had  listened  to  the  ad- 
vice of  his  wife,  whose  dreams,  on  the  night  pre- 
vious to  the  day  of  his  murder,  were  alarming.  He 
also  received,  as  he  went  to  the  senate-house,  a 
paper  from  Artemidorus,  which  discovered  the 
whole  conspiracy  to  him  ;  but  he  neglected  the 
reading  of  what  might  have  saved  his  life.  The 
learning  of  Caesar  deserves  commendation,  as  weil 
3  his  military  character.  He  reformed  the  calen- 
dar. He  wrote  his  commentaries  on  the  Gallic 
wars,  on  the  spot  where  he  fought  his  battles  ;  and 
the  composition  has  been  admired  for  the  elegance 
as  well  as  the  correctness  of  its  style.  This  valu- 
able book  was  nearly  lost  ;  and  when  Caesar  saved 
his  life  in  the  bay  of  Alexandria,  he  was  obliged  to 
swim  from  his  ship,  with  his  arms  in  one  hand,  and 
his  commentaries  in  the  other.     Besides  the  Gallic 


Rome  formed  parties  and  factions,  which 
were  followed  by  a  civil  war.  Cassius, 
one  of  the  leading  men  among  the  con- 
spirators, obtained  the  command  of  the 
army  in  Syria,  which  was  then  before 
Apamea,  raised  the  siege,  and  brought 
over  Marcus  and  Bassus  into  his  interest ; 
and  proceeded  from  place  to  place,  collect- 
ing men,  money,  and  arms  wherever  he 
came,  but  oppressing  Judea  above  all  the 
rest,  by  an  imposition  of  between  seven 
and  eight  hundred  talents  of  silver. 

In  this  confusion,  Antipater  committed 
the  care  of  levying  one  part  of  this  money 
to  his  two  sons,  and  the  rest  of  it  to  Mali- 
chus,  together  with  some  others.  Herod, 
who  was  willing  to  oblige  the  Romans  at 
the  expense  of  the  people  over  whom  he 
presided,  began  with  the  most  acceptable 
presents  to  Cassius,  of  the  contribution  of 
Galilee,  as  the  first  fruits  of  his  service ; 
but  several  cities  under  other  governors 
were  exposed  to  public  sale,  by  order  of 


and  civil  wars,  he  wrote  other  pieces,  which  are 
now  lost.  The  history  of  the  war  in  Alexandria 
and  Spain  is  attributed  to  him  by  some,  and  by 
others  to  Hirtius.  Caesar  has  been  blamed  for  his 
debaucheries  and  expenses  ;  and  the  first  year  he 
had  a  public  office,  his  debts  were  rated  at  830  ta- 
lents, which  his  friends  discharged  ;  yet,  in  his  pub- 
lic character,  he  must  be  reckoned  one  of  the  few 
heroes  that  now  and  then  make  their  appearance 
among  mankind.  His  qualities  were  such  that  in 
every  battle  he  could  not  but  be  conqueror,  and  in 
every  republic,  master  ;  and  to  his  sense  of  his  su- 
periority over  the  rest  of  the  world,  or  to  his  am- 
bition, we  are  to  attribute  his  saying,  that  he  wish- 
ed rather  to  be  first  in  a  little  village,  than  second 
at  Rome.  It  was  after  his  conquest  over  Pharna- 
ces  in  one  day,  that  he  made  use  of  these  remark- 
able words,  to  express  the  celerity  of  his  opera- 
tions ;  '  Veni,  vidi,  vici.'  Conscious  of  the  services 
of  a  man  who,  in  the  intervals  of  peace,  beautified 
and  enriched  the  capital  of  his  country  with  pub- 
lic buildings,  libraries,  and  porticoes,  the  senate 
permitted  the  dictator  to  wear  a  laurel  crown  on 
his  bald  head  ;  and  it  is  said,  that,  to  reward  his 
benevolence,  they  were  going  to^give  him  the  title 
or  authority  of  king  all  over  the  Roman  empire, 
except  Italy,  when  he  was  murdered.  In  his  pri- 
vate character,  Caesar  has  been  accused  of  seducing 
one  of  the  vestal  virgins,  and  suspected  of  being 
privy  to  Catiline's  conspiracy.  It  is  said  that  he 
conquered  300  nations,  took  800  cities,  and  de- 
feated three  millions  of  men,  one  of  which  fell  in 
the  field  of  battle.  Pliny  says,  that  he  could  em- 
ploy at  the  same  time,  his  ears  to  listen,  his  eyes 
to  read,  his  hand  to  write,  and  his  mind  to  dictate. 
— Prideaux,  Vertot,  and  Lempriere. 


654 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X 


Cas-ius,  wlio  was  so  exasperated  against 
Malichus  upon  this  occasion,  that  if  Hyr- 
cainis  had  not  pacified  him  with  a  compo- 
sition of  u  hundred  talents  out  of  his  own 
coffers,  by  the  hands  of  Antipater,  it  would 
have  cost  him  his  life. 

Malichus  therefore  entered  into  a  plot 
against  Antipater,  inferring,  that  if  he  was 
taken  off,  Hyrcanus  would  find  himself 
more  easy  and  secure  in  his  government. 
Antipater,  suspecting  his.  design,  passed 
the  river  Jordan,  and  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  as  many  Jews  and  Arabians  as  he 
could  collect;  but  Malichus,  who  was  bold 
and  artful,  finding  himself  suspected,  went 
to  Antipater  arid  his  sons,  and  cleared 
himself  of  the  suspicion  by  the  dint  of 
perjury. 

Cassias  having  assembled  a  powerful 
army  and  fitted  out  a  considerable  fleet, 
conferred  the  command  of  both  on  Herod, 
and  appointed  him  at  the  same  time  go- 
vernor of  Ccelo-syria,  with  a  further  pro- 
mise of  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  as  soon  as 
the  war  should  be  over  with  Anthony,  and 
the  younger  Caesar,  afterward  Augustus, 
in  which  they  were  then  engaged. 

The  promotion  of  Herod  rendering 
Malichus  jealous  of  the  interest  that  would 
follow  to  his  father  Antipater,  he  bribed  a 
servant  of  Hyrcanus  to  poison  him  at  his 
master's  table,  and  thereupon,  with  a  guard 
of  soldiers  took  possession  of  the  city. 
Such  was  the  unhappy  end  of  Antipater; 
a  jusr  and  a  good  man,  and  a  true  lover  of 
his  country. 

Herod  and  Phasael  resented  the  mur- 
der of  their  father,  but  Malichus  had  the 
confidence  to  stand  upon  his  justification. 
The  two  brothers  were  both  agreed  in  the 
determination  of  revenge;  but  the  ques- 
tion was,  in  what  manner  it  was  to  be  ef- 
fected.* 


*  The  matter  was  conducted  thus, — Cassius, 
being  informed  by  Herod  of  the  manner  of  his  fa- 
ther's death,  gave  him  leave  to  revenge  himself  on 
the  murderer,  and  sent  his  orders  to  the  forces, 
under  his  command  at  Tyre,  to  be  assistant,  to  him 
Unrein.     On    Cassius's  taking   Laodicea,  all  the 


Antigonus,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  now 
entered  into  a  design  to  oppose  Herod, 
and  with  this  view  engaged  Fabius  for  a 
sum  of  money  to  join  with  him  in  raising 
an  army,  taking  Marion  also  into  his  as- 
sistance, who,  by  the  favour  of  Cassius, 
had  obtained  the  command  of  Tyre  and 
of  all  Syria,  having  settled  several  garri- 
sons there,  and  three  in  Galilee,  upon  his 
own  borders  ;  but  Herod  quickly  reduced 
these  places,  treating  the  Tyrians  who 
kept  them  with  every  token  of  respect, 
tenderness,  and  generosity,  for  the  affec- 
tion he  bore  towards  them. 

His  next  business  was  immediately  to 
march  up  to  Antigonus,  whom  he  encoun- 
tered and  defeated  upon  his  very  entrance 
into  Judea,  and  returning  triumphant  from 
thence  to  Jerusalem,  he  was  received  by 
Hyrcanus  and  the  whole  people  with  every 
instance  of  honour  and  esteem. 

After  the  defeat  of  Cassius  at  Philippi,f 


princes,  and  chief  lords  of  Syria  and  Palestine 
hastened  thither  with  their  presents  and  congratu- 
lations. Hyrcanus,  together  with  Malichus  and 
Herod,  put  himself  upon  the  road  for  the  same 
purpose  ;  and,  as  they  drew  near  to  Tyre,  where 
they  were  to  lodge  that  night,  Herod  invited  all 
the  company  to  sup  with  him  ;  and,  sending  his 
servants  before,  under  pretence  of  providing  the 
supper,  by  them  he  communicated  the  orders  of 
Cassius  to  the  commanders  of  the  Roman  garrison 
in  the  city,  who  accordingly  sent  out  a  party  of 
armed  men,  that  fell  upon  Malichus,  as  tie  drew 
near  to  the  place,  and  slew  him  — Joseph.  Antiq. 
•f  Philippi  is  a  town  of  Macedonia,  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  which  St  Paul  wrote  his  epistle  ;  but 
what  made  this  place  the  most  remarkable,  was  the 
famous  battle  that  was  fought  near  it,  between  the 
army  of  Octavianus  and  Anthony,  and  that  under 
Brutus  and  Cassius,  consisting  of  near  a  hundred 
thousand  men  each.  Brutus  and  Cassius  both  com- 
manded in  the  action  ;  but  Octavianus  being  sick 
in  his  tent,  the  command  of  the  other  army  fell 
wholly  upon  Anthony.  The  forces  commanded  by 
Cassius  were  soon  repulsed,  so  that  he  retired  to  an 
hill,  there  to  wait  for  an  account  of  that  part  of 
the  army,  which  was  commanded  by  Brutus  :  but, 
in  the  confusion  and  dust,  not  being  able  to  per- 
ceive what  was  doing,  his  mind  misgave  him  tint 
Brutus  was  overcome,  and  thereupon  he  command- 
ed his  servant  Pindarus  to  cut  off' his  head.  Bru- 
tus, in  the  first  day  of  action,  was  so  successful, 
that  he  made  the  enemy  retire,  and  took  Octavi- 
anus's  camp  ;  but,  in  a  few  days  after,  coming  to  a 
second  engagement,  he  was  entirely  routed,  and, 
being  loath  to  full  into  the  enemy's  hand*-,  prevail- 
ed with  his  fri<'tid  Strabo  to  despatch  him  :  and, 


Chap.  V.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


655 


by  Anthony  and  Caesar  Octavianus,*  Ca> 
sar  went  into  Gaul,  and  Anthony  into 
Asia,  who  was  complimented  on  his  march 
into  Bithynia  with  embassies  and  applica- 
tions from  several  parts;  and  among 
others,  with  complaints  and  accusations 
against  Phasael  and  Herod,  from  many 
eminent  persons  among  the  Jews,  sug- 
gesting that  Hyrcanus,  though  l»e  had 
the  name  of  governor,  was  in  effect  but  a 
nominal  prince ;  for  that  the  two  brothers 
had  usurped  the  authority  and  administra- 
tion to  themselves. 

Herod  pleaded  so  well  for  himself,  and 
enforced  his  arguments  with  so  large  a 
sum  of  money,  that  his  adversaries  were 
not  admitted  to  be  heard  against  him. 

Upon  Anthony's  coming  to  Ephesus, 
ambassadors  were  sent  from  Hyrcanus, 
the  high-priest,  and  the  whole  body  of 
the  Jews,  with  a  crown  of  gold,  desiring 
that  their  countrymen,  who  were  carried 
away  prisoners  by  Cassias,  contrary  to 
the  rules  of  war,  might  be  set  at  liberty, 
and  their  lands  restored  to  those  who  had 
been  wrongfully  deprived  of  them. 

Their  request  was  found  to  be  so  reason- 
able, that  Anthony  presently  granted  their 
petition,  and  wrote  to  Hyrcanus,  and  to 
the  Jews,  and  likewise  despatched  an  edict 
to  the  Tyriaus,  to  the  following  effect: 

"  Marcus  Antonius,  emperor,  to  Hyr- 
canus the  high-priest,  and  prince  of  the 
Jews,  greeting,  joy  and  health. — Whereas 
we  have  received  from  Lysimachus  the 
son  of  Pausanias,  Joseph  the  son  of 
Menneus,  and  Alexander  the  son  of 
Theodorus,  your  ambassadors  at  Ephe- 
sus, fresh  assurances  of  the  continuance  of 

what  is  very  remarkable  in  these  two  men's  deaths 
is,  that  they  were  both  killed  with  the  same  swords 
wherewith  they  had  murdered  Caesar. — Plutarch 
and  Dion  Cassius. 

*  Octavianua  was  the  son  of  Cains  Octavius,  by 
Atia  the  daughter  of  Julia,  sister  of  Julius  Caesar  ; 
and  therefore  Julius  adopted  him,  as  being  his 
nephew,  and  next  male  relation,  to  be  his  son; 
upon  his  uncle's  death,  he  took  upon  him  the 
name  of  Cains  Julius  Caesar  Octavianus,  and  by 
litis  name  he  was  afterwards  known,  till  that  of 
Augustus,  which  was  given  after  the  victory  at 
Actium,  swallowed  up  all  the  rest. — Prideaux. 


yours  and  your  people's  affection  for  us, 
according  to  what  hath  been  formerly  ex- 
hibited to  us  at  Rome;  in  which  commis- 
sion they  have  faithfully  acquitted  them- 
selves; and  whereas  we  are  abundantly 
satisfied  with  the  sincerity  of  vour  inten- 
tions, and  more  from  the  proof  we  have 
had  of  your  good  faith,  piety,  and  virtue, 
than  by  the  force  of  words,  we  do  heartily 
agree  to  your  proposals,  and  embrace  your 
friendship.  It  is  our  pleasure,  that  you 
shall  quietly  enjoy  to  yourselves  and  your 
heirs,  all  the  graces  and  privileges  unto 
you  granted  by  myself  and  Dolobella, 
with  an  express  inhibition  to  the  Tyrians, 
that  they  give  you  no  sort  of  molestation, 
and  as  positively  commanding  them  to 
make  full  restitution  of  all  the  goods  and 
estates  that  had  been  taken  away  from 
the  Jews,  declaring  our  acceptance  also  of 
the  crown  you  were  pleased  to  send." 

CHAPTER  V. 

Contract  of  Antigonus  with  the  Parthians,  to 
depose  Hyrcanus,  and  take  off  Herod  and  his 
party. — Hyrcanus  and  Phasael  are  seized, 
but  Herod  eludes  their  design,  and  after 
several  skirmishes,  makes  his  escape  together 
with  a  considerable  party. — Builds  Hero- 
dium. — Jerusalem  besieged. —  Antigonus  ob~ 
tains  the  government,  and  avenges  himself  on 
Hyrcanus. — Phasael  destroys  himself. — He- 
rod departs  towards  Egypt ;  thence  proceeds 
to  Rome. — Is  honoured  by  Aut/ustus  ;  made 
king  of  Judea,  and  conducted  with  great 
pomp  to  the  capital. 

Antigonus,  son  of  Aristobulus,  envious 
of  the  power  of  Hyrcanus  and  his  party, 
contracted  with  the  Parthians  for  a  thou- 
sand talents,  and  five  hundred  of  the 
finest  women,  to  eject  the  present  pos- 
sessor and  invest  him  with  the  government 
of  Judea. 

Accordingly  the  king  sent  his  son  Pa- 
corus,  and  his  general  Barzapharnes,  with 
a  powerful  army  to  invade  that  country. 
Having  divided  their  forces,  Piicorus 
marched  along  the  coast ;  and  Barza- 
pharnes kept  his  route  through  the  inland 
part.      The  king's  son,  having   Antigon- 


656 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


us  in  liis  party,  was  joined  by  the  Jews 
that  dwelt  about  mount  Curmel,  and  many 
others  in  the  course  of  their  march,  so  that 
he  had  collected  a  very  formidable  army, 
nnd  boldly  advanced  to  the  city  of  Jeru- 
salem, with  a  determined  resolution  to  at- 
tack Herod  and  Phasael  in  the  royal  pa- 
lace. 

Upon  their  arrival,  a  considerable  fac- 
tion declared  in  favour  of  Antigonus ;  and 
Herod,  after  some  fruitless  resistance,  and 
vain  endeavours  to  keep  the  city,  betook 
himself  to  flight.  In  the  meantime  the 
Parthians  seized  Hyrcanus  and  Phasael, 
and  loaded  them  with  irons.  Herod,  find- 
ing himself  in  an  enemy's  country,  and 
amongst  a  people  who  were  averse  to  his 
person  and  government,  determined  to 
prosecute  his  journey  to  the  castle  of  Mas- 
sada,  together  with  his  nearest  relations, 
lest  they  likewise  should  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  combined  parties. 

In  their  hasty  retreat,  the  carriage  in 
which  Herod's  mother  rode  was  unhappily 
overset,  and  such  was  the  concern  of  her 
son,  that,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Josephus,  he  attempted  to  stab  himself, 
but  being  prevented  from  the  execution 
of  so  rash  a  design,  pursued  his  journey 
towards  the  intended  asylum. 

As  the  number  of  those  who  attended 
him  in  his  flight  was  very  considerable, 
they  repulsed  divers  parties  which  endea- 
voured to  molest  them,  and  came  off  vic- 
torious. So  strongly  was  this  circumstance 
impressed  upon  the  mind  of  Herod,  that 
when  he  afterwards  ascended  the  throne 
of  Judea,  he  erected  a  spacious  palace  and 
founded  a  village  upon  the  spot  whereon 
he  had  given  the  enemy  the  most  signal 
repulse,  and  called  it  Herodium.* 

Being  met  at  Ressa,  a  town  of  Idumea,  by 


*  The  palace  was  situated  about  seven  miles  from 
Jerusalem.  It  stood  in  a  very  pleasant  and  a  very 
strong  situation,  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  from  whence 
there  was  a  prospect  of  all  the  country  round. 
From  this  palace  the  hill  declined  all  around  with 
an  equal  and  uniform  descent,  which  had  a  very 
beautiful  aspect ;  and  at  the  foot  of  it  were  soon 
built  such  a  number  of  houses,  as  amounted  to  the 
proportion  of  a  considerable  city Prideaux. 


his  brother  Joseph,  they  deliberated  on  fu- 
ture measures,  and  reflecting  that  the  castle 
of  Massadaf  was  not  sufficiently  extensive 
to  contain  their  numbers,  concluded  to  se- 
parate, so  that  having  furnished  themselves 
with  provisions,  and  disposed  of  their  wo- 
men and  most  valuable  baggage  in  the 
castle,  which  was  well  furnished  with  ne- 
cessaries, they  formed  into  parties,  and 
Herod  with  his  body  proceeded  towards 
Arabia. 

Antigonus,  having  by  this  time  gained 
possession  of  the  government  of  Judea, 
through  the  assistance  of  the  king  of  Par- 
thia,  was  greatly  incensed  at  the  escape  of 
the  women,  and  the  loss  of  the  money 
which  he  had  promised  as  a  reward  to  his 
allies  ;  so  that,  in  the  fury  of  his  resent- 
ment, he  ordered  the  ears  of  Hyrcanus  to 
be  cut  off,  in  order  to  disqualify  him  for 
the  dignified  order  of  the  priesthood. 

Phasael,  finding  his  situation  desperate, 
and  dreading  the  revenge  of  the  conquer- 
or, put  an  end  to  his  life  in  a  most  ex- 
traordinary manner ;  for,  being  manacled, 
he  dashed  out  his  brains  against  the  prison 
wall. 

Herod  being  arrived  on  the  borders  of 
Arabia,  applied  to  Malchus,  the  king  of 
that  country,  to  let  him  have  some  money 
by  way  of  loan ;  for  not  knowing  what 
was  become  of  his  brother,  he  intended  to 
redeem  him,  as  he  feared  the  resentment 
of  the  Parthians;  but  Malchus  not  only 
denied  his  request,  but  forbade  him  by  his 
messengers  even  from  entering  his  do- 
minions. Thus  embarrassed  on  all  sides, 
he  betook  himself  to  Egypt,  where  he  was 
honourably  received,  and  sumptuously  en- 
tertained by  Cleopatra  ;  but  being  deter- 
mined on  a  passage  to  Rome,  from  a  view 
of  obtaining  the  favour  and  interest  of  the 
conquerors  of  the  world,  he  set  forward, 
and  after  a  tedious  and  dangerous  passage 
in  the  midst  of  winter,  landed  at  Brundu- 
sium,  and  from  thence  proceeded  to  Rome. 

f  This  strong  fortress  was  built  on  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  near  the  west  side  of  the  lake  Asphal- 
tites. 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


C57 


Being  versed  in  all  the  arts  of  insinua- 
tion, and  endued  with  great  eloquence,  he 
represented  his  late  adventures  in  such 
striking  terms  to  Anthony,  that  the  gen- 
}ous  Roman,  wrought  upon  by  the  af- 
fecting tale,  and  the  remembrance  of  his 
father  Antipater,  not  only  espoused  his 
cause,  but  engaged  Caesar  in  his  interest, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  ambitious  suppliant. 

The  case  of  Herod  was  soon  after  brought 
before  the  senate,  who,  in  consequence  of 
Anthony's  setting  forth  in  a  very  elaborate 
manner  the  service  he  had  done  the  Ro- 
man commonwealth,  and  representing  the 
indignity  they  had  sustained  from  Anti- 
gonus,  in  accepting  the  government  from 
the  hands  of  the  Parthians,  pronounced 
Herod  king  of  Judea,  and  declared  Anti- 
gonus  a  professed  enemy  to  the  state. 

When  the  senate  broke  up,  Caesar  and 
Anthony,  accompanied  by  a  great  number 
of  the  members,  conducted  Herod  with 
the  utmost  solemnity  to  the  capitol,  where 
they  sacrificed  with  the  usual  solemnity, 
and  deposited  the  decree  that  had  lately 
passed. 

Anthony  then  entertained  the  king  in 
the  most  sumptuous  manner,  and  publicly 
congratulated  him  on  the  honours  which 
had  been  conferred  upon  him  in  so  signal 
a  manner,  by  the  most  dignified  people  of 
the  universe. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Herod's  party  distressed  in  Massada. — He 
marches  to  their  assistance,  reinforced  by  the 
Romans. —  Obtains  very  considerable  advan- 
tages by  the  reduction  of  divers  places. — Sets 
his  friends  at  liberty. — Encamps  near  Jeru- 
\ilem. — Recovers  Galilee. — His  brother  Joseph 
Jirough  inadvertence  loses  kis  life. — Siege  of 
Jerusalem  carried  on  with  great  vigour  on 
both  sides. —  Terminates  in  favour  of  Herod, 

who  causes  Antigonus  to  be  put  to  death. 

Extinction  of  the  family  of  Asmodeus. 

While  the  interest  of  Herod  was  so  essen- 
tially promoted  by  the  concurrence  of  the 
Roman  senate,  his  friends,  who  were  block- 
ed up  in  the  castle  of  Massada,  were  ex- 


posed to  great  hardships,  through  the  pres- 
sure of  Antigonus,  and  a  great  dearth  of 
water,  insomuch  that  being  on  the  point 
of  surrender,  Joseph  had  conceived  a  de- 
sign of  escaping  with  his  nearest  relatives, 
and  those  of  the  party  who  were  most 
firmly  attached  to  his  cause.  But  the  de- 
sign was  happily  obviated,  by  a  prodigious 
shower  of  rain,  that  fell  on  the  very  night 
which  they  had  proposed  for  its  execu- 
tion. Being  thus  supplied  with  water,  the 
besieged  made  a  most  furious  sally,  and 
repelled  a  party  of  the  assailants  with  great 
loss. 

Herod  having  received  intelligence  at 
Ptolemais,  whence  he  had  lately  arrived 
from  Rome,  of  the  situation  of  his  friends, 
raised  a  considerable  army,  amongst  whom 
was  a  party  of  Romans,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Ventidius  *  and  Silo  his  lieuten- 
ant in  Palestine;  determined  to  act  with 
the  utmost  vigour  and  resolution,  in  order 
to  recover  his  kingdom,  as  well  as  relieve 
his  friends. 

Most  of  the  Galileans  joined  him  in  his 
march,  so  that  having  reduced  Joppa,  he 
advanced  to  Massada,  which  having  com- 
pelled to  surrender,  he  set  his  friends  at 
liberty ;  and  after  he  added  the  castle  of 
Ressa,  a  strong  fortress  in  Idumea,  to  his 
conquests,  proceeded  to  Jerusalem,  and 
encamped  on  the  west  side  of  that  city. 

Antigonus  had  taken  every  necessary 
precaution  for  its  defence  and  security; 
he  had  supplied  it  with  a  numerous  garri- 
son, well  furnished  with  warlike  stores,  so 


*  Ventidius  Bassus  was  a  native  of  Picenum, 
and  born  of  an  obscure  family.  When  Asculum 
was  taken,  he  was  carried  before  the  triumphant 
chariot  of  Pompeius  Strabo,  hanging  on  his  mo- 
ther's breast.  A  bold  aspiring  soul,  aided  by  the 
patronage  of  the  family  of  Caesar,  raised  him  from 
the  mean  occupation  of  a  chairman  and  muleteer 
to  dignity  in  the  state.  He  displayed  valour  in  the 
Roman  armies,  and  gradually  rose  to  the  offices  of 
tribune,  prastor,  high-priest,  and  consul.  He  made 
war  against  the  Parthians,  and  conquered  them  in 
three  great  battles,  B.  C.  39.  He  was  the  first 
Roman  ever  honoured  with  a  triumph  over  Par 
thia.  He  died  greatly  lamented  by  all  the  Roman, 
people,  and  was  buried  at  the  public  expense.— 
Lempriere. 

4  o 


658 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


that  having  annoyed  the  assailants  by  fre- 
quent sallies,  he  became  too  confident  of 
success,  and  sent  a  herald  round  the  walls, 
to  proclaim  indemnity  to  all  that  would 
voluntarily  surrender. 

To  enforce  this  proclamation,  he  ad- 
dressed himself  from  the  wall  to  Silo,  and 
the  Romans  under  his  command,  repre- 
senting the  injustice  they  had  done  him 
in  transferring  the  crown  from  his  family, 
which  was  of  royal  descent,  to  Herod, 
who  was  of  a  plebeian  race;  adding,  that 
if  they  were  disposed  to  express  their 
resentment  on  account  of  his  receiving 
the  kingdom  from  the  Parthians,  they 
might  nevertheless  have  conferred  their 
favours  upon  some  person  of  royal  extrac- 
tion, as  many  yet  remained,  who  had 
never  given  them  any  just  cause  for  dis- 
pleasure. 

From  these  reproaches  they  came  to 
acts  of  hostility,  and  the  besieged  plied 
their  darts  and  arrows  with  such  rapidity, 
that  the  enemy  were  soon  driven  from  the 
walls. 

This  successful  effort  was  greatly  pro- 
moted by  the  treachery  of  Silo,  who,  in 
consequence  of  a  bribe  from  Antigonus, 
insinuated  to  the  soldiers  of  Herod,  the 
barrenness  of  the  country,  the  inconveni- 
ence of  their  quarters,  and  their  want 
of  every  necessary  accommodation,  which 
disposed  them  to  wish  for  a  conclusion 
being  put  to  the  siege. 

Herod,  having  received  intelligence  of 
these  proceedings,  reminded  Silo  in  a 
persuasive  tone,  that  he  was  not  only  sent 
by  Caesar  and  Anthony,  but  by  the  whole 
senate  of  Rome;  declaring  at  the  same 
time,  that  if  he  and  his  soldiers  would 
stand  their  ground,  they  should  be  plenti- 
fully supplied  with  all  things  necessary. 

Antigonus  having  notice  of  all  that 
passed,  despatched  parties  to  lie  in  am- 
buscade, and  intercept  the  foragers;  but 
Herod,  who  was  equally  active  with  the 
enemy,  very  frequently  came  up  with 
them,  and  pursued  his  advantages  with 
*uch   vigour,    that   having   extended   his 


victory  as   far   as    the    river   Jordan,   all 
Galilee  came  over  to  his  allegiance. 

Herod  finding  that,  notwithstanding  this 
advantage,  his  affairs  were  but  inconsider- 
ably promoted,  as  the  Roman  guards  act- 
ed with  great  coolness  in  his  interest, 
determined  to  repair  to  Anthony,  leaving 
his  brother  Joseph  to  watch  the  motions 
of  Antigonus. 

Anthony  received  him,  upon  his  arrival, 
with  every  honourable  token,  treated  him 
in  a  manner  agreeable  to  his  royal  charac- 
ter, and  assured  him,  that  orders  should 
be  immediately  despatched  to  the  Roman 
generals,  to  exert  themselves  with  as 
much  vigour  in  his  cause,  as  if  they  were 
employed  in  the  actual  service  of  the. 
state. 

During  the  absence  of  Herod,  Joseph, 
unmindful  of  his  intructions,  marched  to- 
ward Jericho  with  a  detachment,  in  order 
to  forage:  and  his  party,  consisting  of 
unexperienced  men,  were  circumvented 
by  the  disciplined  troops  of  Antigonus, 
and,  together  with  their  leader,  easily 
vanquished. 

Antigonus  finding  Joseph  among  the 
dead  bodies,  caused  his  head  to  be  cut  off, 
and  set  the  price  of  fifty  talents  for  the 
redemption  of  it,  which  were  paid  by  his 
brother  Pheroras,  and  this  occasioned  a 
revolt  of  several  of  the  Galileans. 

Herod  receiving  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  his  brother,  while  he  was  at  a 
place  called  Daphne,  hastened  to  mount 
Libanus,  where  taking  eight  hundred  of 
the  natives,  and  a  Roman  legion,*  with 
him,  he  advanced-  to  Ptolemais,  and  from 
thence  passing  by  night  through  Galilee, 
was  beset  in  his  march,  but  repulsed  the 
enemy  with  considerable  loss.  By  this 
time  above  eighteen  months  elapsed,  since 
Herod,   upon    the   honours   conferred   on 

*  It  is  generally  thought  that  a  legion  was 
composed  of  ten  cohorts  ;  a  cohort,  of  fifty  mani- 
ples ;  a  maniple,  of  fifty  men,  and  consequently, 
that  a  legion  was  a  body  of  six  thousand  soldiers  ; 
but  others  are  clearly  of  opinion,  that  it  was  an 
uncertain  number,  and  contained  sometimes  four, 
sometimes  five,  and  sometimes  six  thousand  men 


Chap.  VI.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


6.59 


him,  had  determined  to  recover  the  go- 
vernment of  Judea;  considering  therefore, 
that  as  long  as  Jerusalem  held  out,  his 
possession  of  other  places  would  be  very 
precarious,  he  resolved  to  turn  his  whole 
force  against  the  capital,  and  by  reducing 
that,  put  a  final  period  to  the  war,  and 
establish  himself  on  the  throne  from 
which  he  had  been  expelled. 

To  accomplish  this  important  design,  he 
encamped  before  the  temple,  which  he  en- 
compassed with  a  triple  trench.  His  own 
army  consisted  of  about  thirty  thousand 
men,  to  which  were  added  eleven  Roman 
legions  of  foot,  and  six  thousand  horse, 
under  the  command  of  Sosius,  beside  the 
auxiliary  troops  of  Syria.  The  Jews 
within  the  city  were  resolute  and  numer- 
ous, animating  each  other,  by  exclaiming, 
*  The  temple  of  the  Lord  !  The  temple 
of  the  Lord  !'  and  delivering  such  presa- 
ges, as,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  seemed 
to  portend  their  speedy  deliverance.  In 
short,  they  exerted  themselves  with  amaz- 
ing vigour,  and  by  furious  sallies  frequent- 
ly repelled  the  besiegers. 

Herod,  observing  from  their  animated 
conduct  that  the  siege  would  be  long  and 
doubtful,  unless  he  could  prevent  the  con- 
veyance of  provisions  into  the  city,  so 
disposed  his  troops  as  entirely  to  cut  off  all 
communication.  He  then  prepared  his 
battering  engines,  and  attacked  the  walls  ; 
but  the  besieged  sustained  the  assault  with 
incredible  resolution,  opposed  stratagem 
to  stratagem,  and  as  soon  as  one  wall  was 
thrown  down,  supplied  it  with  a  retrench- 
ment that  served  for  another.  The  Jews 
were  at  length  much  straitened  for  want 
of  provisions ;  but,  animated  by  despair, 
determined  to  hold  out  to  the  very  last  ex- 
tremity. 

At  length  being  reduced  to  the  lowest 
ebb,  Herod  entered  the  city,  and  the  Jews 
retiring  into  the  inner  temple  were  pur- 
sued thither.  A  horrible  scene  ensued; 
for  the  Romans,  exasperated  at  the  obsti- 
nate defence  which  they  made,  and  Herod's 
party  determined  on  the  extirpation  of  the 


faction,  put  all  to  the  sword,  without  re- 
gard to  age,  sex,  or  condition,  so  that  the 
streets  resounded  with  cries,  and  blood 
was  spilt  in  every  corner.  He  likewise 
put  all  the  members  of  the  great  sanhe- 
drim to  death,  except  Pollio  and  Sameas,* 
who  alone  were  for  delivering  up  the  city 
to  Herod. 

Antigonus  finding  all  resistance  vain, 
determined  to  submit,  but  not  to  Herod ; 
therefore,  descending  from  a  tower,  he 
cast  himself  at  the  feet  of  Sosius  the  Ro- 
man general,  who,  instead  of  pitying,  up- 
braided him  with  pusillanimity,  and  commit- 
ted him  to  the  custody  of  a  strong  guard. 


*  They  are  so  named  by  Joseplius,  but  the  Jew- 
ish writers  generally  call  them  Hillel,  and  Sham- 
mai  ;  and  of  Hillel  in  particular,  they  give  us  this 
account,  namely,  that  he  was  born  in  Babylonia, 
and  there  lived  till  he  was  forty  years  old;  that 
when  he  came  to  Jerusalem,  he  betook  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  law,  in  which  he  grew  so  eminent, 
that,  after  forty  years  more,  he  became  president  of 
the  sanhedrim,  and  that  in  this  office  he  continu- 
ed forty  years  after,  so  that,  according  to  this  ac- 
count, he  lived  full  an  hundred  and  twenty  years ; 
but  the  Jewish  writers,  for  the  sake  of  a  round 
number,  are  frequently  negligent  whether  they 
are  exact  or  not  in  their  chronological  computa- 
tions. Of  Shammai  they  likewise  tell  us,  that  he 
was  for  some  time  the  scholar  of  Hillel,  and  upon 
the  removal  of  Manahem  into  Herod's  service,  was 
made  vice-president  of  the  sanhedrim  in  his  room  j 
and  that  of  all  the  Tannaim,  or  Mishnical  doctors, 
he  came  nearest  to  his  master  in  eminence  of 
learning,  though  in  many  points  he  differed  in 
opinion  from  him.  What  we  are  chiefly  to  ob- 
serve in  relation  to  these  two  men  at  present  is . 

that  Herod  should  thus  generously  forgive  them 
both,  though  Shammai,  or  Sameas,  was  the  person 
who  appeared  so  intrepid  against  him  at  his  trial 
before  the  sanhedrim,  and  Hillel,  or  Pollio,  had 
all  along  warmly  espoused  the  party  of  Hyrcanus. 
It  must  be  presumed,  however,  that  these  two  great 
men  whom  he  not  only  spared  above  all  the  rest, 
but  took  into  especial  favour  and  confidence,  had 
during  the  siege  taken  care  to  make  their  peace  with 
him,  by  exhorting  the  besieged  to  a  surrender. 
For,  while  the  contrary  faction  was  encouraging 
the  people  with  crying  out,  '  The  temple  of°the 
Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord,'  and  making  them 
expect  some  miraculous  deliverance,  these  two 
wise  politicians,  foreseeing  that  the  city  could  not 
hold  out  much  longer  against  such  a  vigorous  siege, 
and  under  the  excessive  want  of  all  provisions, 
told  them,  in  short,  that  all  resistance  was  in  vain, 
since  God,  for  their  sins,  was  now  bringing  them 
into  subjection  to  this  foreigner;  and  this  piece  of 
service  (had  Herod  been  of  a  more  vindictive  tem- 
per than  he  really  was)  could  r.ot  well  fail  of  re- 
conciling them  to  his  favour. — Prideaux  and  Jo- 
seplius. 


660 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


Herod  having  thus  become  master  of 
the  city,  thought  it  highly  expedient  to 
preserve  it  from  plunder.  But  this  he 
found  extremely  difficult,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  entreaty, 
threats,  and  at  length  force,  to  restrain 
the  people,  and  especially  the  mercenaries, 
from  seizing  all  that  came  within  their 
reach,  and  even  rifling  the  temple  itself. 

However,  he  amply  rewarded  the  Ro- 
man soldiers,  who,  together  with  Sosius 
their  general,  departed  from  Jerusalem, 
carrying  Antigonus  bound  to  Anthony. 
Herod  fearing  that  Anthony  would  not 
take  away  his  life,  and  that  therefore  he 
might  lay  his  claim  to  the  government  be- 
fore the  Roman  senate ;  which,  as  he  was 
of  royal  blood,  and  himself  of  plebeian, 
might  render  the  issue  extremely  doubt- 
ful ;  by  a  private  message,  insinuated  to 
him  the  necessity  of  taking  off  Anti- 
gonus. 

The  Roman  was  greatly  inclined  to  pre- 
serve his  royal  prisoner  to  grace  his  tri- 
umph, but  being  wrought  upon  by  gold, 
(the  most  prevalent  argument  in  past 
time,  as  well  as  the  present,)  after  he  had 
briefly  harangued  on  the  expediency  of 
the  sentence,  commanded  him  to  be  be- 
headed. 

This  action  reflects  much  disgrace  upon 
the  memory  of  Anthony,  as  it  was  entire- 
ly without  a  precedent,  he  being  the  first 
Roman  general  that  subjected  a  conquer- 
ed prince  to  such  unjust  treatment.  Thus 
ended  the  reign  of  the  illustrious  family  of 
the  Asmoneans,  which  in  a  successive  line 
had  held  the  government  of  Judea  during 
a  hundred  and  twenty-six  years;  but  were 
at  length  rendered  extinct  by  intestine 
dissension,  which  has  ever  proved  destruc- 
tive to  all  states,  families,  and  societies, 
amongst  whom  it  has  prevailed. 

This  memorable  event  fell  out  upon 
the  day  of  a  solemn  fast,  being  the  anni- 
versary of  this  city's  destruction  by  Pom- 
pey,  which  happened  exactly  twenty- 
seven  years  before  this  dreadful  catas- 
trophe 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Respect  shown  to  Hyrcanus  in  his  captivity.— 
Herod  promotes  a  person  of  mean  birth  to  the 
pontificate,  deposes  him  at  the  instance  of  his 
relations,  and  advances  a  person  of  dignity. — 
Instances  of  the  cunning,  cruelty,  ambition, 
perfidy,  and  hypocrisy  of  Herod.— His  artful 
behaviour  towards  Anthony. — He  joins  him 
against  Casar  Octavianus. —  Overthrows  the 
Arabians — A  dreadful  earthquake  in  Judea. 
—  The  Jews  sue  for  peace,  and  the  Arabians 
put  their  ambassadors  to  death. — Herod  en- 
courages them,  and  compels  the  Arabians  to 
submit. 

During  the  important  transactions  relat- 
ed in  the  foregoing  chapter,  Hyrcanus  the 
high-priest  remained  in  captivity  with  the 
Parthians,  and  was  treated  with  the  high- 
est  honour  and  esteem  by  king  Phraates,* 
who  not  only  released  him  from  his  irons, 
but  allowed  him  the  city  of  Babylon  as 
the  bounds  of  his  confinement,  where  he 
was  received  by  the  Jews,  who  dwelt  in 
that  part,  with  all  the  reverence  due  to  his 
solemn  character. 

Notwithstanding  his  situation  was  ren- 
dered thus  agreeable  through  the  benevo- 
lence of  the  Parthian  king,  he  discovered  a 
fond  desire  for  returning  to  his  native  coun- 
try, vainly  imagining  that  former  services 


*  Orodes,  the  father  of  this  Phraates,  had  thirty 
sons,  born  to  him  of  the  several  wives  he  had  mar- 
ried. He  felt  perplexed  whom  he  should  name  his 
successor  instead  of  his  beloved  son  Pacoras, 
whom  he  had  lost ;  for  all  his  wives  were  anxious 
to  hate  the  crown  secured  for  a  son  of  their  own. 
At  length  he  determined  it  by  seniority,  and  ap- 
pointed Phraates,  the  eldest,  who  was  also  the 
worst  of  the  number.  But  he  was  no  sooner 
placed  on  the  throne,  than  he  put  to  death  those 
of  his  brothers  who  were  born  to  his  father  of  a 
daughter  of  Antiochus  Eusebes,  king  of  Syria ;  and 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  were  more  no- 
bly descended,  and  otherwise  of  greater  merit  than 
himself.  And  finding  that  his  father  was  much  of- 
fended at  it,  he  put  him  to  deatli  also.  At  first 
he  attempted  it  by  giving  him  hemlock  ;  but  that, 
instead  of  killing  him,  became  a  medicine  to  cure 
him  of  the  dropsy,  under  which  he  then  laboured. 
Therefore,  to  make  sure  work  of  it,  the  parricide 
caused  him  to  be  stifled  to  death  in  his  bed  ;  and 
after  that  he  put  to  death  all  his  other  brothers. 
Whereon,  fearing  lest  the  nobility  should  depose 
him,  and  place  a  son  of  his  upon  the  throne  in  his 
stead,  he  murdered  him  also, — which  cruelty 
caused  great  numbers  of  the  wealthy  Parthians  to 
flee  the  country. — Prideaux. 


Chap.  VII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


661 


would  secure  the  favour  of  Herod.  But  his 
friends,  from  the  respect  they  bore  his 
person,  and  the  suspicion  they  entertained 
of  the  jealousy  and  perfidy  of  the  king  of 
Judea,  endeavoured,  by  alleging  his  inca- 
pacity for  the  pontifical  dignity  through 
mutilation,  to  divert  the  hopes  he  so  fond- 
ly cherished ;  however,  he  procured  his 
discharge  from  Phraates,  and  went  to  Jeru- 
salem, where  he  was  received  with  singu- 
lar respect. 

Hyrcanus  being  rendered  incapable  of 
the  office  of  high-priest,  Herod  began  to 
deliberate  with  himself  concerning  the 
choice  of  a  successor;  and  from  a  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  low  extraction,  fear- 
ing to  advance  a  person  of  royal  descent, 
conferred  that  dignity  upon  one  Hananel, 
an  obscure  Jewish  priest  whom  he  brought 
from  Babylon. 

The  promotion  of  this  mean  person 
greatly  disgusted  Alexandra  the  daughter 
of  Hyrcanus,  and  mother  of  Aristobulus, 
who,  resenting  the  contempt  offered  her 
family,  in  setting  her  son  aside  and  ob- 
truding a  foreigner  into  the  pontificate, 
wrote  to  Cleopatra  queen  of  Egypt,  to 
engage  Anthony*  in  her  cause,  that  the 
honour  might  be  conferred  on  her  son, 
who  had  an  undoubted  right  to  it. 

Her  application  succeeded   to  her  ut- 


*  Cleopatra,  by  the  charms  of  her  beauty  and 
wit,  had  drawn  him  into  those  snares,  which  held 
him  enslaved  to  her  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  in  the 
end  caused  his  ruin.  She  was  a  woman  of  great 
parts,  and  spake  several  languages  (as  well  as 
Latin  and  Greek)  very  fluently  ;  but  then  she  was 
a  person  of  great  vices,  and,  among  others,  of  such 
insatiable  avarice  and  ambition,  that  she  made  a 
conscience  of  nothing  if  she  could  but  get  by  it. 
Her  brother,  a  youth  of  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
she  caused  to  be  despatched,  and  prevailed  with 
Anthony  to  have  her  sister  Arsinoe  cut  off  at 
Ephesns,  even  in  the  temple  of  Diana.  Anthony 
indeed  was  a  man  of  a  sweet  temper,  and  great 
generosity,  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  a  complete 
master  in  all  military  abilities  :  but  then  he  was  a 
great  libertine  in  his  way,  and  so  eager  in  the  pur- 
suit of  his  unlawful  pleasures  that  he  stuck  at  no- 
thing to  attain  them,  by  which  means  he  brought 
himself  so  absolutely  under  the  command  of  this 
wicked  and  voluptuous  woman,  that,  as  Josephus 
expresses  it,  'she  seems  not  only  to  have  capti- 
vated, but  bewitched  him.' — Prideaux's  Connec- 
tion, and  Joseph.  Antlq. 


most  wishes,  for  Herod  hearing  of  the  late 
procedure,  at  first  affected  resentment; 
but,  persuaded  of  the  influence  of  the 
Egyptian  queen  with  the  powerful  Roman, 
a  reconciliation  was  soon  effected  between 
him  and  Alexandra,  and  followed  by  the 
deposition  of  Hananel,+  and  the  advance- 
ment of  Aristobulus  to  the  pontificate. 

But  Herod's  jealousy  of  Alexandra 
would  not  permit  the  continuance  of  the 
reconciliation,  for  he  grew  so  suspicious  of 
her,  that  he  forbade  her  to  concern  her- 
self with  public  affairs,  confined  her  to  the 
court,  and  set  spies  to  watch  even  her 
domestic  economy.  Exasperated  at  such 
indign  treatment,  she  again  applied  to 
Cleopatra,  and  having  received  an  invita- 
tion from  that  princess,  prepared  for  her 
departure.  To  conceal  her  design  from 
Herod,  she  had  procured  two  biers,  in 
which  the  servants  were  to  carry  them  to 
the  sea  side,  where  a  vessel  lay  ready  to 
convey  them  to  Egypt. 

But  this  stratagem  miscarried  through 
the  treachery  of  a  servant,  that  communi- 
cated it  to  one  Sabbion,  who  being  sus- 
pected of  a  concern  in  the  poisoning  ot 
Antipater,  Herod's  father,  in  order  to  ob- 
viate that  disgrace  disclosed  it  to  Herod. 
The  king  suffered  them  to  pass  a  little 
way  uninterrupted,  and  then  surprised 
and  brought  them  back ;  but  fearing  the 
power  and  influence  of  Cleopatra,  who 
had  espoused  their  interest,  he  suspended 


f  This  is  the  third  person  that  had  been  de- 
posed from  the  pontifical  dignity,  since  the  time  ot 
the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity ;  and 
Herod  was  so  sensible  of  the  illegality  of  it,  tliat 
when  Anthony  sent  to  desire  him  to  put  Aris- 
tobulus into  Hananel's  place,  at  first  he  excused 
himself  by  alleging,  that  such  depositions  were 
contrary  to  the  Mosaic  law,  which  enjoined  that 
the  dignity  should  last  as  long  as  the  life  of  the 
possessor,  unless  some  defect  happened  to  dis- 
qualify him.  The  first  instance  we  meet  with  ot 
this  kind  is  that  of  Jason's  supplanting  his  brother 
Onias,  and,  by  a  larger  sum  of  money,  buying  that 
office  of  Antiochus,  in  prejudice  of  the  incumbent. 
The  other  was  that  of  Hyrcanus,  by  his  nephew 
Aristobulus,  who  wrested  that  dignity  from  him  by 
main  force.  But  these  depositions  became  after- 
wards so  frequent,  that  there  was  hardly  any  other 
way  of  coming  into  office,  but  by  the  expulsion  of 
the  incumbent. —  Universal  History. 


662 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


his  resentment,  and  affected  a  kindness 
for  them,  though  at  the  same  time  he 
meditated  revenge  on  Aristobulus,  which 
lie  only  waited  an  opportunity  to  exe- 
cute ;  nor  was  it  long  before  it  presented 
itself. 

At  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  Aristobulus 
was  to  officiate  as  high-priest;  he  was  then 
in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age,  of  a 
comely  aspect,  elegant  form,  and  engag- 
ing mien. 

When  he  advanced  toward  the  altar, 
clad  in  the  pontifical  robes,  to  perform 
the  ceremonies  instituted  by  the  law,  he 
discharged  his  office  with  such  grace, 
dignity,  and  solemnity,  as  attracted  the 
admiration  of  the  whole  assembly,  and 
brought  to  their  minds  the  noble  acts  of 
his  royal  grandfather  Aristobulus,  whose 
family  they  thought  deserved  a  better 
condition  than  they  now  enjoyed. 

The  general  approbation  of  the  multi- 
tude increased  the  envy  and  jealousy  of 
Herod,  and  hastened  the  fate  of  the  royal 
youth ;  for  when  the  feast  of  tabernacles 
broke  up,  the  king  desired  him  to  accom- 
pany him  to  Jericho,  where  he  caused 
him  to  be  drowned  as  he  was  bathing  in  a 
pool.* 

Thus  was  this  delectable  youth  taken 
off,  through  the  execrable  fraud  of  a  wick- 
ed king,  who  immediately  restored  his 
creature  Hananel  to  the  pontifical  dignity. 

Herod,  to  wipe  off  all  suspicion  of  so 
foul  a  deed,  visited  Alexandra,  professed 
his  innocence,  and  to  give  his  abominable 
hypocrisy  an  air  of  sincerity  affected  the 
most  poignant  grief,  and  cast  forth  show- 
ers of  crocodile  tears;  but  his  fradulent 
acts  prevailed  not  with  the  disconsolate 


*  Herod  had  invited  him  to  an  entertainment  at 
Jericho,  and  when,  after  dinner,  several  of  his  at- 
tendants bathed  themselves  in  a  fish-pond,  Aristo- 
bulus was  prevailed  upon  to  bear  them  company; 
but  no  sooner  was  he  plunged  into  the  water,  than 
those  that  were  in  it  before,  according  as  they 
were  directed  by  Herod,  ducked  and  dipped  him, 
hv  way  of  sport  and  play,  as  they  pretended,  so 
long  under  water,  that  at  length  he  was  actually 
drowned.— Jose^A.  Antiq. 


mother,  who  saw  his  villany  through  all 
the  guises  he  assumed. 

The  afflicted  Alexandra  again  had  re- 
course to  Cleopatra,  whom  having  ac- 
quainted with  the  treacherous  behaviour 
of  Herod,  and  the  untimely  death  of  her 
son,  the  queen  determined  to  espouse  her 
cause,  and  therefore  solicited  Anthony  to 
revenge  the  fate  of  Aristobulus. 

Anthony,  wrought  upon  by  the  impor- 
tunity of  Cleopatra,  repaired  to  Laodicea, 
and  cited  Herod  to  clear  himself  from  the 
imputation  concerning  the  death  of  Aris- 
tobulus.f 

Herod,  too  artful  to  rely  on  the  merits 
of  his  iniquitous  cause,  and  dreading  the 
influence  of  Cleopatra,  who  had  incensed 


f  This  prosecution,  however,  gave  rise  to  an- 
other tragedy  in  Herod's  family.  For  when  Herod 
was  summoned  to  appear  before  Anthony,  appre- 
hensive of  the  event,  he  left  directions  with  his 
uncle  Joseph,  who  had  married  his  sister  Salome, 
to  put  Mariamne,  his  beloved  wife,  to  death,  if  he 
should  be  condemned ;  fearing  lest  Anthony,  who 
admired  her  even  upon  the  fame  of  her  beauty, 
might  take  her  to  himself,  after  his  death.  But 
Joseph  imprudently  divulged  the  secret  to  Mari- 
amne,  which  exceedingly  offended  her  and  her 
mother  Alexandra ;  and  the  latter  plotted  to 
fly  for  protection  to  a  Roman  legion,  stationed 
near  the  city.  Upon  Herod's  return,  his  sister 
Salome,  the  firebrand  of  her  family,  disclosed  to 
him  all  that  had  happened,  and  malignantly  accus- 
ed her  own  husband  Joseph,  of  too  great  familiar- 
ity with  Mariamne,  ready  to  sacrifice  him  to  her 
hatred  of  the  latter  ;  who,  being  a  woman  of  high 
birth,  and  still  higher  spirit,  looked  down  on 
Salome  as  her  inferior,  and  treated  her  with  con- 
tempt ;  an  offence  not  to  be  forgiven  by  a  haughty 
and  revengeful  woman.  Herod,  though  struck 
with  jealousy,  restrained  himself  through  love  to 
Mariamne,  and  questioned  her  in  private  about 
the  charge.  But  she  vindicated  herself  so  fully, 
with  all  the  persuasiveness  of  conscious  innocence, 
that  the  king  was  satisfied,  and  asked  her  pardon 
for  listening  to  such  injurious  reports;  and  assur- 
ing her  of  his  love,  pressed  her  to  return  it  ;  but 
she  resentfully  remarked,  that  his  conduct  did  not 
correspond  with  his  professions,  for  that  "  if  he 
loved  her,  how  could  he  order  her  to  be  put  to 
death,  though  innocent,  in  case  Anthony  should 
determine  against  him  ? "  This  imprudent  de- 
claration rekindled  his  jealousy,  and  convinced 
him  that  the  charge  was  true ;  he  flung  her  from 
his  arms,  ordered  Joseph  to  be  put  to  death,  with- 
out admitting  him  into  his  presence  ;  and  though 
his  love  at  this  time  restrained  his  rage  against 
Mariamne,  he  put  her  mother  Alexandra  into 
custody,  as  the  cause  of  all  these  mischiefs. — Dr 
Hales.- 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


663 


Anthony  against  him,  was  greatly  per- 
plexed how  to  proceed  at  this  critical 
juncture;  but  necessity  soon  dictated  an 
expedient.  Persuaded  that  it  was  vain  to 
dispute  the  will  of  the  powerful  Roman, 
he  appointed  his  uncle  Joseph  regent 
during  his  absence,  and  set  out  for  Lao- 
dicea. 

Having  on  former  occasions  experi- 
enced the  prevailing  influence  of  gold,  he 
provided  himself  with  a  very  considerable 
sum,  repaired  with  confidence  to  Anthony, 
and  by  means  of  an  insinuating  tongue, 
and  that  most  eloquent  ore,  wrought  upon 
Anthony,  who  exculpated  him  from  the 
imputation,  and  gave  him  repeated  tokens 
of  his  favour:  nay,  he  even  told  Cleopatra, 
that  it  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  king 
to  render  an  account  of  his  conduct  to 
any. 

Herod  having  averted  this  danger,  and 
secured  his  interest  with  Anthony,  took 
his  leave  and  returned  home,  where  he 
trumpeted  abroad  the  honours  that  had 
been  conf,  rred  on  him,  and  extolled  the 
generous  Roman  above  all  the  princes  of 
the  earth. 

Soon  after  this  transaction,  the  Roman 
state  was  involved  in  civil  broils,  through 
the  competitions  between  Csesar  Octavi- 
anus  and  Anthony  *  for  the  sole  posses- 
sio  )  of  empire ;  so  that  Herod  could  not 
stand  as  an  idle  spectator,   after  he  had 


*  Anthony  had  provoked  Octavianus  against 
him,  by  the  wrong  he  had  done  to  Octavia  his 
sister,  whom  Anthony  had  married,  and  yet  di- 
\orced  her  for  the  gratification  of  his  adulterous 
love  to  Cleopatra,  though  Octavia  was  much  the 
handsomer  of  the  two.  Anthony  had  likewise 
given  out  that  Cleopatra  had  been  married  to 
Julius  Caesar,  and  that  Caesarion,  whom  she  had 
by  him,  was  his  lawful  son,  and  consequently,  had 
the  proper  right  to  the  inheritance,  which  Octavi- 
anus held  only  as  his  adopted  son.  These  things 
were  objected  against  Anthony  ;  and  Anthony,  by 
his  agents  and  letters,  was  not  forgetful  to  recrim- 
inate. But  these  things  were  no  more  than  pre- 
tences ;  the  true  reason  of  their  disagreement 
was,  that  both  these  great  men,  being  not  content- 
ed with  half  of  the  Roman  empire,  were  each  re- 
solved to  have  all,  and  accordingly  agreed  to  throw 
the  die  of  war  for  it. — Plutarch  de  Antonio,  and 
Prideaux's  Connection. 


received  so  many  signal  favours  from  the 
latter. 

Having  therefore  raised  a  very  power- 
ful army,  he  marched  at  the  head  of  it  to 
the  assistance  of  his  patron ;  but  Anthony 
appointed  him  to  proceed  against  the 
Arabians,  whom  he  deemed  a  false  and 
faithless  people. 

In  consequence  of  this  order,  he  march- 
ed back  with  his  army,  and  advanced  into 
Arabia  with  a  considerable  body  of  horse 
and  foot,  and  the  natives  having  intelli- 
gence of  his  motions  were  ready  to  en- 
counter him.  An  engagement  ensued, 
and  was  maintained  with  great  fury  on 
both  sides,  till  at  length  victory  declared 
in  favour  of  the  Jews. 

Herod  having  now  appeased  his  ene- 
mies at  home,  and  secured  his  interest 
abroad,  returned  to  Judea,  where  he  was 
received  with  esteem  and  respect. 

Soon  after  this  event,  there  happened 
in  Judea  a  most  disastrous  earthquake, 
which  destroyed  a  great  number  of  cattle, 
and  caused  the  destruction  of  above  thirty 
thousand  persons,  who  were  buried  in  the 
ruins  of  the  houses  that  were  thrown  down. 
The  Arabians  availed  themselves  of  this 
calamity  that  had  befallen  the  Jews;  for 
when  the  latter,  compelled  by  their  dis- 
tresses, sent  ambassadors  to  sue  for  peace, 
they  not  only  siezed  and  put  them  to 
death,  but  soon  after  advanced  with  an 
army  against  the  Jews. 

This  change  of  affairs  greatly  dispirited 
the  Jews,  but  Herod  by  an  animated 
speech  dispelled  their  fears,  revived  their 
courage,  and  they  attacked  them  again, 
obtained  a  complete  victory,  and  forced 
them  to  put  themselves  under  his  protec- 
tion. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Herod's  late  success  followed  by  the  defeat  of 

Anthony  his  patron  at  the  battle  of  Actium. 

Through  jealousy,   he   causes   the   death   of 
Hyrcanus. — Submissively  applies   to    Casar, 

who  now  assumes  the  surname  of  Augustus. 

Meets   with   a  favourable   reception,   and  is 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  X. 


confirmed  in  the  government  of  Judea. — 
Greatly  perplexed  by  domestic  grievances  on 
his  return. — Attends  Ccesar  a  second  time. — 
Procures  the  death  of  Mariamne. — His  hor- 
rors of  conscience  consequent  thereupon. — 7s 
seized  with  a  terrible  disease. — Erects  a  most 
magnificent  temple  on  his  recovery,  which  is 
the  last  memorable  occurrence  in  the  history  of 
the  Jews  previous  to  the  incarnation  of  the 
blessed  Jesus. 

THe  late  victory  highly  gratified  the  am- 
bitious Herod,  but  this  sunshine  of  pros- 
perity was  soon  eclipsed  by  a  disaster 
that  had  well  nigh  ruined  all  his  hopes ; 
for  Anthony  having  been  defeated  at  the 
memorable  battle  of  Actium,*  by  his  com- 


*  Anthony  and  Caesar,  as  soon  as  the  season 
would  admit,  took  the  field  both  by  sea  and  land, 
The  two  fleets  entered  the  Ambracian  gulf  in 
Epirns.  Anthony's  bravest  and  most  experienced 
officers  advised  him  not  to  hazard  a  battle  by  sea, 
to  send  back  Cleopatra  into  Egypt,  and  to  make 
all  possible  haste  into  Thrace  or  Macedonia,  in 
order  to  fight  there  by  land  ;  because  his  army, 
composed  of  good  troops,  and  much  superior  in 
numbers  to  Caesar's,  seemed  to  promise  him  the 
victory  ;  whereas  a  fleet  so  ill  manned  as  his,  how 
numerous  soever  it  might  be,  was  by  no  means  to 
be  relied  on.  But  Anthony  had  not  been  suscep- 
tible of  good  advice  for  a  long  time,  and  had  acted 
only  to  please  Cleopatra.  That  proud  princess, 
who  judged  of  things  solely  from  appearances,  be- 
lieved her  fleet  invincible,  and  that  Caesar's  ships 
could  not  approach  it  without  being  dashed  to 
pieces.  Besides,  she  rightly  perceived  that  in 
case  of  misfortune  it  would  be  easier  for  her  to 
escape  in  her  ships  than  by  land.  Her  opinion, 
therefore,  took  place  against  the  advice  of  all  the 
generals.  The  battle  was  fought  upon  the  second 
of  September,  at  the  mouth  of  the  gulf  of  Ambra- 
cia,  near  the  city  of  Actium,  in  sight  of  both  the 
land  armies  ;  the  one  of  which  was  drawn  up  in 
battle  upon  the  north,  and  the  other  upon  the 
south  of  that  strait,  expecting  the  event.  The 
contest  was  doubtful  for  some  time,  and  seemed 
as  much  in  favour  of  Anthony  as  Caesar,  till  the 
retreat  of  Cleopatra.  That  queen,  frightened 
with  the  noise  of  the  battle,  in  which  every  thing 
was  terrible  to  a  woman,  took  to  flight  when  she  I 
was  in  no  danger,  and  drew  after  her  the  whole 
Egyptian  squadron,  which  consisted  of  sixty  ships 
of  the  line;  with  which  she  sailed  for  the  coast  of 
Peloponnesus.  Anthony,  who  saw  her  fly,  forget- 
ting every  thing,  forgetting  even  himself,  followed 
her  precipitately,  and  yielded  a  victory  to  Caesar, 
which,  till  then,  he  had  exceedingly  well  disputed. 
It  however,  cost  the  victor  extremely  dear.  For 
Anthony's  ships  fought  so  well  after  his  departure, 
that,  though  the  battle  began  before  noon,  it  was 
not  over  when  night  came  on  ;  so  that  Caesar's 
troops  were  obliged  to  pass  it  on  board  their  ships. 
The  next  day  Cttsar,  seeing  his  victory  complete, 
detached  a  squadron  in  pursuit  of  Anthony  and 


petitor,  Caesar  Octavianus ;  he  was  under 
the  most  alarming  apprehensions,  lest  the 
conqueror  should  deprive  him  of  his  king- 
dom, for  having  espoused  the  cause  of 
Anthony. 

This  consideration  excited  his  jealousy, 
and  reflecting  that  Hyrcanus  was  living, 
and  that  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  blood 
royal,  he  determined  to  put  an  end  at 
once  to  his  life  and  his  own  fears.  While 
he  was  ruminating  on  this  horrid  design, 
the  family  of  Hyrcanus  furnished  him  with 
an  opportunity  of  executing  his  resolution. 

Alexandra,  daughter  of  Hyrcanus,  see- 
ing her  father  careless,  and  unconcerned 
at  the  miseries  of  his  family,  represented 
to  him  the  disgrace  of  suffering  the  indig- 
nities which  Herod  put  upon  them,  and 
advised  him  to  apply  to  Malchus,  king  of 
Arabia,  who  would  not  fail  to  assist  him ; 
adding,  that  if  Caesar  should  call  Herod  to 
account  for  his  former  friendship  to  An- 
thony, which  might  reasonably  be  expect- 
ed, the  crown  would  certainly  devolve  to 
him.  Hyrcanus  at  first  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  solicitations  of  his  daughter,  but  her 
importunity  at  length  prevailed,  and  she 
wrote  letters  to  Malchus,  which  he  sent 
by  Dositheus,  whom  he  thought  he  had 
secured  in  his  interest;  but  the  traitor 
betrayed  him  to  Herod. 

The  king,  to  render  the  design  of 
Herod  more  open  to  the  world,  enjoined 
Dositheus  to  silence,  bade  him  carry  the 
letter  to  Malchus,  who  would  not  fail  to 
give  him  an  answer,  which  when  he  had 
got,  he  ordered  to  be  brought  to  him. 


Cleopatra.  But  that  squadron  despairing  of  ever 
coming  up  with  them,  because  so  far  before  it, 
soon  returned  to  join  the  main  body  of  the  fleet. 
Anthony  having  entered  the  admiral-galley,  in 
which  Cleopatra  was,  went  and  sat  down  at  the 
head  of  it  ;  where,  leaning  his  elbows  on  his 
knees,  and  supporting  his  head  with  his  two 
hands,  he  remained  like  a  man  overwhelmed  with 
shame  and  rage;  reflecting  with  profound  melan- 
choly upon  his  ill  conduct,  and  the  misfortunes 
it  had  brought  upon  him.  He  kept  in  that 
posture,  and  in  these  gloomy  thoughts,  during 
the  three  days  they  were  going  to  Taeuarus,  with- 
out seeing  or  speaking  to  Cleopatra.  At  the  end 
of  that  time,  they  saw  each  other  again,  and  lived 
together  as  usual. — llollin. 


Chap.  VIII.]  THE  BIBLE. 

Dositheus  hastened  to  Malchus;  and 
having  delivered  Hyrcanus's  letter,  re- 
ceived an  answer,  which  he  immediately 
brought  back  to  Herod,  who  sending  for 
him,  charged  him  with  holding  a  corres- 
pondence with  the  king  of  Arabia;  and 
upon  his  denial,  produced  the  letter  of 
Malchus.  Hyrcanus  being  thus  self-con- 
demned, he  caused  him  to  be  put  to  death 
in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 

Having  thus  obviated  all  ground  of  sus- 
picion on  this  quarter,  Herod  prepared  to 
wait  on  Caesar,  who,  with  the  assent  of  the 
senate  and  people  of  Rome,  had  assumed 
the  title  of  Emperor,  and  surname  of 
Augustus ;  the  form  of  government  hav- 
ing been  legally  changed  from  a  republic 
into  a  monarchy.  Though  he  had  no 
ground  to  expect  any  indulgence  from 
the  emperor,  he  determined  to  apply  to 
him:  but  lest  his  mother-in-law,  Alexan- 
dra, might  in  his  absence  occasion  some 
tumult,  he  committed  the  care  of  the 
government  to  his  brother  Pheroras,  and 
secured  his  mother  and  Mariamne  his 
wife  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  any 
quarrels  that  might  arise  between  them, 
placing  over  them  Sohemus,  a  trusty 
Idumean,  with  orders  to  put  them  to 
death,  if  Augustus  should  treat  him 
harshly. 

After  these  necessary  precautions,  he 
hastened  to  Rhodes  to  meet  Augustus, 
where,  upon  his  arrival,  in  due  deference 
to  the  emperor,  he  took  off  his  crown, 
and  laid  it  aside.  He  was  received  with 
great  courtesy,  and  emboldened  thereby, 
frankly  represented  to  Caesar,  that  he  had 
retained  a  friendship  for  Anthony,  assisted 
him  with  money  and  provisions,  and  was 
ready  to  sacrifice  his  life  and  fortune  in 
his  interest ;  but  as  the  face  of  affairs  was 
changed,  he  would  serve  him  in  as  un- 
feigned and  unreserved  a  manner  as  he 
had  done  the  other. 

This  address,  so  concise  and  pertinent, 
wrought  so  effectually  upon  Augustus, 
that  he  desired  him  to  resume  his  crown, 
confirmed  him  in  his  kingdom  of  Judea, 


665 

and  received  him  into  his  immediate 
friendship,  assuring  him,  that  he  should 
hold  him  in  equal  esteem  with  Anthony, 
to  whom  he  had  done  so  many  signal 
services. 

Having  thus  obtained  the  favour  and 
interest  of  the  greatest  monarch  upon 
earth,  he  returned  to  Judea,  loaded  with 
honour  and  power,  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  people,  who  expected  from  this  inter- 
view a  very  different  turn  of  affairs. 

Herod  now  found  that  great  disorders 
prevailed  in  his  family,  through  the  insti- 
gation of  his  wife  and  mother,  who  were 
so  incensed  at  their  confinement,  that  they 
reproached  him  to  his  face,  especially 
Mariamne,  who  not  only  received  him 
with  coldness  and  sadness,  but  upbraided 
him  with  his  cruel  design  upon  her  life. 

This  aversion  tortured  the  mind  of 
Herod,  and  ambition  dictated  revenge ; 
but  love  interceded  in  her  behalf;  and 
jealousy  and  love  thus  agitating  his  dis- 
turbed mind,  his  hatred  at  length  prevail- 
ed, and  he  had  determined  something 
fatal  against  Mariamne,  if  an  accident 
had  not  prevented  his  purpose. 

Hearing  of  the  death  of  Anthony  and 
Cleopatra,*  and  that  Augustus  was  pos- 


*  After  the  battle  of  Actium,  Anthony  and 
Cleopatra  both  returned  to  Alexandria,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  Octavianus  went  in  pursuit  of 
them.  On  their  first  coming,  Anthony  fell  upon 
the  Roman  troops,  while  under  the  fatigue  of 
their  march,  and  put  them  to  a  total  rout ;  but, 
in  a  second  engagement  with  them,  he  was  van- 
quished, and  driven  back  into  the  city  with  great 
loss.  The  next  morning,  when  he  went  down  to 
the  harbour  to  put  the  fleet  in  order  to  engage 
the  enemy,  no  sooner  were  they  drawn  up  in  line 
of  battle,  but  he  saw  them  desert,  and  go  over 
to  them,  and,  (to  his  greater  mortification,)  when 
he  returned  into  the  city,  he  found  that  all  the 
land  forces,  both  horse  and  foot,  had  in  like  man- 
ner revolted  from  him.  When  Anthony  under- 
stood that  all  this  was  done  by  Cleopatra's  trea- 
chery, and  in  hopes  of  making  her  peace  with 
Octavianus,  he  could  not  forbear  expressing  his 
resentment  of  it  in  loud  complaints ;  so  that 
Cleopatra,  for  fear  of  him,  but  (as  she  pretended) 
to  secure  herself  from  the  enemy,  fled  to  a  monu- 
ment, which  she  caused  to  be  built  of  a  great 
height,  and  wonderful  structure,  and  having  there 
shut  herself  up  with  two  maids,  and  one  eunuch, 
she  had  it  given  out  that  she  was  dead.  Anthony 
4p 


666 

gessed  of  all  Egypt,  he  was  obliged  once 
more  to  attend  him.  Therefore  commit- 
ting the  care  of  his  family  to  Sohemus, 
and  vesting  him  with  the  government  of 
part  of  Judea  in  his  absence,  he  departed, 
and  was  honourably  received  by  Caesar, 
who  conferred  on  him  additional  favours, 
adding  to  his  fe.  ng  loai  several  places  on 
the  continent  as  well  as  on  the  coast. 

When  he  had  waited  upon  Caesar,  as 
far  as  Antioch,  he  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
where  having  wasted  a  year  without  being 
able  to  pacify  his  queen,  he  determined 
to  chastise  her  at  the  expense  of  his  own 
peace.  As  he  had  no  just  pretence  for 
proceeding  against  her,  his  sister  furnish- 
ed him  with  an  accusation  to  take  her  off, 


no  sooner  heard  the  news,  but,  supposing  it  to  be 
true,  fell  upon  his  sword  ;  however,  having  intel- 
ligence, some  time  after,  that  Cleopatra  was  still 
alive,  he  ordered  those  about  him  to  carry  him  to 
her  monument,  where  might  be  seen  one  of  the 
most  deplorable  spectacles  that  can  be  imagined. 
Anthony,  all  over  bloody,  and  breathing  out  his 
last,  was  by  the  hands  of  Cleopatra,  and  her  two 
maids,  drawn  up  by  the  ropes  and  pulleys,  that 
were  employed  in  the  building,  to  the  top  of  the 
monument,  and  there,  in  a  few  moments,  expired 
in  her  arms.  After  the  death  of  Anthony,  the 
great  care  of  Octavianus  was,  to  make  himself 
master  of  Cleopatra's  person  and  riches  ;  of  her 
person,  to  adorn  his  triumph  ;  and  of  her  riches, 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war :  but,  after  he 
had  luckily  compassed  both,  she,  having  private 
notice  given  her,  of  her  being  designed  to  be  car- 
ried to  Rome,  to  make  part  of  the  show  in  her 
conqueror's  triumph,  caused  herself  to  be  bitten 
by  an  asp,  and  so,  to  avoid  this  infamy,  died  after 
she  had  reigned,  from  the  death  of  her  father, 
twenty  two  years,  and  lived  thirty-nine.  Octavi- 
anus, though  much  concerned  for  having  thus  lost 
the  chief  glory  of  his  triumph,  did  nevertheless 
make  for  Cleopatra  (as  he  had  permitted  her  to 
make  for  Anthony)  a  splendid  and  royal  funeral. 
He  had  them  both  reposited  in  the  same  monu- 
ment, which  they  had  begun,  and  gave  orders  to 
have  it  finished.  Having  thus  settled  his  affairs 
in  Egypt,  and  cut  off  all  those  from  whom  he 
might  expect  any  fresh  disturbances,  he  made  a 
review  of  the  several  provinces  of  the  Lesser  Asia, 
and  the  isles  adjoining,  and  so,  passing  through 
Greece,  returned  to  Home,  where  he  triumphed 
for  three  days  successively,  for  his  victories  over 
the  Dalmatians,  and  for  the  sea-fight  at  Actium, 
and  for  the  conquest  of  Egypt;  in  the  last  of 
which,  were  led  before  him,  the  children  of  Cleo- 
patra, and  though  herself  had  escaped  that  fate, 
her  effigy  was  carried  in  procession,  with  an  asp 
harming  at  her  arm,  to  denote  the  manner  of  her 
death. — Stachhouae. 


HISTORY  OF  [Book  X.' 

by  bribing  Herod's  cupbearer  to  tell 
him  that  the  queen  had  corrupted  him  to 
poison  him. 

Upon  this,  Herod,  calling  a  council  of 
friends  only,  accused  her  of  a  design  to 
take  him  off,  and  being  now  determined 
in  his  revenge,  upbraided  her  in  the  vilest 
terms,  to  the  general  disapprobation  of  the 
assembly. 

After  many  struggles  between  con- 
science and  passion,  he  commanded  her 
to  be  put  to  death,  and  the  queen  receiv- 
ed her  doom  with  all  the  composure  of 
conscious  innocence,  and  with  that  intre- 
pid resolution,  which  virtue  alone  can 
inspire,  placidly  submitted  to  the  fatal 
stroke.* 

His  very  soul  was  now  possessed  with 
all  the  horrors  of  guilt;  he  called  upon 
her  name,  but  his  cruelty  had  deprived 
her  of  the  power  of  answering ;  his  griefs 
would  admit  of  no  allay;  the  pursuit  of 
glory  ceased  to  be  his  delight;  he  supine- 
ly neglected  his  government,  and  was 
wholly  absorbed  in  his  sorrows.  In  vain 
did  friends  invent  amusements  to  divert 
him ;  all  sense  of  pleasure  was  banished, 
and  nothing  remained  but  sad  despair. 

While  the  king  was  in  this  state  of 
anxiety,  a  pestilence  raged  in  Jerusalem, 
which  swept  away  numbers  of  people  of 
all  ranks  and  degrees,  and  was  looked 
upon  as  the  just  judgment  of  God  for  the 
murder  of  the  innocent  queen. 

The  king,  overwhelmed  with  grief, 
went  into  retirement,  where  in  a  few  days 
he  was  siezed  with  a  dangerous  disorder, 


*  Thus  ended  the  life  of  the  virtuous  and  beau- 
tiful Mariamne.  In  the  charms  and  graces  of  her 
person,  she  excelled  all  the  women  of  her  time, 
and  would  have  been  a  lady  without  exception, 
could  she  have  carried  it  with  some  more  com- 
plaisance to  her  husband.  But,  considering  that 
he  had  built  his  fortunes  on  the  ruin  of  her  family; 
that  he  had  usurped  from  them  the  crown  which 
he  wore ;  that  he  had  caused  or  procured  her 
father,  her  grandfather,  her  brother,  and  her  uncle, 
to  be  put  to  death,  and  had  twice  ordered  her 
death  in  case  of  his  own,  it  would  put  difficulties 
upon  the  most  patient  and  best  tempered  woman 
in  the  world,  how  to  bear  such  a  husband  with 
any  affection  or  complaisance. — Prideaux. 


Chap.  VIII.] 


THE  BIBLE. 


667 


that  baffled  all  the  art  of  his  physicians. 
In  this  condition  he  languished  some 
time,  during  which  Alexandra  attempted 
to  possess  herself  of  all  the  fortresses  of 
Jerusalem,  which  when  Herod  heard,  he 
commanded  her  to  be  put  to  death. 

When  he  recovered  from  this  distem- 
per, he  practised  every  degree  of  oppres- 
sion and  cruelty,  that  ambition  and  ma- 
lice could  possibly  suggest,  changed  all 
the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  for  foreign  inventions  and 
ridiculous  innovations,  and,  in  short,  in- 
curred the  ill-will  and  contempt  of  the 
people  of  Judea. 

During  this  scene  of  confusion  and 
impiety,  the  kingdom  was  afflicted  with  a 
drought,  famine,  and  pestilence,  which 
raged  with  unabated  violence  a  consider- 
able time;  however,  having  obtained  a 
grant  for  the  exportation  of  corn  out  of 
Egypt,  it  was  equally  distributed  among 
the  people,  to  their  no  small  relief. 

This  conduct  of  Herod  in  some  degree 
restored  his  character,  and  reconciled 
many  of  the  people  to  his  person  and 
government. 

When  this  calamity  was  removed  and 
he  had  recovered  his  health,  he  rebuilt  a 
city,  and  erected  a  temple  in  it,  which 
being  dedicated  to  Augustus,  he  called 
Csesarea.*  As  he  had  performed  many 
famous  exploits,  he  determined  to  erect  a 
most  magnificent  temple  f  in  Jerusalem, 


*  Its  former  appellation  was  the  tower  of 
Straton.  It  stood  by  the  sea-side,  on  the  coasts 
of  Phoenicia,  upon  the  pass  into  Egypt,  and  was 
very  convenient  for  trade,  but  that  it  had  a  bad 
harbour.  To  remedy  this  therefore,  he  ordered  a 
mole  to  be  made  in  the  form  of  a  half-moon,  and 
large  enough  for  a  royal  navy  to  ride  in.  The 
buildings  of  the  town  were  all  of  marble,  private 
houses  as  well  as  palaces,  but  the  master-piece  of 
all  was  the  port ;  whereof  we  meet  with  a  descrip- 
tion in  Josephus's  Antiq.  lib.  xv.  c.  13. 

•j-  Whatever  some  Jewish  Rabbins  may  tell  us, 
it  is  certain  that  the  temple  of  Herod  was  widely 
different  from  that  of  Solomon's,  and  from  that 
which  was  built  by  Zerubbabel  after  the  captivity ; 
for  the  description  of  it,  according  to  Josephus, 
who  himself  had  seen  it,  is  much  to  this  purpose. 
— The  front  of  this  magnificent  building,  which 
resembled  that  of  a  royal   palace,  was  adorned 


in  all  respects  larger  and  more  stately 
than  the  former.  Accordingly,  having 
by  an  elaborate  harangue,  brought  the 
people  to  consent  to  the  undertaking  of 


with  many  rich  spoils,  which  the  kings  of  the 
Jews  had  dedicated  to  God  as  the  monuments  of 
their  victories.  The  middle  of  it,  which  was 
much  higher  than  the  two  extremes,  afforded  a 
very  agreeable  prospect  to  the  extent  of  several 
furlongs  to  those  that  either  lived  in  the  country, 
or  were  travelling  to  the  city.  The  gate  of  it  was 
a  very  curious  piece  of  workmanship.  From  the 
top  of  it  hung  a  variety  of  rich  tapestry  of  several 
colours,  embellished  with  purple  flowers.  On 
each  side  of  it  stood  a  stately  pillar,  with  a  golden 
vine  creeping  and  twining  about  it,  whose  branches 
were  laden  with  a  cluster  of  grapes,  that  hung 
dangling  down  from  the  cornices.  Round  about 
the  temple  were  large  galleries,  answerable  to  the 
rest  of  the  work  in  magnificence,  and  in  beauty 
much  exceeding  all  that  had  been  before.  The 
temple  was  surrounded  by  three  courts  or  en- 
closures. The  first  enclosure,  which  was  a  square 
of  a  furlong  on  every  side,  had  a  gate  on  the  east, 
another  on  the  south,  and  another  on  the  north 
side  ;  but  it  had  four  towards  the  west ;  one  lead- 
ing to  the  palace,  another  into  the  city,  and  two 
more  into  the  fields.  It  was  secured  without  by  a 
strong  wall,  and  within  was  adorned  with  stately 
porticos  or  galleries,  sustained  by  no  less  than 
162  columns  of  Corinthian  work,  and  all  so  very 
thick,  that  hardly  three  men  could  grasp  one  with 
their  arms.  They  supported  a  roof  of  cedar  verj 
curiously  wrought,  and  made  three  galleries  ;  the 
two  outermost  of  which  were  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions, that  is,  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  fifty  in  height 
and  a  furlong  in  length  ;  but  that  in  the  middle 
was  half  as  broad  again  as  the  other,  and  twice  as 
high.  The  court  or  area  before  these  galleries 
was  paved  with  marble  of  several  colours,  and,  at 
a  little  distance,  was  a  second  enclosure,  formed 
by  a  handsome  balustrade  of  stone,  with  pillars 
at  equal  distances,  whereon  were  inscriptions  in 
Greek  and  Latin,  giving  warning  to  all  strangers 
not  to  proceed  any  farther,  upon  pain  of  death. 
To  this  enclosure  there  was  but  one  entrance  to- 
wards the  east,  but  towards  the  north,  and  south, 
at  equal  distances,  three.  In  the  middle  of  these 
two  enclosures,  there  was  a  third,  which  included 
the  temple,  strictly  so  called,  and  the  altar  ot 
burnt  sacrifices,  which  was  fifty  cubits  high,  and 
forty  cubits  wide  every  way,  all  built  of  rough 
stones,  on  which  no  tool  had  ever  been  used. 
Into  this  court  (which  none  but  priests  were  per- 
mitted to  enter)  there  were  nine  gates  ;  one  to- 
wards the  east,  four  towards  the  south,  and  as 
many  towards  the  north  ;  but  towards  the  west 
there  was  no  gate,  only  one  great  wall  ran  all 
along  from  north  to  south.  At  the  entrance  ot 
each  gate  within  were  large  rooms  in  form  of 
pavilions,  of  thirty  cubits  square,  and  forty  high, 
supported  by  a  pillar  of  eighteen  feet  in  circum- 
ference ;  and  the  whole  adorned  with  porticos, 
sustained  by  two  rows  of  pillars,  to  the  east,  north, 
and  south,  but  towards  the  west  there  was  nothing 
I  but  the  wall  just  now  mentioned.     This  is  the 


669 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


[Book  X. 


so  arduous  a  work,  it  was  accomplished  in 
about  nine  years  and  six  months,  and  dedi- 
cated with  all  the  usual  forms  and  solem- 
nities. 

This  is  the  last  remarkable  occurrence 
in  the  history  of  the  Jews  previous  to  the 
incarnation  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  except 
the  extraordinary  appearance  of  the  angel 
Gabriel  to  Zachariah  the  priest,  and  the 
Holy  Virgin ;  the  particulars  of  which 
circumstances  being  related  at  large  in  our 


description  of  the  temple,  as  it  was  repaired  by 
Herod,  that  may  be  extracted  from  Joseph.  Antiq. 
lib.  xv.  c.  13.  but  whoever  is  desirous  to  know 
these  things  more  minutely,  must  consult  those 
authors  that  have  wrote  upon  them  ex  professo  : 
among  whom  Beausobre  and  Lenfant,  in  their 
general  preface  to  the  New  Testament,  have  given 
us  no  bad  sketch;  and  Jurieu,  in  his  Hist,  des 
Dogmes,  &c.  has  rectified  some  mistakes  iu  the 
account  of  Josephus,  Part  ii.  c.  4. 

*  As  the  last  days  of  Herod  were  marked  by 
crimes  of  atrocious  turpitude,  so  the  circumstances 
attending  his  death  were  awful,  almost  beyond  ex- 
pression. A  report  being  one  day  spread  that  he 
was  deceased,  some  young  people  testified  their  ex- 
ultation by  throwing  down  a  golden  eagle  which 
had  bv  his  order  been  placed  over  the  great  portal 
of  the  temple,  contrary  to  the  law  and  custom  of 
the  Jews.  The  supposed  authors  of  this  exploit, 
with  forty  of  their  disciples,  were  seized  by  Herod's 
order,  and  burnt  alive!  In  the  meantime  his 
bodily  complaints  daily  increased  ;  a  violent  fever 
attacked  him,  accompanied  by  a  strong  hectic, 
which  gradually  consumed  his  vitals.  His  hunger 
became  insatiable ;  and  his  bowels  ulcerated,  which 


introduction  to  the  life  of  Christ,  are 
omitted  in  this  place. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Jews  at  this 
memorable  period  of  time,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  chronologers,  fell  out  in  the 
year  of  the  world  4004,  when  Angustus 
Caesar  was  emperor  of  Rome,  and  Herod, 
under  the  Roman  state,  had  governed  the 
kingdom  of  Judea  about  thirty-four 
years.* 

racked  him  with  excruciating  pains.  His  legs 
swelled  like  a  person  that  is  dropsical — and  to 
complete  the  loathsome  picture,  worms  are  said  to 
have  bred  in  his  putrid  flesh,  and  crawled  out  of 
his  ulcerated  bowels,  while  an  insupportable  itch- 
ing pervaded  his  whole  body,  in  which  state  he 
languished  some  days  and  then  expired.  When 
he  found  himself  dying,  he  commanded  all  the 
principal  persons  in  Judea  to  attend  him  at  Jeri- 
cho, threatening  them  with  instant  death  in  case 
of  refusal.  When  arrived,  he  caused  them  all  to 
be  shut  up  in  the  circus,  and  obliged  his  executors 
to  promise  him,  as  soon  as  he  was  dead,  they  would 
massacre  the  whole  of  them,  that  so  the  Jews 
throughout  the  kingdom,  might,  at  least  in  appear- 
ance, put  on  mourning  for  him.  But  this  inhu- 
man order  was  never  executed.  Five  days  before 
his  death,  he  gave  orders  to  have  his  own  son  An- 
tipater,  who  had  been  detected  in  a  conspiracy 
against  him,  put  to  death,  which  was  accordingly 
done.  He  then  revoked  his  will,  and  gave  the 
kingdom  of  Judea  to  Archelaus  ;  the  country  of 
Auranitis,  Trachonitis,  and  Batanea  to  Philip  the 
brother  of  Archelaus  ;  and  Galilee  and  Peraea  to 
Herod  Antipas,  Luke  iii.  1.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  seventy-six,  having  reigned  about  thirty-four 
years. — Jones. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


BOOK    XI. 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOB,  WITH  REMARKS  PRACTICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY. 


As  the  account  of  Job  refers  not  to  any 
particular  branch  of  the  sacred  history, 
and  it  was  deemed  most  expedient  to 
carry  on  the  relation  with  as  great  a 
regard  to  the  connection  of  the  respec- 
tive circumstances  as  possible,  we  could 
not  insert  it  in  the  order  in  which  it 
stands  in  the  Bible,  without  interrupt- 
ing the  regular  plan;  and  therefore 
presume  it  most  proper  thus  to  present 
it  to  our  readers. 

Various  have  been  the  conjectures  of 
learned  men  concerning  the  person  of 
Job,  whom  some  suppose  to  have  been 
descended  from  Nahor,  the  son  of  Terah, 
and  brother  of  Abraham,  while  others  de- 
rive his  origin  from  Esau,  imagining  him 
to  have  been  Jobab,  his  great-grandson. 
But  the  most  probable  notion  is,  that  he 
sprung  from  Abraham,  by  Keturah  his 
second  wife;  as  he  is  said  to  have  been 
the  greatest  and  most  considerable  man 
for  opulence  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
East,  into  which  country  Abraham  sent 
his  son  by  Keturah. 

That  Job  lived  before  the  law,  may  be 
gathered  from  his  offering  burnt-offerings 
in  the  land  where  he  resided;  which 
offerings  were  forbidden  in  any  other 
place,  than  that  which  the  Lord  should 
choose  in  some  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 


That  he  lived  over  Jacob  is  evident,  from 
the  character  given  him  by  God,  '  That 
there  was  none  like  him  on  earth,  for  up- 
rightness and  the  fear  of  God.'* 

*  Although  the  precise  time  in  which  Joh  lived 
is  uncertain,  the  book  which  goes  under  his  name 
informs   us   particularly  in   what   land   he   lived, 
namely,  in   Uz,  or   Uts,  which,  according  to  Dr 
Good,  and  several  other  learned  men,  is  situated 
in  Arabia  Petraca,  on  the  south-western  coast  of 
the  lake  Asphaltites,  in  a  line  between  Egypt  and 
Philistia,  surrounded   with    Kedar,   Teman,   and 
Midian  ;  all   of  which  were  districts  of  Arabia 
Petraea  ;  situated  in  Idumea,  the  land  of  Edom  or 
Esau ;  and  comprising  so  large  a  part  of  it,  that 
Idumea  and  Ausitis,  or  the  land  of  Uz,  and  the 
land  of  Edom,  were  convertible  terms,  and  equally 
employed  to  import  the  same  region  :  thus,  Lam. 
iv.  21 :   *  Rejoice  and  be   glad,   O  daughter  of 
Edom,  that  dwellest  in  the  land  of  Uz.'     Nothing 
is  clearer  than   that  all  the  persons  introduced 
into  this  poem  were  Idumeans,  dwelling  in  Idu 
mea ;  or,  in  other  words,  Edomite  Arabs.     These 
characters  are,  Job  himself,  dwelling  in  the  land 
of  Uz  ;  Eliphaz  of  Teman,  a  district  of  as  much 
repute  as  Uz,  and  (upon  the  joint  testimony  of 
Jer.  xlix.  7,  20.  Ezek.  xxv.  13.  Amos  i.   II,  12. 
and   Obadiah  ver.  8,  9)  a  part,  and  a  principal 
part,  of  Idumea;   Bildad  of  Shuah,  always  men- 
tioned in  conjunction  with  Sheba  and  Dedan,  all 
of  them  being  uniformly  placed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Idumea  ;  Zophar  of  Naamah,  a  city  whose  name 
imports  pleasantness,  which  is  also  stated,  in  Josh. 
xv.  21,41.  to  have  been  situated  in  Idumea,  and  to 
have  lain  in  a  southern  direction  towards  its  coast, 
or  the  shores  of  the  Red  sea  ;  and  Elihu  of  Buz, 
which  as  the  name  of  a  place  occurs  but  once  in 
sacred  writ,  but  is  there  (Jer.  xxv.  22)  mentioned 
in   conjunction   with    Teman   and    Dedan  ;   and 
hence  necessarily,  like  themselves,  a  border  city 
upon  Ausitis,  Uz,  or  Idumea.     It  had  a  number 
of  names  :  it  was  at  first  called  Horitis,  from  the 


670 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XI 


Upon  the  whole,  though  the  precise 
time  of  Job's  birth  cannot  be  ascertained ; 
yet  there  is  an  almost  general  concurrence 
amongst  commentators,  that  he  lived  in 
the  time  of  the  bondage  of  the  Israelites 
in  Egypt;  some  placing  his  birth  in  the 
same  year  in  which  Jacob  went  down  into 
Egypt,  and  dating  the  beginning  of  his 
trials  in  the  year  that  Joseph  died,  being 
the  twenty-first  of  Job's  life. 

Nor  are  there  fewer  opinions  concern- 
ing the  time  of  writing  this  history;  some 
affirming  that  it  was  written  after  the 
death  of  Moses,  who  by  others  is  suppos- 
ed to  have  been  the  author  of  it.*     How- 


Horim  or  Horites,  who  appear  to  have  first  settled 
there.  Among  the  descendants  of  these,  the  most 
distinguished  was  Seir ;  and  from  him  the  land  was 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Land  of  Seir.  This 
chief  had  a  numerous  family,  and  among  the  most 
signalized  of  his  grandsons  was  Uz,  or  Uts;  and 
from  him,  and  not  from  Uz  the  son  of  Nahor,  it 
seems  to  have  been  called  Ausitis,  or  the  Land  of 
Uz.  The  family  of  Hor,  Seir,  or  Uz,  were  at 
length  dispossessed  of  the  entire  region  by  Esau, 
or  Edom ;  who  strengthened  himself  by  his  mar- 
riage with  one  of  the  daughters  of  Ishmael ;  and 
the  conquered  territory  was  denominated  Idumea, 
or  the  land  of  Edom. — Dr  Good. 

*  We  have  sufficient  ground  to  conclude  that 
tins  book  was  not  the  production  of  Moses,  but  of 
some  earlier  age.  Bishop  Lowth  favours  the 
opinion  of  Schultens,  Peters,  and  others  (which 
is  also  adopted  by  Bishop  Tomline  and  Dr 
Hales,)  who  suppose  Job  himself,  or  some  contem- 
porary, to  have  been  the  author  of  this  poem  :  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  for  supposing 
that  it  was  not  written  by  Job  himself.  It  ap- 
pears, indeed,  highly  probable  that  Job  was  the 
writer  of  his  own  story,  of  whose  inspiration  we 
have  the  clearest  evidence  in  the  forty-second  chap- 
ter of  this  book,  in  which  he  thus  addresses  the 
Almighty  : — '  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing 
of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee.'  (xlii.  5.) 
It  is  plain  that  in  this  passage  some  privilege  is  in- 
tended which  he  never  had  enjoyed  before,  and 
which  he  calls  the  sight  of  God.  He  had  heard  of 
him  by  the  'hearing  of  the  ear,'  or  the  tradition 
delivered  down  to  him  from  his  forefathers,  but  he 
now  had  a  clear  and  sensible  perception  of  his  being 
and  divine  perfections, — some  light  thrown  in  upon 
his  mind  which  carried  its  own  evidence,  and  of 
which,  perhaps,  we  can  form  no  notion,  because 
we  have  never  felt  it,  but  which  to  him  had  all  the 
certainty  and  clearness  even  of  sight  itself, — some 
manifestations  of  the  Deity  made  to  him  in  vision, 
such  as  the  prophets  had,  and  from  which  they  de- 
rived their  very  name  of  seers.  If  we  allow  Job 
himself  to  have  been  the  writer  of  the  book,  two 
important  advantages  will  be  evidently  obtained  : — 
First,  all  objections  to  historical  truth  will  vanish 


ever,  who  was  the  compiler  is  a  matter  of 
no  real  importance  ;  the  book  of  Job  gives 
the  clearest  and  most  extensive  view  of 
patriarchal  religion.     The   reality  of  his 


at  once:  no  one  could  tell  us  his  own  story  so  well 
as  Job,  nor  have  we  any  reason  to  question  its 
veracity.  The  dialogue,  too,  will  then  appear  to 
have  been  the  substance  of  a  real  conversation,  for 
no  dialogue  was  ever  more  natural.  If  the  storv 
be  told  us  in  verse,  or  in  the  prophetic  style  and 
language,  as  the  first  of  these  was  a  practice  of  the 
highest  antiquity,  the  other  adds  the  most  sacred 
and  unquestionable  authority  to  it  :  so  that  nei- 
ther truth  nor  ornament  is  here  wanting,  any  more 
than  dignity  of  subject,  to  render  this  book  of  in- 
estimable value.  The  second  advantage  alluded 
to  is  this, — that  if  Job  himself  were  the  writer  of 
the  book,  then  every  point  of  history  and  every 
doctrine  of  religion  here  treated  of,  which  coincide 
with  those  delivered  in  the  books  of  Moses,  are  an 
additional  proof  and  confirmation  of  the  latter,  as 
being  evidently  derived  from  some  other  source, 
not  borrowed  from  the  Pentateuch.  "  But 
whether,"  says  Magee,  "  we  suppose  Job  the  author 
of  the  book,  or  not,  its  great  antiquity,  and  even 
its  priority  to  the  age  of  Moses,  seems  to  stand  on 
strong  grounds.  And,  upon  the  whole,  perhaps 
we  may  not  unreasonably  conjecture  the  history  of 
the  book  to  be  this  : — The  poem,  being  originally 
written  either  by  Job,  or  some  contemporary  of  his, 
and  existing  in  the  time  of  Moses,  might  tall  into 
his  hands,  whilst  residing  in  the  land  of  Midian, 
or  afterwards  when  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Idu- 
mea ;  and  might  naturally  be  made  use  of  by  him, 
to  represent  to  the  Hebrews,  either  whilst  repin- 
ing under  their  Egyptian  bondage,  or  murmuring 
at  their  long  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  the 
great  duty  of  submission  to  the  will  of  God.  The 
encouragement  which  this  book  holds  out,  that 
every  good  man  suffering  patiently  will  finally  ba 
rewarded,  rendered  it  a  work  peculiarly  calculated 
to  minister  mingled  comfort  and  rebuke  to  the  dis- 
tressed and  discontented  Israelites,  and  might, 
therefore,  well  have  been  employed  by  Moses  for 
this  purpose.  We  may  also  suppose,  that  Moses, 
in  transcribing,  might  have  made  some  small  and 
unimportant  alterations,  which  will  sufficiently  ac- 
count for  occasional  and  partial  resemblances  of 
expression  between  it  and  the  Pentateuch,  if 
any  such  there  be.  This  hypothesis  both  fur- 
nishes a  reasonable  compromise  between  the  opin- 
ions of  the  great  critics,  who  are  divided  upon  the 
point  of  Moses  being  the  author  ;  and  supplies  an 
answer  to  a  question  of  no  small  difficulty,  which 
hangs  upon  almost  every  other  solution  ;  namely, 
when,  and  wherefore,  a  book  treating  manifestly 
of  the  concerns  of  a  stranger,  and  in  no  way  con  ■ 
nected  with  their  affairs,  was  received  by  the  Jews 
into  their  sacred  canon  ?  For  Moses  having  thus 
applied  the  book  to  their  use,  and  sanctioned  it  by 
his  authority,  it  would  naturally  have  been  enrolled 
among  their  sacred  writings:  and  from  the  anti- 
quity of  that  enrolment,  no  record  would  conse- 
quently appear  of  its  introduction."  Indeed,  it  is 
difficult  to  account  for  its  introduction  into  the 
canon  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  on  any  other  sup 


THE  BIBLE. 


671 


person,  the  eminence  of  his  character,  his 
fortitude  and  patience  in  very  great  afflic- 
tions, his  preceding  and  subsequent  felici- 
ty are  allowed  by  all  divines. 

Some  learned  men,  indeed,  and  amongst 
the  rest  Grotius  and  Le  Clerc,  imagine 
that  this  noble  performance  was  written 
about  a  thousand  years  after  the  time  in 
which  Job  lived,  namely,  in  or  near  the 
period  of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  alleg- 
ing the  frequent  Chaldaic  expressions  that 
occur  in  it,  that  some  passages  are  taken 
from  the  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and  Ecclesias- 
tes;  that  there  are  more  than  a  hundred 
words,  partly  Syriac,  partly  Arabic,  that  are 
not  to  be  found  in  other  parts  of  scripture; 
which  are  all  signs  that  the  author  lived 
in  the  latter  time,  when  many  words  bor- 
rowed from  the  idioms  of  the  neighbouring 
nations  were  admitted  into  the  Hebrew. 

It  is  one  mark  of  the  simplicity  of  very 
ancient  times,  that  in  the  inventory  of 
Job's  estate,  no  mention  is  made  of  money, 
but  only  of  oxen,  sheep,  camels,  asses,  and 
servants,  Grotius  likewise  observes,  that 
there  is  no  mention  in  the  book  of  Job  of 
any  law,  or  religious  rites,  -but  such  as 
were  traditional,  nor  of  any  points  of  his- 
tory, nor  any  idolatrous  practices,  but  such 
as  were  of  the  more  ancient  times  before 
the  Mosaic  institution. 

Schultens,  an  author  versed  in  the 
oriental  languages,  affirms,  that  the  style 
of  this  book  hath  all  the  marks  of  a  most 
venerable  and  remote  antiquity.  Job  is 
also  honourably  mentioned  with  Noah  and 
Daniel,  Ezek.  xiv.  12 — 20.  From  these 
remarks,  it  may  not  be  unnecessary,  pre- 
vious to  our  entrance  on  the  particulars  of 
the  history,  to  observe, 

1st.  That  he  was,  as   well  as  they,  a 

position  than  that  it  was  written  by  a  Hebrew ; 
since  the  language  is  Hebrew,  and  it  is  written  in 
the  style  of  Hebrew  poetry.  "  The  Hebrews  were 
jealous  of  their  religious  prerogatives.  Would 
they  have  admitted  into  their  sacred  volume  a 
poem  written  by  a  foreigner  ?  The  supposition 
that  the  original  author  travelled  or  resided  a 
considerable  time  in   Arabia  will  account  for  the 

Arabian   images   and   words  contained   in  it." 

Home. 


person  of  distinguished  piety.  2d.  That 
he  was  well  known,  and  celebrated  as 
such  amongst  the  Jews,  to  whom  Ezekiel's 
prophecy  was  directed.  3d.  That  he  mu>t 
either  have  been  of  the  seed  of  Israel,  or 
like  Noah,  of  the  patriarchal  times;  other- 
wise the  Jews,  separated  from,  and  raised 
in  spiritual  privileges  above  all  other  na- 
tions, would  never  have  proposed  to  them- 
selves one  of  their  Gentile,  uncircumcised 
neighbours,  of  whom  they  had  a  mean 
opinion,  as  an  example  of  the  greatest 
piety,  nor  have  admitted  his  history  into 
their  canon.  If  he  was  of  the  patriarchal 
times,  he  must  have  been  at  the  distance 
of  about  a  thousand  years  before  Ezekiel. 
Mere  oral  tradition  of  such  a  person 
could  not  have  subsisted  through  so  long 
a  space  of  time  without  appearing  at  last 
as  uncertain  or   fabulous.*     There  must 


*  Although  this  book  professes  to  treat  of  a 
real  person,  yet  the  actual  existence  of  the  patri- 
arch has  been  questioned  by  many  eminent  critics, 
who  have  endeavoured  to  prove  that  the  whole 
poem  is  a  mere  fictitious  narration,  intended  to  in- 
struct through  the  medium  of  parable.  This  opin- 
ion was  first  announced  by  the  celebrated  Jewish 
Rabbi  Maimonides,  and  has  since  been  adopted  by 
Le  Clerc,  Michaelis,  Semler,  Bishop  Stock,  and 
others.  The  reality  of  Job's  existence,  on  the 
contrary,  (independently  of  its  being  the  uniform 
belief  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  church,)  has 
been  maintained  with  equal  ability  by  Leusden, 
Calmet,  Heidegger,  Carpzov,  Van  Til,  Spanheim, 
Moldenhawer,  Schultens,  Ilgen,  Archbishop  Magee, 
Bishops  Patrick,  Sherlock,  Lowth,  Tomline,  and 
Gray,  Drs  Kennicott  and  Hales,  Messieurs  Peters 
and  Good,  Drs  Taylor  and  Priestley,  and,  in  short, 
by  almost  every  other  modern  commentator  and 
critic.  The  principal  arguments  commonly  urged 
against  the  reality  of  Job's  existence  are  derived 
from  the  nature  of  the  exordium  in  which  Satan 
appears  as  the  accuser  of  Job;  from  the  tempta- 
tions and  sufferings  permitted  by  the  Almighty 
Governor  of  the  world  to  befall  an  upright  charac- 
ter; from  the  artificial  regularity  of  the  numbers 
by  which  the  patriarch's  possessions  are  described, 
as  seven  thousand,  three  thousand,  one  thousand, 
five  hundred,  &c.  With  regard  to  the  first  argu- 
ment, the  incredibility  of  the  conversation  which 
is  related  to  have  taken  place  between  the  Al- 
mighty and  Satan,  "who  is  supposed  to  return 
with  news  from  the  terrestrial  regions," — an  able 
commentator  has  remarked,  Why  should  such  a 
conversation  be  supposed  incredible  ?  The  at- 
tempt at  wit  in  the  word  news  is  somewhat  out  of 
place  ;  for  the  interrogation  of  the  Almighty, 
'  Hast  thou  fixed  thy  view  upon  my  servant  Job, 
a  perfect  and  upright  man  ?'  (i.  8.)  instead  of  aim- 
ing at  the  acquisition  of  news,  is  intended  as  a  se- 


672 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XI 


therefore  have  been  some  history  of  Job  ,  was  ever  heard  of  or  pretended ;  this  must 
in  Ezekiel's  time  ;  no  other  history  but  then  have  been  generally  known,  and  read 
that  which  we  now  have,  and  which  has  as  true  and  authentic,  and  consequently 
alwavs  had  a  place  in  the  Hebrew  code,    must  have  been  written  near  to  the  age 


vere  and  most  appropriate  sarcasm  upon  the  fallen 
spirit.  "  Hast  thou, — who,  with  superior  faculties 
and  a  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of  my  will, 
hast  not  continued  perfect  and  upright, — fixed  thy 
view  upon  a  subordinate  being,  far  weaker  and  less 
informed  than  thyself,  who  has  continued  so  ?" — 
The  attendance  of  the  apostate  at  the  tribunal  of 
the  Almighty  is  plainly  designed  to  show  us  that 
good  and  evil  angels  are  equally  amenable  to  him, 
and  equally  subject  to  his  authority  ; — a  doctrine 
common  to  every  part  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
scriptures,  and,  except  in  the  mythology  of  the 
Parsees,  recognised  by,  perhaps,  every  ancient  sys- 
tem of  religion  whatever.  The  part  assigned  to 
Satan  in  the  present  work  is  that  expressly  assign- 
ed to  him  in  the  case  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  the 
garden  of  Eden,  and  of  our  Saviour  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  and  which  is  assigned  to  him  generally,  in 
regard  to  mankind  at  large,  by  all  the  evangelists 
and  apostles  whose  writings  have  reached  us,  both 
in  their  strictest  historical  narratives,  and  closest 
argumentative  inductions.  And  hence  the  argu- 
ment which  should  induce  us  to  regard  the  present 
passage  as  fabulous,  should  induce  us  to  regard  all 
the  rest  in  the  same  light  which  are  imbued  with 
the  same  doctrine  : — a  view  of  the  subject  which 
would  sweep  into  nothingness  a  much  larger  por- 
tion of  the  Bible  than,  we  are  confident,  M.  Mich- 
aelis  would  choose  to  part  with.  The  other  ar- 
guments are,  comparatively,  of  small  moment. 
We  want  not  fable  to  tell  us  that  good  and  up- 
right men  may  occasionally  become  the  victims  of 
accumulated  calamities ;  for  it  is  a  living  fact, 
which,  in  the  mystery  of  Providence,  is  perpetually 
occurring  in  every  country  :  while  as  to  the  round- 
ness of  the  numbers  by  which  the  patriarch's  pos- 
sessions are  described,  nothing  could  have  been 
more  ungraceful  or  superfluous  than  for  the  poet 
to  have  descended  to  units,  had  even  the  literal 
numeration  demanded  it.  And  although  he  is 
stated  to  have  lived  a  hundred  and  forty  years  after 
his  restoration  to  prosperity,  and  in  an  era  in  which 
the  duration  of  man  did  not,  perhaps,  much  ex- 
ceed that  of  the  present  day,  it  should  be  recollect- 
ed, that  in  his  person  as  well  as  in  his  property  he 
was  specially  gifted  by  the  Almighty :  that,  from 
various  passages,  he  seems  to  have  been  younger 
than  all  the  interlocutors,  except  Elihu,  and  much 
younger  than  one  or  two  of  them  :  that  his  longe- 
vity is  particularly  remarked,  as  though  of  more 
than  usual  extent :  and  that,  even  in  the  present 
age  of  the  world,  we  have  well  authenticated  in- 
stances of  persons  having  lived,  in  different  parts 
of  the  globe,  to  the  age  of  a  hundred  and  fifty,  a 
hundred  and  sixty,  and  even  a  hundred  and  seventy 
years.  It  is  not  necessary  for  the  historical  truth 
of  the  book  of  Job,  that  its  language  should  be  a 
direct  transcript  of  that  actually  employed  by  the 
different  characters  introduced  into  it ;  for  in  such 
case  we  should  scarcely  have  a  single  book  of  real 
history  in  the  world.  The  Iliad,  the  Shah  Nameh, 
and  the  Lusiud,  must  at  once  drop  all  pretensions 


to  such  a  description  ;  and  even  the  pages  of  Sal- 
lust  and  Caesar,  of  Kollin  and  Hume,  must  stand 
upon  very  questionable  authority.  It  is  enough 
that  the  real  sentiment  be  given,  and  the  general 
style  copied  :  and  this,  in  truth,  is  all  that  is  aimed 
at,  not  only  in  our  best  reports  of  parliamentary 
speeches,  but  in  many  instances  (which  is  indeed 
much  more  to  the  purpose,)  by  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  their  quotations  from  the  Old. 
Independently  of  these  considerations,  which  we 
think  sufficiently  refute  the  objections  adduced 
against  the  reality  of  Job's  existence,  we  may  ob- 
serve, that  there  is  every  possible  evidence  that  the 
book,  which  bears  his  name,  contains  a  literal  his- 
tory of  the  temptations  and  sufferings  of  a  real 
character.  In  the  first  place,  that  Job  was  a  real, 
and  not  a  fictitious  character,  may  be  inferred  from 
the  manner  in  which  he  is  mentioned  in  the  scrip- 
tures. Thus,  the  prophet  Ezekiel  speaks  of  him  : — 
4  Though  these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job, 
were  in  it,  they  should  deliver  but  their  own  souls 
by  their  righteousness,  saith  the  Lord  God.'  (Ezek. 
xiv.  14.)  In  this  passage  the  prophet  ranks  Noah, 
Daniel,  and  Job.  together,  as  powerful  intercessors 
with  God  ;  the  first  for  his  family  ;  the  second  for 
the  wise  men  of  Babylon  ;  and  the  third  for  his 
friends  :  now,  since  Noah  and  Daniel  were  un- 
questionably real  characters,  we  must  conclude  the 
same  of  Job.  '  Behold,' says  the  apostle  James, '  we 
count  them  happy  which  endure  :  ye  have  heard 
of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of 
the  Lord,  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  ten- 
der mercy,'  (James  v.  11.)  It  is  scarcely  to  be  be- 
lieved that  a  divinely  inspired  apostle  would  refer 
to  an  imaginary  character  as  an  example  of  pa- 
tience, or  in  proof  of  the  mercy  of  God.  But,  be- 
sides the  authority  of  the  inspired  writers,  we  have 
the  strongest  internal  evidence,  from  the  book  it- 
self, that  Job  was  a  real  person  :  for  it  expressly 
specifies  the  names  of  persons,  places,  facts,  and 
other  circumstances  usually  related  in  true  histo- 
ries. Thus  we  have  the  name,  country,  piety, 
wealth,  &c.  of  Job  described  (ch.  i.  ;)  the  names, 
number,  and  acts  of  his  children  are  mentioned  ; 
the  conduct  of  his  wife  is  recorded  as  a  fact  (ii.  ;) 
his  friends,  their  names,  countries,  and  discourses 
with  him  in  his  afflictions,  are  minutely  delineated, 
(ii.  1 1.  &c.)  And  can  we  rationally  imagine  that 
these  were  not  realities  ?  Further,  no  reasonable 
doubt  can  be  entertained  respecting  the  real  exis- 
tence of  Job,  when  we  consider  that  it  is  proved 
by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  all  Eastern  tradi- 
tion :  he  is  mentioned  by  the  author  of  the  book 
of  Tobit,  who  lived  during  the  Assyrian  captivity  ; 
he  is  also  repeatedly  mentioned  by  Mohammed  as 
a  real  character.  The  whole  of  his  history,  with 
many  fabulous  additions,  was  known  among  the 
Syrians  and  Chaldeans  ;  many  of  the  noblest  fam- 
ilies among  the  Arabians  are  distinguished  by  his 
name,  and  boast  of  being  descended  from  him.  So 
late  even  as  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  we  are 
told,  that  there  were  many  persons  who  went  into 


THE  BIBLE. 


673 


in  which  the  fact  was  transacted,  and  not 
in  future  times  when  its  credibility  would 
have  been  greatly  diminished. 

In  short,  if  we  should  affirm  that  the 
book  of  Job  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  no- 
blest books  extant,  we  should  have  the 
vote  of  the  best  critics,  and  the  frame  of 
the  book  would  justify  the  assertion.* 

Arabia  to  see  Job's  dunghill,  which,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  could  not  have  subsisted  through  so  many 
ages  ;  but  the  fact  of  superstitious  persons  making 

Eilgrimages  to  it  sufficiently  attests  the  reality  of 
is  existence,  as  also  do  the  traditionary  accounts 
concerning  the  place  of  Job's  abode. — Home. 

*  All  commentators  and  critics  are  unanimously 
agreed,  that  the  poem  of  Job  is  the  most  ancient 
book  extant :  but  concerning  its  species  and  struc- 
ture there  is  a  considerable  diversity  of  opinion, 
some  contending  that  it  is  an  epic  poem,  while 
others  maintain  it  to  be  a  drama.  M.  Ilgen  on  the 
continent,  and  Dr  Good  in  our  own  country,  are 
the  only  two  commentators  that  have  come  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  who  advocate  the  hypothesis 
that  the  book  of  Job  is  a  regular  epic.  The  former 
critic  contends  that  it  is  a  regular  epic,  the  subject 
of  which  is  tried  and  victorious  innocence  ;  and 
that  it  possesses  unity  of  action,  delineation  of  char- 
acter, plot,  and  catastrophe, — not  exactly,  indeed, 
in  the  Grecian,  but  in  the  Oriental  style.  Dr 
Good  observes,  that,  were  it  necessary  to  enter 
minutely  into  the  question,  this  poem  might  easily 
be  proved  to  possess  all  the  more  prominent  fea- 
tures of  an  epic,  as  laid  down  by  Aristotle  himself, 
such  as  unity,  completion,  and  grandeur  in  its  ac- 
tion ;  loftiness  in  its  sentiments  and  language ; 
multitude  and  variety  in  the  passions  which  it  de- 
velopes.  Even  the  characters,  though  not  numer- 
ous, are  discriminated  and  well  supported ;  the 
milder  and  more  modest  temper  of  Eliphaz  (com- 
pare Job  iv.  2,  3.  with  xv.  3.)  is  well  contrasted 
with  the  forward  and  unrestrained  violence  of  Bil- 
dad  ;  the  terseness  and  brevity  of  Zophar  with  the 
pent-up  and  overflowing  fulness  of  Elihu  :  while 
in  Job  himself  we  perceive  a  dignity  of  mind  that 
nothing  can  humiliate,  a  firmness  that  nothing  can 
subdue,  still  habitually  disclosing  themselves  amidst 
the  tumult  of  hope,  fear,  rage,  tenderness,  triumph, 
and  despair,  with  which  he  is  alternately  distract- 
ed. This  hint  is  offered  by  Dr  Good,  not  with  a 
view  of  ascribing  any  additional  merit  to  the  poem 
itself,  but  merely  to  observe,  so  far  as  a  single  fact 
is  possessed  of  authority,  that  mental  taste,  or  the 
internal  discernment  of  real  beauty,  is  the  same  in 
all  ages  and  nations,  and  that  the  rules  of  the 
Greek  critic  are  deduced  from  a  principle  of  uni- 
versal impulse  and  operation.  The  dramatic  form 
of  this  poem  was  strenuously  affirmed  by  Calmet, 
Carpzov,  and  some  other  continental  critics,  and 
after  them  by  Dr  Garnett,  and  Bishop  Warburton  ; 
who,  in  support  of  this  opinion,  adduced  the  me- 
trical form  of  its  style,  excepting  in  the  introduc- 
tion and  conclusion, — its  sentiments,  which  are  de- 
livered, not  only  in  verse,  but  in  a  kind  of  poetry 
animated  by  all  the  sublimity  and  floridness  of  de- 
scription (whence  he  concludes  this  book  to  be  a 


Job  was  a  prince  of  the  greatest  emi- 
nence, wealth,  and  authority  among  the 
people  of  the  East ;  his  stock  was  immense, 
consisting  of  seven  thousand  sheep,  three 


work  of  imagination,) — and,  in  short,  the  whole 
form  of  its  composition.  Bishop  Lowth  has  ap- 
propriated two  entire  lectures  to  an  examination 
of  this  question  ;  and  after  inquiring  whether  the 
poem  is  possessed  of  any  of  the  properties  of  the 
Greek  drama,  and  considering  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances which  are  here  necessarily  omitted,  he  af- 
firms, without  hesitation,  that  the  poem  of  Job 
contains  no  plot  or  action  whatever,  not  even  of 
the  most  simple  kind  ;  that  it  uniformly  exhibits 
one  constant  chain  of  things,  without  the  smallest 
change  of  feature  from  beginning  to  end  ;  and  that 
it  exhibits  such  a  representation  of  manners,  pas- 
sions, and  sentiments  as  might  be  naturally  expect- 
ed in  such  a  situation.  But  though  the  book  of 
Job  is  by  no  means  to  be. considered  as  a  drama 
written  with  fictitious  contrivance  ;  or  as  resem- 
bling in  its  construction  any  of  those  much  admir- 
ed productions  of  the  Grecian  dramatic  poets  which 
it  preceded  by  so  many  centuries, — yet,  he  con- 
cludes, it  may  still  be  represented  as  being  so  far 
dramatic,  as  the  parties  are  introduced  speaking 
with  great  fidelity  of  character  ;  and  as  it  deviates 
from  strict  historical  accuracy  for  the  sake  of  ef- 
fect. It  is  a  complete  though  peculiar  work,  and 
regular  in  its  subject  as  well  as  in  the  distribution 
of  its  parts  :  the  exordium  and  conclusion  are  in 
prose,  but  all  the  intermediate  dialogues  are  in 
metre.  But,  whatever  rank  may  be  assigned  to 
Job  in  a  comparison  with  the  poets  of  Greece,  to 
whom  we  must  at  least  allow  the  merit  of  art  and 
method  ;  among  the  Hebrews  it  must  certainly  be 
allowed,  in  this  respect,  to  be  unrivalled.  Such  is 
a  brief  outline  of  Bishop  Lowth's  arguments  and 
conclusions,  which  have  been  generally  adopted. 
It  only  remains  that  we  notice  the  opinion  of 
Professor  Bauer,  viz.  that  the  book  of  Job  approx- 
imates most  nearly  to  the  JVlekamat  or  moral  dis- 
courses of  the  philosophical  Arabian  poets.  He 
has  simply  announced  his  hypothesis,  without  of- 
fering any  reasons  in  its  support ;  but  the  follow- 
ing considerations  appear  not  unfavourable  to  the 
conjecture  of  Bauer.  The  Mekama  treats  on  every 
topic  which  presented  itself  to  the  mind  of  the 
poet,  and  though  some  parts  are  occasionally  found 
in  prose,  yet  it  is  generally  clothed  in  all  the  charms 
of  poetry  which  the  vivid  imagination  of  the  author 
could  possibly  bestow  upon  it.  The  subjects  thus 
discussed,  however,  are  principally  ethical.  The 
Arabs  have  several  works  of  this  description,  which 
are  of  considerable  antiquity  ;  but  the  most  cele 
brated  is  the  collection  of  Mekamats,  composed  by 
the  illustrious  poet  Hariri,  which  are  read  and  ad- 
mired to  this  day.  Now,  it  will  be  recollected, 
that  the  scene  of  the  book  of  Job  is  laid  in  the 
land  of  Uz  or  Idumea,  in  the  Stony  Arabia  ;  the 
interlocutors  are  Edomite  Arabs ;  the  beginning 
and  termination  are  evidently  in  prose,  though  the 
dialogue  is  metrical  ;  the  language  is  pure  Hebrew 
which  we  know  for  a  considerable  time  was  the 
common  dialect  of  the  Israelites,  Idumeans,  and 
Arabs,  who  were  all  descended  from  Abraham  ; 
the  manners,  customs,  and  allusions,  too,  which,  it 

4q 


674 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XI 


thousand  camels,  five  hundred  yokes  of 
oxen  and  five  hundred  she-asse6.  He  had 
seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  who  per- 
haps inherited  many  of  the  virtues  of  their 
father.  His  prudent  and  exemplary  de- 
portment, combined  with  his  pious  instruc- 
tions, no  doubt  tended  in  a  considerable 
degree  to  preserve  them  from  the  conta- 
minating influence  of  vicious  pleasures. 
And  even  when  secluded  from  his  pater- 
nal roof,  we  find  the  same  assiduity  ex- 
erted for  their  spiritual  welfare.  For, 
when  they,  according  to  the  oriental  cus- 
tom, had  assembled  to  celebrate  any  of 
their  birthdays,  which  were  held  with 
much  festivity  and  rejoicing,  the  atten- 
tive patriarch,  rising  betimes  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  would  offer  burnt-offer- 
ings for  them  according  to  their  number. 
This  pious  care  of  Job  obtained  the 
approbation  of  the  Almighty,  who  ex- 
pressed his  esteem  of  the  same  at  a  time 
when  the  sons  of  God,  that  is,  the  angels, 
came   to   present   themselves    before   the 


is  well  known,  have  not  varied  in  any  material  de- 
gree, are  supported  by  those  of  the  modern  Arabs. 
Since,  then,  the  book  of  Job  is  allowed  on  all  sides 
to  be  a  poem,  single  and  unparalleled  in  the  sacred 
volume,  may  we  not  consider  it  as  a  prototype  of  the 
Mekama  of  the  Arabians  ?  This  conjecture,  which 
is  offered  with  deference  to  the  names  and  senti- 
ments of  so  many  learned  men,  possesses  at  least 
one  advantage;  it  furnishes  a  compromise  between 
the  opinions  of  the  great  critics  who  are  divided  in 
sentiment  upon  the  class  of  poetry  to  which  this 
book  is  to  be  referred,  and  perhaps  reconciles  diffi- 
culties which  could  not  otherwise  be  solved  re- 
specting its  real  nature.  The  reader  will  now  deter- 
mine for  himself  to  which  class  of  poetry  this  divine 
book  is  to  be  referred.  After  all  that  has  been  said, 
it  is,  perhaps,  of  little  consequence  whether  it  be 
esteemed  a  didactic  or  an  ethic,  an  epic  or  dramatic 
poem  ;  provided  a  distinct  and  conspicuous  station 
be  assigned  to  it  in  the  highest  rank  of  Hebrew 
poesy:  for  not  only  is  the  poetry  of  the  book  of 
Job  equal  to  that  of  any  other  of  the  sacred 
writings,  but  it  is  superior  to  them  all,  those  of 
Isaiah  alone  excepted.  As  Isaiah,  says  Dr  Blair, 
is  the  most  sublime,  David  the  most  pleasing  and 
tender,  so  Job  is  the  most  descriptive  of  all  the 
inspired  poets.  A  peculiar  glow  of  fancy  and 
strength  of  description  characterize  this  author. 
No  writer  whatever  abounds  so  much  in  meta- 
phors. He  may  be  said  not  only  to  describe,  but 
to  render  visible,  whatever  he  treats  of.  Instances 
of  this  kind  every  where  occur,  but  especially  in 
the  eighteenth  and  twentieth  chapters,  in  which 
the  condition  of  the  wicked  is  delineated. — Home. 


Lord,  at  which  time  also  Satan  their  ad- 
versary came  among  them,  to  seek  an  op- 
portunity of  doing  them  mischief.  The 
Almighty,  to  set  forth  Job  as  an  exem- 
plary pattern  of  righteousness,  is  repre- 
sented as  thus  interrogating  the  great 
enemy  of  mankind:  *  Hast  thou  consider- 
ed my  servant  Job,  that  there  is  none 
like  him  in  the  earth,  a  man  exactly  just, 
and  one  that  feareth  God  and  shunneth 
evil?*  The  malignant  fiend,  unwilling 
to  confess  that  Job  served  God  from  a 
truly  pious  principle,  and  arrogantly  desi- 
rous of  insinuating  that  his  obedience 
proceeded  from  a  motive  of  self-interest, 
is  described  as  presumptuously  replying: 
'  Doth  Job  serve  thee  for  nothing  ?  Hast 
thou  not  inclosed  him  on  all  sides,  secur- 
ed him,  and  all  that  he  hath,  from  the 
reach  of  misfortune  and  danger:  but  with- 
draw thy  protection,  and  suffer  him  to  be 
afflicted  with  the  loss  of  the  vast  wealth 
thou  hast  heaped  upon  him,  and  he  will 
curse  thee  to  thy  face.' 

The  omniscient  Jehovah,  knowing  the 
integrity  of  his  servant,  and  that  his 
example  might  have  a  pious  effect  upon 
others,  exposed  him  to  the  fiery  trial. 
i  Behold,'  says  he,  '  all  that  he  hath  is  in 
thy  power,  but  presume  not  to  touch  his 
person.'  The  grand  foe  to  the  present 
and  future  happiness  of  mankind,  who 
walketh  about  as  a  roaring  lion  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour,  having  obtained 
this  permission,  set  his  accursed  instru- 
ments to  work,  to  tempt  the  good  man 
even  unto  blasphemy,  attacking  him  with 
a  train  of  complicated  miseries,  too  great 
in  all  human  probability  for  human  nature 
to  sustain.  He  took  an  opportunity  to 
begin  his  assault  in  the  day  that  his  eldest 
son  was  to  entertain  his  relations.  He 
had  instigated  the  Sabeans,  a  neighbour- 
ing people  descended  from  Sheba,  grand- 
son of  Abraham  by  Keturah,  to  make  an 
inroad  upon  Job's  territories,  which  they 
did  with  such  fury,  that  but  one  servant 
escaped  to  bring  the  unhappy  news  to  his 
master,    which    he  did    in    this   manner: 


THE  BIBLE. 


675 


*  Thy  oxen  were  ploughing,  and  the  asses 
feeding  by  them,  and  the  Sabeans  fell 
upon  them,  and  took  them  away,  and 
they  have  put  all  thy  servants  to  the 
sword,  except  myself.'  Job  had  not  time 
to  reflect  with  himself  what  might  be  the 
cause  of  this  depredation,  before  this  mes- 
senger was  followed  by  another,  who  in 
the  greatest  consternation  informed  him, 

*  That  the  fire  of  God  was  fallen  from 
heaven,  and  had  burnt  up  his  sheep  and 
his  servants,  and  consumed  them  all,  so 
that  he  alone  was  escaped  to  tell  him.' 

This  account  was  certainly  very  shock- 
ing, and  the  calamity  coming  from  heaven, 
might  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  more 
immediate  judgment  than  the  former ;  but 
before  Job  could  ruminate  upon  the  dire 
cause,  a  third  messenger  hastily  acquaint- 
ed him,  'That  the  Chaldeans*  in  three 
parties  had  fallen  upon  the  camels,  and 
carried  them  away,  and  put  all  his  ser- 
vants to  the  sword,  except  himself.' 

Thus  was  Job  stripped  of  all  his  sub- 
stance in  one  day;  and  he  who  in  the 
morning  was  the  wealthiest  man  in  all  the 
East,  was,  before  night,  perhaps  the  most 
indigent  creature  upon  earth. 

The  accursed  fiend,  however,  finding 
this  severe  stroke  ineffectual  to  accom- 
plish his  full  desire  upon  righteous  Job, 
determined  to  touch  him  in  a  more  sensi- 
ble part,  and  to  come  as  near  him  as  the 
bound  prescribed  by  the  Almighty  would 
permit. 

This  prince  of  the  air  therefore,  raising 
a  very  great  storm,  threw  down  the  house 
where  Job's  children  were  regaling,  and 
by  that  means  destroyed  them  all;  and 


*  The  Chaldeans  inhabited  each  side  of  the 
Euphrates,  near  to  Babylon,  which  was  their 
capital.  They  were  also  mixed  with  the  wander- 
ing Arabs,  and  lived  like  them  on  rapine.  They 
were  the  descendants  of  Chesed,  son  of  Nahor  and 
brother  of  Huz,  from  whom  they  had  their  name 
Casdim,  which  we  translate  Chaldeans.  They 
divided  themselves  into  three  bands,  in  order  the 
more  speedily  and  effectually  to  encompass,  col- 
lect, and  drive  off  the  three  thousand  camels: 
probably  they  mounted  the  camels  and  rode  off. 
— Dr  A.  Clarke, 


that  the  good  man  might  not  have  time 
to  digest  his  former  losses,  before  the  last 
messenger  had  made  an  end  of  relating  to 
him  the  loss  of  his  camels,  another  arrived, 
and  with  horror  related,  '  That  as  his  sons 
and  daughters  were  eating  and  drinking 
wine  in  their  eldest  brother's  house,  there 
came  a  great  wind  from  the  wilderness,-} 
and  smote  the  four  corners  of  the  house, 
and  it  fell  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  they 
were  dead,  while  he  himself  alone  escaped 
to  tell  him.' 

This  last  account  touched  the  good  man 
in  the   tenderest   part ;   the   death  of  his 


f  The  following  account  by  Abbe  Richard,  of 
a  whirlwind  that  happened  in  Burgundy,  in  the 
year  1755,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  phenomena 
presented,  and  of  the  effects  produced  by  this 
species  of  tempest,  when  it  assumes  its  most  for- 
midable character  : — "  An  extremely  dark  cloud, 
hanging  low  in  the  atmosphere,  and. driven  for- 
ward by  a  north  wind,  was  observed  to  cover  the 
surface  of  the  territory  in  which  the  small  town  of 
Mirabeau  is  situated  :  it  occasioned  very  singular 
appearances  for  about  a  league  in  length,  and  the 
haif  of  that  space  in  breadth.  Different  whirlings 
appeared  at  once  in  this  dark  mass  of  condensed 
vapours;  some  hail  fell,  and  thunder  was  heard; 
the  quickset  hedge-rows,  and  most  of  the  trees  in 
the  vineyards,  were  rooted  up;  the  little  river  of 
Mirabeau  was  carried  more  than  sixty  paces  from 
its  bed,  which  remained  dry ;  two  men  were  en- 
veloped in  the  whirlwind,  and  carried  to  a  distance 
without  experiencing  any  injury;  a  young  shep- 
herd was  lifted  high  in  the  air,  and  thrown  upon 
the  banks  of  the  river,  yet  his  fall  was  not  violent, 
the  whirlwind  having  placed  him  on  the  verge 
where  it  ceased  to  act.  In  the  woods  within  its 
circle  its  effects  were  traced,  by  finding  the  trees 
either  twisted,  or  torn  up  by  the  roots.  Some 
sheep  that  were  in  the  fields  were  enveloped  and 
carried  to  a  distance  ;  several  of  them  were  killed. 
It  unroofed  the  farm-houses  ;  and  after  raging  in 
this  manner  for  half  an  hour,  the  wind  shifted  to 
the  south,  when  the  tempest  immediately  ceased.'' 
The  following  is  given  by  Bruce :  "  We  had 
scarcely  advanced  two  miles  into  the  plain,  when 
we  were  inclosed  by  a  violent  whirlwind,  or  what 
is  called  at  sea  the  water-spout.  The  unfortunate 
camel,  that  had  been  taken  by  the  Cohala,  seemed 
to  be  nearly  in  the  centre  of  its  vortex.  It  was 
lifted,  and  thrown  down  at  a  considerable  distance, 
and  several  of  its  ribs  broken.  Although,  as  far 
as  I  could  guess,  I  was  not  near  its  centre,  it 
whirled  me  off  my  feet,  and  threw  me  down  on 
my  face,  so  as  to  make  my  nose  gush  out  with 
blood.  Two  of  the  servants  likewise  had  the 
same  fate. — It  demolished  one  half  of  a  small  hut, 
as  if  it  had  been  cut  through  with  a  knife,  and 
dispersed  the  materials  all  over  the  plain,  leaving 
the  other  half  standing. — Hutchison's  Meteorolo- 
gy, and  Bruce's  Travels. 


676 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XI. 


children  at  one  stroke  could  not  but  affect 
him  deeply,  nor  was  the  manner  of  their 
death  less  afflicting,  considering  that  it 
happened  at  a  time  when  they  were  un- 
prepared for  so  awful  an  event. 

But  these  repeated  and  aggravated 
calamities  did  not  betray  him  into  any 
irregularity  of  behaviour;  the  only  vent 
he  gave  to  his  grief  was  rending  his  man- 
tle, the  common  token  of  affliction  and 
sorrow  in  those  eastern  countries  and  early 
ages  of  the  world ;  then  deliberately  follow- 
ing the  other  usual  customs  of  mourning, 
he  shaved  his  head,  and  in  humble  sub- 
mission fell  upon  the  ground  and  wor- 
shipped. 

His  misery  could  not  render  him  forget- 
ful of  his  duty,  he  therefore  humbled  him- 
self under  the  divine  hand,  without  whose 
permission,  he  well  knew,  none  of  these 
misfortunes  could  have  befallen  him. 

Thus,  to  the  great  disappointment  of 
the  enemy  of  souls,  righteous  Job  stood 
the  shock,  and  in  devout  acknowledgment 
of  his  own  meanness  cried  out,  '  Naked 
came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb,  and 
naked  shall  I  return  to  the  earth,  the 
common  womb  and  mother  of  mankind.' 

Then  in  resignation  and  thankfulness 
for  what  he  had  received  at  the  hand  of 
God,  though  now  deprived  of  all,  he  gives 
up  all  for  lost  in  this  world,  and  says, 
*  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.' 

The  patriarch's  virtue  therefore  shone 
forth  through  his  sufferings,  which,  great 
as  they  were,  could  not  warp  him  from  his 
duty  and  obedience  to  his  great  Creator. 
He  well  knew  that  it  was  but  just,  that  he 
who  gave,  should  have  power  to  resume 
his  grant  whenever  he  pleased,  and  there- 
fore, instead  of  cursing,  as  Satan  had  ma- 
liciously suggested  he  would,  he  blessed 
God  for  all  his  dispensations,  and  proved 
the  falsity  of  Satan's  declaration. 

But  the  restless  fury  of  the  inveterate 
fiend  would  not  suffer  him  to  suspend  his 
attacks ;  for  when  the  sons  of  God,  or  as 
before  observed,  the  angels,  again  present- 


ed themselves,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  sig- 
nify to  Satan  the  inflexible  integrity  of 
his  servant,  who,  though  tried  in  the  ten- 
derest  points,  would  not  deviate  from  his 
duty,  or  even  repine  at  what  he  thought 
the  dispensation  of  a  divine  providence. 

His  piety,  in  short,  appears  in  the  midst 
of  his  trials,  and  his  faith  and  resignation 
must  be  deemed  most  extraordinary.  The 
old  deceiver,  however,  artfully  and  mali- 
ciously observed,  that  God  had  hitherto 
only  permitted  him  to  try  him  at  a  dis- 
tance, insinuating,  that  if  he  might  be 
allowed  to  touch  his  person,  he  would  still 
blaspheme. 

The  omniscient  Being,  knowing  that 
these  exercises,  though  grievous  to  flesh 
and  blood,  would  redound  to  his  glory, 
and  the  real  benefit  of  his  servant,  deter- 
mined to  arm  him  with  patience  to  bear 
them,  and  in  the  end  to  recompense  all 
his  sufferings  with  an  extraordinary  re- 
ward, enlarged  Satan's  commission,  but 
yet  with  a  limitation;  « Behold,  he  is  in 
thy  power,  but  touch  not  his  life.' 

The  busy  tempter,  exulting  in  the  en- 
largement of  his  power,  and  persuading 
himself  of  the  possibility  of  overcoming 
Job's  virtue,  immediately  fell  upon  him 
while  impressed  with  a  sense  of  his  late 
losses,  and  afflicted  him  with  boils  and 
ulcers  from  head  to  foot* 

Never  was  human  nature  more  disguised 
than  righteous  Job  in  this  condition,  his 


*  The  disease  with  which  the  patriarch  Job  was 
afflicted  has  greatly  exercised  the  ingenuity  of 
commentators,  who  have  supposed  it  to  be  the 
contagious  leprosy,  the  small  pox,  and  the  ele- 
phantiasis, or  leprosy  of  the  Arabians.  The  last 
opinion  is  adopted  by  Drs  Mead  and  Good,  and 
by  Michaelis,  and  appears  to  be  best  supported. 
This  dreadful  malady,  which  the  ancient  medical 
writer  Paul  of  ./Egineta  has  accurately  character- 
ised as  an  universal  ulcer,  was  named  elephantiasis 
by  the  Greeks,  from  its  rendering  the  skin  of  the 
patient  like  that  of  an  elephant,  scabrous  and  dark 
coloured,  and  furrowed  all  over  with  tubercles, 
loathsome  alike  to  the  individual  and  to  the  spec- 
tators. When  it  attains  a  certain  height,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  have  done  in  this  instance,  it  is  incurable, 
and,  consequently,  affords  the  unhappy  patient 
no  prospect  but  that  of  long-continued  misery.—. 
Home. 


THE  BIBLE. 


677 


body  being  covered  with  loathsome  ex- 
crescences, not  arising  from  a  depraved 
habit  of  constitution,  but  inflicted  by  a 
malicious  policy,  which  raised  him  to  the 
highest  extremity  of  pain,  in  order,  if 
possible,  to  compel  him  to  swear  and 
blaspheme.  Nor  were  his  pains  short 
and  intermitting,  but  lasting  and  poignant, 
and  to  increase  his  misery,  the  loathsome 
nature  of  his  distemper  not  only  rendered 
him  odious  to  himself,  but  to  all  others. 

Thus  was  Job,  though  the  greatest  man 
in  the  East,  of  the  strictest  religion  and 
virtue,  the  patron  of  the  fatherless  and 
widow,  the  admiration  of  the  good,  and 
the  terror  of  the  vicious  and  profane,  by 
the  divine  permission  and  the  malice  of 
the  devil,  at  once  reduced  to  the  most  in- 
digent and  deplorable  circumstances,  strip- 
ped of  all  his  substance,  bereaved  of  all  his 
children,  seven  sons  and  three  daughters, 
and  soon  after  seized  with  a  most  nauseous 
and  painful  disease  from  head  to  foot, 
which  rendered  him  the  most  shocking 
spectacle  of  sorrow  and  wretchedness. 

The  country,  so  far  as  the  fame  of  his 
religion  and  grandeur  had  spread,  could 
not  but  hear  his  melancholy  story  with 
wonder  and  astonishment.  The  religious 
might  be  inclined  to  conclude,  that  such 
signal  and  sudden  calamities  could  be  no 
other  than  the  judgments  of  God  upon  a 
man,  who,  under  the  mask  of  piety,  had 
veiled  a  life  of  profaneness  and  debauchery. 
The  wicked  doubtless  triumphed  in  his 
sufferings,  as  a  justification  of  their  own 
corrupt  principles  and  practice,  and  a  de- 
monstration of  the  insignificancy  of  the 
strictest  regard  to  God  and  his  worship. 

His  relations  and  acquaintance,  struck 
with  horror  and  aversion  at  such  a  despi- 
cable, vile,  and  abandoned  creature,  would 
not  own  him.  The  wife  of  his  bosom 
treated  him  with  unkindness  and  neglect. 
The  basest  of  men  broke  in  upon  him 
like  a  legion  of  fiends,  made  his  afflictions 
their  sport,  treated  him  with  all  manner 
cf  indignities,  calumnies,  and  slander,  and 
even  spared  not  to  spit  in  his  face. 


Scarce  ever  were  the  feelings  of  the 
human  heart  oppressed  with  such  a  com- 
plicated load  of  grief;  scarce  ever  was  a 
profession  of  religion  so  much  exposed  to 
censure,  reproach,  and  insult. 

In  this  situation,  as  he  was  probably 
pouring  out  his  supplications  to  heaven, 
his  wife*  spared  not  to  reproach  him 
with  his  preposterous  goodness,  in  words 
to  this  effect,  '  Will  you  bless  God,  when 
he  is  destroying  you  !  Will  you  call  upon 
him,  and  believe  he  is  good,  when  he  hath 
ruined  your  estate  and  family,  and  in  spite 
of  all  your  submission  is  slaughtering  your 
body,  and  within  a  stroke  of  your  life  ?' 

But  Job  returned  no  other  than  a  mild 
answer,  as  became  a  good  man  and  an  af- 
fectionate husband  :  « You  speak  not  like 
yourself,  but  as  a  woman  void  of  under- 
standing. Is  it  fit  God  should  always 
smile  upon  sinful  creatures?  Shall  we 
say  he  is  not  just  when  he  brings  us  into 
affliction?  We  receive  what  pleaseth  us 
with  joy,  and  it  is  but  reasonable  that  we 
receive  what  is  ungrateful  with  composure 
and  resignation ;  seeing  both  come  from 
the  same  wise  and  sovereign  Disposer  of 
all  events.' 

Thus  did  the  Almighty  preserve  and 
support  this  eminent  servant  under  the 
loss  of  his  estate  and  children,  under  the 
extremity  of  his  pains,  the  desertion  of 
his  friends  and  relations,  the  neglect  of 
his  servants,  and  the  provocation  of  his 
wife. 

The  steadiness  of  Job's  mind  was  more 


*  Some  of  the  Jewish  doctors  imagine,  that 
Dinah,  the  daughter  of  Leah,  was  this  wife  of 
Job's,  but  this  seems  to  be  a  mere  fiction.  The 
moroseness  and  impiety  of  the  woman  as  well  as 
the  place  of  her  habitation,  do  no  ways  suit  with 
Jacob's  daughter:  and  therefore  the  more  probable 
opinion  is,  that  his  wife  was  an  Arabian  by  birth, 
and  that,  though  the  words  which  we  render, 
'  Curse  God  and  die,'  may  equally  bear  a  quite 
contrary  signification,  yet  they  are  not  here  to  be 
taken  in  the  most  favourable  sense,  because  they 
drew  from  her  meek  and  patient  husband  so  severe 
an  imprecation,  '  Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the 
foolish  women  speaketh.  What,  shall  we  re- 
ceive good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not 
receive  evil  ?' — Spanheim's  History  of  Job, 


678 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XI. 


severely  tried  by  his  three  friends,  Eliphaz 
the  Temanite,  Bildad  the  Sliuhite,  and 
Zophar  the  Naamathite,  men  of  the  same 
rank  and  piety,  who  dwelt  in  some  of  the 
adjacent  provinces,  and  in  whose  famili- 
arity he  had  probably  been  long  happy.* 

The  report  of  his  sufferings,  of  the  ruin 
of  his  character,  and  the  wound  thereby 
given  to  religion,  having  reached  their 
ears,  they  agreed  with  a  sincere  intention 
to  join  their  endeavours  in  administering 
the  only  advice  and  consolation  they  ap- 
prehended his  case  would  admit;  for,  as 
their  suspicions  were  strong,  and  his  ca- 
lamities carried  evident  marks  of  divine 
infliction,  they  had  the  same  opinion  of 
them  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  be- 
lieved they  were  the  just  judgments  of 
God  upon  a  hypocrite,  they  determined 
by  all  means  to  fix  a  sense  of  guilt  upon 
his  conscience,  in  order  to  bring  him  to 
true  repentance,  and  so  to  a  solid  interest 
in  the  divine  favour  and  blessing. 

But  when  they  were  come,  and  had 
found  their  late  flourishing,  honourable, 
and  highly  esteemed  friend,  reduced  to 
the  state  of  a  most  loathsome  and  miser- 
able wretch,  that  was  sitting  among  ashes, 


*  From  the  circumstance  of  Eliphaz,  Zophar, 
and  Bildad  being  termed  kings  in  the  Septuagint 
version,  some  critics  have  supposed  that  they  as 
well  as  Job  were  monarchs:  but  this  conjecture  is 
destitute  of  support  For  1.  Job  is  not  represent- 
ed as  losing  his  kingdom,  but  his  children,  servants, 
and  flocks  ;  2.  He  possessed  no  army  or  forces 
with  which  he  could  pursue  the  predatory  Sabeans 
and  Chaldeans ;  3.  Though  his  friends  accused 
him  of  various  crimes,  and  among  others  of  harshly 
treating  his  servants,  yet  they  no  where  charge  him 
with  tyranny  towards  his  subjects;  4.  Job  gives  an 
account  of  his  private  life  and  conduct  towards  his 
domestics,  but  is  totally  silent  as  to  his  conduct 
towards  his  subjects  ;  lastly,  when  he  does  men- 
tion kings,  he  by  no  means  places  himself  upon  an 
equality  with  them.  It  is  equally  clear  that  Job 
was  not  subject  to  any  sovereign,  for  neither  he 
nor  his  friends  make  any  mention  of  his  allegiance 
to  any  king  ;  on  the  contrary,  when  he  entered 
the  gate  of  the  city,  where  the  magistrates  sat  in 
a  judicial  capacity,  the  first  place  was  reserved  to 
him,  and  his  opinion  was  asked  with  the  utmost 
deference.  From  all  these  circumstances,  there- 
fore, coupled  with  his  extensive  flocks  and  ample 
possessions,  we  conclude  with  Herder,  Jahn,  and 
Dr  Good,  that  he  was  emir,  prince,  or  chief  magi- 
strate of  the  city  of  Uz. — Home. 


they  were  astonished  beyond  expression, 
and  being  confirmed  in  their  evil  suspi- 
cions, though  they  sat  with  him  on  the 
ground  ;  yet  as  their  bad  opinion  of  him 
would  not  allow  them  to  say  any  thing 
comfortable  and  encouraging,  they  ke 
silence  for  several  days. 

The  sight  of  his  old  acquaintance,  an 
their  unfavourable  manner  of  condolence, 
raised  his  passion  of  sorrow  to  such  a 
pitch,  that  it  burst  out  into  a  torrent  of 
the  most  bitter  reflections  on  the  day  of 
his  birth,  wishing  it  had  been  struck  out 
of  the  number  of  days,  or  rendered  as 
odious  and  detestable  to  all  others  as  it 
was  to  himself. 

Upon  this,  Eliphaz,  probably  the  eldest 
and  most  honourable  of  the  three,  address- 
ed himself  to  Job,  and  in  the  softest  man- 
ner opened  their  sense  of  his  case;  namely, 
that  in  their  apprehensions  of  his  case,  he 
had  been  very  defective  in  the  character 
to  which  he  had  pretended ;  that  great 
sufferings  must  be  the  punishment  of 
great  sins;  and  that  they  could  recom- 
mend him  to  no  other  method  of  regain- 
ing his  former  peace  and  prosperity,  than 
repentance  and  seeking  unto  God  for 
pardon.  In  short,  they  plainly  declared, 
that  they  judged  he  had  been  a  very 
wicked  man,  and  that  his  calamities  were 
an  evident  indication  of  the  divine  wrath 
against  him  as  such,  endeavouring  by  that 
means  to  extort  a  confession  of  guilt  from 
him. 

But  the  pious  though  afflicted  patriarch, 
immoveable  in  his  sincerity  to  God  and 
innocence  to  man,  flatly  denied  their  in- 
sinuations, and  this  produced  a  dispute 
between  him  and  his  friends,  which,  as  is 
common  in  such  cases,  was  carried  on 
with  a  growing  warmth  and  eagerness  on 
both  sides ;  and  on  both  sides  might  oc- 
casion some  expressions  too  strong  and 
exaggerating. 

His  friends  argued  from  experience, 
and  what  they  had  observed  to  be  the 
usual  method  of  divine  providence,  they 
had  seen  many  instances  of  wicked  men, 


THE  BIBLE. 


679 


or  of  those  who  had  passed  for  such,  re- 
markably punished,  and  hence  they  had 
formed  to  themselves  a  general  maxim, 
that  where  they  saw  great  wretchedness 
and  the  acutest  sufferings,  there  must  be 
crimes  proportionably  great. 

To  this  Job  opposed  likewise  observa- 
tion and  experience;  and  showed  that  the 
rule  of  judging  they  had  formed  to  them- 
selves was  by  no  means  right  or  without 
exception,  observing  that  good  men  were 
sometimes  afflicted,  and  the  wicked  flour- 
ishing and  happy ;  and  that  for  the  most 
part  the  good  things  of  this  life  were  dealt 
out  promiscuously;  that  this  was  more 
especially  the  case  in  times  of  war  and 
pestilence,  and  such  other  calamities,  where 
the  good  and  bad  fell  undistinguished. 
To  all  this  he  added,  that  it  was  a  very 
heavy  aggravation  of  his  misery,  to  hear 
his  friends,  so  well  acquainted  with  him, 
persons  of  sense  and  distinction,  charge 
him  with  crimes  which  his  soul  abhorred, 
and  of  which,  God  who  had  afflicted  him 
knew  that  he  was  innocent. 

To  him  he  was  ready  to  appeal,  and 
still  adhere  in  life  and  death,  though  he 
did  not  know  why  he  had  dealt  so  severely 
with  him.  So  strongly  did  Job  assert  his 
integrity,  that  his  friends,  though  perhaps 
not  convinced,  were  however  put  to  si- 
lence. 

During  this  argument  between  Job  and 
his  friends,  there  was  present  one  Elihu, 
a  young  man  of  good  understanding  who 
acted  as  moderator  between  them,  and 
censured  both  parties  very  freely  and 
judiciously.  He  charged  Job  with  no 
crime  as  the  cause  of  his  afflictions,  but 
seemed  to  think  he  had  not  managed  the 
dispute  about  them  with  so  much  calm- 
ness and  submission  to  God  as  became  his 
piety.  He  also  endeavoured  to  convince 
him  by  argument  drawn  from  God's  un- 
limited sovereignty  and  unsearchable  wis- 
dom, that  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  his 
justice  to  lay  his  afflicting  hand  upon  the 
best  and  most  righteous  of  men ;  adding, 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  all  men  to  bear 


such  exercises,  when  any  befall  them, 
without  murmuring  or  repining,  and  to 
acknowledge  the  justice  of  God  therein. 

Job  heard  all  this  with  great  attention, 
but  made  no  reply,  probably  lest  he  might 
be  drawn  to  utter  some  unguarded  ex- 
pression, whichthe  hard  treatment  of  his 
three  friends  might  have  extorted  from 
him. 

When  they  were  all  silent,  the  Lord 
himself  took  up  the  matter,  and  out  of  the 
whirlwind  directed  his  speech  to  Job, 
wherein,  after  the  most  striking  disposition 
of  the  works  of  the  creation,  he  effectually 
convinced  Job  of  his  own  weakness  and 
inability  of  himself  to  understand  the  ways 
and  designs  of  his  mysterious  providence. 

This  speech  of  the  Deity,  contained  in 
chap,  xxxviii — xli.  most  inimitably  grand 
and  sublime,  representing  the  vast  extent 
of  the  divine  wisdom  and  power  in  the 
formation  of  the  universe,  shows,  1st. 
That  all  things  in  the  sky,  the  air,  the 
earth,  and  the  sea,  are  produced  and  dis- 
posed in  a  manner  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  reason,  wisdom,  or  power.  2d. 
As  a  consequence  that  man  is  not  qualified 
to  dispose  of  himself,  or  of  any  other  being, 
that  God  may  have  wise  and  good  reasons 
for  his  ways,  works,  and  dealings  with  us, 
which  we  cannot  comprehend;  and  there- 
fore it  is  our  duty,  in  all  cases,  to  acquiesce 
and  submit.  3d.  That  he  who  has  given 
various  natures  and  instincts  to  animals, 
can  give  being  and  life,  when  and  where, 
and  in  what  degree  he  pleases.  4th.  That 
he  is  present  to  care  for,  sustain,  and  di- 
rect, every  living  thing,  and  therefore  that 
we  ought  to  trust  in  him  for  a  happy  issue 
out  of  any  of  his  inflictions.  5th.  That 
the  wisest  of  men  should  be  very  cautions 
and  modest  in  censuring  the  ways  of  pro- 
vidence. 

These  salutary  effects  seem  to  have 
been  produced  in  holy  Job  in  a  most  re- 
markable degree,  nor  can  any  thing  display 
a  genuine  humility  more  forcibly  than  his 
address,  « Behold !  I  am  vile  and  con- 
temptible in  comparison  of  thee.     What 


680 


HISTORY  OF 


[  Book  XI. 


shall  I  answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand 
upon  my  mouth.  Once  have  I  spoken, 
but  I  will  not  answer:  yea,  twice,  but  I 
will  proceed  no  further.' 

He  then  proceeded  to  a  more  ample 
confession  of  the  supremacy,  power,  and 
wisdom  of  God,  to  this  effect:  'I  know 
thou  canst  do  every  thing;  and  that  no 
thought  can  be  hid  from  thee.  Well 
mightest  thou  ask,  who  he  was  that  dark- 
ened counsel  by  words  without  know- 
ledge ?  I  am  sensible  I  have  uttered  what 
I  understood  not,  things  too  wonderful  for 
me,  which  I  knew  not.  But  hencefor- 
ward I  desire  to  learn  of  thee ;  therefore 
hear,  I  beseech  thee,  when  I  speak,  and 
declare  unto  me  what  I  ask.  I  have  heard 
of  thee  before,  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear, 
(which  gave  me  but  a  distant  knowledge 
of  thee,)  but  now  I  have  obtained  a  more 
clear  and  certain  apprehension  of  thee,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thee;  wherefore  I 
reprove  myself  for  what  I  have  done  amiss, 
and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.' 

This  free  and  humble  acknowledgment 
of  Job  was  so  pleasing  in  the  sight  of 
God,  that  he  graciously  condescended  to 
declare  himself  in  his  favour  against  his 
friends,  who  by  their  hard  censures  and 
bitter  reflections,  instead  of  being  his 
comforters,  had  proved  his  tormentors. 

The  address  of  Deity  was  to  this  effect, 
as  particularly  directed  to  Eliphaz  the 
Temanite :  '  My  wrath  is  kindled  against 
thee,  and  thy  two  friends,  for  ye  have  not 
spoken  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right,  as 
my  servant  Job  hath.  Therefore  now 
take  seven  bullocks,  and  seven  rams,  and 
go  to  my  servant  Job,  and  offer  up  for 
yourselves  a  burnt-offering,  and  my  ser- 
vant Job  shall  pray  for  you ;  for  his  pray- 
ers will  I  accept ;  lest  I  deal  with  you  as 
you  deserve,  for  not  speaking  the  truth, 
as  my  servant  Job  doth.' 

His  friends,  alarmed  at  the  menaces  of 
an  offended  God,  with  all  haste  prepared 
a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  divine  vengeance; 
and  when  it  was  presented,  God  was  pleased 
to  accept  Job's  intercessions  for  them. 


After  this,  God  was  pleased  to  consider 
the  afflicted  state  of  his  servant,  and  to 
reward  his  faith  and  piety  with  a  more 
ample  fortune  than  he  possessed  before  his 
severe  trials,  doubling  his  former  stock  in 
every  respect,  excepting  that  of  his  chil- 
dren ;  for  he  had  fourteen  thousand  sheep, 
six  thousand  camels,  a  thousand  yoke  of 
oxen,  and  a  thousand  she-asses. 

He  had  also  seven  sons,  who,  with  three 
beautiful  daughters,  graced  his  table  every 
day,  and  received  an  extensive  inheritance 
among  their  brethren. 

No  sooner  was  the  fame  of  Job's  re- 
covery, and  the  restoration  and  addition  of 
his  fortune  spread  abroad,  than  his  friends 
and  acquaintance,  from  all  parts,  came  to 
congratulate  him  upon  this  happy  change 
of  circumstances.  Nor  did  they  come 
empty  handed;  for  every  one  brought 
him  a  valuable  present;  and  to  make  his 
terrestrial  happiness  still  greater,  God 
blessed  him  with  a  prolongation  of  life 
beyond  the  common  extent  of  those  times  ; 
for  he  lived  a  hundred  and  forty  years 
after  his  being  restored,  which  made  his 
age  above  two  hundred  years,  so  that  he 
saw  an  increase  of  his  family  to  the  fourth 
generation,  and  expired  with  the  utmost 
composure  and  resignation,  not  doubting 
of  being  made  a  partaker  of  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  faithful. 


REMARKS. 

The  instructions  particularly  designed 
in  the  book  of  Job  might  not  be  so  well 
understood  in  that  age  of  the  world,  name- 
ly, that  great  sufferings  are  not  always  an 
argument  of  great  sins,  but  that  very  good 
men  may  be  very  much  afflicted  in  this 
world  ;  that  therefore  we  should  not  cen- 
sure any  under  calamities,  be  the  hand  of 
God  ever  so  apparent,  unless  the  crime  be 
likewise  certain  and  apparent.  That  we 
ought  not  to  complain  of  God  in  any  con- 
dition, but  meekly  submit  to  his  blessed 
will,  who  never  doth  any  thing  without 
reason,  though  we  cannot  always  appre- 


THE  BIBLE. 


681 


hend  it,  adoring  and  receiving  the  un- 
searchable depths  of  his  wise  counsels,  and 
believing  that  all  will  at  the  last  turn  to 
our  advantage,  if,  like  his  servant  Job,  we 
persevere  in  faith,  hope,  and  patience. 

This  was  Job's  real  character,  though 
not  without  errors.  No  error  can  be  dis- 
covered in  his  behaviour,  but  those  to 
which  he  was  provoked  by  the  unchari- 
table censure  of  his  friends.  Thus  he  was 
put  upon  too  frequent  and  too  strong  jus- 
tifications of  himself,  being  withal  ex- 
tremely perplexed  to  give  a  plain  and 
satisfactory  account,  why  God  afflicted 
him  so  severely. 

God,  in  the  issue,  satisfied  him  that  he 
had  great  and  weighty  reasons;  and  in 
particular  by  doubling  his  prosperity,  that 
he  designed  to  make  him  a  pattern  of  pa- 
tience and  reward.  Whence  we  may 
learn,  that  under  the  severest  visitations, 
the  Lord  is  very  compassionate  and  mer- 
ciful to  the  sincere  and  upright  soul,  and 
will  amply  recompense  in  a  future  state. 

Thus  the  great  point  in  religion,  be- 
fore dark  and  doubtful,  relative  to  the 
providence  of  God  and  the  sufferings  of 
good  men,  is  cleared  up  with  such  evi- 
dence, as  can  no  where  else  be  found  but 
in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Though  this  point  might  not  be  so 
well  understood  before  it  was  illustrated, 
yet  there  are  several  important  articles  of 
religion  of  which  Job  and  his  friends,  and 
doubtless- many  others,  had  very  just  and 
clear  conceptions;  as  the  being  and  per- 
fections of  God;  that  we  receive  all  from 
him,  the  author  of  our  being,  and  disposer 
of  all  events;  that  he  sees  and  orders  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth;  that  there 
can  be  no  iniquity  with  him;  that  he.  is 
the  friend  and  patron  of  virtue,  and  hates, 
and  will  punish  vice  and  wickedness; 
nevertheless,  that  he  is  merciful  and  gra- 
cious, and  will  certainly  pardon  and  bless 
those  who  sincerely  repent  of  their  sins, 
and  return  unto  him;  that  he  is  to  be 
supremely  reverenced  and  worshipped,  as 
the  sole   sovereign  of  the  universe,   by 


prayers  and  sacrifices,  by  purity  and  in- 
tegrity of  heart,  by  justice  in  all  our  deal- 
ings, by  all  acts  of  charity,  goodness,  and 
benevolence  to  others,  particularly  to  the 
helpless  and  indigent;  by  temperance  and 
sobriety,  curbing  irregular  desires  and 
appetites;  that  men  should  not  be  elated 
and  puffed  up  by  large  possessions,  nor 
put  their  trust  in  riches;  that  they  should 
avoid  idolatry;  that  they  should  not  wish 
evil  to  an  enemy,  nor  rejoice  in  his  mis- 
fortunes, much  less  think  of  murdering 
him;  that  they  should  abstain  from  adul- 
tery and  fornication,  from  theft,  rapine, 
and  deceit;  for  the  punishment  of  which 
crimes  he  mentions  judges  in  his  days, 
and  was  himself  one  of  the  chief. 

These  and  such  like  principles  are  allow- 
ed, both  by  Job  and  his  friends,  and  there- 
fore were  the  religion  of  the  patriarchs,  as 
indeed  they  are  the  principles  of  true  and 
acceptable  religion  in  all  ages  and  parts  of 
the  world. 

Further  we  may  venture  to  affirm,  that 
the  religious  in  the  preceding  as  well  as 
subsequent  ages,  entertained  the  faith  and 
hope  of  a  future  state.  This  has  been 
the  peculiar  belief  of  all  nations,  from 
time  immemorial;  and  it  is  scarce  credible 
in  the  nature  of  the  thing,  that  the  great- 
est happiness  of  this  life,  which  might  at 
any  uncertain  time,  and  at  length,  would 
infallibly  and  totally  be  demolished  by 
death,  should  ever  become  a  solid  princi- 
ple of  religion,  considered  as  the  sole  re- 
ward of  piety  and  virtue. 

However,  it  appears,  that  Job  expected 
a  future  world,  for  he  had  hope  with 
regard  to  his  condition,  but  not  in  this 
world;  therefore  his  hope  must  be  in  a 
future  state.  As  he  absolutely  despaired 
of  any  temporal  deliverance,  the  hope  he 
entertained  of  his  innocence  being  clear- 
ed, must  certainly  refer  to  the  day  of 
judgment. 

He  had  moreover  a  notion  of  the  resur- 
rection,  as  appears  from  chap.  xiv.   12. 
« So  man  lieth  down,  and  riseth  not:  till 
the  heavens  be  no  more  they  shall  not: 
4  R 


682 


HISTORY  OF 


[Book  XL 


awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of  their  sleep, 
— ver.  14.  If  a  man  die,  shall  he 'live 
again?  Or  shall  a  man  live  again  after 
he  is  dead?  Then  I  will  patiently  wait 
all  the  days  of  the  time  thou  shalt  be 
pleased  to  appoint,  till  my  happy  renova- 
tion shall  come.' 

If,  according  to  Job's  expression,  after 
his  skin  his  body  also  was  destroyed, 
how  could  he  outlive  this  destruction,  so 
as  to  be  a  man  prosperous  and  happy 
again  in  this  world?  Had  this  been  his 
fixed  belief,  his  frequent  wishing  for 
death  would  be  utterly  unaccountable, 
his  tragical  complaints  ridiculous,  and  his 
despair  of  health  and  happiness  in  this 
world  a  palpable  contradiction. 

Upon  the  whole,  if  we  set  aside  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  state,  we  must  allow, 
that  Job's  friends  spoke  more  worthily  of 
God,  by  vindicating  his  providence  in  the 
exact  distribution  of  good  and  evil  in  this 
life,  and  that  Job,  who  asserted  the  con- 
trary, misrepresented  his  dealings  with 
rnankind;  but  as  the  approbation  of  an 
all-wise  Judge  has  been  pronounced  upon 
the  latter,  those  who  regard  the  words  of 
eternal  Truth,  need  no  other  demonstra- 
tion of  the  certainty  of  a  future  state  of 
reward  and  punishment. 

It  is  therefore  presumed  that  we  have 
rendered  it  evident,  beyond  a  doubt,  by 
these  strictures  on  the  book  of  Job,  that 
in  the  patriarchal  age,  there  were  persons 
eminent  for  piety  and  virtue,  who  wor- 
shipped the  living  God,  and  enjoyed  ex- 
traordinary communications  from  him; 
but  that  many  were  of  a  different  charac- 
ter, wicked  and  ungodly  men,  and  that 
idolatry,  captivating  the  minds  of  the  ig- 
norant, weak,  and  vicious,  spread  so  fast, 
that  it  threatened  the  total  destruction  of 
the  knowledge  and  pure  worship  of  God. 

These  instances  may  satisfy  us,  that 
although  life  and  immortality  are  brought 
into  the  fullest  light  by  the  gospel,  a 
future  state  was  not  unknown  from  the 
beginning,  to  the  coming  of  the  ever 
blessed  Redeemer  of  the  world.     So  that 


we  may  take  it  for  a  good  rule,  that  the 
words  life  and  salvation,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, may  be  understood  of  a  future  life 
and  salvation,  when  the  context  will  ad- 
mit of  such  an  interpretation. 

As  the  book  of  Job  is  fraught  with 
peculiar  expressions,  and  has  therefore 
afforded  great  scope  for  the  jest  and  ridi- 
cule of  infidels,  it  may  not  be  unnecessary, 
nor  impertinent  on  this  occasion,  humbly 
to  offer  some  considerations  that  may  di- 
rect the  devout  believer  in  the  under- 
standing of  it. 

1st.  He  that  would  rightly  explain  and 
fully  comprehend  this  book,  must,  as 
much  as  possible,  imagine  himself  in  the 
same  distressed,  afflicted  condition. 

2d.  It  must  be  observed,  to  reconcile 
every  circumstance,  that  though  every  dar- 
ing thought  or  ardent  expression,  which 
occurs  in  the  speeches  of  this  afflicted  and 
exasperated  man,  is  not  to  be  vindicated ; 
yet  as  he  was  a  great  man  and  a  prince, 
he  may  be  allowed  to  use  bold  and  ani- 
mated language. 

3d.  We  shall  certainly  judge  amiss  if  we 
think  every  thing  wrong  which  will  not 
suit  with  the  politeness  of  our  manners, 
and  the  prevailing  mode  of  expression 
with  us. 

4th.  In  judging  of  the  character  of  Job, 
we  must  set  the  noble  strains  of  his  piety 
against  the  unguarded  expressions  of  his 
sorrow,  and  remember,  that  he  insists  not 
only  on  his  innocence,  but  on  his  sincerity. 

5th.  We  must  observe,  that  when  his 
friends  encouraged  him  to  hope  for  a  tem- 
poral deliverance,  Job  despaired  of  it,  and 
expected  his  bodily  disorder  would  termi- 
nate in  death:  though  in  the  increasing 
heat  of  the  dispute,  they  seem  to  drop  this 
sentiment  in  their  following  answers,  as  if 
they  supposed  Job  to  be  too  bad  for  any 
favour  from  God ;  the  good  man  howeve 
hoped  that  his  character  would  be  cleared 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  though  he  was 
greatly  concerned  it  could  not  be  cleared 
before. 

6th.  It  also  is  worthy  our  observation, 


THE  BIBLE. 


683 


ihat  after  a  life  led  in  the  most  conscien- 
tious performance  of  the  divine  commands, 
his  reputation  should  sink  in  the  opinion 
of  his  nearest  friends ;  and  his  sufferings 
excite  the  reproaches  of  the  ignorant  and 
profane  upon  his  religious  profession. 
These  considerations  touched  him  to  the 
heart,  exasperated  all  his  sufferings,  and 
caused  him  often  to  wish  that  God  would 
bring  him  to  his  trial  here,  in  this  life, 
that  his  integrity  might  be  vindicated,  and 
all  friends  and  enemies  might  understand 
the  true  end  and  design  of  his  sufferings, 
so  that  the  honour  of  religion  might  be 
secured. 

7th.  In  order  to  reconcile  some  passages 
which  appear  daring  and  presumptuous  in 
mortal  man,  we  must  remember,  that  as 
he  could  only  affirm  his  integrity,  but 
could  give  no  special  satisfactory  reason 
why  God  should  afflict  him  in  a  manner 
so  very  extraordinary,  and  beyond  all  pre- 
ceding cases  that  were  ever  known  in  the 
world,  it  very  much  perplexed  and  em- 
barrassed his  mind,  and  laid  him  under 
great  disadvantage  in  the  dispute.  It  is 
on  their  account  that  we  find  him  so  desir- 
ous of  coming  to  a  conference  as  it  were 
with  his  Maker,  to  know  his  mind'  and 
meaning,  chap.  xii.  2.  {  Show  me  where- 
fore thou  contendest  with  me.'  The  whole 
of  the  23d  chapter  relates  to  this  point,  in 


which  he  wishes  he  could  come  to  the 
dwelling  place  of  God,  and  spread  his 
case  before  him,  and  argue  it  at  large;  for 
he  had  turned  his  thoughts  every  way  and 
could  make  nothing  of  it,  only  he  was 
sure  God  knew  he  twas  an  upright  man. 
All  that  we  can  say  is,  that  he  doth  what- 
ever is  agreeable  to  his  own  wisdom,  for 
what  he  hath  resolved  to  inflict,  he  hath 
accomplished,  and  many  such  things  he 
doth  of  which  he  will  not  assign  to  man 
the  reason. 

8th.  In  such  a  noble  performance,  as  this 
book  has  been  allowed  to  be  by  the  most 
learned  and  pious  men  in  all  ages,  if  any 
thing  seems  inconsistent  or  uncharacter- 
istical,  we  should  rather  suspect  our  own 
judgment,  and  attribute  the  fault  not  to  the 
writer,  but  to  our  understanding,  remem- 
bering, that  such  sense  best  agrees  with 
the  subject  or  point  in  hand,  which  stands 
in  the  best  connection  with  the  context. 

Having  thus  treated  largely,  and  we 
humbly  hope  faithfully,  on  this  much 
controverted  book,  we  submit  our  opinion 
to  the  judgment  of  the  serious  reader,  and 
can  only  add,  that  if  our  endeavours  in 
this  point  shall  tend  to  edify  one  believer 
in  his  most  holy  faith,  respecting  the  in- 
fallible word  of  the  ever  blessed  God,  we 
shall  not  deem  our  work  of  labour  and 
love  vain  in  the  Lord. 


theend.        lUfflTIRSITT] 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


MJan'eae 


\j  L.P 


k\C<*> 


DEC  2  8  1961 


NOV  1 3  1982 


REC.  CIR   NOV  10*82 


LD  21A-50to-8,'61 
(C1795sl0)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


•--»-»   '     ^v 


